Naked Mole Rat

What a game for Sevilla's Varas. He made some incredible saves against Barcelona including Messi's 94th minute penalty. I'd give him 12 out of 10 for that performance.

The only reason I can imagine AVB would want to keep Kalou for is that he thinks he can help Kalou realize his potential. I've had this feeling since the beginning of the season, but Kalou hasn't played a single game in the PL since he was withdrawn in the first half against West Brom. Surely, if AVB had the sort of faith Carlo had in Ramires in Kalou, he would have played more, which leads me to think that this is all about the club's not wanting to let him go for free, and that's not a good thing.

Great technique, though, to kick a shoe barefoot with such precision.

Don't know how anyone can claim Ramires is an average player when he consistently makes an impact at a club like Chelsea. I can sort of understand criticisms against Mikel since I agree that he can be more influential, but Ramires? He leads our counterattack, he connects the gap on the right-hand side between Sturridge and Bosingwa who don't understand each other very well, and he scores some amazing goals and tries so hard to score them, too. Besides, because he's so nimble and quick he can usually retrieve possession after a poor touch. I don't see how that can be such a big deal. Also, like Blue Armour's mentioned before, we don't need the type of midfielders Barcelona have as long as the players understand each other well. In fact, I don't really get how people nowadays think the Barcelona way is the way to play, and it's a dangerous thought, too. Once everyone starts copying Barcelona, football gets boring as fuck.

Mikel was excellent at distributing the ball and cutting out Everton's offense, but that game could have easily ended in a 0-0 draw if it wasn't for Mata.

Liverpool can have their moment this weekend and lose against Norwich, West Brom and Swansea.

This whole London F.C. thing's a joke right?

Almunia. Delightful to watch.

Luiz is an exceptional defender. His defensive skills (marking and tackling) I think are the best in the team, and recently he's been in the right place at the right time on almost every single occasion. It's true he is a bit clumsy, and I really hate it when he loses out cheaply or makes a stupid challenge that could get him sent off, but he's not much more clumsy than Ivanovic or Terry.

I have a question for everyone here. Do you think we absolutely need classic wingers? We did have the best season in terms of goal-scoring a couple years ago when both Malouda and Anelka converged towards middle.

Mikel was fantastic, but it has to be Ramires.

You don't see a lot of wing backs with great defending skills. Cole is a rare exception. For a wing back Bosingwa is actually not bad at defending. He's a decent marker and a tackler who has a fair amount of composure and skills to help him get around trouble. On his day, he can keep any winger under control, as he showed at OT last week against Ashley Young, who's on fire. But he does lack consistency and concentration, which is why he can be frustrating at times. Still, he's a very good player, and I don't think finding someone significantly better than him will be that easy. Having said that, though, I'd rather see Ivanovic on the right side with Luiz in the middle because I want to see more stability in defense.

Quick left forward, with shit left foot and no defensive contribution (due to horrendous stamina). I like to break offside traps but it's never worked for me because I'm usually about a couple yards ahead of the defenders by the time the ref turns his head around to see. I also like to head the ball and make sliding challenges so when I'm playing for fun, I play target man or if the surface is suitable anchor.

Props to Villas-Boas for some good football at OT. We were the better side at least till the 2nd United goal, and his decision to take Lampard off at half time was superb. The players did well, too, for not giving up (one of what make us better than Arsenal), but I don't know what to say about Torres. He's certainly trying and improving, but moments like that force me to think he's trying to mess with the team.

That's more like him.

Game over? We've looked deflated after that 2nd goal. Fuck that stupid linesman. What does he get paid for?

If it wasn't for Michel Vorm, Arsenal would still be at the bottom of the table.

Agreed. It shouldn't be an easy game. Also, I don't understand why fatigue should be a concern this early in the season, especially when we're playing at home 5 days before the United game.

Mata, but Cole played extremely well, too. So did Ramires.

----------------------Sturridge-------- Mata-----Lukaku--------------------- ----------------------Meireles--Ramires ------------------Mikel-------------------- Cole-----Terry------Ivanovic--Bosingwa -----------------Cech--------------------- Since United play quick and wide, we'll need our defense to sit back a little, and Mata and Ramires should play wide so our fullbacks won't have to go forward too often. We should have Mikel play anchor man so he can keep a close eye on Young and/or Rooney. Up forward, I'd like to see Lukaku play deeper and support Sturridge, who'll use his pace to strip the defense. Shouldn't be worse than Torres without his confidence. And at all times, shoot, shoot and shoot. That clown in goal, with the way he's been playing, should make at least a couple mistakes if we can just abuse him.

Like I said, he must have had a special reason to not include Yossi in his plan. Maybe Yossi is not the kind of player he needs.

He's right in that he's not getting the support he needs, but THAT'S NO EXCUSE FOR BLASTING ONE 30M WIDE OF GOAL FROM 30M OUT ON A BREAKAWAY. On a more serious note, though, he really needs to work harder himself rather than expect his teammates to give him full support, because part of his job as the centre forward is to keep moving so he won't get isolated. Last time he faced us in that shameful red, he didn't need perfect passes to score two.

Benayoun's not a starter, and he's nothing like Lampard. I doubt AVB would've left Benayoun out of his plan without a good reason.

AVB had to make several big decisions, and you just can't expect him to change the whole team in a matter of couple weeks. Our midfield problem is much bigger than the number of options we have in the midfield, so I don't see why you should be complaining.

Stop bashing Lampard. He had three mediocre games, but he wasn't that bad, and we did fine today especially in the 2nd half.