BlueLion.

Win 16/17 of our home games and all we realistically need is 9/10 wins away from home to win the title, IMO.

TBH, I wouldn't mind if he came back. It's not like he has to play any games. We have Drogba, Remy and Diego all ahead of him, whereas previously we had only Eto'o and Demba. He'd be a decent option for the wide positions in the 4-2-3-1 as well, if necessary. Wouldn't be the end of the world.

I do when it's done correctly, Cahill's tendency to back off is as un-English as you can get from a defender.

He might be uncomfortable but at least he can pass the ball, unlike Cahill, the typical English kick-and-run centre-back who, recently, seems to panic every time he has the ball at his feet.

Zouma > Zouma with one leg > Cahill

It's pretty clear that against shit teams, Luis needs to start. His crossing is very good for a full-back and he has a decent shot on him.

I have to be honest, I was surprised he didn't miss regardless of the fact he was virtually under the crossbar.

Well I'm back from my holiday with a little more time to sit down and enjoy the footie for a change, so happy days for all!

Andre Schurrle netted a stunning goal as his energetic performance inspired Chelsea back to winning ways. Following another abject showing in northern England against Newcastle on Saturday, few would have been surprised by José Mourinho's decision to field a strong side in an attempt to immediately get back in the swing of things. The decision to do so paid instant dividends as Cesc Fabregas put Chelsea ahead from the penalty spot inside the opening ten minutes, before Schurrle's wonderful turn and drive into the bottom corner gave the Blues a degree of comfort heading into the interval. Sporting threatened a fightback following a strong start to the second period, and they got the rewards for an enterprising showing when Jonathan Silva beat Petr Cech with a neat finish with 50 minutes played. But John Obi Mikel put paid to that notion just six minutes later when he converted from almost under the crossbar after Kurt Zouma had flicked on Fabregas' free-kick - ending Sporting's resistance and consigning the Portuguese side to Europa League mediocrity. Mourinho gave game time to a number of the squad's fringe players - a category into which Schurrle himself may well find himself at present - and the German, along with Mohamed Salah, played with a degree of vim and vigour that will surely have been noticed by the Blues boss. Ahead of a tough festive period Mourinho will no doubt have to rotate a number of players on a game-to-game basis, and Salah and Schurrle will have played their way back into first-team contention on the evidence displayed here. And there was also the briefest of cameos for youngster Ruben Loftus-Cheek, who, in the final ten minutes, showed great poise and inventiveness on the ball on what was his début for the club. Loftus-Cheek may well have entered proceedings earlier, especially given the blitzing start made by the Blues, and when Filipe Luis was upended in the penalty area with just six minutes played by Ricardo Esgaio, it looked as if it would be a long night for the Portuguese side. Fabregas showed trademark composure from the spot; almost arrogantly passing the ball down the middle of the goal to give the Blues the perfect start and dent Sporting's hopes of progressing to the last sixteen. Needing either to avoid defeat at Stamford Bridge or hope that Schalke failed to win at Maribor, things took a turn for the worse for the Portuguese side when, after a passage of flowing football, Schurrle turned and slotted the ball home from twenty yards with laser precision. It is the sort of goal that typifies the more direct approach of the German winger compared to the likes of Willian and Eden Hazard, and that strike served only to invoke even greater confidence as the World Cup winner began to stamp his authority over the game. He nearly doubled his tally for the evening when he met Cesar Azpilicueta's cross with a composed half-volley, but Sporting goalkeeper Rui Patricio was at his best to deny the German a second goal. Schurrle then had the Blues' next good opportunity as his deflected drive dribbled wide of the post with Patricio scrambling, before Nemanja Matic - the match-winner the last time the two sides met - saw a controlled side-foot volley from the edge of the area narrowly avoid nestling in the top corner. Diego Costa, still searching for his first Champions League goal for the club, saw an effort blocked just before the break, whilst, the other side of the interval, Schurrle maintained his eye-catching performance with a clever free-kick that sailed no more than a couple of feet wide of the near post. But Sporting emerged with a greater desire after half-time - probably buoyed by the 0-0 scoreline in Maribor that would take them through - and got their rewards for an improved showing when Silva had time to take the ball down on his chest and then measure the ball into the far corner, beyond the despairing dive of Cech. Whilst Salah had a drive from the edge of the box superbly tipped around the post by Patricio at the other end, it was Sporting who were in the ascendancy - only for Mikel, converting from the closest range possible, to deliver the ultimate sucker punch. That goal - Mikel's first since January - effectively killed the game as a tie, and with news of a goal for Schalke's Max Meyer, the Lisbon club seemed beaten even with half an hour remaining in this game. Islam Slimani had a shot saved by Cech, and then the same player produced a fine low save from the Czech custodian, who did well to prevent the ball from going over the line despite his backwards momentum. But with Sporting requiring two goals, there were gaps appearing all over the place for Chelsea to exploit, and whilst substitute Loic Remy had a shot blocked inside the penalty area, his strike partner Costa was infuriated when his was blatantly tugged back when trying to latch onto Fabregas' lofted through-ball. With Sporting dejected, Loftus-Cheek entered the fray to rapturous applause, and despite a nervous, heavy first touch of the ball, the youngster soon started to play with his usual verve and fluency, and, but for a shockingly bad cross by another substitute, Ramires, the 18 year-old may well have contributed to a fourth Chelsea goal with Matic marauding further forward. Cech turned aside one last effort from Silva, but the final whistle sounded as Sporting were knocked out. Chelsea, meanwhile, top the group with fourteen points from a possible eighteen, having scored seventeen goals in the process - making the Blues the top scorers in this season's competition, and with only three goals conceded, only Real Madrid and AS Monaco can boast better defensive records. The Blues can play any of Shakhtar Donetsk, Paris St-Germain, Juventus, Bayer Leverkusen or FC Basel in the first knock-out round. Avoid the French club and Mourinho will be more than satisfied with his team's work in Europe this term.

