Jase

I think the overreaction, if you want to call it that way, is because we have not seen our ST do(you know who I'm talking about) what Ba did today upfront. The link up play, the movement and finishing, it all just felt so surreal.

Now that we have Ba and after he scored 2 goals on his debut, lets see if Torres can respond in a positive manner the next time he plays(not getting my hopes up in any way!). If he doesn't relish the competition and continues to sulk on the pitch, then he really really REALLY needs to go!!!

Just a question, there is no release clause in his contract with us right??

Lets just say we had a bad day in the office against QPR...

Mainly the first two you mentioned there. If I forget, then of course I'll check websites. Then again, it's hard to forget results like those when we steamrolled opponents.

Calm down. It was only the last 11 minutes. Could hardly affect the game much especially when we were already cruising.

So, in the space of 10 months, we have had these results with big scorelines: 1. Tottenham 1-5 Chelsea 2. Chelsea 6-0 Wolves 3. Chelsea 6-1 Nordsjaelland 4. Leeds 1-5 Chelsea 5. Chelsea 8-0 Aston Villa 6. Southampton 1-5 Chelsea

Well, they always get an easy group stage in the Champions League! Would be happy as long as we get home tie especially if it's against a non-PL team.

This may sound harsh but I don't really think Ba needs a hat-trick to boost his morale or the team's. He's not like that weak minded Torres. The fact that he already got 2 on his debut would have pleased him. Ba would understand the situation about Lampard as he still has plenty of time to get his hat-trick for us and I'm sure the team would just be as happy with Lampard equaling Kerry Dixon's goalscoring record.

Oooh, you two are really pushing it!!! :rant:

Don't want to jinx it but Turnbull has done alright since he replaced Cech at Everton.

Agree with that. It's just that at times he can be a bit hit and miss with his cross. Needs to be more consistent with it. And also, the fact that he can cross with his left foot is a bonus for us, especially when opponents don't give him the space and chance to cross with his right foot.

Ba just tweeted this....

Something tells me that Ba will start against Swansea on Wednesday because he scored 2 goals today and then be rested against Stoke next weekend as Benitez will probably have the excuse that oh 'Ba has played the 2 previous games and Torres hasn't. He was rested and is fresh now to come back into the team' etc.

Teams in the draw for the 4th round: Premier League 1. Chelsea 2. Aston Villa 3. Manchester City 4. Tottenham 5. Reading 6. Norwich Championship 1. Brighton & Hove Albion 2. Huddersfield 3. Barnsley 4. Leicester City 5. Millwall 6. Derby County 7. Middlesbrough 8. Blackburn League 1 1. Sheffield United 2. Oldham Athletic League 2 1. Aldershot Town Conference National 1. Luton Town 2. Macclesfield Town There are couple of matches went to a replay(ties will be played on 15-16th January): Stoke v Crystal Palace Bournemouth v Wigan Blackpool v Fulham West Brom v QPR Sunderland v Bolton Man United v West Ham Leyton Orient v Hull City Birmingham v Leeds Brentford v Southend MK Dons v Sheffield Wednesday 3 more FA Cup 3rd Round matches are to be played: Swansea v Arsenal Mansfield v Liverpool Cheltenham v Everton

The FA Cup 4th Round draw will take place tomorrow at 3.30pm UK time. It will shown live on ITV.

Thought he was brilliant today and it's really nice for a change to have a proper RB, who can defend and attack including bombing up and down the flank all day long and whipping the crosses. The fact that he has pace too makes it all the better if we pass into space for him to run into and/or if there is a need to chase opponent. The one thing he needs to really improve on is his crossing. It was absolutely woeful at times today and arguably, it's even worse than Bosingwa's crosses!

Oh, it felt so good for once to have a proper striker upfront. Ba did what Torres has failed to do - holding the ball up strongly, attacking the balls in the attacking third and clinically converted the chances that came his way as illustrated in the 2nd goal. And oh, it took just 61 minutes for Ba to score 2 goals for us compared to Torres, who needed 7 months to score 2 goals.

A good comeback win after conceding early(and first...again). The win was made all the better with Ba scoring 2 goals on his debut and Lampard equaling Kerry Dixon's goalscoring record for the club. And also... Chelsea have scored at least 5 goals in each of the 4 domestic cup matches this season - 6 vs Wolves, 5 vs Man United, 5 vs Leeds(in League Cup) and now 5 vs Southampton in the FA Cup. However, the slightly worrying thing is... Chelsea have conceded the first goal of the game in 5 of their last 7 matches in all competitions. We need to be cutting that out!

A record of equaling the second highest goalscorer at a club on 193 goals is even rarer!

He has gone to Newcastle. Thread locked.

Never mind. Will just leave it there...

We still need another striker. Going with just 1 for the rest of the season is just plain suicidal... Am hoping that we can get David Villa on loan. That would be superb!

That is one cracking bit of business by Fiorentina. If Rossi can recover well from his injury, he will be superb for them especially with all the other quality players already in that team.

On the subject of Holtby...