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On to our third match of the season (or 'Matchday 3' and the Premier League call it as part of their general Americanisation of everything). What do I want from our lot? Creativity. Youthful exuberence. Know-how. Attitude. Bravery. Lung power. Yer ma. Accuracy. Tenacity. I don't ask for much. Last season's fixture came amidst that awful early 2021 run where we were losing pretty much every week. We just couldn't lay a glove on Chelsea and if they had forwards who could stay onside, they might have won at a canter. As it was, it took a solitary goal from Mason Mount before half time to effectively seal the points. Under Tuchel, Chelsea didn't tend to concede very many, and they'd always had attacking depth under Lampard. We had just been decimated in defence and the midfield and attack simply weren't functioning. But back in 1990, it was a different story. Liverpool were hunting down an 18th title (who knew back then that it would be 30 years before the next one?), and Graham Taylor's Aston Villa were the title challengers. Defending champions Arsenal were well off the pace, and Man Utd's manager was only keeping his job thanks to an FA Cup run, back when FA Cup runs actually meant something. Chelsea visited Anfield in April 1990 and came away with a 4-1 twatting. Ronny Rosenthal's unpredictability and eye for goal saw him get on the scoresheet again, with Nicol bagging a brace and Rushie grabbing the other. Kerry Dixon got Chelsea's consolation goal. Rosenthal is the perfect example of a player who shines at a club when on loan but tails off after signing permanently. The unpredictibility of spring 1990 transformed into general erraticness once we signed him for £1m. The following year, Kenny saw David Speedie as a more viable option, and months later Souness decided to break the transfer record to get Dean Saunders in. Anyway, Rosenthal's form in spring 1990 was pivotal towards us reclaiming the league. In April 1990, the number one movie at the box office was the live action version of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (or Hero Turtles as they were known in the UK). I remember going to see it maybe a couple of weeks after it had come out, as I was a huge fan of the cartoon version back then. It had practically usurped Thundercats as a favourite. The film was just OK I thought, and I suspect it has not aged particularly well. There is barely anything I remember about it. The cartoon had a certain sense of fun that is largely absent from the film. Not the best film to come out in 1990 by a long shot. We've started the season with maximum points from 2 games, and those are points we'd be expected to get. It's actually hard to know whether we can extend it to 9 from 9 for the fourth season in a row. Chelsea are a different proposition to the previous couple of years. There is more defensive solidity about them, and they've added a goal threat by spending just shy of £100m on Lukaku. He's had the GDP of a small African nation spent on him in transfer fees - I think I read somewhere that the figure is even higher than the two big transfer fees Barcelona and PSG spent between them on Neymar. Anyway, we know they pose a threat. But a lot of people seem to be of the opinion that we don't, simply because of the money they keep spending. We play to our peak and, to put it simply, they STILL won't be able to live with us. That's what we have to aim for, and look to get the job done. There's an international break afterwards, so go into that on a high. Not a won-the-league-in-September Everton high, but the high that comes from feeling you are back on track after 2020/21's disaster.