OhForAGreavsie

They say you can only truly hate what you once loved so perhaps it's because I never loved Frank that I don't feel any bitterness towards him now. Forget the loan, Frank is at City because his contract at Chelsea ran out. If Chelsea had wanted Frank enough to offer him a new deal he found acceptable, he'd still be here. Since we didn't do that, he left. That's all fine in my book. City or no City, Frank would never have ranked among my favourite players but nothing he does for Man City will sully his Chelsea legacy as far as I'm concerned. Frank is entitled to pursue his career and, be honest, it would be remarkable if he was not at least a little bit motivated by wanting to show Chelsea that that'd made a mistake. Personally, I don't think we made a mistake but that's irrelevant, it's what the man himself thinks that counts. While he was here, that man did what he did, and we won what we won. His legacy is in the book. Let's all just say amen and leave it at that.

It is not a mockery of FFP. It is only a mockery of what we think FFP should be. FFP is not, not, not what we think it should be. As you have pointed out, it is formulated in such a way as to benefit the old money clubs. When United use a system that is designed to help them, in a way that does actually help them, how can that be a mockery? We need to avoid the trap of judging FFP by what we hope it is, rather than by what it really is. FFP is not, was not, and was never intended to be, fair. If we don't like the way United have behaved, blame the people who wrote the regulations, not the club. The club did nothing wrong. I didn't say Jose was wrong to point out that Financial Fair Play is a misnomer*, of course it is misleadingly named, it should really be called Financial Unfair Play. What I said Jose got wrong was the claim that FFP was ever intended to be fair, it was not. Indeed, if FFP was intended to be fair, our club would probably have voted against it, instead of supporting it enthusiastically as we have done. *Steve Claridge and other idiot footballers please note; the word "misnomer" is correctly used in the sentence above. It would be nice if, just once, you used it correctly too!

Jose is not spot on at all. He is entirely wrong to claim that FFP was ever intended to be fair. It was no such thing. It was introduced at the behest of the big clubs (MP has said this) to protect their positions and stuff everybody else*. ManU have not made a mockery of FFP. Their spending was utterly and completely within the rules. What they have done is fine, it is the regulations that are wrong but everybody has known that for a long time. * To be clear, Platini said the clubs asked for FFP, he did not admit that it was set up to protect the big clubs. That part is just obvious from the way the regulations are designed.

If he isn't then maybe he should be.

Must win. Non-negotiable. Win the FA Cup? Win the Champions League? Stuff those: - Beat These!!!!

Really I'm completely calm about this performance and result. Jose and the team have surpassed our expectations so far and have more than earned our continued support when they turn in a sub-par performance. This isn't our first uninspiring outing but then are we perfect? I don't think anyone here ever thought that we were. Do any of our players need to be told that they didn't do it today? Every single one of them knows it already. Honestly, I've never felt less like giving anyone any stick about a display. My message to the Boss and his squad is dust yourselves down, get your feet up and we'll see you Wednesday.

I think they've had their fair share of criticism this season so I don't begrudge them a single syllable of the praise they're getting. As for Gus, his game plan was very effective so well played to him too.

Very, very pleased to have gotten out of there with a point in the end. The force was simply not with us today. This has been a nice reminder for the squad and fans that we are not the unstoppable machine that the media want to cast us as. When we are at something less than our best, other sides can, and do, cause us problems. Even the enforced benching for Diego on Wednesday night looks like it might do us good. Obviously disappointed that we underperformed but genuinely happy with the point given the circumstances.

Spot on. Is it getting to the point though where you'd take a point and go home? I'm nearly there I must say.

OK, I understand your point of view.

I think they're executing the right game plan and doing it brilliantly.

Get Costa off. - He's not playing well - His presence is firing the home fans up - Those fans could very well push the officials into issuing a red card. - Remy will suit the game situation every bit as well as Costa today, probably better.

For me it must come down to the eating of the puddings; 04/05 2, 14/15 0 (to date), so I dismiss the claims of the current squad. They are welcome to reapply for consideration once they've actually won something.

