Upsetter

Yet another Dylan cover, and this one is pure class:

If Leicester need a 5-0 win to stop Tottenham winning the title, I'd start with Pedro in goal, Hazard and Oscar at centre back, with a front four of Mikel, Matic, Remy and Falcao, Costa at left back, Pato at right back, A midfield duo of Courtois and Begovic should do the trick.

Pato is a player we've signed as a cheap, low-risk option. If it doesn't work out we'll have wasted comparatively little, and if it does, then we'll have a bargain on our hands. We're not going to know for sure either way if Pato doesn't get playing time. Secondly it's not a cast of Traore or Pato. BOTH players could do with more playing time. Whether he or Taore should start at Swansea is debatable. Depending how things pan out, it would be nice to see Traore start with Pato brought on at some stage, or vice versa, with Remy either nowhere neither the squad or as an emergency, hopefully unused sub. It's all very well talking about giving young players priority, but Pato is currently here on loan presumably with a view to making the signing permanent if it's felt that he can make a significant contribution. If we don't at least give him the opportunity to show what he can hopefully do, the loan will have been every bit as pointless as so many were predicting from the word go.

We waited what, nine weeks? to see Pato make his first appearance in a Chelsea shirt. His contribution to yesterday's game, scoring a confidence boosting penalty and playing a part in both Pedro's goals fully justified his selection over a fatigued and non-match ready Traore. In fact I'd have liked to have seen Pato start yesterday rather than Remy Furthermore, I think it's been established that Traore has a future with the club, not so Pato. Yesterday's runout against a piss-poor Villa side was a nice little introduction and indicates that a fully fit Pato may just possibly have a future here. The only way to know for sure one way or the other is to give him more playing time between the end of the season.We might and might not have a hell of a player on our hands, but if he doesn't get time on the pitch, we're never going to know either way. None of the above so much at hints at Pato being an automatic starter at the Liberty, but simply that he needs more playing time against more testing opposition in order to make a realistic assessment of the player.

Another Dylan cover, this time by Al Kooper. I'd have loved to post his version of Louis Armstrong's "Just For A Thrill", but unfortunately it doesn't seem to be on YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_EGnIgNkbwA&index=32&list=PLRjmVRRcKeP0vdOzen34V0SxQJpxvXq9a

Such dreadfully tragic news. Sincere condolences to Aimi's family.

Yes we did. Remember were we were when Mourinho was sacked? Within a whisker of the bottom three. Relegation was a genuine possibility. Ok it might be disappointing that since Hiddink took over, a few more of those draws haven't turned into victories, but we are gaining ground, besides which it's a fair bet that a good few of those recent draws would have been defeats had Mourinho still been in charge. The upshot of this is that we've been edging towards safety, still not 100% out of the woods, but neither do we appear to be the relegation candidates we looked just a few short weeks ago. Any chance of the title had long gone by the time of Hiddink's appointent and even a top four finish was looking increasingly remote.Without pretending to be privy to the thoughts of Ambramovitch and the board, I would say that Hiddink's remit was to keep us up, And that's exactly what he's doing. If we can progress in the FA Cup and/or Champion's League, then so much the better, but given the disastrous start to this season, the priority has to be to avoid relegation. We're not safe yet, but we ARE getting there. Just one little indication. Remember the West Brom game the other week? West Brom fans were singing: "Down with the Villa, you're going down wit the Villa". They weren't alone in that by any means, but the point is that we are now a point above West Brom, seven points clear of the relegation zone. We should have a permanent (or at least non-interim) manager in place for next season. And if we can strengthen the squad , if things do happen to fall into place, then we can hopefuly pick up where we left off, as genuine title contenders once again. But that's for next season.

Now there speaks a man on a mission. Not content with an unrelentingly depressing attitude to/attack on the current situation of the club,displaying a nigh on pathological antipathy towards Roman Abramovich, he now drags out the "big club" bollocks beloved of Scousers and Gooners everywhere. In another post he admires Tottenham, He repeatedly claims to know what Abramovich is thinking, what Abramovich wants, how Abramovich operates. Presented as fact, this is all nothing but speculation. But to return to this post, he uses media reports to attack the club from yet another angle. "if reports are true".. he finds it worrying. Metro would have you believe that we've already enlisted Allegri. Look elsewhere and you will read that Simeone is all set to take over come the end of the season. These media reports can't all be right, but they can all be wrong, as equally wrong as the "exclusives" that we were after RVP, Adebeyor and all the rest of them. And yet this person takes it upon himself to employ spurious media speculation presented as fact, to launch yet more spurious negativity, yet more speculation presented as fact. "Are we actually going to hire a coach based on whatever Roman fancies in April or May". seems rather a strange question. Not only a strange question, but a contradiction of his implied belief in the veracity of media reports. This is in fact a pointless question included solely for the purpose of having a go at the club, and in particular Roman Abramovich, from yet another angle. And exactly the same can be said of his final point, "what exactly is the Chelsea way" Like I was saying, this is a man on a mission.

