BlueLion.

Thiago is a great player, according to my Brazilian friend. Very much in the Dunga mold, he normally plays as a deep-lying midfielder for his club.

The guy who wrote that response on CFCnet should be knighted. Spot on. Even Wenger is defending him!

Personally, I think DD11 should be handed a fine and given a ban, but look what happened in the first place... some moron threw a coin at Didier and could have blinded him. The crowd had tried to wind up Drogba all game and the northern numpties achieved that, and his natural reaction to all the aggro was to throw the coin back. Deserves a ban, yes, but the fan who threw the coin should be given a ban from all English stadia as well.

I don't think we need to 'bounce back' because we're still top of the PL and a defeat in the CC won't be so damaging to the players, on evidence of their performance last night.

Much the same. Been sensational since he has arrived, we certainly missed his runs up the wing.

Obviously my respects go to the family. RIP.

Okay, he shouldn't have done it, but I think the media have surely blown this out of proportion. A one game suspension and a slap on the wrist is all he needs - he has said he is sorry in the media and that should be the end of it.

Welcome to the forum.

Made me sick to see them northern cunts in my beloved Shed

West Bromwich Albion versus Chelsea FC Can Chelsea bounce back after losing to Burnley in the Carling Cup? It was a shock to the system for the Stamford Bridge crowd, who saw their side put in a limp performance as they were second-best to the Championship side. With West Brom on a poor run, can the Blues abolish memories of Wednesday night? Match chat here.

The only thing more constructive than watching Chelsea lose on penalties is self harm. In summary - we were woeful last night. The performance was limp in the final third and we were shocking defensively. Carlo had a nightmare, Ivanovic was bossed by the Burnley forwards, Ferreira was absolute pony, I can't count how many times their midfielders just skipped around him. Malouda and Kalou did fuck all, and Drogba, bar his goal, was a waste of space. I'll be disappointed to hear people blame Scolari's team choice, as the likes of Drogba, Belletti, Deco, etc. should be more than enough to deal with a championship side. We were complacent and we've been punished for it.

NEGOTIATE, KENYON, OR I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU

Welcome to the forum

Welcome to the forum, if you need anything do not hesitate to contact me

I think making the MH End a standing terrace would increase capacity, they never sit down anyway.

£16.2 million is an absolute steal. Has arguably been our best player this season.

I'm in the West Stand tomorrow, which makes me feel sick. I'm a Shed Ender

Sell Bosingwa, he's fucking shite. Lampard too, he's awful. Anelka's useless, can't score to save his life and Cech couldn't catch AIDs if he had sex with a women from Kenya without protection. Sell them all, actually.

Against Germany later this month That's just my goalie attributes, if you saw the outfield ones they would all be 1s and 2s and 3s

Here, here! Not gonna happen, but I'd love it if Guddy came back.

Do you mean in the corresponding fixtures, ie. the 2-1 home win against United this season and the 1-1 draw against them this year? If so, thats an interesting fact, but we've obtained more points at this stage than the last two seasons so I am confident.

