Blue Charm

Considering the above comments regarding Didier's aerial prowess, it perplexed me that he used to take some corners. Not that he wasn't a very good in dead ball situations, but other players could have delivered a decent ball for him to attack. On the defensive side, he was one of the best at defending corners.

Soldado hardly looks bothered

strange game

Not sure whether I'm more surprised at that or the ref giving the pen

Here you go: http://cdn.livetv.sx/webplayer.php?t=ifr&c=232934?=en&eid=252716&lid=232934&ci=1&si=1

Andy Gray answering some awkward questions about Costa/Sigurdsson

Turns 21 in a couple of weeks. Hopefully he develops enough this season to be a part of the squad next year.

According to this: http://weaintgotnohistory.sbnation.com/2014/8/21/6052217/to-go-or-not-to-go-patrick-bamford-keeps-middlesborough-waiting Bamford is stalling.

Interesting news: http://www1.skysports.com/football/news/11668/9358288/transfer-news-marc-wilmots-says-thibaut-courtois-will-play-for-chelsea-next-season

Didn't Sturridge leave for similar reasons? I just wonder whether the club can't manage these young up and coming players in a better way. Top strikers tend to have big egos that need to be massaged.

Is it perhaps this video?

For me: 1) Thiery Henry 2) Ronaldinho* 3) Fernando Torres Tevez comes a close fourth. *He didn't play many games against Chelsea, but you have to fear a guy capable of this: Can't put Messi on the list since he can't score ;)

My team of the year would look something like this (assuming 442 formation): Cech Coleman Cahill Terry Azpilicueta Lallana Ramsey Yaya Hazard Suarez Sturridge Defence: I think most of Chelsea's defenders should be in the team since Chelsea has the best defensive record. It was difficult to leave Ivanovic out but Coleman has had a very good season for Everton. Cech has been the best and most consistent GK this season. Mignolet started the season well but has made quite a few mistakes. The ManC defence has looked fairly shaky this season, so can't have them. The Mertesacker and Koscielny partnership has looked solid for most of the season, but has crumbled against the top sides. Midfield: Hazard and Toure have to be in there. I think Ramsey should be in the side. He was having a brilliant season until his injury. Arsenal's troubles started after he got injured. Tough choosing the fourth midfielder. Can't have Gerrard in there. I think Lallana should be in the mix for team of the year. He has been one of the top performers for a very good Southampton side. Forwards: With almost 50 goals between them, the top two goalscorers Suarez and Sturridge have to be the two strikers. With a 433 formation I would perhaps take out Lallana for Rooney. Rooney has at times been the only reason ManU aren't further down the table.

http://video.repubblica.it/politica/quanto-costa-questo-crozza-brunetta-fa-le-pulci-alla-rai/143157/141692

I wonder if Mourinho will ask for an apology in his next press conference: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/chelsea/10468177/Jose-Mourinho-demands-answer-over-referee-apology-for-Chelsea-v-West-Brom-mistakes.html Not that it would make any difference. Mourinho must be fuming after todays game

Can't believe Foy is allowed to referee Chelsea matches let alone any other football game

How come the starting striker usually gets blamed (by some) when the team plays badly? I'm not at all saying that Ba played well enough or that he is a top striker, but other players were not up to standard. Mata played as badly as I've ever seen him play and Hazard looked a bit tired. One of the problems in the Villa match was that the three amigos played too narrow and made life easier for the Villa defence. Another factor towards the lack in attack may have been the positioning and movement of Lampard and Ramires. At times it looked like they were instructed to sit deep while attacking, since venturing forward could risk opening up space for Villa to counter. How often compared to other teams do we see a goal scored by Chelsea where the striker just taps the ball into the net?

Drogba can't stop scoring against Arsenal: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqiY3PS2DKM&feature=player_embedded

You can try the links here: http://livetv.ru/en/eventinfo/181049_milan_chelsea/

Jiri's flick... phwoar.

Scored against France: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x10qkvn_bra-1-0-fra_sport

This may have been mentioned before, but during the last decade the strikers playing for Chelsea haven't had the luxury of taking spot kicks. In the above video covering the 2012/13 season Cavani scores about 9 goals from penalties (about 1/4 of his goals). Being the main the main penalty taker will boost a player's goal stats and can also help get a player out of goal scoring slump. I think we need to have this in mind when judging strikers at Chelsea, considering Lampard and Hazard are the main penalty specialists at the club. I would think that 5 goals a season from the spot could be expected for a top team. Assuming this, Drogba (157 goals for Chelsea over 8 seasons) could have scored about 40 goals from the spot for Chelsea, boosting his goal tally by 25%. Would recent Chelsea strikers such as Shevchenko, Torres, Ba and Crespo be held in higher regard if they had taken penalties for Chelsea? If Cavani joins Chelsea and doesn't take penalties, will he be compared unfairly to himself at Napoli where he did take penalties? Not sure how many goals Ba scored from spot kicks for Newcastle but would those extra goals make a difference to his perceived quality at Chelsea?

Just read that Moutinho is on his way to Monaco for 25 million euros. James Rodriguez will be joining him for about 45 million euros.

The following website covers this in some sence: http://www.debatabledecisions.com/english-premier-league-tables