ArtDeco

I couldn't agree more - the JT fouls are premeditated, but the intent is to prevent a goalscoring opportunity. There is little risk of injury. Plus, most forwards expect it. In the case of the Pogo tackle, the only intent has to be to injured the other player. No player in his right mind would leave his feet in that situation. Its not like it was a desparation tackle in the box. Edited by Loz - Yet more spamming - this kid is a slow learner!

I agree with Loz - while only one foot made contact, both feet were studs up when he left his feet. This the type of "ball pretext" tackle the EPL needs to crack down on: where defenders tackle with the force to blow out someone's legs, which is grossly disproportional to the force needed to knock away the ball/steal it. Edited due to even more spamming - running out of chances ArtDEco

Good stuff Dorset - Terry is always a class act in respect to referees. It was atrocious how many yellows United players got for dissent.

BTW- here's a pretty detailed recap in case anyone missed the match <edit:Spam Removed>

I definiltey vote for Kalou-finishing is the most prized (and priciest) skill in all of football, and he buried his chance. Here's hoping Joe Cole took notes....

Deco definitely speeds up the linkup play and adds a different variety of passing - however, he is going to have to learn to deal with intense pressure in the prem (the likes of which he never faced in La Liga or Portugal). Anyone know how he got injured? Pulled something in the warmup?

Drogba definitely added some spark and was a handful for United sans Vidic. I also really wanted to see Deco play today-Ballack and Lampard both have cannon shots, but neither really has that clever split pass in their toolbox.

I agree with most of the others: Mikel is best for the Makelele role because he is so tidy on the ball, covers a lot of ground, and Ballack-Lampard-Deco and handle the offense.

Hey everyone, Im new to the forum. I'm a yank whose a longtime deco fan and recent premiershipfan (say about 5 years). I think we'll see the same starting lineup as against United, with Ballack and Drogba coming off the bench (if Drogba is fit). The riches Chelsea has in midfield are astounding, although I am not a super big fan of Frankie.