Fulham Broadway

Toss up between Drogba and Cech-if Drogbas free kick had gone in.... but Cech by a whisper as hes back to his best...

GERRARD HAILS PROGRESS AS HOUSE BURNS TO GROUND STEVEN Gerrard feels his living situation is heading in the right direction after his house finally stopped burning to the ground. Splendid Gerrard said: "I think I've definitely turned a corner in having my house on fire and we can move forward from here. We can win the Europa Car Hire Cup or something "If you look at the amount flames reducing everything I own to charcoal now and compare it to this time last week, you can see the improvement. "On top of that, it's been three months since the kitchen last sunk into a pothole and a good couple of years since the basement was haunted by the vengeful spirit of a murdered gypsy so these are all positive signs." Gerrard was speaking after Rafa had told him about their match yesterday where they had beat Barcelona 8-0 at the Nou Camp, though it could have been some fucked up dream. If you look at this chart the gaffer drew up to explain this kind of thing. There's also a picture of a picture of a talking rocket on it for some reason with some Spanish sausage." He feels Liverpool can still achieve Benitez's promise of a top four spot by May but admitted he was not entirely sure which 'top four' the manager was referring to at the time. Gerrard said: "If he means the Ukranian folk album chart then yes, we must be in with a decent shout. "But if he means the Premiership then possibly not. Have you seen Chelsea recently? Every time the ball flies off the foot of one of their players it ends up really quite near to another one of their players. "The gaffer says they're all witches and the ball is their cat." The blaze had been ravaging the Liverpool skipper's home for several days as he tried to remember the right number for 999. Eventually, he had to call the police and ask them for help.

Cant see gooners getting anything at the Bridge. Too mean to even buy a cup of tea. Chels will raise the game. Drogba to devastate.

Very impressed with him so far -yet to score -but you cant argue with Hiddinks suggestion to sign him...

First of all on the negative he does get a lot of flak from fans shouting abuse around me -and I have been critical. He is supposedly a naturally attack minded midfielder who plays the holding role. his passes are always sideways or backwards which is fair enough for that position. But if his natural role is an attacking midfielder then you'd think he'd have a bit of urgency going forward now and again and he'd get at least one shot on target. he rarely tracks back once hes lost the ball, or if he does he'll foul the player. On the positive, taking over from Makalele was never going to be a walk in the park -he does a dirty job protecting the defence which is why he is sometimes seen as a dirty player. He rarely gets bundled off the ball, and does an adequate job when required. Lets not forget he was signed by Mourinho, and was 2nd Best Player in the World in 2005 behind Messi. If he'd gone to Yernited he'd have been the first African player to have flourished under Ferguson -there has never been one African successful under red nose. The other thing in his favour is his age -.........but someone needs to teach him how to shoot at the training ground.....

Blimey i thought I was the only Mikel critic. He has physical presence, can hold the ball up but lacks any creativity. I think Deco is alright in that holding role atm, but someone needs to tell him to not try the long ball up the left or right which invariably is cut out. I think we will raise our game at the weekend just as Hull did last night, and will beat the goons. Our season looks tricky in the last part but hopefully will be clear by then.

Yeah not sure kalou or Sturridge are capable of taking over regular striker role and the board (when Drogba and Anelka slow up) will buy big. Kalou is infuriating sometimes, can be creative but just seems thick on occasions. Ballack just seems to be wiling away his last year(s), though hes come close to scoring in half a dozen games, and that can change fans perception. (as Lampard senior once said to Fatboy , ''if you're having a shit game make sure you have a shot at the end and the fans tend to forget'') Deco gives the ball away too easily. Malouda I reckon is doing the business at the moment. - seems to have improved greatly, so with Zhirkov and A Cole and Joe cole able to play on the left it seems well covered now . Difficult to say which is the best combination though. All said and done still top of the league, so mustnt grumble

They'd love that ''Chelsea blogger wets herself about john Terry situation'' I hope you asked them why they're obsessed about sex , with Page 3 tits on their rag every day ? And why the Australian owned media giant tries to undermine every England World Cup squad ??

