Chelski build up...

[RedReet]

Lets get real here people, if we go out for the draw with the way we're defending at present then we're ****ed.
2 or 3 years ago when we were solid in defence we maybe could of got away with it but not now.
Besides we have players capable of causing them plenty of problems.
Attack, attack, attack.

Jonhson against Cole should be interesting.

[Craig_H]

Lets get real here people, if we go out for the draw with the way we're defending at present then we're ****ed.
2 or 3 years ago when we were solid in defence we maybe could of got away with it but not now.
Besides we have players capable of causing them plenty of problems.
Attack, attack, attack.

Yeah, cos when you're defending poorly, the thing to do is abandon all defence and go all out attack.

That certainly wont leave you open to be ripped apart, would it?

[Marky]

nobody has said we will go out for a draw........allt hat has been said is some would settle for a draw. Me included

Fair enough, i'd take a draw all day long.
If we lose i really fear for us.
It's a cliche but we need our big players to stand up and be counted
- Carragher, Mascherano, Kuyt, Gerrard, Torres.

[RedReet]

Yeah, cos when you're defending poorly, the thing to do is abandon all defence and go all out attack.

That certainly wont leave you open to be ripped apart, would it?

It’s not about abandoning the defence. It’s about not giving Chelsea too much respect and taking the game to them.

We did it against Bara in the Nou Camp the other year and United last year.

[red g]

we certainly need to be at them for the first twenty minutes not let them settle. done it before at stamford bridge

[Craig_H]

It’s not about abandoning the defence. It’s about not giving Chelsea too much respect and taking the game to them.

We did it against Bara in the Nou Camp the other year and United last year.

And Chelsea last year, no?

Did we go all out attack that day? No we did not. It was controlled, composed and emphatic.

[Marky]

Yeah, cos when you're defending poorly, the thing to do is abandon all defence and go all out attack.

That certainly wont leave you open to be ripped apart, would it?

Yes we'll have to sit tight and defence on occasions but what i'm saying is we can't go out and let Chelsea have the ball all game and plant the defence 10 yards away from Reina.
We're conceding goals left, right and centre and scoring for fun and therefore it makes sense for us to be a little more adventurous on sunday.

[Craig_H]

Yes we'll have to sit tight and defence on occasions but what i'm saying is we can't go out and let Chelsea have the ball all game and plant the defence 10 yards away from Reina.
We're conceding goals left, right and centre and scoring for fun and therefore it makes sense for us to be a little more adventurous on sunday.

Yeah but you're talking as if the only two options are "letting Chelsea have the ball all game and plant the defence 10 yards away from Reina" or "attack attack attack".

Which is silly, there's obviously a middle ground. We did neither of those two things last year, and won comfortably.

[Marky]

And Chelsea last year, no?

Did we go all out attack that day? No we did not. It was controlled, composed and emphatic.

We're a different team this year though, oh and the little problem of our best defender over the past 5 years having a terrible start to the season doesn't help matters. Not to mention the arrival of the naturally attacking Johnson.

[Craig_H]

We're a different team this year though, oh and the little problem of our best defender over the past 5 years having a terrible start to the season doesn't help matters. Not to mention the arrival of the naturally attacking Johnson.

You think we're majorly different from last year?

Based on what you're saying, we'll never be a solid defensive unit again. I think that's nonsense personally. Work needs to be done on the training ground, but 8 games worth doesnt outweigh years of being defensively sound. You dont just become defensively poor just like that.

[DannyMan2006]

Why all the worry?

Prior to last week and way before that I would have thought a six point gap to Chelsea would not be that great a disaster. Thankfully Wigan got a result against them which means the gap to them can not be any greater than the six points after Sundays fixture.

After such a poor start to the season, with poor defending and a far from convincing midfield I think we can thank our lucky stars the gap is not greater. Pretty soon we will have Agger and Aquilani in, two guaranteed first teamers going by the seasons early performances.

We just need to make sure the gap does not get any bigger than 6 points prior to January. If we can muster that I fancy us to have a very strong second half of the campaign as I fully expect Aquilani (and Agger) to make a massive difference to our team after he's had a couple of months to settle.

Of course a win or draw with Chelsea would be great, but it's no disaster just yet if we do lose. It just puts greater significance on winning other games, which we'd rather not have.

[red g]

I wonder if Agger should start?

[DannyMan2006]

I wonder if Agger should start?

I don't personally think he should. Ease him back in. That said, playing only 68 minutes or so either suggests he was tired against City, or that they wanted to rest him so he's available for Chelsea. We'll have to see.

[Marky]

I don't mind Lucas but i'd love to see Gerrard start in the middle with Mascherano and
Kuyt, Yossi and Riera ahead of them and behind Torres.

[Marky]

I don't personally think he should. Ease him back in. That said, playing only 68 minutes or so either suggests he was tired against City, or that they wanted to rest him so he's available for Chelsea. We'll have to see.

Nah i don't think he will start. It's good that he got 68 minutes of footy under his belt though.