Chelsea FC - Supporters' Rally

[JWNY]

it's coming home!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

JWNY

[joew2005]

I m not a Chelsea fan.
But I would luv 2 see Chelsea or even Arsenal become 2009/2010 EPL Champions.

[Silver Wolf]

even though the second goal by Drogba looked off-side but it is still an entertaining match to watch.
full of action,from end to end.
i guess Man U is becoming the real one man's team.
last few season,they always depend on Ronaldo to deliver the goals,this season it is Rooney.

[Peter_North]

Originally Posted by Silver Wolf

i guess Man U is becoming the real one man's team.
last few season,they always depend on Ronaldo to deliver the goals,this season it is Rooney.

Did Chelsea beat Man Utd by 5 goals to 0 ? We barely scrapped past Man Utd, and with the help of a offside goal. The result could have gone either way even without Rooney.

And it's not over yet. With Liverpool away and Tottenham coming, Chelsea is just as much likely to drop points. You had better pray for Man Utd to overturn the deficit and beat Bayern Munich to keep them in the hunt for Champions League, so that more players will get injured.

[Super White]

Well Macheda's goal was a handball, so it would have been same same scoreline.

They were without Rooney, but Chelsea was without Essien and Ashley. Neither teams were at full strength.

[eVolut1on]

Chelsea got a very good boss,and the coach also great.But most of the players are around 30 now.That may be a big problem.

[eVolut1on]

Hope Chelsea will win the league at last.

[splicer]

now the momentum swing to Chelsea.
it is Chelsea's title to lose.

[Peter_North]

Originally Posted by Super White

Well Macheda's goal was a handball, so it would have been same same scoreline.

They were without Rooney, but Chelsea was without Essien and Ashley. Neither teams were at full strength.

I'm not saying who is better. I'm referring to your statement that Man Utd is a one-man team.

Without Rooney, Chelsea only managed to beat Man Utd by 1 goal margin. That hardly justifies Man Utd being a one-man team.

[Super White]

Originally Posted by Peter_North

Leadership is something that has been overrated. Even then, there are no short of leaders in the Chelsea squad.

I don't think leadership is overrated, without a cohesive leader, the talented players will be each doing their own thing.

It's teamwork thats the most important factor, it's also how low teams can occasionally win the mighty ones. I believe their older captains have a lot to say about that.

Originally Posted by Peter_North

I'm not saying who is better. I'm referring to your statement that Man Utd is a one-man team.

Without Rooney, Chelsea only managed to beat Man Utd by 1 goal margin. That hardly justifies Man Utd being a one-man team.

I don't recall calling MU as one man team, but a team's is like a chain(Esp the defense, esp the keeper), its only as strong as it's weakest link. Teams will exploit any weakness they see.

Man U slum coincides with Rooney's absence just as Chelsea's blip coincided with JT's public affair fiasco. Good teams just adapt faster. The same squad staying together played a part. The quality was always there, it was about getting them to gel and firing up their desire to win.

I'm actually really surprised that Chelsea did so well this season with the a new manager, the Africans cups nation and JTs nonsense. It's also 1/2 due to MU losing Teves and Ronaldo in 1 season. It's looks like the opposition got weaker rather than Chelsea getting stronger.

I'm still pissed that Chelsea did not sign Teves when they had the chance. We would probably be in search of the Treble. The 30 mil they wanted for Teves is looking like a pretty good deal now.

[Super White]

I kinda fearing Avant Grant in the FA cup final, will 2 previous managers deny Chelsea in cup competitions in 1 frickin season?

I must say Chelsea has it coming for kicking their managers out too fast without giving them enough time to perform.

[tcss-moderator]

my prediction for Chelsea vs Bolton.......3-0/4-0 and 4 pts clear of Man Utd.

[Super White]

I actually dream of the match ending 1 nil... tooo tired to stay awake to watch... another 2 more wins and can relax liao

Woots! It's finally coming back.

[JWNY]

Kalou on song as Blues rout Stoke

Chelsea sent a defiant title message to Manchester United as they went back to the top of the Premier League with a stunning demolition of Stoke at Stamford Bridge.

Carlo Ancelotti's side were asked to respond to United's 3-1 win over Tottenhamon Saturday and the Blues, minus suspended captain John Terry, did so in some style.

