The Big Drog

Ye I agree that it isn't a stonewall penalty, it is a debatable one but we all know Webb, give him any sniff of an opportunity to give Man Utd a penalty and he will take it with Van Nistelrooy like predatory instinct.

That second penalty is an absolutely ridiculous decision from Webb. The third goal comes from a thrown in down at the Man Utd end that looks like a pretty clear Chelsea throw in. Some more than dubious decisions throughout from Webb who remains as consistent a performer as any for Man Utd. That being said, stupid from Sturridge in the first penalty diving in like that, had we not given away that penalty so early I think we would have won that game comfortably, from there the momentum switches. We saw a glimpse of how well we can play under AVB, those opening few minutes of the second half were absolutely blistering. However we also saw the negatives. Would a Jose Mourinho coached Chelsea ever give up a 3-0 lead? Not in a million years, not against any team, especially not that Man Utd team. Standout performers? David Luiz was superb at the back, marshalled and led the defence very well. Essien, despite tiring towards the end, gave it his all and showed he isn't finished as a player. But the standout star was undoubtedly Juan Mata, a sublime display from the mercurial Spanish star, had a hand in the first goal, assisted David Luiz's goal and scored one of the best goals of the season with a volley of supreme technique and skill, not only was his his quality but it was his attitude, his chasing around the pitch, he epitomizes everything good about what AVB is trying to build, he is Chelsea's star player and he put in a star performance today. Torres should have scored at 3-2. Glaring opportunity, just strike the ball and it would have been a goal, he did the first bit, to get away from Ferdinand, ever so well, but his lack of confidence is proving a really big issue. Great cross for the Mata goal, but should have scored himself. Also credit to Gary Cahill, tough game to debut in but did well alongside Luiz and was unlucky not to score at the end. All in all, had you offered me a draw before the game, considering the calibre of players were were missing, I would have taken it no questions asked.Considering the nature of the game it was disappointing to only get a point but it's not as if we are in the title race, 3 points wasn't absolutely essential. AA mixed bag, a few positives to take from the game but also a few negatives....and a burning hatred of Howard Webb, but I already had that so that is nothing new.

I watched the videos of him on CTV and read the quotes and he comes across so well. Very humble, witty, he seems like an immensely likeable guy. Despite my many criticisms of him, Id love to see him do well at Chelsea, his performances have, as BlueLion says, been disappointing to watch from the fans point of view. We expected so much, and we have come to expect so much from our centre forward over the last few years (Drogba) that Torres' performances have been disheartening. Like BlueArmour, Id love him to prove me wrong and recapture the form that made him one of the best strikers in the world, personally I think that it is beyond him but I'll continue to hope.

That one did make me laugh TX.

He is the Chelsea captain and Id back him no matter what. That being said, if he is found guilty then yes, a punishment is deserved and warranted, racism is a very serious issue and should not be encouraged. However I absolutely don't agree with stripping him of the England captaincy. He hasn't been put to trial yet, he hasn't had a chance to defend himself and, in my books, until he is proven guilty then I will consider him innocent.

lol it still amazes me that there are people like this in the world who still believe that Pep Guardiola is merely some random passenger on the Barcelona train. The things he has done for Barcelona, how he has brought total football to the next level, the tactical genius he has so often exemplified, the iconic presence on the sideline giving him the status and power to rule a team of such stars, Id dare say he has been just as, if not more, important in Barcelona's rise to the top of football as Messi or Xavi have been.

As I said above, if you can prove that what he is saying is in the context that Anton Ferdinand says it is in, then great. If, on the otherhand, you can lipread Terry saying "I didn't call you...." then the context of what Terry has said is very different and there is no need for a courtcase or him being stripped of the England captaincy. However until somebody conclusively proves the context then nobody can make a decision until the court reaches a verdict, which is why the FA punishment is ridiculous. But yes, thank you, if there is ever an occasion where I feel a lipreader would come in handy, you will be at the top of my list.

As Kyle said though, context is everything. If you can't prove that what he is saying isn't in the context that Anton Ferdinand says it is in then he should be proven innocent, because, the saying goes, innocent until proven guilty, not the other way around. Anyway, the other main point is that the FA should have waited for the court to reach a verdict before punishing someone.

According to the FA, yes.

It's a story doing the rounds, it's on the Daily Mail site too. Im a fan of AVB, I think that his project is the right thing to do in the long term and I think, given time and financial backing, he will find success. That being said, if AVB were fired and Mourinho were hired in the Summer I wouldn't complain. The fans love him, tactically he is as good as they come, his return would almost certainly reinvigorate the club and his reputation alone should attract a very high standard of player to the club.

I didn't realise you were a qualified lip-reader, can I have your contact details because there are so many situations in my everyday life where I think "man Id love a certified lipreader, I am just a novice lipreader..." Innocent until proven guilty?

