As he looks back at Blackburn and forward to Burnley, columnist Pat Nevin discusses downpours and outpourings.

Another lively week has come and gone with plenty of critics wanting to ask questions about Chelsea's ability to keep up their impressive start to the season.

The result, and it has to be said the performance in Rome as well, raised more than a few eyebrows. It has however to be remembered that the opposition was a top quality side that has not been firing on all cylinders so far in Serie A, but most expect them eventually to turn the corner.

That said it wasn't the best Blues performance and the questions were always going to be asked before the visit to Blackburn.

They were of course answered positively, and then some, against Paul Ince's side. Another question arose regarding the comments from the Blackburn manager about the words used by our assistant coach Ray Wilkins to describe the Lancashire side.

Now how a gentleman such as Butch could offend anyone is quite frankly beyond me, but maybe the raised feelings at the end of the game have to be taken into consideration.

It is quite tempting to make some comparisons with Ince's comments after Glasgow Celtic were beaten by Manchester United in the Champions League a few weeks ago at Old Trafford.

The gist was that the 3-0 hammering by the European Champions should embarrass Celtic. Well this week a seriously weakened Celtic held United at home 1-1, losing a very late goal, while Blackburn were humbled by Chelsea at Ewood Park, particularly in the first half.

Whereas Wilkins offended a few of the more precious in the north-west, Ince infuriated an entire country with his untimely outburst. There appears a bit of a double standard if you ask me.

Any comments about Celtic's defensive set up in the second half at Parkhead can be ignored, as Chelsea's dominance at Ewood in the first half when the game was won, was almost complete.

The conditions at Blackburn in that first half were set up to provide a surprise, but I have to say I was hugely impressed with the lads' attitude to the biblical downpour and sodden pitch that followed.

There were no complaints and no attempt to do anything other than continue playing the style of football that we have enjoyed in the Premier League already this season from Scolari's men.

I should say I have played in worse weather for Chelsea in the past. Anyone who can recall a late season league game in the 80s against Norwich will smile at the memory.

Stamford Bridge looked more like a swimming pool than a football pitch that night. For defenders to clear their lines they had to flick the ball out of the surface water in places and volley it forward. It was a ridiculous set of circumstances but if I recall correctly it was the last day when that game could possibly be played and we just had to get on with it.

Another problem can arise that is not always apparent from the stands. Any slide tackle or collision that lands you on your back is literally breathtaking. That is, when you land in the freezing water it has you gasping in the same way as you do when you jump in to a freezing plunge pool, or Scottish loch (in the summer) in my case.

The effect is accentuated because your body is very warm from running about. Not fun, but still not as bad as standing shivering in the rain watching for a couple of hours I suppose.

There are worse conditions that players are asked to play in, or were asked to play in until recently, and those were when it was rock hard and slippery with ice. Happily modern pitches have improved, undersoil heating helps enormously and players' safety is the first concern when the referees look at the pitch.

Maybe the concern for Blackburn's defence was for their psychological rather than their physical well being. If Nicolas Anelka had scored six in that first half few would have had cause for complaint.

He was on fire, maybe not a great description on such a wet afternoon, but you know what I mean. Now top scorer in the league there have been periods this season when the Frenchman has looked sharper than he has at any other point in his career.

The second goal in particular showed great anticipation followed up by an extremely cool finish considering the goalkeeper was sliding towards him at a rate of knots and in a cloud of spray.

I am sure he is thoroughly enjoying the atmosphere at the moment, the noise from the travelling fans has been superb as they have crisscrossed the country following the goal glut from him and the rest of the team.

Long may it last. Someone who may not have enjoyed it quite as much was the Burnley scout as he prepared a dossier on Chelsea.

Their manager Owen Coyle is an old friend of mine from my days playing for Motherwell. He was a fine striker who was most famous for knocking them in at an impressive rate for Bolton Wanderers.

As such he likes his teams to be attack-minded and creative as well, so he will be very tempted to send out an offensive team, knowing that if they sit back at Stamford Bridge it is likely to be only a matter of time before his team lose a goal.

So in the end it could be a pretty entertaining evening, as most teams, even those in the Premier League tend to be very defensive when they come to London's west end. Well worth popping along, but don't forget to wrap up well.

Last week I asked you to tell me who scored the last competitive hat trick for Chelsea before Anelka grabbed his against Sunderland. A bulging inbox saw most of you getting it right. It was of course Frank Lampard last season who scored four in all against Derby County in a 6-1 win in March.

The winner picked by a blindfolded youngster with a pin, not a great idea it turns out with a computer screen, was Alan Koopowitz from East London in South Africa who will receive a Blue Pride Season Review DVD.

That one was a bit easy so this time to grab a copy of the Deep Blue Chelsea photo book, could you tell me which player on Burnley's books, apart from the current manager, played alongside me, admittedly near the end of my career? One little clue, he is not Scottish! Answers as ever to pat.nevin@chelseafc.com