BlueLion.

I think the Russian mafia is picking the players off one by one. Pizarro is the latest casualty

Manchester United and Liverpool have had moderate success for a long while, whilst Chelsea have had great success from 1965-1970 and 1997-2008.

He was in Star Wars Episode I as well.

Belletti was amazing and at first was my man of the match but SWP was excellent throughout.

Carling Cup is basically our's. We'll get past Everton, I reckon Arsenal will do the Jews and eventually we will beat them in final. We will have Didier and Essien back, hopefully Anelka will be firing on all cylinders. We should beat them comfortably.

Pizarro does as much harm as good, bless.

Not bad at all. From the first picture I thought it was hideous but that collar is growing on me. I agree with the person who said it was like the old Coors shirt.

Man City are incredible at home but are poor away. So I think it is Everton vs Liverscum

Chelsea FC 2 - 0 Tottenham Hotspur Saturday 12 January 2008, 15:00 KO, Premier League, Matchday 22, Stamford Bridge Juliano Belletti and Shaun Wright-Phillips scored spectacular goals as Chelsea registered their fourth Premier League win in five games. With Arsenal dropping points at home to Birmingham City, it means Chelsea are now four points behind the Premier League leaders Manchester United, who dispatched Newcastle 6-0 at Old Trafford. The debut of new signing Nicolas Anelka was perhaps overshadowed by the brilliant displays of the two goal scorers but the Frenchman impressed as he was denied only by the crossbar in the dieing seconds of the match. For the visit of fellow Carling Cup semi-finalists Tottenham Hotspur, Avram Grant was relieved to see Czech Republic goalkeeper Petr Cech returned to the starting line-up. The Chelsea custodian had not featured through injury since the 4-4 draw with Aston-Villa and the defence was further bolstered with the return of Ashley Cole to the starting line-up. Belletti continued at right-back and with Essien and Mikel at the African Cup of Nations, Shaun Wright-Phillips continued in midfield alongside Claude Makelele and captain Michael Ballack. Pizarro was up front as Anelka was poised to make his debut for the Blues from the substitute bench. The opening stages were fiercely contested as both teams looked for an early advantage. However, the defensive formation of Tottenham - opting to use two anchor midfielders - meant that Chelsea were unable to get a strangle hold on the match. Yet the game burst into life when Belletti gave Chelsea the opener. The Brazilian was given licence to roam deep into the Tottenham half and with no pressure from the visitor's defence, he rifled the ball from with the outside of his boot from 30 yards. It was a truly spectacular goal which was almost a carbon copy of his first Chelsea goal, away to Wigan Athletic in November. Spurs were forced to drop their defensive approach to the game as they looked for an equaliser. However Tottenham's poor defending had cost them once again, as the simplest of passes from Ashley Cole left Belletti in acres of space. A comedy moment followed when Kevin Price Boateng seemed to forget what sport he was playing as he wrestled Joe Cole to the ground. A perfectly legal tackle in rugby, he found his name in the referee's notebook. However Aaron Lennon found space down the Tottenham right and his cross to the far post saw Steed Malbranque unmarked, but his volleyed effort was directed too close to Cech and the goalkeeper managed to push the ball away to safety. It was a good save by the Chelsea goalkeeper who was attempting to regain match fitness after nearly three weeks out with injury. Ballack was offside when he slotted home from Malouda's pass and the German international was well aware as he barely celebrated. But Chelsea were on top at half-time, as the score line suggested. More of the same followed in the second period as both sides looked to carve out chances. However both defences were well-marshalled and Cech made some excellent catches from Tottenham corners, indicating that the Chelsea goalkeeper's confidence has not been dented following errors in his last few games for the club. Juande Ramos sensibly took Malbranque off as the Frenchman hacked down Malouda but not before he had illegally challenged Shaun Wright-Phillips with studs showing. Nevertheless, the French winger escaped rather fortunately with just a caution. Anelka was brought on for the injured Claudio Pizarro with half an hour remaining and almost scored with his first touch - Anelka received the ball inside the box after good play by Wright-Phillips as he cleverly back-heeled the ball back into the danger area. The French striker swivelled and his volley looked destined for the corner, but Radek Cerny produced a fine save to deny the £15 million January transfer from Bolton. But it was Wright-Phillips who made the game safe with 80 minutes played as he hammered home a shot from the edge of the area. Joe Cole claimed the assist and there was still time for Anelka to have one last effort but his shot hit the crossbar before bouncing away. The striker was unlucky not to cap his debut with a goal, but showed signs of what a promising asset he may prove to be. ______________________________________ Match Fact : Tottenham have not beaten Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in the league since 1990 - two years prior to the Premier League's inception. Chelsea: Cech (6), Belletti (8), Alex (6), Carvalho (6), A.Cole (7), Wright-Phillips (8) (Sidwell (6)), Makelele (7), Ballack (7), Malouda (6) (Bridge (6)), Joe Cole (6) (Sidwell (6)), Pizarro (6) (Anelka (7)). Subs Not Used: Cudicini, Sahar. Booked: Makelele, Ballack Goals: Belletti 19, Wright-Phillips 80 Tottenham: Cerny, Chimbonda, Dawson, King, Lee, Lennon, O'Hara (Defoe 77), Boateng (Kaboul 84), Malbranque (Taarabt 59), Keane, Berbatov. Subs Not Used: Robinson, Gunter. Booked: Boateng, Malbranque, O'Hara, Lennon. Attendance: 41,777 Referee: Alan Wiley Man of the Match : Shaun Wright-Phillips

