Deep Blue

Very nice to read a post that's so thoughtful, eloquent, and at the same time entertaining. Part of what I love about Chelsea is the "us against the world" attitude. We have many people who hate us, but that's offset by our sense of support and loyalty. I think that emanates from the first team to supporters worldwide.

At first I was underwhelmed by this new away kit. It seems like so many teams have the diagonal stripe lately and normally I don't really care for navy blue. However, throughout the day I found that I really couldn't stop thinking about how slick it is. The 3 stripes on the sleeves have the fade effect on them which makes them feel modern (because to be honest, the three stripes get old on every. single. adidas. item.) and the combination of light blue and dark blue has really grown on me. I think of it as we already own the royal blue, so now for our aways we're making every blue ours too. I've heard rumors that blue is the color, afterall. To top it off, my high school's main color for sports was light blue, so that's a nice tribute for me. Anyways, now that I've decided I love these jerseys, I think I'll be buying a long sleeve version, just need to decide what name to get on it...

Thanks very much!

That's both disgusting and highly entertaining at the same time!

I haven't read through all the comments but I eventually will! I just woke up from a well-deserved nap because damn it that was hard work to watch!! But WE DID IT!!! The players we all love have gotten their champions league trophy, and we know that's the crown jewel on their already amazing careers. Time to blow a bunch of money on the megastore!! I'm so happy I get to remember this day for the rest of my life! I wish I could be in London...someday...but I'm so glad I can share this with you all around the world!

I don't even know what to say, I've been a wreck all day (and night)...No matter what happens we'll be talking about this day for years to come.

It feels like we've won the final right now! I don't think there's any stopping us. This group of players deserves to win it all...I just can't wait to see it happen.

Couldn't have asked for anything better, I'm so proud!! I had a dream last night that we would tie this game but we did one better! I ! can't wait for next week away at Nou Camp, if we play like we did tonight, we just might make it to the final!

A bit unwarranted there my friend, but let me clarify. On the field I believe that if someone getting a cheap shot on you, it's fine to retaliate to let yourself be known. A lot of this goes on that none of us ever see, it's part of the game. What else are you gonna do? Ask the person to stop? Tell the referee? The only way to stop it is to intimidate the person back. It's a physical game. However, there is a difference between standing up for yourself and trying to injure someone else, which is just disgusting. If I'm coming across as an asshole, I apologize but that's just the way I see it.

The only difference between Ivan's and the others is that Ivan did it to stick up for himself because he doesn't take that elbowing sh*t from anyone, while the others just did it with the intention of gaining an advantage or flat out trying to injure another player. If sticking up for yourself is what warrants a ban, then I'm proud that it's our players getting banned.

I like this shirt a lot. Simple. Classy. Most importantly, no red It would look amazing with the gold patches on it... I'm hoping for a simple white and blue away or third kit with the standard badge on it, not a recolored one.

Well, the honeymoon had to end eventually. Before the game I wouldn't have been surprised with a loss, but after seeing that, the tactics just weren't correct. We could have gone at them more, especially with Kompany out. Being too defensive in the midfield was our problem today, and I think a draw would have flattered us just a bit. That being said, this game was still miles better than how we were playing a month ago, so there is definitely still hope!

Feels like we won a championship today! Its days like these that make the sport so magical, and just watching everyone play their hearts out and the celebrations afterwards make the suffering this season worthwhile. Doubly so if we can keep this form up! Robbie D is making all the decisions we have been screaming for week after week on here...he might just be the answer to our managerial problems.

Honestly I don't blame the ref for that at all. Tough decisions to make. Did anyone really feel safe with a win even at 3-0 up? I know I didn't, and that's the worst part.

There is no doubt in my mind that about 80% of the people who commentate on our games are biased against us. I think that's pretty obvious. While I'm not exposed quite as much to the British tabloid media and reporting, I see enough of it. Knowing that every club's supporters will think their club gets negative press, I can say with confidence that Chelsea seems to have the most consistent negative reporting. As much as I hate it, I've also grown to like it in a way. I think it gives an "us against the world" feeling and is a part of our identity now. It also makes me feel smarter than those who point out false flaws and blow non-stories out of proportion haha.

Seeing as I'm American, I would LOVE to see Dempsey in a Chelsea shirt. I don't think it will happen but I hope I'm proven wrong because I think he'd be a great player to put in the forward rotation, especially in those games where we go into last year's "pass around the outside of the box" offense. I'm also extremely excited to be getting Cahill in January, and I think him and any one additional signing would make me a very happy fan!

Merry Christmas everyone! I hope it's a joyous time for you all

This was the most fun game to watch in awhile! We kept the ball moving forward on the attack instead of going through the motions passing it around the box until we lose it. Mata was motm for that reason for me. Sturridge is a close second, and if he had gotten his goal 10 minutes ealier he would've been for sure. Terry was inspiring as well. I missed the first 10 minutes of the game, so I didn't know about the Luiz incident until half time, so with the benefit of not knowing what had happened, I thought he had a very solid game aside from that. Anyways, SO happy right now and I can't wait to see if this continues against Valencia!

Romeu certainly wasn't bad, in fact he was one of the bright spots of the match. My vote goes to Bertrand though.

I'm by no means saying sack AVB...but I honestly expected so much more when we got him. We all end up scratching our heads and making the same suggestions after every game. Now I don't think he'll be sacked, and I don't think he should be. I don't think we need a ton of new signings either. I just think someone needs to figure out what is going on inside our team and fix it, because all the energy and hope from the start of the season is miles away at this point.

No, because of your attitude.

Does anyone else get the feeling that once we go down, we absolutely cannot turn a game around? Every time we get scored on I find myself feeling that the game is over. Now AVB is supposed to be the "group one" and hopefully that comes true, because when I think of a group performance, I see us rallying when we're down and coming together to push for a result, and most of all SHOWING SOME HEART. The last time we came close to that was against QPR, and before that I can't remember the last time I really saw a passionate team performance. It feels like so much has to go against us before we start fighting. We go a goal down, we wake up a little bit. We get a stupid yellow card to two, we starting sprinting a little more. Questionable red card? Yes! Now we've got something to prove!!! We just need to play to our potential and give everything for a good 90 minutes before anything about a new system will start to help us.

It seems like our lack of movement when we have posession is back and as bad as ever. No one looks motivated enough to make anything happen, it's like they are all expecting the player next to them to make the play instead, while they watch and wait until there is a clear cut breakthrough to start sprinting or getting creative. The players who are the best on the field right now are the creative workers such as Mata, Sturridge, Luiz and at times Lampard. That could show where our problem is.

Jose Bosingwathefu**?! Hopefully he and his ever-present unibrow can prove us all wrong.

From the post-match interview with AVB, it seems like he has made his choices and is sticking to them. It might not make a lot of people happy right now, but it is commendable.