BlueBeard

I don't remember ever posting anything like that, but you may be right - my memory isn't too good. I realise that Chelsea's younger fans won't know as much about the clubs history as older fans do, but the majority of them are interested enough to learn about it, which is great. Of course younger fans will only feel a part of the club if they are made to feel a part of it, and I'm all for that. I'm talking about real fans though, not the prawn sandwich brigade. I think you're mistaking me for someone else. Where the hell did I say the disaster should be forgotten??? Try reading my last post again. I'm all for people showing their respects if that's what they want to do, I just don't agree with the way it gets turned into a circus. It's possible that I'm not explaining myself as well as I could, but I can only speak about grief from a personal point of view. I try my best not to think too much about my loved ones on the anniversary of their death, as it's just too painful, even now it's nearly 20 years on. I prefer to remember them as they were when they were alive. Perhaps that's why I find it hard to understand these anniversary circuses, who knows? As I said before, everybody's got their own way of dealing with things.

Obviously I have respect for the people who died in the Munich disaster, just as I have respect and the utmost sympathy for their families and loved ones who had to deal with their grief - I would have thought that would have gone without saying. But, however much I sympathise with Manchester United FC for what they also went through, I don't agree with these constant anniversary events - they serve no purpose other than to let fans wallow in 'grief' - and the majority of those fans weren't even born when it happened. This is a fairly recent thing - I don't remember too much being made of the anniversaries in 1968, 1978 or 1983 - people were different back then, and showed their respects in a quieter and more dignified way. All this huge outpouring of public 'grief' started with Hillsborough and escalated alarmingly with Princess Diana's funeral. Unfortunately it seems to have become the norm. I would honestly feel the same way if it had been Chelsea involved rather than the mancs. I will always respect those who have died and the ones they left behind, but I refuse to be part of a public circus of grief. If that makes me sound a bit callous, so be it - we've all got our own ways of dealing with things. And Lofty - yes, I was at Bobby Charlton's last game at the Bridge. I remember Chelsea fans singing Bobby Charlton's name, but I didn't join in - I never did like the bloke!

Ben Haim hasn't lived up to the expectations of most Chelsea fans, though to be honest I never rated him highly even when he was at Bolton. I've yet to see him put in a decent performance in a blue shirt, and I doubt I ever will - he's simply nowhere near good enough. If we're gonna risk having below par defenders, then we should be bringing through youngsters who are likely to improve and be here for some time to come, not wheel out second rate journeymen. I'd far rather see someone like Michael Mancienne playing in the first team (in selected games) than Ben Haim. If Grant feels that Mancienne isn't ready, then we should look around for a decent young player, possibly from the lower leagues. Just because Ben Haim is valued at well over a million quid doesn't mean he's a good player. Central defence is arguably the most important position on the pitch apart from the keeper - if a striker or midfielder makes a cock-up, the team will probably recover - if a central defender makes a mistake, it can prove very costly. And Ben Haim makes numerous mistakes every time he plays.

I agree with you totally clubhappy. When it comes to Munich, the mancs are right up there with the scousers when it comes to self pity and martyrdom. The Munich disaster was a terrible thing, but life goes on - especially after 50 years. There's far too much of this organised grief for my liking - it sometimes seems as if there's hardly a match goes by nowadays without a minute's silence beforehand, or some team wearing black armbands. Away from football, of course, if you go for a drive you see the flowers by the roadside where there's been a fatal accident - something I've never understood. If a bereaved person feels the need to place flowers in memory of their loved one, surely the graveside is the place to do it? I was brought up in an age when grief was a fairly private affair, kept within the family of the deceased. It should have stayed that way, at least death was treated with respect and dignity - today it seems that a lot of people want to wallow in their grief and let the whole world know that they've lost someone. Maybe if they took a step back, they'd realise that every single person in the world loses a loved one at least once in their lifetime - it's very upsetting and unpleasant, but ultimately we just have to get on with it.

I reckon you'd have a good day out at Wolves, Glory! Bloody shame Plymouth lost to Pompey, that would have been a great day out - I'd have gone to that myself!

