ethicalstrategy

The difference being that there is an arguable case for Mikel starting ahead of Maka however there is none whatsoever for Cole ahead of Bridge. Can't agree with you there Loz. Bridge does have an edge going forward but defensively Cole is better. Both games against Valencia he has been excellent.

Precisely! I went to the semi last year with my son (14) and it was a) very expensive and an overall unpleasant experience. There was no realistic way to get home after the match so we had to stay in Manchester. After adding the cost of two tickets to the train journey there and back and the hotel and food I don't think I saw much change from ?400. Getting away from the ground was also a nightmare. Half the ground was being forced over a narrow footbridge which caused huge congestion. It's the first time I have felt really apprehensive about being in a big crowd. It was definitely an accident waiting to happen. Even when we did clear the ground, there were around 70,000 people all trying to get on the Metro back to Manchester City Centre or on to about 5 buses that were waiting. My son can't come this year and I don't really feel like going up on my own. I'm hoping we will win and I can go to the final at Wembley and hopefully to Athens as well.

I'm not sure that Kenyon is in favour of getting rid of Jose. There are quite a few things that you can point you finger at him for - the Colegate affair especially - but I think he has been the peacemaker in all of the in fighting that has been going on. The big problem is that there is a conflict between the owner, who is used to getting his own way ALL the time and the manager who has a big, big ego (justifiably so!) and it will require them both to back down if Jose is going to stay. Unfortunately, I really don't see it happening. You have misread my post. That is what i have said. - Kenyon and Jose actually seem to get on well. Sorry - I think the description of Kenyon as "toadface" may have distracted me

I'm looking forward to it - just need to see who we are going to be playing now!

No I couldn't argue with the booking. But just a minute or two later I was well worried that Essien would get sent off when he barely touched one of their players - can't remember which one - who then started rolling all over the place. Fortunately the ref didn't fall for it, and the rest is history. That was Peter Drury being useless. It was Mikel who committed that foul. He obviously suffers from the "they all look alike syndrome" - what a numpty he is!

Funnily enough, I was surprised at the amount of coverage we did get in the papers and on the radio this morning. Talksport were fairly even handed. Mr Parry even went as far as to say that Chelsea's result was much more of an achievement than Utd's! Back page of the Times also gave equal coverage to both games. Given Utd's result I think it would have been a bit much for them to have been ignored altogether!

No doubt Ballack did play well last night. I say look out for next season. I believe he will prove to be a much improved player for us once he gets used to the extra pace of the game. He hasn't been anywhere near as bad as some here would have you believe - that's the price he pays for being german!!

I'm not sure that Kenyon is in favour of getting rid of Jose. There are quite a few things that you can point you finger at him for - the Colegate affair especially - but I think he has been the peacemaker in all of the in fighting that has been going on. The big problem is that there is a conflict between the owner, who is used to getting his own way ALL the time and the manager who has a big, big ego (justifiably so!) and it will require them both to back down if Jose is going to stay. Unfortunately, I really don't see it happening.

My Ratings: Cech - 7 Amazingly didn't have anything to do other than bollock Mikel in the second half for not closing down Angulo! Diarra - 6 Probably the only player who looked a little overawed by the occasion. Got caught in possession once in a very dangerous position. Terry - 7 Again, really didn't have all that much to do. Carvalho - 7 As above. Brought the ball out nicely as he seems want to do more and more this season. Could have scored early in the first half with a better header. Cole - 7.5 Wasn't challenged all that much defensively, but made a great block to deny Morientes at a crucial time. Gave us good width on the left but his crossing leaves something to be desired. Mikel - 9 Positioning was excellent, decision making excellent, passing excellent, ball retention excellent. Hard to believe this is his first season and that he is only 19. Lampard - 7.5 As usual he worked hard. Corners were generally better than of late. Freekicks generally poor but one or two created chances including for Ballack near the end. Definitely lacking in confidence and not getting in to his usual scoring positions. Looked happier when we switched to 4-3-3. Ballack - 8 Another good performance in europe. Clearly happier with the little bit of extra time that he gets on the ball. Worked hard, got forward and was very unlucky not to score the winner. Essien - 8 Curiously, he again looked more dangerous once he switched to full back. He really plays as a sort of right half getting up and down that right side and looking very dangerous. It works well when we are looking to attack, although might cause a few problems if we are under pressure defensively. He has an enormous amount of energy and is pretty quick too. Most importantly, he produces an end product when gets in position - either a cross or a goal. Drogba - 8.5 Unlucky not to score. Took kick after kick and elbow after elbow and just kept coming back for more. One incident I noticed in the first half at a corner. I think it was when Sheva headed over. As Drogba ran across the 6 yard line the defender just stood, quite deliberately, on the back of his calf. Very nasty and cynical and Ayala in particular was at it all night. To be fair to the ref he did pick up quite a bit of it. Drogs is definitely struggling a bit with fitness and tiredness but he never gives less than 100% and is always a nightmare for defenders. Sheva - 8 Also worked really hard for the team. Took his goal well and looked quite dangerous in the second half when Joey came on even though he had to drop out wide - not really his best position. Subs: Cole - 8 Made a big impact on the game. I was surprised at how well he was able to get in to the game coming off the bench. Showed some lovely touches on the ball and could have scored himself with a bit more luck. Great to see him back at such a crucial time, especially as we are without Robben.. Mourinho - 9.5 You have to give credit to the manager for his changes and his powers of motivation. Some have said that he picked the wrong starting line up but I think he was wise to try and establish some control in the match before pressing harder for the win. The second half performance was outstanding as our midfield just crushed Valencia. Normally, I am a nervous wreck watching us play on TV. Last night I was so confident that we were going to win after we equalised. It was just a matter of when we would do it. Great example of the bond between manager and players during the ITV post match interview. Can you imagine Fergie or Benitez doing that? Abramovich - 0 No excuse for not being there. Very surprised and disappointed in him.

