BlueLion.

Banned. Maybe if certain people acted less like petulant pre-pubescent pricks all the time we wouldn't have to. The frequency with which people so willingly derail topics with personal attacks and snide comments is on the rise and this isn't something we can nip in the bud with a simple slap around the wrist because people just ignore those warnings.

We're winning so we need something to complain about, yes, but Cahill is playing poorly IMO.

Fucking amen.

Phwoar....

Shame he wasn't sent off tbh. Utter dirge at the minute. No idea why he's declined so badly. He's that bad at the minute he's making Luiz's performances seem like worldies.

You are entitled to your opinion and I respect it, but I don't think anyone can say Buffon is a better goalkeeper than Manuel Neuer. And of course he is worthy of the Ballon d'Or, he is one of the best players in world football. He isn't just a goalkeeper, he is a footballer. We'll agree to disagree, whilst you make some wonderful points regarding Courtois-Neuer, to then say he isn't worthwhile of being a nominee for World Player of the Year (most people seem to think that only goalscorers should be worthy of that commendation) and he isn't as good as Buffon is laughable, tbh.

Eden Hazard scored and assisted a second as Chelsea dug deep to overcome Steve Bruce's resolute Hull City side. The Tigers, now without a win in their last nine Premier League matches, recently recorded a credible 1-1 draw at Goodison Park, and their performance at Stamford Bridge certainly belies their lowly league ranking as they made it tough at times for José Mourinho's charges. Class ultimately prevailed - Hazard netted for the fifth consecutive home league match before the Belgian then set up Diego Costa's twelfth goal in thirteen Premier League matches to seal three points from this keenly-contested tussle. The game centred largely on the dismissal of Hull's Tom Huddlestone for a dangerous lunge on the hour-mark. Though Chelsea were leading at that point, the Blues' typically-formidable attack had been reduced to a state of relative offensive ineptitude with the loss of Cesc Fabregas to suspension keenly felt. Indeed, such was Chelsea's struggle that Hazard's seventh-minute header - scored after a gorgeous cross from out wide by Oscar gave the Belgian a free header just six yards out - was the Blues' solitary shot on goal in the first period. Hull posed little threat other than a couple of periods of sustained pressure, but the sending off of Huddlestone certainly turned the game back in Chelsea's favour, and Costa secured victory to end his mini goalscoring drought just eight minutes later. In addition to Hull's tenacious defensive display, the Blues found their attacking endeavours blunted by the sheer incompetence of referee Chris Foy, who capped off a miserable personal performance when he failed to award Chelsea a spot-kick for an obvious handball in the penalty area by Hull's James Chester just minutes before Costa made the game safe. Chelsea's usual attacking fluency - seen most recently in their thoroughly enjoyable defeat of Sporting Lisbon on Wednesday - was certainly missing in the absence of Fabregas, though a clever combination between Hazard and Oscar saw the Brazilian cross magnificently for Hazard to convert just the second headed goal of his career with only seven minutes played. It was eye-of-the-needle stuff from the diminutive Brazil international, but that represented the whole of Chelsea's threat in the first half. Having secured the lead and obliterating any game plan Steve Bruce may have had in place, the Blues took their foot off the gas and looked to play on the counter-attack as the visitors pressed forward in search of an equaliser. Petr Cech - deputising for the injured Thibaut Courtois - was barely tested as he recorded his 223rd clean sheet for Chelsea - though Hull did at least muster a number of half chances; the best of which falling to Sone Aluko who fired over from just outside the penalty area twenty minutes in. Foy came to centre stage with a flurry of cards in the second half, quite rightly booking Willian for a poor dive before then handing out the same punishment to Costa, who was clearly bundled to the floor. Gary Cahill - arguably already lucky not to have been dismissed for a terrible challenge on Aluko earlier on - was then fortunate not to be punished when he took a tumble in the box, before Huddlestone was then shown a straight red for leaving his studs in on Filipe Luis in a hefty collision. Officials have good games when you don't mention them. Chris Foy seemed intent on taking all the headlines in what was a disaster of a refereeing performance - and things didn't improve for Foy, who then missed a blatant handball by Chester in the box to sum up his woeful day. Costa, clearly fired up by his earlier booking, then took matters into his own hands as he gave Chelsea an unassailable 2-0 lead against ten men. Hazard dribbled the ball from left to right before looking up and supplying the perfect through-ball for Costa to fire beyond the exposed Alan McGregor. Chelsea substitute Andre Schurrle wasted a fine chance late on as he took too many touches when well placed in the penalty area, but the West London outfit saw out the final throes without alarm to maintain a three-point advantage over injury-stricken Manchester City, who defeated Leicester 1-0 but at great cost - with captain Vincent Kompany hobbling off with a hamstring injury. Bruce bemoaned the referee's performance - as he should - and Chelsea's alleged diving tendencies, but the truth is his team were beaten by a side barely moving out of second gear.

