Match Day Moments - Southampton (FAC R3)

If chelsea can't beat a team like southampton then we are in real trouble, I know it won't be easy, but with the talent at our disposal, we ought to be able beat them, so I'll go for a 3-1 win

At last a competition to match the w@nker Rafa's capabilities and aspirations.

3pm GMT time and by my calculations 4pm Nigeria time.

Yeah Desmond this is an absolute must win game for us and Rafa. We have made a total disgrace of ourselves as champions of Europe having lost the UEFA super cup, the Club world cup and crashed out of the champions league at the groups stages. We need to save some face by at least going some distance in the defense of our FA crown. I hate to imagine what the fans at the stadium may do to poor Rafa if we lose this because he will surely be held responsible and the knives will be out asking for his head on a platter..that is afterall the Chelsea way; the manager is always the fall guy!!!

Roman disband* there is no way we should lose this game on normal circumstances

@Zolaisalegend..you are absolutely right and i had said the same things before. This is the danger of having "interim managers" especially someone like Rafa. This is a marriage of convinience with both parties having very different priorities. Roman hired Rafa to hold the ship and get safely to a top 3 position so we get champions footie next year when they hope they can get Pep. Rafa on the other hand is busy auditioning for his next job and nothing helps a coach audition for a new job like winning trophies. We all know the BPL title isnt coming and i know Rafa knows this so you can bet you last dime he will fight like crazy to win any or all of the remaining cup competitions namely the FA cup, Carlinc cup and the europa league. The issue is Roman really could care less about all this other stuff..his one passion is the Champions league with BPL title a close second..to show you how little he thinks of these other competitions he did not even attend our FA cup final win last year. This was the same thing that happened to RDM last year as interim. He placed his emphasis on the cup competitions; the FA cup and champions league and our BPL form suffered which nearly cost us champions league footie but for the bavarian miracle that brought us back from the brink..Roman never appreciated it. He clearly wanted a top 4 finish first and foremost. This second half of the season will be very interesting to watch for us because the priorities between the manager and the ownesrhip+board are quite different.

A.cole is captain !!! I am not used to seeing that

why is ba starting already ?? why cant piazon start in this cup , if we cant play him here when can we play him then ?

BTW Gus Puyet and his guys from Brighton and Hove have just ushered NewCastle out of the FA cup...the warning shots have been fired..any top level team better approach this with adequate seriousness otherwise they will kicked out..i have no doubt that Rafa wont make the mistake Alan pardew did by making 6-7 changes from his usual team line up. No doubt Rafa will name a very strong starting 11..our opponents are after a fellow BPL side ..we would underestimate them at our own peril..these guys just drew with the gunners in their last game.

Cole as Captain Lol! He hates being captain

@hazardousmarin, sorry for the previous info, the right time is 4pm, I forgot we are an hour ahead, and I think it will be on SS3 not SS7

Cole as Captain Lol! He hates being captain

We are winning this one no prob, hoped marin and oscar started though!

mata starts

why is it this game that marin is not starting ? expected him and bertrand in the line up .. benitez better not spoil our league form because of cups

It will be very interesting indeed GabeU . Todays starting line up compared to Wednesday's is starting to paint a familiar picture already . All we can do is sit tight and see how January progress's ,by Feb 1st we'll know exactly what Rafa's up to . But at the same time if the players perform to the capability that their wages and status suggest than we shouldn't need to worry either way ...........if only things were this straight forward . Anyway lets enjoy seeing how Demba gets on today , He could be the answer to alot of our problem's ! Come on the Chels !!!

Yea, rafa ought to start the fringe players, but after their pathetic performance AT HOME against QPR, would u play them again AWAY at SOTON? Yea, guess not!! Bury the game if possible by first half, remove, mata, hazard and luiz/BA, bring in lamps, oscar/torres and marin!!!

I have a 9 BA is his name, he will never share his goals with anyone, he will never share his glory with any blonde, I have 9 BA is his name!!!.... That's another song we can sing for BA

chalobah starts

Yep blue india,infact he starts against a very strong man city line up.

keen to see ba play and just for once give our offensive players a real striker for a change

oh and can someone confirm what the formation we are set up as is please

Kick off, let get ready to rumbleeeeeeee!

defence has to be even tighter considering we have a turnbill in goal

we are on the 4 :2 3 : 1 formation. I think Luiz and Ramires are in hte pivot...

Nothing impressive yet.......

Luiz is starting to become a nuisance in that Pivot .. way too soon, He has no positional sense whatsoever. He runs anywhere the ball is and that is too amateurish to say the least..

Is it the traditional 4-2-3-1 or 4-4-2 or a 4-4-1 formation? We should let each player do his job!!! Pass to the striker to score

goal down

what is wrong with our defence, one goal down. something have to be done quickly.

so far ,I have seen one of the problems which is our midfield has no vision. No one has been able to see Ba's run ins except on one occassion with Moses with the pass he had. Apart from that. Mata ,Hazaard,and rest are just running around with the ball and it is terrible.. BTw the goal, where was Luiz and also Azpi?

