Tomo

Id prefer to just get em early, playing Barca on the wembley pitch will be VERY VERY tough, if we get them over 2 legs (preferrably in Spain 1st) we can park the bus at the Camp Nou then get them down Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea's away support is the best in the land, no doubt about it !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

welcome mate stick around btw i went to Bulgaria last summer, stayed in Vratsa, was working in an orphanage 20 miles down the road, was a great 2 weeks although the language barrier was pretty hard. learned a couple of words tho ha

Decent display tonight, not spectacular but did the job and got us through to the quarters, usually i do player ratings after the match but today i thought ill do something different in assessing the other teams that got through and whether we will want them in the quarters and how we will get on. Barcelona Might aswell start at the very top, it would be tough but if any-one can beat them we can, weve got the equipped players and Torres would not want to lose to all his Spanish team mates and the players of 2 years ago will be DESPARATE to un-do the injustice of 2009, i personally would relish a Barca match up. Schalke 04 On paper drawing Shalke up there 1st would be the best tie to get but they have some preety decent players in Raul and co, but saying that i certaintly wont be disapointed if we draw them. Tottenham Hotspurs This would be an absolutely mouthwatering tie but one i would rather avoid, Spurs would be so up for this one and will more than fancy our chances of knocking us out, especially if the 2nd leg's at the Lane. Schaktar Donesk This is one i would rather avoid, they have an awesome home record and we would find it very hostile out there, plus there team remind me a bit of Everton and we all know what our record is like against them dont we? These lot are very dangerous dark horses in this competition. Manchester United This would be very intresting and id much rather draw these than Hotspurs, Carlo knocked United out with AC Millan twice and got a very nice habit of beating Fergie when it counts, not to mention our record against United down the years aint half bad, i would'nt chose these but IMHO this wont be the worse draw. Inter Millan We wil get a much better shot at them then we did last year with Jose in charge and im kind of split on whether id be happy to get these, they can still beat any-one but they shown at the Lane that they aint the force they were under Jose. Real Madrid If any one else was in charge id say these were there from the taking, but the Jose factor means id hope to stay as far away from these as possible, he knows a lot of our players inside out and has a way of getting in their heads (as proved last year). So that my assessment, who would you rather we have and who do you think were end up getting?

Lets hope we dont let this fall through the net.

Happy Birthday Nico

Capello is finally growing some balls if he did it this time last year England might have had a better world cup campaign. The irony is he drops Terry over a newspaper rumour that both parties denied and the tabloids later apologizes for yet he can appoint Rio "i failed a drugs test" Ferdinand and Steven "i hit DJ's" Gerrard, those 2 broke the law JT didnt yet those 2 are 1st and 2nd choice, what a joke!!!!! As far as im concerned Capello was weak and bowed down to the anti Chelsea, England "fans" (and i use that term loosely and with extreme hestitation) infact ill be estatic iff all the Chelsea players retired from England now its a joke there, i support England at every other sport but it is so hard to support them at football when you have twats of "fans" supporting them. In all honesty if McEachran choses Scotland over England i will be estatic.

He was the sort of player that would have one absoultely mindblowing game but follow it up with 15 shocking ones.

I wont lie id have him here in a shot, awesome player.

This is just horrific. Whats worse is that quite a few other countries including New Zealand and part of America are also at risk.

He needs more service than he is getting. Ive always said on form he is the best forward in the world imo he is a lot better than Villa, put it this way if he was playing for Barca against Arsenal last night he would have laughed his way to a hat-tick maybe even more.

It will give the young players a feel off what the top European game is about, it will help well i think anyway.

