bjd

Theres a bit more to it than that. Its not just happened across one season or due to the promotion - a section of the Palace support have worked hard to create an initiative to improve the atmosphere and support at Selhurst Park over the past five year period. Selhurst Park is a dump of a ground and the Palace support was always traditionally not the loudest. Its really changed now and clearly it makes a healthy difference to the club. The 'ultras' tag is a little cringeworthy of course, but i can only applaud them. Clearly it makes a difference, their support (home and away) puts plenty of other teams to shame.

Yep, all decent points. Biggest problem for me was the club not walking away from Rooney when the Rooney camp stalled, we kept believing it was going to happen when it clearly wasnt. And it left us with few other options afterwards. That put us on the back foot from day 1 of the season and affected us - im sure we all agree if we'd have had a top striker we wouldve won the league (and possibly more) As for Jose's comments about Wenger i tend to agree, he really set himself up there, however amusing it was at the time. The thing is with Jose is that he can get away with such stuff if we end up winning trophies, because he can just point to them and say 'there you are'. Once you start acting up and creating situations (as lets face it he did in the past 6 weeks of the season) you better have something to show for it at the end, for justification. Its the same with the style of football, fine if its a means to an end but if it doesnt win you anything then what are you left with ? Some of Joses behavior at the end of the season was a little questionable, lets be honest about it. He'd have got away with it if we'd have won the league but as soon as it was clear that wasnt going to happen the knifes were clearly going to be out. It reminded me of the 2005-6 season actually, some pretty bad football , some unsavory stuff and the like, but ultimately he could put the League trophy on the table in May. Not this year. Also, a quick point - the Champions League semis. I said the same the day after the Atletico defeat - i do wonder if Jose needs to have a rethink on how he approaches these games. The stats are not great. 6 defeats in 8. 4 defeats in the last 4 seasons. In his six semi matches with Chelsea we have scored 2 goals. Not great reading. Anyway. Lets see what happens next year. Im a huge fan and think he is the right man for us, but i do think its a big season for him personally and the pressure will really be on him. Cant wait!

I have no idea what you are talking about but that really better not be some sort of hint or spoiler Seems i called it right with the duel. Im quite proud of myself as thats the only thing i have successfully predicted in 4 seasons now! 2 week break now

For me best atmosphere at SB was unquestionably Spurs, and away it was Arsenal in the CC. Best away fans at SB domestically would be Palace, though the best away fans overall were Gala and its not even close or up for debate.

I found out recently that the actress who plays Shae (boooo!) used to be a porn star. A search engine and a wife out shopping then provided that this was undeniably true!

Fair play Tommy, like Gems reply i think youve written that well and i can see your side of things there. I know due to the recent Liverpool title challenge (and subsequent failure) that references may be increased, however the Liverpool stuff has been going on here for years, and yes some of it is funny and cringeworthy but there has to be limit, for some people now it really is an obsession. I wonder if Liverpool having their own little mini area on the forum may help (like Rangers have), at least that way i can stay out of it and not get sucked in! One thing I cant agree is that 'the tone was very mild, a fact-based opinion piece '. I think its a lot more savage than that and parts of it were a little unnecessary. Clubhappy has said that its an Irish paper, which leads me to believe it has been written by a bitter Man Utd fan. Luckily if its the same publication Adlridge writes for we wont get to see much of it over here! Anyway, best to move on now im sure neither of us want to get drawn into a discussion about the merits of an article about Steven f**king Gerrard! At least lets healthily debate something worthwhile ...

Yes, cant see it being Jaime. Theres the fact Tywin could lose the last 2 Lannisters which would end the family name and the fact Jamie has just the one hand and hasnt been tested yet. My money is Oberyn vs The Mountain. All guesswork though!

Thats a fair reply Gem. Like I said im not a huge fan of Gerrard, either as a player or a person. I think my main gripe is how he seemed to get away with murder for his England performances whilst Frank took the brunt of criticism (and lets face it, abuse) But there is a difference between constructive criticism of a player and downright spite and that article errs on the latter, and i think you agree from what you said really - you put your points across well. Personally i am beginning to tire of the Liverpool/Gerrard/RAWK stuff that seems to dominate page after page of the forum these days, i think its starting to get a little obsessive and unhealthy. I guess i should tell myself what i tell others on one of the tedious 'the media hate Chelsea' threads that pop up every week - just dont read/watch/listen! The thing is, its so hard, the Liverpool stuff is everywhere on and i think it doesn't really reflect that well on the site as a whole, which as we all know is so often full of healthy and educated discussion like no other Chelsea forum has.

Im not a massive fan of Gerrard for a number of reasons but that article is a horrific hatchet job, some of it very personal indeed that absolutely crosses the line between balanced sports opinion and bitter bile. Honestly, some people take sport far too seriously. Clearly i will be in the minority over this but if something like that had been written about one of our boys we would be up in arms! What the hell is Sunday World anyway ?!

Quite. My first ever footballing hero and without question the primary reason why I fell in love with Chelsea as a youngster, it all starts with Kerry Dixon for me.

Being reported JT has agreed a year extension. Dont think anyone can argue that is anything other well deserved and good news.

Ah yes, I thought we were due. Its been all over a week since the last 'anti Chelsea in the media' thread! (only ribbing you Brit!) I have a very simple 2 step solution to those of you who seem to get so worked up over this: 1 - Dont read, watch or listen to those experts who wind you up so much 2 - repeat step 1 for eternity.

