theblueone

I also hear that Gala fans have been encouraged to buy home supporter tickets. Hopefully they won't be so stupid as to do that. Let's hope our gate staff are on the ball watching out for suspicious fans. I hear anybody in the home stands that shouldn't be will automatically removed from the premises without question, and so they should. Getting nervous now but I am sure we will be fine. Gala's terrible record in England (away from their intense home support) goes in our favour, though it doesn't mean we should go in unprepared. I know the remaining teams in the tournament are rather worrying but I would relish a full cup run. We can't go through such a tournament and not expect to have top opposition at the quarter finals stage. Besides everybody knows that we have done well in big games against tough opposition this season. Also, there is every chance that we could end up tying either Olympiacos or Utd, which would be the best case scenario. A quarter final tie against Real Madrid or Bayern Munich would be difficult but I would enjoy it just for the football even if they do win. Though aren't Bayern undefeated this season? They are in Bundesliga at least.

I agree. Though I do finish every game I buy (for the amount they cost, you may as well get your moneys worth) Though, in saying that, two Bethesda titles have made it into my top 3 gaming list. Those titles are Skyrim and Fallout 3. Two exceptional games and I look forward to the latest titles. Especially the new Fallout game, since New Vegas sucked! The problem with most games these days is they start off strong but around the one third complete stage, start to become repetitive and the story just seems rushed. I blame companies imposing story completion limitations and rushing games out to compete with their rivals, instead of taking longer on it and letting it flow.

I play a lot of FIFA 14 but it is shocking. The AI of team mates hasn't improved. Lay offs from the wing are impossible because your centre forward or midfielder will always run forward down the centre in an offside position. If you do wind up on a good run, many times team mates will run forward in an offside position and then run straight into your player, taking or touching the ball resulting in an offside call. The game forces you into scoring generic boring goals. Gets boring after a couple seasons on career. Then there's the omission of tournament mode. Don't waste money on it. On old gen, its identical to 13 but with updated kits and teams. on next gen, besides better crowds and new animations, its the same. Wait for FIFA 15 and hope for the best.

I'm still unconvinced about Balotelli, didn't Milan have to assign him a minder to stop him getting into trouble? He is undeniably talented, but he is childish and cocky, which could cause us nothing but headaches.

I too hope to see Drogba get a fantastic reception for this one. For the match itself he is an opponent but I can't hide my excitement to see him on the Stamford Bridge pitch again. Its a great opportunity for us to remind him just how appreciated he is at this club. Definitely going to be another physical match like the last one. If we do play Ramires, I hope he doesn't let Saturdays frustrations boil over into this game. A bit ambitious given our offensive record this season, but I am hoping for another 5 goals against them as we did many moons ago. As someone said above, if we're winning comfortably, I wouldn't object too much to Drogba striking home a beauty in the closing minutes for old times sake.

As a larger lad, I too love the baggy fit shirts from the 90s/early 00s. My favourite home shirt was the classic kit we wore in the cup final against Boro. I also love the yellow third shirt we used the following season, which I still wear. The more tight fit shirts means I have to stretch to triple XL which makes me feel a fat sod when out buying kit. Bring back the baggy fit shirts I say. My brother has the current Bayern home shirt, its the same Adidas template as they used for our current home shirt. Same material only instead of the vertical stripe detail, they have the traditional Bayern diamond pattern, same v neck/sleeve cuffs/ different colour stripes. I think these mock ups could possibly be legit. Look at the stripe pattern on the breast, its almost the same as the striping on Spain's new world cup home shirt. Looks to be the same material too. I like both mockups, but they both seem a bit plain to be honest. But I guess I'm just expecting too much. I'll still buy them anyway. Allegedly our 3rd kit for next season is navy blue and white. That intrigues me. Anybody seen any other possible leaks? On a side note, how hideous is the new Arsenal home shirt? Looks like something a cyclist would wear in a race. Puma kits are shocking. Makes me glad to have Adidas.

With all due respect, Jose wasn't abusive nor aggressive. Personally, I don't think it justifies a ban. A fine maybe, but not a ban. Its not like he did a Pardew. At any rate, I hope somebody within the FA sees sense to overturn this ridiculous ban. Willians too. We could do with the added depth in midfield for this fixture after what will surely be another brutal game against Galatasaray tommorow eve.

I would support John eventually taking the helm once he has got all his qualifications. He has definitely got a great coach in Mourinho to learn from. But I am in no rush to see Jose go anywhere. I look forward to seeing him realise his vision of Chelsea going forward.

Definitely. Its not like there aren't enough officials on and around the pitch to make sure decisions are fair. This is further evidence that supports the necessity of another official watching games through the cameras. The ref should be able to communicate with them via their headset where they can ask for them to replay certain points and give the relevant feedback in regards to a decision. The game needs to catch up with the available technology they have at their disposal.

