TJB

I would have to think that was explained to Lloris when he signed. More than likely it will be Friedel's last season (at Spurs anyway) so he's signed as his long term successor. Besides, it wouldn't really be fair to Friedel who hasn't done anything to warrant being dropped, and by the sound of things they have him to thank that they got a draw today.

30 years earlier yes, but he'll make more THIS YEAR than the majority will make in those 30 years. By the time most top level footballers retire (and this should be true in Malouda's case), they will be multi-millionaires who will have made more than enough money in their career to live comfortably the rest of their lives.

Or they could stick with Iniesta and continue to be one of the best sides in Europe.

Comparing Malouda taking a pay cut to an average person taking a pay cut isn't the same. For a lot of people, particularly if you're on minimum wage, you make enough every week to pay your bills, food, clothing etc, enough to get by basically. It would take me a couple of years to earn what Malouda does in a week. So, he can afford to take a pay cut and still live very comfortably both now and after he retires, unless he's made some horrific financial decisions of course.

Ok, so what meaning does the Super Cup have? Who here was thinking on May 19th, "Yes we get to play in the Super Cup!!"? It's something that's "nice" to win, but that's about it. If Atletico's season doesn't go well they won't be thinking about the Super Cup, just like City won't care about the Community Shield come season's end. Now, don't get me wrong, there is plenty from last night to be worried about and plenty lessons to be learned, but it was still only the Super Cup.

Just saw on BBC that Benayoun is going on loan to West Ham for the season.

I don't think anyone is trying to say his words cover up the performance, they just appreciate the fact that he didn't talk bs in the interview and told it like it is.

Well that's a sh*te start to the weekend. Anything I can say about that has already been said. But I do want to say well done to Atletico. Not their fault we were sh*te. They can only beat what's in front of them and they sure as sh*t beat us. And not just Falcao. From front to back they were brilliant. Well organised and attacked with pace and numbers. Fantastic to watch...when it's not Chelsea they're doing it to.

You don't have to choose between one or the other, it is possible to be good at the back while still posing a threat going forward.

Agree totally with the the first bit. As for the bolded part, what about the day we conceded 5 at home to Arsenal?

We've been poor at the back but you can't help but admire the finishing from Falcao. Unreal.

Words can't even begin to... nevermind. This will do

Yes we have, 1998. Besides I think he means the star for the Champions League.

Their biggest problem every year is the number of injuries they get to key players. They don't have the depth to cover it. If they keep everyone fit then there is no reason why they can't match their finish from last season at least. They'll definitely finish above Liverpool again. Someone asked what happened to Villa earlier. It's very simple. The good team they had 2/3 years ago has been sold off, and not replaced. Mick McCarthy made a good point on MOTD2 last night, a number of the Villa players at the weekend were in the reserves a few years back. I think Lambert is going to have a big job keeping them in the league. They were only 2 points clear of the bottom 3 last year don't forget. Funny how they complain about a w**kfest over Hazard, but will wholeheartedly go along with one for Sterling. (I know, I know he's only 17 and while he did well yesterday, it's not like he ran the show or anything.)

Very pleased with the win and very pleased we got Newcastle on a day when Ba & Cisse were both off the pace. I was a bit worried in the 1st half Ben Arfa looked threatening but he faded as the game went on. From our perspective, it was a good performance from just about everyone. Hazard continues his terrific start with a goal and an assist. And what a goal he assisted! Great build up play and a terrific finish from Torres. More of that please!

While I agree about the negative atmosphere (at times), I can't blame them for feeling the way they do. Pre-Venkys and Kean they were on the up under Allardyce. I'm not saying they would have turned into a regular top 10 side but they were clear of the relegation zone anyway. Then those clowns came in, sacked him for no reason, put Kean in charge despite his complete lack of managerial experience, have allowed good players to leave without replacing them and they now find themselves in the championship. At least they've been consistent on the matter and not made half arsed protests against the owners only to seemingly forget the issue after a few months like United fans have done.

Normally I don't bother with other team's sites (have no reason to), but curiosity got the better of me here. All I can say is wow. I think bitterness is too tame a word to describe what's being posted there (to be fair not all of them are posting bitter sh*te but a large number are). And to think they accuse us of lacking class

I voted Hazard but I agree on Mikel. I'm not his biggest fan but he did well tonight (well in the 2nd half and bit of the first half that I saw anyway).

I only saw the 2nd half so I can only comment on that. The overwhelming positive out of it was Hazard. Great dribbling and great awareness of who was around him, and knowing when the right time to lay if off was or when to turn the defender. A great show of selflessness at the end too. He and Mata are building a good understanding too and I think it's going to be exciting watching them this season, and in the future. While I feel for Reading with the offside goal, I'm delighted Torres got the goal. If nothing else it gets that first goal of the season monkey off his back. A couple of other quick plus points for me in that half were the performances of Sturridge and Mikel (surprised he was the on to come off and not Lampard). Negatives are obvious enough. Cech won't want to see that replay. And we looked shaky at the back, particularly out wide. But I don't want to dwell on the negatives. We won and we're top of the league for now

Here you go http://www.eplsite.com/stream1.html

Saddened that Carvalho is being lowered to that level. I was sad to see him go originally, but at least then it was abroad.

Not what I said and not what I meant, and you know that. I would agree totally that Shevchenko could have and should have been used better, but it shows my point. It created unnecessary tension and put Mourinho in a situation he wasn't happy with, even if he should have handled it better. You're right on that one and I too don't mind having numerous people involved, just so long as the manager is happy with who's coming in.

While the amount of control can be debated, there is no doubt that a manager must be involved in transfers. Situations like what Moos pointed out shouldn't happen, it will only be detrimental to the team. We've seen it at Chelsea in recent years, when Ballack & Shevchenko were forced on Mourinho, and Torres on Ancelotti.

Agree 100%, but to be fair to the defenders (particularly JT & Luiz) when they passed into midfield, time & time again the ball was passed straight back to them. And a lot of the time the players receiving (mainly Lampard & Mikel) didn't take a touch or attempt to turn and move forward, just passed it straight back where it came. It's a problem we've had for a while now. Romeu is comfortable taking the ball from the defence and moving it forward, but probably won't feature much. Oscar did it a few times today, but it would be better if he didn't have to drop that deep to get the ball.

Happy with the win, even if the performance wasn't great. Our passing was atrocious, as was Cech's distribution. But on the positive side. Good debut from Hazard. And Oscar looked very good when he came on. Unlike the rest of the midfield, he wanted to get on the ball and make things happen.