DYC.

Great game Couldn't shoot Cheryl though .

Thanks for the vid MM. Great piece of skill there, confidence is a beautiful thing. DS .

http://www.zonalmarking.net/2011/03/01/chelsea-2-1-man-utd-tactics/

We ended up winning the game because we purely wanted it a lot more than Man Utd (in the second half). So after (heavily) criticizing the players, not all of them of course, for months I have to compliment them for showing great passion and heart in the second half that led us to victory . But, yeah there's a but, they need to show it a lot more because we're a much lesser side without it.

A winger with pace, very good ball control and technique, good crosser and very direct, he should definitely be playing. Malouda is seriously aggrevating me .

Cech - 6 Ivanovic - 6 Luiz - 8 Terry - 7 Cole - 6.5 Ramires - 7 Essien - 7 Lampard - 6 Malouda - 2 Anelka - 4.5 Torres - 6 Drogba - 6 Zhirkov - 7 Bosingwa - N/A

No he's not. Not at all.

PLEASE take Malouda off for Zhirkov. No pace, no threat, no nothing. He's been horrible for months. It's still possible but we're, like we always do in these matches, lacking that final ball. Serious lack of creativity and their defence isn't even that closed. And why do we always have to be behind before we up the tempo .

Ivanovic and Ramires on the right? Doesn't look good at all, who is gonna provide us width from the right? And Malouda doesn't deserve to start but he's one of CA's untouchables when playing with wingers. Great to see David Luiz back though. Can only hope for the best . Expecting a boring match though..

A fit Man Utd defence is probably the best around together with ours so definitely don't agree with you on that. Ferdinand - Vidic is a great CB duo, Evra one of the best left-backs around and Rafael is really developing into a good RB. Ferdinand and Rafael have been out for a while so they haven't been great defensively lately but they still hardly concede any goals. And that's me talking about their defenders individually, the way they defend as a team is a lot more impressive (just like us). The reason they're up top is mostly because they're so hard to beat (but that also has to do with their way of playing sometimes). Di Maria is a huge threat when he's having his day but he's inconsistent and Ozil is a great player but not able to carry the team (yet) when Cristiano isn't playing well. Real can beat Man Utd sure, they're about on the level if you ask me but thrashing them.. don't see that happening at all. Sides like Man Utd, Chelsea (well, the way we used to be) and Inter are almost impossible to trash. But let's focus on Chelsea :cfc:.

Nahh, don't agree. Don't get why they get hyped up so much, they've done nothing to say 'wow, they're a fantastic team'. If Cristiano isn't having his day, they really struggle and their defence is vulnerable with two fullbacks who are weak defensively and the injury-prone and somewhat inconsistent Pepe. They're good but not great and not better than Man Utd. They'll probably become a very good team with time but right now.. nahh.

Cruyff at the Bridge? Wow, never knew that. Was he ever linked with us back then ? And trained under Bill Shankly.. must've been great.

Exactly. I can't imagine what the likes of Wilshere, Balotelli or Fabregas and Messi when they were younger would have to go through if they were at Chelsea. And no I'm not saying they are the next Messi or Fabregas, but it's definitely not impossible, but we'll never know if the club/coach don't change the way they manage youth/young players.

Got it.

If you've been around that long, you must have seen true greats like Pelé, Eusebio, Moore, Cruyff, Beckenbauer, Baresi, Maradona (drooling just thinking about it) etc. You're a lucky man zolayes.

Never saw him play but how can you not love a former Chelsea player with the nickname 'The King of Stamford Bridge'. Rest in perfect peace, Peter Osgood. Have to get my hands on a match of him..

What did Javier do?

Add two or three more 'very's' to that because it is. There's only one side out there who you can say are truly better than them and that team is Barcelona.

In-form Bolton striker Sturridge enjoying freedom of expression under Coyle

Must be great for him playing under a manager that rates him that highly (he praised him before he was at the club). Keep on doing what you do Daniel. Well let's send the likes of Bruma and Clifford (maybe PVA too) there too .

Haha Danny keeps proving he was treated unfairly. It'll be very interesting to see whether he gets a fair chance when he comes back. Very difficult goal by the way. He had to control it and shoot in like a second.

Well I guess we disagree then. I would love to see us play 3-5-2 once as I think it solves our winger problem and our reliance on our fullbacks for width (without leaving too much space at the back). And like I said, Mikel isn't good enough defensively. And we have three great CB's too and more importantly, one who is excellent in building up from the back. @steve5221 Don't agree with the 3-5-2 being a 'smash and grab' tactic, you should be able to dominate a game (you're playing with five midfielders, five and half with Anelka's tendency to drop deep).

Cole and Bos aren't defenders in my formation (that's why I put them in front of Mikel in the holding role). Think Dani Alves at Barcelona or Marcelo at Real, they spend more time on the opposition half than their own. This was Liverpool's formation: Reina Skrtel Kelly - Carragher - Agger - Johnson Lucas Maxi - Gerrard Mereiles Kuyt Malouda and Anelka offer us nothing from the wing and Bos and Cole already play like wingbacks. Only this way we have more security at the back and Mikel won't be such a risk with all the defensive responsibility. Barcelona play in a somewhat similair way when in possession (at times), only like this: Valdes Piqué - Busquets - Puyol/Abi Xavi - Iniesta Alves-------------------Messi------------------Maxwell Pedro---------------------Villa

For the Man Utd game: Cech Ivanovic - Terry - Luiz Mikel Bos------------------------------------Cole Ess/Rami - Lamps Anelka - Torres This will probably be United's line-up: VDS O'Shea - Smalling - Vidic - Evra Carrick/Scholes Fletcher - Gibson/Anderson Nani - Berbatov - Rooney

Has a Chelsea player ever managed seven goals in a single CL-campaign?