Wxgba

I want to view signatures again, how do I do this? I had to ask how to disable them and felt like a noob, and now I'm having to ask how to re-enable them...

Who won?

True, and Marseille started last years campaign horrifically. It's a hotly-contested league that is very unpredictable. Am I right in thinking we've seen four different winners of Ligue 1 in the past four seasons, following Lyon's prolonged dominance of the league? It's nice to see PSG stumble though because they were outstanding favourites for the league and everyone loves an underdog. Lyon and Marseille had poor seasons last time out (by their standards), but have both started this campaign well which is nice to see. Especially given the fact that Marseille are going through financial trouble having renovated the Velodrome and didn't qualify for the Champions League. Don't see why other fans are reluctant to watch Ligue 1 though, most matches are highly entertaining and there are some quality players in the making plying their trade there. I love it.

Seeing as though this is a feedback/bugs thread, I feel inclined to offer my opinion on a certain matter (or should I say member?) that grinds my gears... He goes by the name of 'Justin_3d'. If you're going to continue to moan about the server, I kindly suggest that you find somewhere else to post about Chelsea Football Club. We all post here because of one reason; that being that we love Chelsea, as well as discussing matters concerning the football club. If you can't see the effort and time Jim and all the rest of the staff put into this place to constantly improve and develop TalkChelsea, then I will personally book you in for an appointment at the opticians. It's glaringly evident how time-consuming it must be to run this place and if you're incapable of appreciating it, then I think you ought to take your "5k offer" elsewhere. In all seriousness though, the homepage keeps on improving and it really does entice users toward the site. Easily the most professional-looking Chelsea fan site out there. Keep up the good work, lads.

...like a boss.

Noticed a few more had been added recently so thought I had to chip in. Tore André Flo. It's got nothing on Spike's entry on Kerry Dickson, though!

You're French. No-one cares.

I'll submit entries for them later on in the week when I've had to plan and prepare my entries... I WANT TO WIN!

WHS... I didn't think it was possible... but I do think I love you that little bit more now I know you designed that flag... Hero.

Been on a few forums over the years, to be honest. Started out frequenting thefootballforum.net, posted loads in various topics, then felt as though my opinions weren't appreciated much as there was a lot of members so I opted to visit another forum: totalfootballforums.com. I stayed there for a while and was even deployed as a moderator for a short period until it became too much. I also was a member of Football-Forever while that was up and running. I've done a bit of work for afootballforum in the past, too. So, basically, any football-related forum, I've probably got a few hundred posts on... I only frequent this site at the minute, though. If I'm wanting any opinions of other fans then I'll either browse a club forum of theirs or pop on to thefootballforum. I also visit theshedend.com rarely. /forumhistory

#TeamManpe

1. Courtois; 2. Lukaku; 3. McEachran; 4. Piazon; 5. Chalobah. That would be my 'top five' young players at the club, excluding the arrivals of Hazard and Oscar.

The interviews posted by Greg are outrageously funny, so I'll have to go with him... Alternatively, I'd go with manpe: consistent contributor that is hard to disagree with!

I really enjoyed writing my entry for Desailly, so I'll be willing to help produce a few more. Who else would be willing to spare some time to write two-three more entries for the ex-Blues database? So far, I'd have a guess at: Artinho, Alex, Strike and myself? What about LDN Blue; Spike... any other takers?