I agree about the substitutions, but I would have taken Malouda off at half-time, he was that bad.

This is such a difficult decision! For me it's clearly between the 60's & 70's - I even made a list of my favourite bands/singers from both eras to help me decide..... 1960's Bo Diddley, Sam Cooke, John Lee Hooker, Beatles, Rolling Stones, Roy Orbison, Bob Dylan, Phil Ochs, Animals, Dusty Springfield, Four Seasons, James Brown, Ronettes, Crystals, Chiffons, Who, Donovan, Butterfield Blues Band, Kinks, Hollies, Manfred Mann, Small Faces, Cream, Johnny Cash, Traffic, Jimi Hendrix Experience, Otis Redding, Spencer Davis Group, Aretha Franklin, Beach Boys, Wilson Pickett, Sam & Dave, Pretty Things, Ike & Tina Turner, Joe Tex, Lovin' Spoonful, Prince Buster, Yardbirds, Love, Simon & Garfunkel, Buffalo Springfield, Jefferson Airplane, Grateful Dead, Janis Joplin, Country Joe & The Fish, Doors, Ethiopians, Velvet Underground, Upsetters, Derrick Morgan, Blue Cheer, Derrick Harriott, Fleetwood Mac, Desmond Dekker, Maytals, Pioneers, Moby Grape, Free, Jimmy Cliff, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Flying Burrito Brothers, It's A Beautiful Day, Blind Faith, MC5, Joni Mitchell, Quicksilver Messenger Service, Spirit, Zombies, Ten Years After....and Motown! 1970's Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, Taste, Grand Funk Railroad, Black Sabbath, Groundhogs, Santana, Sly & The Family Stone, Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, Ken Boothe, Rod Stewart & The Faces, Allman Brothers, Big Youth, Pink Fairies, Mountain, Hawkwind, T.Rex, Iggy & The Stooges, Humble Pie, I-Roy, U-Roy, Genesis (w.Peter Gabriel), Alice Cooper, Cat Stevens, Al Green, Gram Parsons, Cactus, Dust, Stray, David Bowie, Slade, Ann Peebles, Gladys Knight & The Pips, Mott The Hoople, Family, Chi-Lites, Horslips, Lindisfarne, (early) Queen, Johnny Winter, Curtis Mayfield, John Lennon, Isley Brothers, Rory Gallagher, Status Quo, Ronnie Lane's Slim Chance, Parliament Funkadelic, Cockney Rebel, New York Dolls, Linda Lewis, Heavy Metal Kids, Lou Reed, Dr.Feelgood, Eagles, Barry White, Millie Jackson, Pink Floyd, SAHB, Black Oak Arkansas, Foghat, Max Romeo, Frankie Miller, Ramones, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Bob Marley & The Wailers, J.J.Cale, Bonnie Raitt, Patti Smith Group, Bad Company, Thin Lizzy, Rufus, Streetwalkers, Nils Lofgren, Bruce Springsteen, Steve Miller Band, Neil Young & Crazy Horse, ELO, Marshall Tucker Band, Emmylou Harris, Rainbow, ZZ Top, Marcia Griffiths, Ted Nugent, Dave Edmunds, Nick Lowe, Blondie, Stranglers, Southside Johnny & The Asbury Jukes, Bob Seger, Clash, Ijahman, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, Sex Pistols, Linton Kwesi Johnson, AC/DC, Kate Bush, Jam, Dire Straits, Joe Jackson, Undertones, Van Halen Obviously a lot of these artists spanned both decades, so I just put them into the decade in which I preferred their music. I've spent ages pondering this, and have finally come to a decision! Naturally there was also a lot of crap music released in both the 60's & the 70's, but......the 70's was the decade that spawned Disco music - so the 60's is my choice, by default

I'm with you all the way, Lofty, though I feel you're getting a bit liberal in your old age mate - I'd be happier with half a dozen broken legs, five red cards, and at least two deaths on the pitch

Can't agree about Rennie - I thought he was just as bad as ever, he's nowhere near good enough to be a premiership referee. About the only thing he got right was booking that Palacios or whatever his name is for diving. Michael Brown elbowed Maka in the throat in the second half and didn't even get a card. Brown then followed that up by committing about 4 fouls in as many minutes, and still Rennie didn't book him. Brown is a total c*nt, always has been, he's on a par with Ben Thatcher or Robbie Savage. I was praying that one of our lads would step up and cripple the b*stard, but sadly we lack that kind of commitment now.

