alan'82

Never got to see a Dave Sexton Chelsea side as I was a bit to young. But,without a doubt, he was the one person from the clubs past who I wanted most to have a beer with and talk about football & all things Chelsea. RIP Dave,thanks for all you achieved with Chelsea & our thoughts are with your family.

No,no way. We have suffered El Nino,now we have to suffer his 'mate', El Knumbskull. I bet the ONLY reason he's here is because Roman wants to win the FIFA Club World Cup competition.After all,its good for business. This is a guy who wasn't to keen to manage Chelsea,even more so, on a short term deal..........& what do you know, here he is. I simply cannot belive Roman shat on Robbie,a talented young manager who turned around a 3-1 deficit against a very good side,beat the best team in the world with 10 men & then took the CL trophy from the final opponents, by beating them with a weakend side in their OWN stadium! Oh, and the trivial matter of winning the F.A. cup. I think RA has shot himself in the foot with this latest sacking,no manager worth his salt would touch this job with a barge pole,hence 'dipper to the core' Benitez.

Like so many others,the events of the last few days have left me a bit numb,angry & more than a touch pissed off, even more so because it was all so unecessary & avoidable. I could talk paragraphs of crap & not get anywhere near to what I want to convey,but then, thankfully,Chippys post above says it all so well & so sweetly. Hats off to you sir.

A bit late I know, but I just want to say, having seen the whole match again, that apart from the lack of cohesion at the back..... (ok,it was at times a shambles) & Torres picking fluff from his navel, we deserved AT LEAST a draw from this match. Studge was denied by some excellent goalkeeping,we should have had 2 penalties & by and large,Petr had sod all to do. As West Brom are the divisions 'form' team & we weren't going into the game,the fact that we had more of the ball,in their half more than ours,had more shots on target,& off,had more corners and more possesion, suggests that maybe we weren't as bad as the result implies. Well,that's my take on it.............

All managers make mistakes from time to time,younger ones more so.After all,no manager can know everything & make the right choices all the time,whoever he is. From what I've seen so far,Robbie has got it right 90% of the time & as a young manager,in a top pressure job,that's impressive stuff really. Roman needs to learn to TRUST his managers choices,especially the one's like Robbie,Carlo & Jose who have proved their quality & brought home the trophies time & again. Patience really is a vital component to build a successfull title winning team. I hope it's Robbie & his staff who pick the team to face Juventus,without any interferance. Whatever tomorrows result,please stick with Robbie RA.

Unfortunatly,I feel there may be pressure from above to play Nando, more than his form deserves. Tomorrows team selection may be proof of this, because, if Torres is picked ahead of Sturridge, then it can only be because of RA's input. Managers must be allowed to pick a team on players current form and effectiveness & based on that, Nando & Luiz shouldn't be starting against Juve. If they do, then Robbie might as well start packing his bags to be honest. Danny's not the finished articule but a least he likes a shot at goal & compaired to Nando,that's a massive improvement.

Mk Dons vs AFC Wimbledon in the F.A. cup it seams.

I think 100% of us (& everyone else to be honest), must think Nando's transfer has turned out to be the worst piece of business the football world has ever seen. Well,maybe not the dippers. Or Nando's agent. Or his bank manager.

I remember reading about this game years ago,I think the team was called Jeunesse Hautcharage or somesuch. A boss-eyed centre half,plus a one armed left back sounds like the perfect team for my skill level (& I bet I still wouldn't get bloody picked!). I can recall many years ago as a younger guy, the older bruv wound me up (as usual), by telling me a yarn about a one armed player who lost his arm because of to much tommy tanking. That caused a great deal of concern I can tell you. Mind you,it's was just a wind-up & besides,everyone knows to much 'diy' only effects you hearing. Isn't that right...........? Pardon?.

Fair play to Paul,he was still 'banging them in' at the age of 44!. And he was still playing football as well............

Even though he may not be avaliable for the Champions League,Demba Ba at a release 'clause' of about £7.5 million would be cash well spent in January.That sounds like a bit of a bargain to be honest. I guess we would still have to add a few quid to that amount, just to beat off other clubs I suppose. A proven goal scorer in the EPL & at the very least, he would give Robbie a more potent option up front.

A slight fly in the ointment regarding swapping Nando with Falco (or anyone else),will be the cost/value of his contract. He signed a 4 & a half year deal in January 2011 I belive, for the region of about £150,000 per week. If we round that up to Jan 2013,that mean's there's 2 & a half years left= 130 weeks X £150,000 per week = £19,5 million quid, (pardon my french but,farking hell). That is the cost to which CFC are contracted to pay him. I thought Athletico Madrid are potless?,even if their not,how much of his current contract will they be willing to pick up?. Any transfer in, whoever it is,will still mean the club will have to subsidise Torres wages for the value of his contract,however he plays for, I belive. A bitter pill,even for a billionare to swallow to be honest. Maybe that's why he plays so often,Robbie isn't really given the choice?. I love maths.........shame I didn't when I was at school............

To be honest, if true, I think this would be a good move for Frank. After all,he has nothing to prove anymore & we are talking about serious amounts of moolah,something that will help his family's future. I don't think that his style of play,the role he's performed for the club in the past,really suits his best talents (& the clubs) requirements, in today's team. Seen many players over the years with a greater natural skill level,others with more lung busting ability & some who have a more natural goalscoring 'gift'. Haven't seen any that combine all of the above as well as he has. Chelsea's highest award winning domestic & International player ever, would go to China with my heartfelt thanks & best wishes.