Drogba looked off the pace-apart from the goal, and I didnt agree with taking Anelka off -seemed bonkers, also not that convinced about Sturridge as to being able to ever have a regular slot. Will end up at West ham or Spuds probs. Overall though happy with a point -oh, and Phil Brown you are a moaning cnut !

Psychologically a must win tonight to distance ourselves from the redshite. On Sky - Breaking News -''Terry starts tonight''. Fuck off you Murdoch scum. Theyre obsessed with Terrys private life -theres people dying in Haiti you knobends

The team should wear TEAM TERRY T shirts tonight . ...and Terry should make a public statement saying hes ''quitting England altogether because of the News of the World. And that he loves sex -which ironically is what sells the News of the World to saddoes and voyeurs''

This will be forgotten once the woman, Max Clifford, and the News of the Screws have made their money and exhausted the sordid pathetic story. A celebrity obsessed society, and this has all the ingredients -Sex, England captain, infidelity. Yawn. Probably only came about because the judge who raised the injunction is a closet Yernited/Gooner. Every Chelsea fan at Burnley supported JT, all the other crap is for voyeurs. The only, and only thing that could jeopardise the England captaincy would be if Capello thought the team was unsettled. Wont happen. hes not interested in whether Bridge and Terry were 'roasting' the girl as long as the team spirit is not jeopardised. Er, the previous incumbent , Sven Goran Eriksson shagging several women behind Nancys back anyone ? Sharing Fariah at FA HQ with 2 other FA Directors ? Did anyone bat an eyelid ? Ok get rready for this...drumroll................. I have it on good authority JT, like most professional footballers are dirty dogs. Big surprise. Go on Capello, give the captaincy to either a drug test cheat, granny prostitute visitor or a bloke who beats up local DJ's in a bar because they won't let you play Gerry and the Pacemakers .

Ha ha ha 'ave that !! He loves to score away from home. Always rises to the occasion.....

Yeah I expect hes been getting his head down Professional footballers are paid , as we know, an obscene amount -what some of us earn in five to seven years they can get in a week. They all have lots of posh cars, Range Rovers, lamborginis etc ands can have models and drugs as well. Its a young mans dream lifestyle. Infidelity is horrible, and its usually the women that suffer, but what Terry has done shouldnt be mixed with his game. The Wags are usually models , airheads, and the affected parties will be able to pay for expert counselling and therapy that we couldnt afford, plus thousands of pounds for the 'story' to Murdochs rags. People calling for his England captaincy head are opposing fans, people that have been scorned, and tupenny moralists. Young peole fuck around, and sure fucking your mates missus is a no no, but at the end of the day will this be an issue in a week ? a month ? or when South Africa comes around ? No. All it is a media frenzy, and the hack parasites that feed off football are having a field day. The latest, is that Max Clifford (yawn), is going to represent the injured party, Bridges ex. So he'll get a few thousand quid, and guaranteed, next week in The News of the World, there will be an 'exclusive' ''see pages 3,4,5,6,7,and 13, 14'' with her tale of events, complete with her in provocative poses, flashing a bit of tit, and and saying ''John was rough, and not/well endowed'' etc etc. Its all a load of bollocks that will blow over, and they wouldnt give a flying fuck in Italy, France, Germany, South America.

