BlueLion.

HAHA! Absolutely guaranteed that he'd score today after all the stick I've given him. Fair play, think he did the best he could today. His kick on Suarez - that didn't result in a stonewall penalty - was my favourite highlight.

I'd like to see that - in fact I'd love to see Oscar as the AM in the 4-3-3, BUT in a game of this magnitude I can't see Mourinho risking it. He'll stick with the 4-2-3-1 in my opinion, I think Ramires' dynamism is too much of a miss for him to risk a 4-3-3 - you can't see Essien, Mikel or Lampard being able to operate in a box-to-box capacity any more.

Yup - although can you see Mourinho risking a 4-3-3 without Ramires?

It's not harsh. He's utterly dire. He contributes less than Ba or Torres.

Cech Ivanovic - Cahill - Terry - Azpi Lampard - Mikel Willian - Oscar - Hazard Torres

So let's stick with close-the-keeper-down-but-I-can-do-fuck-all-else Samuel Eto'o then?

We were good - nay, very good - for about 30 minutes in the first-half. Other than that, it was the usual dirge, I'm afraid Ron!

I don't fuck about, unlike our strikers!

A moment of individual brilliance from Eden Hazard was the difference as Chelsea battled to three points against Swansea at Stamford Bridge. Netting the Blues' 100th Boxing Day goal, the sight of the diminutive Belgian was nothing more than a blur as he speedily weaved his way through the Swans backline before unleashing a driving effort into the back of the net. Samuel Eto'o - again - wasted glorious chances to give the game a scoreline that would have offered a fairer reflection of Chelsea's dominance, but despite long spells of second half possession, Michael Laudrup's side were limp and toothless, producing only one save of note from home keeper Petr Cech. The result means Chelsea move to second temporarily, though depending on the outcome of the Manchester City-Liverpool fixture this evening they could fall back into fourth position, should it end honours even at the Etihad. Chelsea began the game impressively and finally got the goal they warranted when Hazard blasted home from the edge of the area, but despite concerted spells of pressure - including one spell mid-way through the first half where half a dozen corners were won in quick succession - the hosts, once again, were unable to convert their territorial dominance into goals. Creating opportunities is not the difficulty for José Mourinho's men - simply sticking them in the back of the net is the issue. A combination of poor finishing and good goalkeeping from Swansea's Gerhard Tremmel (including fine saves from John Terry, Eto'o, and in particular, a late strike by substitute Frank Lampard) ensured the home supporters would be on tenterhooks during a progressively tense second half. This was a game to win comfortably ahead of Sunday's crunch match with Liverpool. Swansea, with one eye clearly on a more winnable fixture with Aston Villa next time round, made a number of changes in personnel, with first-team regulars Michu, Chico Florres, Ben Davies, Pablo Hernandez and Jon de Guzman all either rested or out through injury. Instead, through the wastefulness of their attacking players, the Blues were made to sweat it out as Swansea pressed late on. Ahead of the match, therefore, you would not have been too adventurous to expect a healthy Chelsea victory, but the Blues made hard work of matters; a recurring theme that is beginning to define the Blues' season - right now, Chelsea are just about doing enough to keep in touch with the league's pace-setters. Chelsea are far from boring - in fact they were, at times, a joy to watch this afternoon. Chances are not few and far-between; they are being provided by the bucketload. What the Blues need is someone to convert them. Whilst Liverpool will be Mourinho's immediate concern, a striker who can actually finished should surely be high up on the long-term agenda. There was even a touch of good fortune about the game-winning goal - indeed, for all of Hazard's pace and trickery his shot was straight at Tremmel, and it was only for the interference of Swans skipper Ashley Williams that the German stopper misjudged the effort and saw it go straight through him. Nevertheless, positives must be acknowledged - this is the first time Chelsea have recorded back-to-back clean sheets in the Premier League since this corresponding fixture last season back in April, and the subsequent win at Old Trafford the following weekend. And further pluses can be derived from the manner of this victory. The fact Chelsea were able to grind out this win is a positive sign of things to come - despite being nowhere near playing "well", the Blues are still in with a shout of title glory. Indeed, should John Terry lift the Premier League crown in May, it is upon games like this - the hard-fought contests - that Chelsea supporters will look back at most fondly. Click here to view the article

Can see us throwing this away.

