₦airaland Forum

Nobody is calling for Scolari's sacking. We will always give a manager a full season to see what he has to offer. We are not Newcastle.

Someone needs to tell Scolari that this is not Latin football.

The last 20 minutes is not the time to be overpassing the ball when it hasn't worked for the first 70 minutes.

If you want to know how Scolari behaves in a losing situation, go and watch the Portugal vs Greece final in Euro 2004. Portugal and Deco in particular passed the ball to death, whilst Greece hit them quickly with a cross into the box and closed the game after that. Scolari did not change a thing. He kept the team playing at the same tempo from minute 1 to minute 90. No urgency in their game. CASE 2: Go and watch the Portugal vs Germany quarter final in Euro 2008. What a limp performance. They had no riposte except to try and pass the ball through the eye of a needle.

somze:
Meanwhile, Scolari's failure to bring in a Striker and a winger will cost us dearly like I predicted earlier. Also time has shown that Deco is too old to play in with big teams. Remember I brought up these things at the start of the season while you guys were off criticizing Lampard. Who's the better player now?

Refer that to Nateevs. I was always against the playmaker. I have always defended Lamps. My only problem with him was his greediness in negotiating his contract. We asked for the same thing - two wingers and one more striker. Nateevs said we don't need wingers to win, that we can win using playmakers. I told him this is the Premiership, you need strong physical mothaphockas in midfield.

bawomolo:
someone please place ibime on suicide watch. he hasn't been located yet. the NL family is worried

I'm homicidal, not suicidal. I'm counting my bullets for Scolari right now.


MESSAGE TO SCOLARI:

When you are losing at home, do not make ridiculous substitutions that take the fight out of the fans and out of the players. Keep Miroslav phocking Stoch on the bench otherwise you will get booed all the time just like you were booed today. TAKE DECO OFF! Stop trying to play the fancy passing, throw motherphockers into the box and put some crosses in. Do not bring Malouda in and play him centrally. If you are going to bring him in, tell him to stick out wide and deliver crosses in. Do not take Mikel off. TAKE DECO OFF! As soon as you take Mikel off, Ballack and Lampard have no freedom to push forward because they know there is no one protecting them. If the situation is desperate, throw John Terry into the box for the last ten minutes and let him win some headers. Stop passing the ball endlessly without getting any shots on target. Make substitutions that inspire the crowd and inspire the team to push for the equaliser. Not niggas like Miroslav Stoch who they will refuse to pass to. You lost the game when you made those silly substitutions, you took the fight out of the players hearts. Mourinho's substitutions always inspired the crowd and the team that the equaliser was on the way. Even the Jewish bulldog made the right subsitutions. You make substitutions that kill your team. You did it several times with Portugal in major tournaments. Your teams are not known for fighting back. When you won the World Cup, Germany was the only decent team you faced, and even that Germany team is the worst German team for a generation. No doubt in my mind, you do not have what it takes to win the big games. How can the brittle youngsters from Finsbury Park leave Stamford Bridge with all 3 points? Players like Johann Djorou would get steamrollered by any Chelsea side just 6 months ago. Those Arsenal boys cannot stand up to physical pressure.


And someone said we can win Champions League. How can you win Champions League when you cannot win big games? Nateevs, you are on your own. Scolari is on his own. No forgiveness or sensitivity for him UNLESS he delivers the Premiership or the Champions League. I am no longer a fan of his. I won't even complain about the offside for the goal. A Chelsea team as dominant as we were would win that game by 2 or 3 goals if we had a different manager who makes the right decisions.

Very entertaining. We should be 2 or 3 ahead by now.

Thank God Ballack is back. The difference is clear.

Ivanovic is a gangsta. Adebayor is in his pocket.

[quote author=A-40 link=topic=196587.msg3155998#msg3155998 date=1227922262]JM started with a win against Utd on the first day of the season

ROFLMAO!![/quote]Utd was a small team back then. ROFLMAO! That was before Ronaldo hit his World-Class stride. Fergie was scared of Mourinho at that time. Utd were our whipping boys in those days.

Hehehehe. . . . . I had to steal it. . . . you better change yours if you wanna be original.

