we'll see. but i don't think i can do it..if zola browses LYN, later he merajuk la. haha

okay i'll solve the offside mystery for u guys. torres made a lightning quick dash which was too fast for the linesmen's eyes, hence he didn't flag for it. all he saw was the net bulging so fair play to the linesmen. i don't blame him one bit.

i'd go with azpi, cavani and moses for our final 3 signings. but...don't be surprised if we end up with only azpi! if nando and studge (who caused reading all sorts of trouble) stay fit i wouldn't be too bothered though. the problem is, that's a huge, huge risk.

totally agree on keeping studge. he has the talent and confidence to make it at the top level. his performance vs reading was also good, and i'd go for him on the right wing vs newcastle instead of ramires. great news on moses, i feel his inclusion means rami will have a chance back in the middle which has always been his best position, and studge can concentrate on battling torres for that coveted CF spot. but keep studge on the right vs newcastle and see how he performs first. it would be interesting to see how much he 'wants' that RW position, now that moses is here.

as far as adding another striker to our squad is concerned, i'd like to ask you guys do you think having a plan B 'drogba-like' CF would be useful? or do you prefer our nifty players i. e mata, hazard, marin, etc, weave their way intricately through tight defences? as for me i just feel we need to be moving away from that 'big target man' philosophy so to speak, but admittedly it would come in handy against really-really stubborn defences. the thing is if we bring in a drogba-like forward and he gets a place on the bench (understandably, as our plan B), will there be any good players actually willing to accept a peripheral role like that?

i think he's capable actually. just needs that little bit of confidence and once he shakes off the rustiness, we'll see rami back to his best, bursting through the middle. if it were up to me, i'd rotate between him and lampsy, leave mikel to dictate the pace of the game. i've always seen him as a direct replacement for essien, taking into account his amazing stamina to get up and down the pitch! out of all our midfielders, he's probably the most energetic atm?

exactly. lukaku came with a big reputation, and even though you couldn't really say he was a big name at the time, it's now clear he was desperately unhappy on the bench. i'd imagine someone like cavani wouldn't be too pleased either.

looking back at the reading goals, i think many here have pointed out the first one was practically unstoppable, (drogba would've been proud of that header) and the second was a howler from cech. i guess the big man's entitled to a few of those, and it's always better to make them early on against lower tier teams. i like how RDM compared hazard to our legendary no. 25, but it's still early days imo. he's got a long way to go but boy what a blazing start he's made! just love how he chose to square the boal to iva for the benefit of the team and focus less on personal glory. plus the added bonus of winning penalties fairly is he's now building a good reputation of staying on his feet in the box, and hopefully refs will take note of that.

wow didn't expect it to be such a great day of transfers! moses and azpi, welcome to SW6! both are shrewd signings, capable of breaking into the first team

kevin de bruyne in action now vs dortmund on astro super sport!

great start to the season, as newcastle was our first big test. 61% possession says it all, we controlled the game for long periods and left newcastle to feed on scraps. only time they really looked like scoring was when papiss cisse had an unmarked header from a freekick, and demba ba got a lucky bounce which he tried to place past cech. formation was a bit defensive with bertrand on the left but we were tidy in position and showed good impetus going forward so it's all good.

mikel gave a good account himself against a strong newcastle side, with timely interceptions and useful forward passes. nando's dazzling dribble which won the pen shows his confidence is actually high, despite what others may think. however i'd still like him to have more shots from outside the box when he gets into good positions. nice toe-poke for the goal too. hazard continues his great form, meireles kept things tidy, and the back four were quite solid. mata needs a rest, and i still pity ramires who looked a bit lost out wide, again. studge and oscar have yet to get a decent run in the team, and like someone else has mentioned we're really building a reliable squad with two good players for each position. good times

as we've seen from the last two games, RDM has started to bring in that neat passing style which he utilised at west brom. i knew u had it in u robbie! last but not least, resting lamps was a great move and i quite like the double pivot combo of mikel and meireles.

