A blog of two halves

While Chelsea´s hopes of regaining the league title and, with it, the fun of floodlit European nights at the Bridge do not entirely hinge on the weekend´s match against Arsenal, it will still be a key pointer to the destination of the trophy.

As a kid Alex Smithies idolised David Seaman and he is now making a name all for himself with his penalty heroics.

“How is Ryan Fredericks not playing in the Premier League?” demanded the Radio Berkshire commentator. This is not a question that Fulham fans wish to hear during the transfer window.

The games come thick and fast for the Blues, with the weekend’s west London FA Cup derby against Brentford immediately followed by two matches with a massive influence on who wins the league title.

Darnell Furlong is back in W12 and looks more like the finished product than when he made his QPR debut back in 2015.

It is hard to credit that almost 30 years have passed since the Freight Rovers Cup tie between Aldershot and Fulham, which ended in a penalty shoot-out requiring no fewer than 28 spot-kicks.

The love affair between Tony Conte and Chelsea’s blue army rolls on with fresh intensity after the manager’s impressive handling of the uncertainty over striker Diego Costa’s future.

When Kazenga LuaLua got his first big break in football he was busy on his PlayStation like any other 15-year-old boy would have been in his spare time.

Gary Lineker, viewing the highlights of the Cardiff-Fulham tie, asked whether the match was played behind closed doors, so empty were the stands.

It may be the rarest of west London derbies, but Chelsea’s reward for beating Peterborough in the FA Cup is a home tie against neighbours Brentford.