teignman

It's official, on February 11 anno domini 2012, I officially lost all hope in Torres. When I saw he was unable to beat Sylvain Distin, who's not fleet afoot and at the advanced footballing age of 34, in a foot race, that sealed it. I've tried and tried to have faith, blamed it on poor service, pressure, etc., but there will be no return to former glory. Stick a fork in Nando. Unfortunately, I have no solution. He can rot on the bench collecting a massive wage, or we can sell him for pennies on the dollar (or pence on the pound if you prefer). Neither option is terribly inviting.

Leave it out pal. Rather uncalled for.

I don't think it's a snap judgment to say Lukaku should get a start.

Points for honesty. I feel the same.

I think some people are rushing to judgment on Oriol. His first appearances were impressive, but he's been quite poor as of late. Mind you, he's 20 and has gone from playing in the Segunda Division to the PL. Obviously he has some flaws, but he's far from the finished article.

Shades of Gary Lineker at the '90 WC?

I believe he is. Late this month is the return time I've heard.

I must say that I'm not terribly surprised by this article. When you see JT with the players, he exudes a passion and genuine care that's beyond reproach. He sacrifices his body and constantly fights through injury, not so much for personal glory, but for the glory of our side. Our opponents' supporters are so blinded by bias, media bullshit, and hate that they can't fathom why we think we are blessed to have such a man lead our club into battle week in and week out. When it's quite simple: John's blood is the bluest out there. His love of our club and everyone associated with it is unparalelled.

Of course I want Hazard. I don't think there is a Blues supporter that's heard of Hazard that doesn't want him here. Outside of the big name wishlist I have a couple others: First, Jovetic. The lad's been banging in goals for fun for a mid-lower table Fiorentina side. He's young, technically sound, and pacy. Next, I think Malouda should go. I don't hate him or think he's the worst player on the pitch (though he's pretty bad), like some, but I do think he should go. We could probably save some money on wages as well. Last, bring in Junior Hoilett. He will probably go on essentially a free in the summer (I think Blackburn would be due a £675k development fee). Essentially, all we will have to pay him is wages for the duration of his contract, and he would have resale value. He can play pretty much anywhere across the front, has pace, and a good passing range.

Oh you know, the usual finger-pointing and gloom. I'm sure Kalou, Malouda, or Hazard's name will make an appearance in the conversation. I must admit I wasn't thrilled with the Napoli draw. They've got quality, that's for sure. They also have some flaws, and their league form hasn't exactly been setting the world alight. I know this is a different competition from the league, but I do think that league form carries over to an extent.

That's right. Here it is: http://www.thefa.com/England/News/2012/080212.aspx

The "evidence" against JT is flimsy. Lip-reading should not be admissable in an FA kangaroo court, let alone a court of law. This whole situation seems to be a case of political correctness run amok. Witch hunts and the like were outlawed some time ago, so contemporary zealots have to get their jollies in this manner.

I rewatched the match, and was rather shocked at the lengthy delays making calls by him. He allowed himself to be bullied and coerced into decisions.

I understand that referees are human. They make mistakes, etc. However, I have absolutely no tolerance for sheer and utter incompetence (see Foy, Overbo) and favoritism (Webb). Howard Webb has awarded 54 penalties in the PL. 9 of them (a little under 17%) have been to Manure. At first glance that might not seem like favoritism, but consider the amount of games that this tosser has referreed, unfortunately, in the PL.

Atholy- I really would like to thank you for your posts of game videos for KDB. Well done sir!

A comment from Sky's match report: S Parsons (Manchester United fan) says... "Chelsea thought they deserved to win? One goal of class only. The defence is non exsisent and man u should have had another penalty. The manager is disallusional to think they should have won the game. " Erm, I think you mean "delusional" hoss. I'm not an expert on the English language, but that's not a word. This is rather fitting though: Their players contrive penalties, and their supporters contrive words.

Agree. The Romeu choice was to solidify our midfield, which was getting overrun. How was anyone to know that Romeu would have probably his worst game in our shirt.

First off, Bloody Hell! Ok now that I've got that out, it's the circumstances of the draw that I think has got most people upset. Dropped a 3 goal lead due to some poor play in the latter stages and some shoddy decisions by Manure's No. 1 supporter in black: Howard F. Webb (the F stands for fuckface). First, the Evra penalty was as soft as they come, but I could live with it. The supposed Welbeck pen is never a pen. Leaving your leg out to probe, search for, and eventually find contact is not a penalty. Not now, not ever. The third goal was some poor defending, granted it resulted from a throw that should have been awarded to us. However, Brana should've at least made an attempt to close down Giggs. Similarly, Luiz and Cahill left bitcharito unmarked and we saw the terrible result of these lapses. There was some good play from us, and especially with our starting 11 being decimated. 6 hours ago if you'd have offered me a draw, I would've taken it, but not in these circumstances.

For anyone that wants to check the status of the pitch and stadium, heres the link: http://origin-www.chelseafc.com/page/forcelogin/Webcam/0,,10268,00.html

24/31 The only ones I kicked myself for missing were Super Dan Petrescu and Lebouef

Rot you Tomo for spouting common sense and facts! I was perfectly happy with throwing my toys out of the pram and then you had to come along with this wise perspective.

Hell, after some of the performances this season, I'm probably more excited about the summer window than I am the next 15 matches.

Almost the entire first half was a shambolic display. Absolutely one of the more shocking displays from us in some time. However, we somehow seemed to get ourselves together toward the end. The second half was loads better. We dominated. We are still bogging down in the final third. One of things I've been noticing is our forwards seem to wait in the area for rebounds, spills, etc. Take a fucking gamble for heaven's sake and run to toward the goal for a tap in. Overall, I think we deserved the point, even with a jammy deflection drawing us level. They dominated us in the 1st half. Us them in the 2nd.

If they had scored from some of their quality play, I wouldn't begrudge them the goal. But that goal was a bit lucky. I think Petr probably should've done better. Rather weak clearance on the corner too.

Rather calamitous beginning for us. Feel a bit lucky to still be at 0-0.