Chelsea Thread

I think Ivanovic is a massive loss, in some ways he's been Chelsea's best defensive player over the last 18 months or so. I can't help but think keeping Alex (the Brazilian at PSG) might have been useful. If David Luiz and Cahill recover for the final, they might be ok at the back. The worry for them is central midfield is also a bit light with Mireles and Ramires out. I think they might go for a team like this in the final:

------Cech----
--Luiz----Cahill-
Bosingwa---------Cole
-----Essien--------
--Lampard---Mikel---
-Mata--------Malouda/Kalou
-------Drogba

If Luiz or Cahill doesnt make it, maybe they could either drop Essien back to defence and play Romeu in midfield or fit Ferreira into the center. If both of them don't make it then I think there will be big problems for Chelsea.

I suppose from the other point of view, at least Chelsea can play Terry and Ivanovic in the center of defence and Mireles and Ramires in midfield for all their remaining league games (and the cup final) knowing there is no risk of them missing the CL final (as they will already miss it).
 
Any Englishman will understand my comment about Blatter and Platini.

Without trawling through comments from Blatter and Platini and pasting links here and to put it simply, neither indidual like English clubs.

They would much prefer Barcelona, Real Madrid or Bayern to lift the trophy.

They don't like us, we don't care, come on Chelsea I say.
 
I can assure you that Platini has nothing against English clubs. All he wants is financial fair-play.
A big club like Anderlecht has alower budget than most championship teams...that is not normal.
Most English people confuse things: this is not about English football, but about fair competition.
 
cfdh_edmundo said:
I think Ivanovic is a massive loss, in some ways he's been Chelsea's best defensive player over the last 18 months or so. I can't help but think keeping Alex (the Brazilian at PSG) might have been useful. If David Luiz and Cahill recover for the final, they might be ok at the back. The worry for them is central midfield is also a bit light with Mireles and Ramires out. I think they might go for a team like this in the final:

------Cech----
--Luiz----Cahill-
Bosingwa---------Cole
-----Essien--------
--Lampard---Mikel---
-Mata--------Malouda/Kalou
-------Drogba

If Luiz or Cahill doesnt make it, maybe they could either drop Essien back to defence and play Romeu in midfield or fit Ferreira into the center. If both of them don't make it then I think there will be big problems for Chelsea.

I suppose from the other point of view, at least Chelsea can play Terry and Ivanovic in the center of defence and Mireles and Ramires in midfield for all their remaining league games (and the cup final) knowing there is no risk of them missing the CL final (as they will already miss it).
Click to expand...

Can anyone tell me why Ramires has been yellow-carded?
 
Just read some quotes on the Evening Standard, John Obi Mikel thinks a straight red for Terry was harsh and that it is unfair that he won't be in the final. I wonder in which planet do these guys live??

Whats wrong with the world? Am I the only one who is outraged by that reaction? A racist scumbag kicks somebody from behind off the ball and yet Chelsea people feel hard done by?
 
of course you're not alone. that was a well deserved red card (+ needs even further punishment imho) and even jt himself thinks it was fair as he said in the post-match interview.
 
I'm no Sanchez fan to be honest, but if got kicked in an off the ball incident totally out of the blue like that, I think I would do the same... plus, that knee could have hit him right on the tailbone, in that case it can be very painful. We cannot know if it hurt Sanchez or not. What we do know is what Terry did, so if I were Mikel or any other Chelsea player I wouldn't go saying to the press it was unfair, I'd just keep my trap shut and get on with life, happy enough to be in the final given the circumstances!
 
Mehtab said:
Can anyone tell me why Ramires has been yellow-carded?
Click to expand...

I think it was for protesting after the 2-0 goal, but not 100% sure on that. Ivanovic also got his yellow for protesting (around the penalty incident), it's madness really that both of them "talked" themselves into missing the final.
 
cfdh_edmundo said:
I think it was for protesting after the 2-0 goal, but not 100% sure on that. Ivanovic also got his yellow for protesting (around the penalty incident), it's madness really that both of them "talked" themselves into missing the final.
Click to expand...

Mikel's protesting was alright because it was not a penalty.
 
Poor Ramires and Ivanovic! Really feel for them and they'll be really missed.

As for Terry's reaction, it's a straight red. No doubt about it. He even apologized himself and said he let his team-mates down and was stupid to do so.

@Rentboy, exactly! if you and I were Sanchez and being kicked from behind like that for no reason, we'd do the same thing to punish that fool. Why should he get away with it? why not gain a huge advantage AND punish the guy for illegally doing that. People talk about diving and how it's cheating well you know what's also cheating? Kneeing a guy from behind when the ball is nowhere near him! Glad the ref sent him off, maybe he'll learn now and good on Chelsea for battling through without him. Well done Di Matteo and co.
 
Don't know about you guys, but I would've pushed the idiot instead of going to ground like that.
 
Then instead of getting him sent off, you would've handicapped your team and got a red for shoving him.

Alexis did the smartest thing. People won't like it but it was the right thing to do for himself and his team.
 