If he stays fit it looks virtually certain that Messi will overtake Greavsie but Jimmy's records are remarkable all the same. For example, he scored 9 goals in 14 appearances for Milan at a time when Catenaccio was king, and when 1-0 was considered a high scoring game in Italy. His 41 league goals for us in 1960/61 (40 appearances) is still our single season record, and remember Greaves spent his entire Chelsea career carrying a relegation-calibre side virtually on his own. As soon as he left we were relegated. Wayne Rooney has now surpassed Greavsie's tally of goals for England but it took him an extra 44 games to do it. Forty-four! It saddens me sometimes that many Chelsea fans seem unaware that one of football's all-time greats was a youth product of this club, and that they frequently give a different answer to the one I offer when asked to name the best Chelsea player ever. Hazard? Wonderful, love him. Zola? Magical, love him. The King? Forever my favourite player, but the best? There really is only one answer to that question, and it's not even close. At his peak Jimmy Greaves was, by miles, the best at his position and would have been an almost unanimous pick for everybody's World XI. England's greatest ever goal scorer, arguably the best pure finisher who ever lived, Jimmy remains one of only two genuinely world class footballers to have come through at Chelsea. Oh for a Greavsie indeed.

On this, it would be true to say that you and I disagree very strongly.

I get why people are still interested, I am myself to a small degree but I don't think we should get too exercised about this discussion. After all, just about all of us accept that Rom is not good enough for Chelsea and that therefore he made the right decision to leave. As for whether Rom was worth £28m, I would not have paid that, or even half as much, for him. I simply would not have signed him at all but I speak as a Chelsea fan, thinking of Chelsea's needs. I would however find it hard to look Martinez in the eye and tell him that I think I know his job better than he does. It was Everton's money to spend and they spent it. Good luck to them and good luck, most of all, to Rom. I wish only the best for him.

Second. (Everton)

Ah, OK. Thanks.

Do we know why Remy wasn't involved last night?

Maybe Benfica's biggest contribution to Matic's development was their coach's brilliant realisation that the Serbian's best role is CM, not AM. Matic might not have earned a place in their side as an AM. Indeed I read that he was not a regular until he was switched to CM. Since the switch however, it's a whole other story. By the way, Matic was at Benfica for 3 years not 4.

Your opinion is legitimate of course but I must say that I hate this thread. This team has won absolutely nothing yet so they do not deserve to be compared with any great sides. If they manage to bring home a trophy, there will be plenty of time to indulge in all the comparisons we want.

And one of the names missing from your list may actually be the best of the current crop; Charlay Mousonda is a heck of a footballer. Not as good on the dribble as Boga but extremely effective at it all the same and a better passer too. Mousonda is more versatile than our young Frenchman in that he could also play CM, the best performance I've seen him give was playing the 'Modric' role in an U21 game. Not that he wants to play there, or even been used in that position again as far as I'm aware, but someone in the club must have logged that display in the back of their mind; it was spectacularly good. Since you talked about players you 'want' to see make it here, and not about those who you think 'will' make it, I'll add the name Charlie Colket. A lovely footballer, it'd be brilliant to see him come through. Charlie will surely make it as a professional but whether that'll be with Chelsea, whether it'll be Chelsea for any of these lads, remains to be seen. It's hard not to be excited about the talents we have on the rise but we all know Arsenal fans who prattled on for years about the kids they supposedly had coming through. Next to nothing came of it so it's feet on the ground for us as much as it needs to be for the young men themselves.

First of all, let's hope we get through and that we do have the problem of twice weekly matches to contend with. I Understand what you're saying but seven game-weeks is not an insignificant number. Even if we call it six weeks, since the seventh game, the final itself, is beyond the end of the season, this would still be a factor. I say that because, from the week in which the knock-out phase starts up, there will be eleven game-weeks remaining. During that time we will face at least thirteen league fixtures. That's a third of the season to be played while City have a potential advantage, assuming they fail to qualify. Personally I hope City do make it through and not because I think that helps us, or at least not only because it helps us. I just do want them to progress.

Not just Bayern fans, but every Fan who visits, loves that Stadium. It's fit for purpose, it's beautiful and it's prestigious. Home fans must feel proud every time they walk in. I wish we fans of Engilsh football would stop expecting our clubs to be servants to their grounds, rather than the other way around. Why is it so desperately important that we must continue watching our team at SB, and why must we commit future generations of Chelsea fans to doing the same? I clearly don't have that gene in my make up because I just don't get it.

Clear offside and fully justified decision. The 14 is off and interferes with play by blocking the defender so slowing his attempt to close down the shot. Maybe the officials were sharp enough to see all that, or maybe they just got lucky. Either way the goal was correctly ruled out.