Chelsea FC 2 - 1 Everton Wednesday 9 January 2008, 19:45 KO, League Cup, Semi-Final First Leg, Stamford Bridge Joleon Lescott scored in his own net with seconds remaining to give 10-man Chelsea an aggregate lead in their Carling Cup semi-final. The defender headed past goalkeeper Tim Howard in stoppage time under pressure from Shaun Wright-Phillips who had earlier put the home side 1-0 up before John Obi Mikel received his marching orders for a two-footed challenge. Yakubu equalised from close range for Everton after a mistake by goalkeeper Henrique Hilario, but the Portuguese shot stopper made amends with a wonderful save at the feet of Lescott on 90 minutes. However, Wright-Phillips proved the catalyst in Everton's downfall as he pressured Lescott into heading the ball into his own goal from Michael Ballack's intelligent cross. Everton had hit the post with the two teams locked at 1-1 through McFadden but Chelsea looked the more likely of the two teams to snatch the win, despite having inferior numbers on the pitch. The spirit and 'never-say-die' attitude of the Chelsea players means they head to Goodison Park with an aggregate lead in the Carling Cup semi-final as the Blues look to feature in their third Carling Cup final in four seasons. The first half of this match was much more open than many predicted as both sides knew the advantages of a first-leg lead. Chances were plenty at both ends of the field but it was Chelsea who were the sooner to expose gaps in the opposition defence. Their patient build-up play resulted in the break-through with twenty-five minutes played as Malouda played in Wright-Phillips. Receiving the ball from the impressive Wayne Bridge, the Frenchman split the Everton defence in two before the England winger turned and curled in a beautiful shot past former Manchester United goalkeeper Tim Howard. They could have extended their lead further when Joe Cole burst through into the box after Jagielka had fouled him. His shot was smothered by the approaching Howard but referee Peter Walton decided to bring play back after offering the advantage to Chelsea. Ballack, Chelsea's stand-in captain, took the free-kick and watched as it bent agonisingly wide of the far stick with Howard scrambling. Chelsea were looking to have the game wrapped up in the first-half, and began the second half as they first forty-five minutes had ended - in control and looking threatening. Wright-Phillips shot wide moments later before a crucial decision by referee Walton. Jon Obi Mikel appeared to challenge Lee Carsley with two feet was duly sent off. Replays indicate the decision was harsh although gives implications that referees are finally beginning to show some consistency in awarding red card for potentially dangerous challenges. Despite Everton's numerical advantage, Chelsea fashioned more chances before Claudio Pizarro saw his shot from the edge of the area flash wide. But Yakubu equalised for the away team when he hammered home Joseph Yobo's pass into the danger zone. Hilario mis-judged the flight of the ball and looked on helplessly as the ball was rifled into the net. Suddenly Everton were in the ascendancy and Chelsea had had their sails robbed of the wind. But with minutes remaining, Lescott headed home after Ballack had put the ball back in the area when he was caught stationary by Shaun Wright-Phillips, giving Chelsea a precious aggregate lead after Hilario had saved well at the feet of Lescott after the England defender had knocked the ball forward and prepared to pull the trigger. ______________________________________ Match Fact : Chelsea have kept just one clean sheet in their last seven matches against Everton. Chelsea: Hilario (6), Belletti (6), Alex (6), Carvalho (6), Bridge (8), Wright-Phillips (8), Mikel (5), Ballack (7), Malouda (5) (Ben-Haim (6)), Joe Cole (7) (Sidwell (6)), Pizarro (4) (Ferreira (6)). Subs Not Used: Cudicini, Sahar. Sent Off: Mikel (55). Booked: Joe Cole, Belletti. Goals: Wright-Phillips 26, Lescott 90 og. Everton: Howard, Hibbert, Yobo, Jagielka, Lescott, Cahill, Neville, Carsley, McFadden, Johnson, Yakubu (Anichebe 89). Subs Not Used: Wessels, Gravesen, Vaughan, Nuno Valente. Booked: Carsley, Hibbert, Neville, Johnson. Goals: Yakubu 64. Attendance: 41,178 Referee: Peter Walton Man of the Match : Shaun Wright-Phillips

