BigIzz

Im giving up on the streams. None seem to work. Stuck watching Villa-United. At least I can relax on the couch and crack open a beer.

Everton had been playing well but they did not impress me at all on Saturday against Liverpool. Despite having a man advantage, they looked like the side that was short a player. They didn't really create anything for the entire match. They can be a lively side but if we play well we ought to win this one. We owe them one after the match at the Bridge where they scored three fluke goals. We certainly cannot afford to drop any points. I'm snowed in today and desperately hoping to find a live stream of this one

Mikel did what he was supposed to today. His distribution was poor at times but he helped keep Arsenal off the scoreboard.

Cech played his best match of the season today. Only one shaky moment I can recall and a few excellent saves. He, along with Drogba, was the difference. AT the half I'd have bet I'd be picking Drogba but he was pretty quiet for most of the match despite taking care of his business.

Not a perfect match but we played very well. Arsenal obviously have no answer for Drogba. Thought most of the squad played well. May have been Cech's best match of the season. Not the greatest I've seen Terry and Carvalho play but they were scrappy and tough. Ivanovic was a force like usual. Only negative was Anelka doesn't look nearly as good in this setup.

Nice first half. Here's to a nice, boring second as we put this to bed.

I like Mikel and Ballack in the midfield for this one. I don't think you try to match Arsenal with finesse players, you want the big guys who can out muscle them.

Hindsight will always prove 20/20 but you can make an argument that if they never intended to buy anyone in this window that they should have just lived with the ban and not appealed it. Of course as a matter of principle they want to see it overturned because they feel that they did nothing wrong but looking at it from a realistic standpoint it may have been the best course of action. The punishment as handed down from UEFA was missing Winter 2010 and Summer 2010 transfer windows. Chelsea have conceded the Winter 2010 window as they do not want to buy anyway. With the appeal we have three outcomes: 1. Appeal is granted and transfer ban is overturned 2. Sentence is reduced to one transfer window: miss the Summer 2010 transfer window 3. Sentence is upheld: miss Summer 2010 and Winter 2011 transfer window Option 1 is clearly ideal. Option 2 ends up being the same as the original punishment in essence: no transfers for Winter 2010 and Summer 2010. Option 3 means they really screwed up because they lost three transfer periods: Winter 2010 (able to buy but didn't want to), Summer 2010 and Winter 2011. While fighting for a just result and fair treatment is all well and good, option 3 now basically means no new players for two years. So it is obvious to me they must think this appeal is almost certain to be granted, otherwise appealing may become a grave miscalculation.

I say bring back the diamond. I like the idea of trying Deco at defensive mid as well, and I guess I'd try Joe Cole at the tip. I'd like to see if Cole can translate his excellent form into the playmaker role. I'd start Lampard and Ballack at the other midfield sports, Zirkhov at LB and start Carvahlo at the back. We can always switch things up if it isn't clicking but I like us playing a diamond against Arsenal more than a 4-3-3, all things being equal.

I think they are awful confident that they can win this transfer case outright.

They are. They look beautiful and have no problem putting 5 or 6 past lesser teams but when they go up against a real opponent they sure do look weak.

Arsenal loses 0-3 to us at the Emirates and is losing 0-3 to United at the Emirates? Don't believe the hype...

Arsenal's season is really on the line here. There's a chance they will find themselves 11 points behind us and 7 points behind Man U in a weeks time.

Couple of briliant goals by United there. Their best team certianly has Nani in it-he hasn't always played well but at the very least is dangerous and you have to respect his pace. As for red cards, Song seems a decent bet to get sent off

I think we always want a draw when realistic title contenders play each other. That way, one point disappears forever and gets awarded to no one. A nice boring goalless draw would be great and if both Ferguseon and Wenger can get sent off this time it would be perfect.

John Terry. I felt ashamed to pick him with all the scandals going on but then I remembered: I don't care His form is awesome right now and he hasn't scored a lot this year but they've sure come at the right time, haven't they?

Clearly not our best but took care of business and got a deserved three points

I would bring Drogba on as a sub today - 15-25 minutes at the end. Then I'd give him the start on Tuesday and play him 45-60 mins and hopefully we will be in a position where he can come off without any worries. Then obviously he goes the distance on Sunday against Arsenal. I'm very interested to see how we line up today. A lot of our players have picked up their form with the change in formation (Joe Cole, Lampard, Malouda, Deco). I'm interested to see if we stick with it or go back to the diamond. It could be a coincidence that our midfielders are playing better or it could be the sub par competition but maybe it is the system?

Sheva in his prime would have been awesome. That player was so talented he would have succeeded on any team in any league in the world.

I picked Joe Cole. Thought he was dangerous, particularly at the start of the match where we had established dominance early. By the time this one was 2-0 it was all but over. Cole wasn't perfect but this was far and away his best game of the season. Is he rounding into form or more comfortable in this different role (or a combination of both)? Lampard obviously was great. As was Malouda, Terry, Ashely Cole. Hard to complain about anyone really. I think this also may have been Deco's best match of the season as well. He did great playing deeper then usual and actually won quite a few balls. If we learned anything from this match it may be neither Deco nor Joe Cole are suited for the tip of the diamond - maybe we'd be better off with the 4-3-3 all the time?

Luckily I'd say about 75% are and most of the rest are split between ESPN and Setanta. We might miss a mid-week fixture here or there. We are very lucky over here and probably get just about every Premier League game on TV. Obviously the TV coverage here revolves around the big four because the smaller clubs have a much smaller following. Setanta is going away after 3/1 and Fox Soccer is adding another network (and going hi-def) so hopefully that means we will get every Chelsea game.

How exactly is Deco supposed to get match fit without playing matches? Shall he wait to debut him against Arsenal in the Premier League or give him a start against a team in a lower division in a lower priority competition?

What perplexes me is they clearly aren't interested in making any transfers and strengthening the club during this transfer window. This is despite the looming 18 month transfer ban. Presumably they think the youth is good enough to make an impact and play in the first team in the near future if need be but, except for a few occasions (vs Wolves, Watford, APOEL, Blackburn in the Carling Cup) none of them ever see the field. They don't play when we have a 5 goal lead against Sunderland, they don't play when we have a 2-0 lead over a Championship team. Matic, Borini and Kakuta all came on in the second half against Watford so I was surprised to not see any of them today.

Terry for me as well

I thought we played well today. Certainly not our best but the result was never really in doubt, at least for me. We should have had a third goal because Dean seriously bungled that advantage call to disallow our first goal. A couple of shaky moments at the back but nothing we couldn't survive. I'll give MOTM to Terry - he created one goal and was very well positioned on the goal line for the one great PNE chance. My second choice would be Anelka. I still don't understand why we didn't incorporate any of the youth. We have a two goal lead in the second half against a Championship side - we can't hold on if we bring on one of the kids? Doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me. I also thought we got too many players forward at the end of the match. If it were me I would have just looked to book the 2-0 result after the eighteenth minute or so but we kept bringing players forward for set pieces and were almost exposed on the counter a couple of times. Then again I'm not a world class manager so what does my opinion matter?