mhlower47

Kudos to those making the trip, remember my own trip there only too well and if work allowed I'd go again, just for the chance of putting to bed a few demons in the head. If you do go just try to remember it's a city of extremes, extreme wealth or poverty and not much in between. There's a range of people from police to taxi-drivers to programme sellers looking to rip you off, be mindful of that and good luck.

I believe he did the same or similar when we beat Wigan 3-2 with a last minute goal at Wigan in the first league game in season 05/06. I don't think he was after Paul Jewell's job then. There's very little he says that doesn't have some deeper meaning or raison d'etre, however maybe he was simply expressing the truth, Madrid were the worst team for 75 of the 90 minutes. There seems to be a mutual respect between them, the only worrying thing for me is that in the cae of Utd they could have a fairly unique position when SAF does retire in that he could well help to appoint his successor. if he feels that JM is the best they could do then that's a scenario I could see him ending up at Man Utd.

If you're in the East Stand Lower Tier that seat would be on the North Stand (Mathew Harding) side of the halfway line by 20 odd seats I think. If I remember correctly because it's been a while since I sat in that stand the seating starts at row c and ends at row u so you'll be near the back and if I recall, viewing ain't great from back there.

Noisiest fans visiting us consistently are Man Utd, to be fair they have been for years. Best home crowds for noise was Stoke but their few years in the PL has seemed to diminish their noise recently. I thought Swansea at home have been good, don't like to say it but one of the Nth London teams can make a noise as well, well against us anyway (clue - it ain't Arsenal).

What bothers me more now is that I spent long enough looking at them to see it!

Better w*** from the one on the left! Seriously! it's got an extra finger........yeeeuck

I'd heard that he has said he'd like to have a try at getting a tour card on one of the Professional Golf tours. He's supposedly got a +3 or 4 handicap. When he was with us he lived on the Wentworth Estate.

He's an old schoolmate of my Daughter. I have posted on other sites so apologies to those who might have read this elsewhere. He's just bought a house near the Training Ground, near or next-door to Essien so I've been told. Foolham have made a bid, the fee wasn't accepted by Wolves and I'm told he's not keen on that move, the Red Side of Merseyside made a bid, he's a sensible lad and doesn't want to go there, ideally. He was at the training ground this week, just for a visit of course. Good squad player, beats his man the one-time and delivers a quality ball, Damien Duff like. Works up and down the line and contributes 5-10 goals a year. Sensible lad, who still sees his old school mates when he can. Wouldn't cost a fortune and would contribute more than the current Malouda. He's English and would count as 'home-grown' I believe. We'd probably have an overall saving on wages if he were brought in on a one-in, one-out basis.

13th July I'm heading back to Munich for a long weekend, couldn't resist it! I'll take a memento or two back with me to remind them, it'd be rude not to.

Critisism from TV Pundits doesn't count for much, just so much like lazy media work and also because they probably believe it serves the masses of people who'd like to see Torres fail (it's also easier to critisize than to appraise and praise). I'm pleased he's getting games for Spain, getting into scoring positions and scoring goals - As far as I can see those are nothing but positives for him personally and for us in the longer term.

Our trip (18yr old Son & I)........................................................... Had to get the last train out of home to Gatwick at 12:30am Friday Night/Sat Morning, so got to the airport at 1:15am. Mooched around, then checked in at 3:30. Then it was first decision of the day - To drink or not to drink, did the latter , upon reflection and later events, the right decision. Flight left at 6:45 Good flight and train connection so we're in Munich City Centre - Mariensplatz by 10:30am. Had a walkaroud/scan around there, Odeonsplatz and just beyond. Got thirsty so we decided to quench that - a beer or two in a bar/small beer-hall at Odeonsplatz. Problem was it was too nice a spot, sat under the large umbrella's and being waited on, so didn't move till 4:30pm. Early on we invited some other lads onto the table so had company and a great time. Beer was great, food was good and the bill all afternoon was 180 euro's, couldn't go wrong. The Bayern fans were good company at the Beer-Hall and even got a beer or two from them, we reciprocated. Some pals arrived and persuaded us to go to a place where there were TV's for them as they didn't have tickets. Far too busy at there, time to make our way to the ground. Tube was murder, train jammed like sardines and almost completely full of Bayern Fan's, sorry edit - over confident Bayern Fan's! Probably fulled by German beer, a few 'Carefrees' were bellowed-out with some real stoney looks back, particulary from two groups right next door, in for a penny, in for a pound grabbed their beer, shouted cheers and had a good sup. They took it well and instantly were up for a sing-song and general beer sharing. What I would say was that the Bayern fans were confident to a man they'd beat us in the 90mins. Got to the station intact and gave fond Chelsea farewells to our new 'friends', walked out to see the stadium in the foreground - wow! - what a place. Bit of banter on the way up to the stadium, new shirt for the boy from the shop en-route and into the ground. Wow again what a stadium, if we move and ours is anywhere near as good as this, we're in for a treat. The lad obviously had too much to drink as he nodded-off (this was a good two hours before kick-off) - so much for the usual claims of drinking his old dad under the table. He woke up, the adrenalin kicked in and we're in game mode. The game flew by and we had the rollercoaster of emotions we probably all felt. For me the feeling when DD slotted the pen home is the best feeling I've had in 30 odd years of attending games and I'm not embarressed to say I welled up on numerous occasions then and during the celebration and also since then when either viewing the game and listening to things like the BBC radio commentary during the shoot-out. Trains back were a complete nightmare and we almost missed the flight home, ushered through security and straight on the plane with two other lads just behind us. The plane doors closed and then left. Back indoors by 8am Sunday morning. Hadn't slept since 6am Friday morning, but had to watch the shoot-out and get emotional, then a good sleep. It wasn't a cheap trip but I'd have forked out ten times the amount and probably more for the feelings experienced - One that I'll truly never, ever forget.

