BlueLion.

Yeah, we're not booing Jules, we love him

He was in London to see Malouda sitting in the stands with an injury

He is urging because he doesn't have the funds available.

Too many ises

The teams we can face: Bayern Munich Panathinaikos Barcelona Porto Juventus We can't play Roma as they were in our group, nor can we play Manchester United or Liverpool as they are part of the same confederation.

Match report - http://www.talkchelsea.net/forum/index.php...amp;#entry51226

Chelsea F.C. 2 - 1 CFR Cluj-Napoca December 10 2008, UEFA Champions League, Group Stage, Stamford Bridge, West London Didier Drogba came off the bench to net a stunning winner as Chelsea progressed to the knock-out rounds of the Champions League. The Blues made hard work of the Romanian champions, and the early moments of the game suggested the match would be just as tight as the 0-0 draw in the reverse fixture on match day two of the Champions League season. However, the home side made a deserved breakthrough when Ivorian forward Salomon Kalou netted from close range, but then proceeded to waste a number of chances that would have put the game beyond the visitors. On 55 minutes, Cluj striker Kone headed home a shock equaliser that stunned Stamford Bridge, but tremendous vocal support from the Chelsea faithful - coupled with the introduction of Drogba as a second half substitute - saw the much-maligned centre-forward score a fabulous winning goal. The victory means that Chelsea qualify for the next stage of the competition, but AS Roma's 2-0 win over Bordeaux meant the Italian team secured first place in Group A - as a result of this, the Blues will face a potentially trickier tie, with the second leg away from home. Despite this, Luiz Felipe Scolari was pleased with the result, and stated he does not mind who his team face in the Round of 16, saying that every team 'is the best' and would prove to be a tough opponent. Chelsea started with just one change to the team that beat Bolton 2-0 at the weekend, with suspended Frank Lampard replaced by a fit-again Joe Cole. Deco, who played wide left at the Reebok, was drafted into Lampard's position, and Cole and Kalou operated on the wings for the home team. Juliano Belletti had recovered from the injury that had seen him out of action since the Carling Cup defeat to Burnley, and was on the bench. The opening exchanges belonged to Chelsea, but chances went begging at both ends within the opening minutes. Cluj full-back Pereira had a decent effort from the edge of Petr Cech's area that the big goalkeeper did well to parry away, even though replays highlighted that the ball may have been going wide of the Czech's left upright, before Alex headed off-target from a Deco free kick. It was a decent chance for the Brazilian, but under pressure, his header bounced over the target. Anelka was next to be presented with a chance following Kalou's sparkling run, but the Frenchman was denied by a last-ditch block by one of the Cluj defenders - the away team were demonstrating that whilst it was impossible for them to progress, that they were not willing of simply allowing the Blues simple passage to the next round. Ballack laid-off Joe Cole on 35 minutes, but following superb control, the winger could only stab his effort a couple of feet wide after the Shed End had rose in expectancy. Cole was visibly angry with himself, and it certainly was a decent opportunity for the England man from the edge of the area. Kalou blazed over moments later, before Mikel lashed a shot well over, before the breakthrough came. John Terry caused mayhem in the penalty area, giving Kalou the space required to bring the ball home and lash it into the back of the net. The Ivorian celebrated his first goal in ten matches in jovial fashion, as Stamford Bridge acknowledged the importance of the opening goal - a massive sigh of relief could be heard just as much as roars of jubilation from the home crowd. Joe Cole shot straight at goalkeeper Nuno Claro in the first attack of the second half, as Chelsea got into their stride. The imperious pairing of Mikel and Ballack was successfully snuffing out Cluj attacks, whilst both wingers were acting as attacking outlets for the home team. However, the Blues couldn't possibly progress without making it difficult for themselves, could they? Yssouf Kone emphatically provided the answer with a simply stunning header into the top corner. Panin did brilliantly to beat Bosingwa with the initial touch, before some brilliant trickery left John Terry for dead - the simplest of crosses to the former Rosenborg man allowed the striker space to manoeuvre a header beyond Petr Cech. The simplicity of the goal was excellent in itself, but the headed effort was one to be admired. Cluj were level, and to their credit, continued to attack. Claro then made a good save to deny Joe Cole, moments after denying Nicolas Anelka with some excellent goalkeeping - the shot stopper sliding out to steal the ball from the Frenchman's feet. Drogba came on for Kalou on 64 minutes, and by the team the clocks were indicated that five minutes had passed since his introduction, the striker was on the score sheet. To say that the goal was ridiculously sublime would be somewhat of an understatement. Whilst you can sit back and admire volleyed efforts from 30 yards, storming diving headers at the back post, and trademark rocket free kicks, the genius of Joe Cole's vision and creativity, the brilliance of Drogba's touch and the lethality of his finish was something truly special. Running into space, Cole saw his teammate in space, and a clever lobbed pass right into his path gave him the opportunity to finish without breaking strider, and Drogba did not disappoint; taking the ball down beautifully with his right boot before hammering it beyond Nuno Claro. Whilst he may only have found the net twice this season, Drogba would have to go back many a game to find a goal of his that matched the quality of this one. Belletti soon came on, and to the cries of 'Shoot!' from the Matthew Harding End, he forced a decent save out of Nuno Claro as the Brazilian returned from a spell on the sidelines. Ballack rocketed a shot towards goal from fully thirty yards that forced a solid parry from the goalkeeper, before Bosingwa's devilish cross was cleared from the danger zone by Pereira. Chelsea held out, despite a decent chance for Cluj with minutes remaining after Deco had upended Dani, but Muresan fired over and the Blues were through. Just. ___________________________________________________________________ Chelsea: Cech, Ashley Cole, Terry, Alex, Bosingwa, Kalou (Drogba), Deco, Mikel (Bridge), Ballack, Joe Cole (Belletti), Anelka CFR Cluj-Napoca: Nuno Claro, Pereira, Hugo Alcantara, Cadu, Panin, Muresan, Dani, Culio, Trica (Peralta), Dubarbier (Emmanuel Kone), Yssouf Kone Attendance: 41,060 Star Man Michael Ballack