Blackburn Rovers 0-2 Chelsea F.C. November 9 2008, Premier League, Ewood Park, Blackburn Nicolas Anelka scored twice to ensure Chelsea remained top of the Premier League. With Liverpool crushing West Bromwich Albion 3-0 at Anfield the previous day, the Blues knew nothing but a victory would be sufficient at they headed for a rain-soaked Ewood Park. Thunder storms throughout the day had saturated the pitch and conditions had gradually worsened, but Chelsea did not let the elements get the better of them as they powered past Paul Ince's side. They would have had the chance to take the lead early on, but the Blues were not awarded a penalty when Anelka was apparently taken down by a late challenge from Blackburn goalkeeper Paul Robinson. However they went into the break with a one-goal lead thanks to Anelka's thigh, as he steered home a Bosingwa effort that crept over the goal line. Chelsea had found Robinson in stunning form and it took a special chip from Anelka to wrap up the victory in the second half. Midfielder Frank Lampard was delighted with his side's display, saying that the Blues put in a 'professional performance,' a sentiment echoed by assistant manager Ray Wilkins, who insisted that 'despite the conditions, both sides performed really well.' With Michael Essien, Ashley Cole and Michael Ballack all long-term absentees, Wayne Bridge retained his place in the starting eleven and Nicolas Anelka started up front despite the return to fitness of Didier Drogba; a sign of faith in the Frenchman from the Chelsea staff. Blackburn were without both Benedict McCarthy and Roque Santa Cruz, so Jason Roberts began as the lone frontman in what would be an exciting and tense affair. With the rain coming down heavily, it was Chelsea's attacking play that benefitted more from the atrocious conditions than the hosts. They had a penalty shout inside of 4 minutes when Anelka latched onto a poor back-pass and burst into the Blackburn box, only to be hacked down by Blackburn goalkeeper Paul Robinson. No penalty was awarded, and Luiz Felipe Scolari - on his birthday - was denied the perfect opportunity for his side to bounce back from a mid week performance to forget in Rome. The decision infuriated Chelsea even more moments later and Robinson pulled off a decent save to deny Anelka. The Frenchman had been lively throughout the opening exchanges and his downwards header from a Bosingwa cross from the right was blocked by the legs of Robinson at the near post. Two minutes later, he again denied Chelsea with his legs; this time blocking John Mikel Obi's back post effort. Frank Lampard troubled the England goalkeeper again with a drive from long-range, but Robinson was well-positioned and tipped the ball around the post. Robinson's face said it all - it was covered in muddy water and his lime green shirt was filthy with only 19 minutes on the clock. However, despite Chelsea's early dominance, the best chance of the first 30 minutes fell to Blackburn. Breaking in a flash, it took a magnificent one-handed save from Petr Cech to deny Carlos Villanueva’s well-struck shot from 10 yards. It was a stunning piece of play from both teams, and Cech's stop is certainly a contender for save of the season come May. Petr Cech was in dominating form at Ewood Park, making stunning saves from Villanueva and Roberts. Robinson continued to frustrate Chelsea with a great diving save to deny Anelka, who cleverly jinxed his way into a scoring position with a smart turn in the area. Robinson pushed the ball beyond the post as both goalkeepers demonstrated their worth in a matter of seconds. It was going to take something completely brilliant to breach the Blackburn goal, and it took something ridiculously fortunate from a Chelsea perspective to break the deadlock. Bosingwa's effort from all of 40 yards brushed off the knee of Anelka and trickled over the line, but with Robinson and company all appealing for hand ball, it appeared for a moment that the goal would not be given, but Anelka's persistence was not to be denied and he was awarded the goal. Replays initially proved inconclusive, however Anelka's hands were at his side and any contact with the ball would have been accidental. Aaron Mokoena came on before the end of the half as Chelsea went into the interval with a lead that their first half performance had warranted. Despite tricky conditions and a saturated pitch, the Blues were performing brilliantly and showing their ability to pull their sleeves up and get down and dirty - quite literally. Paul Ince knew his side needed to play more positively and brought on Matt Derbyshire up front in place of Keith Andrews. The home side had been limited to just one clear chance in the first half, but their overall play had left a lot to be desired in an attacking sense, and their display in the second half was much-improved. The rain had eased off, but areas of the Ewood Park pitch were absolutely drenched and the ball was becoming bogged down, but despite the conditions both sides showed commitment to attack. It was the home side who had the best chance of the first passages of play. Jason Roberts left John Terry for dead with a deft touch inside the penalty area, but Cech had read the striker's ploy brilliantly and by the time the former Wigan man had the opportunity to set his sights on goal, the orange-jerseyed goalkeeper was at the striker's feet and brilliantly parried away. Chelsea killed the game off on 67 minutes when Anelka netted his 10th goal in 12 Premier League games. Lampard burst into the box before feeding the ball into the path of the Frenchman who sublimely chipped the ball over the onrushing goalkeeper to ensure the three points headed back to Stamford Bridge. It was Anelka's sixth goal in his last three league matches and underlined his importance to the Chelsea system. Lampard rattled the crossbar with a 35 yard free kick that Robinson did well to tip onto the bar, and Mokoena wasted a great chance for a grandstand finish when he fluffed his volleyed effort. Anelka spurned a chance for consecutive league hat tricks after being put through brilliantly by Lampard; shooting straight at Robinson, but it was a good day for the Blues as Arsenal defeated Manchester United 2-1 at the Emirates - a result that means Chelsea are now eight points ahead of the defending Champions. ___________________________________________________________________ Blackburn: Robinson, Simpson, Khizanishvili, Nelsen, Olsson, Grella (Mokoena), Warnock, Villanueva, Andrews (Derbyshire), Pedersen, Roberts (Fowler) Chelsea: Cech, Bosingwa, Alex, Terry, Bridge, Lampard, Mikel, Deco (Ferreira), Kalou (Belletti), Anelka, Malouda. Attendance: 20,670 Star Men: Nicolas Anelka and Frank Lampard

If you stop certain players from being tackled, you ruin the entire aspect of defending, in my opinion. A player cannot help if they are built strong like Adebayor and Drogba, or are small and physically challenged in comparison, like Fabregas and Nani. It works the same for defenders - they can't choose who to tackle, as its the main part of their game. You won't see a defender go in hard on Luca Toni but then let Ronaldo run straight past them. A tackle is a tackle, at the end of the day, and 'flair' players shouldn't be protected from tackling.

I'm shite outfield, so I'll compile some goalkeeping attributes Intelligence - 8 (Its quite a mental challenge to play in goals - its a position where you need to use your wits and I'd like to think I was quite clever in my reading of the game) Positioning - 9 (I know where my posts are and I'm always on my toes; one of my stronger qualities) Reflexes - 9 (Probably my strongest asset, I'm very alert) Shot-stopping - 9 (Its very good, but I have a bad habit that sees me always use my right hand even when I dive left) Catching - 6 (I'm not the tallest, unfortunately, and am therefore very short for a goalkeeper) Decision-making - 7 (Fairly good Distribution - 7 (Its not perfect - it is fairly accurate, but I usually always throw to a defender than go long) Strength - 7 (I don't have too much trouble coming for crosses) Speed - 8 (I'm quite quick off my line) Agility - 7 (I throw myself around quite a lot but because I'm small I can have trouble in the air)

What would I possibly want with a PL winner's medal? I'm hardly gonna say to the grandkids -'This is one I one at the Battle of Stamford Bridge'