Chelsea 6-2-0, 20 PTS, 1st Place (+1 GD) Arsenal 6-2-0, 20 PTS, 2nd Place (-1 GD) 3:00 PM Local Time 10:00AM AM EST Live on PPV in the US Beamback at Stamford Bridge Live on Big Blue ChelseaFC.com News on Soccernet TEAMtalk-Chelsea BBC-Chelsea Oh baby...
Does Arsenal have any suspensions stemming from their OT encounter? Or are we still waiting to hear the fallout from that fracas? It would help not to face Viera
4-2-1-3 Good time to tinker with the team The team I’d like to see against the Arse. . . Cudicini Johnson Dessaily Terry Bridge Makalele Lampard Veron Mutu Crespo Duff I like to see Chels play an attacking formation against one of the lesser teams. I expect to see big tings from Seba in this one.
Re: 4-2-1-3 We haven't won at the Arse for so long, we might as well just go for it. IF we lose with this team, we can say we tried and its early in the year and we never expected to win at Arse anyways, etc, etc. And IF we win, well Everything will be peachy keen
Please no... Without Vieira in the middle for them we only need two CM's to dominate the middle of the pitch. I think our back 4 + Mak should be able to hold them off and the best way to beat the Arse is to put their fullbacks under pressure so I'd go with Carlo Johnson, Terry, Gallas, Bridge Gronkjaer, Lampard, Makalele, Duff Crespo, Gudjohnsen Subs: Mutu, Geremi, Huth, JFH, keeper 2 wingers to attack the flanks and feed the strikers, with Guddy playing a bit off of Crespo to hold the ball up and allow Crespo and the midfield to make runs past the defense. Unfortunately with Gallas' gimpy leg we will need to keep a defender on the bench in case he gets crocked again - so Veron and/or Cole won't be making the bench. Pull Gronks off for Geremi at 60 min when we are already up 2-0. I'm just worried that it will be another of the unheralded Gooners that sinks us like Silvinho, Wiltord, and Toure have done in the past.
Whatever we do, we need wingers against the Arse. Ashley Cole's "defending" is suspect, and their wingers like Pires were never known for going back anyway. I really think that stretching them with Duff and Gronks would work very well. Hopefully if Claudio is experimenting, he can experiment that way. I don't think Veron is going to make the bench anyway - the trainers want him at 100% fitness to face Lazio, I would think.
Even though his performance has been sub par to this point, I am hoping Veron starts. Without Viera destroying things in the middle I think Veron could have a real chance to shine.
With us playing an away game, even without the pressence of Vieira, CR will go for a 4-5-1 formation. Call it a hunch but that's what I feel that we're likely to see tomorrow. I'd prefer 4-4-2 with two wingers tearing down both flanks as both Lauren (on the right) and Ashley Cole (on the left) are both suspect on their defensive abilities. 3-0 to us with Mutu scoring a brace if he starts and Lauren netting an own goal. I'm an optimist, so please ignore the above predictions.
Re: Please no... Yep, Mak and Lamp in the middle for sure. Wingers? Yeah Mutu on the right and Duff on the left, just pushing a little further forward time to attack these gunners and make Wenger cry We are SO due a win, and I think an all out attack, will take them by surprise Just been reading about Chelsea great Kenny Swain in an old Chelsea programme. I never realized he won a European Cup winners medal (when it was the trophy with “big ears”).
Could we have worse luck than Claudio winning manager of the month and Frank winning player of the month? This is a double jinx just before our biggest match of the year.
Re: Could we have worse luck Richly deserved awards though all the same. On a far brighter note, sky are reporting that Veron is unavailable for selection
Back line problems Desailly is definitely not available for selection and Gallas is rated as very doubtful. This is not good news at all.I think that the defence will/would have been what won or lost this game for us.Our ability to contain and limit Henry will now be seriously hindered. And so, i now think we will see a "playing not to lose" selection from Ranieri. 4-5-1 very likely at this point.
Da line up..... ---------------------Cudicini------------- Johnson----- Huth----- Melchiot-------- Bridge Geremi----- Lampard------ Makalele-----Duff --------------Mutu-------- Crespo-------------- Subs: Hasselbaink, Cole, Stanic, Gronkjaer, Ambrosio BacK line looks very very dodgy....point would be a good result now.
