Stoke 0-0 Chelsea

[manpe 10,861]

Who the fuck is Martin Lipton, why even quote a naysaying nobody? Twitter sucks... honestly, why waste nerves on these bitches?

[Randall 315]

Martin Liptop is a vacuous sack of shit.

[kongdaniel 34]

The best league in the world is back! Been looking forward to this for a long time now!!! KTBFFH! :cfc:

[manpe 10,861]

Martin Liptop is a vacuous sack of shit.

thought I'd squeezed out a lipton earlier tonight, that explains it... thanks

[Tortilla9 390]

Who the fuck is Martin Lipton, why even quote a naysaying nobody? Twitter sucks... honestly, why waste nerves on these bitches?

He's the Mirror's supposed top football journalist. I think he's a naysaying a## but he has a public forum he uses to bash not only Torres but other Chelsea players.

[fletch 3]

Not sure what to make of Malouda this season. Will he be a regular starter in our team or will he be rotated often? Obviously it's hard to say with AVB now in charge, but I'd still like to know if we have any 'definite starters' anymore? I can only think of Cech, A.Cole, Lampard & Terry.

[manpe 10,861]

definite starters have reduced in numbers, yes.... it remains to be seen if Lampard stays an untouchable (which I think he will). Čech and Cole have no real competition, while Terry is the captain and must play when available. Drogba is no longer a definite starter, although he might become one if Torres continues seriously underperforming. All other positions are up for grabs, which means players must work harder to ensure a place in the team that's good, although I consider having a rock solid defensive line the most important part of a team, it's not very good to rotate it too much... there always used to be one under Mourinho, but now the right side of defence is always under question.

[BluesChick 1,260]

So excited for the start of the season and saying my prayers that it is broadcast here or on Chelsea TV at a decent hour!!

[Madmax 9,219]

Of course Lipton would make juvenile attempts at 'getting back', considering he got absolutely toasted by Gigi Salmon on live television.

[Beast 85]

Don't want too sound pessimistic but we'll lose.

[BlueLion. 21,491]

People are grossly over-estimating Stoke on this board. . .I suspect Andy Gray's comment is partly responsible for this. Yes they have physically dominant players and can be difficult to beat at home but so are teams like Man utd, man city, Everton , Liverpool,Blackburn, spurs and Fulham . . . .so I don't get what the fuss is about.

Stoke away is a harder fixture than any of those you've listed (besides the two Manchester clubs) because they will go for the jugular, other teams are far more tentative and show too much respect, even clubs like Spurs and Fulham are reluctant to attack a Chelsea side, even one that is under-strength and out-of-form. Stoke realise football is a game played by twenty-two men, not twenty-two reputations, and they will throw the kettle, microwave and the kitchen sink at us - the way football should be played by the home side. Stoke are never overawed by the opposition; you can look at the FA Cup final last season as a reflection of that statistic.

They also play a lot of good football, and besides the fact they have a physical aspect to their side, they have vastly underrated players like Etherington and Walters who are very creative football players. They may not play the Arsenal way, but when they want to, they can play their way around a team as opposed to through. But the fact they can play either way is testament to the fact they are indeed a very good Premier League side, playing Europa League football for a very good reason.

[handy15 9]

It's good to respect the opposition.

Once you respect them you can proceed to piecemeal destruction of their soul without impunity.

I recall a certain chant:

Carefree, wherever we may be - we are the famous CFC - and we don't give a fuck whoever you may be -'Cause we are the famous CFC

[Tomo 21,733]

Stoke are one of the premierleague success stories.

When they came up they were one of the shortest odds ever to go back down, 4 season's in and they are well on their way to being like Charlton were in the early 00's.

Tony Pulis is a fantastic manager i have to say.

[Domino- 116]

Stoke City have made some good purchases including Woodgate and Matthew Upson. Pulis knows what he is doing and will not be surprised if we pull out points.

[TomCFC 356]

You can watch AVB's press conference at 12:45 here - http://www.chelseafc.com/page/LatestNews/0,,10268~2417947,00.html

[lionsden 4,689]

Stoke away is a harder fixture than any of those you've listed (besides the two Manchester clubs)

No that's not true bar blackburn and fulham, there's stats to support my claim

how teams have fared against us in the last 10 prem encounters

Stoke city-5 pts in 10 games. We have won 5 of the last 6 encounters and they last beat Chelsea in 1975

Everton-12pts in10 games

Spurs-9pts in10 games

Liverpool-14pts in 10 games

clearly you can see that Stoke fall below expectation on the competitive scale here. Liverpool and Everton deserve far more respect as a competitor than Stoke city and that's a factual statement and not a matter of opinion.

because they will go for the jugular, other teams are far more tentative and show too much respect, even clubs like Spurs and Fulham are reluctant to attack a Chelsea side, even one that is under-strength and out-of-form. Stoke realise football is a game played by twenty-two men, not twenty-two reputations, and they will throw the kettle, microwave and the kitchen sink at us - the way football should be played by the home side. Stoke are never overawed by the opposition; you can look at the FA Cup final last season as a reflection of that statistic.

They also play a lot of good football, and besides the fact they have a physical aspect to their side, they have vastly underrated players like Etherington and Walters who are very creative football players. They may not play the Arsenal way, but when they want to, they can play their way around a team as opposed to through. But the fact they can play either way is testament to the fact they are indeed a very good Premier League side, playing Europa League football for a very good reason.

With all their strength, we still have a vastly superior squad and a master tactician at the helm add that to our impressive statistics against them and it's fair to say stiffer tests lies beyond the stoke city game.

[handy15 9]

Undue pessimism.

This is the start of the season folks, I cannot believe we are even contemplating dropping points.

Can people just deal with the fact we have an awesome team ready to deliver?

Honestly.

[Slam Dunk 1,442]

Glad Torres is travelling. Luiz out.