Let me start by saying that I hope we keep RDM as manager but I am not 100% convinced.I think some of us might be looking at things with blue tinted glasses and need to step back and look at things with a more neutral perspective. The purpose of this thread is to put some perspective in to the league form since he took over. When he took over we were 5th,3 points behind 4th place and 20 off the top. Currently we are 6th,5pts off 4th and 25 pts off the top. Newcastle were 3pts behind us with a game in hand and have now passed us. In the Prem we have played 10 w4 d3 l3 for 15 point from 30. Over a season that form would lead to just 57pts which would have us pretty much in the same position we are now.Is that good enough? Now I realize that he has had to mix and match with the squad because of a heavy program of games but we should always be like that at the end of the season.The exploits in the CL have been outstanding but are they enough to keep him in a job?
RDiM has really not convinced me in the league. Let's get the facts straight, he was recruited to ensure top 4 through the league, not through the highly risky (albeit more impressive) winning the CL. He has motivated the players excellently, and I would love him to stay on, but maybe 2nd in command would be a better suited place? I don't know. We'll see on the 19th. I would say if we don't get my personal favourite (Klopp) then I wouldn't be happy with anyone else other than Robbie.
I read this morning that since he started Robbie has averaged 1.5 points per game in the PL. That compares with 1.7 pts per game by AVB. No one can compare with his delivery in Cups---but as much as I love the guy--has he got what it takes to really give us what we need? I somehow hate to say it--but I dont think so!
He's not good enough I'm afraid. Had some great performances in the cups but that's where it ends. Drogba is also an expensive luxury. He doesn't score that many goals anymore.
He deserves a year. He's had to pick up a team that was on the floor, and latterly ravaged by injuries. I'd say he has done a decent job considering.
This. Give him a season, make a few LIGHT changes (not go in all guns blazing like a certain someone) and see how he gets on. If he pulls us back into the top four with a trophy I'd say he's done pretty well. It was quite hard to fix what AVB had ****ed up!
I understand what you are saying but in all actuality he has 'picked us up' to getting less points in the league.Less than AVB who they all hated so much. In the league the injuries haven't been so apparent,JT would have played all the league games and did.Ivan played cb instead of rb has been the only league difference really.
I cannot believe what I'm reading on here. RDM took on a shambolic, dummy spitting bunch of whinging, overpaid bludgers .( people who take the money, but don't put in any effort ) Instead of looking to blame him for our PL form, try looking at Lampard, Terry, Cole, Drogba, and Malouda , who between them, by their refusal to even try and play to their ability for AVB, for fear of losing their power, and hence their fat bloated salaries, cost us, how many points ??????????????????? Out goes AVB, player power wins, and a miraculous transformation in form occurs. Suddenly they can all play again !!!!!!!!!!!! Having won their battle, they have all put in big time for RDM, but that does not compensate ,in my opinion, for their actions until February. Whether RDM is the right choice or not doesn't matter anyway, our owner will make that decision as he always does. And then probably screw it all up by interfering, as he always does. But please don't start blaming RDM for our PL position, blame the real culprits. With RDM there next season, we have the best chance of building on this seasons hard work, and getting back to where we all think we should be. Different manager, back to square one.
I see what youre saying, but fighting in two cup competitions and the league has taken its toll...our schedule over the last five weeks has been mental...something will always have to give. I think it's a bit harsh to judge him on half a season, espescially when the first half was where all the damage was done. The team spirit is there, even if the legs are wobbling at the end of the season, and to be honest I'm proud of where we are given that it could have been a hell of a lot worse...
Well according to yesterdays "Daily Star"................."A senior source let slip that Chelsea have been keeping a keen eye on Redknapp"!...........Just what we need ........(I did giggle when I read that)
Our end of season should always be heavy though.Of course we won't make finals all the time but at least semis etc. League wise the figures seem to suggest it wouldn't have been any worse. His only wins have been against Stoke (h), Villa (a) Wigan (h) and Qpr (h). Not exactly any good wins and we all know we were extremely fortunate against Wigan,extremely. The team appears to lift itself for the cups but not for the Prem and we need to improve there next season and it appears Robbie isn't lifting us there.
So although we have actually gotten worse in the perm that is not Robbies fault? So he gets the praise for reaching 2 finals but not the blame for a failing league position. Seriously?
surely a big part of managing a team is man management skill which avb seemed to lack, i do not think it is fair to blame the players, the first thing avb should of done was get them on side but he didnt.
It's perfectly fair to blame the players. Whether they like a manager or not should be irrelevant - their first duty is to the club that pays their wages and, as long as their inflated salaries are still hitting their bank accounts, they should get on with things and play to the best of their abilities, regardless of their personal feelings towards the guy in charge. The fact that so many of our players blatantly did not do this and chose to rock the boat instead is to their eternal shame. The sad thing is, I look at our squad - which remains one of the most talented we have assembled in the 35 years I've supported Chelsea, and I'm hard pressed to think of many that I actually like or admire as people. Great players many of them, but with deeply disappointing characters in the main.
i disagree, it is the managers job to get players playing and if he is not doing it well the team and players will always under perform, this applies for any working environment
ollie So what is the explanation for the same players doing worse in the Prem under Robbie? Does that mean they think less of him than even AVB or is it that Robbie actually got it wrong?
I think the players (and probably Robbie as well) prioritised the cups. We've seen that the squad don't really give a stuff about what the board say, so when Gourlay stated top 4 was the priority he might as well have been pissing in the wind for all the notice the players would have taken of him. Once we got past Napoli, I think that some of the senior players saw that this could be their last chance to win a CL medal and poured all of their efforts into that aim, to the detriment of our league form. You only have to look at the discrepancy between certain individuals' cup form and their league form to see that (Lamps, Drogba, even Bosingwa). Other players - basically the younger ones - took a more balanced view and have played well in both competitions (Ramires, Mata etc). In short, the players who can't be sure of their long term future at Stamford Bridge took a short term view to go all out for some more silverware rather than qualify for the CL through the league when they might not even be here next season to benefit from it. Likewise, I think Robbie has taken the same view to a certain extent. Maybe he thinks it will be harder for Roman to sack him if he has the FA Cup and CL trophy to his name, whereas top 4 could be brushed aside as achieving the minimum requirement for a Chelsea manager. Also, 2 cup wins would look a hell of a lot better on his CV than a top 4 finish from 5th place when he took over. Don't get me wrong - I'm not saying that poor man-management should just be tolerated, but neither should it be held up as an excuse for players to basically raise 2 fingers to the supporters and soft pedal their way through most of the season. We have the right to expect that every player should give 100% effort every time they step onto the pitch. If that isn't good enough, then so be it - the players won't get any criticism from me. But when they blatantly short change the club by not bothering to put a shift in then they deserve to be called out on it.
I don't know ollie,even after Napoli we had 10 league games left to secure 4th and at that point we were 5th on gd with Arsenal. I don't think you can just dismiss the league form like that,least ways the manager shouldn't have let it happen.
How about two first choice centre halves being out, along with a defensive midfielder who has had a decent season for once, and been replaced by a player whose knee is shot. You could see the team flagging in the second half of the cup final, they are literally ****ed... Sturridge has gone off the boil, our two key strikers have been ****, and Lampard plays in a role that doesn't let him cover any goal scoring deficiency that our frontmen may suffer from...something AVB introduced... The key issue is that the team spirit is there, and we have been undone twice recently: Newcastle - two long range efforts that came from nothing Liverpool - key defensive errors on our part You can bet your arse that Roman is pushing him to go for the CL than the league, I'd put my mortgage on it!