Haha well because of their more traditionally working-class background (Britain's industrial revolution evolved out of towns such as Coventry, Birmingham, Liverpool, Sheffield, Manchester, etc.), these areas tend to follow more working-class sports such as rugby, and also cricket, which is considered less of a "posh" sport in the north than it is in the south Yep, we might have an incredibly small country but it is obscenely diverse - there is, quite literally, a north-south divide. You only have to look at the list of clubs competing in this year's rugby league Super League (no club more southerly than Widnes in Cheshire, near Liverpool) to see my point

We're always shit after UCL games, so hopefully this bucks the trend. P.S. Cech to score a hat-trick.

You have to realise, B, that in England, north of Nottingham, the major sport is rugby league. Manchester and Merseyside are the only real anomalies, even once-great northern clubs like Leeds United and Sheffield United come from areas where rugby and even cricket are arguably more popular due to the blue collar nature of the game. The north-east is another anomaly, but Newcastle United is such a massive club with a ridiculously large fan-base. Sunderland also has a large fan-base - meaning clubs like Middlesbrough are quite poorly represented in terms of a fan-base. The Riverside Stadium has always been too big for Boro, they only ever used to sell it out against Liverpool, United, Arsenal and Chelsea. Also you think that Boro were once a Premier League club - teams lose a lot of fairweather fans after a relegation.

If he keeps a clean sheet today, I see no reason why he shouldn't retain his place for the foreseeable future, tbh. Thibaut needs to learn he isn't infallible, he is at a tender age and if he is guaranteed a starting berth there is no promise that he will continue to improve. Knowing he will have to push his every sinew in training sessions will really help to improve him - but so will sitting on the bench while another great keeper plays.

I normally wouldn't be up for us strengthening a rival. But then I realised this is Torres, if anything we'd be adding to their problems

Maybe it was a typo and say he was on the verge of outscoring Rolando?

That was his position... Wasn't it?!

I agree that he was a lacklustre defender, but I'll miss his driving runs and screamers, and of course his attitude. I wish him all the best at PSG and I hope he helps them break Lyon's 7-in-a-row record.

If he's saving himself up for a hat-trick against Spurs in January I won't mind if he doesn't score for a while, tbh!

Cahill is only playing by default, let's be fair. If Terry was 10 years younger it'd be he starting every game. Mourinho has his preference of Ivanovic at right-back, whereas in reality he should, at least in my opinion, be playing at centre-back alongside JT, with Luis and Azpi in their more natural positions. Why did AVB act like such a dick to Alex, I wonder?

Turnbull Bogarde - Boulahrouz - ben Haim - del Horno Bosingwa - Smertin - Samuele Dalla Bona - Zenden Kezman-Torres I'll take any of you fuckers on.

I sighed when he passed the ball straight out of play when Luis was what, five yards away from him? But after that I have to say he was arguably one of the three best players on the pitch, along with Schurrle and Matic.

Someone injure him, he's shit when he's fit

Games under Mourinho: 94 Goals under Mourinho: 5 Strike rate: 1 goal every 18.8 appearances Games under other CFC managers, 2006-2014: 231 Goals under other CFC managers: 0 Strike rate: N/A The Special One

I think he'll turn into a Gallas-type player. A good player, a very good player, just not quite world class. Though Gallas, despite ultimately being an utter cunt, was a very useful player for us in his time here. I wouldn't complain if he developed into that type of player.

If we loaned him to Arsenal then he'd start most of their games and probably score 15-20 goals in the league, he's designed to play for teams that play their sort of football. If only we could have swapped him for Giroud...

He's a striker who's barely getting a sniff, what do you expect him to do, pass to his rivals for a starting place?