BlueLion.

Maybe. KALOU YOU'RE FUCKING SHIT! Let's hope this works.

I'll go and get them out the cupboard Haha, I need a new pair, which ones do I go for? My last pair were Cech's old ones, (the white and blue), and the fit was exceptionally comfortable. Option A... ...or Option B?

TBD, I haven't got it mate - send it by PM

People can slag off Wigan for being a little team, which in fairness they are, but at the end of the day they played superbly and without a single doubt, they thoroughly warranted three points.

I'd take a win by any scoreline. 15-14? Sounds great to me, let's just beat these fuckers.

Let's face it, if we beat APOEL and Liverpool, will we really mind losing this game?

I know, its absolutely pathetic.

Well I think it's a three-game ban for a straight red card, but there are instances where the length of the ban is reduced by an independent committee. However by the letter of FA law, robbing a player of a "clear goalscoring opportunity" is a three-game ban.

I've always actually doubted Kalou, but whenever I voice those doubts about him, he tends to prove me wrong in the short-term with a couple of decent performances. Maybe I should slag him off more often?

Didier Drogba has scored 46 of his 61 league goals for Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. Incidentally, Drogba has only ever scored one Premier League goal against Liverpool. He certainly owes them one. Or three.

I think the reason why we lost is complacency. We needed to be brought back down to earth, and wow, that's certainly happened. There can now be no mistakes against APOEL, Liverpool and Villa. The next two weeks are MASSIVE for our season.

Welcome to TalkChelsea.

Wow, so much optimism. United had a shocking start to the season last campaign yet they steamrollered to the finish line.

Drogba's better at diving than both of them, so he. Nah but seriously, it has to be Hilario. Also, just so we're all aware, Cech will be suspended for Liverpool home, Villa away and Blackburn at home. Three games where we need his height and presence inside the area. Ouch.

Send them to me as well guys Might see them up sooner if two people post them.

I don't feel at all left out

Liam Gallagher a referee? He'd constantly be saying sun-she-iiiiiiiiiiiiine, it would be fantastic.

On the contrary, as much of a fan of Wigan and Martinez as I am, I do think that for a club like us to lose to them is an embarrassing defeat; especially in the manner we lost through a generally poor performance. This is the kick up the arse we need.

Even the most ardent of Chelsea supporters would have found it difficult to deny that Wigan deserved their victory on Saturday. And as Paul Scharner slid in to convert a low cross from Maynor Figueroa, you just have to think of the implications this may have on the Blues' title chances this season. True enough they have had a fantastic start, but this defeat will be a hard pill to swallow for Ancelotti's troops, who before Petr Cech's sending off at the DW Stadium seemed as invincible as José Mourinho's side did during the start of his reign of Stamford Bridge. Did Chelsea play that badly? In truth, yes, they were poor. The passing was sloppy and big names - Michael Essien and Frank Lampard in particular - were below-par. It is unfair to single out the two midfielders when in reality there were few positives to take from the performance, but if ever Chelsea needed a rude awakening, they have certainly been dealt it. They were lucky against Hull; Drogba's fluke chip earning them all three points. 5 minutes added-on time meant Florent Malouda had the chance to win the game for Chelsea, which he duly took. On another day, Chelsea drop two points. The Blues have been lucky so far this season, and that makes the defeat at Wigan all the harder to digest. When you analyse the key moments of the game, you realise that on another day the Blues could have won quite comfortably. Poor defending led to Bramble's opening goal; a fully-fit Michael Ballack would definitely have given Chelsea the additional height they were clearly lacking when defending Wigan corners. Chris Kirkland's save from John Terry's close-range effort, Michael Essien's well-saved volley, a ridiculous penalty decision - on another day, these key moments could go the way of the Blues. But in truth, we have been beaten fair and square. Though the defeat has cost the Blues their position at the top of the Premier League, with Manchester United now sitting in first place by the benefit of a slightly superior goal difference, it is how Chelsea bounce back that will define just how strong they are. Chelsea have suffered painful defeats before and bounced back to show their quality. Last season, for example, just days after being beaten by Liverpool at Stamford Bridge, the Blues, under the tutelage of Luiz Felipe Scolari, went to Hull and beat them 3-0 before thrashing Sunderland 5-0 the following weekend. That was the response of Champions, and though the Blues went on to suffer painful defeats against Burnley and Arsenal during November, the club finished the season strongly and ended up with the FA Cup. But under Ancelotti, would the FA Cup be good enough? A manager with top-class European pedigree, Ancelotti has lifted the Champions League trophy twice with AC Milan and only a Jerzy Dudek penalty save denied him the trophy in 2005 in Istanbul; Liverpool's finest European hour. Ancelotti's introduction to English football has been a revolution in itself; the Italian has formed Chelsea into a winning machine, and Saturday's blip at Wigan is something few of us will remember should the Blues go on to win a major competition this season. We will see just how good Chelsea are over the next couple of days. Though they are relatively unheard of, APOEL Nicosia, the Champions of Cyprus, are very strong at their home ground, the Stadium GSP. Following the long round trip to face the Cypriot champions, Liverpool are the visitors on Sunday the 4th of October in what is the biggest game of the season so far for Chelsea and its supporters. The Blues have beaten Manchester United in the Community Shield and won London derbies against Fulham, Tottenham and Queens Park Rangers, but in Liverpool, Chelsea face an in-form, free-scoring team who drubbed Hull City 6-1 at Anfield on Saturday. Fernando Torres scored a hat-trick; his sixth, seventh and eighth goals of the season, and with a knack of scoring against the Blues, both John Terry and Ricardo Carvalho will need to be at their best. The manager will be asking for an immediate response, and with a Champions League match on Wednesday there is no better opportunity to improve morale heading into the crunch clash with Liverpool. People will be considering it a case of 'how many' - and this is a suicidal underestimation of APOEL. This will be their first ever Champions League home fixture; their crowd will be fully behind them. It is a proud moment for Cypriot football and the nation will be supporting them. A 1-0 victory would be a very, very good result for Chelsea - three points is necessary with Atletico and Porto also facing each other. Three points would also do well to remedy Saturday's disappointments, and make sure the supporters have something to shout about after an embarrassing defeat. Is the result harsh on Chelsea? No, Wigan were deserving of the win. The fact of the matter is that Chelsea have lost one game; their are 31 more Premier League matches this season, and a strong response over the next week will underline whatever credentials the team have. Chelsea want to win a trophy this season. We'll see just how likely they are in achieving that with how well they bounce back. Keep the faith.