SITTING DOWN WITH JIM. Next up in the hot-seat is the person we have to thank for giving birth to Talk Chelsea! Name: My real name is James, though I've always been called Jim. Age: 24. Nationality: English. Place of residence: Beccles (near Norwich). Chelsea fan since: 1990-91... somewhere around then. I can remember sitting down with the old man at the age of 5 watching Chelsea on TV. What's the best memory you have as a Chelsea fan? Walking into Stamford Bridge for the first time as a kid always will always stand out. Us winning the league at the Reebok Stadium is probably my best memory, though. Maka picking out Lampard with an inch-perfect pass, Carvalho bombing up the pitch to try and get on the end of it and Lampard rounding the keeper to put it away. Gives me goosebumps every time I watch it back. Who are your three favourite [current] Chelsea players and, more importantly, why? Frank Lampard - A Chelsea legend. There is no-one better when it comes to scoring goals from midfield. The amount of times people have written him off and still, year after year, he manages to hit 20+ goals. He's a great leader on the pitch and also a great role model for the younger players. As Mourinho once said: "he's the best professional, ever". Ramires - Like many people, I wasn't sure on Ramires at first. Now he's arguably one of our most important players - there's no-one else like him in the squad. His goal in the Nou Camp against Barcelona last season epitomises everything about his game. Ashley Cole - The best left-back in the world. End of. Right. Let's move away from the Chelsea talk for a while and onto some "business". You're obviously the founder of Talk Chelsea, but you have owned a host of sites over the years, haven't you? How did that come about? It was about 12 years ago - I was just messing around on the internet and came across a football forum. I didn't have a clue what it was at the time and was a bit of a noob. I ended up getting myself banned and that's where it all started for me. I decided to have a go at making my own forum, so I begged my dad for money to purchase hosting and a domain and TotalFootballForums was formed. I also set up FootballRenders.com two years ago. I was always looking for renders and could never find the player I wanted so decided to set up a site in order to help people find the renders they want. Ah, TFF. I didn't register until after your ownership, but you left them with a solid foundation to build upon. Did you enjoy running a site full of fans of a variety of clubs? I enjoyed running it at the start but after a 3 or 4 years I did start to get sick of reading posts from fans of other clubs and lost interest. There was a variety of clubs - we had fans from every club in the Premier League as well as fans from overseas. Still to this day I couldn't believe my luck when someone working for EA Sports emailed me wanting to buy the forum. At the time i was thinking about selling it, I had no money as I was a student and could hardly afford to run the site. So i had to sell it. What made you set up Talk Chelsea? Was there an evident gap in the market, or did you believe that you could build a site that is bigger and better than all the other independent Chelsea sites out there? I just sold TotalFootballForums and always wanted to have my own Chelsea forum. I set Talk Chelsea up as an alternative to CFCnet. I wanted to create more friendly community for Chelsea fans where you didn't get judged on where you live or how long you've supported the club. I think that's one of the main reasons why there's no many counties represented on here. One of the most notable traits that is common in all of your work is the aesthetics. We're all aware that you're a graphics genuis... but how did you end up becoming interested in it? I have no idea, to be honest, its just always something that's always interested me. I suppose it came from doing a design course at college. I admire your work and one of the main reasons I continued my endeavours in Photoshop was to, one day, become as good as yourself at making graphics. Do you have any tips, hints or suggestions for anyone else that may be interested in graphic or web design? Try following some tutorials - that's all I did and I still do to this day. You obviously do freelance work to earn some money, but do you have another job to keep a constant income? If so, what's your occupation? Some of you might be shocked, but I'm actually a painter and decorator. It's a family business so I kinda got dragged into it by the old man. It's not something I want to do forever and one day I'd love to start my own web design business. How far do you plan to take this web design? Have you ever studied a course, or have you learnt everything you know from self-tutoring? I did do a course in web design to help when it comes to running this place. Graphics is the only thing noted as in interest in your profile. What else do you like to do in your spare time? I play 5-a-side a few nights a week and also like to bike a lot. I live in the middle of nowhere so it's the perfect place to go out biking. I'm pretty sure I'm boring everyone - including you, Jim - with the seemingly endless questions regarding your work, so I'll swiftly move on... The first match you attended was Norwich away in 