A hat-trick from Ivorian striker Salomon Kalou, a brace from Frank Lampard, including a penalty, and late goals from substitute Daniel Sturridge and Florent Malouda maintained their dream of winning a League and FA Cup double this season.

The win restored Chelsea's place at the summit by a single point and victories over Liverpool at Anfield and against Wigan in their final home game will deliver the title for the first time since 2006.

Stoke were expected to put up some stiff resistance but Chelsea's mood from the kick-off dictated otherwise.

The Blues, so often criticised for failing to start well, were determined to reclaim top spot. The visitors were not helped by a serious injury to goalkeeper Thomas Sorensen and the loss of captain Abdoulaye Faye through injury early on.

Faye had been struggling with a thigh problem all week and he was replaced by Ryan Shawcross after just eight minutes.

It was Shawcross's first game since his tackle on Aaron Ramsey left the Arsenal midfielder with a badly broken leg at the end of February.

Chelsea should have taken the lead in the 12th minute when Lampard's shot was palmed into the path of Ashley Cole by Sorensen.

But Cole, playing his first game since fracturing an ankle against Everton in February, smashed his shot straight at the Denmark international.

In the 18th minute Drogba sent a speculative effort over the cross bar but two minutes later the Ivorian forced a superb save from Sorensen.

Full-back Paulo Ferreira found Drogba unmarked at the near post but his powerful header was brilliantly tipped away by the Stoke stopper.

In the 22nd minute Drogba latched on to a superb ball from Malouda, rounded Sorensen and then inexplicably smashed his volley high into the crowd. It should have been Chelsea's opener.

But he made up for it a minute later when he controlled a sweeping pass from Malouda and crossed for Kalou to head home from close range.

Lampard almost made it two in the 26th minute but his volley was collected safely at the near post by Sorensen.

Chelsea made it 2-0 in the 31st minute with another superb move. Nicolas Anelka's pass was cleverly played into the path of Lampard by Drogba.

The England midfielder drilled a first-time shot which Sorensen saved but Kalou poked home the rebound.

But Sorensen was injured trying to prevent Kalou from scoring and is understood to have fractured his elbow - an injury which, if confirmed, could keep him out of the World Cup finals. The Stoke goalkeeper was carried off on a stretcher after undergoing lengthy treatment.

He required oxygen as he left the pitch and was replaced by Asmir Begovic.

Chelsea made it 3-0 from the penalty spot in the 43rd minute when Robert Huth brought down Kalou and Lampard stroked home the spot-kick.

In the 52nd minute Kalou, clearly looking to a hat-trick, sent a curling shot just over the angle of the post and crossbar.

Stoke made a change in the 59th minute when Tuncay Sanli replaced Dave Kitson. The departing Kitson was clearly not happy with the decision and gestured to the bench before going straight down the tunnel. Kalou completed his first hat-trick for the club in the 68th minute to make it 4-0.

The Ivorian striker cut in from the right flank and although his first effort was saved by Begovic, Kalou slammed home the rebound.

It was the last action for the striker who was replaced by Joe Cole to a standing ovation from the home fans. Malouda failed to score from a yard out when Anelka's cross eluded the Stoke defence and the France international was thwarted by a great save from Begovic in the 78th minute.

Chelsea made it 5-0 in the 81st minute when substitute Sam Hutchinson crossed for Lampard to score his 25th of the season with a clever volley.

In the 87th minute, Drogba set-up substitute Sturridge who rounded Begovic to make it 6-0. Two minutes later Malouda made it 7-0 as Stoke capitulated under the constant pressure.

Salomon Kalou was proud to claim his first hat-trick and help Chelsea move back to the top of the Premier League table with a thumping 7-0 win against Stoke.

"It means a lot. It was a very important match for everyone,'' Kalou told Sky Sports 1. "We have to keep on wining and focus on our game. We did well today - 7-0 is a great result.''

Lampard praised Kalou's performance after the forward was handed a rare start in the absence of the ill Deco.

"He fully deserves his goals today,'' Lampard said. "Every time he comes on he makes a difference. He's one of those players in a squad that you need because he scores goals. We play Liverpool next. It will be a tough game because they want to finish strongly. We have two tough games to come.''

[MarCn]

Chelsea is strong now and I hope we will see Chelsea become 2009/2010 EPL Champions.