I was in the graveyard that is the WU and to be honest I didn't hear much booing but the amount of people that left at the end did piss me off because it's exactly the same thing I have thrown at Gooners for years now. Doesn't surprise me now . It's just really sad to be honest. What I can't stand is the 'i have the right I paid my money' brigade. We don't need fans like that, but each to their own I guess. Booing benefits no one bar the opposition. If you booed Beasant in 92 you're no fan and if you booed Joka you're no fan and if you booed yesterday then you're no fan. Id rather the seats were empty or given to tourists from the Far East with half and half scarves to be honest than filled with people who are going to boo. I keep saying it - we are luckiest fans in the world at Chelsea but you wouldn't know it judging by a section of our support.

I'm sure I read somewhere that we are not going to the USA or the Far East which in a WC year is sensible, though to be fair a little surprising knowing how we normally have no qualms in sending the players off half way around the world. Not sure where we are headed though.

Im still fine and chilled about it, i wrote something similar this morning and i havent changed. I have no problem in losing to the better team in a match where we are not really unlucky and havent been screwed by poor officials. Just goes to show how rarely it happens i guess. I will accept Atletico got the rub a few times last night but we didnt do anywhere near enough to win the tie over the two legs. As you say the first goal was a comedy of errors. We've mentioned Cahill, Cole and JT, players all of which take some blame, but so should Ramires and Hazard for their parts as well. Im pretty sure it will be some time before we concede a goal like that again. As i stated before i think its Jose who needs to take the biggest look at last night. Its now 4 semi finals in a row he has lost, making his record 2 out 8. For the 6 matches in semi finals with Chelsea we have scored 2 goals. Very clearly he needs to think about how he approaches these matches, particularly against teams we should really be putting away. Don't want to sound arrogant but we'll be back in another Champions League semi soon im sure, and i actually wouldn't bet against it being next year. Looks like its going to be a 'what if' season. Oh well, we cant complain. Only the 2nd season in what, a decade that we haven't won anything ? Ill swallow that. Honestly, we are the luckiest fans in the world.

Chelsea will definitely not go down the Rooney route again, and quite rightly.

Dave, Willian or JT the only viable options here. Everyone else was totally below par. Ive gone for Willian, staggered he was taken off actually.

Clearly im in the minority but i enjoyed watching Costa throw himself around last night and think he would be a good signing for us. Watching from the stands it was amazing to see how much energy and running he has, we dont see a lot of that with our strikers at Chelsea... Yes, he isnt at the very top level, but he is so far ahead of what we have its not even funny. Id sign him in a heartbeat and i hope he is our main striker next season, just to see someone offer something a bit different at the very least.

Well that was probably the easiest big game defeat i have ever had to suffer and stomach as Chelsea fan. Sometimes you just cant argue. We were done good and proper. I have nothing but admiration for Atletico, the right team went through. This was no 05 or 09. There were no gripes, even Jose seemed to accept it afterwards! He can have no complaints. More on Jose in a second... Great atmosphere to start, though the sense around me was that it wasn't ever going to be 'one of those nights'. There was just that feeling you sometimes get. People are saying the turning point was their equaliser but for me the turning point was actually our goal, from that moment on they stepped up a gear and we couldnt cope, and looked ponderous and nervous. Lets be honest, a few of their players were outstanding, Koke and Juan Fran in particular. Was also great to see Tiago again, ive heard that his SKY interview afterwards was fantastic - can anyone confirm ? I also enjoyed watching Costa and thought he put himself around brilliantly, bemused about the comments about him and the pen spot - what was he supposed to do ? Any one of our players would do the same. I really hope we sign him. As for our players ? Cahill had a bad game, it happens. Hes been awesome this season. No issue there. Dont think Cole played particularly well either, nor Luiz.Hazard wasnt fit and hm being out there reeked a little bit of desperation. Eto'o even more so. Staggered that Jose chose to change the back four to be honest, and in that respect i dont think its unfair to throw a few questions Jose's way. He has now lost 6 of 8 Champions League semi finals (4 in a row) and i think its fair to suggest he needs to look at how he approaches these matches. Last night reminded me a little of the semi at Anfield in 07, the one that went to pens - as soon as the opposition scored the game plan went out the window and we looked bereft of ideas. Good luck to Atletico in the final (and thats coming from a huge fan of Carlo Ancelotti). I suspect that team will be taken apart over the next 12-18 months and so they need to make the most of that fantastic group of players and spirit they have. Worthy winners and its not often Chelsea fans stay to applaud the opposition but many did last night. Oh and regarding applauding i can confirm Torres did go and applaud the Atletico fans. Ive personally no issue there, but what grates is that he didnt seem to acknowledge the home fans at all. Still with any luck we will only ever see him at Stamford Bridge as a Chelsea player once more.

If Cech is fit to play, he cannot have dislocated his shoulder. Bizarre.

And Luiz too. Be amazing if he got through both semis without a second yellow!

Yesterday was brilliant, utterly hilarious, but come a fortnight when in all likelihood we finish 3rd, the joke is on us. I mean its absurd a team with our record are likely to finish 3rd. Only ourselves to blame im afraid. Sunderland last week was a clusterf**k. Then you've got Palace. Stoke. Look at Villa , since they have beaten us havent they lost every game ? Not over yet but if we dont win it its such an opportunity missed. Luckily we have the right manager to turn this negative into a positive. I think we will be mustard next season.

Luiz was never going to be involved today, he is utterly crucial for Wednesday bearing in mind our midfield options. Really surprised not to see Oscar out there though.

Gotta be concerned about the lack of pace in midfield there. Fingers crossed for this but I think it's going to be uncomfortable viewing.

More needs to be made of this Mick Dennis stuff, but not today. It's utterley abhorrent.