Chelsea Banter Archive March 03 2012

03 Mar 2012 23:25:18
AVB said that only Cole had agreat game today. And he has front seat. I' starting to guess if he understands what hevsees at all.

03 Mar 2012 22:56:43
Hate to say it, but I am starting to think AVB was not ready for this job. Shame, but he is looking like he has bitten off more than he can chew. Jose return is what we all crave really! Saturdays had happy endings back then.
I cant remember our football being this shocking.
Luke

03 Mar 2012 21:38:07
Below is a summary of an interview seen in the US by a Chelsea Fan which makes interesting reading I think.

The Duncan Castle Interview

Those of us on this side of the Atlantic get much of our soccer new fix from the Fox Soccer channel and its related affiliates.

Yesterday I listened to an interview one of the channel hosts had with a journalist called Duncan Castle. I usually don't rehearse material from media sources on this site as they are generally often exaggerated, many times unfounded and not uncommonly total fabrications and lies, but this is one sports journalist I respect.

Every time he has given an interview discussing ongoing or developing issues that I remember, he has turned out to be deadly accurate. He discussed for nearly 10 minutes information he reportedly received from someone within SW6 on the discussions that occurred between Roman and AVB following the first leg of our Napoli match and as I listened I really felt I was finally hearing the truth.

I mention the highlights of his discussion here while acknowledging that yes this may be entirely untrue but my gut tells me this is factual.

1 - It appears that when AVB was appointed the Board 'advised' him to hold on to the vets for one more year with the intent of the big clear out to be for this coming summer. It appears thus that Mike Emenalo was the only person who had a different view in this regard and unfortunately in retrospect AVB heeded the wrong counsel.

2 - In the ongoing player-coach tussle Roman absolutely sides with AVB. No matter what else happens in the next few weeks come this summer there will be a massive veteran clear out from Chelsea no matter what.

3 - Roman`s obsession with the Champions league continues, following the Napoli first leg match when AVB was famously called to defend his team selection Roman told him point blank that unless he gets Chelsea to the Champions League quarters at a minimum he is to be shown the door. This coincides with the immediate change in AVBs public utterances regarding the safety of his position.

4 - The search for a replacement coach is reportedly actively on. Unfortunately (or fortunately depending on how you look at it) there are no good options. Apparently the person Roman would like is Pep Guardiola. He loves the way Barca play and wants to replicate that here. Apparently contacts have been made but though Pep has not renewed his contract yet with Barca this appears to be a foregone conclusion, he is only holding out to emphasize to team president Rossell who the real boss is at the club. In other words Pep isn't seriously expected by anyone to ditch Barca to come to Chelsea.

Apparently Fabio Capello was contacted to take the position on an interim position and the don was so offended to be asked to consider an interim position he retorted along the lines that he doesn't do baby sitting.

Apparently Rafa Benitez has been the most interested and would take the position if he could get at least an 18 month deal (This is really scary). It appears that feelers have been sent Jose's way but as most of us know are his terms are simple, he will only think about this if and when he is guaranteed total control of all football matters in the club something which Roman is not willing to cede at this point.

5 - Apparently it is myth that AVB has a lucrative severance package. It will apparently cost the club only £5m to release him. This is much smaller than what we had to pay Carlo. Also apparently because of the amount that Roman had to pay Porto to get him AVBs actual pay is actually rather small for a Chelsea manager, apparently only £2m per annum.

6 Apparently Roman indicated to AVB that despite all this he does personally like the chap (for all that is worth) and wishes him well and so wanted to let him know where he stands so that his release does not come as a shock or in the shoddy fashion we showed Carlo the door.

7 - Apparently Roman has insisted that his decision has had absolutely nothing to do with what veteran players have had to say and there is an insistence that these very veterans are also going to be getting their pink slips come summer. It was indicated that some other persons within the club hierarchy (who apparently Roman deeply respects) have expressed serious misgivings about AVBs capability to execute the desired project, which is still apparently much a priority in the mind of Roman and the board.

It appears to be largely based on this clamour of dissenting and doubting voices within the Club hierarchy that Roman intends to show AVB the way out despite getting along with him very well personally.

Well these are the high points I gleaned from the interview. For me if this is true then the club is in near crises right now as we essentially have a lame duck manager.