Of course it's not. This is an undeniably disappointing season, but "disarray"? Not a chance. This time last season we were heading for the title. There's nothing to say that this time next season we won't be in a similar position. Sorry but I find the title of this thread utterly ridiculous bordering on farcical, and - this is just my opinion - but the creator of this thread comes across as little more than a one trick phoney. Interesting that this thread was started following on from two successive away wins, the second being at MK Dons, but the first at the Emirates. Most Chelsea fans were still gloating over putting a massive dent in Arsenal's title hopes, but this supposed "Shedender" takes it upon himself to rip into the club on any number of levels, not least being an implication that it was a massive mistake to sell Ramires. When Ancelotti described Ramires as "the future of Chelsea Football Club" I thought he was taking the piss. I could go on but I frankly can't be bothered. Back later

Can't stand Martinez, horrible sanctimonious whiny hypocritical gobsh*te. That JT's equaliser was demonstrably offside made snatching a last gasp point all the sweeter. However, I've been hearing faint whispers that the corner from which Everton scored their third actually went out then back into play and so shouldn't have stood. In which case JT's dodgy equaliser should have been JT's dodgy winning goal.

Well no actually. Today's performance doesn't prove anything of the sort. What it does indicate strongly is that Mourinho had become over-cautious in his approach to the game, something i've been saying since losing to Liverpool at home. Remember that one? Having taken an early lead against a poor Liverpool side, we were well on top, came close to scoring a second, but suddenly sat back inviting Liverpool on to us, presumably following Mourinho's instructions if his actions (or lack thereof) on the touchline were anything to go by. From where I was sitting, a Liverpool equaliser was inevitable, and when they went 2-1 up early in the second half we were left chasing the game, with the end result that what should, have been a comfortable victory ended in ignominious defeat. You can trace the roots of this over-caution to last season's defeat at Tottenham on New Year's day. From then on in, gone was the swashbuckling approach of the first half of the season, the football that had been a joy to watch, to be replaced by the cynicism and the ultra defensiveness that looked to be a dip in form, but which I believe was rooted in this self-same over-caution, which was in turn initially motivated by fear of blowing the title. Had Jose still been the manager, would we have gone on to win 3-0 today? Somehow I doubt it. I fear that the match would have taken the same course as the Liverpool game. But Mourinho's failure, in my opinion, wasn't one of motivation, but of employing the wrong tactics for the wrong group of players.

First off, as so many others have said, no-one gives a toss. No-one except you. Secondly, "We're the boys in royal blue, we took Molineux" is a song. Why "Molineux"? Becauue it rhymes with royal blue, just as "friend" rhymes with "end" in another song that used to reverberate around Stamford Bridge back in the day. Those were the days my friend, we took the Stretford End We took the Kop, we took the f**king liot We'd fight and never lose, then we'd sing up the blues Those were the days, oh yes those were the days. Did we really take the Stretford End? Or the Kop. I don't know and I don't care. Such chants can be safely filed under mythology. Every club has their own version, every other club at some time has sung: "And we will fight for ever more, because of Boxing Day". Mythology again, which may or may not have a grain of truth. Nobody cares. I've been to Molineux a few times, and while I have no memory of the "cowardly" incident you describe, my abiding memory is the infamous 7-1, which I'm sure you remember. How can you not? It's a scoreline that puts every other trip to Molineux in the shade. As for the question of taking ends, we were in God only knows how many ends, all over the midlands and the north, not to mention the likes of Bristol, Cardiff (where we took a right hiding one year) whether we were in whatever happened to be your end of choice on any given day I couldn't tell you. Once in the home end, on comparatively rare occasions it would actually go off, Cardiff and Millwall being a couple of prime examples - and we were the first mob to ever attempt to take the CBL. that much is fact, but most of the time it would be a matter of a small mob getting in early, standing quietly together, picking the moment to announce themselves, at which point the home fans would usually scatter. Whether it went off, how long we stayed in their end, depended among other things on how efficient the old bill were. Occasionally people got hurt, but most of the time the shock value was enough for the home fans to keep their distance. Sometimes we'd be in the end for the entire game, surrounded by old bill, other times we'd get either turfed out or escorted to our own end. Very rarely would there be the running battles or the batterings beloved of mythology. The above is of course a hugely simplified potted history of how it was back in the '70s and '80s. Those days are long gone, and thank f**k for that, most people would say. To carry a grudge for forty years is quite frankly obsessional to the point of insanity - and that goes for whether or not your description of events is in any way accurate. Try as I might I don't see the point of you being here. What you're trying to prove, why you're so obsessed. My advice, for what it's worth, would be to walk away quietly, disappearing into your very own old gold sunset.