1994. How old were you at the time, and what can you remember from that day? I was 7 at the time and it was the first football match I ever attended! I can't really remember that much of the game apart from Ashley Ward of Norwich scored twice on his debut and Norwich winning the game 3-0. I'd have never thought back then that 18 years later I'd be watching Chelsea win the Champions League. Here's a video of the match:- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DbF8T3GKSpg&noredirect=1 Talking about memories: one of your favourite memories as a Chelsea fan is Makelele scoring a penalty against Charlton in the last minute - is this correct? What other memories spring to mind? Try and avoid the obvious "Champions League win"... perhaps some memories from games you've attended? If you had to choose three players - past and present - to be stuck in a lift with (for over 24 hours), who would they be and why? David Luiz - Even though he's not been with Chelsea that long, could you imagine being stuck in a lift with him? Don't think I even have to give a reason, although I'd like to touch his hair. Gianfranco Zola - The man's an absolute legend. He was my hero whilst growing up - I idolised him. Would love to have a conversation with him about his time with Chelsea. Ron 'Chopper' Harris - To hear great Chelsea stories from the past... The question above doesn't really take in to respect the players' ability on the pitch: this one does. Name the two best players to put on the Chelsea blue during your life time. Only two. Drogba and Zola. Do I even need to say why? If you were to meet Mr. Abramovich, what would you do? Would you riddle him with questions or would you thank him for what he's done for the club? If neither of the aforementioned, feel free to explain what you would do... I'd thank him what he's done for the club. I never thought I'd see Chelsea win the league in my life time, let alone the Champions League! We all know that following Chelsea can hit you hard economically, so what else do you spend your money on? To clear up any confusing, running this site is included with following Chelsea! I run a car so most of what I earn goes on that. Then there's helping my mum out with bills and the like as I still live at home. Do you have a partner to spend any of your money on? If so: ASL? In all seriousness, how long have you been together? Or if you're single, do you plan to meet anyone in the near future? I'm single at the moment. I was seeing a girl last year who was a Liverpool fan. After I went to her gaff and her room was all Liverpool i soon put an end to that... I think if I met someone else in the future they'd have to like Chelsea or I'd just bore them to death. I'm completely obsessed with Chels - it's my life. We can't tell, Jim. Honest. List three achievable ambitions you would like to fulfil in life: - Meet Alex, Kez and Steve. - Own a web design company. - Live in Italy. 'Firestarter' by the Prodigy blasts out every time I click on your profile, but what genres of music are you into? Any favourite bands/singers? I'm into the likes of Oasis, Blur, Kings of Leon, Bloc Party etc. I do like a bit of trance music aswell. Snog, marry, avoid: Zooey Deschanel, Emma Stone, Kim Kardashian. Snog- Kim Kardashian Marry- Emma Stone Avoid- Zooey Deschanel Are you a big fan of television shows or films? Name a few films and TV shows and let us know what you like about said show/movie. Never really been a fan of films, although I do like British gangster/football hooligan films. As for TV shows, I do watch Hollyoaks ( ) and like watching The Apprentice when it's on. If you were to invite three non-footballing celebrities out for dinner, who would they be and why? Keith Lemon - Funny as fuck. That's only one, Jim - you'd better amend this or I'll smash ya back doors in! You have three words to describe your relationship with BlueLion. Go. - Loving. - Affectionate. - Romantic. Do you consider Talk Chelsea to be a success? Where can you see the site being in two years time? A massive success, I never expected us to get this big. To get 6,000+ members with hardly any advertising and no media exposure is an achievement in itself. I hope in two years time we're still going strong and members are still frequenting the forum. Who would your dream signing this be this summer? Scrap formations, tactics and all that bollocks; simply name the player you'd love to see sport the blue of Chelsea. Lionel Messi. What are you predictions and expectations for the season ahead? Hopefully we can carry on where we left off last season! Di Matteo did a great job turning it around and I was so happy when he was given the job full-time. Obviously we have to do better in the league next season; finishing 6th really wasn't good enough. I think with the new signings - Hazard, Marin and hopefully Oscar - we're in store for a great season. This is probably the most excited I've been before the start of a season since Abramovich took over and made all those signings back in 2003-04. Last but not least, would you be so kind enough to share a photo of yourself for us all to see the face of Talk Chelsea? One of the most recent photos of me I could find: As the founder of Talk Chelsea, Jim runs our very own Twitter page, which you can follow here: @talkchelsea.