The vets can already see the handwriting on the wall both for him and for them. We may never see any quality effort from them for the rest of the season which may essentially bury any chance we have of a top 4 finish.

The other thing I would add is if this is all true then AVB is truly a tragic figure in all this who should be pitied, it appears that this nave young man was set up to fail from the very beginning and in retrospect should have never taken this job..

As Jose said rather prophetically

'The Chelsea job came too soon for him'.





Sat, 03 March 2012 21:15:51

That was a great post

I agree, and believe every word of it. lets just get 4th and write the season off

Thanks for sharing mate, interesting to read. let's just see what happens, would be a shame if avb is to go for failing in CL this season. we will hopefully still have the FA cup and 4th to go for if we do go out of the CL, meaning avb has a proper chance next season. josh

03 Mar 2012 20:09:49
Hello their, I have been reading a lot of views on the current situation with AVB an wanted to give my views.

I personally was a massive fan of AVB at Porto and how he lead that team to European glory, However I feel he had the best team in Portugal, and in the Europa league. The man is only 33 ( I think) and this was going to be challenge from the very start.

I see where many come from when they are shouting 'AVB OUT' I have been one of those recently, but all the blame cannot be put onto the manager, but shared amongst players, look at most of our team it is an ageing squad, with the likes of Drogba, Cole, Lampard, Malouda who think they are above and bigger then the club, then we have players such as, Kalou, Meireles, Mikel, Boswinga who just simply dont cut it, yet they are on ridiculous wages, I know we cannot ditch all of these players, and it would cost over 100million to rebuild the squad but it has to be done.

Only once these lack lustred players have left will AVB have the opportunity to show his pure talent. Remember at the start of Mourinhos career at Chelsea and how much was spent on the team when he won the league?

I feel that if AVB isn't sacked after the diabolical performance today, he will be here to the end of the season. However if he is sacked how would we replace him with, Rafa Benitez, is hated by most fans and i feel he could never be manager, Mourinho, wont leave Real at this time of the season, to join a failing Chelsea team, if AVB was sacked, I feel the manager would be equal or slightly better skills,and you know what that's what i want.

I feel that AVB is the right manager at the wrond time for Chelsea, he would be better suited to a younger team.
A manager that had a bit more experience such as, Deschamps or Capello, who could whip these current players into shape, who think they own the club.

But remember guys if you are a true Chelsea fan you will support the club through thick and thin. UP THE BLUES!

ML.

03 Mar 2012 20:01:46
AVB should start Drogba and Torres against birmingham as they seemed to be the only two players busting a gut for the team today, when torres came on he showed this, his first touch of the game wasnt a good one and he lost the ball but as soon as he did he ran back won the ball and won us a frre kick

How can we compliment Torres on this. This is just minimal requirement for a professional footballer

Drogba isn't for me, not the force he once was and certainly dosn't put in a decent shift like he once did

We can compliment torres because he is the only one in the team doing it

03 Mar 2012 18:59:56
Hi ed during both window why didnt we want for one or two first team players now it look like its gonna cost AVB his job

03 Mar 2012 18:42:17
For weeks and weeks, people complain about the team selection. This week he plays the team that everyone wanted and we lose 1 - 0 to West Brom, yet its the managers fault. THESE players are not good enough period, any manager that we could bring in would still have the same team. God, some people on here you just can win.

PB

I dont think the team we played today is good but its 10x better than having meireles and malouda in midfield
Jordan

03 Mar 2012 18:33:59
Honestly think we should just play the reserve squad against Birmingham with maybe Torres, they're the only ones who seem to have something to prove.

MoJoe

Yep agree and mata, cos we need to win !

03 Mar 2012 18:09:32
If AVB goes at this point who will come in? If we get someone that has no club chances are they will want a long term contract. We could end up with a clown like Benitez.

03 Mar 2012 17:55:15
I have to say I've run out of patients with villas boas I was really hoping we could stick with him and go for glory next year but at this rate we won't get better than sixth place which is really unexceptble you gotta say if roman would sack ancelotti for finishing second you have to wonder how long AVB has before abrahamovic's steel tied boots come crashing down.

