Nibs

I was a bit puzzled by that too. Sure he has been playing better and he did almost score with a great overhead kick. But I totally agree that he is far too easily nudged off the ball and there were a number of occasions where he seemed closest to the ball only for a defender to get in and take it off him. He just doesn't appear to be able to up it a gear when it's needed. Drogs didn't play that great either to be honest. Caught off-side time & time again and in the second half it was criminal when he tried to shoot from an impossible angle instead of laying the ball back to a team mate. Funny how some thing Lamps played well & others think Ballack played well. I just thought both were very average and far from the top midfielders they are supposed to be.

That's a F***ing disgrace. Over here - one of our old bill did that he'd get slaughtered and rightly so. Bet he'll get away scot free over there. And of course the Italian fans are so well behaved

I'd rather he did a lot less running and did something where we actually benefit from it. He was better than Lamps early on but I can honestly say I didn't notice him in the last 25 minutes or so. I suppose he was running off camara.

For the second Leg there'll definitely be a case for playing with Maka to cover the back four but then we need a goal so to play Maka means losing some attacking threat. One thing, we need to improve greatly on the set pieces - they were poor again tonight and have been for a while and considering our aerial threat it's really throwing away good opportunities.

Mixed feelings tonight. Thought Diarra was our best player and was superb until the later stages when he lost possession a couple of times. He could well be our right back for years to come now but I just wonder if we lose something he has to offer by playing him at RB? Same with Mikel. As the holding midfielder, is he too far away from the areas where he could be best deployed? Thought he did ok tonight without really shining. Another very average game for Lamps & Ballack - it just ain't working if you ask me And then with 15 minutes or so to go we bring on SWP & Joe and play them out wide but then pump long balls into the box. What was the point? LOT to do second leg and Valencia have a great home record. Lets hope for one of those unforgetable European nights

I see most seem to have gone for the line up: --------------------------Cech-------------------------------- -------Diarra------Rikky--------JT-----------Ashley C.----- --------------------------Maka-------------------------------- -----------------Essien-Ballack-Lampard-------------------- --------------------Sheva------Drogba----------------------- It's pretty much what I expect. That is a typical Mourinho Champions League line up and one set up for a not very enthralling 1-0 victory. I think Mourinho would even see a 0-0 tonight as a good result. That is why, in a way, it would almost be a good thing if we concede an early goal. If we do concede we will need to score at least 3 or 4 to have a decent chance second leg and I would love to see us go for it and bring on Mikel, SWP / Kalou or perhaps even Joe in the second half at the expense of some of those less attacking midfielders. Of course it would be great to be Champions of Europe, but do we really want to win it by grinding out matches 0-0 / 1-0? Well I don't.

Blimey G4, what with this and your prediction that Utd would still score 3 (one out I know but still a good prediction - you couldn't have been told that Ole Gunner was ready to come off the bench). Didn't do the lottery by any chance this week did you? Now why don't you predict that Ballack is gonna be the Dogs Bollox from now on and we can all just sit back and watch it happen.

Go Away - you let us down badly Just hope your lot defend that badly against us in the semi final. At times it was almost as if your players were saying "Hre you go - have the ball and take a shot. Oh you missed - here you are, have another go!!!"

That's brilliant news. The more I see of Diarra the more I like him. But how dare the French play him out of position - isn't he a right back?

I know what you're saying BJD and I agree with just about all of it. I would feel pretty much the same if it weren't for JT being skipper and the fact that Joe will be back soon (not too bothered about Ashley to be honest - he again showed much petulance last night and is as bad as Rooney - I really do prefer Bridge). And don't get me wrong, I am not in the Pro Gerrard anti Lamps camp and I don't like Frank being the scapegoat. I don't think Gerrard is as good as many make out and I've always been critical of his giving away of the ball with all those eye catching 50 yard passes - great when they come off but 1 in 10? But that said, he does seem to have the ability to up his game and tempo and he can play in a number of different positions - all pretty well. Frank, great as he is for us, for England, pretty only has one position and very rarely seems able to take the game by the scruff of the neck so to speak. But if it wasn't for the other Chelsea boys involved, I really wouldn't give a stuff about England.

I personally don't think that Lamps & Gerrard can work. Perhaps with a better coach along the lines of Jose or Wenger maybe, but then Jose hasn't got Lamps and Ballack working very well so who knows? These are two very good players but maybe the way they play just isn't suited. I would rather we play one of them and get the very best out of them than continue to play the two together and have them both under perform. Hate to say it, but if one had to play, I would go for Gerrard on current form. What we also desperately need though (as well as Joe back on the left) is a decent striker that can find the back of the net regularly. I really think Owen's best days are behind him so I wouldn't pin too much hope on him even when he is playing again. Rooney and Johnson though is NOT the answer.

If it were me in charge a fully fit Beckham would walk into that England team no problem at all. Based on the form shown to date since McLaren took over and dropped Beckham there is not a single midfielder in that squad who Beckham would not have done more than. You got to be joking Loz? Once Joe is back on the left and Lennon can play regularly in his preferred right position that HAS to be the way forward. I can't understand all this bring back Beckham bollox. Do people have such short memories? He was crap for England for well over the last year, what makes people think he'll make everything come right again - hogging all the set pieces (his only real contribution) not to mention the media circus. Bringing back golden bollox would be a serious step backwards.

