TrueBlueSeaFC87

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ial8idYEql8 This is an absolute disaster of a call. Mainly because of what the ref said after the match, which you can read here: http://www.espnfc.com/league-name/story/2323024/headline First off, I don't think EITHER foul was deserving of a straight Red, but to give it to the wrong player, and then state afterwards that you made the right call, you have got to be kidding me!

I won't lie, I am a bit nervous for this match. A footy friend of mine is a die hard Spur fan, so if we lose I won't hear the end of it. But the loss of Matic isn't the worrying part (as is the case with a lot of you on this forum). For me it is the inconsistency in terms of offense of this team. When you have the likes of Costa, Hazard, Oscar, Willian, Fabregas on your team you shouldn't only score 1 goal against f**king Burnley. Our offensive form has been terrible for most of the season. Costa and Hazard have definitely poached a few goals (which we wouldn't have seen from Torres, Eto'o or Ba last year), but we are definitely missing offense from our Right Wing position. Willian is a nice piece to our team, but unlike Sanchez, Di Maria, Silva, etc, he cannot and seems will not take shots on goal. I feel we are a RW away from being truly stunning. But outside of Reus, I don't think there is a player who may be available who would put us over the top. Unless Reus goes to Real Madrid and we can pry Isco away from them.

The problem is that he is playing on the Right Side in front of Ivanovic, who's tendency to run way up the pitch forces Cuadrado to play back more. You cannot have both right side players bombing forward because then it allows for an easy counter on that side of the field. I really like Ivanovic, but as great as he has been for us offensively this season, he has been equally, if not more, liable on the defensive side of the ball. I feel if Jose would play Azpilucueta on the right and Filipe Luis on the left, you'll see Cuadrado shine a little bit more.

Looking at the play-by-play there was no foul called on Barnes. I am going to totally get flamed with saying this, but the foul on Matic looked bad, but I don't think it was as intentional as everybody is making it out to be. Barnes is in the process of passing the ball and his follow through ends up planting on Matic's leg. His foul on Ivanovic should have been a straight red though. He clearly cocks his leg and extends it full force into Ivanovic.

How about moving Ivanovic up to DM with Ramires and have Dave, Terry, Zouma, Filipe Luis in Defense. Then have Willian, Fabregas, Hazard and Costa in attack.

I'd rather see Fabregas orchestrate the offense from the middle.

If there is no retrospective ban given to him for any of the 3 nasty tackles (I haven't seen the foul on Zouma yet), then there is something wrong with the FA

As Barnes is jumping towards Ivanovic, he cocks his leg and then forcefully extends it into Branislav's leg. I've done that same maneuver in martial arts. There is absolutely ZERO possibility that that was a product of his jump to head the ball.

If there is 1 incident that is 100% deserving of a penalty being awarded, it was the no call on the handball from the shot by Ivanovic. The defenders was 5 yards away from Branislav, was turning his back towards the shot and his arm was fully extended. It was the least accidental ball to arm / hand contact that I have ever seen in my 23 years of watching and playing this sport. Yet it wasn't given because either the ref didn't see it or he believed it to be accidental.

I agree, if you take away a clear goal scoring opportunity both fouling the player in the box and it is not called, then you as a ref have completely changed the outcome of the game. Would Costa have scored for 100% certain if he hadn't been fouled? No. Would Hazard have slotted the PK in the net for 100% certain if the penalty had been awarded? No. But there is a 100% certainty that by allowing the player to get away with committing a foul on Costa, Chelsea did not score a goal from that attack.

I fully agree with you. If he had knocked Costa down with a good shoulder or hip (which wouldn't have happened because of Costa's size) then I wouldn't have called it a foul at all, but because his two hands are clearly pushing off (and almost completely extended) then you have to call that as a foul. He made no attempt to play the ball before the foul occurred. If that is a foul in basketball, then it is a foul in soccer.

I just got back from work and watched the highlights of the match. I didn't see the push on Costa but the no call on the completely obvious handball in the box was absolutely ridiculous! You cannot even argue that he was too close to Ivanovic and couldn't pull his arm away quickly enough as he was a good 5 yards (at least) away from the initial strike. Also, not giving that POS Barnes even a foul on the Matic play is asinine. I personally thought that Atkinson called a decent match between Real Madrid and Schalke on Wednesday, but today he seemed absolutely atrocious. On a side note, I know we were down to 10 men, but how is it with the likes of Ivanovic, Zouma and Terry on the pitch can we not defend corner kicks? Sometimes we give up goals off the corner with Cahill, Terry, Zouma, Ivanovic and Matic all on the pitch.

