Styles

And none of those top sides played good attacking football against us either. We can counter-attack very well. Man City are playing at home so the onus is on them to attack and win the game. I wouldn't be disappointed seeing us defend in numbers and look to hit on the counter.

Think both teams will be very cautious and cancel each other out. In tight games so much depends on good refereeing and just sheer luck. The 4-2 defeat last season was just simply bad luck and Mike Dean, a referee who hates Chelsea. We have a better team and would hope we can win but a draw will do. We didn't treat them like a proper team last year and were too gung-ho at times. Also if Lampard isn't 100% I'd hate to see him play. Mikel, Ramires and Essien are more than good enough to win that midfield battle and we have enough of a goal threat in Malouda, Anelka and Drogba to not have Lampard rushed back.

Easy win with the job completed in the first 75 seconds. They were going to have to do something special to beat Cech in that kind of form. Cech, Ashley, Mikel and Drogba simply magnificent. Malouda is a goal machine. Kalou was hit and miss, so frustrating to watch at times.

Fair enough! He is a very good player. So much better than Joe Cole it's unbelievable.

He's rubbish. I'd rather Hilario.

Benayoun has always been a good player. Surrounded by better players he's showing how good he is. Such a shame he arrived at 30, we could have done with him for the last 2-3 years!

His passing has always been very good and people are now finally starting to realise it. His composure and strength on the ball is incredible. One of the best young players in the world in my opinion. He doesn't get anywhere near the credit he deserves from most Chelsea fans let alone the neutrals.

What was even better was Mikel's pass to Paulo. He didn't even need to control it or roll it forward for himself. The definition of an inch-perfect pass. Mikel is incredible. The best DM in the league and one of the top young midfielders in Europe. I can't name many better than him. We have the future of Chelsea already at the club, what a great position to be in. Kakuta looked very promising. He played a good through ball to Drogba that he should have done better with.

Completely disagree with that so much I won't get into it. I'll simply say that Kalou is 25 years old and shows no sign of getting better. This is his best level and it simply isn't good enough to be a first 11 player which has to be the aim.

Needs to play at a higher tempo and really improve his passing. Most of his passes were under-hit and/or behind the player he was passing to. Good athlete and impressive energy.

Kalou has played as a wide forward for large periods of his Chelsea career and at international level. Nani is an attacking wide player (left or right) so the comparison is fine. Nani has improved tremendously in the last 12 months. I haven't seen any improvement on that scale from Kalou since he has been at Chelsea and he is 25 years old now. Kalou still looks the same player that arrived in 2006.

Bit late for that now. He has played through various injuries in the last few season which he should never have. He had a serious back problem a few years ago which severly redcued his mobility which to this day is still evident.

I think both Ivanovic and Kakuta will sign new contracts. Bosingwa looks most likely to be let go.

In terms of talent, ability and potential then Nani is so far ahead of Kalou it isn't even worth debating. Nani has speed, skill, a powerful shot and incredible technique. Things that Kalou seriously lacks.

Ahh right, thought as much! Find it disgusting how people can make such flippant remarks about people who they have never met.

Do you have any idea how good a footballer Didier Drogba is? And Anelka for that matter? Forget their ages because they have shown absolutely no signs of getting weaker. I would love to have Ronaldo at this football club as he is genuinely one of the the most talented footballer in the world but trade Drogba and Anelka? No thanks. Maybe when they're both 35 but not now. Next.

And how do you know this?

Agree to disagree but Kalou isn't the super-sub that many people are making him out to be.

He was highly rated by the Dutch contingent (Arnesen/Piet De Visser) at the club and was forced on Mourinho. He wasn't a Mourinho player just like Bholarouz and countless others weren't. Mourinho in 2006 only had Drogba, Shevchenko and Kalou as strikers. Sheva was a disaster and Kalou was the only alternative. Scolari certainly didn't fancy him from what I remember. Anelka, Drogba and Malouda last season were played to exhaustion because the options on the bench simply weren't good enough (Joe Cole/Kalou) or not trusted to play (Sturridge).

I disagree strongly with that. He is willing to attempt going past players because, in my opinion, once he's finally controlled the ball and looked up all his options are closed. He has a poor first touch which is his biggest problem. As an impact sub he is OK, but many of his goals are scored when the game has been killed. He scored his first League goal at the end of March last season (the 6th goal against Villa), as our 3rd choice striker and first reserve if Drogba/Anelka//Malouda are injured that isn't good enough. He had a good end to the season but was very much a peripheral figure for most of it. I support Kalou and will him to do well because he is a Chelsea player but I will speak honestly on all of our players. Can the club do better? Yes. But the fact he's happy to earn relatively low wages and be a squad player works in his favour.

I don't particularly rate Kalou as a footballer. He doesn't have much technique, skill, strength or speed. His best quality in my opinion is that he is often in the right place at the right time which is how he scores many of his goals. It can be argued that if we had a better 3rd choice striker at the club we may have had more success in the last 2-3. Kalou is OK for now but he is 25 and I feel this is his best and it's definitely not good enough to be a starter. I believe Sturridge shows a lot more potential at a much younger age; he has better control, speed, shot and technique but his problem is he is very injury prone.

I don't think Robinho is particularly as good as most people claim. He has always struck me as a very hit and miss sort of player. Maybe he would have done better at Chelsea playing alongside quality players but when Scolari was sacked and things weren't looking so good for the club would Robinho have kicked up a fuss? Probably. He was a huge risk when you factor in transfer fee and wages.

Seems like a natural progression doesn't it? He's been here since he was 18 and is easily good enough to still be a Chelsea player for another decade. Once he's reached 27-28 most, if not all, our big players will have retired or moved on. And he was made the capitain of Nigeria before the World Cup so he will get more experience.

West Ham will have been rested up as not many of their players are away on international duty. This means that they can give 110% while our players will have been all around the world for their respective countries. I hope the referee doesn't try to even the game out as so usually happens when the big teams play weaker oppisition. Mike Dean, as always, in the same fixture last season was simply appalling...and that's leaving the Lampard penalty farce aside.

I thought, even if afforded the freedom of Stamfrod Bridge by Stoke, that Mikel was outstanding. I've always thought his passing range was immensely underrated and he has really shown why so far this season. Short and long passing is accurate and his first touch/shielding of the ball is mind boggling. Future Chelsea captain!