The Big Drog

Great draw. Ancelotti's record against Ferguson is excellent, I think we can beat them and with the easier of the two semi finals in the offing (Inter or Schalke) then we have a real chance of reaching the final at Wembley. Spurs will certainly test Madrid, but I think Madrid will have the speed and energy to match Spurs and the quality to beat them. Barcelona will be tested against Shakthar, if Shakthar can avoid a heavy defeat in the first leg at the Camp Nou, then they will be a threat in Ukraine in the second leg.

Ah ok.

I think the reason behind the mention of Italian citizenship is because in one of the articles about this signing it is mentioned that he has relatives in Italy in which case he would be able to apply for Italian citizenship.

Anyone who has seen him play got any feedback on him? Specifically Im talking to Henrique, have you seen him play any games in Brazil?

Goal.com are reporting that the deal is already done. Anyway it looks like it is certain to be done now with the media pretty much unanimous in their verdict, great signing for the club, delighted that we are trying to sign these young prodigies at an early age for a fairly cheap price rather than waiting until they are past their best and trying to sign them for 30-40 million for a number of years (Kaka anyone?)

Ancelotti says we will have a strong team out and I can understand that, dont want to take any risks, not at this stage of the competition. That being said Id like to see this line up. Cech Bosingwa, Ivanovic, Terry, Cole Ramires, McEachran, Essien, Malouda Kalou Torres I know the one people will question is why Kalou, but he did link up very well with Torres when he came on against Blackpool and we've already tried Drogba and Anelka with Torres so whats the harm in giving Kalou a chance. McEachran probably wont start but I can always dream right?

Thats exactly the line up Id like to see, I think Drogba should definitely be given the chance to start alongside Torres in that flat 4-4-2 formation and I think Zhirkov could offer more on the left than the out of form Florent Malouda can at the moment.

Cech 7- Dealt well with balls in the air, couldn't do anything about the goal. Ivanovic 6- had a couple of problems in dealing with the 2 on 1 against Nani and Evra but was fairly solid if unspectacular. Luiz 8 MOTM- Excellent, hard to believe that its only his second start in English football. Very exciting defender, got caught a few times but that comes with the territory when you play like he does, some magnificent interceptions and tackles and a goal which showed stunning technique, the new Carvalho. Terry 7- couple of bad passes but very solid at the back, sweeping up behind Luiz. Cole 7- Got forward a couple of times buty couldn't make it count, defended well. Ramires 8-Continues to impress and close to Luiz tonight in terms of quality imo. Played on the right hand side and was tireless, really turned it up in the second half. Essien 7- Average first half, very good second half as he drove the team forward. Lampard 7- Same as Essien really and hit a stunning penalty considering just how much pressure was on his shoulders. Malouda 5- Started to get back into the groove recently but looked out of sorts today. Anelka 5- Excellent against Copenhagen, not so good here, failed to get into the game. Torres 6- Promising signs from the record signing, his link up play continues to improve, his dribbling and first touch were the best we have seen in a blue shirt and was unlucky to have a goal ruled out. Zhirkov 7- Won the penalty, nearly scored with a wonderful volley from uotside the box, he needs to start against Blackpool. Drogba 7- Ok, debatable rating but came on with exactly the right attitude having been dropped and effectively killed the game single handedly by dominating the ball in the corner for the extra time, which allowed Ramires to get Vidic sent off, maybe we could try starting Torres and Drogba up top in the 4-4-2?

