Celery1989

i think JT should get POY. He's been consistently brilliant. But there's absolutely no chance at all that he would win it.

Sounds very plausible. If you remember back in 2007 we played Sp*rs at home in an FA Cup game where we came from 3-1 down to draw 3-3. After the game the "Y*d Army" arrived tooled up at the White Horse on Parsons Green and smashed the pub up. Given that this is the pub that my family and I have drunk at pre and post game for about 20 odd years I can tell you categorically that there wouldn't have been any of the hooligan type around. I mean, the pub welcomes away fans as well ffs on matchday. Cowardly act overall by those c*nts.

Not to mention the mugs on the other side of the platform. Pathetic. I don't know much about the firms etc. but from what I've gathered the 'Y*d Army' have a reputation for wantonly picking on unsuspecting people.

Equally happy and relieved with the three points tonight. We dug in and managed to grind it out just about. I thought Courtois was faultless, and Hazard was simply mesmerising at times. Credit to Ramires for putting in a good overall display too. I've criticised him a lot this year and with good reason but Gary Cahill was fantastic tonight, whenever we choose to defend deep he seems to excel, just like at Wembley on Sunday too. On the negative side, Costa wasn't at it again today and has been really off the boil since the suspension. Oscar is also beginning to concern me, his workrate is still there defensively but where is the creativity? We had no control of the midfield today, despite an improved showing from Fabregas, so Matic's return really can't come soon enough for me. Got to say I'm glad that we have the weekend off, annoying as it is to not be able to watch us. The team looked pretty spent out there towards the end, several individuals could do with a rest. We could conceivably have a fully fit squad for PSG, something which is pretty rare at this point in the season. Lastly I thought Andre Marriner put in an excellent performance too. He controlled a very feisty and physical game very well indeed and applied the law fairly to both sides. Both we and West Ham had very similar penalty shouts which Marriner chose not to give. Another ref could have given both, and certain refs would probably have given one or not the other. Very consistent effort from Marriner overall, nice to see some good refereeing for a change.

I don't have much an issue with City but my opinion would change rather quickly with him at the helm.

Is Martin Samuel a Chelsea fan? The bloke defends us so much he must be! Pretty much the only one out there in the written media who will stand up for us.

Benitez at City? Oh please. The only realistic contenders for that job would be Simeone, Guardiola and Ancelotti. The latter two seem unlikely for various reasons but Simeone would really fit the bill for me. City need a manager to implement a more pragmatic style and to give that squad a bit more steel. Simeone would be that man, and I'm 100% sure he'd make them a force in the CL as well.

I do like Ramsey a lot but cannot realistically see us ever signing him. However, I really feel we need another CM that can pass the ball well so that when Cesc is injured/rested we have a similar player to step up. I'd look at someone like Ross Barkley, or for a cheaper option one of the many good, young CM's in the Bundesliga. Maybe even Joao Moutinho.

This is not the time to be giving youth a chance. I'd be very worried if that was our midfield. There's certainly a case to be made for either Ake or Zouma to start but both? Surely not.

They would be mad to sell him. But it seems like Carlo favours Pepe and Ramos in central defence, why though I'm not sure. Varane is arguably the most talented young defender in Europe. They'd be mad to sell him but then you never know with Real Madrid. They did sell Di Maria after all who was one of their very best players the season before.

Pretty much agree with that word for word Davey. Regarding Man City, I've never thought of them as a particularly tight-knit bunch. Not saying they are all mercenaries but they clearly don't have the same unity/team spirit that we do. That said, it's important that they don't string too many wins together in a row because once they get on a roll they certainly know how to maintain the momentum.

I think he's hated so much by everyone that it would be practically impossible! I'm 99% sure he will be here next year, he's simply too important to us as a player and a person to not be. We would have to shell out a lot of money to find a replacement too, I just don't think Cahill is good enough to be that guy. With Frank, bear in mind that he had become a bit-part player last year.

Great post mate, I'd go the same. Mikel to come in if fit. Rest Azpilicueta, he got some kind of head injury didn't he yesterday? Will be a tough game, you can bet that Allardyce will have them up for this given how poor they were on the weekend. We need to bring our 'A' game for this, no cup hangover etc.