Match report

I'm expecting us to give these Cypriots a good ol' whipping after today's disappointment.

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Saturday 26 September 2009, FA Premier League, DW Stadium, Wigan. A century of Chelsea goals for Didier Drogba was not enough for Carlo Ancelotti's Chelsea as they were humbled 3-1 by Roberto Martinez' Wigan at the DW Stadium . Titus Bramble put the Latics a goal to the good with a thumping first-half header, but despite dominating the first half, Wigan were unable to extend their lead heading into the interval. Carlo Ancelotti's side re-emerged after half-time with renewed vigour and it took them a matter of mere moments to draw level, with Didier Drogba's shot squirming under the body of former Liverpool goalkeeper Chris Kirkland. Chelsea's joy was short-lived, however, as referee Phil Dowd pointed to the spot after Petr Cech was harshly adjudged to have brought down Hugo Rodallega. The Czech was subsequently shown a straight red card, much to the dismay of club captain John Terry, and Rodallega lashed the spot kick beyond substitute goalkeeper Henrique Hilario. Matters went from bad to worse for Chelsea as Paul Scharner slid in to score a third goal for Wigan, whilst Ashley Cole was stretchered off with a serious-looking injury. To exacerbate the situation for the Blues, as well as losing their unbeaten, 100% record thus far this season they have slipped to second place in the Premier League after Manchester United comfortably saw off Stoke City 2-0 at the Britannia Stadium. Liverpool were 6-1 victors over Hull City and at a five-goal victory for Tottenham will also compound Carlo Ancelotti's woes as the team must prepare for a trip to Cyprus to face APOEL Nicosia in the Champions League before the Blues host Liverpool at Stamford Bridge in eight day's time. After several changes for the mid-week win in the Carling Cup over local rivals Queen's Park Rangers, Ancelotti was once again tinkering with his starting eleven, with Petr Cech returning in goal. José Bosingwa joined John Terry and Ricardo Carvalho in the defence alongside Ashley Cole, with Branislav Ivanovic, Juliano Belletti, Yuri Zhirkov and Sam Hutchinson all making way. Nicolas Anelka and Didier Drogba also returned whilst Frank Lampard, Michael Essien and John Obi Mikel all returned to the starting eleven. Florent Malouda retained his place, but Joe Cole missed out due to illness and Michael Ballack was left out due to a calf injury. The game started positively for the all-change Chelsea team, who were wearing their striped away kit for the first time in a competitive match. Michael Essien's early volley was the first opportunity of the match and produced a fine save from Chris Kirkland, who did well to push the low effort wide of his near upright. The resulting corner was ultimately fruitless, but the Blues were applying a lot of pressure to a stubborn-looking Wigan defence. Nicolas Anelka then poked across goal after good work by Florent Malouda and Frank Lampard had two efforts on goal sandwiches by a decent opportunity for Hugo Rodallega to stretch his legs, but Ricardo Carvalho was alive to the danger and cleared his lines. Lampard's first effort; a dipping, central freekick was gathered at the second attempt by the Wigan goalkeeper, and the England midfielder then sent a shot skimming past the post. The first fifteen minutes had gone well for the visitors, and the travelling fans were in good voice. But the positive attacking play of Chelsea was instantly nullified when Titus Bramble headed Wigan ahead, somewhat against the run of play. Taking a short corner, Charles N'Zogbia was given far too much time to whip in a cross from the by-line, and Bramble rose highest to power home beyond the orange-jerseyed Cech. Moments later the lead could have been increased but Paul Scharner's effort from long range was wide of the target. The Blues were suddenly on the back foot, despite dominating the opening exchanges. Chelsea were offering next-to-nothing