BlueLion.

99% sure that's not a photoshop... which, if true is great - fucking mint kit.

Kalou, Drogba, Lampard, Ashley Cole, Malouda as the first five. If Terry or Anelka step anywhere near one I'll fucking clobber someone. Hell yes. He has superb technique with penalties.

If Conor Clifford ever makes it at this club, he HAS to be Chelsea captain. Just saying.

Some journalists seem to enjoy slow news days.

He's a striker, he's not meant to score 30 yard stunners.

Time to get some payback, via the away goals rule.

Or the game we realise the season has been a massive disappointment.

FORZA MILANO.

No worries mate

Cech Ivanovic - Alex - Terry - Cole Ramires Benayoun - Lampard Drogba - Torres - Malouda or - same players in the Bore-Bore-Two formation: Cech Ivanovic - Alex - Terry - Cole Benayoun - Ramires - Lampard - Malouda Drogba - Torres However, it's likely Essien will start as he was rested yesterday.

Chelsea 1-0 Wigan Athletic Saturday 9 April 2011 - Stamford Bridge Florent Malouda's second half winner was enough to see Chelsea overcome a resolute Wigan side and move back into third position ahead of Manchester City. An incredibly frustrating - and at times insipid - first half performance had failed to inspire with Tuesday's crunch European clash with Manchester United looming ever closer, but Florent Malouda's drive from close-range was enough to settle a keenly-contested fixture between two teams in desperate need of points, though for hugely contrasting reasons. The implications of such a result mean that Chelsea return to third place and are a solitary point behind second-placed Arsenal, who kick off at Blackpool this afternoon under intense pressure with both the Blues and league leaders Manchester United winning on Saturday - but the outlook is far less optimistic for Wigan supporters, who will wake up this morning to see themselves rooted to the foot of the table and two points adrift of 'safety.' A defeat is little reward for a stubborn and resolute Wigan showing, and the Latics did, on occasions, show some attacking menace - but manager Roberto Martinez can take some comfort from the knowledge that similar performances at lesser teams than Chelsea will give his side every chance of avoiding the drop. Further good news for the Spaniard can be seen in the scoreline - a 1-0 defeat is lot easier to stomach than a 6-0 mauling in front of your own supporters, or again suffering an 8-0 demolition away from home. Chelsea were disappointing for long periods of the game, with their play lacking creativity and a spark to link up the void between the midfield and the attacking trio of Malouda, Didier Drogba and Nicolas Anelka. In fact, but for the introduction of Yossi Benayoun - thankfully back to full fitness after seven months out of the game due to injury - there was only Drogba who sought to offer any microcosm of creative invention in the Blues' otherwise-dull play, which reflected a sub-par team showing all-round. Manager Carlo Ancelotti will see this as cause for concern with a date with destiny fast-approaching, but in reality this was a game that will mark low in terms of meaningfulness to both the Italian manager and the Blues faithful - the Premier League title race is up after last weekend's disappointing result away at Stoke, and Ancelotti's charges can perhaps be forgiven for taking this game at walking pace knowing that they will need to play at their absolute best to stand any chance of progressing to the semi finals of the Champions League. It was no surprise that Ancelotti was planning on shuffling his pack, and that was seen in four changes to the side that were so farcically denied a blatant penalty and frustrated by a combination of goal-line clearances, wonderful goalkeeping and the width of the post against United on Wednesday. In came Paulo Ferreira, David Luiz, John Mikel Obi and Nicolas Anelka, whilst Fernando Torres was on the bench alongside Benayoun and Alex, both long-term absentees. Nerves could and perhaps should have been settled less than a minute into the match when Didier Drogba's cross from the right was miscued by both Frank Lampard and then Ramires at the back post as the Blues sought to impose themselves early on, before Malouda warmed Ali al Habsi's palms with an angled drive. It was clear to see from the early tempo set by the marauding Drogba that Chelsea meant business, but with the Wigan rearguard resolute and al Habsi in exceptional form, the Blues were becoming increasingly frustrated, with the crowd certainly expecting more. Despite the best attempts of the players to ignite the atmosphere inside Stamford Bridge, generally insipid play devoid of creativity - a tale that has plagued Chelsea's quest for silverware this season - was undermining the Blues' challenge and the best that could be mustered was a Drogba effort that was well wide of the far upright. Blunted without an end product, Chelsea changed tactic and the long-ball routine almost paid off as Drogba flicked on a monster goal-kick from Cech to set Malouda free - only to see al Habsi deny him with a magnificent save to maintain parity between the two sides. Then, moments before the whistle was blown for the interval - in an incident that perfectly summarised Chelsea's disappointing first half showing - Drogba did magnificently to create space for a shot before ballooning the effort high, wide and not-at-all handsome. The game was finally injected with an inch of ingenuity when Yossi Benayoun came on for Mikel, before Torres made his belated entrance as the hour mark approached. With Anelka withdrawn and Torres moving to the tip of the attacking three, there seemed an increased urgency about Chelsea's play that coincided with the opening goal. Minutes after Drogba's deflected free kick had produced the best out of al Habsi, Malouda netted his eleventh goal of the season and first since a 4-0 win at Bolton when he lashed the ball home from five yards after a mêlée inside the penalty area. As soon as that chance was taken, a sigh of relief swept across the Blues faithful, who suddenly surged into life. From this point onwards it was almost exclusively action inside the Wigan half - a Franco di Santo header apart which was excellently tipped wide by the attentive Petr Cech. It would have been a poetic moment had the young Argentine scored against his former club, but that was the closest Wigan would come all afternoon. Enter Torres. First he saw Maynor Figueroa block a drive after he attempted to lash home, before a superb turn and run on half-way saw him only find al Habsi's gloves with a second effort. However the best chance came as a result of some incisive play on the edge of the area by Benayoun, who, with a clever reverse pass set up his former Liverpool team-mate with a cute set-up that saw Torres again denied at the death by some exceptional goalkeeping. That saga of Torres' elsuive first goal rages on - but the Spaniard injected some pace and potency into the Chelsea line-up and should certainly start against Manchester United based on this half-hour cameo. It is a result that heaps pressure on second-placed Arsenal and can be looked back upon as one that looks to have eased concerns over Champions League qualification for next season - but with bigger fish in need of frying, this game can certainly offer the team a little confidence before the big one in Manchester. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Chelsea (4-3-3): Cech, Ferreira (Alex 74), Ivanovic, Luiz, Cole; Ramires, Mikel (Benayoun 46), Lampard; Anelka (Torres 59), Drogba, Malouda. Wigan (4-2-3-1): Habsi; Boyce, G Caldwell ©, Alacaraz, Figueroa; Watson, McCarthy; Cleverley, N'Zogbia (di Santo 62), Diamé (Moses 84); Rodallega (Sammon 62). The TalkChelsea.net man of the match was Chelsea's number 11, DIDIER Drogba

