Chelsea Lad

Good win. First half was great.

Can't leave The Bridge.

Well yeah but completely different manager. In the later months of Hughes reign Blackburn were far less dirty than in the days when they had Dickov and Savage.

I found it ironic that Arsenal worse poppy's on their shirts today, yet only fielded one English player and yet, Manchester United, who fielded the England vice-captain and quite a few other British players lacked the poppy. Hopefully Chelsea will wear one.

Really, wow. That surprises me tbh.

It's the debate of football at the moment and is one that is really splitting the opinions of those in the game. Ferguson and Wenger, recently, have been the ones arguing that their player's don't get enough protection from referees. I for one don't see why their player's should get any extra advantage of having protected players, but that's them two ol' moaners for ya. They are obviously talking about their flair players. The likes of Van Persie and Ronaldo who are prone to skipping past defenders elegantly before flopping to the floor like a bag of bricks and picking up a free kick. Defending and tackling is an art. It's just as much of a part of the game as the feet of Ronaldo but, unfortunately, it is a dying art. I read somewhere that their are 23% less tackles now a days compared to just 5 years ago. I'd imagine the percentage would double if it were compared with 10 years ago. I grew up in the latter days of brutal football, 1999/2000 was my first season so I still got to witness the likes of Steven Gerrard (dirty days), Patrick Viera, Roy Keane, John Terry (obviously), Dennis Wise etc making challenges left right and centre. I loved the little on field 'punch-ups' that resulted from the challenges, it gets the fans' off their bums and alights passion into dull games, just like a darting run from a wide man does. I can't remember the last time their was loads of players pushing each other and hand-bag's being throw between opposite players since perhaps the Carling Cup final a few years back between Chelsea and Arsenal, and even that doesn't compare to some fights we've seen in the past and yet, still, veterans of the game in Wenger and Ferguson are moaning about the light-weight challenges in the modern game! I for one love seeing a perfectly executed sliding challenge from a defender on an attacker who’s just about to whip the ball from the defenders feet. I, sometimes, love seeing this more than a player dribbling past a few players and hitting the ball into the back of the net from 20 yards. It gets hearts pumping and fans fuming in a way nothing else does in football. The challenge on Ronaldo by Phil Neville a few weeks back got me off the seat shouting at the box watching MOTD, it's so rare to see such a perfectly executed challenge by a defender on such a quick forward, it was great to watch but got me annoyed that the Everton man got so much criticism. All this criticism was because Ronaldo was rolling around like he was having some sort of fit whilst clutching his leg liked it's been snapped in half or it had just been blown off by a terrorist bomb attack. Just 10 years ago forwards would of jumped up and shrugged their shoulders at those sort of challenges and would applaud the defender for the tackle. So yeah discuss, should our 'flair' players be given more protection? Does tackling give you such a rush that can be compared to the sort of feeling you get watching some intuitive piece of attacking play? Or are tackles more dangerous these days, should ref's be harsher? P.s. I wasn't sure were to post this, so move it if needs be...

I can't wait til Ferguson retires, listening to him is so fucking annoying and the media cream over him like he's Jessica Alba. All he does is moan, whether it's about referee decisions or the fact the ref's aren't giving his bunch of pussy's enough protection on the pitch. Drives me mad.

We have been amazing away from home and against the lesser teams this year, I can imagine another high scoring win. Blackburn aren't the same team now Ince is in charge, although they used to be really difficult to beat and facing them was always physically challenging, under Ince it's a new story. GK - Cech RB - Bosingwa CB - Alex CB - JT LB - Bridge CM - Mikel CM - Lampard CM - Deco RM - J. Cole LM - Malouda ST - Anelka

No, not Arshavin. I've said this time and time again that he won't be suitable to the PL, plus he's more of a midfielder/Deco type player. We need a striker that will 'goal-hang' cause we've already got enough midfielders/wingers roaming around the edge of the box. We need someone who will always be in the right place at the right time to bury the ball home after all our playmakers are done with the silky stuff. :thumbsup:

He didn't. Real Madrid didn't accept any of our bids, we refused to match City's £32m offer so Robinho only had one choice - Man City.

I wanted him in August, he was the perfect option and exactly what we are missing, but now...no.

Well, I wouldn't turn him down. He wouldn't be top of my list but he wouldn't be bottom, he's goal-hanging could fit our style of play. Aguero remains number one though.

I don't think you can for 2 yellows, at least you can't in the Premier League. There wouldn't be much point anyway, the chances of it being over turned are very unlikely and we just run the risk of it being extended into the KO's. Ballack will be a good replacement, Minero is also available remember.

Hurray for our wonderful scouting!

That would be by far the best. Imagine it going in the hands of some glory supporter or even worse, not even a Chelsea fan. *shudders*

Awesome

1) All of our team have been crap against the big teams this season. For a matter of fact Kalou scored the equaliser against United. 2) Well he can, he's just inconsistent. 3) He's been far better under Scolari and has been a real asset this year. 4) No we haven't, we need a Robben-esque winger. But who is there? Robinho? No, Ribery is shite - and French - and ugly.

Finally a world leader who won't get the piss taken out of him by Have I Got News For You and Mock The Week. Always had to be Obama, McCain needs to get back to cooking his chips and stop trying to create a 'Bush Part 2' era.

Yep, J Cole's injuries have desperatly hampered him this season. Cole always shows so much more desire and passion that Kalou and Malouda though, I can always seem to trust Cole to put in a good performance that the other two. A new winger is still needed very badly, someone like Robben/Duff is what we lack.

He's one of these players who went from under-rated to overly over-rated in the space of a couple of England games. Hargreaves is another who has done this. Yep, would be number 1 on my christmas list. I bet we won't get him though.

We don't need a player who sits on the bench for Spuds.

They're ok, been better this season. Still need one more winger to partner J Cole full-time, however.

I would give it to the Chelsea museum, even if I was offered nothing for it. (Obviously I would keep it for a good while first)

I am worried that we can't beat big teams. We have struggled in both Roma games, against United and Liverpool and dare I say it, Spuds. I read in a paper this morning, which is about right, that with our new style we are going to be inconsistent, our highs will be high but our lows will be very low.

Oh yeah, don't get me wrong. Essien is one of our better players and one of the best midielders in the world but Mikel has done well to earn his place this season and has been vital for us in Essien's absence. To take the kid out as soon as Essien is match fit would be harsh and de-moralising. Anyway, I doubt Essien will be 100% until the start of next season. A lot will change til then.