I had a dream Demba Ba scored 2 goals last night.....

I don't think so GabeU...We are naturally playing *****ty today. So not going to pass the blame.

At least Ba is around the BOX!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

what the hell is wrong if our team, cnt create enuf goal scoring chances for our striker.

Is Hazard in the middle with Mata on the right wing?

ba ba ba ba

1 more goal and my dream will come TRUE!!!!!!

yes BA, show that 50 CENT how to do it. what a relief for me.

ba. 36 minutes and effectively first chance. natural striker run.

how many of you wanna bet if it was Tores, the defender would have cleared that ball.. BTW we need to try those overhead passes ,behind defense for Ba to chases.. I see his runs but none of our midfielders sees it.. We always want to run the ball into the 18yard box.. Thats not all ok

Oscar + Mata + Ba = OBAMA.......If oscar ever plays....

@Kaku... Oscar + Mata + Moses + Ba = MOBAMA. Change Moses for Hazard to get HOBAMA

Add David Villa/Wide Forward who can score and Benat/Milan Badelj and we would have a strong run THIS SEASON.

And when we actually get it right it's OH MAMA!!!

WHEN LAST DID A STRIKER CALL FOR THE BALL AT CHELSEA? Good one BA!!!!!!!

Excellent goal by Victor moses!!!

just what am thinking, it good to go the break with a lead, moses did well, 2-1 up, good for us.

Well done Moses my boy

Luiz is exciting and offers us something different in the pivot, I'm glad Rafa is persisting with him :)

KAKU - trust me, you are overrating Badelj, although he is very good. I've watched him play almost every game for Dinamo Zagreb so I know what kind of player he is. If anyone thinks Mikel is slow (which he isn't), then Badelj would be a snail compared to him, but again, he is a very good player, just not Chelsea material yet.

Lmaoooo @ Oh Mama

Ba is making runs but we can't PASS to him FIRST TIME. Moses, Cesar, Mata, Hazard had chance to pass to him FIRST TIME but they didn't pass to him. He would have had more shots if they give him first time passes/CROSSES. Ba does not close people down like Torres does but as long as he scores I don't care. Rafa needs to tell the players when Ba make the run pass him FIRST TIME (see the goals he scored for Newcastle how many of them were first time passes from the DEEP, first time CROSSES from the wings).

Glad to have Ba in. Beñat and Schürrle next.

moses is proving to be a very good buy afterall , marin should be able to step up while he is gone ... surprisingly he has been used more than the person that bought him

Moses have been exceptional since rafa took over. He is a bargain at 9million and no wonder the wigan owner made so much noise when we showed interest. Thank God we did fall for porto's bid to rip us of 40million for a hulk who has been poor at zenit in russia.

DEMBA BAAA!! Great play and debut goal for Ba for Chelsea. First of many!! Fernando Torres, have fun on the bench!

@calculatedkalou so you failed to see that luiz was just running around like an headless chicken on d pitch.he needs to be more disciplined.

Ba already offering more than Torres

@B2K420, this is Demba Ba's first game with the side. Give him and the 3 amigos sometime mate.

Ba thats what a little movement from our striker can do for the midfielder's.

Ivanovic has 6 goals for the season......Demba Ba was behind him waiting for it.

what are you doing there iva

I think i will prefer to make my passes simple like mikel than passing it stupidly around like Luiz

Thanks for that Desmond, good to see we're giving young English local lads more of a chance :)

even iva know how to do it better than torres

I will take luke shaw over bertrand anyday

You can see the confidence mata has in ba making the right runs he's always looking for him.

ba ba ba ba ba

would we have got that movement if poorres was on the pitch? I think not!!

DEMBA BA!!

Hello Torres I hope your getting used to that bench!

Are you watching FERNANDO!??

That is what a striker does...........simple.

soton 1 - chelsea 4, and it BA debut match brace. Baaaaaaaaaaaa

Kaku...Ill have to rely on your dreams from now on...haha...Top lad.

Agreed Desmond, just hope we handle this bunch better than we have previously - Stoch, Kakuta, Borini, Di Santo etc.

Thats what we have been waiting for....lead the line of offense. Demba hassled for the ball....held it for Moses and Hazard released it to a running Ba . And thats not an easy tap in either.

great change from Rafa.

@calculatedkalou, all we need now is stability and a coach that can bring the best out of this lads, what chalobah,feruz,kiwomya,reuben loftus and co would bring in the coming years would be so unreal. Stability is what we need now

This is what a good striker is all about, good runs, swift movement, cool finish, get the job done..... I'm glad we now have a striker.... The best thing for Torres at this point is to leave Chelsea cos I don't see him being able to man up to rise above this disgrace.... he doesn't have the balls to compete with Ba so it will be good if he just leave....

Turnbull?? Wow

How about rest mata for oscar and marin for moses? Eigh? We are playing the swans on wednesday aint we?

almost a hat trick for Ba

...Again would we have made that chance it Poorres was on instead?

