Chelsea Buzz

I can now update this for the last 11 matches for each club after tonight's action, except for the cancelled Man City match Chelsea, 8-3-0, 27 of 33 points, 18:4 GD 14 (Draws - at Arsenal 0-0, West Ham 0-0 and at WBA 1-1; No Defeats) Man City, 8-1-1, 25 of 30 points, 27:12 GD 15 (Draws - at Norwich 0-0; Defeats - Chelsea 1-0) Liverpool, 7-2-2, 23 out of 33 points, 32:18 GD 14 (Draws - at WBA 1-1, Aston Villa 2-2; Defeats - at Chelsea 2-1, at Man City 2-1) Arsenal, 6-3-2, 21 out of 33 points, 18:15 GD 3 (Draws - Man Utd 0-0, at Southampton 2-2, Chelsea 0-0; Defeats - at Liverpool 5-1, at Man City 6-3) Liverpool is a bigger threat than "some" may think. They have a lot of key home fixtures down the stretch. Still in it boys! Come on you Chels! :blue scalf:

Okay, we have all had a day to move past the draw yesterday. I still believe we have an advantage in regards to the fixtures. With Arsenal remaining at home (and a little help from Man U today - man does that make me sick to say) and Man City having return road matches at Everton, Arsenal, Man U and Liverpool left to play, we have as good of a chance as any one. The leaders are on a 2.23 points per match pace. That would result in 85 at the end of the season. Maximum points for Arsenal is 94 prior to today's match, Chelsea and Man City is 93 and Liverpool is 89. I think the winner holding the trophy in May will have 85 points or greater, but less than 90. All of the clubs in the top 3 have dropped points against lesser clubs recently. Keep in mind that on the 10th of December after round 15, Arsenal led with 35 points, Liverpool second with 30 (second based on GD), Chelsea third with 30 and Man City fourth with 29. Since then, Chelsea is 8-3-0, 27 out of 33 possible points, and a GD of 14 (18:4). Arsenal is 6-2-2, 20 out of 30 possible points with today's game pending, and a GD of 3 (18:15). Man City is 8-1-1, 25 out of 30 points, and a GD of 15 (27:12) again with today's match pending. Liverpool is 6-2-2, 20 out of 30 possible points, and a GD of 13 (29:16) with today pending. During this stretch, only Man City would have more points and more GD than us, if they win today as expected. BUT, no one is close to our defensive stats of only 4 goals over the past 11 games! No other club has no defeats in during this stretch. Stay at that same pace over the next 11 plus a win at Cardiff the final day and I believe we win the trophy! KTBFFH and come on you Chelsea! :blue scalf:

Thought Torres looked gimpy when he came on. Not sure that was as good of a move as I thought prior to him coming on. Thought Cahill getting dinged late hurt too. All that being said, its going to be a sprint over the final 12 matches. We still have Arsenal at home and Man City has games vs Man U, Arsenal, Liverpool and Everton, ALL on the road. Gotta pick it up and keep moving on. Come on you Chelsea!

I'll take Torres and Shurrle/Salah about now.

Ivanovic! Get in! :blue scalf:

Need to grind one out here before the half to open it up some.

I like the line up as it is our best squad over the past month except for JT being out injured. Can come in with any mix of Lampard, Torres, Shurrle or Mikel depending on the situation. Let's go with Chels in a 3-0 win! Come on you Blues! :blue scalf:

I like this line up for today's match! Ramires and Matic in midfield gives us a nice blend of speed and power. Come on you Chels! :blue scalf:

Agreed. I prefer a Torres return, but let's not rush it. With the chemistry working now, no reason to tinker at this point in the season. Torres can return in the FA Cup. Luiz is much better at midfield then the back line in my opinion as well. Need to jump on these guys quickly and take the fight out of them. Do not let them hand around on their own grounds. Maybe an early strike from Willian or Hazard will get us off to a flying start. Come on you Blues!

