ThunderDan

I'd be thrilled to see Yuri back, KennyP, but for now I'd keep FloMo on the pitch. He's being targeted by opponents (and getting frustrated) but that shows how effective other teams see him to be. I'm more concerned with Essien and Mikel to be honest, but these guys are too vital to sit in my opinion, and need to play through their current problems.

No, I like Malouda out wide. I'm now thinking it's better to have Drogba off the bench at halftime, so lets have Ramires at mid and move Essien into that spot. He likes to shoot from there, and can pass as well. What I really want is to see some innovation tomorrow! Hope you're well, Scott and staying warm. It's about 10 fahrenheit in Cleveland.

Never thought I'd engage in trade rumors, but after these last 2 months it's clear that we need something to change. The midfield is healthy now, yet still terrible. Our build up is not creative, we're just trying to get it in to Drogba and let him do his thing. And we're not even doing that well. How did we score yesterday - a defender's header off a set piece. Now that all my china is smashed, I'd happily accept help from ouside our squad, and Kaka in front with Drogs is intriguing. Why care about the feelings of Nico, Kalou, Daniel etc when they aren't producing? Let's fortify the midfield with a 4-4-2 and bring in a good striker, we really don't have a good reason anymore to stand pat. I'd be thrilled to see something like this: -------------------Cech -Bossy----Ivan-------Terry------Cole ----------------Mikel -------Essien-------Lampard ----------------Drogba --------Kaka-------------Malouda My dream was to see us repeat with the same people/formation, but now it's to see us fight for what's ours and stop hoping to pull out of this funk. Roman - spend, Carlo - get creative, players - play hard. I'm good and ready for a resurgence in Blue.

We gave that up in the US after 9/11. Electronic surveilllance used to require a warrant from a secret court, but GW Bush did away with that. Comfort can be taken in the massive numbers of law-abiding people who dabble with porn - like the best place to hide a tree is in a forest. But I wouldn't get too worked up over the idea that internet porn might be made illegal. Moralists have been trying since 1990, and always run into the insurmountable legal hurdle with clear definition and/or free speech guarantees, and then fail. ThunderDan's Top 5 benefits of legal internet porn: 1.) Peep show theaters and booths don't draw like they used to, which is good for neighborhoods that didn't want them in the first place. And their janitors can do something (anything) more respectable with their lives. 2.) Buying girlie magazines from a sweet little old lady shopkeeper in now unnecessary. No longer having someone that you know see you trying to decide which issue to buy. 3.) Digital media is easier to conceal than a box labelled "Do not open", something Eggy's mate can surely confirm. 4.) Free porn means that you didn't deny your children anything important in order to pay to see what Asian chicks are up to these days. 5.) Webpages will never be stuck together.

Knock some dust off this thread with a scene that literally scared to wits out of the crowd I saw it with: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uuapyExYJBI

Hi Al, your username makes me think of We Here Favour Blue

Your biggest worry Eggy is what happens to it when you die. I've heard comsideration of a service to "clean up" your bunker for you if, God forbid, you've kicked your last ball. You could choose cremation, or the generous donation option.

This from several webpages: "Zappa and Van Vliet began collaborating on pop song parodies and a movie script called Captain Beefheart vs. the Grunt People, the first appearance of the Beefheart name. It came from a term used by his Uncle Alan. Alan had a habit of exposing himself to Don's girlfriend, Laurie. Alan would urinate with the bathroom door open and, if she was walking by, mumble about his penis, saying "Ahh, what a beauty! It looks just like a big, fine beef heart." I suppose Bluebeard's account is a narrow winner over mine, because it goes more to the original inspiration. Now I'm going off to be sick...

Best I can figure, Vleit and Zappa were trying to make a movie called "Captain Beefheart Meets the Grunt People", and in 1964 Vleit took this stage name. Here's an interesting bit about his band being denied entry into England in 1968: and a photo from that day (Captain has the hat):

Remarkable musician and character in the mold of his friend and producer, Frank Zappa. Real name (sort of) Van Vliet and His Magic Band were known for progressive experiments with time signatures, stop and start, at the same time as Led Zep, Jeff Beck, Zappa and others. Cult following with no commercial success. His best to me is "Trout Mask Replica", a double album with a bit of everything. He was one of several rock stars to be thrown out of the group he started -- RIP

Yeah, Phiillip, I was called a sweeper as well. Never ran offside traps because I didn't trust the linesmen enough to expose our goalkeeper on of a missed call. I remember that I didn't like our formation (4-2-4), because we never could control the midfield. Our coach told me that if it was good enough for Brazil, it was good enough for us. Now I know that we only needed to give the wingers some defensive responsibility, then it would work like a 4-4-2.

