The Big Drog

Great find Justin, I agree with all of it and yes, it is a wonderful time to be a fan of La Liga.

He was excellent last night, probably our best player. He is the only player of his kind in the whole squad, were he a 6 foot 3 super athlete then the transition would be fair easier but he isn't, this is his first season in England (a country with a completely different style to that of La Liga), arriving in a team that is going through a turbulent period, stuck right in the middle of the biggest transition period the club has undergone since the arrival of Roman Abramovich. The lad is the symbol of the new Chelsea, of what we are striving towards, I think he is a cracking player and has had an excellent debut season at Chelsea under very difficult circumstances. Look at how much better David Silva is doing in his second season in England, Mata will be better next season and is even younger than Silva, if we can sign a few more technically gifted players it will only hep him to shine even more. He is a big reason to be optimistic about the future.

Tough one to really comment on. We looked labored and after we scored the goal to make it 2-0 on aggregate we seemed to take it as a given that the tie was over, especially when Benfica had Perreira sent off, we were in cruise control and didn't really leave second gear. We were rather lucky that the Benfica goal didn't come until late as it gave them very little chance to capitalize on our lackluster performance. Great finish from Meireles to wrap it up and get us into the semi finals. Im sure that we we saw tonight wont happen against Barcelona, none of the Chelsea players will take anything for granted against Barcelona but that's a different subject for a different thread. All in all we got the job done, the hard work was done in Portugal and we saw it out tonight and that's all that matters. Now we are looking forward to a cracking semi final tie with Barcelona and a 6th semi final in 9 years for the club, a fantastic achievement.

Yes! We made it more difficult than it should have been but credit to the lads, after a tough away game in Europe to go away to Villa Park and win is a great result and puts a lot of pressure on Spurs tomorrow, making it all the better is QPR beating Arsenal. btw, my stream completely imploded at around the 88 minute mark so I missed the Torres goal, anyone with a video of it could you please post it, as, like many of you, I've been waiting ages to celebrate it. What I did see though was another very encouraging Torres performance, his link up play is quality, that flick for Mata in the first half made my jaw drop. I also thought Mata was excellent, the right decision not to rest him it turns out.

Absolutely. He is a terrific young player with the potential to be a world beater. On top of that, you will find that a lot of people hate our club, not only do they hate our club but they hate our players too. Mario divides people, 50/50, you either love him or hate him, it would be pretty hilarious to see him join the most hated team in England, to use a wrestling term, it would be like Balotelli going heel, suddenly all of his antics wouldn't be reported with such a humorous slant, rather he would be painted as the ultimate villain.

Ye we would all rather that we had someone who has Sturridge's ability, pace and confidence but who also passes the ball. We don't have such a player though. He is clearly a very talented footballer, very skillful and is probably the only player in our squad with the ability to skip past defenders on a consistent basis. His decision making is irritatingly bad, there is no denying that. Im not sure about his attitude either, it seems like every second week there is an article in a paper with Sturridge being quoted as saying how he would rather play down the centre, he is playing for a team in the quarter finals of the Champions League and a club that has been the second most successful English side of the last decade, he should play wherever the manager sees fit and be damn happy to be getting a place in the starting 11. If the opportunity comes up in the Summer to sign a real winger with the qualities I outlined above then absolutely we should sign that player, however I think Sturridge is worth holding onto.

The overwhelming majority of the time, loan moves for our players is the kiss of death. We somehow always pick the wrong club to loan the player to, even if the player is exceptionally talented (McEachran, Kakuta) we will inevitably mess it up. This loan move has been a complete bust, he would be better off sitting on our bench and playing reserve team football for us than sitting on the bench at Swansea.

Id like Cech Ivanovic (if fit), Cahill, Terry, Cole Essien, Lampard Ramires, Meireles, Sturridge Drogba

Fernando Torres, perhaps buy another striker but there is no need to spend major, 40-50 million pound type money, as we would have to if we were to sign Cavani. Next season has to be Fernando's year to be given the opportunity of being the main man at Chelsea.

His recent for has convinced me that he is the man for the job at Chelsea. His general play is excellent, he works very hard and he looks to have found some of his pace again. You might still argue that he isn't exactly banging in the goals, though you could just as easily argue that he has had very few (practically none) clear cut goal scoring opportunities. We all know that there will be some big changes this Summer, a winger and a creative central midfielder seem to be among the reported top targets. With a flying winger beside him and another creative midfielder in midfield, it will suit Torres so much more than what he is playing beside right now and should compliment his style of play. He has shown recently that he still has the ability, he has shown that he has the hunger and passion to succeed here at Chelsea, he has come under enormous pressure and heavy criticism from all corners but he has come out fighting, that's a credit to the strong character that he has, I've been one of his biggest critics but, like others, Torres has won me over.