going forward - the goal clearly having affected their confidence. Their lack of intent was giving Wigan confidence, and Henry Thomas and Rodallega in particular were enjoying solid first-half performances. Only a slip by Scharner at a pivotal moment during a Wigan attack prevented the Latics from creating another shooting opportunity, and the hosts were clearly in the ascendancy come the half time whistle. It had taken a superb save from Petr Cech to keep the score at 1-0 just seconds before the break; the Czech blocking a close-range volley from Emerson Boyce with his frame. With barely seventy seconds played in the second half, the significance of that particular save was increased as Drogba made amends for a quiet first half showing with his one hundredth Chelsea goal. Malouda did well to fashion some space in the box, and Drogba's poked effort went through the legs of Kirkland as the England goalkeeper crouched to pick the ball up. It was a fortuitous equaliser, but a half-time hair-dryer treatment towards his troops by Ancelotti had appeared to have woken the Blues up. But all the confidence gained from that early and deserved equaliser was quickly drained as Cech was ridiculously shown a straight red card for fouling Rodallega. The Wigan striker had burst into the box and attempted to round the Chelsea goalkeeper, and though contact was minimal between the two players, the forward fell to the floor as his team-mates appealed for a penalty. Replays show that Cech certainly caught the striker, but with Ashley Cole and John Terry covering, there was no feasible reason for the Chelsea star to be given his marching orders. Substitute 'keeper Hilario - on for the sacrificed Malouda - was comprehensively beaten by Rodallega as the DW Stadium erupted. Chelsea were being backed into a corner by Wigan, and they looked for respite through Drogba, but his acrobatic bicycle kick was off-target. At the other end, Carvalho excelled once again to clear a pass from Thomas as N'Zogbia looked to break into the area, whilst substitutes Juliano Belletti and Salomon Kalou combined for the visitors, only to see the latter completely fail to connect with the ball. Rodallega then shot wide from a freekick after a foul by Essien outside the area - the Ghanaian had been below-par, much like his colleagues, and the visiting supporters were constantly frustrated by the poor distribution of Essien and his fellow midfielders. With just eight minutes left, Lampard failed to convert a cute cross from Drogba that had been well-fashioned by the Ivorian. An earlier save from Terry by Kirkland with the scores at 1-1 when the Chelsea skipper should have scored was looking more and more likely to cost the Blues as the seconds ticked past. Ashley Cole was then forced off with injury and the nine men of Chelsea were finished off by Wigan when Figueroa crossed for Scharner to shoot beyond Hilario. Chelsea were beaten for the first time in ten competitive games under Carlo Ancelotti, and a first Premier League defeat since March sees the Blues sink to second place in the Premier League behind Manchester United. High-flying, free-scoring Liverpool await next Sunday. ___________________________________________________________________ Wigan (4-2-3-1): Kirkland; Melchiot ©, Boyce, Bramble, Figueroa; Thomas, Diame; N'Zogbia, Scharner, Rodallega; Scotland (King) Chelsea (4-3-2-1): Cech; Bosingwa (Kalou), Carvalho, Terry ©, A Cole; Essien, Mikel (Belletti), Lampard; Anelka, Malouda (Hilario); Drogba The TalkChelsea.net Blues' Man of the Match was Wigan's number 20 - Hugo Rodallega

We really missed Ballack today, especially when defending set pieces. Hope he's back for Liverpool.

Chelsea vs Liverpool vs EPL, 4 October 2009, Stamford Bridge 1600 KO Chelsea host Liverpool at Stamford Bridge in a top four Premier League clash. Liverpool crushed Hull City 6-1 in their last league outing whilst Chelsea were humbled by Robert Martinez' Wigan. Can Ancelotti's men bounce back and claim a famous result? Match chat here.