From the same article speaks the voice of reason, none other than our very own Frank Sinclair: "They [Powell and Ramsey] are both terrific lads who have given me advice in the past, and you're disappointed that they lost their jobs, but you've got to be realistic," he told BBC Radio Northampton. "To make a statement that more or less says 'is it because of their colour that they've been sacked?' is something that I had to make a response to because I totally disagree. "It can be damaging. I don't question a chairman's integrity. "I've been very close to getting a couple of jobs recently, and out of 35-40 applicants, I've got to the final two twice. There's encouragement that if I keep doing the right things, then I'll get the opportunity to manage at the level that I want to. "[Townsend's comments] are damaging. People could read that and think: 'If I take on a black manager is he going to turn around if it doesn't go well and say 'the reason I got sacked is because of the colour of my skin'? "That is out of order and you can't have statements made like that."

Far be it from me to jump to the defence of Clattenburg, who has well and truly screwed us over on more than one occasion, but attempting to blame Clattenburg for today's performance, today's result, is clutching at straws. Look back at the first half, we started brightly, took a well deserved early lead. We could easily have gone 2-0 up in a short space of time. So what does Mourinho do? He instructs the players to sit back, and invite Liverpool on to us. From that moment on it was almost inevitable that they would equalise. Liverpool are no world beaters, no Barcelona or Bayern - so why the need to sit back for thirty five minutes or more of the first half? There are no guarantees in football, but if we'd carried on as we began the game, I'd have fancies our chances of getting an actual win far more than by by sitting back and letting them come on to us. For that, Mourinho is entirely to blame.

What a difference a win makes? The league table certainly looks far healthier than it did before kickoff. Failure to win today would have left us on the brink of the relegation zone. Fortunately Villa are on the kind of run that makes our recent form look almost respectable, and what's more never seriously looked like bringing their awful run to an end. Phew. While I could make excuses for drawing at home to Swansea and away to Newcastle, and could make allowances for the Palace and Southampton defeats, anything less than three points today would have stretched whatever shreds of optimism I'd managed to cling on to, to the limit and beyond. Ok it was only Villa, never mind how woeful Villa may be well this season, I honest to God can't remember being more relieved as when that second goal went in today. Going back to the table. NIne games gone, and after our worst start for 37 years, we're still only two points behind Liverpool, only five points away from a top four spot, and for me at least, things don't seem anywhere near as bad as they did just a few hours ago.

Apologies for resurrecting this sh*te, but as it happens I was talking to a non-football supporting friend about his little diatribe earlier today,. And what he told me was that back in the '80s Alan Davies used to be a bit left wing, anti-Tory. Then at some stage he met up with some bloke he knew from back then and together they formed part of a right-wing group that moved away from "their" area to get away from the blacks etc. And this steaming hypocrite has the front to call John Terry and Chelsea fans generally racists. Add that to the further hypocrisy over Arsenal's very own Russian, the lack of capitalisation and the unjustifiable vitriol of his little rant, put it all together and you have Alan Davies, a sem-literate curly-headed thick as two short planks unfunny piss-poor excuse for a comedian turncoat Tory bar steward hypocrite piece of sh*t. Apologies again if I missed anything out. Coming from an ordinary Arsenal fan that little lot would be bad enough. Coming from a so-called "celebrity" it's unforgiveable. I swear if anyone was daft enough to give me a Jonathan Creek box set, I'd take a hammer to the f**king thing.