Lets get some perspective here:




Chelsea 2004/2005:

Played            Wins            Draws          Losses             Goals For              GA                 GD                 Pts

14                   10                  3                   1                  23                   6                  +17                33





Chelsea 2008/2009:


Played            Wins            Draws          Losses             Goals For               GA                 GD                 Pts

14                   10                  3                   1                  32                   4                  +28                33

Nobody is calling for Scolari's sacking mate. . . . just saying that the Arsenal game is a pivotal game for him. . . . he needs to win that game to keep the fans and players on his side, me included.

hehehehe. . . . Negro, what did you expect?. . . . did you think this was revolution?. . . . . .Obama is showing everyone that he has a good steady hand.

I think it's a good move by Madagascar. They are a wild country, largely uninhabited. They need someone to come and clear the jungle for them.    .  They should gain infrastructure, jobs, export tarrifs and farming expertise from the deal. However, I would have to look at the contract to determine. It should be tied to some agreement for infrastructure building and training. However, they should have limited the lease to 30 years, not 99. 30 years is all the country needs to gain the expertise they need to do the job themselves.

We must record every Nigerian at birth and give them a social security number or National Insurance number for tax purposes and good accountability. If we do this, we don't need a census. As long as we have statistics on ourselves, we can then plan for the future.

We must adopt fiscal federalism.

Oga, take kia. . . . you have been a moderate voice of Islam on Nairaland. . . . please send a replacement.

I am a supporter of LFS. . . . . but we must be practical. . . . .we cannot pass our way through everything. . . . we must vary our play. . . . I will leave the rest of my comments till Sunday after we play Arsenal. . . .this is a pivotal week for LFS. . .


Now, to the players. . . . someone mentioned Drogba. . . . I have been saying on here for sometime that Drogba is not the same player that he was physically. . . . he is slower and has less stamina. . . . this started in January 2007, when he stopped working hard after he hit 20 goals for that season. . . . his physical abilities are diminished. . . . secondly, where is Makelele? . . . we are missing him. . . .Mikel is way too open to the counterattack . . . . our midfield turns to jelly when we are hit on the counterattack. . . . . . Kalou and Malouda gotta go. . . . Kalou has kay leg, thats why he lacks accuracy in his crossing and passing. . . . no amount of training can correct this, it's a physical deficiency. . . . Anelka is doing his thing. . . . as far as I am concerned, he has cleared his name this season. . . . I don't know why Somze keeps attacking him. . . . we all know Anelka is a counterattacking striker, not a striker to play in tight spaces, therefore to keep blaming him for not scoring in tight games is ridiculous. . . . .

We are going through a crisis of confidence. . . . . the players are losing faith in LFS's pass pass pass mantra. . . . thats why they rebelled against it today, turning back to fear football . . . . .Scolari has no plan B. . . . . .all he wants to do is pass pass pass and try to pass the ball through the eye of a neddle even when it is impossible. . . . . we must vary our play and make the opposition pay for sitting back by crossing the ball into their box and playing for the percentages. . . . it is good that we have the passing option . . . . we just need to combine both. . .  I remember when Portugal were losing to Germany in Euro quarter final. . . . . even after Germany went ahead, Portugal through Deco and Moutinho did not change tempo at all. . . . . they kept playing their nonsense pass pass football till the clock ran down on them. . . . . Scolari did not even show any urgency from the bench, he just sat there and let them maintain the same tempo. . . . I hope Scolari is not trying to turn Chelsea into the new Arsenal. . . . we need to get back to counterattacking and stop camping on the edge of the opponents box without penetrating, leaving ourselves open to the counterattack.

Anelkaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!

These boys are nervous.


Yoann Gourcuff is feeling comfortable today.

[center]Why the next crisis club could be Chelsea[/center]
[center]Martin Samuel [/center]
[center]The Times[/center]

The good thing with football is that if you miss one crisis there is going to be another along in a minute. Calamity at Newcastle United came early this season, but not to worry. Those who had booked late summer holidays could either catch the tail-end or move straight on to the chaos at Tottenham Hotspur, which is of the sort you can always rely upon, like a hardy perennial.

