LDN Blue

Well they certainly had the better chances of the game, in the first half. Our chances, the very few, were actually very well done. Credit to Van Der Sar for keeping our Torres I guess. But you're right! We run around like headless chickens with even a ball from the keeper to the target man! That's unacceptable! It's why Mikel as a holding is crucial to our team, it maintains the line of balance between defence-midfield-attack. Cech Ivanovic - Alex - Terry - Cole Mikel This is what should be tried! Last season it was great at stopping the counter attack, so why change the winning formula? This all depends if Alex is even fit.

It's the only time supporting Barcelona will be acceptable.

They dominated the first half totally, could have easily had 2 by then. In the second half, they did park the bus though, however, we should've expected that, and unfortunately we did not have the power to break through that than we used to. That is evident to see..

Doesn't matter. Days are gone of blaming the penalty. We did it vs Inter, Barca & now United? Fair enough 1 of those was horribly wrong (you know which) but we're in denial if we're saying that penalty decision is the sole reason of why we will not go through

Yeah, agreed. Lampard will always be a legend, but no time to be sentimental now. He can be the Scholes of Chelsea, the occasional sub appearance & maybe a few starts. I have a lot of respect for Lampard, 500 appearances coming from the pre-Abramovich days is an achievement within itself! But we need a new creative spark now. And definitely agreed about Mikel > Essien!

We're kidding ourselves if we blame that could-have-been penalty decision as the reason for our loss. We were boring, shit & lacked any creativity. First time United have deserved to win to be honest..

gottta love how ITV have turned Rooney into the nation's sweetheart again

you make it sound like their careers are over already! Be patient , they're still young & their time hasn't come yet. Van Aanholt/Bertrand will get their push soon with Cole's age not getting any less. Bruma will have a bit of a longer wait with the signing of Luiz. Kakuta is having a bad time because of a dodgy loan spell but to suggest he's gone wrong is a bit short sighted. Yes we've over hyped a bit, but like I said, be patient

Indeed. Though I don't think anyone's actually forgotten since most line him up as 1st choice right-back. It really is more a case of, Luiz is a better option to have. Ivanovic will fulfil that centre back role exceptionally though.

Ah David Luiz. He must hate watching from the Stands as much as we do!

This whole "next game he will score" is getting a bit repetitive now

True, but I think his peak was with us, through the Mourinho years. Not suggesting he's finished, regular starts at Real prove that, but his time with us ran its course.

I doubt he was ever going to play in the United game to be fair, but is crucial for the Youth Cup semi, especially after losing Billy Clifford

I feel sorry for you, that must be the main sports broadcaster in the States

The Baresi role. Franco Baresi was one of the best at building from the back, he used to be the one to carry the ball from the keeper, to link up the attacking play. Kind of like the Defensive midfielder role, except with Baresi you didn't need that holding player, you could put a more attacking midfielder on with the knowledge of knowing service would come from the back. Luiz can definitely achieve that role, but he has to stay more disciplined.

MLS is turning into the league for the retiring players! The new Abu-Dhabi

Some-what of a hyperbole but I'll let you run with it..

Can't be worse than FSC's coverage of the Stoke-Chelsea game. Multiple comments about Cech not being the man he was pre-injury and all that sh*t..

Ferguson standing up for us?

Yep, precisely. He was on the wrong end of 30 and better to go on a high than low..

LMAO seriously? Like Real did in the Champions League? Typical, stealing Mourinho's tactics

Give the lad a chance, he's not even joining us for another 8 months

I think that'd be a better sight than seeing Terry lift the actual blooming curse!

Thing is, we've got to sympathise and understand him for a second. He's had an awful second half of 2010 and this year hasn't been much better. He had a horrid time with France at the World Cup & then after a flying start for us the whole team started slipping up. From January onwards things have changed, Torres & Luiz have come in, Zhirkov is back trying to get his place, we have our long-term absentees coming back & the team spirit is just lagging behind. I'm not doubting Malouda again. He had a terrific campaign from 2009-2010.. Both, under Hiddink & Ancelotti. We got to see the real Florent Malouda, that's one the best dribblers on that left wing! He showed his great control, his eye for a pass and his torment of right backs. Remember again Manchester United, his run to set up Joe Cole? He'd done that all season for us! After everyone wrote him off in 2007 he came back hard! I believe he'll do it again. Like someone said, form is temporary, class is permanent. We all know what Malouda can bring to the table when he's on form. For me, that's enough to stop jumping on this "not good enough for Chelsea" bandwagon.