Unfortunately, Matics goal was correctly disallowed (one call that was right). He dropped a shoulder and appeared to make deliberate arm contact. I'm dubious about Oscar being selected for this one. He's missed some glaring chances lately. Plus i think he'll be starting tommorow anyway. Not sure if Luis is still injured, but if he is fit, slot him in a holding position with Matic free roaming the central Midfield, add Hazard and Schürrle to the flanks with Eto'o up front and maybe we'll pull a rabbit out of the hat. Let's hope that Arsenal get caught cold first thing in the afternoon. Never noticed their away form in early kick offs until reading a post above. Hopefully that's a good omen.

Absolutely not. I would not like to see Courtois go at all. He is an amazing young talent and Cech is showing cracks in his performances. I've seen him make some unbelievable errors this season, which thankfully weren't punished most of the time and there is that clanger he made in his international friendly recently. He is a good keeper still but he is no longer the amazing player he was a few years ago. We will eventually need to replace Czech and if we let Courtois slip through our fingers now, we'll never be able to finds a replacement as good as he is. I'd be happy to see Courtois as our number one sticksman next season. Give the kid a chance. I doubt we'll regret it. If anything, I'd like to see Torres offered as a trade instead. Though I doubt that would happen seeing as though Atletico are lining up Jackson Martinez.

I definitely want to keep him. He is a key part of our back 4. JT, Azpilicueta, Cahill and Ivanovic is a formidable defence. We suffer when one of those players is missing. Even when his playing career runs its course, I can't imagine him not being with the club. Chelsea should be doing everything they can to retain his presence.

So basically, PSG want to be Chelsea. They've been linked with moves for almost our entire first team this season. I hope we don't sell Oscar. He is having a dip in form at the moment, but that'll pass and he'll be back to his usual self soon enough. He played well for Brazil against S Africa. I am taking all these stories with a pinch of salt at the moment. I know we are saturated in midfield at the minute, but selling our quality players isn't going to do anything.

Jose is banned from being pitch side for the Arsenal fixture as things currently stand. This concerns me big time. How can one ref be allowed too impact a title race like this? We need Jose's leadership on the touchline for this fixture. I'd go with Zetas lineup with Lamps. Oscar is having a real dip in form at the moment and can't be relied on for such an important crunch match at the moment.

The more I see the Ramires decision, the more I'm convinced that it was just a really unfortunate accident. If you watch it, El Ahmadi slides in right under his feet and as it was too late to do anything, you can see Ramires attempt to redistribute his weight to not put full pressure down on the leg. Is it just me being hopeful? Or does anyone else see that? Its ridiculous how nobody can question the refs. I think Jose should definitely make an appeal and demand somebody review the match tape from start to finish. Any sane person would agree that a majority of those calls were bogus. I found an interesting article about Chris Foy earlier. Takes you to a web page of our red London neighbours unfortunately and its fairly old, but it goes to show that Foy is consistently bad, and when a gooner admits the bloke has it out for us, you know that is saying something: http://blog.emiratesstadium.info/archives/24256 By the way, (not that it will do much good) I sent a formal complaint to the FA through their email address about Foy, highlighting absolutely everything. Maybe if enough people do it, they might actually do something about him and maybe overturn Willian and Jose's bans. I have no hope for Ramires having his overturned but we definitely need Willian and most of all, we need Jose pitchside for Arsenal.

Whilst I understand some of the comments about Mandzukic, what you have to understand, is the Premiership is a completely different animal to most leagues and some players take time to adjust. The odd match here and there isn't really a good measuring stick to rate a player when playing a completely different style of football. I stand by my comments because as someone who watches a lot of Bundesliga football, he has impressed me on quite a few occasions. I'm dubious about Costa because Atletico are really spitballing over his future. If they do let him go, chances are, whoever gets him will pay well over odds to get him and it'll be another instance of a player with a heavy price tag being under the microscope every week. Cavani will definitely not be coming to Stamford Bridge. He has recently suggested that he is happy where he is. Plus he has only been at PSG for a season, so I cannot see them letting him go. We need to do something though. I too am getting fed up with Torres. We would be absolutely insane to let another quality striker go in Lukaku. Sturridge should never have been sold in the first place.

Thought I'd say hello. Just joined last night. New here, but not new to being a Blues fan. Been a Chelsea supporter since I was a nipper. Was born into it as its kind of a family tradition (with the exception of two black sheep, a Gooner bro and Liverpool supporting cousin) I was there for all the disappointing mid table years and the beginning of the new golden era. My pet hates are Chris Foy, Man United, City and plastic supporters. I look forward to many quality discussions on here and hope to make a few new friends on the way.