Obviously, in September and October, many of us had more pressing matters to contend with, such as clearing our desks, crossing the road to avoid the bank manager or hiding in the cupboard under the sink when those large gentlemen contracted to the building society came to call.

Not to worry. Tottenham may have picked up under Harry Redknapp, but divert your gaze a few miles along Seven Sisters Road, where there is cracking turmoil at Arsenal, complete with squabbling Frenchmen, fights in the dressing-room and a purse-lipped manager who looks as if his dignified façade is about to slip, producing one of those fantastic speeches in which he predicts that Arsenal will be domestic and European champions in six months only to lose at home to Wigan Athletic on December 6.

There are others in a holding pattern. Blackburn Rovers and Sunderland, certainly, and, looking at the December fixture list, quite probably West Ham United, despite a win at the weekend. These crises are easy to spot, however, occurring at the bottom of the table, where pretty much every club panic when faced with the prospect of relegation.

The road less travelled involves a crisis at the top; the very summit, in fact, where the wealthy and stable reside. Chelsea, for instance. For, were results to go against Luiz Felipe Scolari in the next five days, it would represent the greatest emergency the club have faced since that moment last season when Avram Grant lost a late goal, two points and, on the touchline, temporarily, his marbles against Wigan at Stamford Bridge.

This evening, Chelsea visit Bordeaux, where another away performance such as their last in Europe, against Roma, could mean they enter the final game in Champions League group A in third place of four. Sunday brings the visit of Arsenal, the last of Chelsea’s elite Barclays Premier League rivals to play at Stamford Bridge, Liverpool and Manchester United having departed with a win and a draw respectively. Failure to defeat Arsenal would leave Scolari still searching for his benchmark result, the one that would define his first six months in charge and mark out his squad as more than flat-track bullies, punishing the teams rendered inadequate by the size and breadth of Roman Abramovich’s investment, but falling short against Chelsea’s true rivals.

The high point for Scolari this season came on October 5 with the visit of Aston Villa, a match Chelsea won 2-0. Since then, Villa’s victory over Arsenal and a credible draw with Manchester United — to go with another draw against Liverpool in August — have established Martin O’Neill’s side as a genuine imposition on the top four. But on that afternoon Chelsea were a world apart. The scoreline flattered Villa in that, in addition to the goals, Chelsea had 11 near-misses or chances saved. Watching the performance it was hard to imagine that this was not the work of future champions and, sure enough, Chelsea won their next game 5-0 away to Middlesbrough.

Yet if the savage drubbings of inferiors have continued — five past Sunderland, three past Hull City and West Bromwich Albion — the win against Villa represents the last time Chelsea were convincing against a team with potency. The home win against Roma was mediocre and overridden by a damaging, heavier defeat in the away leg, and Liverpool’s win at Stamford Bridge put paid to any fantasies that Chelsea would be able to turn the title race into a procession. The Carling Cup exit against Burnley was a fluke, but Chelsea were still stumbling on Saturday when they drew at home against Newcastle and failed to relinquish first position only because Liverpool proved equally ineffective against Fulham.

Yet the most peculiar thing about this crisis is that it may not become one at all. It could equally swing all the way to triumph. Defeat Bordeaux at Stade Chaban Delmas and Chelsea are through to the Champions League knockout stages with one match to spare. Win against Arsenal and they will be three points clear at the head of the Barclays Premier League, with Liverpool to play West Ham on Monday. Scolari would have bought that proposition on the day the season began and so would Abramovich, certainly with Didier Drogba having missed most of the season and a series of injuries to key players in midfield and central defence.

Usually, when a club are perceived to be teetering on the brink, the alternatives are to fall backwards into the abyss or forwards into a scrambling safety. Chelsea’s choices are unique in their extremity. By Sunday night, Scolari could be said to have performed very well, considering this is his first job in European club management, or to be walking a tightrope, considering the demands of the job. We know what would have been said of Grant, for instance, had he failed to beat every good team he played in the league or had been left vulnerable in the final round of Champions League group games.

