Do we actually want to beat Chelsea?

[Richard_Cadette]

Its their general arrogance and lack of grace especially under Mourinho that gets under my nose, oh and Drogba is a complete nob aswell!

I don't believe there is anything wrong with being arrogant, as long as you have the goods to back it up, and they clearly do. Drogba is tupical of every Premiership pri-madonna, but there is no getting away from the fact he is an awesome player who we would all dearly love in our team.

I imagine a lot of football fans are jealous of the position Chelsea are in - I know I'd certainly like to be slugging it out at the top of the Premiership rather than a mid table clash with Hartlepool on a Friday night just before Christmas!!

 

[bucket&spade.f.c]

But why do they need to be mutually exclusive? Just because we have a decent cup run, it doesn't mean that we have to sacrifice our league position? I don't see why it has to be an either/or situation.

As it turns out, with the squad we have at the moment, we don't have a cat in hells chance of doing either, but I certainly won't be thinking if we beat Chelsea it means we can't be successful in the league.

dont ever remember me saying that we would beat chelsea as we never would,

the question i was what would you rather?

 

[Sammy The Shrimp]

More chance of Vanessa Feltz winning Miss World than us beating Chelsea.

Like the optimism. How worried would you get if we did win, Vanessa Feltz would win Miss World. Thats like putting a Miss World sash on a camells arse.

 

[BrettieAngell]

I don't believe there is anything wrong with being arrogant, as long as you have the goods to back it up, and they clearly do. Drogba is tupical of every Premiership pri-madonna, but there is no getting away from the fact he is an awesome player who we would all dearly love in our team.

I imagine a lot of football fans are jealous of the position Chelsea are in - I know I'd certainly like to be slugging it out at the top of the Premiership rather than a mid table clash with Hartlepool on a Friday night just before Christmas!!

Did I forgot to mention that I'm also a Liverpool fan?

 

[Richard_Cadette]

dont ever remember me saying that we would beat chelsea as we never would,

the question i was what would you rather?

You didn't say it explicitly, but by implication, to reach the cup final we would have to beat Chelsea. All I said was why would it need to be mutually exclusive? Why could we not do both?

I'm fairly confident we will do neither, but there you go! :)

 

[Richard_Cadette]

Did I forgot to mention that I'm also a Liverpool fan?

Now that is a team I absolutely HATE!!!

I have no logical reason for that feeling, perhaps it was their domination in the 80's when I was growing up, but I simply can't stand them!!

 

[BrettieAngell]

Now that is a team I absolutely HATE!!!

I have no logical reason for that feeling, perhaps it was their domination in the 80's when I was growing up, but I simply can't stand them!!

:D :D

Stop defending Chelsea then!

 

[sufcintheprem]

Sorry, but what hangover? Before we played them we hadn't won a game in 12 league outings. After playing them we were starting to see a glimmer of hope with two home draws and what swung things against us then was Duguid's Famouse Dive. Even so we then went on to take 19 points from the next 13 games after Col Ewe.

I see no evidence of a hangover, quite the opposite.

Exactly, we were playing terribly really but had just started to get the defence right, albeit by playing a third centre back in midfield so as not to upset Clarke/Barrett when a better defender was brought in.

It's probably to do with the perceived impact it had on Eastwood.

EDIT - I must have somehow deliberately forgotten how bad it was after that - 1 goal in the next 5 games!

 

[Southend Neil]

Couldn't agree more. I have no idea where this illusion comes from to be honest. I remember Brushy saying at the end of our Championship season that it did us no favours beating Manchester United, and we may have fared better had we not. I think that's rubbish.

I don't doubt that sometimes you can get a case of 'After the Lord Mayor's show' in the next game, but to suggest it has any adverse affect on any games subsequent to that is nonsense.

If you can beat a top team like Manchester United, or in this case, Chelsea, it can have a massive effect on the morale and confidence of the team. Look at how well Burnley have done since beating Chelsea, clminating in them beating Derby 3-0 and Arsenal 2-0 this week. That should be proof enough what beating Chelsea can do to your teams fortunes.

Quite right. I feel that a big cup result is often almost a subconscious excuse used by players and management for subsequent poor league form.

However I think we barely have a chance of this becoming an issue mainly because of the centre half partnership.
We saw that with a bit of luck we could hold out against Man U and Spurs first time around, however in the 2nd Spurs match the Barrett/Clarke partnership simply couldn't handle it and we looked like conceding at every attack. I would be very surprised if we concede less than 3.

 

[Richard_Cadette]

Quite right. I feel that a big cup result is often almost a subconscious excuse used by players and management for subsequent poor league form.

However I think we barely have a chance of this becoming an issue mainly because of the centre half partnership.
We saw that with a bit of luck we could hold out against Man U and Spurs first time around, however in the 2nd Spurs match the Barrett/Clarke partnership simply couldn't handle it and we looked like conceding at every attack. I would be very surprised if we concede less than 3.

Yep, the second game wasn't pretty watching from a Southend perspective, and in the end, we did well to keep it down to 3. In fairness though, I'd say that was more about our inability to keep hold of the ball in midfield for more than 2 passes. We were like rabbits in headlights, and I think we need to add into that we lacked the surprise element second time round.

