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Middlesbrough vs Chelsea PRE-MATCH DISCUSSION AND LIVE CHAT FA Cup 5th Round 27th February, Wednesday 2013 Riverside Stadium 19:45 Kick Off (UK time)

Middlesbrough vs Chelsea POST-MATCH DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS FA Cup 5th Round 27th February, Wednesday 2013 Riverside Stadium 19:45 Kick Off (UK time)

Swansea should be thanking Ivanovic for winning the League Cup...

Thanks for the depressing reminder of the (slightly) better days. And Carlo..

Said this many many times before, playing him at RB would likely to end in disaster. He always backs off opponents, allow crosses to come in and hardly ever tackle the opposition in his position. Play the physical game against him, he's fine. However, when you start to play the passing game around him, he gets found out. Can't deal with it and that in the end always invite pressure on the backline and forces us to drop back so deep!

Nearly died from laughing and crying watching his touches today. The first, the second, everything about him in the game was just woeful!

Wasn't expecting to get anything from the game but least I, or rather all of us, expect is showing fight, desire and determination in the game, win, lose or draw. Saw none of that today whatsoever. It was a gutless, spineless and soulles performance from the start to finish. Almost everyone in the team was just going through the motions and hope(HOPE!) for something to happen rather than trying to make things happen. It's an absolute disgrace. Even Arsenal and Liverpool showed more spirit and guts than us here against Man City at the Etihad. Embarrassing!

Funny how people say just because Cahill tends to make last ditch challenges, it's all his fault because he was caught out of position etc. Yes, sometimes it is. Sometimes it's not. There are situations where he had to run back to prevent someone from scoring if we get caught out playing a high line OR because someone in the defence messed things up and he needed to cover them. He's a covering defender, not a CB like Luiz who takes the initiative and tackle opponents early on. Thing with Cahill is when it comes to making challenges, blocking shots, making interceptions, winning headers etc, he is good at it. Only problem with him is the inconsistency in terms of his concentration and positioning at times. That's the frustration with him. It's this small little and basic mistakes that he commits when you least expect it. He's only 27 y/o and might not be a world class defender in the end but he can be a really good defender if he improves on the few aspects mentioned.

You know, for all the talk of Benitez managing the squad and rotating the players, he seems adamant of running Mata into the ground and flog him to death. It has been so obvious recently that he's feeling tired and yet like today, he doesn't take off Mata but instead Hazard!

This was exactly the same starting XI that faced Man City at the Etihad last season barring 2 changes - Ba for Torres & Hazard for Meireles.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iFzDOcGDQ7o

Mine is longer.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3yhakUoJypA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zu6TOadvwTM

Hazard: I love being in the headlines... as long as it's for the right reasons!

Well the ref, Lee Probert is short and looks to have a tad problem talking to the 2 giants in Crouch and Hangeland. Hence, the latter tried to be funny by lifting him up so that he can communicate easier.

It's up to you really since you wrote it. Was just giving a suggestion.

4 league games ago, we beat Arsenal and moved 11 points clear of them. Now, we are only 2 points ahead.

Have updated the first page of the thread. Edited the full last 16 ties and have also added in our game time of both matches against Steaua Bucharest. Thanks to @ for posting it.

Arsenal won. Everton lost. The former is now only 2 points behind us while the latter trail us by 7 points still ahead of tomorrow's game.

Good analysis and love the stats. Did you gather them yourself? And if I'm gonna be picky(), think you should place the 'Teams in Top 4' first, then the 'Chasing Pack' and finally 'The Outsiders'. Looks more organized that way especially since the league table displays teams in Top 4 first before the rest.

Of course. And just realized if we get past Boro next Wednesday, then we'll face Man United in the FA Cup in between the two matches against S.Bucharest. If the Boro tie goes to a replay, then I think the replay will be played in between those 2 legs. On the other hand, IF we get KOed by Boro in midweek, then we'll play Fulham away in the league in between those 2 matches.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qvstqBKHD6k

Since October 6 2012, Torres has only scored 8 goals in 29 appearances in all competitions (3 in PL, 2 in CL, 1 each in CWC, LC & FAC).

-________-" PISS OFF!