Walter Smith back at Rangers as a non excutive director. Think that is a very shrewd & smart move by the 'Gers board.

Without an experienced defender & leader on the pitch,we seam to struggle to organise at the back. Usually at corners for example,Ashley Cole takes up a position by the goal post,just in case. I guess that is something that's not much coached thesedays & appears to be left for the players themselves to decide. Without a commanding 'presence' in the defence, we will continue to leak goals.

Can't help but feel if J.T. had been on the pitch for the entire 90 mins,we would have won this game. Putting the striker issue to one side for a moment,the one thing we seam to lack so badly, in the absence of John Terry,Frank Lampard etc is an on the pitch leader,someone who has the balls & nous to drive the team forward. A fit and match ready Michael Essien would have made a huge difference today. I can't really see the point of having a goal keeper, (even a great one as Petr), as team captain & your on the pitch leader, to be honest. We have great skill & creativity in Hazard,Oscar,Mata & co, plus quality defenders in Cahill,Cole, Branna etc, but without J.T, where is the leadership to join the to together?. I'd hoped John Obi Mikel would grow into the role, but with respect,he kinda looked like a headless chicken today, when we desperately needed a 'leader' to take the lead in J.T.'s absence. Still,it's early days & results like these are how you grow as a team (& manager). At least we are miles ahead with where the club want to be compaired to those dipper tossers.

Looking at that report about Hanover96,it looked to me if the sums can add up. Their rail-seat area had a capacity of approx 3000 'seats',these are required for all European competition. During domestic games,the 'seats' are raised and the capacity of that area is raised to approx 5,500. Now if they charge say £45 quid for a seat that means 3000 x 45 = £135,000. If they then charge maybe £25 notes to stand, that equals 5,500 X 25 = £137,500. The club could then feel free to tuck-up the extra 2,500 fans with the ripp-off prices of the pies and drinks as usual. Everyone's a winner.

Heard some fella on the radio a while back, say that around 85% of Scottish clubs are in deep financial aggro. Can't remember his name unfortunatly or could say if he was talking bollocks or not,but what with the Ger's problems & yet more grief from the Romanov circus which is Hearts thesedays,maybe this is just the tip of financial iceberg for football in Scotland?. Sounds a bit of a nightmare for the fans to be honest.

If we are going down the route of different factions & associations for different groups of players, then I demand one for players who wear glasses!. Its murder I'll tell you............one minute your Didier Drogba on a hat-trick,then the next, your Mateja Kezman tripping over your laces,just because your bins have fell off. Life just ain't fair is it?.

Thought that peice about the rail-seat was eye opening to be honest. Seams to be a great idea with very few (if any) drawbacks. Safe,affordable ways for ALL fans,(even those on low incomes) to attend games & which provides all what's required to generate a great atmosphere,what's not to like?. The one other point I noticed,what with that 'Fan liason' fella,was just how much more valued the German fan seams to be by their clubs compared to us here in jolly old blighty. Makes you sick really.

Top quality Carshalton,I'm kinda jealous of your pieces of the Bridge. Wish I'd grabbed one of the wooden benches from the West Stand to rigg up somehow in the back garden. Mind you,there were plenty of pieces laying on the ground after the '85 Milk/league cup semi-final vs Sunderland!. I just didn't fancy a good shoeing from mr plod at the time to be honest,losing the tie was bad enough. And I simply never thought things would change so much at the time, unfortunatly. Still,what can you do?. Here's a question though................ If they do decide to relocate (& I hope we don't),is there a piece of todays Stamford Bridge your would like to add to your collection?. I always thought a George 'gattling gun' Hilsdon weather vain would look mustard on top of my garage!.

With Donetsk leading the group,I wonder if they would be more than happy take a draw if offered?. With no Lampard,Cole,Drogba of course & a slightly rusty J.T.,I have to admit to being slightly concerned with this one. Time for John Obi to be a midfield general, or failing that,just kick lumps out of Willian,(in a sporting kind of way). They've shown well enough the quality of their attack & with the pressure on Chels to push for the win,the defence has to be top draw. Dosen't really help with the constant changing of the CB pairing to be honest. Still,we've got top drawer quality too & these young lads have to learn, sooner or later, how to win in these tough games after all. I'm going for a slightly a*se flapping 2-1 win for us. Come on Chelsea....

I have the upmost respect for DD,at his best,simply the best centre forward of his time, but I can't help but think back to the Champions League final of 2008. Just for the record,it was Frank Lampard who scored our first ever goal in a CL final & it was DD who mananaged to get himself sent off. That made him unavailable for the penalty kicks. Maybe time clouds the memory.

Yes it was and it can be again,but not in it's present form. And that dosen't mean a return to the old time aggro either.

Please,for all that's holy,get away fans out of the Shed. Watching Chels beat manure in the League cup was spoilt by the site of those manc wanabes filling the Shed. What it is now,is a shadow of what it once was,maybe times change but even so,there is no excuse for the state of things now. The Kop is still for the dippers,the Stretford end still the place of choice for northern manc bellends,so why surrender the Shed?. I've seen quite a few games at WHU's North Bank terrace years back and like us with the Shed, they have now sold out to away fans. And just look at the fortunes of the West Ham bar stewards. Put away fans in the West stand upper tier,or maybe the top tier of the East stand,(or on the roof for what I care),but for all that matters,GET THEM OUT OF THE SHED.