What a day. Was very nervous both before and during the game, delighted to have won it. Great atmosphere I thought as well, thanks to everyone that was there! Ultimately had to take today off work, there was no way I was gonna make it in after last night! Jose, once again, got his tactics spot on. I called for Ake to play as a holding player but Zouma did an admirable job in that role regardless. Didn't think we played particularly well but I couldn't care less really. Lifting the Cup is all that matters on the day.

Wembley need to pay back the loan somehow, but that's for another discussion. No Matic obviously and now confirmed that no Mikel either. Ramires has to come in, question is, do we play 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3? I don't think it really makes much difference as Oscar would probably be under orders to drop in any way when we're defending. I worry about Ramires' positional discipline, especially if in the 4-2-3-1 pivot. His natural game is about bombing forward, he's not a holding player, and if he and Fabregas get sucked forward when we have the ball then we're trouble. This could happen quite easily given their respective tendencies, and so I think we have to go with a designated holding player... It would be very bold indeed but I would consider Ake for this. He's a very composed player from what I've seen and also good in possession. You can be sure that he wouldn't leave the back four either given that his would effectively be his debut. Yes, he's young and inexperienced, but so was Bertrand, and he did a solid job in Munich. It's not like we need Ake to win the game, we just need him to keep his discipline and ensure that we don't have Kane and co. running straight at our back four like they did all night at WHL. I'd then bring in Ramires for his tirelessness, ability on the break and tackling ability. The one to miss out unfortunately is Oscar, but he's been mediocre of late and given my reasoning above I think he might have to miss out here for the sake of the team. Zouma ahead of Cahill too. I think he's ready for this and I worry about Cahill given all the mistakes he's made this season. ------------Courtois------------- --Iva--Zouma----Terry--Azpi-- ---------------Ake---------------- ------Ramires--Fabregas----- --Willian---------------Hazard-- -------------Costa----------------

So the Yokohama deal means we get an additional £22m a year from our shirt sponsor. Add to that the increased revenue we'll be getting from the new TV deal and, in effect, we'll be able to make one huge, additional signing a season whilst still breaking even. I think this is where the club is headed in terms of it's transfer policy. The future core of our squad is already there, what we need to supplement it is an injection of 1/2 top quality players every year whilst older heads retire and whilst we continue to either integrate the best of the loan army or sell them on for profit.

All pubs shut an hour before kickoff by the way. Chelsea sent out an email today.

I can't help but feel that this Sunday is going to be vital for the rest of our season. With all the upheaval of the last few weeks and the patchy form, we need some tonic to kick us on for the rest of the season in both the League and the CL. Winning this cup would help massively, I think.

Thoughts ahead of tonight Kindkladze? Good time for you to be playing them given the current form of both teams. I'd actually like you to go through because I think it would improve our chances of winning the league with you having some additional games to take care of. Unfortunately I see Barca doing it over 2 legs. Hopefully Pellegrini uses his brain for a chance in the CL and plays 3 in midfield.

Good move for all concerned. The kid's got talent, yes, but he'd start as the 5th AM here at best and in all likelihood would only have played the odd COC and FA Cup game next year. There's nothing worse for a young kid's development than a lack of playing time, and then we'd have probably lost him anyway. Given that there's the buy-back clause I think this is good for CFC.

Squads win you titles these days not First XI's. Let's hope ours proves to be strong enough.

This weekend seems to have made the race for 3rd and 4th even more open, if that's possible. I still fancy Arsenal for 3rd but not so sure about United as I was before for 4th! Liverpool are in great form and they still get to play United at home. It looks as though Southampton might begin to fade away but I still fancy them to fight hard, they'll certainly give us a tough game in a couple of weeks' time.

http://www.standard.co.uk/sport/football/chelsea-boss-jose-mourinho-was-spot-on--nemanja-matic-should-not-have-been-sent-off---former-premier-league-referee-mark-halsey-10064232.html Mark Halsey feels that we've got a good case and that Matic should only have received a yellow in the first place.

I'm sure it will go down to the wire but I'm still confident we'll edge City. They have a tougher run in than we do and will drop silly points like they have all year. That said though, their recent upswing in form is a worry. Let's hope that they beat Barca and therefore something other than the PL to deal with.

I've seen that picture before too, no idea. The Welbeck one was charged I believe. Just wondering when the next inevitable incident will be? The League Cup Final vs. Tottenham I bet.