Not sure if I've shared a pic on here before... and even if I have, it must have been ages ago. The missus, myself, my friend and her boyfriend.

How I've bypassed this topic until now is beyond me. Congratulations, mate! Wouldn't she have wanted 'Cech' as a middle name if that was the case?

Three words spring to mind... U, mad and bro?

Just thought I'd let y'all know that I ran this story before Sky Sports, if any mutual agreement has been reached. http://full-timewhis...em-next-season/ Greg > Sky Sports. And Bafta will be on the bench! Also, if I see... ------- Any More - Line - Ups --- Like - This ...I'm going to commit.

You'll have to wait and see! Or you could have a look on the first page...

Is the Ex-Blues database not around anymore?

You can do as you please with it/them, buddy. Honestly, do whatever you want with 'em. Nice one. I'll start writing some questions up in an hour or so. I'll not publish it for a couple of days though - I'll let Steve have his time in the limelight!

I'm glad so many of you enjoyed the interview, anyway! No, mate. I was thinking of some ideas for the forum during close-season and this was one of them. You were going to be first in line, but Steve was online last night so I thought I may as well get it over and done with. You got time to answer some questions in a couple of days time?

SITTING DOWN WITH STEVE. The King of Merchandise and HQ photos, Steve, kindly accepted my invitation to spare five minutes of his hectic schedule to answer a few questions I had. Name: Steve. Age: 22. Nationality: Australian but I do have English, Italian and Maltese backgrounds. Place of residence: Melbourne... but hopefully London sometime in the future! Chelsea fan since: My dad has supported the Blues since the late '70s and my grandmother used to live in London when she was in her twenties! She has been a Chelsea fan most of her life. Her favourite player is Peter Bonetti and last year when I met him I made sure I got a photo with him for her! So to answer your question: Pretty much since I started following football... so probably 12 years now. In Australia there was never really football on TV in the '90s every week so it was always hard to watch games. What's the best memory you have as a Chelsea fan? There is so many to choose from but for me, personally, it would have to be my first game I attended as a Chelsea fan... Chelsea 3-0 Burnley! For me it is something I will always remember; being at the ground for the first time and just having the biggest smile on my face as if I'd just moved into my new house! But I also can't look past the first time we'd won the title in 50 years... What a feeling it was too see the joy on the players and fans' faces. From that point onwards we were always destined to become a real force in Europe and hasn't that become a reality as of late. Winning the Champions League will always be one of those moments that will produce a tear or two! We're all aware you're a die-hard Blues fan, even though you're situated on the other side of the world. Is it difficult being a Chelsea fan at times? Of course! Getting up at all hours of the morning to watch games is always tiring when you have work/uni the next morning. But it's something that has become some what of a habit for myself. I don't honestly remember the last time I missed a game! It would have to be at least 7 seasons ago now, which is including pre-season games. The only games that I have missed are ones that have not been aired on TV or radio. Who are your three favourite Chelsea players and, more importantly, why? For me personally, it would have to be Frank Lampard, John Terry and Didier Drogba. But there are so many to choose from! Frank Lampard There is so many reasons on why he is one of my favourite players, as I am sure a lot of other Chelsea fans feel the same way. He is just an unstoppable force in midfield. He never stops running, he always puts in that perfect pass, and his goalscoring record from midfield is just outstanding. There aren't many players on the same level as Frank and to this day it saddens me that he is not respected more (by the media and other fans) for what he has done for Chelsea. John Terry Before my serious knee injury I was a central defender and he was always someone that I admired and looked up to as a role model. He wears his heart on his sleeve in every single game and always puts his body on the line for the Blues - he is the captain of Chelsea for a reason! Sure, he has had his problems off the pitch, but as long as he does the business on the field it doesn't bother me what he does off of it. Didier Drogba Surely one of the greatest figures in football history. Not only what he does on the field but what he does off it. Watching him score that winning penalty in the Champions League final was something that he really deserved. He gets so much slack from the media but he always rises above it and manages to silence the haters. His goal tally for us is quite incredible. I could go on forever about this man but he is a God in the eyes of many at Chelsea and I will leave it there! You're an all-round nice guy... or at least that how it comes across on the forum. Is there anything that grinds your gears, both on and off the forum? My guess would be stealing someone else hard work (photos) and needless petulance... Hmm, not really. I like to think I am always fair and a pretty nice person. The whole photo stealing is quite annoying but at the end of the day it happens and you just move on from it. The forum has been a bit of a rollercoatser in pre-season but hopefully it comes good again when the season starts. According to your profile, your first match was against Burnley in August 2009. Can you begin to explain your feelings on that day? Any memories from that trip that stick out in your mind? Like I said above it is probably my biggest highlight as a Chelsea fan. Just everything about the day was amazing. Even though I sat in the East Stand for that game I will always remember that day as the day I turned a new chapter in my life. I had finally done what I'd wanted to do for a very long time. You've been allocated a budget of £20m (in today's transfer market!), which player(s) would you sign and why? N.B. It doesn't have to be anyone we're currently linked with... Good question, I honestly don't know... I guess if I had to choose I would go for someone such as De Rossi. I don't think we could get him for that much but the way he plays I feel he would suit us a whole lot. Are you currently