Has to be the league. You need to be lucky to win the CL. Of course, I really want both (and the FA Cup)

I thought he should have been opening the batting for Bangladesh!

I had the opposite view from the west stand. I was right behind Silva when he hit it. It was a goal from the second it left his foot. I don't think Cech ever had a chance. Silva hit it so hard and early that Cech didn't have time to move his feet, which he would have needed to if he was going to get a hand on it. The shot reminded me of Sheva's strike against Spurs - unstoppable in my view.

As a general observation we lack pace as a team. Not that we are full of slow players but we really only have Robben and SWP who can motor and SWP can't run fast and control the ball at the same time. The other thing is that we don't commit as many players forward as Man U. It's quite common to see Neville or Evra get to the byline. Very rare to see Cole or Geremi/Diarra/Ferreira get that far forward. On the other hand they tend to concede more goals too - although not so much this year.

Surely, if you make a tackle and the ball breaks to the keeper then that would not be deemed a deliberate back pass. This is what happened last night from what I could see.

Why can't we be like Arsenal? Pretty football - pretty ineffective that is! Football isn't all about attacking - otherwise we could just call it basketball. Good football includes good defending, good tactical play, grit and determination, scoring spectacular goals, scoring scrappy goals, coming back from 3-1 down, hammering teams, scraping a last minute win or a last minute draw. We have seen all of these things this season and on the whole I have enjoyed it. Sometimes home matches against some of the less good premiership teams can be a bit dull and predictable but the Carling Cup, FA Cup and CL have all thrown up some exciting matches with a great atmosphere. It was clear from Mourinho's first match in charge against Man U that he didn't subscribe to the Kevin Keegan school of all out attack. On the other hand he is quite good at building a team that wins things. I'm not sure you can have both.

surely the question is how u can say that if u were actually watching the match! ballack had a good game tonight. he was good on the ball & worked hard. the stats u quote dont surprise me at all.

I think this lack of strikers is certainly key to why we struggle. If international defenders are not worried about the opposition strikers then it makes it a lot easier to push up and compact the midfield. Personally, I think we have plenty of talent at the back and in midfield. What we need is a manager who knows what he wants from his players and is able to communicate it to them. The last two managers who have been able to do that were Hoddle before he went nutty and Venables back in Euro 96. McClaren is worse than useless, but I'm disappointed that Venables hasn't been able to get us playing better. I quite like the idea of a midfield 4 of Lennon, Hargreaves, Lampard and Gerrard with Rooney and Johnson up front. The full back situation is a complete joke. I'm sure it will be excruciating but I just hope we scrape a win.

or Robben or Cech Robben ? Tis' the silly season to be sure. Based on age or performance?

or Robben or Cech

Easy: Chelsea 10 Chelsea Backroom staff Winners by TKO

Surely Southgate can use the "fair comment" defence? It certainly brought a smile to my face.

If you watch it from the right angle you can see that Ronaldo knows Woodgate is coming and not only trails his right leg to catch Woodgate, but also moves it across to his right. There was definitely contact, but it was initiated by Ronaldo. Having said that, it is currently what any player would do in the same circumstance. If the defender puts his leg in and the attacker contrives to fall over it then it is a penalty. I refer readers to the Kalou penalty against Man City. First up it looked a stonewall penalty but on subsequent viewing you could clearly see that Kalou was looking for it. As contact happened it was a penalty. Personally I would like to see the rule changed to prevent this happening, but it's hard really to see how it could be enforced.

Diarra looks a very good prospect at right back. I'd be looking for him to stay in that role for now. I think he showed his inexperience when he played the Maka role in the first match. He spent too much time chasing the ball rather than holding his position. Mikel definitely deserves a starting role. I wouldn't say he plays in the holding role, at least not in the same way as Maka, but he conducts the play and gives us control. It's amazing how our squad suddenly looks stronger and deeper with the injured players returning, some of the younger players coming through and Ballack and Sheva starting to hit some form. Of course we will need all of that plus a healthy dose of good luck if we are to win the Prem and the CL and the FA Cup but there's no harming in giving it a go.

Is it rude to suggest this for the memorable quotes section? I can admit when I'm wrong. Just hope it doesn't take any other signings over 2 yrs to settle Sorry, I couldn't resist. I suppose I should fess up that I agreed with you I really think he looked a lot happier in that midfield role. Not having to beat his man and cross everytime he got the ball seemed to allow him to settle down and play with a bit more composure. He took his goal so early - that's what beat Robinson. A great strike. Maybe, just maybe, this will be the turning point for him.

Having just read all of the newspaper reports bout the match and the incident with the fan at the end, it seems that it is only Alan Green who is getting his hair off. All of the coverage is about the problems Spurs will have as a result. There is very little suggestion that Chelsea provoked the incident or that any of our players did anything untoward. Surprising but pleasing nevertheless.