Thats the best feeling I've had all season, COME ON CHELSEA! My God this David Luiz is special, very special. Scored a goal which any striker would have been proud of such was the technique involved in the strike and defended wonderfully throughout and even took out Evra and Rooney, a Chelsea hero was born tonight. Great attitude and passion from the boys in the second half, played on the front foot, dominated the second half and played like we all know that they can. Couldn't fault anybody tonight but of course the standout was David Luiz. Other positives being that Torres looks more and more comfortable as part of the Chelsea side everytime we see him, cant wait until he hits top form. Ramires on the right side of midfield was excellent tonight, so too was Essien in the second half and Frank's penalty almost had me in tears. By the way, fair play to Drogba, looked up for it, didn't sulk and hide, when the 4 minutes were added on I was bricking it considering Man Utd's record of late comebacks this season but Drogba, aided abley by Ramires, held the ball in the corner for practically the entire allotment of extra time and sweeter still was Ramires getting Vidic sent off, as perfect a night as could be. THATS WHY WE'RE CHAMPIONS!

Composed, proffesional performance that produced a result that should be enough to se us into the quater final stage, granted Copenhagen were poor and it was hardly a free flowing game of football but its a results business and we got the result required and thats all that matters. The whole back 4 and Cech looked in sync, all did very well. Essien was excellent in midfield tonight and some of Lampard's passing was top notch, Malouda also had his moments. Tonight was undoubtedly Torres' best game in a Chelsea shirt so far, he offers such a different threat to Drogba, he looked faster than he has done for us so far, he looked sharp, his movement is top class and his link up play with Nic Anelka was very promising and perhaps a partnership could be in the making there, all that was missing tonight was the goal but that will come, class is permanent and Torres is class and he showed some of that class tonight. Man of the match though is definitely Nic Anelka, in his favoured striking position, his movement was inch perfect, he looked very sharp and looked on his game tonight, played at a much higher tempo than his usual strolling pace and looked very good in tandem with Torres.

Too many missed chances. I thought we played well, particularly in the second half and in extra time, we created chances, we were composed and we looked lively, just the finishing was off. However in the first half and at various points in the game, the lack of width really does kill us a bit. Malouda doesn't keep the width permanently like a Nani, Pedro or Di Maria does and neither does Anelka, really if we are going to buy anyone in the Summer it has to be a quick winger. You've also got to ask what Ivanovic is thinking, 70 seconds away from progressing to the next round of the FA Cup, on the edge of his own box and he barges into Jagielka for no reason at all, there is no threat, Jagielka has his back to goal, just stand and let him flick it on to nowhere because given the position Ivanovic was in, he hadn't a chance of winning the ball against the Everton defender, is it any wonder we are handing out 25 million for a centre back? Lets never let Nic Anelka take a penalty in a shoot out again. Id rather Terry and Cech take one ahead of him, Ashley's was hardly wonderful either. In terms of Ancelotti Im not really sure if the blame can be laid at his doorstep. Too often we look a bit one dimensional and one paced but I fully put that down to a lack of threat from the flanks, I dont blame Ancelotti for that, he was handed this squad, maybe allow him to identify a quick winger and then sign him in the Summer and see how that goes next season, lets also give him the chance to put to use a fully fit Torres and to cement the partnership between Luiz and Terry, I wouldn't be those calling for his head yet. Anyway, I suppose now the attention turns to finishing in the top four and the Champions League, I suppose Liverpool won the Champions League in 2005 when they were doing poorly domestically, maybe we can do the same (gotta stay positive right?) and we can use Torres in that competition. The bright points today? I thought Drogba was excellent today, his best game in bloody ages, made the ball stick up top, took some balls down from the sky which had to be seen to be believed, got the assist for Lampard's goal, definitely responded to Ancelotti dropping him Monday night and now Carlo has a choice to make between Torres and Drogba on Tuesday night. Ramires also had a very good game, impresses me more and more every time I see him, one of our best players this season, very solid defensively but also a great threat going forward, living up to the considerable hype.

Nice to see Zhirkov back, gives us good cover in a number of positions. Personally I thuoght this would be a good chance to give McEachran a run, playing at home in the FA Cup, I figured he would be a good addition in the holding midfield role ahead of Mikel, especially considering our lack of creativity in recent games, surely that is something McEachran could aidm, anyway fingers crossed that Drogba makes a statement today.