In the first game we were a match for them, and part of that may have been down to them knowing little about us - second time round, I think they knew all they needed to know, and it showed.

I think we could get a tonking at Chelsea, but then again, their home form this season will be a cause for concern for them, and oddly enough, with the way they play, I'm happier about it being at the Bridge than I am at Roots Hall.

 

[sufcalways]

Absolutely 100%! Silly question tbh.. We didn't deserve to be in the championship that season, and we are good enough to get out of league one. So that 'long term' stuff will not happen this season once we beat chelsea :)

UTB!

 

[sufcintheprem]

I would be very surprised if we concede less than 3.

The thought of Drogba running up against our defenders or defending corners against the likes of Ballack is pretty worrying. I think our midfielders will have to have an absolute blinder for us to stand any chance. I imagine we would start the match at about 40s to win. Chelsea to win by more than two would probably be about evens I expect.

 

[sufcalways]

The thought of Drogba running up against our defenders or defending corners against the likes of Ballack is pretty worrying. I think our midfielders will have to have an absolute blinder for us to stand any chance. I imagine we would start the match at about 40s to win. Chelsea to win by more than two would probably be about evens I expect.

Impossible is nothing. ;)

 

[South Bank Hank]

Views on post-big-match hangovers aside, win, draw or lose, this fixture is nothing but fantastic news for our club and all of its supporters, those that go every week and those that only come out for the big games.

If we win, it'll be even bigger than our Manchester United win and we'll talk about it for years. If we draw, we'll get to bring one of the best sides in Europe back to the Hall for a second crack (and what an atmosphere that would produce).

It's the rare chance to see the team we love play a top side in a great stadium in a competitive fixture. It's a great opportunity to see our less celebrated players raise their games to somehow compete against "them from the telly". It's the prospect of seeing just how good some of these top world-class players really are, not by watching them compete against other world-class players but watching them compete against our very own. And it's a time to put on a grand display of support for our team and our club.

To answer the question of the thread and whether or not we want to beat them, of course we do for all the reasons given by other posters above. However, in truth, all I hope is that we can enjoy the day and see our team give a good account of themselves (which of course includes avoiding a complete tonking!)

 

[Nobby Snide]

I think a humiliating 5 or 6 nil defeat to Chelsea could really kick start our season.

this is a fear I have too, which is why I said, lets put out the reserves and juniors, then it wouldnt matter, and we still get paid.

Of course, it wont happen, and we'll bravely lose after our stubborn defence collapses after fifteen minuites..(I'm being generous).

Although it will be a great day out for the fans, and we may get some cash from the event, we musnt get too hung up on the result and neither should the management and players.

Enjoy the day

 

[Sammy The Shrimp]

I see it being a real pony match, 0 - 0 through to about 80 mins then we get a stupid decision go against us and Lampard or Drogba score. i dont think we will get smashed as the players will probably do what they did against Man u and up their game (quite substantially)

 

[Jonny_Stokes]

The last time we beat Chelski away in the Cup, we ended up going on a fantastic League run and only failed to get promoted to the top flight on goal difference.

No, I wasn't born.

Anyway, of course you want to win the game. Think about the exposure, having to buy every paper because whoever scored the winner is plastered all over the back pages. You might not ever even see Southend play Chelsea again, let alone beat them. Do it and enjoy it.

 

[Richard_Cadette]

I think after reading all of the posts on this subject, and contributing to a few, I think the only way we can view this game is in a totally positive way. There is absolutely nothing bad about this draw for us, absolutely nothing.

We can all summise what effect it may have on our season should we pull of a shock result, or get stuffed 6-0, but that is equally likely of any game - should we got to Leicester tomorrow and win 2-0, it could see us embark on a long unbeaten run taking us to the top of the league. We could, equally, lose it 5-0 and slump towards the bottom of the league.

I doubt the result, whichever way it goes, will have much effect on the outcome of our season, apart from maybe financially. We all have our doubts about the strength and quality in our squad right now, and unless that is improved upon in January, I would suggest that even the most die hard optimists among us believe it will be a real stretch for us to compete for promotion, or the play offs this season.

With that in mind, this is a totally free game, and a complete bonus for all of us in what may otherwise turn out to be a very mediocre season. From the moment I jump on tha train until the final whistly, I intend to savour every moment of it, because for clubs like ours, and fans like us, games like this are few and far between, and they make all the other rubbish that comes along totally worth while.

Whatever happens, we won't be humiliated - how can we be? One of their players could buy our entire playing staff, ground, training facilities and anything else relating to the club, so the fact we're going to be on the same pitch as them is a wonder in itself. If we lose 7-0, who will care? Of course we all want us to win, and nobody likes losing, but it's a free game - and one in which we can't lose whatever the outcome.

 

[Swiss Tony]

Win or lose,lets all have a disco,remember the saints and donny experience.

 

[Skyblue]

The trouble with playing Chelsea is, that if one of our players has a good game against them they would probably want to buy him!. I remeber the last time we met many moons ago they nicked Bill Garner off us shortley after, arguably the best centre forward the club has had.