Excellent Guardian article -can remember some fans saying West ham mugged us off for the £11m fee Frank Lampard has the goal and matching Peter Osgood in his sights Frank Lampard celebrates as he scores Chelsea's third goal against Birmingham. Photograph: Phil Cole/Getty Images Frank Lampard has an extra incentive to reach the 20-goal mark for the fifth season in succession – the midfielder knows it would lift him up alongside the Chelsea icon Peter Osgood in the club's all-time scoring charts. Lampard has hit form in front of goal in recent weeks. He scored twice in the 3-0 home victory over Birmingham City on Wednesday night to make it seven in eight games and 13 in all competitions, including the Community Shield, for the season. If he could add another seven, it would take him to 150 career goals for Chelsea, and give him the honour of drawing level with the late, great Osgood. "I've set the benchmark of 20 goals a season and I'd love to be there again," said Lampard, whose best return was the 21 goals he scored in 2006-07. "I've got 13 now and if I can carry on, keeping scoring and helping the team with the goals, and get to 20 I'd be very pleased. That would put me on 150 goals and level with Peter Osgood. Funnily enough, I know exactly how many I need. I've got it all in my head. "Twenty goals would put me level with Osgood and Roy Bentley. I'd love to get there. Osgood is the Chelsea legend – him and Franco [Zola]. I met him upstairs quite a lot when I first came to the club and he was always very helpful towards me. I know how the fans hold him so to get up with him and Bentley – the captain when we won the league all those years ago [in 1955] – if I can get there this season, that would be great." Chelsea's win over Birmingham took them back to the top of the table and Lampard is keen to beat Burnley at Turf Moor on Saturday to increase further the pressure on Manchester United and Arsenal, ahead of their meeting at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday afternoon. January was supposed to be the month when Chelsea faltered, deprived as they have been of their Africa Cup of Nations players, most notably Didier Drogba and the now injured Michael Essien. But, after stuttering in December, they have been flawless in the league and FA Cup this month, scoring 17 goals in their four fixtures against Watford, Sunderland, Preston North End and Birmingham. "We didn't say that it would go wrong in January, everyone else did," Lampard said. "We've got a lot of belief in our team. We've got players who can come in. Maybe sometimes players need to step up and everyone has done that. But I don't think anyone would look at our fixture list as it's been in January so far and expect us not to win those games. "We've gone up a gear in January. We had a bad little run and we probably lost some of our movement and our sharp passing game. But we've worked hard to get that back. January has been nice for us. We haven't had so many games so we've been able to work hard in training on moving the ball quickly, getting into position quicker and not being so predictable, which we might have been in a patch in December

One of the performances of the season. Total football -Joe Cole working hard for the South African trip, Ashley Cole was superb again, Deco although doing his usual give the ball away trick was playing well, the whole team made the zulus look average. The fact that people were bemoaning the defence for Brum having two good chances I can live with, because for their two chances Chels had dozens , and it could have quite easily been another mauling like Sunderland,,,

I dont think heroin would be that performance enhancing Try cocaine. This was the drug of choice for many footabllers professional and amateur for years. Maradonna, Merson and Adams just 3 to come clean. The authorities were looking to crack down, and catch a high profile footballer as it was spiralling out of control. Catching Mutu acted as a deterrent to others, and theres no doubt, coke dealers revenue would have dropped considerably in the nightclubs that professional footballers frequent.....

Quite good really. Will help and speed up the compensation claim....

