OhForAGreavsie

Just to ease my fears, I googled 'The King of Stamford Bridge' and was relieved to see wall to wall hits for Ossie. I only scrolled through the first few pages of results but, that far at least, there were no hits on Drogba. I did see The King play so it sounds like I'm older than you, I'd guess quite a bit older. What Chelsea fans come to think and feel in the future will be decided by the younger fans of course and what I want won't come into it. Even so, as I said, I really would hate this particular tradition to be thrown away. The title 'The King of Stamford Bridge' is not, in my opinion, a transferable one. It absolutely should be a one man show. It's not about who is currently the best loved or most talented player; it's about a personality who has been anointed by fans to embody, for all time, the spirit of the club. In the same way that Bekenbauer will always be 'Der Kaiser', Ali will always be 'The Greatest', and Jose 'The Special One'; Ossie will always be The King. At least I hope so.

As Chelsea fans, we all share in the Drogba worship but I'd hate to loose the tradition where The King means one man, and one man only. 'King Didier', 'King Drog', or even 'the current King' work for me but I'd like to think that the title, 'The King' is permanently taken. From what Didier has said in the past I think he agrees.

Thanks. Great news.

Has there been news that Remy's injury is not as bad as we've been led to believe? (P.S. I thought it was 'Borges da Sila' but I'll be grateful to be corrected if I'm wrong about the way Willian's name is correctly described.)

Wow I'm out of touch. Again I thought Matic was clear man of the match but again he's way behind in the voting. Oh well, suppose I'll have to watch more closely in future.

Based on the choices Jose has made so far this season, it seems that RLC is behind one or two of the other youngsters and I can't say I'm surprised. That run against Schalke is the first impressive thing I've seen from him for a long time. Mind you it was also the most impressive thing I've seen from anybody for a long time. This is the heart of the matter with Ruben. His talent is stratospheric but when I watch him play he almost always strolls around doing nothing much. I would bet quite a lot that Jose and/or Adi have had a talk with him; the Hazard talk. There is absolutely no point being better than everybody else unless you use your ability to hurt the opposition. As far as I can tell Ruben uses his mostly to look pretty. If Jose gets through to him, he'll have a great career and we'll have a great player but it's a long, long way from being a given.

Lots of stuff crammed into a relatively short, but enjoyable, post. Thank you. I also have doubts about Remy but was hugely encouraged by his performance at Selhurst Park. I thought he displayed good control, linked well and demonstrated a useful amount of power. Not to mention that he forced some important fouls. If he replicates that level of output each time he's called on I'll be absolutely delighted. I do agree with you however that he is what he is now. His form may rise and fall but his basic level isn't going to shift up at this stage. On the point about us being able to do better in the second striker market, I wonder if there was any player who would: Match Remy's output.Accept the backup role.Be available at a backup striker price and preferably for around the £10m that Remy cost.Sign for a similar wage packet. (Not that I have any idea how much Remy actually earns.)I've a feeling there might be some players who would pass all of those tests but they'd have to be unknowns I think. No 'name' striker is likely to have fitted all of those criteria. On The Drog, I'd add that he was already below the desired standard when he left, which was why he left of course. I think we'd all agree that he must be here because he offers something which Jose felt was important; something that does not depend only on Didier being in the XI. The situation with the defence is really interesting. As ever it's a battle of the competing priorities. Given that more possession and more fluidity naturally draws players forward the back four is automatically going to be more exposed. Jose's comments in his presser today suggest that he's happy about the balance at the moment but I suspect he'll still feel compelled to employ the 'low block' against the major sides. People claim that using the low block will be Jose reverting to type but I don't buy it. He'll press and attempt to dominate possession if he feels he can win that way but the supreme, lovable pragmatist that he is will always do what it takes to win. It's just that we're not yet good enough to go toe-to-toe with the very best and expect to prevail often enough.

1. All this media chatter about the possibility of our team going unbeaten is self-serving drivel spewed by pathetic media types. They have newspapers or broadcast schedules to fill and that's the sole reason they write or speak about it. They don't believe it's actually going to happen any more than we do. 2. Of all the reasons being given for why we won't go unbeaten the one which has, so far, been conspicuous by its absence is the fact that the 03/04 Arsenal team was indeed genuinely brilliant. Cesc is right to say that our side is not at their level and he deserves no criticism for speaking the truth.

Not, as I understand it, without a change in the law. As far as I know, the law requiring Premier League clubs to have all-seater stadia is still in place.

It didn't sound like we totally out sung them on the telly but it did sound great. In fact the atmosphere produced by both sets of fans seemed brilliant on TV.