He joined Newcastle, so maybe he doesn't

The funniest thing anyone has asked me, was when I was sitting in the Shed End during the Schalke game last season - some American guy came up to me and asked 'is this is the Shed End?'

I'd take any team, to be honest, sooner or later we're gonna have to face the bigger teams. Wouldn't fancy the away leg being second, at the Allianz, Stade Gerland or the Camp Nou though - I'd rather not face Bayern, Lyon or Barca till the latter rounds, but so be it.

We came second, behind Liverpool because we lost at Betis.

Tri-Blue's got a good point - but they can't qualify for the UEFA Cup, because of head-to-head matches against Bordeaux - if Cluj beat us and Roma beat Bordeaux, we'd still go through as second-placed team, but Bordeaux would enter the UEFA Cup as they beat Cluj 1-0 at home and 2-1 away.

I tell you what mate, thats a very good point. When we're away, teams have no choice but to attack as otherwise their fans will become upset, so Anelka's pace is a potent weapon, but when we're at home, teams played with two lines of 4 or 5 and Anelka - without a lot of physical strength - often struggles. I think playing the pair of them together up front would knock the shit out of West Ham, in all honesty.

Happy birthday, JT.

Hardly a surprise

I'd just like to point out that neither AC Milan nor Chelsea confirmed whether the deal was a temporary loan signing or a permanent transfer, so your guess is as good as mine