Chelsea should be comfortable in Europe. Bordeaux were outplayed at Stamford Bridge, losing 4-0. Even so, anything less than victory this evening and Chelsea will have to win against CFR Cluj, the Romanian champions, in the final game to be guaranteed progress. Cluj should have nothing to play for beyond pride by then, but there would be an awful lot of that in being the mouse that roared at Stamford Bridge.

The mathematical permutations in group A are complex, but suffice to say there is a possibility for three teams to finish with ten points, for Chelsea to lose in Bordeaux but still win the group, or to draw in Bordeaux and end up third. Were Roma to win the group, while Chelsea and Bordeaux tied for second place, it is almost certain that Chelsea would go through. Were Bordeaux to win the group and Chelsea finish tied on points with Roma, they would go out. Cut short, group A is a minefield best circumvented by winning in France.


http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/columnists/martin_samuel/article5233360.ece

Drogba is up to his old tricks again.




[center]Luiz Felipe Scolari vexed by questions over Didier Drogba’s latest exit strategy[/center]

It may have taken four months, but to judge from his furrowed brow and tetchy tone yesterday, Luiz Felipe Scolari has finally discovered one problem managing Chelsea that became familiar to his recent predecessors: the restlessness of Didier Drogba.

In his own head at least, Drogba has left Chelsea more times than Ray Wilkins, a former player and now assistant manager at Stamford Bridge, only to return as soon as he regains consciousness, but the Ivory Coast striker’s latest attempt to engineer an exit was clumsy even by his standards.

As Chelsea prepared to fly to France on Monday evening to play Bordeaux in the Champions League tonight, Drogba is understood to have been considering fleeing elsewhere, as he dined in West London with Pierre Frelot, his agent, Marco Branca, the Inter Milan technical director, and Jorge Mendes, the Portuguese agent who represents José Mourinho. The Inter coach issued the woolliest of denials yesterday, but it is inconceivable that he was unaware of the meeting. Mourinho spoke at length of his desire to sign Drogba after taking over at the San Siro last summer, but a formal bid was never forthcoming.

“I don’t know if the meeting took place between my agent and Drogba,” Mourinho said. “All I know is that I was with Rui Faria and our families having dinner. I am not sure of Drogba’s future, but I know his history at Chelsea and the last time I read something in an English newspaper there was talk of him staying there.”

Chelsea’s response was intriguing and, for the first time this season, not entirely united, as Scolari reacted angrily to questioning while club officials remained perfectly calm. Chelsea would have happily sold Drogba last summer after he disgraced himself by being sent off in the Champions League final and after an undistinguished start to the season, they remain open to offers, although no movement is expected during the January transfer window.

The 30-year-old has been out with a knee injury for much of this campaign, has yet to score a goal in the Barclays Premier League or Champions League and is serving a three-match domestic ban for throwing a coin at Burnley supporters during a Carling Cup defeat. If the meeting was an attempt to secure an extension to a contract that has only 18 months to run, the tactics backfired. As well as antagonising the club further, the Chelsea board has made it clear that it will not even begin negotiations until next summer.

Scolari had been planning to recall Drogba to the starting line-up in place of Nicolas Anelka this evening, although he reconsidered his decision and plumped for the France forward. Drogba will not be fined for talking to another club behind his employer’s back, but Scolari was clearly annoyed at the timing of the meeting.

“I don’t sleep with Didier,” Scolari said. “Where he was last night, I don’t know. I’m not the policemen for my players. I don’t know if he had permission to talk to them. Ask Peter Kenyon or Roman. I am only the coach.”

Scolari’s unusual moodiness also stems from his concerns before a game that Chelsea must not lose if they are to stay in control of group A. They travel poorly on the Continent, despite their fine domestic away record, with their last win coming nearly a year ago against Rosenborg. In addition to the Drogba enigma, the Brazilian is dealing with other problems familiar to his predecessors: the dread that follows a disappointing result and the anxiety before a big match. The phenomenon of Abramovich counting his pennies as the economy plunges into recession, however, is an unexpected development.


http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/premier_league/chelsea/article5233778.ece

Hehehehehe . . . . . even Hindu newspaper. 


