Segun Oluwaniyi

? I and no doubt plenty of other football fans knew about Mikel months before he ever touched a ball for Chelsea because of the whole Man Utd thing. You conviently forget that Chelsea went in Arsenal style on this one. They paid his way to a club in some far off country, even paid for his residence and education. This is all very illegal, but it has become common place among bigger clubs. So clearly they had known him long before the likes of you and me. Chelsea has been very active in this sort of thing, but Mikel is the only one to break the first team thus far.

Having now seen it, I don't think you can call this assault in a court of law. It was bad, but it is not out of the realm of what is seen on a football pitch. In my opinion, to get charged with assault during a sporting event, you have to do something out of line with what is normally seen/done in that sport. And that is not the case in that situation.

Kenyon wants them to be self sufficient like an Arsenal or a Hoffenheim, but it will never work. I was under the impression that Hoffenheim were achieving success on the back of a sugar daddy just like Chelsea is. Anyway, I'm going to be honest and say that I just think Chelsea don't have many great youth players. The likes of Mancienne, and Sinclair are good but will never be Chelsea standard. I think Kakuta has a chance though. To be fair to Chelsea though, I mean Mikel and Di Santo were nobodies when they signed, but they both are part of the first team now. edit.....What about Reuben Noble-Lazarus, youngest player ever in the Football League?....I assume he's supposed to be good. Plays for Barnsley.

I know the Italian league has had rpoblems with EPO and nandrolone, wonder if the same issue exists in England. I think yes.

I don't see the problem at all here. It's ridiculous the media attention that it will garner though. I means its terrible what happened to the kids, a real shame, but that is not what it is about. His best mate ruined his life and his career, so he's just showing his support. I don't even see how this can be perceived as supporting the convicts actions or insulting the family. The player made a grevious error, but that doesn't mean he's some kind of subhuman now. I don't see why people who were close to him can't show support.

Don't really see what's wrong with the comments though. It is a bit over sensitive to attack him because he called Obama tan. Bit of a PR faux pas don't you think? Don't hear me wrong now. If I was a white political figure, you wouldn't catch me dead talking about Obama's tan, it's a stupid statement. However, as an african I just think it;s very harmless and not offensive really.

Owen would have buried that..... Or hit it backwards.

.....especially in London. The whole London curse is starting again, didn't we go through like a million game in a row run without winning against a London club (at their home turf) a few years back? Didn't we beat Spurs away (in London) the last two seasons?

A bit of an overreaction for a post that basically said Richard Dunne was s***.

Unfair on Enrique tbh. Much better than Cacapa, but gave the ball away a bit too much for my liking. You don't like him really do you? I thought Enrique was a train wreck in the first half. Doing very simple things poorly.

Aye, should have had a hattrick today. He's obviously not as good as Shola Honestly for the last ten minutes Owen and Oba may as well have not been on the pitch. They were never going to get involved. Our attacking after going 2-1 down was absolutely pitiful.

Definitely offside...but f*** it.

Goodness...that was terrible. Only Barton (well, Given too I guess) has been good. Jonas and Enrique have made a ridiculous number of mistakes, while the centreback pairing has been shaky as anything. Ameobi has looked strong every once in a while and Oba has looked dangerous a few times, but for the most part they're just strolling around getting pissed on like everybody else.

Looking at the lineups....Fulham are s***. We should win. But football is football and you never know. Like this kit though.

He's older than Robbie Fowler, and on form is probaly one of the five best players in the world right now.

Udinese are class throughout the side, Fully expect them to be top four this year. On a side note, Ibrahimovic is a very very annoying player. Also, that sound that is played for every substitution in Serie A is fantastic.

What a shame. I hope its Bassong, but I'd expect Cacapa. Wait?...Wha?..It's wierd for me to only hear about half our starting defense being injured 50 minutes before a match. I hadn't heard anything about this.

Christ, Quaresma has to be the most selfish player in the world.

16:00

Is this the same Rafael that was made to look foolish by Shaun Maloney btw? The kid as of yet can't actually defend.

Wow..I actually didn't think Maradona was THAT short.

Don't really see what's wrong with the comments though. It is a bit over sensitive to attack him because he called Obama tan.

I honestly hope Arsenal smash Manchester United. Arsenal have no chance of winning the title anyway, but I don't want Man U to win anything ever again. I actually don't mind Arsenal or Chelsea at all but I wish ill will (in a football sense) on Manchester United and Liverpool.

I know jokes are made of this but it is not a funny topic at all. It is evident these players are being targeted. There was a gridiron player player in America last year, Sean Taylor, who home was broken into when he should have been away with his team. However, his injury had allowed him to stay back at his home. So when the thieves broke in, he was sleeping in his bed. The player ended up dying after being shot in the leg and bleeding out. I make it a personal quest to despise Liverpool, but imo this kind of crime is not amusing at all.

Enrique's English didn't seem all that bad. He'll sound like Rafa with a few more months practice.