BlueLion.

We have to appreciate that both Malouda and Lampard are playing out of position. We all know that 4-3-3 is the formation we can accommodate both players in, and I also think we're at our defensive best when we have two wingers who can drop back and play in a five-man midfield when the opposition have the ball. Carlo will have noticed that we are much more comfortable in this role after trying it against Fulham and now Watford, and I'll be very surprised if we start with two strikers against Hull.

I remember him playing very well against them on the opening day of the 04/05 season; his debut. He set up Gudjohnsen for the winner. But you're quite right; he never does seem to play well against United. Maybe in April, he'll atone that.

Was bloody brilliant today to be fair.

See you there then guys

Chelsea produced a vibrant display to defeat Championship side Watford in the FA Cup. The current cup holders - 2-1 victors over Everton in May - were ahead inside just five minutes when Daniel Sturridge poked home from close range for his first Chelsea goal. The Blues had a comfortable 3-0 lead with just twenty-one minutes played, as a John Eustace own goal and a fortuitous third through Florent Malouda gave Chelsea a commanding half-time lead. There was still time for Frank Lampard to belt in from 25 yards for Chelsea's fourth, and a superb display was rounded off with a deserved second goal for the lively Sturridge. Chelsea were excellent throughout and at their attacking best, even though Watford boss Malkay Mackay had attempted to stifle the Blues' midfield by electing for a defensive 4-5-1 formation. However the hosts' superior quality shone through as they cruised to a comfortable victory - despite being without without the injured Nicolas Anelka and the unavailable Didier Drogba and Salomon Kalou. Carlo Ancelotti made a number of changes as the Blues' formation shifted to an attacking 4-3-3, with Malouda and Joe Cole playing either side of Sturridge. Juliano Belletti joined Lampard and Yuri Zhirkov in midfield, and Henrique Hilario replaced Petr Cech in goal. It was no surprise that Watford were cautious in the opening exchanges as Chelsea surged forward right from the off, and it was even less of a shock that the hosts took an early lead. Frank Lampard's corner was flicked on by Alex, who found Chelsea captain John Terry. The defender volleyed into the six yard box, where Sturridge was on hand to poke home from close range. It was the young striker's first goal for club, and the goal filled both the striker and his team with confidence. Then Malouda slammed in a vicious cross that Joe Cole fed back in to the danger area, and under pressure from Lampard, Eustace could only slice the ball into his own goal as he attempted to clear off the line. Frank Lampard hammers Chelsea into a four-goal lead. Things went from bad to worse in front of the visiting supporters in the Shed End as the Blues extended their lead. Zhirkov's effort from the edge of the area took a slight touch from Malouda before bouncing past the stranded Scott Loach. And though the clock read only 21 minutes, Chelsea had the game won. There were further attempts on goal from Lampard, Belletti, Zhirkov, Sturridge and Terry before half time, although all were unsuccessful. Chelsea seemed to step off the gas as the second half began with the victory already assured - a luxury that Manchester United never had as they were knocked out by Leeds United at Old Trafford. The Blues were firmly in control and when Lampard thundered home a terrific fourth, it was a question of how many the Watford defence would concede. Four soon became five as Sturridge capped off an excellent team move when the instrumental Zhirkov and the tireless Ashley Cole combined to set up the young striker, who calmly stroked the ball home. Sturridge then made way for Fabio Borini, and Gael Kakuta came on for Ashley Cole, allowing Zhirkov to move back into defence. There was also polite applause from the Chelsea faithful as Blues' youth product John Harley came on as a substitute for Watford. And Harley struck the post with Hilario beaten as Watford looked for a mere consolation strike, but the effort was a mere glimmer of a positive - the visitors were well and truly beaten. A comfortable, clinical and comprehensive victory is exactly what Ancelotti ordered - and young Daniel Sturridge will now be brimming with confidence as the Blues prepare for a visit to Hull. ___________________________________________________________________ Chelsea: Hilario; Ivanovic, Alex, Terry ©, A Cole (Kakuta 73); Lampard, Belletti (Matic 64), Zhirkov; J Cole, Malouda; Sturridge (Borini 69) Watford: Loach; Hodson, Mariappa, Demerit ©, Doyley; Cleverley, Eustace, Severin (Jenkins 46), Lansbury; Cowie (Harley 79), Graham (Henderson 79) The TalkChelsea.net Man of the Match was Chelsea's number 18 - Yuri Zhirkov