Cudicini - the clown What a great save earlier and now what a *#*#*#*# up. You fans must be raging !!!!
Um...thanks for droping by Eamonn and pointing that out. Chelsea played quite decent really considering we were away to Arsenal.Point wouldn't have been an unfair result at all on the run of play as a whole. Thats the second really bad howler from Cudicini that has led directly to a goal this season-i wonder if ol' Roman will now order the buying of Toldo.Totally inexcuseable error from Cudicini and no matter what way you cut it, he is largely to blame for the defeat--not totally though as we still failed to match or exceed their goal tally with ours. Lots of positives from the game and it was really a decent game to watch.This Chelsea team is getting better and better as games progress in to the season.Only a deflected goal and a *#*#*#*# up beat us as opposed to being outclassed on the field of play.But, these things happen in each and every game and the onus was still on us to score again rather than be sorry about what happened.Arsenal have a quality side, this cannot be denied, but, on the evidence of our display against that qulaity side, so do we. We stuck with them and held our own.The absence of any of the back line is irrelevant really as Arsenal had key players missing too. I don't feel bitter that Arsenal won-i feel pissed off that we were good enough to come away with a result, yet, we still didn't.No matter though as it's early yet and Arsenal will lose somewhere down the line and we'll win on the same day.
Johnson's handball cost us the first goal..... then Cudicini struck for Arse in the second half...... my heart just missed a beat. Melch played brilliantly in central role..... Crespo is in full match fitness (the goal was better than Pires' goal). Lampard was not instrumental. Duff should've finished the game. Mutu was not his best. Everyone else played well. It's still quite an open contest, don't lose heart and faith. The next time we meet Arse, I'll still stick to my prediction that we'll win 3-0. Cheers.
I didn't think that Crespo and Mutu had an especially good game together.Gudjohnson may have been the better partner for Crespo-but, they were bought to be the strike force ofthe future and a few more games together may be all they need. The midfield looks to have settled in three players for every week selection....Duff-Lampard-Makelele, though Makelele needs a few more games in the league to adjust to the pace of it. Geremi looks a shadow of the player that played last season for the Boro.
yeah, serhiy rebrov came cheap and did wonders for the Spurs. Its an unfortunate result, but when our worst result so far this year in the league is a close 2-1 loss at Highbury that we could have conceivably won, I can't feel too bad about it. We'll get them when they come to the Bridge, that's all.
Blackburn Rovers won the Premiership when they spent, and Arsenal the double in 96 when they spent. And Chelsea are doing quite well also. Still not convinced? I wonder what the score would've been if Ambrosio was in goal... Probably 1-1, my predction in the EPL Prediction game! Darn Cudicini...
Lets have a competition for the stupidest comment posted about the loss. I think this one will be hard to top.
Buying success is where your team have no real history of being succesful and the core (5-6 well-re-known players) of the winning team is bought that summer. I hardly think you could honestly state that Arsenal bought success in 97/98 when Vieira was bought the previous season, Petit was bought for £2.5M, Anelka was an untried 17 year old bought for £500,000 and Overmars as the only major purchase, had been crocked for nearly a year before Wenger decided to take a risk on him. Your skating on thin ice there, methinks. It's certainly nothing like spending £110M on 12 players in 3 months. If Ambrosio had been in goal you'd have probably have lost by a bigger margin, as before his rickett he was keeping you in the game.
Originally posted by its_only_ray_parlour Your skating on thin ice there, methinks. It's certainly nothing like spending £110M on 12 players in 3 months. That stands to reason there fella. Massive upheavel with all those new players we got.However, i believe he does have a point as it was generally believed that petit and vieira were the major force in your trophy haul that season. Both playes having recently been brought in. Originally posted by its_only_ray_parlour If Ambrosio had been in goal you'd have probably have lost by a bigger margin, as before his rickett he was keeping you in the game. Tounge in cheek post by him.I'm sure you get his point. "keeping us in the game"---c'mon now mate, you know that's wide of the mark.