Just 5 more syllables and we get another Haiku on Chelsea's deficiency. It's been a while, though!

I was CB in high school, we were the Lee Generals. We had lots of 0-0 and 1-1 results leading into penalty shootouts, which were very fun to be part of - that and burying fancy strikers with a well placed slide tackle. At college clubs and adult leagues, I was a striker with a hammer and not much accuracy. I've spent most of my adult life as a placekicker and punter for semi-pro throwball teams, which is also where I got the nickname that is my current username. Here I was in 1979 at 16 years old: I placed an insert to show our colors, so what we have here is a CB and captain wearing #26 in a familiar looking kit. This should demonstrate a bit of why this American loves the CFC. I would have preferred to be seen scanning the pitch for a target to pass to, and not wearing that goofy expression, but it is what it is. Thanks for the indulgence...

Oh my, what was an amazing match to watch, I was frozen with nerves for its entirety. That was a good point to earn since Spurs are playing well and we aren't so much. Great play by our defensive 5, especially Captain Fantastic. But our midfield stinks lately. Now that Frank's back, we have 5+ mids to choose from, which gives hope for improvement. I would like to salute Ramires for giving out some knocks to Defoe, Crouch and others, as well as getting between Gomes and the ball to draw the penalty. He's not a favorite of mine, but today was a teamwide gut-check and he stepped up (much more so than Anelka or Mikel). Seems like he's headed for the bench, but he can be proud of the effort he displayed today. Looking forward to hosting Scum and restoring that which is ours

Really liked the 4-5-1 you guys put up, mine is basically a diamond midfield (with Mac forward and John holding). ---------------------Cech--------------------- Paulo--------Ivan----------JT------------Ash Essien----Mikel-----McEachran----Malouda ----------Kalou--------------Anelka-- Subs Drogs, Ramires, Sturridge. Ivanovic and the Bison support Ferreira, and Ramires comes on for him at 60 or so. Quick hook for Saloman if he doesn't seem right. I see an inspiring 3-2 win, and this thread going over 30 pages

That only took about an hour to get through. Saaladin, your first post was damn good, but then your knee blew out when you said that attractive football means more than wins. If you are a Chelsea fan (I can't say, but it's questionable), then how can you wish for us to look more like Barca? I'd say you suppost several teams, probably the front runners, so you can enjoy football - which makes you a fair weather fan, which is not a fan. The negativity is understandable, and if someone thinks we're headed for midtable, that's their opinion and they may be right. Calling out Carlo or any player or the board for their actions is fine, too. But to stand and boo your own team is a regrettable thing, basically saying you will only support your side while they are doing well. To you posters who have given up, stay strong and keep some faith! I'm with the positive people here: deeply frustrated, yet hopeful. All of our problems can be pinned to the spate of injuries, which ruined our timing. So simple and easy for me to cling to. Bring on Alex and Lamps, limit Drogs' time a bit, reverse the slide.

I'm really disappointed that we wont be going wire-to-wire at the top, but this rash of injuries is just too damaging to our lineups. Chasing is okay (better that 6th place), but only if we overtake!

NC 1 Chelsea 3 - Drogs, Kalou and Malouda. Nice to see us getting healthier, maybe soon we can vote for 6-0 again. Personally I'd prefer the whiteout postponement, because Sunday's match is not available to me. How selfish is that?

Malouda foe me, MOTM because of the score and his calmness on the pitch, coolly dominating his side. Ivanovic and Van Aanholt deserve a mention.

On loan to Aris Thessaloniki (Greece) -- he's 21 now, and not on the national team. And yeah, dkw, I know you're not really that interested.

Interesting hybrid...

Welcome, Jersey Sam!

Cech for me, and to Plok's Q Legend in the making.