Birmingham City versus Chelsea F.C. Chelsea F.C. travel to Birmingham City to continue their quest for a third Premier League title in four seasons. Florent Malouda scored his first Chelsea league goal against Birmingham in August. The last time these two teams met in the Premier League, Chelsea triumphed 3-2 thanks to Michael Essien's long-ranged winning goal. With both teams now under now management, a similar scoreline would be much welcomed by the neutral - although both managers would prefer a clean sheet with the two sides having kept just one clean sheet between them in their last four matches. Match Chat here!

A scary thought: the tactical knowledge of Mourinho verus... erm, Grant.... scary indeed. Even scarier - Grant winning

The competition Shevchenko brought made him the player he is now. Anelka will push him further. Bring it on.

As far as I know they are contracted with Carlsberg until 2013 so that seems unlikely.

No offence or anything, you haven't been here that long Although I'm sure we'd like to see you around more often. I would

Refs are wankers, case settled

Looks very retro. Hence the reason that if that is our new kit, I'll be chopping those collars off.

He fit in brilliantly yesterday against an improving Spurs defence. Considering the only training he had done with the club was in the warm-up, he seemed to do a brilliant job. Could have got two goals if the goalkeeper and the crossbar had been a little more friendly.

I think it would do the world of good for the player if he gets a fair amount of football in the tournament, but I'd prefer him back as soon as possible. Same goes for Essien.

I much prefer Kitson

Brilliant team performance yesterday. Whilst in my eyes there were three stand-out performers, everyone had a solid game. Ballack was quiet but it appeared to me that he was playing in a more withdrawn role than he has been playing, with Wright-Phillips playing further up. Still had a solid defensive game. Malouda still looks a little rusty but he was very inventive, same for Joe Cole. Belletti was my man of the match. Scored a rocket, was creative going forward and sound at the back. Ashley Cole was pretty impressive and I was so impressed with Anelka. The man hadn't kicked a ball in a blue shirt before but he looked totally at home. Desperately unlucky not to score.

Anelka on

FUCKING HELL! If that was us, we'd have had someone sent off! Bastards

As do I. Pizarro has been... awful...

I'll be updating the table for today's game and the Everton match later this evening.