BlueLion.

We've always had vice-captains. Ballack and Makelele were effectively captaining the side from Dec-Jan 2007/08 whilst both Lampard and Terry were out of the team, despite there being numerous players who had been at the club longer than they had, particularly Ballack, who captained the side over the likes of Makelele, Cole, Bridge, Ferreira and Carvalho who had all been at the club far longer than he had at that time. Lampard was our vice-captain, with Drogba (until he left) and then Cech next down the pecking order. The fact those players happened to be the most experienced is irrelevant; there was a clear hierarchy in place regarding the captaincy at this club, of Terry -> Lampard -> Drogba -> Cech that is still evident even now. By the end of this season only Terry will still be there meaning we need new people to step forward. Captains aren't chosen based on who has been at the club the longest; they're chosen based on experience and the ability to lead - otherwise why were Terry and Lampard installed as captain and VC by Jose ahead of the oldest players at the club?

No, but Cech (vice captain 1) will probably leave in the summer and Drogba (vice captain 2) is probably going to retire and become a coach. That means we'll need a new vice captain, who will then take the mantle from JT full-time in the next 18-24 months. Cesc is that man, according to José.

Sorry, if you didn't vote Hazard MOTM you're wrong. The whole team was fantastic but he was on another level.

Looks like it will be Fabregas. http://www.express.co.uk/sport/football/526131/Cesc-Fabregas-Chelsea-Captain-Appointment-Stamford-Bridge-Stars-Update-Latest

Courtois

Thanks for reading!

Cech - two starts, one sub - 2 clean sheets.

Please refer to this topic. New regulations for the buying and selling of Chelsea Football Club match tickets on TalkChelsea.net TalkChelsea has always been a place where fans of Chelsea FC have been able to buy, trade, and sell official club match tickets at a fair price - namely at face value. Since the inception of this forum it is very rare that we have had any problems with this - our users have been quick to spot and report touts selling at extortionate prices, whilst there have been hardly any circumstances where a member has paid for tickets and then been duped by not receiving them. Unfortunately we all live in a society where some people are willing to screw another human being over to earn a quick buck. Therefore, I am announcing that: There are to be new regulations for the buying and selling of match tickets on these forums (see below); and We Hate Scouse will be installed as a moderator for this particular forum to ensure these regulations are adhered to.Regulations for the selling of tickets ALL users when selling tickets must now provide: Pictures of the tickets they are selling; or, failing this; a picture of their Season Ticket, Membership card, or at the very least email confirmation of the purchase of their tickets (if purchased through the online server) or the paper receipt given out at either the Stamford Bridge of Kensington megastore ticket offices. A contact telephone number and email. Tickets must be sold at face value.Failure to adhere to this will result in the seller having their private message function turned off and their posting rights revoked until the staff can garner whether they are genuine in their attempts to sell. If anyone is found guilty of attempting to sell tickets without meeting all of the above criteria, their topic will be locked, the user will be banned, and their details will be passed on to the police. Regulations for the buying of tickets Members are warned that TalkChelsea cannot take any responsibility for transactions that are organised through, or take place over this forum or any of its features, for instance the Chat Box or Private Message function. However, we will give the following advice for members who are buying tickets: only purchase from those members who have done as requested above and supplied ample contact information. You buy at your own risk - so protect yourself the best that you can. One way we will go about this is, where possible, transactions must now take place over PayPal. It takes only a second to set up a PayPal account, and it is a fast and easy-to-use service that can be used on countless hundreds of websites. PayPal protects you when you send funds - you can withdraw them if you do not receive any tickets within a certain period of time. Obviously you can't do this over wireless bank transfers or posted cheques - so be as streetwise as you can be when it comes to purchasing. And finally, never, ever support a tout that tries to rip you off. If anyone is charging extortionate prices, report them to either myself or We Hate Scouse. Their details will be passed to the police and they will be banned from this board. People who are genuine about selling and buying tickets fairly on this website have nothing to fear. For the touts, who would rip off fellow Chelsea fans, they have everything to fear. You have all been fairly warned. These rules are effective as of today, Wednesday 22 October 2014. Alex.

222 not out. The greatest goalkeeper in our history, perhaps even modern English footballing history.