Ok sunshine, I'm going to do you a courtesy you don't deserve, and actually try to respond to your post. The appalling football.. did you write further in the thread that this is the worst football you've ever seen from a Chelsea side? And that you've been supporting the club since the seventies? Seriously? So where were you when we were in division 2? Losing 7-1 at Wolves, 6-0 at Rotherham and crashing out of the League Cup to Crewe? Those are three of the worst performances I can remember, but there were many many more. The "appalling" football of this season is worlds away from the stuff we used to endure. Strange thing is, we didn't complain anywhere as much about losing 7-1 or 6-0 as the likes of you do about coming away from St James Park - never our happiest of hunting grounds - with a point. And don't give me this "yes but expectations are different now" bollocks. Of course they are, but you my son, are acting like a spoilt brat. It may have escaped your notice but we have recently lost several highly influential, even legendary players. Frank Lampard, Petr Cech, Didier Drogba. It's not that long since Ashley Cole left the club either, and with John Terry seemingly in decline - or at least not in the best of form, preventing from getting his accustomed place in the starting line up, the gaps are going to be huge.There's a lot of ground to be made up, and like it or not it's going to take time. What else? Inbility to play some of the best young talent in Europe. This is a whole other discussion. But let's back track a little. The Chelsea youth system had fallen into neglect until the advent of the Academy, which is still in its infancy, and is only now beginning to bear fruit. Like it or not, there are in fact very few players who've come through the youth system who would get into the starting line-up. Remember Fabio Borini? Looked the dog's bollocks at youth level, scoring for fun. Many of us thought it was a mistake to let him go, but where is he now? Sunderland, and he's not exactly setting the world alight. Also refer to something Alex Ferguson said the other day, which was that while Man U did try to bring youngsters through their long established youth system, it was also a nice little earner. With the Beckham, Giggs etc generation they struck lucky. We may strike similarly lucky at some stage in the future, but that stage isn't the here and now. Saying that of course we'd like more of the youngsters to make it in the first time. But we have to be very, very patient. Next up. Mourinho's arrogance and his attitude to other managers. Like who? Arsene f**king Wenger? Arrogance personified, Jose was quite right in what he implied about the Whinging French clown. And your phrase "gracelessness in defeat" fits Wenger to a tee. Now compare Mourinho's record over the last decade or so with Wenger's Arrogance, may I remind you can be defined as an "unwarranted attitude of superiority". Given their respective records over that same period, the "unwarranted attitude of superiority" is surely Wenger's. And finally. "football the way it should be played." There is no such thing. There is good football and there is bad football, winning football and losing football. Last season we were able to vary our style of play accordingly, and we won the league along with the league cup.. This season we're struggling to an extent that none of us imagined possible. These things happen. There has been a theory that the slow start to pre-season was a deliberate ploy, that we're aiming to end the season on a high rather than burning out towards the latter stages as we did last season. There have also been hints that we intend concentrating our efforts on the Champions League this season. Maybe there's something in this, maybe Mourinho is as genuinely bemused by our current form as the rest of us. Either way (sorry did I say finally? I lied) You started this thread after a 2-2 draw away at Newcastle. Not a defeat, but a draw. Not only a draw, but a comeback from 2-0 down at what is arguably Jose Mourinho's unluckiest ground. See my reaction when Willian made it 2-2 was "YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS", but you? "Newcastle were bottom of the league and we never beat them We're crap.We play horrible football.It's all Mourinho's fault.. WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH" Oh and finally. Yes I really do mean it this time, what's this about "securing the future of Chelsea FC"? How long did you say you've been supporing the club? Remember the Save The Bridge Fund? Marler Estates threatening to turn the site of Stamford Bridge into luxury flats? Back then the future of Chelsea FC was anything but secure. But now? We've made a bad start to the season. That's all. . .

Posed as much of an attacking threat as Falcao.

Serious question. Why are you wasting yours and everyone else's time? You're on a Chelsea site, remember. This site is no more biased towards Chelsea than for instance, Arsenal-mania is towards Arsenal, in fact I would say that on this site, reasonable opposing fans are made far more welcome than on the majority of club-specific forums. You on the other hand, have come here as an Arsenal fans telling Chelsea fans that they have no right to think as they do. That we as a fanbase are deluded and all the usual bollocks we hear day in day out from any number of sanctimonious gobsh*tes such as yourself. You slag off Costa, you slag off Mourinho, you slag off Chelsea fans. You know nothing outside of what you read in the media. In Costa's very first game for the club he was clearly fouled in the penalty area, and yet was booked for diving. What the f**k do you know? These things happen to Chelsea players on an all too regular basis. Hazard and Torres were also booked for "simulation" when clearly fouled. And don't give me this shtie about their reputations preceding them, last season there was a spate of Chelsea players booked for diving. Chelsea players being made an example of ,The very worst example of this kind of thing was when Jonny Evans drop-kicked Didier Drogba in the stomach. And what happened. Drobga was booked for simulation. I could go on and on and on. I could tell you about the FA changing their own rules specifically in order to pursue THAT case against John Terry, the one where he was found not guilty in a court of law, in which it was clearly stated that "John Terry is not a racist". Why am I telling you this? Why am I bothering? because I have had it up to hear with sanctimonious gobsh*te c**ts like yourself passing off their own one-eyed opinins as "fact", ludicrously claiming some kind of moral high ground, looking down their pretentious ignorant noses spouting the same old brand of bullsh*t about this club that I have supported for nigh on half a century. Who the f**k do you think you are? f**k off and do one.