Mate if that is you i am embarassed for the club. They continue to employ morons as stewards, and I have had several run ins with them -one a self confessed Spuds fan who hates Chelsea fans ! Really good article today by Oliver Holt in the Mirror about tonights Manc derby and how they're killing the passion of the game... Tonights Man Utd v Man City Game I looked up the date in one of my old programmes. It was January 21, 1976 - 34 years ago - when Manchester City played Middlesbrough in the second leg of a League Cup semi-final. A couple of hours before the game, I ran round to my mate John Marshall's house and piled into the car with his dad and brothers. I remember every bit of that night, parking up in Moss Side, John's dad giving some kids 50p to mind the car. The magic of climbing up the steps in the North Stand at Maine Road and suddenly seeing the pitch, floodlit and waiting. I remember the intensity, the avalanche of noise roaring out of the Kippax, driving City on. Peter Barnes, Asa Hartford, Joe Royle and the rest of them sweeping Middlesbrough aside with four goals and the fans singing about Wembley. And the bloke in front was so overcome with it all when Royle buried the fourth that he flung his arms in the air and inadvertently stubbed out his cigarette on the back of John's hand. When we got back to the car, the kids hadn't taken care of it at all. It looked like someone had been dancing on its roof. I laughed about that night with John's dad the last time I saw him a couple of days after Christmas. He was sat in his front room, hooked up to an oxygen machine to aid his breathing now cancer was attacking his lungs. We talked about the old days when John and I were kids and big gangs of us would play football on the local park every spare minute we had. And we talked about City. I'd just been to interview Craig Bellamy so we talked about him and how brilliant he has been this season, how the fans love him because of his spirit. Last Friday I went to the funeral. It was more a celebration of his life and John and his brothers were wearing City scarves over their suits. Other mourners wore sky blue ties. Afterwards, we went to the De Trafford Arms and talked about, well, we talked about what everyone's talking about in Manchester at the moment - the second leg of another League Cup semi-final. The police and the FA chose that day to issue appeals for calm at tonight's showdown between City and Manchester United. And you know what I thought when I heard those appeals? I thought 'I don't want calm'. I don't want morons throwing golf balls or darts. But I don't want calm either. I don't want polite applause. I don't want an emasculated atmosphere. I don't want fans or players to be silenced. I don't want supporters to be worried they're going to be chucked out by a steward if they stand up to cheer on their team. This game means a lot to a lot of people. It's part of a rich seam that runs through people's lives. Don't patronise them by telling them to calm down. That's part of the reason why so many people are raging against what football in this country is becoming. It's not just the greed of the Premier League and the mismanagement of so many club owners. It's the way the authorities are scared of passion in football now. It's true. They're scared. They're alarmed that this tie has ignited so many emotions. It makes them feel uncomfortable. They want football to be airbrushed and choreographed. They want it to be a product. They don't want anything that might hurt the brand or put off the corporates. I don't want that. I want tonight to be tribal, fiery and controversial. I want it to be crackling with tension, nerves and hostility. I want it to be bedlam at Old Trafford. I hope Gary Neville and Carlos Tevez go at it again. At least they feel some of the same passion the fans feel. We've already got enough players afraid to say boo to a goose in case it scares off a sponsor. What's the problem with one man giving a mild opinion about the other's worth and the other telling him to shut his trap? And so what if Neville gave Tevez the finger? Is that really so bad? How prudish, how controlling and constricting some in the sport have become. The city of Manchester has waited more than a generation for this rivalry to become real again It's been a long time since City have been genuine challengers to United. But now the rivalry's back, let's not dilute it. Let's revel in it. This may come as an unpleasant surprise to the men in suits who have been trying for many years to rip football away from its traditional base. But the game is still about more than how much gear you can sell and how high you can raise season ticket prices. The fans that football used to belong to aren't ready to let it go yet. For them, it's not a fashion. It's with them in their living - and their dying. That's why tonight is not a night for calm. It's a night to lose yourself in football, with the kind of joy that stays with you for 34 years. I want tonight to be tribal and fiery and controversial. I want it to be crackling with tension and nerves

Definitely one of the greatest victories, prefer beating United to anyone -even the murderers. Incidentally 13 years ago yesterday we beat the bindippers 4-2 in THAT cup game

Cardiff are a good team at the moment, brilliant awareness and running off the ball. McCormack is good and Chopra still has it and wouldnt be surprised if Cardiff score at SW 6. Good Millwallesque support from Cardiff as usual. Bristol City were fucking hapless though, which tended to flatter Cardiffs performance a bit, and Chelsea will win on 13th Feb.

I miss all his shenanigans - "I leave here with a strange taste in my mouth, but this is your country, your championship. I will move on sooner or later and the problem will remain yours. I believe we will succeed in winning this title one way or another. Now everyone can shut their mouths. This match was an embarrassment." When we play them though, he can fuck right off

Off to Bristol City v Cardiff tonight. Going to sus the opposition out Mourinhostyle

Its as expected -going into the Brum game 3rd. 3 points against Brum , Villa to beat the Arse, Man City to kick lumps out of Yernited, then Arse and Man U to draw on Sunday with Fibrelass and the granny shagger stretchered off after a mid air collision....

Anyone go to the Cardiff game in the eighties ? Cardiff 3-0 up with 15 mins to go and Chelsea pulled it back to 3-3 . Following situation could only be likened to a war zone