ethicalstrategy

Same as everyone else, really hard to choose - which is a good thing by the way! Considered Cech, Cahill, Terry, Ramires, Frank, Drogba but voted for Ashley.

Interesting question. Perhaps we should start a thread about the match where people could post their predictions?

You see this quite a lot at Spanish grounds. There are often hardly any away fans, even for big matches like the el clasico.

Just the sort of considered and intelligent post that makes me proud to be involved with these forums.

I've been trying so hard not to let this match get me all wound up, but at 10:17 on match day I can confirm that I have failed. Getting nervous, mainly because I've somehow convinced myself that we have a chance. I blame RDM for being so calm and assured.

I'm a season ticket holder and go to all the home games but not any away matches (except Wembley). I have 101 loyalty points.

On last night's performance most of the worst culprits were Bayern players. Ribery was the worst. His dive just before their goal was even bit as scandalous as Young's. Robben and Muller also really exaggerated slight contact to make it looks as though they had been shot. Marcelo should have been sent off for his hack on Muller though. That was a ridiculous thing to do. I think we will see a much more offensive performance from Madrid in the second leg. Jose does seem to have a penchant for playing very cautiously in CL semi's and it came back to bite him last night again (much as it did against Liverpool twice). The difference this time is that he has a home game to turn it around. Bayern played very well though and with Robben and Ribery they have the power to hurt Madrid on the counter. I'd say it is maybe 55:45 in Madrid's favour to go through but it will be very tight.

It is hard to argue that Josh is a better than Meireles. One is a young lad making his way in the game and who is a very bright prospect. The other is an experienced Portuguese international who has played at the highest level in Portugal and England. I think Josh has the potential to be a much better player than Miereles has ever been but at the moment it is just that, potential. It can't be an accident that he hasn't been able to force his way in to our team and now Swansea's. He is clearly being judged as not ready yet by a succession of managers. The key question is how to give him the experience he needs. Either we throw him in at the deep end at Chelsea, which I can't see happening, or we find a loan for him where he will get some serious playing time. Ideally that would be in the PL, but if he isn't judged ready for that yet then it will have to be in the Championship. Either way, next season he has to play 30 or 40 games otherwise his career is going nowhere fast.

So pretty much everything then!!

Despite the short time between matches I think it would be a big mistake to change the team from that which started on Sunday (Luiz excepted of course).

How can you want this season to end?!!! We have an FA Cup final to look forward to. We are playing for a place in the CL Final, against a fantastic Barca side. We are fighting tooth and nail to qualify for next season's CL against two of our biggest London rivals. If you can't enjoy that then I don't know what will excite you!

If he reffed the Napoli game I hope he performs as well again. He was excellent that night.

I quite understand the sensitivities of this issue and what CJac22 has posted is heartfelt and, at least for me, informative. Certainly, in my case I am now better informed that I was initially, particularly in respect of the annual memorial service. I do agree with dkw though in that everyone is entitled to an opinion. If those affected prefer others to leave them to deal with their grief in their own way that's fine. However, if that's the case then don't impose that grieving on me. I deplore the behaviour of a significant minority of Chelsea fans and would never act in the way they did. Sadly, being a moron is not in itself a criminal offence, so short of shaming them - and I'm not sure that they would even understand the concept of shame - I don't really know what sanctions you could bring against them.

A lot of candidates for this. Drogs was immense. No surprise to me. He's done it so often before. What really impressed me was how our midfield were able to take control and keep the ball so well. Mikel and Lampard playing deeper worked really well and allowed Mata space to have his best game for us. Ramires and Kalou worked hard to get forward and cover back. JT was superb and Luiz and then Cahill supported him well. We weren't perfect but we played well and that's all you can ask for. I wasn't sure we had a game like that in us after watching us against Wigan and Fulham. I just hope we can dig deep and come up with the goods against Barca. Anyway, I digress. My MoTm was Mata.

I've just spent an enjoyable lunch hour reading through this thread! I just wanted to add that I really enjoyed myself yesterday.

This piece by Alan Davies was in today's Times. As it's behind a paywall I've quoted it here as I think it makes an interesting read. Link

I've been doing my research and I've got good news and bad news. The good news is that you are correct. I am wrong. (Bugger!) Bad news is that actually you are wrong too. Ha!! It actually means "for what purpose" rather than "why". For a more detailed, not to mention complicated and boring, explanation see here. My other consolation is that it was you and moi who picked me up on it!!

Hey!!! There's nothing wrong with the West Lower. I'll be there and it's very nice. Anyway, you don't want to be in the Matthew Harding or Shed. It's full of uncouth yobs!!!! Before you know it they'll be standing up and singing! Enjoy the game

I can't help thinking that "Romeu, Romeu wherefore art thou?" would have been a better title.

Nope, not at all. I didn't know until it was pointed out to me.

Val may well remember The Globe prior to our match against Arsenal in the semi final a couple of years ago! Near Baker Street and in theory a quick jaunt on the Jubilee or Metropolitan Line to Wembley Park. In practice, you don't want to leave it to close to kick off otherwise the tube will be somewhat cosy. There's nothing quite like a whole carriage bouncing together when packed in like a can of sardines . I'll be getting to the Stadium in plenty of time for kick off!

I completely agree that Liverpool's refusal to play matches on the anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster is over the top. Having said that, it is only fair to point out that they won't be sitting at home doing nothing. There will be a memorial service at Anfield on the anniversary and the manager and team will be attending. My main gripe is that we have to play on the sunday evening at 6 o'clock. Our match ought to have been brought forward to the Friday evening.

Actually, you missed it! We had a lovely time though. Cake and ice cream and Jelly. And silly hats. It was great. The thread itself will be self fulfilling if it keeps going long enough!

You are missing the point. I'm certainly not arguing that he hasn't made a positive contribution during the season or that he couldn't do well as a central striker. My point is that last Saturday he was a disgrace. As a result, he was booed and heckled by a substantial section of the crowd - not just a small minority - and a similarly large number cheered when he was subbed. They were not all Johnny com Lately's or glory hunters. Most were long standing Chelsea fans who reacted badly to the way he was behaving. Malouda got a lot of stick from the crowd too because he played awfully, but he wasn't booed off. I guess I'm one of the idiots that you are referring to. He was that bad and his attitude absolutely stunk. He deserved everything he got in my view. I'll tolerate a lot but not someone who patently didn't give a toss about the team.

Sometimes I read things on here and my jaw just drops. We were poor and lucky with both goals but Wigan were not all over us for 80% of the game. That's just nonsense.