All statistics are up-to-date

Very, very good performance. Okay, it was only Watford and we had a good team out in fairness, but considering we've hardly been playing like we're capable of, it's a great result against a team in decent form under Mackay. That should do our confidence the world of good. Lampard was very good, Sturridge took his chances and Zhirkov was excellent.

VS Hull City versus Chelsea F.C. FAPL, 09 Jan 10, KC Stadium, 1245 KO 2008/09 corresponding fixture - Hull City 0-3 Chelsea (Lampard, Anelka, Malouda) 2009/10 reverse fixture - Chelsea (Drogba, Drogba) 2-1 Hull City (Hunt) MATCH CHAT HERE

Petr Cech Jose Bosingwa William Gallas John Terry Ashley Cole Michael Essien Frank Lampard Claude Makelele Gianfranco Zola Eidur Gudjohnsen Didier Drogba Subs: Carlo Cudicini, Marcel Desailly, Gustavo Poyet, Damien Duff, Arjen Robben, Michael Ballack, Jimmy-Floyd Hasselbaink,

He's on loan to BCFC from Manchester City, though. I suppose they see him as Given's understudy; the only reason he is at Birmingham is because we're in a World Cup year. The way he's playing; I'd have him in our England squad any day.

We're in a strange circumstance here in my opinion. We've got some brilliant but ageing strikers at the club, and a number of promising young forwards in the mould of Borini, di Santo and Sturridge, and we also have Kalou. Do we go out in to the transfer market, sign a big name striker and then bench him when Didier comes back and Nicolas is back to full fitness? We can't be sure we can buy in the summer, or the two following windows, so not signing anyone could be a fatal mistake. That's where I think Aguero can fit in nicely because not only can he play as a forward, but also in an advanced forward role in the diamond or one of the wider positions, such is his versatility. I'm not sure about Atletico's monetary situation, but they were certainly in need of income this time last year; its likely they might sell off one of their players in order to become self-sufficient, as teams that are in debt will not be able to participate in the Champions League from 2012 onwards. Maybe, for that reason, they will be willing to sell one of their bigger name players. Still, he's going to cost a hell of a lot of money and even though we're close to balancing the books, if we spend £40 million on a striker it will take us a couple of years to cancel out that financial expenditure. Do we stick or twist?

Wondered where you'd been mate! Welcome back.

Here's to another successful year on TalkChelsea! The last couple of years here have been absolutely brilliant; we've got some magnificent members and a brilliant community here. Thank you all for making TalkChelsea work over 2009, and here's to an even better 2010 - not just for TalkChelsea, but for Chelsea Football Club as well! Kind regards Alex, Jim and the TC Staff.

His form's been dreadful this season. Have you seen his errors against Marseille? Two absolute shockers cost his team all three points ultimately.

I gave it Drogba. He didn't have his best game but his equaliser was massively crucial.

The thing about Malouda is that he is playing in a new position. He's a winger, not a midfielder.

I think we need to play 4-3-3, especially at home; at the minute all teams are doing is setting up defensively against the narrow diamond.

He's made plenty of mistakes, but saved us even more times. The only thing wrong with his game at the moment is communication, we can see the defence and he aren't talking enough and this results in mistakes in judgement. That is the most urgent thing that the team need to address; the defence take confidence in a commanding goalkeeper, so he must be more vocal and if he is going to come for the ball, he has to either go for it and commit, or stay on his line.

So do results.