This would be my starting XI as well.

I thought Matic played really well. Obviously Courtois was the best player, but he shouldn't have been tested as much.

Thank f**king God for those 3 points. I found myself screaming "RUN AT THE DEFENDERS" whenever our attackers had possession near the 18. Hazard, Willian, Cuadrado (who I felt did really well and would have had many more opportunities if the passes to him were in the correct spots instead of behind him), all slowed down massively instead of running full on at the defenders. With that being said, now that Matic looks to be back in form, and Costa and Fab are back I think we'll do fine the rest of the way. Bouncing out of the FA Cup might have been a blessing in disguise for us.

First off, whoever that girl is in your Avatar photo, she's gorgeous! Secondly, I am of the opinion that if Cuadrado was good enough for Jose to activate his release clause, and subsequently force us to let Schurrle transfer and Salah (another Jose purchase) to go out on loan, both of whom have started in the first squad, then Cuadrado is good enough IMMEDIATELY. People haven't given Cuadrado the benefit of the doubt because 1) he is a Columbian not named James Rodriguez or Jackson Martinez, and 2) his European league playing time has been with an Italian team not named Juventus, Roma, Napoli, AC Milan or Inter, thus they probably feel he is inferior to players on those teams. With that being said, I don't think there is a better team (one that is bottom of the table yet still has tons of quality throughout) whom I would like to see Cuadrado start against other than Everton. Let's see what he can do, before we limit his appearances.

That would be my team. If Cuadrado doesn't start then I hope he gets subbed on at halftime.

I Hate Toot-in-hand as much as the next Chelsea fan, but Harry Kane is something special.

His first assist was almost a replay of his WC winning assist. It's a shame that two of our players left for Wolfsburg and they both look as if they haven't missed a beat.

I would definitely go too!! I was lucky enough to see them play the MLS All-Stars at Toyota Park in 2006. That was literally right after I began bleeding Chelsea Blue.

Okay so now that Willian and Fab are fit for the game, here is my updated starting XI GK: Courtois LB: Azpilicueta CB: Zouma CB: Terry RB: Ivanovic DM: Fabregas DM: Matic LAM: Hazard CAM: Oscar RAM: Willian ST: Remy Bench: Cech, Cahill, Ake, Ramires, Cuadrado, Drogba. I really would like to see Cuadrado come in at halftime, especially if we are level. I think he could cause a tired Villa team to have absolute fits from what I've seen videowise of him. I still feel like we are really thin at AM options on the bench. I guess once Costa comes back, we can use Remy out wide if we have to.

The Guardian is report that Willian suffered a muscle injury during last weekend's match against Manchester City and will undergo scans to determine the severity of the ailment. If this is anything more than just a minor strain, I think we sit him and definitely start Cuadrado. Because we are light on Attacking Mids right now, we can ill afford to lose any of them for any extended period of time.

I'd definitely like to see this. Give Juan a chance to start against a easier team to get his feet wet for the PL. Only change I'd make is maybe Oscar in for Willian, as I think we might want his creativity more than Willian's work rate.

GK: Courtois LB: Azpilicueta CB: Terry CB: Cahill / Zouma (either one will be fine with me) RB: Ivanovic DM: Ramires DM: Matic RAM: Willian CAM: Oscar LAM: Hazard ST: Remy (Although we all know Jose is going to go with Drogs) Bench: Cech, Zouma / Cahill, Mikel, Ake, Solanke, Drogba / Remy, Yes, with Salah and Schurrle being gone and Cuadrodo not being ready, we are light in midfield, but I personally feel that Jose is going for the draw in this match, which keeps us 5 points clear. If we can find the lead at half, I fully expect him to pull Oscar or Willian off and put in Mikel in the predictable parking of the bus.

This 100% People on this board have an unhealthy obsession with Willian's "workrate". A donkey has a good workrate, but would you want him starting at RW for a team who is leading the EPL and is vying for a Treble? No?. Willian has an absolutely awful first touch, he has no other moves other than multiple stepovers, and his final ball is so bad that it makes Salah look like Messi. Cuadrado is a better attacking winger than Willian will ever be and I am glad that it looks like this deal is done. Schurrle had plenty of opportunities in the past 2 years to prove his worth, and he only did so about 30% of the time, which is far less than what Jose expects. Sell Salah and Schurrle now, buy Cuadrado now and look at bringing in Draxler in the summer and I guarantee all of you "Willian" or "Schurrle" lovers won't be bitching next season.