Sorry, I meant to say Arsenal were 5 points clear in October, not December. Just a little confusion with the date.

http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/10/17/1097951562161.html

Akolawole:
(1.) JM brough Paoulo and we are very much ok with our right back. Our problem started with injuries immediately we sold the ONLY Utility player we have in Chelsea to Newcastle in Geremi.

(2.) #Duff was an important player in Ranieri years up to JM's first season. Injury is not his friend thereafter. Who want to keep a clamity? Remember Ranieri bought him for £17m. Go and ask Newcastle

# Robben! Go back and ask Mokoena

(1.) Paulo was only a 6/10 right back even at his best. . . . . Euro 2004 showed that we bought the wrong right back as Miguel absolutely superceded him in the fight for Portugal's right back slot. Geremi is an old man. He should go and rest jare. Our problem with right back started in February 2006 when we played Barcelona and Ronaldinho completely embarrassed Ferreira, to the point that Ferreira was begging for his shirt at half-time. Jose was so angry, he took him off at half-time and scolded him. Ferreira has not been the same since.


(2.) Robben and Duff of 2004 and 2005 are ten times better than what we have now. They have never been replaced.

No need to get carried away. The season is still young. Those who remember Mourinho's debut season will remember that we were 5 points behind Arsenal at Christmas. Therefore there is no need to get carried away just yet. Besides, there is no comparison between this Chelsea squad and the Chelsea squad of 04/05. Robben and Duff are not here anymore. Even Mourinho will struggle (and did struggle) with the kind of wingers we have now. Besides, the Premiership now is a lot different to 04/05. You cannot win the league by sheer will power, organisation and brute strength anymore. Every team in the Premiership has wisened up and now plays 4-5-1, making it difficult to break them down unlike in 04/05.

Akolawole:
7) Jose cannot solve it because the new Coach was given a whooping £16m.

Whoa. . . . . hold on. . . . Jose also got £13m to spend on a right back and he spent it on Ferreira.


Lets not get carried away. The season is still young. We are top of the league and Champions league. We have many players still to come back from injury. What is all the bruhaha?

Damn. . . . . . Nateevs went to war. . . . . waiting for Akola and Somze's response. . . . .

To be fair to Scolari, against Newcastle, it wasn't so much a case of us failing to break Newcastle down as a case of missing many chances and Shay Given pulling out some fantastic saves. . . . . when I watched the highlights on MOTD, I saw that we did have many chances. . . . Lampard alone had 4 or 5, Ashley Cole missed an open goal, as did Malouda and Ballack. . . . next time a team puts 10 men behind the ball, all we have to do is put Drogba in the 18 yard box and fling in crosses all day. Let me see whether their defence will not push up to try to catch him offside. I suggest that we play Drogba at home and Anelka away from home. Hence any team trying to park the bus will hear wii with Drogba's aerial threat and Anelka will find space to play his type of game away from home.


However, in all this criticism of Scolari, lets not forget that we are top of the league and we have the worst injury record in the whole of Europe. Across Europe, Chelsea have suffered most injuries with 26, then Real Madrid with 20, followed by Manchester United and Sevilla in third place with 17, Juventus (15), Bayern Munich and Barcelona (13), Liverpool (12) and Inter Milan on 11, according to the data collected by Madrid-based sports journal, AS.

The article is completely correct. . . . . I have been saying all along that our only chance of silverware is in the league, thanks to points accumulated in the small games, not the big games. . . . it will be interesting to see what happens when Essien and Drogba come back though. . . . .we will have more options and they should enable us to play a direct style in the big games if they are fit. . . . till then, we can't really judge. . . . I will delve deeper into it when I return from work. . . . . I thought you said we shouldn't quote from "The Sun". . . . lol!

Teams have realised that if they park the bus at SB, we cannot break them down. There is no aerial threat. It's days like this when I miss Drogba, Ballack and Essien.

Why is Lamps taking the freekicks when Deco is there?

Malouda is a pussy

We need to put more physical pressure on them. Ballack should come on for Deco and Kalou for Malouda.

nateevs:
@Ibime . .

Gat it?

hehehehe. . . . . thanks, I got it. Viewing pleasure is greatly improved.

More info please

Nateevs, that link is buffering too much. Any more links?