.Nova {Ed002's Note - Ancelotti was not "sacked for finishing second".}

I didn't he got sacked because he finished secOnd. What I meant was that abrahamovic didn't see him good enough to keep despite finishing second {Ed002's Note - Er, not that either.}

Was it because of the way the team played under ancelotti {Ed002's Note - The decision to move Ancelotti on was taken at New Year becuse he failed to drag the team out of their pre-Christmas slump.}

Somehow we got out of that slump, but Ed we fet into this pre christmas slump for quite a few years now. I just don't see AVB getting us out of this seasons slump.

JG

03 Mar 2012 17:36:46
3 wins in the last 12 prem games... That is absolutely disgusting.. AVB needs to go!

03 Mar 2012 18:08:32
go back to portugal now avb you are useless man, you honestly don't know what you are doing because you are not fit for the job, resign now you person go back to that piss poor league in portugal which is your limit, we need this to happen now or we won't even be in the thursday cup, his interview he gave on sky after the match summed him up what he is, this man is totally out of his depth if he won't resign we have got to sack him now to give us a chance of trying to recover this awful season he has created, hopefully it's bye bye to boas. from a very unhappy blues fan.

03 Mar 2012 17:18:43
Whether I agree with it or not, that has to be the end of the line for AVB! That was, in my opinion, the strongest team we could have played today; a team that was deprived of any creative ability!

13

I agree, this was our strongest lineup available. And we were worthless. WBA dominated us all game long.

Interestingly - last season we were top of the fair play standings. This term - you've guessed it - bottom.

How can one man screw up so much in such a short time?

JG

Right so if he's picked the right team, what has he done wrong ??

AVBacker

You just have to watch a game to understand.

MoJoe

He took Chelsea's job. That is what he did wrong in the first place. His incompetence is evident every pasing week. And if you think his job is to pick the right team, then every one of us could do it. Volunteerly.

JH

Anyone can pick a team, most of us could pick the best Chelsea team, it's his job to motivate them! That's what a Manager / Coach is paid to do! I feel for AVB, I don't think that he has had the chance to put his own team together but on the other hand Martin O'Neil wasn't afforded the same opportunity at Sunderland; he however motivate the players that he had!

13

03 Mar 2012 17:07:11
i hate boas for what he has done to my club, sack him tonight please roman

03 Mar 2012 17:01:43
Even with our best team on the field we still suck.

03 Mar 2012 17:00:23
So lamps Essein and cole all played like everyone wanted and were even worse, ive supported avb the whole time but this is no transition period it's destroying our team period, what the f*** will we do without champ league playing in Europa is embarrassing, players like hulk moura modric wouldn't even think of coming to us,

03 Mar 2012 16:59:21
players who need to go
lampard
meireles
bosingwa
cole
malouda
kalou
drogba
torres
mikel
essien

Players who will want to go after the season
sturridge
mata
romeu
cech

we are not going to get top 4 this season or next season. avb will be sacked the manager next season will be sacked no one will want to come to chelsea when manc offer 2x more money and worst case scenario in 3 seasons we will be finishing 8th.
dan

You my friend are a mug

03 Mar 2012 16:46:19
ive supported avb up to today but today was the final straw. i cant remeber the last time chelsea had 3 good performances in a row and they have had around 6 all season. we need to get rid of him and i am confident hes not going to last until april
trout

03 Mar 2012 16:22:56
avb always makes his subs to late. he always puts the first one on at like 75 mins and then brings on 2 more in the next 10 mins. bring on players earlier so they can actually make a difference

Couldnt agree with you more,even my 3 year old nephews learn from mistakes faster than he does.cant figure out the malouda for sturridge sub,shouldve been torres,even though he cant score he can still pass the ball,cant say the same for malouda the lad is friggin useless.
Pathetic performance all round,avb should just shut the f*ck up and spend his time fixing his team rather than talking to the media.

aL

03 Mar 2012 14:18:45
My Chelsea bet for the day, West Brom 1- 3 Chelsea, Torres last goalscorer, 60/1, Come on Chels!

SHED END

03 Mar 2012 10:26:59
Team against West Brom

Cech
Ivan Cahill Luiz Cole

Essien/Romeu

Lampard Ramires

Sturridge Drogba Mata

Opinions

Melbourne CFC

Exactly what I would go for! Would love to see Lukaku given 20mins of we up by two or more goals!