Strike

some obscure dude. Ref isn't a worry. What's worryin is that this being di Canio's first game, Sunderland will be up for it.

Neil Swarbrick will referee our game against Sunderland

Stan Collymore - "If Mata improves his shooting, he could be a 10-15 goals a season player" It's awkward when he's scored 18 this season

Torres has NEVER scored a 'winning' goal in a game for Chelsea. His only 'critical goal' in 2 years at the club is the goal at home to Steaua Bucharest. edit: It's interesting how often he's scored in big wins against minnows Genk 5-0 Leicester City 5-2 QPR - 6-1 Wolves 6-0 Nordsjelland 6-1 Leeds United 5-1 that accounts for 11 goals scored for the club

btw, yet another clean-sheet for Luiz and Ivanovic - that's 4 in 5 games they've started together at CB

Modric and Moutinho offer more dribbling from deep. They have the ability to play themselves out of trouble in addition to their playmaking skills. Benat would be cheaper and if Modric/Moutinho are not affordable, he would be my choice

It's been exciting no doubt. All the managerial changes, the late-season charge for the cups etc, but one case for stability is the use of the academy. earlier in the season Chelsea faced Manchester United in the league cup. United team had Wootton, Keane and even brought on Tunnicliffe and Nick Powell. It gave real experience to them and that is something that goes amiss when you have no stability. ofcourse, one would say - why do we need youngsters when we can buy proven talent? i don't have an answer for that but i know i would prefer chelsea integrating some of the players from the academy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kE3kRf3BkYM Brilliant movement and a superb hooked finish. True striker's goal

I think Rafa picked the United team instead of the Chelsea one

KTBFFH :blue scalf:

Cech Azpilicueta Luiz Ivanovic Cole Mikel Ramires Oscar Mata Hazard Ba Bench: Turnbull Terry Bertrand Lampard Moses Benayoun Torres I'd go for legs in the middle here - something like second half at Old Trafford Based on the 3 games against United this season, i think we have a good chance here

also, the attackers used to flood the box. that is no longer the case. crossing issue coupled with that and we have a huge problem creating chances from wide positions. Rely too much on Mata - Hazard breaking through

not sure about the Chelsea game. That's 3 days after Spurs' little vacation in Switzerland and our trip to Russia.think it'd be good to play yesterday's team in the EL game. Maybe even throw in Ake and Blackman in there

Yeah, Anelka/Malouda were zipping them in back then. Yesterday Moses was awful. just awful. Should go and practice his crossing. And also, he needs to use his left foot instead of trying to turn every time when stuck on the left foot

Leif - for his contribution in the Mourinho thread

It's sad that the 2-1 scoreline flattered us more than Southampton

last time we rotated these many players was at home to QPR.

stupid kickoff time tbh. never really liked lunch-time KO. i guess only Australians will be happy about it

Noticed FA's tweet.

Phil Dowd will officiate the replay source: http://www.thefa.com/TheFACup/More/match-officials

whoscored is a good site. get straight to the facts and an interesting thing to note - his crossing stat is better than the others there - even natural winger Moses. he can play anywhere across the attacking mid positions and RW is open at Chelsea atm. Moses is hardly first-choice and Oscar prefers the middle. de Bruyne can be moulded into a Right-sided attacker in addition to giving backup to CAM

McEachran has the eye for a pass unlike our current mids. In a few years, provided that he can cope physically, he can be moulded into starting material bit like Wilshere

not the locker room mate. i was talking about the board. under any other manager, Gourlay, Emenalo etc will be controlling the transfers. Jose is a bit more ballsy in that sense. he commands respect about Pep, i don't think many would have minded missing out on Jose if Pep was coming. now that Pep went to Bayern, Jose is the only other proven world-class coach left

this is to all those who argue that there are better managers out there or that Mourinho coming back to the club is a bad idea - tell me one manager who will have control at the club like Mou will? no-on else Yes, it is sentimental and yes that has driven Chelsea fans to ignore some of the problems that he has encountered at Madrid but that is because he is a proven World Class coach. He has been there and instilled team spirit at Porto, CFC and Inter before the Madrid job. that's why he should be on top of the interview list for Manager job not sentiments

that's the thing. i usually check the article section and not the Matthew Harding Stand section. would be helpful if you would place it in the Articles section. and btw, good read. sums up the situation with Mourinho neatly. Getting Jose here will instantly elevate us from 3rd best team in the country to being considered along with the Manchester clubs