Christacinto

For what it's worth, was voted "Man of the Match" tonight against Iceland. Excelled throughout the night, Though he was given a hand by some extremely shabby defending by our back 4.

From what I have read from your posts, sir, you have the football intelligence of a 80 year old Arsenal fan with brain damage. Absolutely ludicrous, categorical, unfounded hog wash. You can hide behind your rants of criticism and cynicism all you want, it won't change the fact you're either a success supporter or no supporter at all. Definitely not the type of fan I wish to relate to... And note that I have not said a single word against anyone else criticizing Hazard, as I subscribe to a lot that has been said, so it's not that I'm a fanboy.

I honestly don't... I think he's nowhere near physical enough to assert himself in the Premier League. It's all fine doing it at Zulte and even in the Bundesliga, but playing under Mourinho in the Premier League is a whole different ball game. Still a long way to go before he becomes the machine he needs to be to be given a run at Chelsea's. That being said, I hope I'm wrong :dude:

Here we go ... again

So guys, I understand the disappointment and I concur, but ... Having passed two of our toughest away games of the season already we still haven't lost in 9 games. Is there any top team in Europe that has better points than us (Bayern perhaps?)? Moreover, according to Jose's philosophy, if you win your home games and draw your away games against direct "rival contenders", you become champions. So I'd say we've done quite brilliantly so far - even though, with that stroke of luck it c/should've been more... Imo the battle today was lost on the mid-field by Fellaini owning Fabregas - Matic was his usual monster-self and was outstanding, but had it not been for that key duel we would've definitely scored more. Finally, we played with our third striker and still were a breath away from winning. So cheer up lads, drink yourselves silly to the happy realisation that the title is one step closer

What troubles me most about this interland break actually, is the fact United are getting 13 more days to heal and rest up before playing us... It would have been ideal to play their mangled, pitiful excuse of a defence next weekend already though I'm fairly confident we will still outscore them regardlessly

That moment when COSTA forced their last man to foul him, injuring the poor defender in the process If you look up "Awesomeness" in the encyclopedia, they'll show a picture of a heavy-browed Costa peering straight at you... My MOTM, just for his Ares (God of war)-like presence throughout the 90 minutes, though rationally MATIC deserved it more.

On a sidenote: Apparently Courtois got awarded a point over Cech in Fifa 15, clocking at 86 (number 31 in game) over 85 for Cech. Just or not, it sure as hell is cool

No,I get what you're saying, it sure seems as if he was pushed off stage a bit, but truth isn't always appearance if you look at his numbers, he looked rock solid. But, of course, he must improve. And so he shall!

I honestly don't understand the "Hazard's been average " vibe I've been getting across the forum so far. He's been solid to excellent in all 3 games imo,having a much better start than any of his previous seasons. I mean, just because costa and fabregas are reaping the glory, we shouldn't misjudge Hazard's decent form, no?

Hi Barbara, I got curious during the day and looked it up on http://www.whoscored.com/Players/33404/Show/Eden-Hazard But I don't know if there's some "official" Premier League Statistics database to review... Are you saying that officially, the assist did get awarded? There doesn't seem to be one clear, uniform rule that applies to these situations, does there? In my opinion, it should count as an assist, even though, as CHOULO19 said: as long as it counts for the right team, it's of marginal importance. Edit: I just realised I probably should change my picture already

So guys, how does that great raid in which he forced the own-goal at Goodison not count as an assist? Does it officially register as an unassisted goal, then, and if so, how lame is that?

Fakin hell...that Howard catch was so outside the box... red card!!! ^^

Cheers lads .... massive offside though but get in

FABREGAS!!!!!! 4th assist......

Oh man.... NO .... Torres .... It just fully hit me when looking at the team line-up - it looks so balanced now ^^

That moment in the 93d minute when Eva bent over Willian and you just knew 1 million+ men were staring at exactly the same area Great game lads, Too many great performances to chose from but I'll go with Costa

That moment in the 93d minute when Eva bent over Willian and you just knew 1 million+ men were staring at exactly the same area Great game lads, Too many great performances to chose from but I'll go with Costa

Question : is there a reason we haven't seen any sign of Courtois over the past two games? Is Torres off btw? Thanks

I really hope these comments aren't going to create any fall-out for Eden at the club, especially in our revered, idiosyncratic manager's mind. Ultimately, Eden puts his finger on the sore spot when he says we have systematically struggled with breaking down defensive teams this season. Our lack of attacking options is something that was adressed masterfully by Mourinho at times by making strong, armed-concrete defending are nr.1 priority and going from there; i.e. counter-football. Against the weak sides though, where we were forced to make the game and break down parked jumbo jets because they were happy to take 0-0s against us, our strikers' weaknesses showed. I think anyone would agree that these matches cost us the title... (though I still hope for some miracle this weekend). That being said, bad move Eden for feeding the troll press. The fact that he spoke passionately though, shows his sadness and thus his commitment to the club. From all his neutral interviews I have watched, I am SURE that he's happy at the Bridge and that he can't wait to become better and better as the seasons progress. It's all about the growing curve, people. Shouldn't lose ourselves in ihis defensive lapses (especially after injury - though frustrating to watch) or spirited-away spells during games. He WILL come back stronger. Just imagine COSTA playing in front of him (Hazard on the 10), and Matic and Luiz together in his back for the CL next year. I shudder at the thought, especially because he SHOULD be relieved of his defensive duties more to reach his full potential.

Prize money[edit] As of 2012–13, UEFA awards €2.1 million to each team in the play-off round. For reaching the group stage, UEFA awards a base fee of €8.6 million. A win in the group is awarded €1 million and a draw is worth €500,000. In addition, UEFA pays teams reaching the first knockout round €3.5 million, each quarter-finalist €3.9 million, €4.9 million for each semi-finalist, €6.5 million for the runners-up and €10.5 million for the winners.[55] Playoffs: €2,100,000 Base fee for group stage: €8,600,000 Group match victory: €1,000,000 Group match draw: €500,000 Round of 16: €3,500,000 Quarter-finals: €3,900,000 Semi-finals: €4,900,000 Losing finalist: €6,500,000 Winning the Final: €10,500,000 A large part of the distributed revenue from the UEFA Champions League is linked to the "market pool", the distribution of which is determined by the value of the television market in each country. For the 2012–13 season, Juventus, who were eliminated in the quarter-finals, earned nearly €65.3 million in total, of which €20.5 million was prize money, compared with the €55.0 million earned by Bayern Munich, who won the tournament and were awarded €35.9 million in prize money.[56] Quite a nice parting gift from Demba Ba apart from raising his market value, the man just gave us the funds to buy whoever the hell we want :blue scalf: :blue scalf: :blue scalf:

*opens new beer* So, I know it's too soon to already start looking ahead, but... Any news on Hazard, anyone? I'll take Atletico in the semi's !!! (No Courtois allowed) Grtz to all you beautiful people

Ok guys, I am sure all of you did , but DID EVERYONE SEE THAT RABONA PASS FROM HAZARD TO TORRES??!! That really deserved better (GIF anyone? )... Would've been assist of the season but for yet another unmissable miss from Torres.

With Eden Hazard at the level he is we can beat any team in the world on any day. And that, my friends, is a comforting thought. We're not there yet completely though, so we can still lose (points) to any team as well, but that's just temporary. Can anyone tell me who got official MOTM? Matic, Luiz and Ramires in center of midfield was juice-inducingly PERFECT.

Since this was probably the last time I saw KDB play in a CFC-shirt I made him my MOM. Yes it was ME!! While I still could (wanted to have done it at least once)