For the last 6 or 7 years when the going got tough Drogba was the 'go-to' striker, and our style of play reflected this. We had the odd dalliance with others, Crespo, Shevchenko to name two, but when we had a big game, Drogba was the striker of choice and Di Matteo choosing him for the two finals wasn't a big surprise. His big performances were becoming less frequent and less dominating for the whole of games. The problem was that our style became abit too reliant on him. Him leaving may force a change of style,mainly because there's no one out there who I can think of as a direct replacement. Torres may benefit, as may any other striker we acquire, by us having to adapt our style of play to one of life without Drogba - This perhaps shows the good side of having DD and a negative in that he's almost impossible to replace.

SAF referred to Gianfranco as 'the little magician' in his own autobiography and was extermely complimentary about him generally. He's spot on with his assessment, there are potential character flaws with a few of the others being mentioned, its difficult to make any such case against our man. As SAF said he played with a smile and genuinely looked like he just enjoyed himself - Let's hope many others think so too and he gets the award.

Yep, My lad (18 year-old) and myself are booked up on this trip. This was following booking flights with Thomsonsport, who cancelled the Gatwick deal as they didn't get sufficient take-up to fill the plane. I quoted the deal here and got the advertised price OK.

The information is sensitive from a legal perspective , and more importantly to me, the person who told me is a mate who could be compromised if the detail came out. What I think can be said is that a player may not have been factually correct with personal information offered to the club. Now as I understand it there are investigations underway but it's a difficult one to prove.

Chelsea8oy doesn't need to share any of what he's said thus far, so fair play to him. Drogba leaving has been a possibility for a while now, there could be another piece of news breaking soon that would probably mean another African leaving, its dynamite IF true.

Fair play to you for sharing that. Hope he does well this evening and gets a chance to be in the squad at the week-end. From the little I see of him on Chelsea TV he looks a talented and committed lad.

The latter is probably because the media fear a campaign similar to their 'Don't Buy The Sun' long-standing campaign, if they dared to raise the matter. Booing the NA is disgraceful, they'll attempt to justify it, however it is a national insult. The region has had a general anti-establishment trait for many, many years dating back to the late eighteen hundreds. That is no justification, just another 'proud' piece of their 'istoree' (sic).

What's not right is that: The situation regarding TC Packages being given priority from a ticket allocation perspective wasn't made absolutely clear right at the start The fact that their packages were and are up to 20-25% more expensive than competitors - I got a flight only for less than £400, never mind the £499 TC wanted The latter is clearly profiteering from their 'realtionship' with the club and is entirely wrong and coupled with the 'priority' ticket allocation is almost blackmailing people into taking the packages. If there are any Fans Forum members on here then this is a point that requires raising in the strongest possible terms at the next FF meeting. Should we be surprised they are ripping the arse out of it - I suppose not, but that doesn't mean it shouldn't be raised.

Slightly similar to a post above, and heard this from a person working at Cobham - Gourley was escorting associates of Roman's around Cobham and had met CA & RW during the visit, the conversation had gotten round to why certain substitutions had been made at the last game. Wilkins reacted to Gourley raising the question and told him to ***k-off and concentrate on what he knows best and let CA & RW do what they know best. Next day Wilkin's is out of a job, harsh but tell any Chief Executive to f-off and it's likely you'll be on your way, especially when they have company.

With his manager trying to sign anything that resembles a centre-half right now, he ought to expect another one anytime soon!

He's given us the rough end of the stick for three seasons now and he's not even subtle about it. On numerous occasions when refereeing us his impartiality can be called to question. JT gets a particularly rough time from him. Personally I think his character is flawed and someone or something at Chelsea has royally p***** him off and he can't get over it.Last nights performance was embarrassing and his continual chat, banter, laughter & pats on the shoulder with Carroll & Bellamy who are equally odious individuals sums him up. My boy and I called it as soon as we saw who the ref was and it is a sad reflection on the PGMO that its so damn obvious.

There are about 700 people in the Away S/Ticket scheme this season, they are supposed to get the best available seats based on a preference they state when making their applications - From personal experience the club quite frequently don't do their homework and you get no better than others. The rest are sold by block and it's pot-luck as to what seat you get - That's my understanding, as told to me by the box-office.