BlueLion.

Cheers B'Burn

People are being far too melodramatic today. Maybe its because I was at the game today I'm not at all disappointed. Some people are doing Stoke a real disservice. Today, they played far better than they did when they beat Newcastle 4-0. It was a real good effort from them, and only Cech stopped them from winning today, thankfully. I thought the game was lost before kick-off, however. If United had have drawn or lost, the boys would have been really up for it, but that result I think had consigned us to a battle for second place (which I'm not at all disappointed by, in fairness). Cech and Bosingwa were excellent throughout, and I think by taking off both Bosingwa and Ramires, we lost all of our attacking balance and impetus. I think Ancelotti got his tactics wrong today on a number of occasions: Mikel should have started. It is easy to say this in hindsight, but with Stoke being a physical team, his guile and physical presence would have beneficial to the cause.Malouda should simply be dropped. I'm not going to be fickle and slag him off here, he just strikes me as being plagued by a lack of fitness. The man needs a rest and a run in the team for Zhirkov, whose creativity was missed today in my opinion, would certainly result in him having to up his game.Carlo's substitutions were quite simply useless. As I've already said, by replacing Bosingwa and Ramires we lost our shape and became far more narrow when Kalou came on. The substitutions are too simplistic - they are like for like, whereas bringing on Kalou and switching to a 4-3-3 with Zhirkov on the left would have been far more creative.I was impressed by Ramires again today. The man is excellent and a Blues hero in the making, I feel. However, on the plus side, away games are always a special occasion and it was a great early birthday present. A pleasure meeting Steve and Ray, and the atmosphere from the away fans was excellent. A fair result in reflection, both sides had their chances but neither pressed the issue enough to warrant the three points. Ultimately, the title was always going to be a long shot, so don't think of this as two points dropped in that respect. Any point at the Britannia is a good one, in my opinion.

Pleasure meeting Ray and Steve today! Hopefully Steve sticks the photo up tonight! @Tech9C - I like 50 minutes from Stoke so it was a pleasant ride home to the sound of the Foo Fighters for me, the Gaffer and the best friend.

I hate being right sometimes... But in all seriousness, the points were dropped when Shrek scored the third United goal. The lads' heads were down before kick-off, you could tell. If United had have conceded ground we'd have gone all out and won this. Title over? Not just yet, but we now have to win every game. Unlikely.

Was at the game, just got back. Cech - 8 - kept us in the game with some truly superb goalkeeping, but he looked uncomfortable with some deliveries into the box. Bosingwa - 7 - I thought he played really well, we lost all our attacking impetus (down the right) when you went off. Terry - 6 - average game, tried to drive the team on but he really hates playing against Jones. Luiz - 5 - he had an off game, but let's be pragmatic here - he won't have faced that sort of physicality before so this is a good learning curve for him. Cole - 6 - same as Terry, really, exposed on a couple of occasions. Ivanovic - 6 - can't really praise or fault him, but definitely the wrong sub to make. Why not bring on Yury for some attacking spark?! Lampard - 4 - where's Frank gone again? Essien - 6 - he had a strong game defensively today, but his attacking instincts were lacking somewhat. Ramires - 7 - another consistent display from Rambo. Malouda - 4 - he is woefully out of form and fitness right now! Drogba - 8/4 - the reason why I've given this rating is because in the first half he was magnificent, and utterly atrocious in the second half. Anelka - 5 - it didn't really happen for Nico today unfortunately. Torres - 6 - impressed by his movement. The first goal is coming - he is starting to form partnerships all over the pitch now. Kalou - 3 - shite. No more can or will be said.

Glad to know that the examinations went well for you, Vincent. Everything sounds promising at this stage, long may it continue!

Agreed. Although Berbatov's award was actually called the '20 Goal Award Without Doing Anything Else' trophy.

2,142 days since Arsenal last won anything.

And that's just in the Premier League. 166 in total. Legend.

Right then.... Steve, it'll be fairly easy for you, me and Ray to meet up, and all the others can come and find us as well Do you want to meet before the game, at HT or afterwards?

Shall we rename ourselves Brazil?

Real great contribution there TX. I personally think Lukaku. Whoever we sign out of the three will be an expensive acquisition, and there is going to be a massive risk factor attached as well. However Lukaku, a strong and physical player, would simply not be bullied off the ball by a team like Blackburn as Aguero or Neymar would. I frankly despite Neymar's attitude and I think Aguero will be far too expensive...

Welcome mate. I'm Alex... a few of the articles you've read may have been written by me welcome along!

Cesar's changed glove brands the tart.

If he actually breaks his back, I hope karma fucks you up real good. Kind regards, Alex.

As long as you Facebook me, then no problems! As far as I know, the following members are going: BlueLion - row 22, block 38 Steve. - row 30, block 38 Ray. matty18 Gianfranco Zola - row 32, block 38 TGS

Means we'll lose tomorrow.

How about you drop it or I Terminate your account?

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Chelsea-should-kick-Ramires-out/174039499281631 Oh dear.

Just host big EPL games and UCL knockout matches at Twickenham?

I'd say anti-Semitism is slightly higher on a scale of derogation than criticism.

Carlo thinks he can turn McEachran into England's answer to Xavi or Pirlo.That means a central attacking midfielder is needed... ie, Hamsik. However, I think that should be last on our list of priorities. Essien and Ramires are our attacking midfielders after Lampard packs it in. Play Essien in the CAM role and he will score 10-15 goals a season.

Navy blue? *Fap fap fap*

Absolutely. People on here (me included) heaped loads of praise on him. Hindsight makes us fickle indeed. Some people are being very precious on here. Scolari is entitled to his opinion. I think he is an excellent manager and the football we played at times under him is better than anything I'd ever seen previously. I didn't know my Chelsea could play like that.

Nice one mate