UNBELIEVABLE save by Cech. Unreal.

HAZARRDDDDD

Cole's been awful so far.

Be warned, that link is crawling with malware and adware.

Absolutely, considering we weren't really set up to attack, he did absolutely everything he could.

He was very good last night, credit where it is due.

Tough team to beat. Whilst we beat them last time round, that win is the solitary victory we've had in the last five meetings (1-1 (2011/12), 1-1, 0-2, 0-0, 2-0 (all 2012/13, including two COC matches), with the previous win before that all the way back in September 2011.

Chelsea moved up to fourth in the Premier League - and just two points off top spot - with a battling draw against Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium. In what was a dour encounter, played in horrendous, gale-force conditions, both teams did exceptionally well to overcome the elements yet failed to ignite a game between two Premier League heavy-weights that could have set the tone for the remainder of the festive period. Whilst Arsenal threatened twice late on through Olivier Giroud, the best chance of the game fell to Frank Lampard, who smacked a tremendous volley against the crossbar. Both Fernando Torres and then Willian found Gunners keeper Wojciech Szczesny in defiant form with efforts of their own as the Blues enjoyed the better of the first half. Arsenal predictably demonstrated a more attacking outlook after the interval following an at best tentative showing prior to half-time, but, those two opportunities for Giroud aside, they never looked like seriously troubling Petr Cech, who, on his 309th league appearance for the West Londoners, recorded his 150th Premier League clean sheet. The home support thought they should have had a first-half penalty when Theo Walcott flung himself to the ground after minimal contact from Willian - in truth, that desperation demonstrates just how toothless Arsenal were in trying to unpick their cross-town rivals, with José Mourinho, in the meantime, maintaining his undefeated streak against Arsene Wenger - a run now standing at an impressive ten games. The result does little for either team, and ensures Liverpool top the table over Christmas - but with the Merseysiders taking on Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium and Arsenal travelling to in-form Newcastle on Boxing Day, that lead may well be short-lived should the Blues themselves overcome Swansea on the same day. Ultimately, a draw was a deserved result - the Arsenal fans may have labelled the Blues "boring", but in truth, Chelsea shaded this match, and one wonders what the outcome might have been had Mourinho been a little more cavalier in his approach. Yet, the gap at the top is nonetheless reduced to a mere two points - and back-to-back triumphs over Swansea and then Liverpool at Stamford Bridge may well put the Blues in the driving seat heading into the New Year. Not bad for a team in crisis... Click here to view the article

That's just because they're probably player issue designs.

Name: ChelseasMessiah Reason: Other Punishment: Content moderated permanentlyAbility to create content removed permanently.Suspended permanently Also move to Banned

Today was his 150th clean sheet in just his 309th EPL appearance. That's a ridiculous stat.

Can't say I'm "delighted" with the result - though a draw at Arsenal is a credible result, and many of us (myself included) were fearing the worst considering our defensive woes) - but I am chuffed to bits with our performance. Defensively miserly, and we were by far the more threatening attacking side. Almost makes you wonder what might have happened if we'd have gone for it tonight, but one thing is for sure if we'd have been more attacking, then Arsenal would have had many more chances than the couple Giroud spurned. Terry and Willian were particularly brilliant tonight, but a good performance all round. We shaded it tonight - just - but a draw is a very fair result. I also think Mike Dean got all three major controversies absolutely spot on - the challenge by Mikel was never a yellow, let alone a red as Jamie Carragher thought; it was a brilliant 50-50 were both players wanted the ball and naturally one would lose out; the challenge by Ramires was a yellow and nothing more; and as for Arsenal complaints about Walcott being fouled in the box for a penalty? Laughable. Shows how desperate they were. There's only one team in London with a European Cup, and tonight we showed why. Excellent defensive performance - and a fucking clean sheet for Christmas!

Pitch inspection at 3, supposedly. It is fucking hammering it down in LDN, though - the old man has been working in Islington for the last two weeks, says it's biblical down south at the minute. But that isn't the major problem - the game itself is likely to go ahead regardless of weather, but if the transport infrastructure suffers and rail/bus routes are terminated due to poor conditions, then we might see a decision.