@NELYVANILE. By the way, I woke up before the match was over so I am not sure if he scored 3 or 4 goals. But I was definitely sure about the 2 goals........

I am not even sure if those kids in the academy are half as good as Stoch, Kakuta, Borini, Di Santo and Piazon who are hardly getting a look in at Chelsea.

Roman and Benitez can't force Torres on the pitch if he IS NOT SCORING. The fans and Stamford Bridge will BE VERY HOSTILE TO SUCH DECISIONS......

Lmaooooo @OCBlues......I have got to admit - since Demba Ba signed, good things have been happening to me and anything related to me. Lol!!!!!

I LOVE YOU ALL!!!!!!!!

Penalty, Lamps scored, would have been better if Ba took it.

Lamps ..wonderful..i am in rapture now..perfect game..The only thing that could top this now is for ba to grab a hat trick!!!

yeahhh ths is how its done

@GabeU, if Demba Ba scores a HATTRICK, I will ask Chelsea to transfer me if I was Torres because my career will be officially finished. They will be absolutely NO WAY BENITEZ OR ANYONE can justify Torres starting in any of the PL games for the rest of January. They will also be blamed for any off form Demba Ba encounters because of the Start and Stop approach. As a matter of fact, Benitez cannot justify dropping Demba Ba from now on unless he is poor, tired or off-form....

@Kaku...Next time sleep deep so we get a good idea of how many goals. Good call though,hopefully he gets a Hatrick,he looks hungry for it.

@nelyvanile, that will be difficult since I've got money on my mind. Lmaoooo!!!!!! I hope I dream more though....

gamer over..guys i havent had so much fun in a long time..turnbull actually put in a decent shift..the only person in the chelsea side who will be feeling rotten will be poor El Nino

dream match...ba and lamps along with iva...can it get better. 5 - 1 to the holders...two africans on the scoreboard can it get any better...

Everyone i am worried for oscar , he is not looking too happy , and i think mata should be given more rest ... we played well today , to admit benitez is doing extremely well with our squad , which is very encouraging . we had a very good game , marin needs to cross more and not try the fancy things . Having a striker that is scoring hides alot of holes in a team ... we still need someone in the midfieild , either get essien back or get someone QUICKLY .. And ramires is NOT a pivot player he suits the 4-3-3 formation

I keep seeing the chants for Falcao or Cavani, but if I were Chelsea fans, I will be wishing Demba Ba is healthy forever at Chelsea and doesn't encounter any knee issues. Falcao and Cavani are class players, but Demba is a scorer as well and most importantly Lukaku is seriously seriously coming through at West Brom and will be a force to reckon with if he keeps developing like he is at West Brom. I am absolutely or really not sure how we expect Falcao, Lukaku and Demba Ba to compete in a Chelsea shirt. What would make sense is for Piazon to be developed the same way like Lukaku from next season and then return to Chelsea as he is capable of playing thru the middle or from the wing..........

well done boyz

It was a very good game. Am glad we now have a centre forward and today i was happy to be proved wrong by Ba. He got a good touch on the ball and he is swift in and around the box with awesome positioning.

"I love you all". We love you more (i_i)

Such a great and sweet game left such a bitter taste. It really felt like it's Lampard's last game.... :(

@Kaku , how do RVP , Rooney, Chicharito , Welbeck + others manage to to compete for their places at United ? We CAN fit a worldclass striker into the team . I dont see a prob with Falcao wrking in the team , providing they dont try the player-power thing against the manager (whoever the manager is ) as has happened previously with Drogba et al

Well done guys! Now we have just one recognised striker we need another. Torres aren't no striker.

Ba kept doing everything that Torres hasn't been doing and reaped the rewards. Very well done that man!

Does anyone remember any striker who scored a brace in his Chelsea debut?

*Proven wrong..lol..my bad!

Hopefully DEMBA would BA torres from our starting XI

joe cole is killing manure hehe nice assist joey my boy...

Good to see a striker who performs his role very well...Hoping that he continues his good form, and forms a good understanding with our Mazacar & Moses....

@"Cruel Chants from Chelsea fans..."Fernando Torres,that's how its done." We still need Nando's contribution tbh. nelyvanile" | it's the same fans that have been singing Torres' praise, being patient with him. I guess they're tired of seeing him fail; every one gets tired. & please, what kind of cr*p mentality is that self; sulking when you have competition? I hope for God's sake the fall out of Ba's performance doesn't result in Torres sulking for all our good; Didier doesn't sulk, he fights for his spot on the team. @KAKUFRANK, Roman and Benitez can't force Torres on the pitch if he IS NOT SCORING. The fans and Stamford Bridge will BE VERY HOSTILE TO SUCH DECISIONS...... the fans hostility to Rafa and even Roman when Roman employed Rafa didn't move Roman an inch, why would it affect him if he demanded that Torres plays instead of Ba? (Although I count it all rumours, no media or propagandists *winks* ever really report Roman's words, it's all been guessed.