As Jamie literally just said, if you have a striker as good as RVP you literally always have a chance

Let's not forget though, just 6 short days ago, Liverpool fans (and Cornish will obviously back this up), were telling us it's not how you win, as long as you do. Let's see how many are on here by the end of today complaining about Arsenal not deserving it.

Today's game was the story of our season, to be honest. Created a lot, missed a lot, gifted them enough. I only saw the second half as I've been in work, but I seen enough to know we were better than them, but I could say that for pretty much all of our home games this season, the result's tell a different story; we've not been good enough.

I didn't think we were going to get the top 4, but we're now definitely too far off IMO. We simply cannot have a record like ours at home and expect to finish above the top 5 sides (no disrespects Newcastle, but I still think you'll drop a few places between now and the season's end).

Surely questions have to be asked of a manager who wastes £60m on a strike force, and then ends up with the problem that you cite??....

And risk heresy?

Questions are asked, nosey around Liverpool forums and you'll see many fans questioning players and their performances. Many watch us create a lot and just hope it will all come together, i.e. if we keep creating, they'll eventually fly in. At the moment, we're creating so much because we're having to attack for 90 minutes because we aren't killing games, we'd create much less if we managed to get comfortable two or three goal leads.

For me, we lack composure and direction in our attacking play. In the past, we had Gerrard leading our midfield with Torres spearheading the attack, they gave us a direction, a focus and a style, at the moment, when we're desperate, we seem to knock it long and hope their defender misses the header. Every result like this really shows how poor a signing Carroll has been, he only played five minutes today but that speaks volumes about a player amazingly valued at £35m last January. Suarez is an amazing player with a superb natural game, but when he's asked to be a target man, a wide player, a support player and a worker, it really limits his effectiveness.

Well thats no champions league again for the bin dippers next season.

I wonder if all these big name players that Commolli was talking about still want to join their exciting project thats been the talk of europe.

https://twitter.com/#!/32Red_LFC trouble @ mill? Probably all bollhooks or lost in translation

https://twitter.com/#!/32Red_LFC trouble @ mill? Probably all bollhooks or lost in translation

action.joinmust.org/footballreform

action.joinmust.org/footballreform

After a few decent performances it was back to normal for Wigan today. God awful.

Agreed on that Conroy.

I don't think we have it in us to stay up again. Whelan just seems to be accepting defeat and preparing for the drop. Frustrating really, for a club that was always noted for its fight and grit.

AVB potted, lion heart for manager?

Fat Rafa supposedly seen out with Bruce Buck last night

Harsh on AVB for me. I still think we'd make the top 4 if he was in charge. Unfortunatly the likes of Cole, Lamps, JT etc have managed to get rid. IMO AVB had a difficult job with the senior players, too many are too old now but they still expected to get picked every week.

Jose

Chelsea are hilarious

I suppose that means Lampard won't be going to the Euros. He'll be too busy interviewing potential managers.

Small club existing above their station, on the back of power-mad, ego-crazy Russian......It can only end in tears for whoever takes over.

The Chelsea job is the classic poisoned chalice as long as Abramovich remains in charge.....He needs to take a massive reality check and realise that some clubs are just bigger and just as competitive as his.

I can only believe that he was very, very spoilt as a child, because he doesn't take defeat very well and has no grasp on the simple fact, that sometimes you can't win everything all the time.

Quite. One texter to the BBC Sport website reckons AVB ''ruined my club''... Chelsea are 5th in the top division in England, it's not like they're in the same position as say a Port Vale or Darlington. Modern day fans of the Sky-created ''Big Four'' seem to think that success is now their given right because Sky/Talksport/the media says so. Some of them need a damn good reality check, and they need to see that there are probably 86 worse-off clubs than their own. Idiots

Its only the new "fans" who expect Chelsea to win everything.

I was really pleased with AVB coming to Chelsea a young manager who i honestly thought would be given time.

So where next for Chelsea:

Young manager who has won domestic and European titles.
Young manager with decent experience and has won domestic and European titles.
Experienced manager who has won domestic and European titles.
Experienced manager who has won European and World championships.

Scandalous that Utd should be leading at HT. Been a distant second to Spurs.

Spurs dominated possession, but created little. United created one chance and scored.

Looking like two big failures in big games in a week for Harry, he's doing his best to show he's the man for England.

I don't think I've seen a bigger "berk" as an owner chairman, since Peter Swales was at City

Fair enough, they both backed their managers with all the money they can spend, but, they just want instant success, and it just doesn't happen like that..

The sacking of Anchelotti was the icing on Abramovich's cake. How do you sack a manager, within a year of a domestic double? UNBELIEVABLE.

It's a brave, brave man that takes this job on now.

The worrying thing for me (in this episode) is player power.
We saw it all with Liverpool, last year. It was evident that Liverpool's players just wouldn't play for Hodgson, yet, within days of King Kenny's return, the players were "busting a gut".
In the Chelsea corner, you have the Cockney mafia of Terry and Lampard, who just wouldn't take to him
Anelka, outcast within weeks
Drogba, future uncertain
Cole, dropped for big games......nearly half the team, deadset against him.

Benitez would sort Chelsea out. They need to get rid of Terry, Lampard and Drogba and build a new spine.

For age and 'other' reasons.