Barbara

Guardian did this: The Oscar gallery Willian seems to actually be part of this photo, , and so many priceless faces Mata's face is priceless this one is silly, I guess, but I'll include it anyway

Oh I thought it was the fact that anyone liked a post of yours at all. It means we like the pics, just as much as you do,

you know why I'm reluctant to say it'll work as psychological boost for them? They aren't a team of boys - like we sort of are for example, and even then, some of our boys won Europa League with us last season - and they should already know the feeling of winning something. They're players on their peak, that have been around the block a time or two, more experienced even emotionally. When I look to their squad the feeling I get is they don't need a 4th in importance or last in importance title to add to their confidence because they should already know what's like being in the final lap to win. I feel they were happy, but how much does it relieve pressure or give a relevant good feeling for them about 1) beating Barça - their shortest term main goal; 2) add confidence to dismiss the pressure of not allowing themselves to drop another point, otherwise they know they'll depend on us slipping too (which in all honesty, I feel is unlikely, as I'll cover below). I'd say honestly little pressure was relieved from their shoulders, if any. To be honest, and maybe I'm biased (I guess not, but who knows?), our second half against Fulham, after the tiring trip to Turkey, after an awful first half, and having the manager spit 10 seconds worth of curses and leave the dressing room during HT is going to work as a confidence boost on us more than City coming back against Sunderland to win the League Cup title. And that's because I few some of our players are still too young to deal with the pressure and responsibility of winning matches at all costs to be champions. But they did it last Saturday, on their own. The second half is mainly the players' doing, unless Holland or Billy gave the motivational speech of the century to bring their spirits up (tactically we didn't change), if they spoke at all. I think everyone was speechless about Mourinho's unexpected absence to even come up with a speech. I expect at most a few words said by a few people (players and people from the staff). I'm shocked no one in the media called Mourinho on playing mind games even with his team... So if they players were determined - even against one of the weakest teams in the league - and played so well in the second all by themselves, it's because something might have clicked in their minds imo. If (only using this preposition to avoid jinxing, otherwise I'd use a different one ) we raise this trophy at the end of the season, this is the match I'm going to look back and say 'that's when things changed'. I expect us to be very fierce from now on and regardless of the points we need to win or not to be champions (I won't get into the current discussion because I don't know how to predict those things) and to drop very few points. I think there are two games that we could drop points: Liverpool and Villa away. If we get passed Villa with 3 points, I think our chances go up to 60 (I wish this fixture was earlier, but maybe it's a good thing to play them at the very end of the season when we're likely to be playing 1 game a week just like them).

nah. I think it was just another day at the office for them, with a happy ending, nothing to have a psychological boost they'll certainly need to pass by Barcelona. The thing is while they're very, very dangerous, people keep downsizing the big challenges they have. I think they should be more worried than us. They're in three competitions and they have a deficit to turn around away from home against one of the most successful teams in this competition in the last decade. Even if they lose to Barça - now that would have an important psychological influence - while everyone else (mostly) has to play another 9 matches after next weekend, they have to play 12 only for the league. They have at least two cup legs (Stoke and Barça) to add to those 12 EPL matches and they don't have that much of depth in defense and defensive midfield (Demichelis!!!!!). Knocks are so likely to happen with such a packed schedule and the smallest slip up can cause them to crumble (didn't they after losing to us?). So while I think they're dangerous, I'm convinced at this point it's as much their title to lose as it is ours (2 weeks ago I thought it was exclusively theirs, now I give 50-50), people seem to overlook their challenges. They have much more pressure on them and much more on their plate than we do. They have to live up their favorite reputation, everyone's eyes are on them for a while now and only in February - after we beat them - we started dividing the spotlight with them (more like Mourinho dividing it, the media is only now starting to talk about us, until Mou decided to go low profile last week before Everton, they were talking about Arsenal, City, United - no matter what they always talk about United - and Mourinho, not Chelsea). It was nearly established they're the team to be beaten (something 90% around here seem to believe devotedly), not us. So the pressure is on them. They have to win the two postponed matches they already have and if we beat Tottenham, they also have to win the third one, to pass us all while playing every 3 days, being part of two more competitions and having their squad tired as they don't rotate as much in some positions simply because they can't replace Kompany, Toure, Zabaleta or even Fernandinho and keep the same level.

It seems I'm the only one in the world not to think so. Sorry winning League Cup - the most mickey mouse of all domestic cups (I only count FA Cup) - against Sunderland, currently in the relegation zone in the Premier League shouldn't give any boost to a team that has to play Barcelona and turn a 2-0 deficit away from home and that has to play against 4 out of the six best teams in the league soon. Yeah, they're happy, they won the smallest possible trophy that was there (still Arsenal keep evading even this one), but why on Earth this should boost their confidence or affect them psychologically? It's not like they came back against Chelsea, Liverpool or Bayern. They came back against bloody Sunderland in a nearly worthless trophy. If they can use any psychological boost is turning things around with Barça or winning all their matches that got moved further. I will never get why people magnify and overrate everything City related this season (not exactly what you're doing, but if you go back reading the pages in this very thread, you see how some put them in a special place, supposedly affected positively by irrelevant things and unaffected by major things - such as matches piling up and a squad relatively thin except in the striker position).

he's not a pivot player, mate... and never will be. He'd be eaten alive by other English's pivot players if he played there. If the physicality in the AM position has been almost too much for him to handle, in the midfield he just wouldn't make it

amazing article, Lex, as usual. Yesterday I left just after the match and couldn't catch it until now

The amount of wins we need depend on City. I do hope with three PL games piling up in March, in addition to the FA Cup and the leg back in Barcelona (I don't think they'll qualify in UCL, but with this Barcelona team you never know) that they feel the accumulation of matches and drop a few points. The only way for us to win the title is for them to drop points. Hypothetically if neither team drops another point, they're champs, not us. So it comes down to that. They are cracking right now and maybe they'll continue to crack, but it makes nothing to our title ambitions if they crack in the cups and don't crack at least a couple of times in the league.