Found this on twitter so i thought ill share _________________________________________________________________________________________________ CELTIC have struck an exclusive deal to represent Scotland in a new elite European youth league alongside the likes of Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Manchester City. The new tournament will feature 16 of the continent's top clubs but while it will run annually and in parallel with the Champions League, it has not been sanctioned by UEFA. Instead, the project is being bankrolled by an independent investment group backed by money from the Middle East and is due to kick off next season, with the first batch of matches pencilled in for autumn 2011 and the tournament concluding in Abu Dhabi early in 2012. Clubs from all the major European leagues have been invited to join but Celtic have secured a written assurance that they will be the only participants from the SPL, locking Celtic and huns rivals Scotland's Shame out of the new venture. R*ngers, however, are not the only big British club to be left out in the cold, as the involvement of City, who are under Middle Eastern ownership themselves, has also seen Manchester United excluded from the project. Instead, England's four-team quota will comprise of City, Chelsea, Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur. Spanish giants Barcelona and Real Madrid have been invited, while AC Milan, Ajax and Rosenborg are among the other clubs involved. 'We feel fortunate and privileged to have been invited to take part,' said Chris McCart, Celtic's head of youth development. 'The teams involved have a worldwide following, clubs like AC Milan and Bayern Munich, while Real Madrid and Barcelona are also close to signing up. 'The final details have yet to be ironed out but you are talking a minimum period of three years with the age group being Under-19 level. There's a really good mix of teams from across the continent from Scandinavia right down to Italy, Portugal and Spain and they have offered us exclusivity from Scotland.' Commercial concerns will be the prime driver behind this new venture and the Middle East factor is crucial. With City now in the hands of Abu Dhabi's Sheikh Mansour and FIFA having awarded the 2022 World Cup to Qatar, this new youth project is the latest sign of a shift in football's powerbase. The format of the tournament will see the 16 teams divided into four groups of four and play six matches on a home and away basis between August and December, just as they do in the Champions League. The top two teams from each section will then qualify for the tournament's second phase which, in the inaugural year, will be contested in Abu Dhabi over a 10-day period. It is not yet known how Scotland's Shame feel about being omitted from the project, while it's hard to imagine United boss Sir Alex Ferguson being best pleased at the 'noisy neighbours' of City stealing a march on a proposition which features so many of the European game's heavyweight clubs. 'The investment is coming from a European/Middle East Investment company and the tournament itself will have a Middle Eastern element,' explained McCart. 'The top two teams from each section will all fly to Abu Dhabi in the spring to take part in an eight-game tournament played over 10 days. 'That eight-team format will bring in sponsorship and television revenue in itself and, from Celtic's point of view, the issue of brand awareness is important. 'The expenses are all being paid by the organisers -- flights, accommodation, everything -- so it's a nobrainer for us. UEFA aren't involved but they have a knowledge of this and, as I understand it, there is some tie-in with FIFA. 'Television is going to be involved and there will be the prospect of playing matches at the proper stadiums. The commercial departments of each club have a heavy involvement in this, as there are implications beyond the football side of it. 'The people in the Middle East are desperate to get involved and there will be sponsorship and television revenue, especially when the tournament reaches Abu Dhabi. 'Our own Channel 67 and Liverpool TV both had access to the pilot and were delighted by the interest the game generated. Some clubs are keen to work this project into their season-ticket package, so it could generate decent crowds as well.' Last month, a series of pilot matches were held to trial the new tournament, with Ajax hosting Manchester City, Tottenham playing Sporting Lisbon and Chelsea entertaining Bayern Munich on the day the club's former assistant manager Ray Wilkins found out he was to be relieved of his position. Celtic also took part, with former Hoops and Scotland great Kenny Dalglish bringing Liverpool to Glasgow for a closed-door fixture on November 2. Dalglish's young side prepared for the match like the first team would for a big European tie, staying overnight in the city the night before playing at Celtic Park. 'The pilot game was an excellent experience for us and it was great to have Kenny Dalglish to bring the very best of Liverpool's young players with him,' added McCart, whose side triumphed 3-1 in the pilot match. 'Ninety per cent of our youngsters had never played at Celtic Park before, so it was great to give them that opportunity and I think they gained a lot from it. 'What we are trying to do is replicate the first-team experience for our young players. We want to recreate the conditions in which the first team operate in Europe. 'That will help the young players learn about what it takes to play at that level -- the travelling involved and the different demands an away European tie might make on them. 'That might involve operating a more defensive formation or simply trying not to get beaten, so it will be an education. 'From my own point of view it's just a great opportunity to show our youngsters what they should aspire to. They will be treated like firstteam players and the opportunity to play in a Champions League style tournament will ensure it is competitive http://mcfcreservesa...general-issues/ _________________________________________________________________________________________________ This would be good if out U19's enter. Aswell as the FA youth cup will give our youngsters valuble experience and they will get a feel for what the Champions League is like at the top level, will be fantastic if we can get in this competition not just for our current youngsters but for a better chances of attracting others to our club in the future. Thoughts?

If we beat Liverpool and Fulham we could have been sitting here laughing, 4 points behind and 1 game in hand

Good review I said at half time we needed the 2nd goal because i could not for the world see Blackpool failing to score, all in all the team performance werent brilliant but unlike the winter months weve been picking up the result. If Blackpool got another i would have shit myself. A win against City will see us in a glorious position to consolidate 3rd then after that who knows but it wont be easy but hopefully the players will be desperate for revenge after the cafafle at the Bridge against the same opponents last season. KTBFFH

We will need to win all bar maybe 1 off our games so i cant see it. With Arsenal's track record of callapsing 2nd is still do-able.

Petr Cech 7 - done nothing wrong. Jose Bosingwa 4 - So sloppy and so frustrating, his sloppiness nearly got Blackpool a late 2nd. David Luiz 7 - Solid, although was sloppy a couple of times, his least spectacular performance so far. John Terry 8 - Great header from the corner and lead from the back all game. Ashley Cole 6 - Solid but still lacking his form of August/September. Ramires 6 - Strangely quiet tonight, a couple of neat bits of skill. Frank Lampard 8 - Best game for a while, am i the only 1 seeing a late surge to 20 goals? Micheal Essien 7 - Got to grips with the game more and more as it went on. Yuri Zhirkov 4 - very poor, looked completely diffrent to the Yuri that played United. Fernando Torres 5 - cant fault his effort but that price tag is really weiging him down atm. Didier Drogba 4 - awfull in all honesty, if he wants his place back he needs to do better than that. SUBS Florent Malouda 6 Soloman Kalou 8 (thought he was fantastic tbh) Josh McEachran 6

Mine was on a mock driving course when i was 16. I find it all pretty easy tbh apart from some reserve manover, but i would have passed probally early 17 if it werent for the fucking theory

Is it me or is this guy so criminally underrated? Dont get me wrong i cant stand the guy but without him Man.Utd's midfield has got badly over-run at Anfield, it makes me laugh when all these Utd fans go on about how Fletcher is just an ordinary player but the truth his without him in big games they wont be winning many points and if Fergie wants to avoid a potential embarrisment today IMHO he has to get him on sharpish.