Chelsea F.C. vs Watford 03 Jan 10, FA Cup, 1500 KO, Stamford Bridge Match chat here

A Didier Drogba-led revival ensured Chelsea came from behind to beat neighbours Fulham in a pulsating London derby. The visitors took a surprise lead inside five minutes when Zoltan Gera superbly hooked the ball beyond Petr Cech, but found themselves on the back foot as Chelsea surged forward looking for an equaliser. They were forced to wait until Didier Drogba powered home a bullet header from a Branislav Ivanovic cross, before Chris Smalling helplessly beat his own goalkeeper to extend the Blues' lead at the top of the table. Following Manchester United's win at Hull yesterday, Carlo Ancelotti will be relieved to see his side win just their second game in eight matches as the Blues increased the gap between themselves and their northern rivals to five points. A frustrating end to 2009 sees Chelsea complete a frustrating festive period, after dropping points away at strugglers West Ham and in-form Birmingham. Carlo Ancelotti made six changes to the side that earned a credible clean sheet at St Andrews' on Boxing Day, with Joe Cole, Salomon Kalou and Yuri Zhirkov amongst those brought into the side. Other notable inclusions were John Mikel Obi and Drogba, who, like Kalou, had been granted permission to leave a day late for international duty. Despite plenty of early possession during the opening exchanges, Chelsea's new-look defence was left exposed when Paul Konchesky set up Zoltan Gera, who emphatically hooked the ball past Petr Cech after just four minutes. Chelsea were shell-shocked, and though they were having no trouble in retaining the ball, their lack of confidence was demonstrated with laboured build-up play being paired with a poor final delivery. The hosts' best efforts in the first half were both through Drogba; the first of which forcing an excellent low save from Fulham's Australian goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer. His strike partner, Kalou, also had a number of opportunities, but he flashed a low drive wide before later poking horrendously off-target when well-placed. There was a small chorus of boos from a minority of Chelsea supporters at the half-time whistle, but those boos seemed to be the fuel to which Chelsea pulled off a sensational comeback that had looked increasingly unlikely. However Fulham had a golden opportunity to extend the lead seconds into the half, but Cech made an exceptional save from Zamora when the in-form striker looked to put his side 2-0 up. But Chelsea were relentless; constantly pinning back Fulham and keeping them under immense pressure. Drogba gave an early indication that the Blues were far from done when he forced a superb save from Schwarzer with a fizzing effort, and the tireless Kalou was becoming more and more involved. Chelsea had been suffering from a lack of width in their play in the first half, but Ancelotti switched his formation around; a change that saw Kalou and substitute Daniel Sturridge switch to wide positions in an attacking 4-3-3 shape. But on 73 minutes, substitute Branislav Ivanovic fired in a superb delivery that Drogba converted with a bullet header to deservedly draw Chelsea level. The Blues had dominated the game for almost its entirety, and it was little surprise to the Stamford Bridge crowd that they would go on to claim a second goal in quick succession after a confidence-evoking equaliser. Chelsea's young forward Sturridge forced a good save out of Schwarzer, but his parry only brought about the winning goal as the ball bounced in off of the unfortunate Smalling. There was time for Kalou to clip the crossbar with a stunning effort, but despite a late rally by the visitors that saw a number of corners pumped into the Chelsea penalty area, the Blues held out for a massive victory that could just point them towards the title once again. ___________________________________________________________________ Chelsea: Cech, Ferreira (Ivanovic 63), Carvalho, Terry ©, Zhirkov (A Cole 83); Mikel (Sturridge 70), Ballack, Lampard; J Cole, Kalou, Drogba Fulham: Schwarzer; Pantsil (Etuhu 66), Hughes, Smalling, Konchesky; Duff (Riise 83), Murphy ©, Baird, Dempsey; Gera (Johnson 70); Zamora The TalkChelsea.net Man of the Match was Chelsea's number 11 - Didier Drogba

YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEES FULL TIME

Throw in. Get it in the corner.

Two more minutes of added time left. Shitting bricks here.

This isn't good for my heart at all.