Fantastic result against a good Benfica side. While they didn't have the ame class and guile as Napoli, they did pose a physical threat and looked more organised at the back and in midfield than the Italian club. In a season where they qualified top of their group, a group that also included Man Utd, it is an indication of just how good this result is. No the game is not over yet, there is another 90 minutes at Stamford Bridge and Benfica will have to come at it from an attacking perspective, thus opening the game up more and that could lead to anything but we will certainly be the big favourites to qualify now. From the point of view of an away performance in the Champions League, you couldn't fault a single Chelsea player. They kept their shape throughout, they were well organised, they were resilient, they were very tough to break down and they posed a genuine threat on the break. On the ball some did struggle, Meireles was pretty average in possession, Mata failed to exert his usual level of control, Mikel was occasionally ponderous but all of that pales in comparison to how well each player did their primary task, stopping Benfica from playing. In terms of standout performances, Ashley Cole was excellent at left back, didn't get forward very often but made some excellent blocks and didn't get beaten easily. John Terry led the defensive line brilliantly and also got a key toe to a ball that was destined to put Cardozo in on goal. Mikel shielded the back four well. Ramires ran his socks off, he lacks quality on the ball but he is a powerful runner and played a big part in the goal. Fernando Torres led the line very well, always an option, showed some nice touches and did wonderfully well to provide the assist for the goal, the more I've seen him play lately, the more I am convinced of his ability to be Chelsea's main man next season. However my pick for MOTM is David Luiz. An awesome, all action performance. His style of play occasionally leads to a mistake but he is becoming far more consistent and he is capable or producing performances that very few other centre backs in world football could produce. At times his defensive covering was nothing short of Carvalho-esque, at other times his interceptions and quick tackling were very reminiscent of a younger Lucio. Another to add to his list of top class recent performances, he has proven that he could become a top quality centre back. Just a final sidenote. I think it's pretty interesting how a year ago, the purchases of Torres and Luiz were thought to be a colossal waste of money. Now a year on, Torres ir providing a vital assist in a Champions League quarter final and David Luiz is putting in a world class performance at the heart of the defence, perhaps that 75 million wasn't a total waste afterall.

Perhaps over 2 legs Barcelona still hold the edge over Real Madrid, over I absolutely believe that over the course of 90 minutes Real Madrid are more than capable of beating Barcelona. This is the finest Real Madrid side since they last won the Champions League, it is arguably one of the strongest squads in the club's history. Yes their style is different to Barcelona's, perhaps they are not as "classy" or as technically beautiful but they have got some sublime footballers (Ronaldo, Ozil, Di Maria, Benzema, Alonso, Kaka ect.) and they have got the best manager in the world at their helm. Given that they cant meet Barcelona at the semi final stage, I think most expect Barcelona vs Real Madrid to be the final and over 90 minutes I think Madrid have every bit as much a chance of winning it as Barcelona do.

I don't think it would be consolation at all for Roman Abramovich considering how much less money to receive for playing in the Europa League compared to the Champions League, especially considering the delicate balancing act we are trying to perform financially with the financial fairplay rules on the horizon, it would be hit. Also at a time when we are trying to build a new squad capable of challenging and winning the top trophies, it would be far more difficult to attract the names capable of doing such things when you are playing in the Europa League compared to the Champions League.

The differences between now and then? Quite a few, probably the most important one being that the current Barcelona team is, rightly, considered to be one of the greatest football teams in history, ominously it also appears that their great rivals, Real Madrid, have drawn level with them and, arguably, have surpassed them. I don't think Liverpool had to deal with quite the same level of competition.

Fantastic ability, all of the physical attributes you need to be a top player, very skillful, however in action he is the quintessential English footballer, wherein the individual takes precedence over the team unit. Considering the lack of spark and cutting edge in our team, it's not the worst thing in the world that he plays the way he does but in a more unit orientated side he wouldn't be tolerated.

Ye but apparently Roman is already aware and adamant that big changes will be made in the Summer anyway. Realistically there is no positive to finishing outside the top four. It would create a host of problems and would, rightly, be considered a disaster.