Well to me he looks extremely impressive in that video. It certainly makes me want to see more of him to discover if that vid represents his true level. Love his appreciation of momentum; the way he calmly touches the ball into an area where the opponent's movement can't get to. Reminds me of Nathan Ake who also does that. Whether Silva is worth spending money on however needs a lot more information.

Doubt anyone could have guessed he'd turn out to be the best football analyst in the country but I never understood the hate which was aimed at him during his playing days. I always said that if you could put Gary Neville's brain into Glen Johnson's body you'd have the best right-back who ever lived. I also felt that he made a major contribution to United's success beyond just being a reasonable player. In my opinion United had not one, but two, of the best captain's who ever lived in Neville and Keane. I think that played a big part in them staying calm and pulling out so many results with late goals. When it comes to Gary Neville I am, and always have been, a huge fan.

Spot on in every respect. Not least about Remy. One of his contributions was the turn and run, using strength and good control to maintain possession, before laying off a simple but effective pass which ultimately caused to the second goal. I had expressed doubts about whether Remy would add enough to the squad. His goals record is acceptable but what else would he offer? Well, I'm delighted to say that, based on today's evidence, my doubts were misplaced. Badly misplaced. Remy linked well, his touch was good, his turns were sharp and he drew fouls, including both yellows that caused the sending off. I'm pretty optimistic about what he might do for us.

At time of posting Matic has just four MoM votes. Can't believe it; absolutely fantastic today.

William Gallas has announced his retirement. Irrespective of the way in which his time here came to an end, Gallas was a brilliant player and a major contributor to the success we had while he was with us. It's water under the bridge but I'd dearly love to hear both sides of the story regarding the breakdown of the relationship between 'Billy' and CFC. * I visually checked for a William Gallas thread and also used the search facility before starting this one. Apologies if I've somehow managed to miss a pre-existing version.

£6? You must be a youngster. It was 50p when I started.

That's really interesting. I get a bit of a buzz, I can't deny it but nowhere near what it used to be back in the old 'Shed' days. The total thrill I used to get walking up the big steps at the Britannia gate entrance was amazing. Reaching the top and taking your first glimpse of the grass, or more often the mud, seeing the corner flags fluttering and the floodlights warming up was intoxicating. The highlight of the week was about to begin. It also took longer in the old days. You queued to get in and, if it was a big game, you queued a long time. That all meant you spent longer in the ground before kick-off, getting into the atmosphere of the day. By the time I used to arrive in The Shed back then, I wouldn't even have left home these days. I still love it but it's a very different experience nowadays. I certainly don't get the same excitement from just entering the ground that once I did. Maybe it's to do with age.

I guess my post does read like I'm sticking the knife in and I apologise for that. That wasn't the intention. I wish him well. My view was, and is, that Rom's attributes WILL allow him to carve out a career but his lack of technical ability is permanent and this will restrict the level of club which will see him as a first choice option.

I was never a fan of Romelu's and nor did I ever think he had any hope of becoming a top player. Once before someone told me that trying to predict Romelu's future would make me look foolish. In the end, we all see the same evidence, it's just that each of us assesses that evidence in our own way. My assessment leads me to stick to the opinion I formed the very first time I saw him play; Rom can make a contribution but he will never reach the level of a first-choice Chelsea player. So far that prediction has not made me look foolish. If this changes I'll be pleased for the lad but, sadly, I don't expect it to. As I say, I agree with the view ParNolio7 expresses above. Rom can be a competent striker if he structures his game around his strengths and minimises the exposure of his weaknesses. I don't know if the kid is yet ready to accept that he's stuck with his weaknesses but he's bright so, if he hasn't done so yet, he will get there soon enough. It seems likely to take some members of this board a little longer however.

Accepted but I wonder if you agree that Germany's worst atmosphere is better than the Premier League's best? Certainly better than Arsenal's and, come to that, ours.

Yes but mainly no. We are currently in daylight saving. We revert to GMT, a few hours after the ManU game.

I don't have anything against bowls. The Allianz is beautiful and the Emirates ain't bad either. While Arsenal's ground is dead, Bayern's rocks. Atmosphere has more to do with fan attitude than with the style of the ground. Granted 'safe standing' may play a part in Munich but it's still mainly down to the way fans support their team.

Not at all frustrating. Any more.

As a Chelsea fan said before the World Cup, we should sell him ahead of the tournament because his value could only fall as potential buyers saw more of him. Someone also said, during the tournament, that Lukaku spent the summer transforming himself from Belgium's second choice striker into Belgium's third choice striker. The only surprise would be if anyone was surprised about that. Many congratulations to CFC for cashing-out so well because there is no such thing as a top quality striker who lacks top level technique. Adequate ones maybe, but top ones no. Rom lacks technique in a big way and anyone waiting for that to change will be disappointed. It isn't going to happen.

^^Sounds to me like Petr's agent doing his work.