Chelsea (A) CC 2nd Leg Build Up

[Liverpool]

Will Rodgers throw Balotelli under the Chelsea bus?

[Slinky Skills]

Dumb and Dumber

To be fair the only one I don't feel massively negative about is Clattenburg.

Gave us 3 pens away at OT, really should have given us 4 which would have been unheard of.

The only reason he didn't is that he'd have been knifed on his way out probably!

[G]

To be fair the only one I don't feel massively negative about is Clattenburg.

He was who I was hoping for but Riley has an issue with him and he's being bombed out a bit. Best ref they have imo.

Oliver looks like a brown nosing ****, right up Rileys ****ter

[Chazza]

He's doing Chelsea v City at the weekend so must be back in the good books

[frank the tank]

Oliver is a cunt....

[Chazza]

Jose Mourinho will recall his star players for Chelsea’s Capital One Cup semi-final second leg on Tuesday night after their humiliating FA Cup defeat by Bradford City even though the pivotal Premier League match with Manchester City is also looming on Saturday.

While City have a full week to prepare for the potential decider in what appears to be a two-horse race for the Premier League title, Mourinho has confirmed that Nemanja Matic, Branislav Ivanovic, Diego Costa, Cesc Fabregas and Eden Hazard will all return. Goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois and John Terry, the captain, will also start against Liverpool at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday night.

Mourinho suggested that his players had been complacent on Saturday against a Bradford team he described as not “very good” and clearly expects a different level of focus on Tuesday.

“It’s a knockout game, live or die, against a very good team, which was not the case [on Saturday],” he said. “So maybe the fact that we play against a good team, maybe that will push us on to a different level of concentration and motivation that we couldn’t reach on Saturday.”

Asked if the 4-2 defeat on Saturday from 2-0 ahead would influence his choices, Mourinho said: “My selections always have a relation with *performance. I try always to look at it and be fair with the players.

“I have to analyse the game and see which players deserve more to play but obviously I rest some of them with the intention of playing against Liverpool. So it is easy to understand that Matic, Ivanovic, Costa, Fabregas, Hazard are going to play in the next game.”

Mourinho, though, is still adamant that he did not regret his selections against Bradford, who he inadvertently referred to as Barnsley. “Is there any player in Barnsley, err Bradford, that can play for Chelsea? With all the respect? No. A Chelsea player that should play for them and be the top player for them, yes. So the selection was good. The players should obviously win this game easily.”

The Chelsea manager said that defeat by Bradford would “stay in our history” forever but he was still adamant that it could influence his players positively on Tuesday. “At the end of May we don’t go to Wembley for the FA Cup final. The FA Cup is finished for us. We don’t go even to play the FA Cup semi-final. So to go there should mean a lot to everyone. We are one victory from the final.”

Mourinho said that he would be making no special plans for Raheem Sterling even after his goal in the first leg. “He scored a fantastic goal but I didn’t see too much more than that. I think Chelsea played defensively very well. In that action he was fantastic and we made a couple of mistakes in the way we approached that situation.

“I was frustrated after the first leg because Liverpool gave a lot of space. They play with three defenders, the full-backs are wide. We could hurt them much more than we did there. I was frustrated because normally our midfield is full of quality. Very good quality after losing the ball and we lost so many passes. In that game I saw enough space to score more goals.”

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/chelsea/11371055/Chelsea-v-Liverpool-Jose-Mourinho-recalls-big-guns-despite-looming-clash-with-Manchester-City.html

[Liverpool]

So away goals after extra time? Stupid rule should be either after 90 or not at all.

[Lee]

So away goals after extra time? Stupid rule should be either after 90 or not at all.

Yep it's a bollock of a rule.

[DannyMan2006]

Can't see any way that this would be 0-0 after 90 mins. If it's away goals after 120 it'll be us going through IMO.

[SB]

So if everyone's available I'd like to see

Mig
Can
Skrtel
Sakho
Markovic
Lucas
Henderson
Moreno
Sterling
Gerard or Coutinho
Borini

Subs
Ward
Lovren
Johnson
Gerard or Coutinho
Lallana
Lambert
Allen

[RedReet]

Jose Mourinho will recall his star players for Chelsea’s Capital One Cup semi-final second leg on Tuesday night after their humiliating FA Cup defeat by Bradford City even though the pivotal Premier League match with Manchester City is also looming on Saturday.