Obviously playing away at Benfica will be tough. The main thing will be to try and score an away goal, a scored draw would be considered a fantastic result, even a 2-1 loss would be decent as we will feel confident that we could overturn that deficit at the Bridge. I expect/hope Cech Ivanovic(if fit), Luiz, Terry, Cole Lampard, Essien Ramires, Mata, Sturridge Torres

No matter what happens during the rest of this season, there clearly needs to be a significant revamp of the team in the Summer. Simply put, there are too many regular starters for Chelsea who just aren't up to it on a regular basis anymore. Frank Lampard is not a player capable of starting for a Premier League or Champions League winning team anymore. The same goes to Essien, Malouda, Mikel, Kalou and Drogba. I had sympathy with AVB and I have sympathy with Di Matteo because their hands are tied by the limited options they have available. Kalou? Malouda? Not substitutes of the quality required if you want to finish in the top four. Ramires stuck out on the right wing for a second (big) game in a row? Not good enough, and why is he out there? Because we have no other option but to play him out there to accomidate Mata (our best player) in his favoured central position. It's a joke made even more hilarious by the vast sums of money Roman has spent on players during his time at the club that these are the best options we have these days, poor compromises.

Currently top of my hate list: Gary Neville. Arrogant, biased prick.

It looks tremendous and you cant fault them on their creativity or daring, obviously not every club could do such a thing, Real Madrid is the biggest and greatest club in the world so if any club is capable of making this work, it is them.

Well that is good news, I just hope that it is the case, he has been on the bench 1 or 2 times since that game, I really hope it is injury that is keeping him out rather than him falling out of favour because he is clearly a top talent and should certainly be ahead of Essien and Mikel in the pecking order.

Worse still, after the penalty was awarded against him he didn't protest at all, infact he took his position outside the box and highfived somebody (camera didn't show who), far from being distressed, he showed up moments later on camera grinning, his performance was so poor and his actions so odd that had this been cricket he would probably be investigated for match fixing, of course Im not saying that's what happened, rather Im just saying that Essien's demeanor and performance were nothing short of bizzare.

I think we've seen many Chelsea performances like that down through the years, we didn't play particularly well on the ball, we set up to defend and we defended well and we managed to nick a goal, seemingly out of nothing. The difference here was that in the past our team were able to hold onto such a lead, these days the side isn't as strong, as quick, as agile as they once were. A criticism often leveled, and quite right so, at our midfield has been a lack of creativity. That is a fair criticism because it is true, our midfield 3 has never been overly creative, however what you couldn't accuse them of is a lack of drive, each Chelsea midfielder was a top caliber athlete, rather than passing the opposition off the pitch, in their pomp they would bulldoze the opposition off the pitch and a lot of that drive came from midfield. These days Lampard's legs are on the wane (and he was caught badly for Nasri's goal), Meireles is painfully average, Ramires has the running power but lacks the technique, and in any case was stuck out on the right wing, Mikel was never very agile to begin with and these days Michael Essien's mobility more closely resembles Mikel's rather than that of his own in his prime. Romeu seemed to fall out of favour after his poor cameo against Man Utd, if that's what it took for him to fall out of favour then by that logic we should never see Essien again because it was a horror show out there. In terms of positives, Petr Cech did well in goal. David Luiz was superb at the back, he has been quietly getting better and better this season, his performance against Napoli was one of true class and it was matched by his performance tonight, Gary Cahill also looked accomplished alongside him. Fernando Torres also looked good, buzzing around, he was clearly in the mood and he gave it his all, had a few classy moments and quality touches, never got the support or service near the City goal that his general play warranted. All in all the result is not an unexpected one. Though yes it is a tough defeat to accept given the manner of it, the decision to award a penalty was debatable at best and that spurred City on to their equalizer and seemed to deflate our players somewhat. With Arsenal winning tonight and moving into third it seems to position Spurs as our main rivals to the 4th spot, they picked up a point tonight and have had a good lead over us for much of the season, Saturday's game is absolutely pivotal if we are to play Champions League football next season.

We gave him the chance to play behind the striker for the last 20 minutes, a position he has rarely (if ever) gotten to play during his time at Chelsea and he looked really good in there. He managed to set up 2 and score 1 during his brief time in that role. Juan Mata is clearly the first choice in that role but if we were to need a temporary replacement for him in that role I think Meireles is definitely the best choice.

Very encouraging win. There was some real positives to take from the game, Cahill looked very good at the back (and opened his goal account for Chelsea) Bertrand was solid at left back, Mata continues to impress playing behind the striker but obviously the most encouraging aspect of the game was Fernando Torres, he was superb. Followed up his very good cameo against Napoli with a match winning display here, he finally added the element that has been missing to his overall performance, goals. The first was scruffy but who cares, they all count and the second was a classy header, the fact that he also managed two excellent assists was apt considering just how good his general play has been lately. A very promising performance, will still likely play second fiddle to Drogba for the rest of the season but this might be the kickstart his Chelsea career needed, hopefully he can be a dangerous back up to Drogba for the rest of the season and then next season he might even kick on and become the first choice striker at the club. Also the prospect of a Spurs vs Chelsea semi final sounds very exciting, Id love for us to beat them at Wembley.