West Bromwich Albion vs Chelsea FC Saturday 16 April - EPL - 1500 KO MATCH CHAT HERE :cfc:

Manchester United vs Chelsea FC Tuesday 12 April - UEFA CL - 1945 KO MATCH CHAT HERE :cfc:

If this showed anything, it should Ancelotti was wrong not to start Torres. He would have scored if he'd have played the 90. Cech - 7 - reliable and dependent as always. Best goalkeeper in the world. Ferreira - 7 - always been a fan of Ferreira, and this demonstrates why. A consummate professional and still capable of putting in a very accomplished performance. Ivanovic - 6 - the onus was on Ivanovic to marshal the defence without Terry there, and Bane did what was necessary. A solid but unspectacular game. Luiz - 6 - the Luis hype has finally died down - which is good. Like Ivanovic, he had little to do but he did what was required with little fuss. Cole - 6 - actually outshone by Ferreira, though there are signs that with a 4-3-3 being favoured, Cole will again be able to link up in a more meaningful attacking role. Lampard - 6 - very unlucky not to score, but still a fair distance from his best. However, far better than his shocking performance against United. Ramires - 7 - Ramires is what a classify as a 'roaming' midfielder, and that works against him when wide right in a 4-4-2. However, as a midfield destroyer in a 4-3-3, we see his all-round qualities - and he was one of our best players. Mikel - 6 - glad to see him back. His individual performance is never spectacular, but his importance is such that he allows others alongside him to shine. Anelka - 6 - excellent in chance creation but let down by a lazy final ball. Reverting to a 4-3-3 will not favour Anelka, but some genuine potency on the right is a fresh change. Malouda - 7 - much, much better in a 4-3-3. His performance was not particularly brilliant but he offered a constant attacking outlet, and on another day (with al Habsi out of goal...), he might have scored a couple more. Drogba - 8 - the only player who seemed to want it. Very impressed with his attitude and competent display - his form is returning. Benayoun - 7 - creativity, at last. More of the same with Torres please. Alex - 6 - like Ivanovic, he was professional in his performance and looked very neat alongside Luiz. Torres - 7 - what is it with world-class saves? First van der Sar (and the post...) on Tuesday, and now al Habsi denying el Nino a goal with a stunning save. He seemed up for it today... 4-3-3 suits him more.

Seeing absolute morons like this writing for one of the biggest newspapers in Britain gives me hope I'll one day go all the way.

1425: BREAKING MAN UTD TEAM NEWS: Eight changes from Wednesday's Champions League win over Chelsea by Sir Alex Ferguson, including recalls for Nani, Chris Smalling and Dimitar Berbatov. More to follow.

Terry rested, Lampard to captain. Torres on the bench. TEAM: Cech Ferreira Luiz Ivanovic Cole Mikel Ramires Lampard Anelka Malouda Drogba Subs: Turnbull, Alex, Essien, Benayoun, Zhirkov, Torres, Kalou

No. Just no. This is Torres' 'settling in period' - we have to play him as much as possible. We saw this with Anelka in 07/08; he scored 25 goals in the first full season but only two in the five months before that.

Hopefully Kalou, Drogba and the other Africans can use this as motivation. What's going on in the Ivory Coast is awful and it truly puts football into perspective. It is not a matter of life or death, but what plagues Kalou's conscience clearly is.

Tranmere Rovers

Chesney: "Look, Jack. United and Chelsea are over there, winning all those titles." Jack: "We'll never win anything again in my lifetime."

Kez had that problem. I told her to make a new account, and then merged the two (keeping all posts and private messages). I can do the same to you if you want, SD.

Suddenly Andy Gray doesn't seem so bad.

He's right. Basically.

Cech Ferreira - Alex - Terry - Zhirkov Mikel Essien - Benayoun Ramires - Anelka - Kalou