While City have a full week to prepare for the potential decider in what appears to be a two-horse race for the Premier League title, Mourinho has confirmed that Nemanja Matic, Branislav Ivanovic, Diego Costa, Cesc Fabregas and Eden Hazard will all return. Goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois and John Terry, the captain, will also start against Liverpool at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday night.

Mourinho suggested that his players had been complacent on Saturday against a Bradford team he described as not “very good” and clearly expects a different level of focus on Tuesday.

“It’s a knockout game, live or die, against a very good team, which was not the case [on Saturday],” he said. “So maybe the fact that we play against a good team, maybe that will push us on to a different level of concentration and motivation that we couldn’t reach on Saturday.”

Asked if the 4-2 defeat on Saturday from 2-0 ahead would influence his choices, Mourinho said: “My selections always have a relation with *performance. I try always to look at it and be fair with the players.

“I have to analyse the game and see which players deserve more to play but obviously I rest some of them with the intention of playing against Liverpool. So it is easy to understand that Matic, Ivanovic, Costa, Fabregas, Hazard are going to play in the next game.”

Mourinho, though, is still adamant that he did not regret his selections against Bradford, who he inadvertently referred to as Barnsley. “Is there any player in Barnsley, err Bradford, that can play for Chelsea? With all the respect? No. A Chelsea player that should play for them and be the top player for them, yes. So the selection was good. The players should obviously win this game easily.”

The Chelsea manager said that defeat by Bradford would “stay in our history” forever but he was still adamant that it could influence his players positively on Tuesday. “At the end of May we don’t go to Wembley for the FA Cup final. The FA Cup is finished for us. We don’t go even to play the FA Cup semi-final. So to go there should mean a lot to everyone. We are one victory from the final.”

Mourinho said that he would be making no special plans for Raheem Sterling even after his goal in the first leg. “He scored a fantastic goal but I didn’t see too much more than that. I think Chelsea played defensively very well. In that action he was fantastic and we made a couple of mistakes in the way we approached that situation.

“I was frustrated after the first leg because Liverpool gave a lot of space. They play with three defenders, the full-backs are wide. We could hurt them much more than we did there. I was frustrated because normally our midfield is full of quality. Very good quality after losing the ball and we lost so many passes. In that game I saw enough space to score more goals.” http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/foo...ster-City.html

I am really curious to see how we do against them again. Even when we were getting the results with 3 at the back last year, I always worried that a better manager would exploit the weaknesses of that system and have had similar concerns this year. I’m hoping that it’s a case of easier said than done, similarly to last year when it seemed our gung-ho approach would soon be found out, but very rarely was.

[ronanm]

So away goals after extra time? Stupid rule should be either after 90 or not at all.

Yes, unfair to away team I'd have thought.

[Venton]

Anyone heading to the match today check trains into Euston. Power is down at Queens Park so lots of delays and cancellations. This may actually have been my fault as I was due to have a meeting in birmingham but prayed for it to be cancelled. The great being cancelled the trains instead which had the same effect. Everyone else on the 7.43 to Glasgow was cursing though. Their gods are weaker.

[ronanm]

Anyone heading to the match today check trains into Euston. Power is down at Queens Park so lots of delays and cancellations. This may actually have been my fault as I was due to have a meeting in birmingham but prayed for it to be cancelled. The great being cancelled the trains instead which had the same effect. Everyone else on the 7.43 to Glasgow was cursing though. Their gods are weaker

[BigChief]

I am really curious to see how we do against them again. Even when we were getting the results with 3 at the back last year, I always worried that a better manager would exploit the weaknesses of that system and have had similar concerns this year. I’m hoping that it’s a case of easier said than done, similarly to last year when it seemed our gung-ho approach would soon be found out, but very rarely was.

This has to rank up there with the ghost goal rubbish he spouts. If this and if that. Go ahead and exploit the flanks then, why do you think we've opened them up so much? Stop playing with two buses parked in front of goal and let Coutinho/Sterling have the space they crave. Money ---> mouth.