And this is why today's football is a farce. Acting is encouraged and is the only choice then. Then I guess we shouldn't blame any player that dives as he's just doing what is "best" these days.

Personally though, I wouldn't dive no matter what. I'd turn around and exchange a few words with the idiot and a little push probably, lol. Probably get a caution or a yellow. Then I'll make sure I provoke him every time I get the chance to try and get him sent off. But no acting for me ;)
 
Well that's me then. When I play I don't dive. And if a player does that to me I exchange words with him. If he insists on being dirty then I'll keep doing my best but at the same time provoke him more by going against him almost every time and try dribbling past him almost every time I get the chance to. This is how I provoke. And at some point, he'll get frustrated and bam I get tackled, and him off the pitch. Actually I did get injured a few times because of that.

But dive and act? No frigging way. If that's what I'm supposed to do I'd rather go to Broadway then.
 
Mehtab said:
I hope Mikel, Ivanovic and Ramires yellow card has been absolved.
Click to expand...

I don't. They made their bed, they should lie in it, so to speak. Particularly Invanovic, who was booked for deliberately kicking the penalty spot right before Messi's penalty.

Darren Fletcher made a clean tackle in a semi-final that was already over, was wrongly given a red card and UEFA didn't let him appeal. To change their mind now halfway through a competition is just wrong. It has to be done at the start .
 
Aboutreika18 said:
I suppose you also hope the same happens to Alaba, Kroos and Badstuber.
Click to expand...


LOL.

On the other hand, if both clubs are handicapped one could wonder...in the CL league threead i posted an article about this.

I agree with beachryan, that now you can't change anything. But if you see that some of the players played 10 CL matches and had a 3th yellow for protest...it makes you wonder somehow...
 
Ridiculous that they won't be overturned.

It's about time UEFA/FIFA woke up and realised it's a horrible rule.

The final should be seperate from everything else, if you make it there then you deserve to have the best chance of winning it.

Red cards should be final no matter what, but accumulated yellows should be wiped out.
 
I'm surprised they haven't amended the rules like they did with the World Cup, where the yellow cards are wiped out after the quarter-finals.
 
BRANISLAV IVANOVIC, Ramires and Raul Meireles
could earn a Champions League final lifeline.
The three Chelsea stars are banned for the May
19 clash against Bayern Munich after picking up
cautions in the semi-final defeat of Barcelona.
But the international players’ union have today
called for the yellow cards to be waived .
The organisation points out that UEFA will adopt
FIFA’s policy for Euro 2012 where existing yellow
cards are scrubbed out after the quarter-finals.
FIFPro spokesman Simon Barker said: “Anybody
committing a serious offence in the semi-final
should be awarded a red card and miss the final.
“But the offences that result in a yellow card do
not justify the serious punishment of missing the
match of your life.”
Barker highlighted the case for Bayern’s David
Alaba for the unfair nature of the ruling — Alaba is
also set to miss the final along with team-mates
Luiz Gustavo and Holger Badstuber.
He said: “For example, Alaba slipped over and
gets the ball kicked against his hand — it is not
right that such a player should miss the
Champions League final because of this.
“Some people say that this will give players the
licence to kick all and sundry during the semi-
final but that is utter nonsense.
“Any serious offence will result in a red card and
that still means exclusion from the final.”
Click to expand...
Story from the sun newspaper. Excellente!
 
Nice saying.

Martin Samuel on Chelsea v Barcelona: No
travesty,Chelsea's defeat of Barcelona was beyond
triumph. To defeat Barcelona over two legs, and to
match them on one incredible night, with 10 men
and no central defenders for the majority of the
game, is a triumph. At the Nou Camp, Chelsea
went beyond: beyond expectation, beyond
imagination, beyond what was believed possible
given the events of the night.

Martin Samuel on Chelsea v Barcelona,says if it
was that simple,Manchester United and Arsenal
wouldn't have failed: "You think the rest of football
has not been trying to do what Chelsea did at the
Nou Camp for the best part of five years?
Manchester United have not been able of late; nor
Arsenal. All those armchair coaches and pundits
who sneer at Chelsea's lack of ambition would not
know where to start given the same task."

Martin Samuel on people saying Chelsea were
lucky against Barcelona: "People count the goal
attempts but if you see the shots on
targets,Barcelona just had 6 to Chelsea's 3.You
cannot be lucky for three hours against Barcelona.
Not without travelling beyond. "

Martin Samuel on people criticizing Chelsea's tactics
against Barcelona: "If it was so easy to concede
possession and play on the counter attack against
the greatest team in the world for three hours,
every manager would marshal his players that
way, win, and Barcelona would not be regarded as
this pinnacle of excellence, this whirlwind of ability
and fantasy. If Barcelona were so comfortably
negated just by sticking a few men behind the ball,
phrases like tiki-taka and the passing carousel
would not have passed into football's lexicon and
Lionel Messi would not draw comparison with the
all-time greats."
Click to expand...
 
Maybe they're too stubborn to accept doing it now. We'll probably see it happening next season. In case they did do something now though, I'd be pleasantly surprised.
 
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