in employment? If so, what's your occupation? I have a part-time job in retail, but I am currently studying Information Technology at University. Actually really enjoying it and have been offered a couple of jobs in programming which would require some more courses after I finish the one I'm doing currrently, but I'll look more into that once I have finished! Where do you see yourself in two years time? What would you like to accomplish in that two-year period? I would like to purchase a house here in Australia or come back to London on a working Visa. Depending on whether or not I find a good-paying job, of course. I may stay here but I honestly want to move back to London so I can follow the Blues around a bit more! Seeing as though you've seemingly got a standing order set up with the megastore, what else does your money go towards? Hahaha, I honestly save most of my money. Surprisingly, I put most of my pay cheque away in my savings and the rest is just for everyday living. Like Gas, food and study fees mainly. Oh, and of course the girlfriend... So, you say you're in a relationship... Who wears the trousers? In all seriousness, though; How long have you been together, and can you see yourselves together for a substantial amount of time? It's only quite recent, to be honest- about 5 months now. It has been a bit up and down at times but we are trying to sort our problems out. I guess we will see how things go, but she's a good girl so we are going to try and make it work. Do you live at home with parents, or have you managed to flee the nest? Still with the parents at the moment but like I said above, I'm planning on purchasing a house soon enough. What sort of music are you into? Mostly alternative rock and hip hop. I listen to bands like; Coheed and Cambria, Dredg, Karnivool, At the Drive-In... but on the hip hop side I generally listen to; Kanye West, Common, Kid Cudi, Nas and Jay Z. Snog, marry, avoid: Natalie Portman, Keira Knightley, Christine Bleakley. Snog... Natalie Portman Marry... Keira Knightley Avoid... Christine Bleakley Name five of your favourite films: - The Green Mile - Inception - The Hangover - Step Brothers - Inglorious Basterds There's a dinner party, and you're allowed to invite up to 5 guests from past and present. Who would you pick? Are we talking about Chelsea players? Or friends and family? Haha, I guess if it was Chelsea players I would have to go with - Drogba, Lampard, Terry, Zola and Ossie if he was still here! If it was friends and family I would have to go with a couple of my cousins and two of my mates that you guys probably wouldn't know. You have five words to describe five members on here. What words would you choose and who would you associate with those words? Legend - Jim Determined - Alex Helpful - Sh0n3x Loyal - Ron Caring - Kerry You obviously have commitments here on TC, you're managing a part-time job with university and also making time for the other half. That's not even including watching your beloved Chelsea! So, my question is: Do like to do anything else in your spare time? Of course! I love spending time with my mates and try to make time to see them at least once every couple of weeks. But also after a long day I like to play some games! I play indoor football on Tuesday nights but with my dodgy knees I only play as a goalkeeper. I wear my Petr Cech shirts every week and I get looked at funny when I wear my fluorescent orange shirt! He would of been proud when I scored a screamer from the other end of the court into the top right corner last Tuesday! Loves to brag! Who's your favourite non-Chelsea player, past and present? At the moment it would have to be Pirlo or Balotelli. Pirlo for his class on the field - I wish we signed him when we had the chance. Balotelli because he is a good laugh and a real gem on the field. In the past it would have to be Zola or Zidane - both are pretty easy to understand why! With over 3,000 positive reps across the board, it's evident that you're well respected by all. Any tips? Start uploading photos, haha! No, seriously, I don't get as much free time as I like these days to get on the forum and post heaps, but when I do, I try to keep my posts detailed but relevant to the topic at hand. I'm not really sure what else to say. Most the people on the forum are pretty intelligent and post pretty well, to be fair! When signing up to this site back in 2007, what did you expect? Did you think you'd ever become an admin? I signed up here after I recieved an email saying that the old forum had moved to Talk Chelsea. I was pretty shattered when the old site closed down as I was only on there for around a year, but I am happy to say that I have helped make the site what it is today. Back in 2007 and pretty much up until about 2009 the forum was really slow, I was really one of the only Australians on the site and it was hard for me to always post with the time zones being so different. But I am glad I stuck around and got to see what the site has become today! How did you become an admin? Did BlueLion lure you to the dark side? When the site started to get busier I offered to help out around the site a fair bit. I was trying to get the site heaps of new members by advertising everywhere I could. At the time we only had around 2,000 members and I think we are up to about 6,000 now. I guess the guys noticed what I was doing and offered me a moderating role because of that. It wasn't too long after that, that I got offered the admin role. What are your predictions for the forthcoming season? What do you want to see from the team and what do you expect? Of course I would love to see us go on to win a lot of trophies but I am realistic and know we have brought it a lot of new faces to the squad and it will take time for us to get going. Of course I hope I'm wrong and we go on and dominate against most teams but only time will tell... I was very happy when the club gave Robbie the full-time job and I hope he can continue the way he finished last season! Last, but not least - would care to share a pic for us all to put a face to a username? Once again, thanks for taking the time to reply to my question in such detail. Enjoy! You can follow Steve on Twitter: @SteveCFC1389. I will be doing many more of these "interviews" in the coming weeks while it's the close-season. If you're interested in being interviewed, don't hesitate to contact me. I do have a few members l would like to question first, but I will get round to you!

All this penalty chit-chat is doing my Eden.