DYC.

Now that was Chelsea Football Club worthy performance. Had to say it again, i'm so happy .

Lampard wasn't that good IMO. I'll change it to a 7. But I agee about being too hard on Kalou and Anelka. Drogba was really poor. No way he deserves a solid 6.

Good performance Chelsea! Haven't enjoyed Chelsea's play in ages. The second half performance wasn't as good as the first but it was still very solid. Should've scored more but i'm happy. Mikel didn't enjoy a good second half but he was pretty solid in the first (horrible defending at Sunderland's goal though, the only huge weakness in his game). Bosingwa and Drogba were really poor today. Drogba can't afford these performances anymore, he doesn't deserve to start vs. Liverpool. Kalou had a good game and got a goal. It's so obvious he's a striker and he plays a lot better in his natural role. Essien was good too. The diamond formation really worked today and that was mainly because of Anelka with a Man of the Match performance. He was fantastic. The role behind the strikers fits him perfectly. I really enjoyed his performance and I hope he'll perform like this again against Liverpool. Cech - 6 Bosingwa - 5 Ivanovic - 6 Terry - 7.5 Cole - 7 Mikel - 6 Essien - 7 Lampard - 7.5 Anelka - 10 Kalou - 8 Drogba - 5

We're really playing good football.

Yes yes, a good performance . We were passing the ball well, our off-the-ball movement was like hundred times better, pretty much every player was confident on the ball and (therefore) creating chances. Sadly I tuned when Sunderland just scored. But after seeing our play I was confident we would get back into the game, simply because we were playing well and it happened.Then Sunderland scored again, what a stupid goal btw, but we were still playing well so i'm confident about us eventually winning this one. Did anyone notice we were playing the '4-4-2 diamond formation'? Anelka has been great. I just knew Anelka would play a lot better in a free role behind the strikers (check my post in the tactics thread). His movement is fantastic, passing the ball much quicker, dribbling forward (with pace at times) and always available to receive a pass. Lampard lacks the movement for that role and that's why he failed in that role. All he needs to do now is get forward a bit more and start shooting. Two other players who have been great too are Essien and surprise surprise Kalou. Kalou is really enjoying a good game. His passing is solid, his touches are (surprisingly) very solid and his movement is good. Last season I said Kalou would play a lot better in a central striker role, preferably in a two-striker system. And he's really proving me right. Keep it up Salomon. But about his goal, you either have to be very confident or very stupid to shoot from where he stood. It would be much easier to tap the ball to the left a bit and shoot it into a empty goal. But who cares, it went in . I'm so happy right now . Keep it up boys.

That's true but you can always bring in Ramires or Essien if that becomes a real problem. Every line-up/system has it's flaws, up to the coach and players to mask those flaws.

He's right-footed. But his weak foot is just as good as his right.

Cech Ivanovic - Terry - Luiz Bosingwa - Mikel - Lampard - Cole Anelka Drogba - Torres Kickin' it oldskool. *Bosingwa and Cole as true wingbacks, this way they can attack a lot more since we'll always have Ivan, Luiz, Terry and Mikel at the back. And when facing a dangerous counter-attack from the wings of the opposition, Luiz can drift a little to the left, Ivanovic can drift a little to the right and Mikel then slots next to Terry. *Either Mikel, Ramires or Essien next to Lampard. I prefer Mikel since he's the best passer of the three, has the best technique, can handle being pressured pretty well and him loving to stay in front of the defence will allow Lampard to go forward. Mikel not being the most solid in the defensive department wont be as noticeable with the support of the three defenders. *Anelka linking midfield and attack. We need a 'mover' in that position. Someone who'll roam around, always being available to receive a pass and being able to to keep the ball with him (being hard to dispossess). Anelka is that player. When he does it in his role from the right it's annoying since he leaves a gap there. But in a free role behind the strikers, it can be really effective and he can be very crucial. And as great bonus, when we attack we'll have three absolute lethal players in and around the box. Anelka will have to work on passing the ball quicker, improve his decision-making and one-touch pas a lot more to keep the tempo high. Malouda is also option for the role but I think the role suits Anelka more. Kakuta can play the role too when he comes back. So fierce competition for the role.

Exactly what I was thinking, going oldskool. Would love to see that. Great deal. Good job Chelsea negotiators . 23 is my favourite number so if he wears it, i'll automatically like him. But I think he should wear 4, it suits him and Sturridge already has it. Number 6 would look nice too.

I know you and CA are lovers and all BlueLion but give the man who makes all this possible the credit he deserves .

Fernando, all I ask is for you to be fit for at least 80% of every season. I'll even take 75% if you're fit for the important games. That's all i'm asking for Fernando.

New question: How does Torres fit in our system? We don't have the wingers for a 4-4-2 system and the diamond sucks.

Off topic: Gudjohnsen and Kakuta (most likely) at Fulham .

Agree. You could tell he wasn't happy at all. Would have love to see him here at Ajax.

Haha if I said they would go out and steal them, we wouldn't be making money off them though .

Scousers will probably go out and buy (Chelsea) Torres shirts just to burn them. Money Money Money Mooooney !

It seems to be official according to SSN.

You're watching SSN.

For some reason it always cracks me up when somebody says that .

I'm with you guys. This is insane. I can already imagine reading 'Fernando Torres is injured' like a thousand times. You can get Caroll/Hulk/Cavani (25-35 mil pounds) + Alexis Sánchez/Ashley Young (20-25 mil pounds) for 50 mil pounds (or a little over 50 mil).

45 mil + Anelka . That's ridiculous. Who are we, Real Madrid?

It's sad isn't it. Although Everton weren't much better than us today. Currently we're worse than we were under Scolari.

No words for the second half performance. Everton deserved to win but thanks to Kalou, again great goal, we get a replay. It seems we just can't perform the way we should. Starting to wonder if we'll ever get back to the way we used to be. Cech - 8 Bosingwa - 5 Ivanovic - 5 Terry - 5 Cole - 3.5 Essien - 4.5 Ramires - 5.5 Lampard - 4 Anelka - 5 Drogba - 3 Malouda - 3.5 CA we have a serious problem. Please fix it.

Whatever you say eldo .