I think we could do with a bit more pace out on the wing, Malouda hasn't got an amazing amount of pace but is technically gifted enough and effective enough to maintain his spot on the left wing. Nic Anelka is not a right winger and too often our play gets far too narrow with coming in from the right wing, not only does he come inside but he also drops deep at the same time, almost becoming an auxiliary central midfielder, we really dont need that. Sturridge could definitely play that position next season, with his pace Id fancy him a lot more on the right wing than Nic Anelka. That being said though I think our main problem is in midfield. Its all a bit slow and pedantic, even with the faster Torres up front making clever runs, our midfield seemingly dont have the ability to pick him out or are just knocking it around in the midfield at too slow a tempo for Torres' runs to make any impact. Without a doubt the main aim in the Summer must be a ball playing midfielder.

I still grit my teeth when I think about that semi final against Barcelona.

It can only get better but Torres does need time to settle into the Chelsea style of play and strike up a partnership with Drogba and Anelka. I thought we missed Ramires yesterday, I will say it again, with Mikel in holding midfield we miss out on the defensive stability Essien provides and the energy Ramires provides higher up the pitch. Ivanovic looked entirely uncomfortable yesterday and must take a large chunk of the blame for the goal. However the big positive was David Luiz, made 2 vital blocks, looked quite fast, strong in the air and so composed on the ball, I dont think Im exaggerating when I say he is ready to start against Fulham, he very much looks the part already.

Thanks Jim.

Is there any way I can see a replay of this press confrence?

I agree with that, the first goal we conceded really was not good from a defensive standpoint, that being said I thought we looked like the better team throughout, played with the right attitude and you could see that the players were really on their games tonight.

Stunning, absolutely stunning from the Frenchman tonight, if only we could sign a 50 million striker every week to get him to play in this vain of form. Everything that is so often wrong with his game, his holding midfielder like positioning, his coastal erosion level of speed on the ball, his absolutely unwillingness to work hard for the team, and his defiance to using his blistering pace to go past players were all put right tonight, he was absolutely immense, setting up one and scoring the 4th. Nic Anelka put forward a very strong case as to why he should never have been suggested as a makeweight in the Torres deal and why he should be the one to partner Torres when the Spaniard debuts. Another note of interest was Drogba's positioning, credit to him, when he found himself out wide he still proved effective and chased back to help out the defence, I still think a 4-3-3 could work even when Torres is introduced into the side. The only negative I can think of is Mikel, to be fair to him I suppose he is just recently back from injury but really he has got to be faster on the ball and for a holding midfielder he is far too passive. Credit to Sunderland who made a real game of it, they didn't set their stall out to defend, they attacked right from the off and put in a very good performance, Richardson and Bardsley both played well and Henderson impressed with his composure. A lot of Chelsea fans are calling that our best away performance this season and I dont think id disagree with them, sure we beat Bolton by more goals but I thought our performance tonight was better and against a higher level of opposition.

Given the relationship that Terry and Cole have I think it best that he stays on the elft side of defence, Luiz can definitely adapt to playing on the right side but also with Bosingwa being in contention for starting at right back I think that could be a good relationship with them both being Portugese speaking. I think a 4-3-3 could work, with our current 4-3-3 the front 3 constantly interchange anyway, why not simply continue to let this happen only with a more dangerous striker in Torres in place of Nic Anelka. Though Id rather Torres play mainly through the centre. I think a diamond could also work with Ramires on the right and Essien in the holding midfield position.

I bought mine today and am wearing it right now, absolutely delighted, its gotten quite the reaction.

lol if that was him spending 71 million yesterday when he was uninterested, God knows what he would do if he was interested. He is never to be doubted, a true Chelsea legend.

Please help, I want to get the Chelsea home jersey today with Torres on the back but can anybody tell me if its confirmed that he will be our number 9?

Thanks mate, thats exactly what I was looking for.

That was EPIC!