Ridiculous. Absolutely ridiculous. Like Martin Samuel wrote yesterday, punishing someone before they are actually proven guilty, how blood stupid is that? I wonder if it becomes a trend, maybe over in America they can put a man to death who is charged of murder before he even has a trial, how much easier would that be for all of us? If I were Terry I would say "right, F*** your team and f*** your Euro's, Im never playing for England again." Luckily for England Im not John Terry and luckily for England John Terry has far more humility and love for his country than I do, so chances are he will continue to play, despite how dreadfully he has been treated by the FA, but the FA and England don't deserve him.

Sturridge and Romeu. Mata, Luiz and Ramires are fairly young too (by our standards)

I actually think that is an interesting idea that we haven't seen yet. Meireles did look good playing behind the striker at Liverpool and would be a better, more creative option than others we have seen in that role, ideally it would be Mata playing there but because we don't have a decent left winger he has to stay out wide so Meireles behind the striker might be the next best thing. That being said, I highly doubt we will see it being put to use against Man Utd.

lol ye that works.

Obviously sad news about his Grandmother and condolences to their family during what is surely quite a sad time. That being said, while I think sending him personal abuse is disgusting, as fans of the club I think we are well within our rights to criticize his performances, particularly when they have been as poor as they have and we spent the amount of money we did on him. The channel will handpick the questions he answers very carefully, that's for sure. My question would be, after a full year at the club, which of your 5 goals was your favourite?

I have sympathy for AVB. Mourinho once alluded to the fact that the squad he had wasn't as good as it should have been, AVB is working with the remnants of that same squad only now the key players in it have either left (Carvalho, Ballack ect.), retired (Makelele) or are past their best (Drogba, Lampard, Essien) and the replacements still aren't as good as those who are past their best (Torres, Meireles). AVB has been fighting an uphill battle since he arrived. I still think he is the right man for the job in the long term because somebody has to clean out the squad once and for all and AVB looks like the right man to do that. Im willing to write this season off as a necessary evil so that we can flourish in the future, hopefully Roman feels the same.

1 great performance and a few average performances? GTFO. You must have some deep resentment of Drogba, because clearly you have no appreciation of exactly how good he has been for the club or how important he has been as part of our most successful side ever. Despite him being on the verge of 34 and despite him being out of contract in the Summer, I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if, upon his return from the ACON, he becomes the first choice striker again, because that's what Didier does, that's what Didier has always done and Chelsea fans appreciate that. The Torres fanboys amuse me but you, with your constant sniping at Drogba, it must have killed you that he has been our main man for the better part of 7 years now.

Interesting quotes from AVB. "The two players are competing for the striking position and we all know the significance of Didier to this team and his record. "We will have to see how tired he is when he comes back to us but no one can doubt his ambition to win trophies for us this season. "With Torres, the situation does not change. We still believe in the player but he is taking his time." It seems even AVB has grown tired of Torres, also encouraging that he recognizes and acknowledges how important Drogba is.

We gave them 83 million to take him, thus making Torres the most expensive player in football history.

Luckily Didier isn't (and never has been) purely about goals, he is a far more complete player than Torres and always has been. Im not saying that if we play Didier we will storm up the league and finish top. I am saying that playing Didier will give us a better chance of finishing 4th (absolutely essential) and a better chance of beating Napoli in the Champions League.

Id rather give Drogba a 6 year contract than Torres. And at least Drogba has proven he still has the type of world class performance in him that made him one of the greatest strikers in the world.

You know what would be even more mad. Flogging a dead horse, Drogba isn't here, this is Torres' chance and he is failing in ways some of us never even imagined. You say that about Drogba but he had big performances this season and is the sole reason why we are even in the Champions league last 16. You know what would be completely mad? Playing Torres, a player who isn't even a shadow of the player he once was, because I think if we stick with him as our main striker for the rest of the season then that precious 4th spot might very well end up with Arsenal instead of us, now that would be mad.

Yes we all remember those games. However I seem to remember another game from that season. Against Man Utd at OT, needing a win, a true title deciding game, Drogba on the bench, please tell me, who scored the winner that day? It's also funny that both of your examples come from the same season in which Didier Drogba won the golden boot and powered us to a Premier League and FA Cup double (scoring the winner in the final no less). Im not arguing that Nico up top on his own on occasion worked, of course it did, he was a very good striker but still not as formidable as Drogba and we have, and still do, look a more formidable side with Drogba in it. Given the choice in some fantasy world, Id rather Edinson Cavani or Mario Gomez as Chelsea's starting strikers over Drogba currently, of course Im aware of Didier's age and declining powers. Unfortunately neither Cavani, Gomez or any other world class striker you can think of are contracted to play at Chelsea, so from now until the end of the season our options are Didier Drogba, Fernando Torres, Lukaku or Kalou. Out of those, I would choose Drogba every day of the week. It isn't nostalgia that brings me to that conclusion either, its Drogba's performance and presence compared to that of Fernando Torres. This is Fernando's chance, with the ACON on, with Drogba's ego no longer around to disturb him but in case you've missed it mate, he is failing on a pretty epic proportion.

And yet he still offers more than Torres or any of our strikers....