LDN Blue

If you think about it.. This is a great question! Correct me if I'm wrong, but in 2008 didn't we play Essien in centre back because we had an injury crisis? Well in the form Mikel's been this season, I don't see why, if we were to have a defensive crisis, Mikel couldn't play there. He's shown he's got the tackling ability to do it, his decision making has clearly improved and so has his first touch. We all know Mikel is now our #1 central midfielder (or defensive midfielder) which is the defender of the midfield quite literally.

Yeah I think the signings that are like near £20million aren't counted as "big spending"

Agree with TX here, contract should be awarded at the end of the season rather then now. But Carlo's smart enough to not let such things distract his planning, he's already told the media of him commitment to Chelsea so it's all good

Carlo's using him well. He knows he's not quite ready to feature heavily so he's not using him as much as Sturridge or Bruma which is good. If we rush McEachran's first team action he may not adapt as well, the guy's like a month older than me LOL

Props to Holloway.. We could've sunk Blackpool with the way we were playing but he made 1 sub which seemed to sort that left hand side of defence, he put on Taylor-Fletcher and suddenly we found it harder to score. He also made some positive changes bringing on Harewood almost to say "we've got nothing to lose now, let's see if we can shake their defence up a bit"

Usually Chelsea report immediately when a players been taken to hospital. It's strange that there's absolutely no report of Hilario, maybe this story isn't true?

I noticed it too. I don't like Mikel going forward, he does possess that gem of a shot like Essien. I prefer what they did last time where Mikel stayed central and Ramires literally ran from box-to-box. Hopefully they'll revert to that next time, because Mikel is exceptional in central midfield.

Exactly! We're expected to be challenged by these games but also to win them. With teams who chase Champions League or even Europa League places seek to attack us because they know the points could go a long way for them, but if they lose it won't be that big of a blow because they'd still have enough quality to overcome the lower league teams such as West Ham, Wigan, Bolton, Blackburn ect (no disrespect to them except El-Hadji Diouf) Like BLionheart said, we need to beat teams like Shitty, Yids and Everton for our own morale as much as the points to gain.

Ferreira's been quite solid in recent games actually. But Bosingwa will have to prove he's the same player when he comes back (emphasis on WHEN).

The phrase being associated with this game is.. Where our season really starts. Hopefully our players aren't deluded by our 100% start, which I don't think they are. They have a right to be happy and in a celebratory mood, but they should also take into account nobody's really challenged us (goal wise). West Ham put up their defence and tried to play us, but at the end of the day it was still a, more or less, comfortable victory for us. Hopefully (touch wood) Lampard and Terry should be back, which will be a big morale boost. I'd like to see Cole, Malouda, Essien & Cech rested on Wednesday because these 4 have been vital in the last few games and an injury to any of them (Cech & Cole especially) could have grave implications for our team.

Great first half.. Not so great second, but still lively! My man of the match was Ashley Cole, boy did not stop running!! I felt quite sorry for him, he must've been relieved when Zhirkov came on though. Important thing is, we came away with the 3pts, and thus 4pts clear off Arsenal/ManUtd Also surprised no youth today brought on from Carlo, but maybe they'll play on Wednesday?

Crap! My prediction was too low

COME ON CHELSEA!! :cfc:

I wonder who's captain today

Nice to see Bruma's back.. Maybe he'll get some first team action once we've established a good lead

Ramires gets the nod over Benayoun Kalou starts in place of Anelka Turnbull on the bench instead of Hilario

If Carlo gets us Europe then I'll say Carlo > Mourinho.. But we have to wait to see how much more Carlo achieves than José in the same time period

Best Moment Winning our first Premier League title back in '05 :') Worst Moment Seeing Wayne Bridge booed at Stamford Bridge Funniest Moment Gerrard assissting Drobga Best Manager José Mourinho (for now..) Worst Manager Luiz Felipe Scolari (no contest) Favourite Player (of all time:) Eidur Gudjohnson (currently playing:) Frank Lampard Least favourite Player Tricky one this :\, Gallas? Favourite goal Essien vs Arsenal & Barcelona Best game attended Chelsea 5-0 Watford (Jan '10) Worst game attended Chelsea 1-3 ManUtd (Aug '10) Favourite chant/song Carefree wherever we may be.. What does being a Chelsea fan mean to you? Chelsea FC is my life.. My blood.. My passion.. :cfc:

But the signing of Neymar (hypothetical) wouldn't mean Sturridge would miss out. Remember, we have ageing strikers.. The future of Chelsea could rest with Sturridge AND Neymar (again, hypothetical) But it won't happen so

Well it's quite harsh. If he signed for us in January (unlikely, but still..) everyone would forget about this incident. End of the day the point is, he's young and he wants to score. Yes it's a bad outburst, but easily forgiven

David Villa rates John Terry as his toughest defensive opponent Surprisingly, it is another Premier League player who Villa rates as his toughest opponent. "John Terry. Not just because of his reputation for being tough but because he is a great defensive player." || The Guardian || Well I suppose it's something, that one of the best finishers in the world has named Terry as his toughest opponent

LOL why are Chelsea fans hating on him now? Just because he didn't sign for us?

Haha good point, but let's not write off Neymar because of his. If anything, it shows passion to score

Good on Danny to adapt! It's not easy for these young guys to move away from their families or friends, but seeing him over come it shows how mature he is now.

Ouch :|