Mike O

My thoughts are with you, Frank. It sounds like your mum was a very decent human and will be much missed by those who knew her. You're one of the good guys and it also sounds like a lot of that was down to her. Hang your boots up for the rest of this season, be with your family, get your head straight and come back next year to take the FIFA World player award in her honour (even if it's not in a blue shirt). Mike

Fair points on Malouda and Cole getting each other's marks, I guess. My bias isn't helped when I've never seen Malouda shine in a game and have seen Joe do it plenty. Malouda never looks to me like he even believes himself that he can have an effect, Joe always does. I can only hope in the new season that some sort of gallic telepathy sis truck up between FM and Anelka to make them the Pires/ Henry combo of 08/09. Only hoping, mind...

Despite the wonders of the 94th minute last night, I thought I'd seen some of the worst performances ever by key members of our team, and I don't want the hangover of today to start clouding that opinion, so here are my player ratings. Please feel free to chip in: Cech: 8. Two fantastic saves at point blank range, one stunner with finger-tips at top left hand corner but still looked a little lost in the first half. Brilliant, but still not back to his 100% best Ferreira: 6. Competent display but got skinned a couple of times and link play not what it can be Carvalho: 9. Held the back line together, looked 3 times as assured and confident as his centre half comrade. In any other team, he'd be a captain. Terry: 4. By his own standards, crap. Off the pace, lacking in confidence, bully-boy tactics, rubbish link play and looking lost as a captain. Needs to get back to the 05/06 Terry quickly. A. Cole: 7. One or two stray passes but was convincing in defence with some crucial interceptions and could have looked dangerous in attack if he didn't have a muppet in front of him Makalele: 2. Worst performance ever in a CFC shirt. Since when has it been his job to spray the ball forward for attackers? He didn't seem to complete one pass over 10 yards and was regularly robbed of the ball. Won the medal for 'most flailing legs in air as attempt to intercept ball' award. Ballack: 6. So wants to stamp authority on the game but seems perennially reluctant to do so. The only player ahead of the front 4 to show any positive passion in the game and looked like our only danger man for large periods of the match. Sadly, the support around him failed him regularly. Lampard: 3. Where were you Frank? I agree with comments about how he came alive in the last 10 minutes and had been too deep until then but how deep exactly was he? I struggled to notice him for 80 minutes until I realised that every time LFC were winning the ball in midfield, it was invariably off him. Should have shot earlier on about 3 occasions. Still, his head must be all over the place at the moment so perhaps he can redeem himself on Sat. Malouda: 1 Offered nothing, managed nothing, meant nothing. 1 point is generous. J. Cole: 3. One of his worst for us ever. Got himself into one or 2 good positions but then flunked it. Gave Drogs no support and was basically irrelevant. Deserved wholeheartedly to be subbed. Drogba: 4. Frankly, he's now cemented his position as the no. 1 reason why people hate CFC. Petulant, cheating, pathetic etc etc. In his defence, he was isolated for most of the game and service to him was always shaky, but can you imagine Sparky behaving like that? He did cause the defence some problems but frankly the words 'disgrace' and 'embarrassment' currently say it all for me. Thanks for the good times Didier, now just go. Kalou: 8. Only on for a few minutes but his energy and passion got us the goal. Can be quite headless and horizontal over 90 minutes but was priceless last night Anelka: Didn't touch the ball over 5 minutes (I think?) so no score.

Me too. Good post

Muscat is a coward. His stock trade is shirt-pull, the ankle-tap. Cowardly f****r and what's more he wears pink shirts. Former Leicester player Danny Tiatto is more what you are looking for. How old / available is Gattusso?

Sorry to be a misery guts but I've stumbled upon the very real and terrifying fact that the EPL will ultimately be won in accordance to the wishes of ......Steve Bruce. Remember the joy and zeal on that ugly muppet's iron-flattened face as Heskey knocked in the equaliser against us? Remember his post match interview in which he alluded to the calls he'd taken from Ferguson ahead of the match begging him to do his alma mater a favour? See the safety that Wigan almost find themselves in now? One win against Reading next week and they're laughing. See the 'so what' fixture they have with Villa the following week? Boys, I feel in my waters that even if we go into the final Sunday on equal points with Man U, old Stevie will have decked out the JJB in red bunting and got his mates Pallister, Parker, Schmeichel and Albiston along to prime the champagne bottles for the reds. All of which means we must not only pick up the final 9 points but also get down the Madgeski to see Reading do Bruce's ugly conk in. They are, after all, managed by a red whose star shone well before 'Mr Grace and Dignity' turned up at OT. Then, and only then, can we possibly expect Wigan to put up any sort of a fight on the 11th.

Me and my mates have had this conversation every month or so for the last 3 years, and the result always comes out the same (and these include the views of gooners / mancs and virtually every other club known to man): 1. Zola 2. Cantona 3. Bergkamp Never any dispute on names or order.

Don't do it! Imagine the crap the kid would get at skool Man, that would be one ugly baby....