I agree that Anelka had a very good game, but I've gone for Steve Sidwell. He's had a lot of unfair criticism on this site, but today he ran the midfield - nothing spectacular, but a very solid performance. No doubt a lot of people on here will disagree, but they've already made their minds up that he's no good - I prefer to give credit where it's due.

They're making quite a bit of noise, those Hampshire lads! I reckon a few Chelsea chaps stayed up there after the Everton game

Havant & Waterlooville fans singing "Can we play you every week"

Havant & Waterlooville 2-1 up !!!!!!!!

Scouse scum losing 0-1!!!!

All I've found so far is this (regarding Carlo): - At the end of a steady 2005/06 season, he had saved six of the 12 penalties he had faced while between the posts for Chelsea, furthering his reputation as an excellent penalty stopper. source: - http://www.answers.com/topic/carlo-cudicini

Petr Cech - played a blinder. Good all round team performance though, Belletti ran Petr a close second

a) on recent form, he's not worth his place in the team - in my opinion I've noticed (as have many others) that Lampard hasn't looked as if he's trying as hard as he should. Last season Ballack got crucified on this site for exactly the same thing, and rightly so. Apology accepted, and I in turn apologise for my reaction - you'd think that at my age I'd have learnt to curb my temper, but I seem to be getting worse If you think I'm completely wrong, that's fair enough - I think you're completely wrong too Even with Essien & Mikel away, I think Ballack and Makelele are quite capable of running our midfield. Sidwell hasn't had much of a chance yet at Chelsea, and probably never will - and rightly so, considering the options we've got, but he's not as bad as a lot of people make him out to be. I'd pick Lampard ahead of Sidwell, though on current form Lampard would have to improve drastically to keep his place - again, this is just my opinion.

Yes - just because a player runs around a lot doesn't necessarily mean he's putting in a lot of effort Lampard's been out of form for the last couple of years, compared to how he played beforehand. His passing has deteriorated, and his corners and free-kicks are an embarrassment to watch. That's kind of my point - he's not the player he was 3 or 4 years ago.

Have you been drinking? Firstly, no one is suggesting Ballack is dropped. We have a desperate shortage of midfielders at the moment. Secondly, "the vast majority of his performances over the last two seasons have been well below par" Loz, is there a prize for most ridiculous post of the year so far? Are you so f*cking arrogant that you can't handle the fact that some people may have different opinions to yourself? If you honestly believe that Lampard has been playing at his best for the last two years then you either know f*ck all about football, or you're on some kind of mind-altering drugs

Even if Lampard was fit I don't think he deserves to go straight back into the team, the vast majority of his performances this season (and last season) have been well below par - and that's being kind. Ballack has been doing well and doesn't deserve to lose his place simply because Grant (just like Mourinho before him) thinks the sun shines out of Lampard's arse. Maybe Lampard would start to show signs of the form we know he's capable of if he was made to warm the bench for a few matches - make him realise that he has to do more than just turn up in order to get a game.

Reminds me of a similar thing many years ago - must have been about 73/74 or thereabouts, Chelsea playing at Brum, Manure at West Brom. I got a kicking in the Spion Kop along with quite a few other Chelsea fans, but our day was vastly improved after the game by the old bill letting us share New Street Station with the mancs - such larks!

BBCi - if you're in the UK and have Freeview, tune in to channel 302 round about 4:30/5:00 for full match. Got to say, the football quality is pretty dire from what I've seen so far. Not as bad as Mark Bright's co-commentary remarks though - he seems to go out of his way to be stupid, the man's a Grade-A twat, can't f*ckin' stand the bloke!

Easy choice - Bridgey all the way!

Joe McLaughlin was the man - what a great day that was!

Walter Smith hasn't done too bad since his return to Ibrox - long may it continue!