The Lions' Pride

I hear that, Arsenal have no shot at winning the league (unless City collapse and I don't see that happening), I'd like to see Man City take the three points tomorrow. At least a draw, a Chelsea win would be bad news.

I think best case scenario is a draw tomorrow....being a Spurs fan, that is. A Chelsea win would be worst case, even with a game I hand. Could live with a MC win although not ideal.

Well, I thought FSC was lying when they posted the lineup for Valencia at 2 PM and we went with Ramires, Mierles, and Romeu in midfield. He's certainly tinkering with the right combinations, but I think a few things have become clear...

- Romeu is more solid at the moment in CDM than Mikel
- Ivanovic is light years better at RB than Bosingwa. He's better at RB than CB also. The Bosingwa experiment was a disaster.
- Drogba belongs as the first team CF until further notice
- Sturridge must play every game

Frankly, I'm stunned that AVB hasn't switched Mikel and Luiz. Luiz is perfectly suited for central midfield. He's more versatile there...could play deep or on either wing. IMO, Mikel's optimal spot is CB. Seems like it would be a fit for both guys. Nevertheless, dropping the dead weight will help stablize things. Sounds like Anelka, Alex, and Kalou are all on their way out in January. More to follow.

1. Bolton will never get such a deal. They have no leg to stand on. Cahill will leave for free in June, and they're desperate for cash. They'd never be able to afford Luizs wages anyways. They'll take what they can get now. Alex will go to Juventus or Spurs. Anelka to China, Kalou to PSG.

2. We bought Romeu outright, so we'd only sell him back if Barca offered top dollar. With AVB, I don't think we'll be in a rush to do so. He likes his Portugese/Spanish players.

3. I like the idea of going after Tiote, De Bruyne, Cahill, and possibly Shaqiri and Pato. Add mettle to the defense and midfield, while getting another option up front for Drogbas inevitable departure. A lot depends on the Tevez drama...if he goes PSG, forget Pato. I really really hope that we don't waste our time chasing Neymar.

Milan only wants Tevez on loan, while City only wants to sell him. His agent and Milan agreed on a contract, but City won't change their stance. Meanwhile, PSG supposedly has offered $20 million for an outright sale. I'm hoping Milan works out. I love Pato.

Again, I think Bolton could only push the $$$ value higher, not a swap. A swap would be counterproductive.

Balotelli is awesome

And Mierles pays off...

Frank comes through again. This would be such a tremendous result. C'mon guys...10 more minutes.

CHELSEA BLUE IS THE COLOR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Did some research and and the buy back clause states Barcelona can only buy Romeu back if Chels is willing to sell which seems the case for any player on any team and doesn't make much sense. This does illustrate the academy at Barca Romeu was a B player there wow just amazing the depth they have there.

Couldn't have written a better script. Lampard comes off the bench to secure the winner. Love how he was on the pitch for about 5 minutes and the whole team just knows he is gunna take the PK even after he missed one away to Newcastle. Seemed like Drogba wanted to take it however. Great win none the less

Agreed. As much as I could have used Chelsea to drop points for the sake of Spurs, I can't stand seeing City win anything. And I'll be rooting again AVB and the boys to beat up on the Gooners. COYS (recognizing that yes Spurs dropped points at Stoke, but this is what happens when the ref blows calls left and right).

Mata actually discussed taking it with Lampard. Drogba often lines up the shot, even when Lampard is definitely going to take it. You can't take Frank off that line though. It's still his responsibility when he's on the pitch. Does anyone else remember the last non-Lampard PK? Oh yeah...David freaking Luiz @Genk. What a mess he made of that.