Morning blues Our squad in general needs a bit of a makeover in the summer and im all for bringing some quality young players (18-22) to compliment the crop we already have. This to add to the potential departures of key men. This will probably be the last chance we have before the fair play rules come in and Luiz and Torres signings shows that if the right players are available the money is still there. Players we should be looking out for Neymar - This kid is the real deal, i was speaking to one of my old Brazillian team mates (that i use to play football with) the other day and the figure discussed at £30m and he reckons we would be ripping Santos off he is that good and when i saw Santos play myself he was certainly the one of the best ive seen at that age, also add the fact he should click well with Luiz and Ramires. Phil Jones - Homegrown and can play in defense and midfield, that type of versatitlty is key in evrey squad and before his injury before christmas we were apparently front runners to sign him. Romelu Lukaku - the next Drogba, enough said. Jack Rodwell - Surprising choice but if Mikel goes (im hoping not but there has been talk of that) then we should go for him, strong, can play a bit, home grown and a potential leader. Alex Sanchez - Right wing is our weak spot in our squad and he would certainly change that. Youth players we should be looking at promoting in the next few years Dan Sturridge - Dont know if he can be classed as a youngster any more well not ours anyway, but Carlo surely cant ignore prolific premierleague goalscoring. Josh McEachran - Natural talent, so composed goes without saying he should be playing a bigger part next season. Gael Kakuta - Some of the stuff he can prodice with a ball is absolute magic, got the talent in abundance and the next couple of years will be key for him. Bruma and Van Aanholt - Both a bit ruff around the edges and need more time to develop, im 50/50 on Van Aanholt is he imo can go either way but got no doubt that Bruma by the time hes 23/24 will be a class player. Nathaniel Chalaboah - playing in the reserves and captianing an over his age England group at 15 says it all, might be a few years until we see him proper break through but what a player he could be. Billy and Conor Clifford - Billy Clifford is talented and versatile and Conor is a natural leader and will always give 100% evrey time he steps out, which is what evrey squad needs. Matej Delac - Am i the only one who thinks we dont need a new keeper? it will halt this guy back and i think he is more than capable of pushing Cech if not next year defo the year after. Aziz Deen-Conteh - As good as Van Aanholt going forward but so assured in his defending he would be wasted at left midfield, might take a good couple of years before he is ready for 1st team action tho. Feel free to name a few others. With the right guidance we could make quality players out of a lot of these and as we found out to our cost earlier this season its a squad game these days and quality signings plus good youth development will make for a bright future, not to mention the likes or Luiz, Ramires and co that are already in the 1st team. Imagine 5 years down the line if we get it right in the summer, other clubs will be involved in bidding wars for players with prices influxated to £50-60m and we will be sitting preety with the crop we have, would be good wont it? What do you think?

He has actully only been avalible for selection 3 maybe 4 times, due to Fullham playing FA Cup matches and also playing us, it was the same with Sturridge at Bolton he started off on the bench but then came to earn his place in the line-up, same with Bruma, Clifford at Notts was on the bench the 1st 2 times and the same will be the case for Gael. The fact that Fullham thrashed Tottenham in the FA Cup soon after he joined did him no favours. He still has to earn a place, if he just walked straight in i think Duff, Dembele and co will have something to say about it, apparently he was preety good today when he came on which hopefully will give him a chance from the start next time and if he impresses he can force his way in as there are no FA Cup games or games against us to worry about now.

I cant help but notice a smile on his face

The disrespect he has got in some areas since the city game is shocking. Not the best in the world but apart from the City game when has he ever disapointed? Barca and Liverpool he won the game for us and i would not be worried if he has to fill in again in the run in. 1 week after the City game he delt with Stoke's long throws and targeting very well. His contract i believe is up at the end of this season and if thats the case i think he will be leaving but he leaves with full respect and dignity.

Ive always been a fan of Sven, whats happened recently in the England set up makes you realise how good a job he did for England. All of a sudden 3 q/f exit's (twice on pens due to the brilliant Ricardo and once to argubally the greatest international team off all time) actully look a brilliant achievement in comparision to how McClaren did and Cappelo is doing. Also his work at Leicester is second to none.

As we found out to our cost earlier this season it is a squad game these days. For this season use Luiz for the prem games with one of Terry and Alex rotate them in league games to keep the pair fresh when the CL comes along. The 1st choice back line to me has to be Ivan-Luiz-JT-Cole but Alex will get plenty of games all 4 cant stay 100% fit all season.