Yet another wow. Hazard? What a magician. Top of the Table!! It is great to see midfield become a strength. Matic has been huge in there the past few games. Missed having Luiz in there as well due to Terry's minor injury. I hate to admit it, like others have, but Lampard does struggle at times defensively and passing. He is still lethal on set pieces, but is a bit of a liability in the other areas of the game. Cahill and Azpilicueta had a very solid game as well today. Good to see Salah get on the pitch. He seemed a bit nervous and rushed his play a tad. Got a chance at a very special season. The fixtures remaining favor us a bit vs what the other top 5 clubs have remaining. Come on you Chels!! :blue scalf:

They are ALL important from here on out. Cannot afford to drop any more points, especially at home. Need the 3! I expect something like this Saturday: Cech Iva - Cahill - Terry - Cole Matic - Lampard Schurrle - Oscar - Hazard Eto'o

Wow. Just, wow! Watched it live. Have watched it again. What an arse kicking. The may have owned the time of possession, but that is it. We out played them. Out smarted them. Out hustled them. Out coached them! <-------------- Dude is a wizard with the ball. He is incredible to watch. Jose had the squad primed, tuned up and ready to run tonight. They could not have been better prepared. It was a dream effort for all Blues fans! Did you notice the City players towards the end? Never have I seen so many tongues dragging the ground. They were worn out physically. We ran them to all four corners all night. Matic on Toure was terrific. You could see Jose's plan from the opening kick. Hound Toure and the Cityt midfield. Do not let them get going and into space. What an upgrade at midfield! Luiz brings a different element to midfield as well. Though Willian struggled with his passing, he brings some hustle and physciality that adds so much to this squad. Can't wait to see Salah in the mix too! You cannot end a post without mentioning that back line. Cahill and Terry especially. What a match. What a great night to be a Chelsea supporter! Come on you Blues and take the top of the table this weekend! :getin: :getin: :getin: :getin: :getin:

Come on you Chels! To the top of the table today! I'll go with 4-0 Blues: Hazard twice, Willian and Cahill.

As many have suggested, good match to see Mata, Schurrle and Ba. Let's get a rest for Oscar and Hazard. Will be in London the weekend of FA Cup semi-finals, how difficult is a ticket at Wembley? Come on you Chels!

Good win, though really wanted the clean sheet when up 3-0. Okay, really wanted something like 8-0 Eto'o, who knew? Only Jose I suppose As others have posted, Willian is really growing into this team. Constant hustle. Who does Matic take off? Luiz? Luiz can look great and then scare then give you a heart attack, all on the same play. I hate to see Torres injure his knee. He was starting to play well. I am not a big Ba fan, but he is going to get his rotation. In fact, Stoke or WHU might be a good time for an appearance. Come on you Chels!

Watching from the States. Interesting to see if/when Matic subs in the second half. Let's take care of business. Come on you Blues!

Outside of the first 25 minutes or so I thought the Blues were in complete control. What is the deal with these early kick-offs and slow starts? Oscar should have scored in the first. Put it anywhere else and its in. What else can be said about Hazard. What a magician! Very happy for Torres. Even though he was invisble at times today, he FINISHED when he needed to. Thought Willian and Luiz had solid games as well. Other than the early goal by Liverpool on Boxing Day, it is no other goals allowed in the past 6 matches! The team really seems to be trending onwards and upwards! Come on Chels!

Great match and effort all the way around. Posted prior to the match that I thought the guys were starting to hit their stride (and chemsitry). Wow, did it show today! I am starting to see why Willian is getting time over Mata. His hustle and movement without he ball has been excellent. Hazard? No need to say more. Cahill, Dave and Terry really shut down Suarez. This was the best effort so far this year. Felt the team really controlled the match outside of the opening 3 minutes. I still prefer Torres over Eto'o even with Eto'o's goal, which was excellent. Was hoping Torres would put it in there at the end. Great joy in the 3 points today especially after getting harrased yesterday in shops near Atlanta by some Scouser fans. I was wearing Chelsea gear. Come on you Chels!

I think the guys may be starting to hit their stride, though it has not shown on the scoreboard due to the lack of ability to finish opportunities. I have a good feeling about this one. 3-2 Blues in their best effort of the year. Torres, Hazard and Terry.

If Jose stopped rotating the striker position and stuck with someone for more than a couple of games, would that help build some confidence and chemistry with everyone else? Yeah, I know, they all have played like garbage most of the time, which is the reason for the constant change. But yet, can it really hurt? I am tired of seeing Eto'o stand still and watch when the ball is on our side of the pitch. Ba? Not the answer. At least Torres hustles while defending even if he has lost his scoring touch. I would put Torres in every game until either he gets it together and scores some goals or his legs fall off. Call me crazy, but that's my view from across the Atlantic. All frustration aside in regards to the striker position, and has there ever been a lot, 3 points on Sunday and its been a good first half of the season.

From across the Atlantic, Come on you Chels! Bury le arse!