Eden Hazard played a starring role as Chelsea mauled Maribor to record their biggest-ever Champions League victory. The Belgian netted twice in an emphatic win that was somewhat overshadowed by an early injury to Loic Remy, who netted the opening goal before departing prematurely due to an apparent groin injury. With Schalke winning 4-3 against Sporting Lisbon thanks to a last-minute Eric Choupo-Moting penalty in Roberto di Matteo's first game in charge, after a draw in their last home game against the German outfit the onus was firmly on Chelsea to lay down a marker with a victory against their Slovenian opponents. Through an enterprising performance they duly delivered, with Hazard, Willian and full-back Filipe Luis at the heart of a hugely impressive victory over the side that dominated Celtic in the third qualifying round. With Andre Schurrle and nine-goal Diego Costa on the treatment table, the role of leading the line was handed to Remy, who, after opening the scoring with a precise finish from the edge of the area, limped off to add to José Mourinho's forward woes. But just eight minutes after the Frenchman departed, another of Mourinho's strikers was reacquainting himself with the familiar feeling of netting on a Chelsea European night as Didier Drogba slotted home his 158th Blues goal. Drogba's last touch of a ball in his first spell as a Chelsea player was the match-winning penalty against Bayern Munich in the Champions League final of May 2012 - and his strike here was an exact replica of that moment as the ball nestled in the same spot as in Bayern's own back yard. That penalty, awarded somewhat harshly for an accidental handball, came just moments after Agim Ibraimi saw a well hit snap-shot turned aside by Petr Cech, who was making his first appearance in the competition since suffering a season-ending shoulder injury in April's 0-0 draw at Atletico Madrid. It was 3-0 with half-an-hour played as the Blues broke following a Maribor corner. Drogba cleared the ball upfield from the edge of the six yard box, where Hazard was able to control the ball and slip in Cesc Fabregas, who in turn fed the ball in to the feet of John Terry, who poked home into an unguarded net. There was chances either side of half-time for the Blues to extend their lead; the first of which fell to Branislav Ivanovic who ought to have done better than lash over when well placed, and Kurt Zouma was later denied after the restart as his header was saved by Handanovic. Cech then fielded a deflected Marcos Tavares volley, before Hazard, who should have finished off a glorious move just moments before, crossed the ball in for the hapless Mitja Viler to back-heel into his own goal to supply a fourth for Chelsea. Maribor were then rightly awarded a penalty when Nemanja Matic clumsily threw Tavares to the flew, but Ibraimi's effort cannoned out off the base of the post - though Cech may well have saved the shot had it been on target. Oscar then curled a sumptuous effort inches wide whilst the majestic WIllian went closer still to adding a fifth for the Blues as his ferocious drive thundered back off the crossbar with the goalkeeper beaten. But the capacity crowd at Stamford Bridge only had to wait a little longer as Hazard converted the third penalty of the night, and the brilliant Belgian made it 6-0 in stoppage time as he beautifully took down substitute Nathan Ake's raking pass, jinked inside and then outside a defender, before lashing into the top corner for his fourth goal of the season already. He might have made it a hat-trick in the game's very last play as he beat umpteen defenders, only to skew an effort straight down the line of the goalkeeper - but the final whistle was nonetheless sounded as Chelsea recorded their biggest Champions League victory, surpassing 2012's 6-1 beating of FC Nordsjaelland. Despite the injury to Remy, there were positives galore for Blues boss Mourinho, who saw Drogba look something close to his best once more. Though Maribor hardly represent the most taxing of opposition, the Ivorian looked fighting fit and was well worth his goal from the penalty spot and should both Costa and Remy both be ruled out of Sunday's trip to Old Trafford, Drogba may well prove himself a handful of his own accord. Equally as promising were both young substitutes Ake and Dominic Solanke, the latter making his Chelsea début aged just 17, whilst Zouma was imperious at the back on his European bow. Playing next to John Terry, we may well have witnessed both the present and the future of Chelsea's central defence this evening - Zouma looks worth every penny of the hefty £12 million paid to St Etienne for his services back in January. Attentions are now turned back towards the Premier League and that weekend visit to Old Trafford - a tricky fixture in even the best of times, United will prove tough opponents with the Blues' growing repertoire of injury concerns.

Higher than I thought we'd be. We're producing some excellent talent - the problem is its easier to spend £32 million on Diego Costa than give Solanke, Brown or Bamford the 2/3 seasons they'd need to come through.

Maybe at first; he had some incredible games for us such as Barcelona at home in 2006 and Liverpool at home in 2009, but he was nowhere near as good as Schwarzer's level.

Schwarzer is a phenomenal deputy, letting him leave would be ridiculous. Do you remember the times Hilario or Turnbull had to cover Cech?

TBF we should be sponsored by Anusol because quite a few teams will need that after the poundings they'll take from us this season.

That's sort of a "my bad", I hadn't read this topic since early September and assumed that was a recent post, so I apologise if it seemed cheap. My point still stands, however - Thorgan is far too raw to be part of Chelsea's plans right now, IMO.

Karma's a bitch. Wouldn't it be fucking hilarious if he came down with Ebola?

Oscar has huge amounts of potential and is now moreorless proven on every level - yet with his best days clearly ahead of him - and you want to replace him?

When he came on against Arsenal I wasn't at all nervous, in fact I probably felt more comfortable. The reason is that Cech has 10 years' worth of experience keeping goal for us, Courtois has barely had 10 weeks. He needs time to adapt and impose himself.

That's fuck all compared to 2012/13 when we were negotiating FA Cup and Europa League matches and playing Tuesday-Thursday-Sunday every week.

So because ter Stegen plays for Barcelona, Casillas plays for Real Madrid, Szczesny plays for Arsenal and Hart plays for City, they're all better keepers than Lloris? All I'll say is: :lol: :lol:

The phallic connotations here are disturbing

So he's still capable of gargantuan brainfarts and haphazard "defending" at even the best of times. I hope we tore up the receipt a long time ago. I said this many times when he was here, but I still can't believe PSG offered that amount. Probably £20m would have tempted José to sell. He had some good games for us and in general wasn't as bad as the media made out he was, but imagine how open we'd be defensively this season if he was playing in this new system of ours

Longest unbeaten home run then.

Unless we loan out Thibaut again :lol:

I doubt it. If he was wearing a Chelsea shirt, however, it'd be at least a three-game ban.