AAF

I've just joined :) Better late than never!

Hi all! Just joined too.

JT got the longest cheer when he came on! The booing happened only nearly every time the PSG fans were shown on the screen :)

The tickets went on pre-sale for VISA card holders on April 25th through the website of Philadelphia Union. It says that the tickets go from $100 up to $325. Tried to buy 3 tickets and the website asked for $1K... Insanity. Has anyone got a ticket or is planning to get it?

Many good performances, but for me Drogba for frustrating Barca with his diving of cosmic proportions. They were just too awe-struck by the master at work to concentrate on football:) Ref deserves a vote too for not sending anyone off and a yellow for Busquets.

I voted for Torres, because of how often he chased back. He even made two good tackles near half way line. Still, whenever Torres plays our attack does not look like a well-oiled machine... Confusing.

Very well written. Impressive!

We missed Ramires so much.

We should sign Justin Bieber. For a start give him a run of games of 15 minutes between the halves. It'll definitely take the pressure off AVB and the players. Judging by the video on the official website, Bieber is a Chelsea fan and has a decent volley technique.

He has all the physical attributes to be a great full back, but I agree about his performance against City. It looked as if he just couldn't think as quick as the team.

He does set a great example of how to show passion to everyone at the stadium.

That's great to hear. With so much noise, watching the game feels a bit different, like we are always on top no matter what the other team does.

On the internet stream it seemed there were record levels of noise at Stamford Bridge. Seemed like our fans sang at the top of their lungs for the whole game. I've heard some complaints in the past about the families and other fans who don't really sing, but vs. City it seemed that every single Chelsea soul at the Bridge sang. This game and against Valencia really stand out in terms of atmosphere among most of the recent games. Any comments from the eyewitnesses?

Poyet defends Lamps and Chelsea. Respect to him for that. Also, at the end he refers to Chelsea as 'we'. I do not know how to insert videos, so here is the link.

I haven't met anyone on this board in real life, but based only on what is written here I will guess that Gullit4 is using this thread as material for his rhetoric/debate paper/assignment/homework/etc.

Completely agree with Roman Arkadievich. I wasn't myself sure how this condition is called, but "moody fecker" sounds pretty accurate :)

Drogba for the way he scared the crap out of Birminghan from the first second. They did not recover from the trauma for the remaining 90 minutes.

Played very well against Birmingham and how about this attitude? "I respect the manager's decision. I know we have an important game on Saturday and I think that was the reason why he made the substitution. I can't be too greedy and maybe I kept one goal for Saturday!" Is that his new PR campaign? It's kind of working.

Why do I dislike Malouda so much? I support him as he is a Chelsea player, but only by a great effort. And he played pretty well tonight, but still I'd rather see anyone else, but him on the left.

Today's loss is not Carlo's fault! We had chances in both halves. The team was set up fine, we controlled the game for large periods and had chances. For me, the players are to blame only. Not enough energy, not enough creativity. I don't question their desire, but maybe they lost something in terms of fitness. Don't know what, but they don't look the same compared to last year.

Started so well and should have scored at least two. But we didn't and it was clear to see that the players lost a bit of spirit, which was enough for manu to get on top of the game... I didn't think Carlo should be replaced, but the team spirit is the manager's job after all. 99% certain that there will be no improvement in the second half :(

I also noticed it. On the one hand it makes a lot of sense, but on the other hand it is difficult to believe that such talented midfielders as lamps, ess, and others can't easily switch to passing into space to play to Torres' strengths. These guys should know the game inside out. Or am I missing something?

I remember Lamps saying several times that he needs to train hard and play consistently to reach top form. I really don't know if he can be an effective squad player or a good impact sub... It's a big question.

Just, I also noticed he looks unhappy. But then I thought, what if the reason for his visible unhappiness is not that he does not want to be at Chelsea, but that he is not gelling with the team and as a consequence not producing performances he expects from himself?

During the game against Blackpool the commentators brought up a good point I thought. They said that the attacking players at Chelsea are looking to score themselves rather than set up Torres. Specifically they were referring to Malouda, Kalou, and even Lampard. They said that at Liverpool Torres used to score, because Gerrard was always looking for him. What does everyone think about it? And if it's indeed so, then are our attacking players just selfish or are under instructions from Carlo to play that way?