BlueLion.

Can we sneak Max Meyer on the team bus please?

Chelsea recorded their equal-biggest UEFA Champions League away victory with a stunning demolition of Roberto di Matteo's Schalke. In a result that confirms the Blues' progression to the competition's knock-out rounds as group victors, John Terry gave his side the perfect start with a terrific headed goal from Cesc Fabregas' corner after just 86 seconds. Willian then converted after a slick move - though he was helped by some haphazard goalkeeping from Schalke's Ralf Fährmann - before the hosts' kamikaze showing in the first half was capped when Jan Kirchhoff comically headed into his own net to give Chelsea an unassailable 3-0 lead at the break. José Mourinho's men were unrelenting, however, and substitute Didier Drogba scored and turned provider in the space of two minutes; netting from close range before setting up Ramires' header. That goal confirmed the evening's performance as arguably Chelsea's best showing of the season - which in itself is no mean feat considering the quality exhibited in the Blues' now nineteen-game unbeaten start to the season. The scoreline also matches Chelsea's famous 5-0 drubbing of Galatasaray in their iconic first ever foray into the Champions League. Mourinho had talked up the need for a strong start in what was, on paper, at least, supposed to be Chelsea's toughest assignment of this group stage, but John Terry's header, inside 90 seconds - Chelsea's fastest Champions League goal, beating Didier Drogba's 170-second effort against Valencia in December 2011 - would have exceeded the Portuguese's expectations. Barely four minutes had been played before the Blues' next glaring opportunity, as Branislav Ivanovic hammered a volley over the bar as he looked to capitalise on hesitant Schalke defending, but by the time the half-hour had passed Willian had already hammered the ball beyond Fährmann to finish off a flowing team move. The Schalke goalkeeper was certainly at fault in letting Willian double Chelsea's lead, allowing the Brazilian's admittedly firmly-struck effort to sneak in at the near post, but he certainly made amends with an excellent reactionary save from Oscar's superb volley after Fabregas' exquisite through-ball. Yet Fährmann was again cursing his luck as, from the resultant corner, Fabregas' delivery was again headed in - this time by his team-mate Jan Kirchhoff, who was booed off the pitch and subsequently replaced at half-time by the dumbstruck di Matteo, whose side - previously imperious at home under his tutelage, and unbeaten there all season so far - left the pitch half-way through what was turning out to be a footballing education by Mourinho's side. It was a relatively low-key start to the second-half - expected considering the Blues' dominance prior to the interval - but the game exploded back into life as, on the hour mark, Ivanovic was a mere whisker away from thrashing a volley into the top corner from Willian's cross. Max Meyer came on for Schalke and gave the home side a degree of impetus, but Thibaut Courtois was a virtual spectator in the Chelsea goal despite the German starlet's best attempts at galvanising his demoralised colleagues. Diego Costa - who might have ended up on the scoresheet himself had WIllian not delayed a through-ball during a Blues counter-attack - was replaced by Drogba after 65 minutes, and within ten minutes of his introduction the Ivorian was celebrating his first appearance for Chelsea on German soil since his Champions League-winning penalty in May 2012 with a simple tap-in from WIllian's cut-back. The Brazilian had been played in by Fabregas' raking pass, and unselfishly fed Drogba for his fourth goal of his second spell and 161st in total for Chelsea. The goal meant the Ivorian became the first African player to net 50 goals in UEFA competitions. And merely 73 seconds later, he turned supplier as his whipped cross to the far post was expertly converted by Ramires, another substitute whose place in the team has come under extreme threat because of the form of Fabregas and Nemanja Matic, who was again at his peerless best at the centre of the Chelsea midfield. Eden Hazard might have made it 6-0 in stoppage time but he was denied by a good save from the Schalke goalkeeper Fährmann, who had certainly made amends for his earlier mistake with a string of good stops. The result means Chelsea are through and top the group regardless of what happens on matchday six against Sporting Lisbon at Stamford Bridge, and the Blues will now enter Saturday's tea-time tussle with Sunderland in even more buoyant mood.

He'd have had Chopper at right-back and Branna in the middle, said he would play Makelele and Lampard at the centre of the midfield with Zola and Hazard wide in a 4-4-2; Tambling and Ossie up top.

I've not been a fan for as long as you Ron, but in the time that I've supported the club (since 1997), there is absolutely no chance any of the players from the Gullit/Vialli era - Zola besides - would get in the team ahead of those I've chosen. Those people who've put le Seux, Desailly, Petrescu, Wise, di Matteo, etc., are, in my honest opinion, mistaken if they think those players are better than Cole, Carvalho, Ivanovic, Essien, Hazard, for instance. I wasn't going to put in a random late 90s player just for the sake of proving I've been a fan for a long time... my dad has been a regular at Stamford Bridge since 1965, but apart from maybe Chopper over Carvalho, Osgood over Essien and Tambling over Drogba, he couldn't think of a better XI than I one I suggested. For instance after Cech and Lampard, Carlo Cudicini is my favourite Chelsea player, but there's no way in this universe that he was a better GK than Courtois. It's very newbie-orientated, but that's because our squad right now is probably the best we've ever had.

Mull over this while you're cooking your casseroles: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/columnists/jennymccartney/8726457/Without-history-we-have-only-ignorance.html

Fabregas

Sorry guys, Neuer is on an absolutely different level to anyone else in the world right now.

