Orangutan

Most Chelsea signings I really only know from reputation. Pretty exciting to get a player who I know is quality because I've seen it with my own eyes. Quite a nice pre-World Cup surprise. Did not expect it to happen so soon.

One of the new legion of post-Abramovich fans from the US here. When I was at university, I liked to listen to Greg James and to Chris Moyles on Radio 1 while studying. When the sport updates would come on, I found myself hoping to here that Chelsea were doing well. I think I liked the idea of an "evil" Russian billionaire building a team to conquer Europe. In fall 2008, I had the opportunity to study abroad in London. Our dorms were in Chelsea, right off the King's Road (on Manresa Road specifically). Being able to watch all the games on TV really sealed the deal. Also, a Chelsea bar was one of the favorite hangouts of our group. I specifically recall watching a frustrating 1-1 draw with Bordeaux there and not mind much because of the great company (and a few pints). I've been a huge fan ever since. This forum was huge in helping me find streams before the NBC tv deal made every league game available. My only regret is that I didn't make it to a game at the Bridge while I was in London. I only went to two Fulham games. I couldn't afford Chelsea tickets. Should have sold a kidney. Only need one anyhow.

Wonder if bringing on Lamps or Cole at the end wouldn't have calmed things a bit, just from an experience point of view. Ah well, no use in playing the hindsight game. Just remember, we're still unbeaten in 12 in all comps, 11 in the league. Will be at worst 1 point of the league lead by tomorrow night. Still a long way to go.

Strange that opinion here seems to be Ramires is poor tonight. The BBC's reporter was praising him. Seems like he gets a lot more criticism here than anywhere else. Of course, I'm limited to text updates only (still at work here in the States) so he might be playing absolutely terrible for all I know.

I've been feeling the same way myself. Away game against a team desperate for points plus the risk of complacency after an excellent week could easily spell a long afternoon. Here's hoping Hazard scores another couple of world-class goals and puts all our nerves at ease quickly.

Team selection seems as though it should be straightforward. Personally, I'd rest Azpi to get Cole a game and rest Frank to bring back Ramires. Otherwise the same team, just switch Torres in for Ba on the bench. I seem to get about 10 of 11 right, usually, so I'll be curious to see how Mourinho surprises me today.

I honestly don't have any problem with him essentially saying "I'm too good to be a second option." I don't read that as demanding Cech's job. He's proven at Atletico that he's world class and it's only normal that a world class player doesn't want to sit on the bench (see also Mata, Juan). It doesn't benefit anyone for him to be on the bench, playing 1 game in 3 behind Cech. Either dump Cech and install Courtois or sell Courtois for a handsome fee and reinvest the profits in a top-quality striker.

Can reach? Sure. He has amazing talent. I'm not sure if he will or won't ever reach that level, but he's already one of the best few players in the Premier League at 23. If he keeps developing, he could absolutely end up as a ballon d'or candidate. I agree that right now those comparisons are premature. Also, it's certainly possible that he's already reached his peak at a relatively young age. But I definitely understand why some are so eager to predict even greater things for his future.

Feel it's worth mentioning that we're unbeaten in (if I count right) 9 games in all comps and 7 in the league. You'd think we're in struggling along in 6th and 7th by the tone of this thread.

Quite right about Mata. Mata's stated weakness is his defensive work. Not really an issue if the opponent isn't attempting to attack. He was certainly a useful option to have for these kinds of games.

Well, we did it against Bayern in the final, too.

We are not out of the title race at three points off of the top. That said, I think it's extremely unlikely that we win it. Manchester City is the strongest team in the league. I've felt that all along. Not a good two points to drop but these things happen when (hat-trick against United excepted) you don't have in-form strikers.

Mikel and Matic seem to be competing for the same role. Since Matic is cup-tied, Mikel will likely need to play in the CL. So it's best not to let him get rusty in the interim. Makes sense.

Of course, the whole resting Frank thing is contingent upon actually having someone to play in his place. I wouldn't mind seeing Benayoun start, but I'm not sure if he's in Chelsea's long term plans and it we don't have a Mata or a Modric just yet. I do agree with Spiller to an extent. Frank hasn't got off to a stellar star but he's making some decent passes around the box. He should have won a penalty against Stoke and came close again today when setting up Anelka for the equalizer. He's getting into dangerous areas and asking questions of the defense. Lampard is still crucial to the midfield because he gives a much different element compared to Ramires and Mikel. Mikel shields the D. Ramires wins balls and starts counterattacks. Lampard plays in the forwards (or tries to). See the first goal for evidence of this. Ramires wins the ball and gets it away to Anelka and then Anelka and Lampard interchange for the goal. Anyhow, to get closer to the thread topic, I will be curious to see what, if anything, happens Monday. If it truly is a done deal, I should think we would get more solid information immediately after the weekend.

There is a player on the Chicago Blackhawks (ice hockey) team named Fernando Pisani. For months I've been singing to the tune of Lady Gag's "Alejandro" where she also mentions the name Fernando. It's not really a song, per se. But I end up singing something like. Go score the goal, go score the goal, Fernando! If you don't know what I mean, the chorus kicks in at 1:10 in this video: