Jase

You look like you're in grumpy mood for some reason...

You started it first by saying "If it wasn't for Walters...". And if you want to say goalkeeper is there to make saves, then I could also say that players do make mistakes sometimes that cost their team goals.

Chelsea vs Southampton PRE-MATCH DISCUSSION AND LIVE CHAT Barclays Premier League 16th January, Wednesday 2013 Stamford Bridge 19:45 Kick Off (UK time)

Chelsea vs Southampton POST-MATCH DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS Barclays Premier League 16th January, Wednesday 2013 Stamford Bridge 19:45 Kick Off (UK time)

You said this... Hence I replied with this...

@Rmpr, what's this? Suffering from mood swings due to bad weather again?! Maybe it wasn't an overly brilliant performance but it was still a good one needed to beat Stoke at the fortress that is Britannia Stadium. And yes, while some may say we got lucky with the 2 own goals and getting penalty, we still gotta deliver the ball into the right positions to force someone making the mistake or score a goal. Doesn't matter if Stoke had 53% possession. What matters most is what you do with it. Yes, they may have put us under some pressure in the opening 20 minutes or so but they didn't create any clear cut chances. The only really good chance they had was the one Jones shot just wide early on and that was it for Stoke. All the other chances they had was from headers which we dealt with is nicely and shots from distance. We looked the more threatening side going forward passing the ball around them and creating some great chances. You said if it wasn't for Walters and us getting the penalty, the result would have been different. Well, I could easily say the same with if it wasn't for Begovic making those saves, we would probably still have scored first and go on to win the game.

Great to see him back in action! Though it has be to said that he was a tad reckless in giving the penalty away.

It's win like this that makes you wonder how on earth we thrashed Leeds and Southampton 5-1, Stoke 4-0 and beat Everton all away from home and then go and lose to QPR and Swansea at home?! Our record record under Benitez in all competitions - P15 W9 D2 L4. Home - P6 W2 D2 L2 F14 A4 Away - P9 W7 L2 F22 A9

You can't be serious... For his first OG today, remember this? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGxmIEVWafU

Compare and contrast.

Superb win. Superb performance. Negated Stoke's threat reasonably well and we looked threatening going forward. Could and should have been more than just 4-0 if it weren't for Begovic but would have been happy to just take 1-0 win before the game, let alone 4-0. So, can't complain too much. And Lampard as well as Hazard were excellent today too.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ya8pbIUzPw

Spurs could go 4 points clear of us if they beat QPR ahead of our game against Stoke.

Just watch QPR suffer from a hangover and lose to Spurs after winning their 'Champions League Final' against us.

Here's another key stat: Those 2 losses came at home. We have scored in every away game(excluding CWC) so far under Benitez. And we have scored in 13 of our last 15 away league games.

It's one thing playing the No.10 role in France and another in England. The nature of how games goes in both league can dictate which position a player is best suited in. Not saying you guys are wrong or anything considering Hazard is nowhere near a finished article yet but right now, I think his abilities is best used when playing out wide. Guess players like Luiz, Mata, Cahill, Ramires etc would want to leave too given the amount of mess they have encountered since joining us....

Key thing today against Stoke would be monitoring and winning the second balls. It might be fine not winning the first challenges(depending on which area and situation) but it's crucial for us to get to the knock downs, 50-50s etc first. IF we don't do that, then we could struggle against Stoke, like we have against West Ham and Everton recently.

Though Hazard may have started in the No.10 position earlier this season, he did not just play there permanently. He was constantly rotating position with Mata and then later Oscar as well. And just because he had those number of assists then, it doesn't mean his best position is or he excels in the No.10 position. Lets break down how we got some of those goals in the first 3 league matches because of Hazard. vs Wigan (won 2-0) First goal came from when Hazard found himself in the No.10 to setup Ivanovic on the counter. So, ok. Then the next goal, he found himself out wide making the driving runs and dribbling into the penalty box. He wanted to get to the byline but was tackled by Ramies and we got the penalty. vs Reading (won 4-2) Again, we got the penalty similarly to how we got it against Wigan. Made a driving run into the penalty box from the left flank. Does some flicks and tricks before winning the penalty for us. He then assisted Cahill's goal by cutting inside from the left flank by just passing it to him to shoot from distance. His assist for Ivanovic at the end was irrelevant in any way given we caught Reading on the counter when they were desperately searching for the equalizer. vs Newcastle (won 2-0) His assist for Torres came when he found himself in the No.10 position in a tight area surrounded by Newcastle players. So, as you can see, not all his assists came when he was playing in the No.10 position. Some came when playing out wide and some through the middle. He's probably just as effective in the No.10 role as he does out wide, if not better in the latter position. While Hazard may have the vision and ability to pick out a pass, playing him in the No.10 role would just be wasting him. His main strength is getting on the ball, dribble and running at players in fast pace. He's not going to get that kind of time and space to do that in the middle but only out wide on either flanks and we can already see the impact he can have in that position when he runs at players. Would be better playing players in positions where their abilities are best utilized rather than putting square pegs in round holes.

An international game at the Bridge? Now, that is something we don't see happening often.

Here's one: Stoke are the only unbeaten side left at home this season in the Top 5 divisions in England and they last suffered home league defeat back in February 2012. Lost 1-0 to Sunderland then.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2013/jan/11/josh-mceachran-chelsea-middlesbrough He did an interview with the Guardian. Good read.

Indeed. Our last 4 games against Stoke have ended(latest to earliest) 1-0(w), 1-0(win), 0-0(d) and 1-1(d).

OK. He has gone to Shakhtar. Want to discuss about Willian or anyone else, do so in their own thread. Thread locked!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zn7vQZZGmSE