FFS man I'm a historian, I don't deal with numbers

No, it really isn't. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ru4E-8aW2bQ

Provided Sporting don't absolutely annihilate Maribor tomorrow, two draws should see us top the group on head-to-head.

Yes, he is one of those strikers who is better at what he does off the ball as opposed to what he does with it, though his goalscoring record is better than any striker in Chelsea's recent history, so I ain't gonna complain!

Haha, I had a steel one that my dad reinforced with what was essentially a tungsten edge so it ripped the fucking shit out of everything.

Surprised there is such apathy in here. I wasn't around when Neal was manager, but anyone who is versed in the history of the club has to appreciate we probably wouldn't exist without his management - if we'd have been relegated to the third division the financial implications might have destroyed this club.

Cech Ivanovic - Carvalho - Terry - Cole Makelele - Essien Lampard Hazard - Drogba - Zola Subs: Courtois, Desailly, di Matteo, Wise, Ballack, Robben, Gudjohnsen Manager: Mourinho

Chelsea 2004/05 > Chelsea 2014/15 > Chelsea 2005/06 > Chelsea 2009/10 > Arsenal 03/04

Tough game. Schalke beat Wolfsburg (who were on a six-game winning streak) 3-2 today, and have won four out of four home games since RdM took charge. A draw wouldn't be a disaster, but it would make the last game against Sporting a lot less stressful if we could steal three points here. This Schalke are a totally different side to the one we dicked over home and away last year!

I agree, unless José intends to start Loic or Didier on Tuesday?

Chelsea opened up a seven-point lead at the top of the Premier League with a comprehensive defeat of West Bromwich Albion. Diego Costa gave the Blues the lead after just eleven minutes with a smart finish as he volleyed home from Oscar's whipped delivery, whilst Eden Hazard made it 2-0 with a smart finish from Cesc Fabregas' well-worked short corner. Claudio Yacob was then dismissed before half-time for an excessively forceful challenge on Costa, whilst Ben Foster put in a man-of-the-match performance to keep the scoreline respectable. The result moves Chelsea seven points ahead of second-placed Southampton, who play Aston Villa on Monday evening, and also maintains their eight-point advantage over champions Manchester City, who came from behind to beat Swansea on Saturday afternoon. For the first time in the club's history, Chelsea have gone twelve games unbeaten at the start of a league campaign, and this was one of the more comfortable afternoons in that run for José Mourinho's men. The second half was played at walking pace against the ten men of Albion, who were left chasing shadows for much of the game. Whilst on another day the margin of victory would have been greater, this was an absolute drubbing in all but scoreline as Thibaut Courtois was criminally underemployed in the Chelsea goal. Yacob's dismissal killed the game as a contest, with Chelsea allowed to play the game at walking pace against a packed Albion defence. Whilst Mourinho may well have gone for the kill, the Blues boss certainly will have had one eye on Tuesday night's match away at Schalke in the Champions League. With that taken into account, it is understandable that they perhaps took the foot off the gas a little after the interval. The tone of the game was set when Ben Foster had to make a stunning early save with his foot to somehow divert away John Terry's goalbound effort, but there was hardly a wait for the opening goal as Costa expertly chested and side-foot volleyed home Oscar's devilish delivery from the wing. Costa then saw an effort kiss the outside of the post as Branislav Ivanovic's deflected cross found its way to the feet of the Spain international, and the former Atletico Madrid man had another effort blocked as he continued to dominate a ragged Albion backline. Hazard then continued his own fine run of goalscoring form when, from Fabregas' intelligent short corner, the Belgian was able to capitalise on hesitant defending as he lashed his shot through Foster's legs via a slight deflection. The red card for Yacob came on the half-hour as Costa, in possession of the ball on the edge of the Albion penalty area, was unceremoniously scythed down by the Argentine midfielder. On closer inspection, the tackle wasn't a particularly bad one from Yacob, but there was a hint of two-footedness about the challenge and the excessive force demonstrated by the player was perhaps what warranted the decision in the mind of referee Lee Mason. Immediately after the interval, Nemanja Matic volleyed wastefully over when well-placed inside the six yard box. From another short corner, Oscar was able to once more whip the ball towards the unmarked Serb, who failed to control his finish and lazily lashed over with Foster's goal at his mercy. Hazard was denied one-on-one by Foster's trailing leg in what was truthfully the last obvious goalscoring opportunity for the Blues, who, if being hypercritical, can be criticised for over-elaborating their play at times, and a host of late substitutions from Mourinho - with Didier Drogba, Loic Remy and Ramires all late replacements - only adding to this second-half snooze fest. But, with a tough midweek assignment on Tuesday against Roberto di Matteo's Schalke - who today made it four wins from four home matches under the Italian's tutelage with a 3-2 defeat of in-form Wolsburg - Chelsea can be forgiven for cruising to a comfortable victory that has shades of a similar victory over the Baggies during Mourinho's first spell in charge. Click here to view the article

Foster is clearly on crack.

Hahaha! :lol:

The way he was treated by Villas-Boas was disgusting. The fact we then started the 2012/13 season with only Torres as a recognised striker (Sturridge was almost exclusively used by a RDM as a winger) was an even worse decision.

He must have a big pee pee.

Where I work now is literally outside of Villa Park. Hate working on Saturdays for that reason!