I feel sorry for the fella in a way as he is a top class keeper and if he hadn't picked up that unlucky injury to let in Cudicini--well , who knows eh? I'm not in the least surprised that it has turned out in our favour.Bates may be this and that (he is at times) but he has always been savvy when it comes to legal matters, as several in the media will admit to with disgust. The fact that Chelsea took a while to finally dismiss him just told me they were looking at what, if any, legal recourse he had.