I know Ron, I just have no time to write them at the minute (won't be able to do one this weekend either)

Nah he isn't. Sorry Chelsea fans. He had a wonderful season, but Neuer is just something else. In terms of performances it's close, but Neuer was the star of the World Cup for me and an integral part in Germany's triumph, plus it's not as if Bayern had a bad season.

The best way, perhaps, to put Tottenham Hotspur’s record at Chelsea into context is that the last time they won at Stamford Bridge was the same day President FW de Klerk announced Nelson Mandela was to be released from prison. It is 24 years and 10 months since a side managed by Terry Venables came away with a 2-1 victory and their latest defeat was their 28th attempt to break that run. Mauricio Pochettino is the 15th manager to give it a go and, once again, all Spurs were left with was the now-familiar sense of deja vu that engulfs this rivalry. This one was classic Tottenham in many ways: starting encouragingly, threatening sporadically to create a story but then playing a considerable part in their own downfall and reminding us of the gulf that exists between a side with authentic title aspirations and one in a game of catch-up. Chelsea did not play as exhilaratingly as the scoreline suggests but they were the more ruthless, efficient team by some considerable distance and there was an air of inevitability about this win as soon as Eden Hazard and Didier Drogba had scored within three minutes of one another midway through the first half. Loïc Rémy, a second-half substitute, added a stylish third shortly after replacing Drogba and the Premier League leaders, maintaining their six-point advantage over Manchester City, have equalled their record of 23 successive matches unbeaten, set previously in 2007 and 2009. Chelsea’s manager, José Mourinho, acclaimed Drogba, who is three months short of his 37th birthday, as “remarkable” and the only downside for Chelsea came in the form of the yellow card that means Nemanja Matic will be suspended from Saturday’s game at Newcastle. Yet Chelsea, lest it be forgotten, were without Diego Costa, serving his own ban, for their latest victory which came with a haughty shrug from Mourinho. “No problem,” he said. “Did you remember Diego Costa today? I didn’t. We give confidence to the other people. We don’t cry when somebody cannot play. Diego Costa is already rested and now Nemanja Matic will be rested. No problem.” Tottenham had actually begun the game as though affronted by the statistics and, as Mourinho volunteered, they “were better than us in the first 20 minutes”. They passed the ball crisply and had a striker, in Harry Kane, who looked capable of troubling Chelsea’s back four. Yet Spurs cannot expect to defend this generously and get away with it against the side at the top of the league. Kane could not make the most of either of the two chances that fell for him inside the opening quarter of an hour and it was startling to see the way Spurs crumpled during that period when the game suddenly lurched away from them. Drogba’s goal was a particularly traumatic one for Spurs to concede given that it came from nothing more elaborate than Hugo Lloris miscuing a routine kick, not even getting the ball to the midway point of his own half and leaving himself hopelessly exposed as Oscar and Hazard set up the man filling in for Costa. Drogba might not be the player he once was but this was a gift and Lloris took a long time to shake his head clear. There were three other occasions in the first half when he shanked or misplaced clearances from his