blueboy26

Anyone seen any estimates of how many Chelsea travelled?

My thoughts exactly

Anyone have a guess at what sort of numbers their support will travel in?

Some people talking about Wenger.....

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2320436/David-Luiz-Theres-sensitive-Chelsea-star--Lee-Clayton.html This has got to be the first positive thing i've read about a Chelsea player for an age

Dear God. This has really gone too far.

Some beautiful quotes right here : Dutch star Wesley Sneijder, who played for Mourinho at Inter Milan, has revealed the Portuguese coach harbours a deep love of Chelsea. He said: “In Jose’s heart it goes his wife, his kids, then Chelsea. “He has never made any secret about wanting to coach in England again — and when you hear him talk about Chelsea I don’t think he could coach any other team there. “It sounds crazy, but when he talks about the Premier League and Chelsea, it’s like a kid who is telling his parents what he wants for Christmas.” Read more: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/football/4912934/Jose-Mourinho-agrees-Chelsea-return-on-July-1.html#ixzz2SDxDk0W4

how was it generally tonight. Gotta be honest, was only getting Basel through the box.

I can see this becoming a factor. Don't know if anyone saw, but Leyton Orient are offering free season tickets to under 18s and students. Who's too say in 10 years time they won't have a reasonably good following?

Luiz vs Fulham

I suppose the one that is becoming focused on international markets, with people who have big wallets for merchandise but will never set foot in the bridge their whole lives. The two games we've got scheduled in New York at the end of the season are a case in point . As long as they can sell thousands of shirts in the US and the far East, do they really give a sh*t? This is a key point. Its obvious that there is a fundamental difference to those who say they support a team,buy the shirt, watch all the games on television etc etc, and those who regularly attend either home and away.There is a certain connection to the club that I don't thinks possible through a television screen. It's made by being in the company of other thousands of other blues, who all care just as much as you , when a piece of genuine magic or even disaster happens. When those moments happen (and for most it's in their teens), you look back and think "yeah, this is me. That club, that shirt, this group of people is what I'm about". It's these moments, memories with your mates you can remember like yesterday, that keep people coming back for more. You only have to look round this forum to read nostalgic posts from older blues recounting in ridiculous detail their trip to Wolves in '82 to see the importance of watching live football with your mates at a young age. Moments like that stick with you. For me I will never forget what it was like to be at the Emirates, having just lost the league in '07, with Jose marching towards us, bursting with pride. Or being at Vicarage Road , with Kalou scoring last minute to win the game. I know those moments wouldn't be high on most peoples lists, but they meant something to me. The problem is, I can count the other people I know my age who feel like this about a club on one hand. They just can't get to football anymore. The closest they can get to those memories and moments is a pub or behind a computer, and that is nowhere near the real thing. On top of that the common fan culture will eventually be lost. Who at the bridge is gonna be doing the zigga zagga, or singing celery, when the first time they've ever been able to afford to go is when they are 35?

Fair play to Arsenal for putting this deal on http://www.standard.co.uk/sport/football/exclusive-arsenals-10-ticket-for-teen-fans-8580084.html But tbh, it's unlikely to ever realistically happen at Chelsea until we get a bigger capacity. They are selling out the bridge too regularly to make it worthwhile. As long as they are getting bums on seats from people who come to 1 or two games a year or tourists, then actual fans who come and get behind the team can do one. That's why I think missing out on Battersea was so gutting. If they had got that ground, with the single tiered stand behind the goal a la Dortmund, then I reckon you could have seen young persons tickets going for about £20, any game. Being only 20 myself , I am genuinely concerned about how many proper Chelsea supporters there will be around in 15/20 years time. I look around the bridge and away ends around the country these day and the majority seem to be pushing 50. I assume they are all still here after falling in love with the club in their formative years, and there doesnt seem to be a new generation ready to come through.

My question is should we be doing something about it? Is there anything we can do about it? It's not like there isn't a good group of Chelsea who do sing. You only have to look at our away support, most notably at Leeds, to see that we do have a good singing contingent at the club. I remember there was some sort of initiative to get a proper singing section going at the bridge, but I think it ended up petering out. Surely there comes a point where those that love the club actually get something sorted out, instead of just consigning the atmosphere at SB to the history books.

Surely the german model has shown that the two aren't mutually exclusive? Following a football team shouldn't just be about watching the best possible players in the best teams. Its about your connection to the club, its history and its community. If it was about that then why would people bother following teams in the lower divisions? Its not about trying to revert to the "good old days", its trying to strive for something different from the money machine that is the premier league.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/22337095 Looks like finally complaints from english football fans are starting to filter into mainstream media. I think the german football love in recently has been a bit OTT but you can't deny that they have got some fundamentals spot on. I suppose the main question is if anyone can really see anyway back from the english games obsession with money?

Thought it was pretty flat yesterday, and also weirdly quiet against Sunderland. Strange given how important these games are now. A lot of it is probably down to how many games we've had recently, with our more vocal support focusing on the aways/being more selective. How was the noise at the cup semi? I ended up having to miss that one.

Selling Sturridge is so obviously going to come back to haunt us

Don't wanna tempt fate and all that but should we win the Sparta tie, will the away leg in the next round be on the 7th or the 14th of March?

Brentford would be fun

..... Seriously?

Last night must be the worst. I really was starting to get my hopes up. Thought Everton was a massive massive result which could have been the start of at least a half decent go at the mancs. woke up this morning to 15+ texts from Rangers twats who have been cumming their pants round Shepards Bush roundabout since the final whistle.

Lets be honest, we're not exactly the know for our level headed, rational decision making

Sorry , I forgot "We are leeds"(repeat) was a genius spark of originality not seen in English grounds for decades. I think you should ask those few in the South Stand. Never seen a group get more dominated in my life.

One of the best Chelsea away supports I've seen for a while last night.Were loud throughout and some good banter with the leeds (those there will know what I'm talking about). God knows where all those smoke bombs were coming from. All capped off by watching us lift the european cup, on the big screen, in Leed's backyard

It would have to be a real Leeds style implosion for us to be really in decline. I'm pretty confident that given 1 key signing in january we will push for second place.