Q. How to make £100m in football? A. Start with £1bn. Roman really is a cracking businessman, isn't he?

Anyone who fancies an easy ride on £50k a week would be my guess...

Very disappointing because it's another season in which the club has moved even further away from 'dignity', 'style' and 'community'. 'Dignity' - we lost a load of that when we got bought by a dodgy billionaire but furthermore over JM, dodgy transfer dealings, Kenyon, farcical appointments and the still repellant behaviour of some of our players (DD). 'Style' - we really are the crappest team in the EPL to watch. Dull, dull, dull, crap. 'Community' - millionaire footballers, lots of dregs from the 80's returning to the stands, outrageous prices (I know this is football wide, but I'm a blue boy and relate it to my club).

....where you find 'The most knowledgeable fans in the world'

Hear, hear. All the best Frank and good luck in the weeks ahead. Nothing, absolutely nothing, is more important than family. Mike

Next question should have been.... In that case, as a professional, how do you feel about working for a business that hasn't registered any profits for eons and manages to exist only through the benevolance of Roman? Don't you feel like a bit of a fraud?

Neither can I! Me neither. And for the record, Gav can say what he likes. Once you've scored against Man Uted home and away in one season to take 6 points, you become a total legend in my books.

I was listening to Five Live the other day, probably the Chelsea / Boro bore fest, and Craig Hignett was co-commentating. At one particularly dull point in the match, he was asked about his memories of the 97 cup final and said words to the effect of.... 'That day will live with me forever....we went through things before the match which no-one could possibly believe...the most bizarre day of my life....shocking'. I remember hearing at the time that the Boro team had had a major bust-up on the coach down to Wembley. I also heard that it was sparked by one player boasting that he'd had the girlfriends / wives of his team-mates (I'm not naming names). 11 years on, has anyone got the definitive account of what happend to the Boro boys on the 4th greatest day of my life? Mike

Jimmy is the last person on earth I want to see win an FA Cup medal. Why? Just ask Brian M.....

I missed the game. What happened?

Not much to disagree with there, my new German friend. Personally, I think your idea of putting Lampard on the left is worth a shot and, satisfyingly, follows a good Chelsea tradition of occasionally sticking central midfielders in that spot (Wise / Poyet / Di Matteo / Cole etc) when the likes of Robben, Duff, Gronkjaer and ahem.... Ambrosetti weren't available. Aside from sticking Bridge in ahead of Cashley, your team looks ok to me and I too can't understand the fuss re Mikel

1. Scotland 2. Germany 3. Argentina

Gallas leaves Chelsea 'under a cloud'.... he's not getting the respect he deserves Cole leaves Arsenal 'under a cloud'... he's not getting the respect he deserves Drogba enjoys continued presidency of the 'ruin your own estimable reputation by being a cheating twat whenever it suits you' club... Drogba continues to threaten to leave club... Cole behaves like a complete c*nt at Spurs.... Grant defends him Gallas behave like a complete twat at Birmingham... Wenger defends him Arsenal fans boo Ashley Cole... Chelsea fans boo Gallas... Chelsea fans shout derision at Grant Grant's substitutions win match.....via Drogba Drogba asks for more respect....for Gallas Confusing stuff, eh? The only conclusions I can draw are that: 1. Neither Gallas, Cole nor Drogba deserve much respect at all. 2. Grant deserves a load more, but should keep it all for himself. Don't go sharing it, Avram. and finally, 3. Remember that anyone who uses the phrase 'I don't get the respect I deserve' typically deserves none.

You leave Steino and Spencer out of this, you tart. Mark Stein still holds (I think....) the club record for scoring in most consecutive matches (16 or so?) whilst Johnny Spencer scored one of the most legendary and seldom viewed goals of all time vs Vienna away. More importantly, both of them worked their socks off, loved the club and also worked pretty well as a partnership. You want some contenders? I'll give you Fleck and Sutton (still the worst for me) but I'd also add Pizarro and, somewhat unkindly, Nicholls, Casirahgi and yes, Sheva. Top 5: 1. Zola 2. Drogba 3. Flo 4. Eidur 5. Sparky And not Mr Cocktail-Cabinet-For-An-Arse. No Sirree

End of the season? Most of the Avi-Brigade think he should have until the end of NEXT season! By then we will have undone all the work put in by Ranieri and Jose. My fear is Roman punishing us by leaving Avi in charge, as punishment for the ungrateful response to the appointment of his mate. Is Jokanovic still at the club? We must be told....

Some others for your consideration: 1. Robert de Niro as Louis Cypher in Angel Heart 2. Robert Mitchum in Night of the Hunter 3. HAL in 2001: A Space Odyssey (I don't give a flying f**k whether this fits into Brain's definition, HAL scares the crap out of me every time) 4. John Hurt as Caligula in I Claudius

There are loads of these around, but this one should get you going... [youtube:wffd82bu]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gHwqy1Bv0qg[/youtube:wffd82bu]