own penalty area. Pochettino reflected afterwards about the moment early on when Kane sent a twisting header against the crossbar and, shortly afterwards, when the same player seized on a mistake by the Chelsea and England defender Gary Cahill, drove into the penalty area and flashed a shot across the goalmouth. “The first chance Chelsea created, they scored; the second, they scored again,” the Spurs manager said. “We need to be more clinical because that was the difference.” What he did not dwell on was the level of self-inflicted damage. Hazard’s speed and movement makes him a dangerously elusive player but there was nothing particularly original about the one-two with Drogba that created the opening goal. The problem for Tottenham was that Aaron Lennon had let his man run off him. Vlad Chiriches was out of position and Hazard picked his spot to change the entire complexion of the night. Cahill’s error might have had something to do with a clash of heads with the Tottenham centre-half Jan Vertonghen in the opening five minutes, leading to the Chelsea centre-half being replaced by Kurt Zouma at half-time. Kane continued to toil away but there was also the clear sense that the home side were playing within themselves, content to protect their lead and operate from a position of strength. It was risk-free football from Mourinho’s team in the second half, with Matic and Cesc Fàbregas rarely straying too far forwards until Rémy’s goal settled any lingering nerves, when he ran on to César Azpilicueta’s pass and got the better of Vertonghen inside the penalty area. Willian was available to his right but Rémy expertly guided the ball past Lloris and the Chelsea machine rolled on. Written by Daniel Taylor at Stamford Bridge Taken from The Guardian Click here to view the article

He's just butthurt because we played football for about 10 minutes in total in the entire game and still bossed them, whilst barely getting out of 2nd gear for the remainder of the game.

It does.

Forgot he played for us tbh

I think that's a fair point. But even I have to admit DD11 has surpassed my expectations; I thoroughly expected him to be third, not second choice. He's been fantastic.

Good shout. Hahaha no fucking chance, I've slagged you fuckers off too many times for any of you to be able to read it, you should see the abuse I directed at Jason before we promoted him hahaha

Name: Epikur Reason: Racist/Xenophobic Punishment: Content moderated permanentlyAbility to create content removed permanently.Suspended permanentlyAlso move to Banned I appreciate that Jason had already dished out a suspension, but I don't think it was severe enough. TalkChelsea has a zero-tolerance policy towards xenophobic behaviour and that post contravened those rules.

Just seen a picture of the shirt with the sponsor on... looking quite sexy I have to say!!

He needs to be given more game time. Simple as that.

Based on the performances he's giving, he shouldn't be retiring in the summer.

He looks more like a "Chelsea goalkeeper" now, i.e. he isn't as fidgety in his goal, and seems just generally more relaxed with his all-round game. I think he was trying to impress too much in his early games, though, in fairness, barely any of the goals he's conceded have been his fault this season, IMO, besides Huntelaar's goal at the Bridge where he got his angles horribly wrong (good finish though in fairness from one of my favourite strikers).

Partnering Terry... or Varane...

So... all those people who thought Drogs was coming back for his lap of honour and nothing more... Y'all look a bit stupid