Kevin Wilson recalls his Chelsea and Walsall past. Striker Kevin Wilson played in some big wins against the side from the West Midlands before he became player-coach there. He talks to the official Chelsea website… Chelsea’s 7-0 win at Walsall in February 1989 remains to this day our joint-second best away win of all time. The headlines that day were written by one of the Blues strikers who netted all but two of the total in the Second Division match, but also on the scoresheet was Kevin Wilson, a natural finisher who had joined the season before and went on to net 55 times in 191 appearances. Wilson scored again at Walsall a year-and-a-half later in another big win, this time in the League Cup, but he later became a part of the Saddlers’ side rather than just a thorn in it when he signed for the West Midlands club as a player-coach. ‘After I joined Walsall, the game against Chelsea that got mentioned more than the 7-0 was the one we played in the League Cup when we won 5-0, and I scored and Andy Townsend got two goals that night,’ Wilson told the official Chelsea website this week. ‘It was probably mentioned more because it was one the very first games they played at their new Bescot Stadium.’ Twenty-five years ago, Walsall’s move to a brand new, purpose-built arena was big news. Though commonplace in more recent times, new stadiums were rare back then. This was only the second in England since the 1950s. It is the venue, since expanded, that will host tonight’s Capital One Cup match between the current Chelsea and Walsall sides. The 7-0 league match however was played at their previous home, Fellows Park, which had been situated a few hundred yards up the road. ‘I remember Gordon Durie got five that day and Graham Roberts scored a penalty, and I got a goal as well,’ says Wilson. ‘It was also one of Dave Beasant’s very first games in goal after signing for Chelsea and we were flying high at the top of the table at the time. Walsall were going through a difficult patch and were relegated before they moved to the Bescot. It was a good day and certainly an excellent team performance.’ Durie’s five goals place him as Chelsea’s joint-top when it comes to most goals scored in an away match for the Blues. He made Wilson’s goal with a crossfield pass that the Northern Ireland international swept home. Beasant also saved a penalty as nothing went right for the home side. Kerry Dixon would surely have been among the scorers that day but he was out for two games so instead Dave Mitchell was centre-forward. In common with the rest of the Australian’s short Chelsea career, he did not score. ‘There were a lot of goals in that Chelsea side,’ notes Wilson. ‘Even Graham Roberts got a lot, scoring 13 penalties that season. ‘It was always difficult for Dave because he came for a fee but it was hard to break through. The front three all scored lots of goals and when Gordon was injured, I played alongside Kerry and when he was fit, I normally drifted off to the left or the right or sometimes played in central midfield. ‘In that promotion year I played in every game and for somebody like me that was good, because Kerry was an England centre-forward and Gordon was a Scottish international. It was a hard time to get in but I didn’t mind where I played as long as I was in the side. ‘Playing for Chelsea and for Walsall were different phases of my career,’ Wilson adds. ‘At Chelsea I was a player who had just left Ipswich where I had done well and was going to a big London club with aspirations of doing well. I went to Walsall as a player-coach under Kenny Hibbitt who lasted about five games more before Chris Nicholl came in as manager. He was a big influence on the way my management career has gone. ‘Playing for a club like Chelsea was a dream come true but then at Walsall I was able to pass on my experience to players like Michael Ricketts who went on to play for England. ‘We got promoted to Division Two while I was there and I played 136 games consecutively at the age of 35 and 36. They are two clubs that give me happy memories of my playing time for different reasons.’ Wilson is a special guest at the game tonight. He has long been a manager in his own right and is currently in charge at non-league Nuneaton Town. He has hosted Chelsea teams in pre-season games at two previous clubs, Northampton and Ilkeston. ‘I always look for Chelsea’s results, especially on days like Saturday when they were playing Arsenal. ‘At Walsall now, their manager Dean Smith has done really well and got a good young squad together. They have made an excellent start in League One. It won’t be easy but you always expect the bigger club will go through, but Walsall will give Chelsea a good test.’ Highlights of both games can also be watched on the Officia Chelsea site.