arrghhh i don't like the studge loan news bid at alllllllllllll

i still feel essien can provide quality cover, but it seems RDM has perhaps realised it's been one knee injury too many for the ghanaian. if we decide to offload him, it would be best to secure a fee, rather than loan him to arsenal and help them win more games. yossi had a good impact there. i won't be surprised if the bison slots right in. like most of us here, i agree flomo should be cut loose but obviously there have been no-takers partly because of the bumper contracts we give players, which means they're comfortable just hanging around and collecting their paycheques. since RDM has shown they're not in his plans i hope he keeps it up, especially for the other competitions like the fa and carling cup. the youngsters and fringe players should get their chance there, no need to accommodate those who clearly don't have a future at chelsea.

is schurrle that good?

anybody else got worried when they saw mikel and lamps in the pivot and ramires on the wing? i did. true enough, midfield lacked urgency/defensive solidity and was bypassed so easily it was unreal, and ramires was a passenger on the RW. i honestly don't believe atletico are a much better team than newcastle. yes their passing / movement and pressing are good, but they're not too far apart, those two. yet we got smashed by the spanish side. i think RDM needs to decide quickly on the best pivot and wing combo. he's in danger of becoming too much of a tinkerman at the moment. personally, i like bertrand on the left, while mata and hazard constantly swap positions. moses on the RW for our next game vs QPR please. he can make that position his own.

for as long as we maintain the mikel and lampard pivot combo, we're in for more 'footballing lessons' this season i'm afraid. i find it impossible RDM doesn't realise something as obvious as this, so let's see how stubborn he persists with this pivot. (hint: against decent teams, the pivot needs to be disciplined with neither player making late runs into the box, or worse, consistently going past your attacking players in the final third of the pitch. if you even practice one of these things, it leaves mikel isolated against multiple attackers and his lack of speed means the back four will soon be outnumbered and in trouble. oh yes i'm looking at you lampsy) ramires on the RW is another decision which is driving me out of my mind.

i watched falcao's left foot curler again and i'm still annoyed at ashley for giving him like 5 metres of space, to just pick his spot. no wonder he apologised, he was one of the main culprits. went nuts watching the replays at the mamak as well. personnel vs newcastle should've been maintained, plain and simple. for those of you still in awe of falcao's finishing prowess, i'm sorry to break it to you but henry, van nistelrooy, rooney, drogba, torres, benzema, ronaldo (brazil) are just as capable of such sublime finishing. did he dribble past half our team and round cech? no. did he take a 40 yard shot from outside the box? no. did he pull off an overhead kick which nobody expected? no.
so what was it that really gave him the opportunity to hit the back of the net with such style? it's called SERVICE. something we sorely lacked for 90 mins vs atletico. it's a problem related to the pivot as well, if anyone's wondering. too slow to release passes to our attacking players means by the time they get the ball, atletico already have 9 players in their half.

falcao - future 50 million chelsea fc flop as long as we keep up this dysfunctional midfield and people will be calling for drogba's return within 3 weeks of him getting a squad number.u heard it here first!

note: just kidding,he'll probably end up in madrid/barca. besides,lukaku has looked amazing for west brom.he'll be back soon enough

Essien off on loan..meireles sold..josh on loan. Who makes these ridiculous decisions?

It’s almost as if roman is forcing RDM to utilise all our new signings instead of falling back on the older players, time and again. I don’t know if Robbie will take to the idea, as he’s only shown a willingness to fully integrate hazard. There has been a bit part for Oscar, but I guess we’ll be seeing more of moses and marin (when he recovers). The departure of meireles and essien has me sweating on one humongous issue though..which is the fact that the mikel and lamps combo will see even more time on the field. Haih Robbie please prove me wrong

i'd be less worried if oscar and romeu were utilised in their proper positions in recent times, even if it was just in pre-season for romeu. hmm..we'll see what happens vs QPR. moses on the RW can at least take some heat off ivanovic who had quite a shocker vs atletico.

hmm i know we've joked about him being banished to the youth team before, but isn't this a bit harsh? mixed feelings about this..it might seem cruel, but he did have a chance to move brazil for a final swansong, on reduced wages.

on the other hand, we're really making inroads into breaking up the much publicised player power in the dressing room, with another member of the old guard cast aside. it's a clear signal by the board imo, that they won't tolerate any nonsense from anyone. might have a slight effect on team harmony but when you think about it, it's obvious which group of players the club are putting their trust upon.

his contributions will never be forgotten, but he kind of shot himself in the foot by refusing to look for another club. pity, but only has himself to blame. chelsea fc can't really force him out, and even though he's training with the u21's, gotta remember he's still getting paid good moolah!