I think what Graham Poll said there was in context and valid. When you read this and look at Alan Shearers reaction on MOTD, all leaning towards shoddy refereeing, you know something is clearly wrong. Anybody know if this is being investigated?

I think referees should be under heavy scrutiny considering how much responsibility sits on their shoulders. Each game should be reviewed by a 5th official watching from the cameras and if there are any hint of shenanigans as we've seen from Foy, the tape should be sent to the FA where the official is recalled, asked to watch the video and made to explain themselves. If they are unable to, or if the calls were blatantly bias, the referee should not only not get paid for that match, but fined a heavy figure and blacklisted as an official too. Referees should only be given one chance. Especially at this level.

I agree axman. The job of a ref is to be an impartial third party calling everything down the middle. Most refs are like this and I salute them for doing their job. But then you have Chris Foy (interesting fact, you cannot spell the word "folly" without Foy). 6 red cards and a manager dismissal in 8 games. I hate conspiracy theories and the tin hats that sound off about them, but that record speaks for itself. He has only dished out something like 24 red cards in his other 2 hundred and thirty odd games too. That's surely an eye opener is it not? Also note how when Jose calmly asked for an explanation, he was dismissed, even though the Villa boss was stood right next to him on the pitch but never got dismissed himself? Then he refused to explain his poor decisions to Jose in the dressing rooms after. I think Jose has every right to go to the FA about this, as it is clearly grounds for bias against the club. I personally would love to see him struck off and blacklisted from ever officiating a competitive sports fixture ever again (including Sunday league). There is no room in sport for that kind of attitude in those who are supposed to be keeping order. I worry about the long term damage he has done to our title bid this season. With not only Willian and Ramires suspended, the possibility or Jose being barred from the dugout during the very important clash with Arsenal next week? The implications there are quite worrying.

I cannot see Daniel Sturridge returning as he has recently stated that he "fell out of love with football" at Stamford Bridge. I can't see Luis Suarez leaving Liverpool either due to his strong partnership with Sturridge and Liverpool's sudden title surge. The Costa saga seems to run hot and cold. One minute the Atletico president is unwilling to let him go, then they say that they will at a price. The price he would cost, I can't see it being worthwhile. I have frequently seen articles suggesting they want a part cash exchange for Courtois, which would not be worth it at all. We should keep him. Mario Balotelli has too much of a price tag considering his unpredictable nature. He could be an absolute dream or a press officers absolute nightmare. He's had run ins with Jose before so who's to say that won't happen again? RVP is injury prone (much like Aguero) and in my opinion has a real poor capacity for loyalty. He isn't a player that would settle at a club for too long. He is easily unsettled, talks negative about team mates and coach staff in interviews and club hops. Realistically, I think Mario Mandzukic would be a good fit. He's young, has great ability, a realistic price tag and has incentive to find new pastures as he'll be on the fringe at Munich next season due to the signing of Lewandowski. Personally, I think he'll jump at the chance of a new challenge and the promise of a first team place. Though I definitely think we should keep Lukaku. He has proven himself as a great forward over the last two seasons. Eto'o is really not making much of an impression. Besides his hat trick against United and his performance against Spurs, he has been really mediocre to be honest. I can't see him straying after the season, especially after his spat with Jose over his age. I wouldn't lose any sleep over losing Eto'o. Torres on the other hand can go. I think we should cash in on him as soon as possible before we see another season of poor performances drive his transfer fee down. Outside of Europe he has been utterly useless upfront. Doesn't even seem to make much of an effort half the time, just runs around in a dream world. I don't think Ba has really shown much either besides his brace against Spurs, but mind you, besides regularly coming on as a sub to close out matches, he hasn't been given much of a chance. Bit of a long winded post (sorry) but I have been following all the rumour mill stories and this is my two pence on the subject!

I thought most of the team looked rather lethargic yesterday. I think fatigue is starting to set in because some players haven't been rotated enough. Was so painful to watch. I mean, we dominated in possession, but Torres was misfiring all game. My man of the match was Chris Foy for Aston Villa. How that w**ker is still allowed to officiate London club matches let alone Premiership football is beyond me. I mean, Willians first yellow I agreed with as he didn't make contact with the ball, his second... Laughable. Shouldn't have stood. Really torn over Ramires' straight red though. He was running full speed and the player just slid in under his feet. Could he have avoided contact? Who knows. As for Jose being dismissed, wasn't Paul Lambert stood right next to him? How come he wasn't dismissed aswell? If that joke of a ref isn't investigated by the FA for misconduct which could be construed as match fixing, then they are just as crooked as he is.