Mourinho is a legend. Get the work done with 10 seconds worth of unrepeatable words I can really wonder what was the content of such 10 seconds.

our boys do know how to slide but I loved the rock 'n roll, karate kid celebration too x

you know my live comments about this play so I won't repeat them

x

look at the amount of clothes scattered all around. It looks exactly like my bed right now at least mine is in my bed, he's supposedly in the living room boys are going to be boys and on girls being girls, I can't resist Storm!!!!!!! I love the little husk!

I don't have words to describe this boy yesterday. That rabona PERFECT cross on Torres' head was just mind blowing. It does seem like his problem is mainly motivational. After he's assisted Schurrle's first goal he was just unplayable. I think it's a bit about confidence and stepping up to be the guy that will win us the matches, but as I keep saying, I'm not worried about it now. The guy is too young and he'll learn how to auto-motivate himself to all matches. He's said in this interview he wants to win the Ballon d'Or and he must know to win that in the last five years, Messi and Ronaldo performed well in nearly all matches they played, not only the big ones or against big teams. I wonder why we haven't extended his contract yet. Maybe he's resisting it? Also I had to laugh at my Brazilian commentator yesterday who's said he's the biggest wage in Chelsea and the second in England just behind Rooney. forever at how little those Fox Sports guys knows about anything. He's not even the second in Chelsea... We should be offering him a big wage raise in exchange of extending his contract.

He needs to improve, even doing some of the unseen job. He was really bad - not his privilege, as so was everyone else - in the first half and I think he improved in the second like the rest of the team, but nothing to catch the eye too much. He made a few good plays, but we as a team - and I as a supporter - miss his good performances from earlier the season. At this point he should be rotating with Willian not even to allow him rest, but simply because of form.

he was the worst of the 3 AMs in the first, but let's not fool ourselves, all of them hid. So in a team where nobody was playing shit, it's unfair to point his first half performance. He was hideous, but the rest weren't much less bad. in unrelated news, our rock star x

Excuse me while I have a fangirl moment here :dance: :getin: :woo: :woo: :delight: :heart: :heart: Okay now I'm back I was so upset at the store the other day when I bought my away shirt and couldn't have his name because they were missing some letters - but as a Brazilian I surely worked around it I love this guy since the first interview when he showed so much love and respect for Chelsea. Those players always win my love instantly regardless of how technical or classy they are because I don't know, it touches me somehow, even if people that aren't as naive as I am say it's all words to get the supporters'. He seemed honest imo and I've been a fan ever since. André's role in this team has always been clear for me since the beginning. He isn't technical, talented or classy as some of our players, but he has pace, a good finishing and he moves really well. I remember his first goal for us from that Torres cross, how well he's moved around. He's amazing on that. Not every player needs to be as technical and talented as Hazard. No team in the world affords 11 highly technical players. Schürrle has it all imo to be part of our squad for a long time. He offers things none, not even Salah as far as I can say, of our AMs offer. This variation is so important for Mourinho tactically because he can surprise an opponent with offering something completely different. Few of our players suit the counter-attack better than he does as well. That's why I'm not totally writing off the possibility of him starting some matches as the striker. Neither Torres or Eto'o has the pace he has, he won't dribble as well as Eto'o, but he takes on players without dribbling, simply by passing by them through the spaces. He's one of our best players exploring spaces. The way he gets behind defenses (and rarely getting himself offside), the way he finds space that is there (unlike Hazard who creates space with his amazing dribbles), makes him one very useful footballer and with his finish being quite good, we could use him as a striker in a few matches depending on what Mourinho wants. That's why it HURTS me whenever Mourinho gets Ramires and not Schürrle at the RW when we need pace. Yeah, nobody runs more than Rami-the-Energyzer-Bunny-res, but Shirley is quite fast himself and he's so much better making decisions than Rami is. But Mourinho said he's learning a few things and there were those rumors saying Mourinho wanted him to improve his body, probably get him stronger. I think if he can get stronger and endure the physicality longer, he'll be a key player next season for some matches. Our secret weapon because playing with Oscar Willian Hazard brings something completely different than replacing any of the first two with Schürrle. I suppose next year we won't need him to be deployed as a striker because we'll have a good one here (I'll be sending my prayers for as much), but in this one he could make a few cameos there. I know that's not his position, but seeing him play for Germany ( ) last year, his finishing was even more superb and clinical. I saw people in the match's thread mentioning the Utd match, but two things should be said: that was our third match in the league, and Mourinho's approach was completely defensively then. Schurrle was there just to make sure we had at least in paper someone in the attack.

I can't choose between André and Eden. They were both amazing in the second. I guess I'll honor the hat-trick boy I do hope Willian starts instead of Oscar against Tottenham

Schurrle to start next match?

Schurrle, you sexy, german. I can't with you!!!!! That's why my away shirt is yours name and number, love!!!!!!

double-double, Hazard + Schurrle!!!!!! #undone

all of sudden all of our three AM look much more lively and Hazard unplayable Come on, boys, let's stretch that scoreline

if you boys can have a boner I can get wet Now score and I'll come undone #footballissex

I'm wet with what Hazard just did that #orgasm

way to make up for a shitty performance so far. André Eden