DaRick

Yep that's a more valid theory than mine. Maybe I've been reading too much into sensationalist British media and England's attitude towards its cricketers for about a generation (1980's - 2000's) LOL.

Massive upgrade for Torino incoming. Padelli is one of their weaker players apparently.

That's cool; I prefer to forget about losses to Liverpool as well.

Wasn't that Fernando Torres' first game for Chelsea? The rest, as they say, was history.

When I think of war correspondents, I think of the likes of Marie Colvin - courageous people who are willing to risk their lives for their job. When I think of Stan Collymore, I just think that you should NOT give a mentally ill person untold amounts of wealth and publicity. Just ask Axl Rose.

A bit left-field this one, but nothing sticks in my craw more than the 0-1 loss to Corinthians at the CWC in 2012. Benitez...swapping a RB for a RB. Pure genius. 2008 really hurt, but at least we made up for that. We may never get the chance to win the CWC again.

Some on this forum do lay it on rather thick and it does get tiresome at length, as you've correctly pointed out. However, you get some of that on every football forum out there. I just try to focus on the more insightful posts and ignore the dumber ones, otherwise I'd just go nuts. I've also noticed that many British tend to lapse into self-loathing and wrist-slashing pessimism a little too easily at times. Maybe that explains some of the more ridiculously negative posts? Just a theory.

Really? I always thought that Azpi was regarded as solid at Marseille, albeit not the player he would later become.

It will be very interesting to see how Hart copes in Italy. If Torino got him they would IMO become instant contenders for a European place, provided he adapts. I'm not sure he would want to go to Napoli. Pepe Reina is in goal and apparently he has been pretty good for Napoli. There would IMO be no guarantee of consistent game time there, which is surely what Hart would want given his national place is at stake.

Blackburn's legacy has gone from the seminal to the urinal. A cautionary tale for other PL clubs. Make sure your new owners are fit for purpose.

Some of these are genuinely cringeworthy, but hindsight is always 20/20. As for me, I own up to the bolded comment. I'm glad the lineup worked this time around.

Oh I never said it was a GOOD reason.

*sigh* Hull.... I knew they wouldn't roll over and their defensive performance was redoubtable, but not quite enough.

1) I assume he's Nigerian or of Nigerian descent anyway. Would explain a lot. 2) Jose's a great manager, but I think the parody of him that we saw last season did us more harm than good.

The most professional performance since...well, probably since Swansea in January 2015. Burnley are a weak side, but they didn't get a sniff.

Technically he's average, but Conte knows how to use him. He's a dangerous super-sub because he's quick and direct - exactly what you don't want to face after 80 minutes on the field. Also unlike Cuadrado, he's strong enough to cope with PL defenders. He also seems to have improved his finishing and positioning some. His positioning for the third goal was just right.

Early onset dementia? Hey, it's more sensible than any other explanation you'll get.

They might not; SAF and Steve Bruce aren't there.

Free Willy.

Too conservative a lineup IMO.

I agree, although Cahill's positioning and communication with him also left something to be desired for that goal. It was a bilateral failure. I still give Davey props for putting such effort and thought into his post though.

Good signing provided he's a third-choice and not second-choice goalkeeper. Still hanging around the Portugal NT and was actually fairly good around 2010 or so. He just never really adapted at Genoa and his career spluttered a bit from there.

I do. I don't think he's Chelsea standard. Even at Fiorentina he was somewhat inconsistent. He's fairly good going forward but mediocre defensively...but then again so was Baba so why would you even bother loaning him out if you are going to buy someone of roughly the same caliber and type?

Great birthday present for me. We looked turgid for most of the game, but some inspired tactical changes by Conte secured us 3 points. It's funny how Costa lately looks like he's tilting at windmills for much of the game and then pulls out a goal from nowhere. Say what you want about Cesc (lack of athleticism, mediocre defensively) but he's always been a brilliant playmaker. His passing and vision almost rival Pirlo's when he was at his peak.

I couldn't watch this game unfortunately. But I'm glad to hear that we won and played well, even though West Ham were both undermanned and undercooked. Nice strike by Costa at the end. A real clinical finish, but apparently he was running into cul-de-sacs for most of the game. I loved Conte's reaction to the winner.