Jason Burt, just one more media hack, anything but a "top journalist". I'd be far more inclined to take note of what Alan Shearer has to say about Costa, Shearer being someone who has actually played the game at a high level: Alan Shearer: Chelsea ace Diego Costa is not a dirty player NEWCASTLE legend Alan Shearer has labelled Chelsea striker Diego Costa as merely a "wind-up merchant" rather than a dirty player. Costa is facing a three-match ban after being charged by the FA for violent conduct during Chelsea's London derby against Arsenal. TV replays showed the 26-year-old swinging an arm and putting his hands in Laurent Koscielny’s face before Gabriel Paulista stepped in. And as the scuffle continued at the halfway line, Paulista was then given a straight red after flicking a foot at Costa. However, an FA panel has met to discuss the incident retrospectively, where Costa has been charged for the incident involving Koscielny. But Shearer believes that while Costa is treading a fine line, he is just winding up defenders. "I would describe him as an aggressive wind-up merchant," said Shearer.. "Winding up defenders is fair game — it happens, whether you like it or not. "Central defenders try to kick you and Costa is turning it around and doing the same. "You try to get one step ahead of the game and stand up for yourself. "You let the defenders know that you won’t be intimidated and they can’t kick you. But he is treading a fine line." Got that? Costa is turning it around and doing the same. Winding up the wind-up merchants, kicking back at central defenders, the ankle tappers and outright dirty bar stewards who habitually go in hard to let the attacker know they're there. For the FA to rescinding Gabriel's red card is hypocrisy of the worst kind. Gabriel steamed over for all intents and purposes exacerbating a situation that had f**k all to do with him in the first place. The clip of Gabriel clutching his face and flingng himsel to the floor shows that Gabriel fits in perfectly with The Arsenal Way. Fact is that Wenger has got away with one, using the sendngs off and Costa's antics as a diversionary tactic to take the attention away from just how poor Arsenal actually were. Other than the first few minutes, Arsenal were well outplayed even when they still had eleven men on the field. We were again denied a stone-wall penalty and were well in the ascendancy. What annoys me is that Wenger's comments on Costa have been swallowed wholesale by the media, regurgitated as fact, and wilfully misused by the FA in order to exonerate Gabriel and Arsenal in general and cast Costa in his accustomed role of pantomime villain. Meanwhile, in Arsene Wenger, Arsenal have their very own pantomime villain. Except that the majority of Arsenal fans are apparently too dense, too blinded by years of bullsh*t to see through the smarmy, whinging bloody clown who was once a upon a time not a bad manager but is now little more than a standing joke.

Taken from the Express: Sir Alex Ferguson: The Chelsea player that annoyed me most against Manchester United SIR ALEX FERGUSON has named Gianfranco Zola as the player who annoyed him most against Manchester United. The little Italian is widely regarded as one of the best players to play in Premier League. In 1997, Zola scored a memorable goal against United and Ferguson admitted afterwards, "He's a better player than I thought he was. He's a clever little bugger." And the Scotsman has now revealed why Zola frustrated him and his admiration for the player. He told Sky Sports: "Little Gianfranco Zola, he annoyed me. He was one of these players who was unperturbed about who he was playing against. He always seemed to have a smile on his face and that annoyed me. "How can he be enjoying himself playing against United? Nobody else does. He was a fantastic player and I loved watching him. "It was enjoyable and for me to say that about an opponent tells you how much I admired him." Feel free to turn this into a Zola tribute thread.

Not that it's ever going to happen, but Arsenal should actually be grateful to Mike Dean for deflecting from the fact that even before the first sending off, we were well on top, we were by far the better team, and when Hazard was dragged to the ground, we were denied as blatant a penalty shout as you're ever going to see, the second on Costa was nowhere as clear cut, but we've all seen them given. So poor old Arsenal, Wenger along with Gooners everywhere can huff and puff and fume away at Mike Dean for all they're worth. The simple fact is that didn't deserve a damned thing out of today's game.

Damned auto-correct! (Or something) Ah well, it's too late to edit it now. In a parellel universe somewhere far far away. the date is September 1th 2125, a parallel FQ is looking back at a parallel Chelsea's first ever home league game, the 5-1 win over a similarly parallel Hull City, played on.September 11th 2015........