Bolton Wanderers 0-2 Chelsea F.C. December 6 2008, Premier League, Reebok Stadium, Bolton Nicolas Anelka came back to haunt his former employees as the Frenchman continued his stunning goalscoring form. After a run that had seen the Blues fail to record a win since mid-November against West Bromwich Albion, Anelka gave Scolari's men the start they craved with a brilliant diving header past Jussi Jaaskelainen. Deco then volleyed home superbly after Michael Ballack's header had found the Portuguese midfielder in space, and the ex-Barcelona player acrobatically scissor-kicked beyond the Bolton goalkeeper. Following last weekend's defeat to Arsenal, the Blues were a point adrift of leaders Liverpool and the result means they keep in touch with the Merseyside team, who beat Blackburn 3-1 at Ewood Park. Perhaps more impressively is the fact that Chelsea managed a win at the Reebok Stadium without the likes of Michael Essien, Didier Drogba, Ricardo Carvalho, Florent Malouda, Juliano Belletti and Joe Cole, and despite a depleted squad, completely dominated the game. Paulo Ferreira made his 150th appearance for the Blues late on in the game, but the Portuguese full-back was joined on the bench by the likes of Franco di Santo, Scott Sinclair and Miroslav Stoch, such was the extent of Chelsea's injury problems. Alex da Costa returned to the side after a recent spell on the sidelines, meaning that Branislav Ivanovic dropped to the bench despite a series of solid displays. The game started really brightly with both teams creating chances; Kalou firing less than half a yard over Jaaskelainen's crossbar and Kevin Davies' header floating inches over the crossbar for the hosts. However, after a short spell of possession, Chelsea carved out an opener in spectacular fashion, with full-back Jose Bosingwa again at the heart of it. The Portuguese defender launched a teasing, inviting cross towards the far stick on his left foot, and was met with aplomb by a diving Nicolas Anelka - the Frenchman expertly turning the ball beyond the Finnish goalkeeper via the post. It was a true striker's goal, and Anelka's goal against his former team was his 15th of the season so far, and a very valuable one at that. Kevin Nolan, the Trotters skipper, had a half-chance when Petr Cech mis-kicked, but his lobbed effort lacked power and accuracy and Cech was able to gather. It was a fortunate let-off for the Blues goalkeeper, but he and his team were soon celebrating an absolute stroke of genius a matter of moments later. Salomon Kalou saw his angled drive stopped brilliantly by Jaaskelainen, but the rebound fell to Michael Ballack, who calmly nodded into the path of Deco. With perfect execution, the Portuguese defender acrobatically volleyed into the bottom corner with a stunning scissor kick, giving Jaaskelainen no chance whatsoever. Since joining the Blues, Deco had scored three goals - a 30-yard piledriver against Portsmouth, an inch-perfect winner against Wigan with a stunning free kick, and now an outrageous volley. Anelka could have made it 3-0 moments later but his effort was wide after the goalkeeper flapped at a corner. The second half was a different story as Bolton showed the passion and commitment that had seen them become the Premier League's form team in recent weeks but putting the visitors under mounting pressure in the early period of the second forty-five minutes. However, somewhat against the run of play, Deco would have put the game to bed and ended Bolton's resistance once and for all, but his chip was wide of the upright when a simple, placed effort would have been more suitable when one-on-one. Lampard had a decent chance to seal the win, but he too - in uncharacteristic fashion - wasted the opportunity by shooting straight at the goalkeeper from outside the area after good play by Nicolas Anelka, who waited patiently for Lampard's supporting run. Anelka might have had a chance for his second after Jaaskelainen fumbled a long-range Alex free kick that took a slight direction, but the shot stopper soon regained possession of the ball. Cech showed his class with a stunning save from Gary Cahill. The defender's header was too close to the goalkeeper, but the Czech number 1 showed his quick reactions to push the ball away, before collecting the rebound from Matty Taylor. Bosingwa wasted a chance on 84 minutes, but he was soon substituted for Ivanovic after a solid shift from the right-back, but the game was won and a professional second half performance ensured the win. __________________________________________________________________ Bolton: Jaaskelainen, Steinsson, Cahill, Andrew O'Brien, Samuel (Smolarek), Davies, McCann, Nolan, Muamba (Gardner), Taylor, Elmander Chelsea: Cech, Bosingwa (Ivanovic), Terry, Alex, Ashley Cole, Mikel, Kalou (Ferreira), Lampard, Ballack, Deco, Anelka Attendance: 22,023 Referee: Howard Webb Star Man: Nicolas Anelka

Bloody jammy bastards However the most important thing is our result today - now for back to back home wins over Cluj and the Hammers and normal service is resumed.

Anelka's doing the business, but what happens when he is crocked?

Correct. I'm off. Enjoy the rest of the game.

2-0 to Liverpool, wankers.

The bastard stream is off again.

Excellent goalkeeping by Cech, two very good saves.

Blackburn 0-1 Liverpool

David Moyes and Martin O'Neill both at the game today - not something you see all the time.