Have to admit, Gerrard did play well second half. After the first half when the performance was as bad as any England team have managed, you look for players to step it up and make things happen and no-one can argue that Gerrard didn't do that. Thankfully Rooney will be suspended from the next game as he was poor, other than one or two touches - one that set up Gerrards opener. Rooney seemed more interested in having a run in with the guy marking him - his horrible Scouse git of a face being the image constantly displayed throughout the evening. Defoe looks a lot more lively and deserves a start. As for the crowd - fair enough vent your frustrations, but chanting Beckham's name That lost them all credability.

I spoke too soon

Has a manager ever resigned at half time of a match? Today should be the first. Clueless. Even worse than the Graham Taylor period with the wonderful Carlton Palmer. At least Frank has nothing to worry about. I bet he's thankful he wasn't involved in that. Someone do me a favour and phone Alan Green tonight and ask him about his precious Gerrard.

It will be interesting to see what happens when it comes to the team selection for the next match. Tonight, regardless of who is available to play for England, we should be winning 4-0 minimum. But if the team does play well and they look a lot better, will Lamps be left out the next game? To be honest, perhaps he should. At the moment, we are looking so average that NO-ONE should be a nail on starter. Becks used to be a nail on and that was wrong, as when he was lacking form there is no way he should have been getting picked - Svens Blue Eyed Boy. And that goes for now too, not just Lamps but Gerrard, Rooney, whoever. If they are not doing it, drop them and give someone else a chance. As biased as I am Chelsea wise, I have to admit that Lamps has been poor for England for some time. I know he is far from alone in that, but when was the last time you saw him have a game and think, "yeah, he is one of the top midfielders in the world"? If someone else does grab their chance tonight (all be it against very poor opposition) then good luck to them - Lamps will have to start performing to warrant winning his place back again and that's just as it should be.

Found myself actually agreeing with "Mike Porky Parry" on TalkSport today when he said that that the left will remain a problem all the time Joe Cole is injured. As soon as Joe is back he is the solution to the left problem. Of course we all know that but it's nice to hear others say it. Seems that England are missing Joe even more than we are.

I'd agree with that Loz - I should think most would. When I was a kid and even into my 20's, all I wanted us to win was the FA Cup. The whole FA Cup final experience - all the build up on TV, both ITV & BBC doing coverage and camaras on the team coaches etc. Now the FA cup has slipped well down the pecking order However, this year is a big one, being back at Wembley and the chances are being Us & Man Utd. I also think the league is just about beyond us now, whereas the Cup and even the CL are certainly there to be won.

Been talking about this a lot last few days. Don't want to count chickens etc, as still a long way to go, but we could play them in the league, the FA Cup final and CL Final, all in a course of a few weeks. I'll be really suprised if they haven't wrapped the league up by May, so the league game could be a non event (although wouldn't wan't to lose that undefeated home record). I'd be happy with a draw and them winning the league if we went on to win both finals.

Yeah - I've heard that Just will be voting for Ricci.

Assuming we beat Blackburn , in a way I would have preferred Watford or Borough in the final as we'd have to fancy our chances. But us v Man Utd HAS to be the final. First one back at Wembley and the big two fight it out. Chances are, we'll be trying to stop them doing the double, so it will be hugely sweet if we can turn them over big time. Revenge for 1994 (as long as the FA don't give the final to Poll as he's likely to be worse than that C*** Ellery ) Going back to Ronaldo, I think as others say, he has only done for the pen, what most attackers would have done. And if only more defenders could put in a few more tackles like that on him Again - you have to hand it to him - kicked up in the air and he's jumped straight up. Can't help but think Robben would have been down for a while

Diarra and Mikel have really started to prove themselves in the second half of this season. We all know Maka cannot go on for ever. Some still think he has 2-3 years left in him, but I seriously doubt that. Because of their obvious similarities I thought Diarra was the perfect replacement - and who knows, he might still be? But I must admit the way Mikel has played of late and seeing how easily he adapted last night, he looks ideal for the role. He is only going to get better. Diarra has been a revelation at RB and I am more than happy for him to stay there. He just needs to watch the odd rash challenge and avoid those early bookings - especially when he comes up against someone like Ronaldo. I suggest no-one lets Carvalho offer him any coaching!!!

Hear Hear. JM got it right again tonight. Still find it unbelievable that he might not be here next season My dream now would be us v's Utd in the final - first one at the new Wembley and we play them off the park. No Ballack and Joe to get on the score sheet

Brilliant Team performance. Spuds opened us up at times - as you'd expect but we defended brilliantly. Was worried with Diarra on a yellow and he was inches away from a second at times, but although he got done now and again, the lad showed great composure at times. Mikel was the pick of the midfielders - brilliant. Great goal by Sheva. Great goal by SWP. I know I've written off his Chelsea career more than once and even tonight at times, I wondered what he was doing, but he was 100% better overall. MOTM Drogba for me. He got stronger as the game went on and he played as well in defence for us as he did in attack. AWESOME

What did Carvalho think he was doing against Sheff Utd? Winning a tackle, going on a run and setting up the opener for Sheva? Someone has to tell him, that sort of thing just isn't on.