Blue Armour

I just hope we don't set up to defend..not at home..not just to get a result.

Or it could be because they realize we have a real gem on our hands and that we wouldn't give him up so easily!

Torres has a decent record against the Italians, as seen from the Euros. As much as I prefer Sturridge to start (because of his ability to drop deep and set up attacks), I'd like to see how the Spaniard fares against the Italian champions. Hopefully he can get some kind of service though...

Also I'd like to think what Lampard could have done against Pirlo during the Euro's, instead of Parker and Gerrard. Another battle to look forward to in midfield.

I don't really care about the tactics...Just really excited about this game. If I'm correct, we're the last team they faced in the last champion's league they played. Torres had a good outing against the Italian defence (although a man down) during the Euro's, and hopefully we'll see more of the same. Hopefully Sturridge also gets to play a part tomorrow.

There are too many weird celebrations to think of, but I remember my reaction to Drogba's goal against Napoli, when I refused to celebrate. I was almost repeating to myself aloud: "Job's not done yet..."

I honestly don't know what to make of Torres' fit of rage when being subbed. What you have to remember though is when a player shows anger, it doesn't meant that its necessarily directed towards the manager.

For now I'll just assume he's trying to "bed in" the more youthful members of the squad as slowly as needed....Otherwise there would be no reason for him to start with both Ramires and Bertrand in midfield against a team like QPR You must remember that he beat a similar team 6-0 at home last season. I feel in due time, he will be having Oscar, Marin, Sturridge and Mata starting regularly. My real concern is what happens when we face bigger, faster teams. Our double pivot, which is the most integral part of his 4-2-3-,1 needs to be sorted out or dropped altogether

Dull match. Positive about us is we've kept the ball, haven't given them a good chance to score, and a couple of penalty shouts. Downside...hardly enough creativity. Don't like the fact that Ramires AND Bertrand have to be deployed in the wings against a team like QPR.

Just hope Ji Sung Park doesn't turn up like he usually does against us...

He can't do much wrong by playing alongside a midfield destroyer like Mikel or Essien. But then again, he won't be able to do much good either. His passing range is decent but not great. And we won't be able to use his pace on the counter.

I don't know for sure whether we'll have another captain like Terry, Lampard or Gerrard. To have someone like that, the player should be one of the first names on the teamsheet. Always. To become someone like that, its not just about having the ability, but its about performing consistently to set an example to fellow players. From the current crop its a bit too early to decide who has those attributes. Then there's the question of character, but I'm not part of the Chelsea dressing room so...

Clearly Mikel wasn't critcizing Lampard. He was just talking about his own defensive duties. But you're right in saying Lampard has made too many forward runs ( pushing well into the opposition d-box in some of the recent games), leaving Mikel isolated in the counter-attacks. Lampard did do well in the recent England game though, and his runs yielded results. But how often do we play teams like Moldova, who hardly put pressure on the midfield?

True...If anything, we've done Paulo a favour by allowing him to play...much better than sitting on the bench and watching Ivanovic and Cesar do the rounds...

Ramires on the wing...I hope not!

Anyway...what's done is done. Hopefully Lyon will come calling in Jan, and that move will finally happen. Even if what the club did was wrong, its not like Malouda could have contributed much with the amount of attacking talent ahead of him.

It was either that or he would remain a free agent for life. And don't talk about performance stats, it wasn't as if he covered himself in glory during his last season. He did get more starts though...how many did Malouda get? Anyway I don't want to turn this into a Ballack/Malouda debate. Whether the move was bold or not, fact remains we have a player on high wages and we're going to get nothing out of him this season. EDIT: And also, who's going to get impressed by that move? Is it going to encourage more players to come here? I don't think so...

When he has nothing to barter with, a player can get desperate. I'm not saying Ballack was just being desperate, but you can't really compare his case with Malouda's. What's to say Malouda won't beg for a pay cut (unlikely after what happened now) and ask for a contract extension at the end of next season? He didn't want a pay cut when a new club was making a move for him...but what player would reduce his wages AND move into an obscure club? Ballack wanted to stick around, and that's just what Malouda's doing. The difference is, in his final year, Ballack wasn't shoved into the reserves. Whatever the player's motive, it won't disguise the fact that club made a stupid move that isn't going to benefit anyone.

Ballack was also out of contract.

But now he's being paid, and is of no use to us at all. This move isn't going to benefit either him or us. They should have at least tried loaning him.

That's all fine and dandy, but is that what Malouda really wants? Granted the club has the right to do what it wants with its players, but to shove him into the reserves for still sticking around? This, and the Anelka/Alex incident are not going to generate positive vibes from the playing community.

Not necessarily bad...When Anelka played in the 4-3-3 he was allowed to roam around the attacking third...Even Malouda would tuck into the centre on occasion with Ashley Cole doing an overlap.

The more appropriate question is; Will Meireles+Essien be missed...If we had only given up on one of the two then it wouldn't have made too much of a difference...But now the squad is certainly lacking depth, considering the number of games to played, and the African cup of Nations which should take away our current first choice DM for a month

Get him back, is what I would say under the circumstances. But is the club really going to bend over backwards?

What did you expect, everything was going right for the club over the past few months...it was time for things to go downhill,,and when things go to heck it all tends to happen at once.