As ever I am always delighted to know that people from the farthest flung corners of the world, some with the most unusual tastes, actually read this column.

Last week after my gentle ribbing of Liverpool I did get a fair number of Reds sending me e-mails about how they suspected this would be their year after they went top of the league when beating us at the Bridge. Strangely there have not been just as many e-mails from them so far this week. There must be a reason for that but I can't quite put my finger on it at the moment.

Actually, I have to admit the abuse was very good-natured and pretty amusing from the majority of them. Quite surprising when you consider that not only am I dyed-in-the-wool Chelsea, but I also played for Everton as well.

Anyway it is our turn for gloating this week and I think 5-0 and 3-0 wins have been a fairly strong response to anyone deluded enough to believe that any bubbles had burst at the Bridge.

If Sunderland manager Roy Keane is known for one thing, maybe apart from crunching tackles, scary shark's eyes, calling Mick McCarthy everything under the sun and walking his dog at odd moments in the ensuing madness that followed, then it is for always being violently honest. And certainly he believes that Chelsea are the team to beat in the race for the Championship this season.

Maybe it is not that surprising that the former Manchester United stalwart says that after his side have been hit for five, but he was also saying that weeks before. Maybe he has looked at the regularity that Chelsea have been hammering in threes, four and fives already this season.

I am pretty sure he is also aware that not only are Chelsea the top scorers in the division but they also have what is now an extraordinary record in goals conceded so far as well.

Leaking only four goals after 15 games would suggest that Chelsea are being ultra cautious but this is patently not the case. So what is the reason for shipping only one goal ever 340 or 350 (remember the injury time pedants) minutes?

Well of course it helps to have a decent keeper and maybe a handful of good defenders isn't a bad idea either, but I suspect the real reason is to be found in a very old cliché indeed, 'attack is the best form of defence'.

If you spend the entire time in the opposition half peppering their goal, it is pretty tricky for them to get enough players forward to score themselves. The usual plan against very attacking sides like Chelsea is to counterattack, but with John Terry, Ricardo Carvalho and their co-defenders all comfortable in a one-v-one situation, we have very rarely been compromised so far.

Let's hope this god run continues, as the match in Roma tonight will almost certainly be a tough assignment. They are not having the best of seasons domestically but you suspect they will come good eventually as they have plenty of first class technical ability. I suspect however that they would prefer it if Chelsea were to attack them even on their own patch, so that they could play on the break.

So maybe this time Big Phil will be tempted to be slightly cagier with his tactics. We don't want to play a style that will completely suit our opponents after all.

Certainly away games in Europe are almost always totally different than home ties. Roma were incredibly defensive at the Bridge on their recent visit but that might have been for a variety of reasons. They were pinned back by our attack, they were low on confidence after an average start to the season and they also had rather painful memories of a recent visit to England when they suffered a seven-goal thrashing at Old Trafford. Whether consciously or subconsciously, that sort of result has an effect.

Suffice to say this week will be a totally different affair and the home side will have more of the game than they had in the 1-0 at the Bridge. Their problem is of course Chelsea's mean defence that hasn't lost a single goal in the Champions League so far.

Doubtless that will change, and maybe even tonight, but it is another big psychological hurdle for the opposition when they know that they may have to do something extra special just to score a single goal.

While we have all enjoyed the river of goals so far this season, it is of course always worth remembering who is keeping the damn secure at the other end. In the long history of football success, it has always been built from the back. So it is time to celebrate the clean sheets as well as the net rippling.

Talking of ancient history, last week I asked when was the last time Liverpool won the league. It was of course back in the days of the old First Division, pre-Premier League, and it was in 1989/90. The second part of the question regarding the internet was just a gentle ribbing of the Reds, but the internet had been invented, though wasn't available to the public on a large scale.

Just about everyone got it right this week but the winner picked at random by a teenage girl who has just demanded a new Chelsea top for Christmas, among other things it must be said, is Paula Jones from Pontypridd in South Wales.

This week to win a copy of the Blue Pride season review DVD, could you tell me who was the last player to score a competitive hat trick for Chelsea before Nicolas Anelka notched his at the weekend? Answers as ever to pat.nevin@chelseafc.com