offside

Azpilicueta giving a sh*t at both ends, unlike his teammates. I have such a crush on him

Burnley aren't even defending well. They looked tidy earlier but now look sloppy, heavy, and clumsy. We're not taking advantage of that at all.

The ponytail is really grating on me.

Costa is looking like his mind is somewhere else and there's a disconnect with his legs.

Conte is so stubborn. Get Cesc on!

Burnley players look apathetic going forward as if a draw would be satisfactory. I think we'll get many more chances. Number of chances doesn't mean number of goals though. None of our players look that sharp today.

Everyone seems to be slower today.

2 points separate the bottom 6

By many indications Bamford is a smart kid. Took school seriously and did well in it, plays the saxophone and violin at a decent level. I played the violin for a long time and never got good. You can't become anywhere near competent without a lot of consistent practice and a good brain. Then I read that he demanded that the club pay his Sky Sports subscription and internet bill. If that is true, and it well may not be, my impression of his intelligence has taken a hit. Did he really think that making such a petty demand would endear him to the club? If it's true, it's a sign of just how spoiled these players are and the degree to which clubs bend over backwards for them. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/article-4185748/Clubs-shocked-Patrick-Bamford-demands.html

Well done to Peter Crouch for his 100th Premier League goal. Congratulations on joining a very special list! https://my.mixtape.moe/uxxbgp.mp4

Are these Arsenal fans actually secretly very creative Chelsea fans in disguise? I say creative because I wouldn't be able to make this stuff up if I tried.

Here are some articles on the financial boost for a lower league side facing a top tier side. http://www.sunderlandecho.com/sport/football/sunderland-afc/david-jones-why-lower-league-sides-groaned-when-sunderland-were-drawn-at-arsenal-1-7612958 http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/analysis-and-features/fa-cup-is-still-a-game-changer-for-future-of-lower-league-clubs-a6801731.html http://www.bbc.co.uk/guides/zt7djxs

Lower league clubs actually prefer to play the Premier League sides away. Ticket sales are split evenly between the sides. Playing at Old Trafford is worth over a million pounds even before broadcasting money.

That's true. I didn't think of that. I don't have a corrupt enough mind I still highly doubt that it's been rigged. I think it's just a lucky draw for everyone on all sides. Lower league teams want nothing more than to be drawn against Premier League sides because of the increased money. One match against a top PL side can literally bring in several times more money than the entire rest of the season. Lower league clubs have actually proposed seeding such that all Premier League sides get a lower league side in the 3rd round. Drawing Man United at Old Trafford has been referred to as the jackpot lottery ticket.

The transparency of the process makes that impossible. No conspiracy theories here. FULL DRAWBurnley v Lincoln CityFulham v TottenhamBlackburn v Manchester UnitedSutton United v ArsenalMiddlesbrough v OxfordWolves v ChelseaHuddersfield v Manchester CityMillwall v Derby/Leicester

Cue Wenger complaining about the artificial surface.

Irresponsible headline to an otherwise okay story. I hate to say it, The Mirror's headline was written purely for sensationalist reasons, but it's not untrue given the unpredictable nature of head injuries. Someone can be seemingly okay and then make a sudden turn for the worse. In the NHL a teenage fan named Brittany Cecil was hit in the head by a puck. She went to the hospital and was seemingly okay the next day, talking on the phone and all. Then she took a sudden turn for the worse and died. The actress Natasha Richardson died after seemingly being okay following a ski crash. Michael Schumacher was conscious for several hours after his accident. Years later he's in a coma. On the positive side, Mason was treated immediately whereas Richardson and Schumacher were skiing and had to wait to be airlifted. Every minute matters.

I'm not sure Wigan would have been more embarrassing than Spurs I think a Europa spot is appropriate. You don't want to lower the coefficient for the Premier League within UEFA. I would like to see the return of a Europa spot to the losing team if the winning team has qualified for Europe via the league table. Right now you not only have teams preferring to finish 4th, you have teams preferring to finish 7th(!!) at the expense of the FA Cup. That's embarrassing.

CAHN-tay is the correct pronunciation. That's the way N'Golo says it in French interviews. Conte is COHN-tay in Italian. Speaking of that, blatantly incorrect player pronunciations grate on me. I'm not referring to the perfect accent using sounds that don't exist in English. I'm referring to not using the closest English equivalent, putting the emphasis on the wrong syllable, etc. It's not HA-zard, it's ah-ZAHR. It's not CAH-stuh, it's COES-stah. It's not PEH-droe, it's PAY-droe. For a non Chelsea example, it's not uh-GWEH-roe, it's ah-GWAY-roe. It's not fuh-LAY-nee, it's feh-ligh-NEE, though perhaps that's intentional because the correct pronunciation sounds too much like felony . I have an ethnic name that often gets mispronounced. In fairness, my parents take the majority of the blame for spelling it in a confusing way when translating it from the original writing system. I've stopped correcting people because it's futile and even start pronouncing it like them to avoid confusion, and I imagine these footballers feel the same. It's not the fans at fault, it's the media, as the fans simply say it the way they hear the media say it.

I'll answer assuming that by pet peeve you mean unimportant things that annoy me rather than things that piss me off and/or make me concerned. Using the word average to refer to below average players/teams. Average is a neutral word; it refers to the middle. Among football fans it seemingly has a negative connotation. When a player knocks up a WAG, scores a goal, and stuffs a ball under their shirt to let the world know that they had unprotected sex.

This is a really tough problem because the demise of the FA Cup is a symptom of a much larger issue. The financial inequality between the Premier League and the rest of the tiers is growing with no end in sight. The financial inequality between the top teams within the Premier League and the rest is growing with no end in sight. The inflation of player wages and transfer fees are growing at an unsustainable level for almost all clubs, yet the bubble hasn't popped. The FA is limited in how much money can go into the FA Cup. You can't force people to divert their attention away from the Premier League and toward the lower tiers. You can't force the media to give more attention to the FA Cup. It was uncomfortable last season that I was actually hoping Man United would beat Crystal Palace in the final because the FA Cup prestige is better preserved by having a big name club as the winner. We as fans are ultimately the most culpable, and we as Chelsea fans - collectively, not every fan individually - are among the most culpable. It really bothers me to hear fans saying they'd rather finish 4th than win the FA Cup.

Apparently Buffon interrupted a half time talk by asking about the players' bonus, and Conte went ballistic on him. I can't see any managers responding well to that, and it was dickish on Buffon's part regardless of the fact that they had already won the league. Half time talks are no place to ask about monetary bonuses. That makes a lot of sense. I sure hope you're right.

If Costa is even considering a move to China, then I'm disappointed, surprised, and disgusted. Perhaps I'm naive. I genuinely thought Costa is someone who plays with passion for the game, not someone who would bugger off to a meaningless league purely for the money. Seriously, what could he buy with a higher salary that can't can't afford on his current salary? This is heartbreaking if true even if it doesn't come to fruition.

Warning for those going to White Hart Lane Eat the food at your own peril. They were caught literally serving up mouse sh*t http://www.irishmirror.ie/sport/soccer/soccer-news/tottenham-hotspur-blasted-after-mouse-8580393

Looks like heaven for fans who want to abuse others. Police: Did you see which fan threw coins at the players, called the ref a f**king w**ker, and racially abused the guy sitting next to him? Witness: Yes, it was a male about 5 foot 8. He was wearing a Leicester shirt, jeans, and a Jamie Vardy mask. Police: Thanks, we'll check the CCTV and identify him and ban him from future games.