diff --git a/src/main/java/org/jboss/netty/channel/AbstractChannel.java b/src/main/java/org/jboss/netty/channel/AbstractChannel.java
index cc2765185b..d9c0517674 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/jboss/netty/channel/AbstractChannel.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/jboss/netty/channel/AbstractChannel.java
@@ -229,7 +229,7 @@ public abstract class AbstractChannel implements Channel {
         buf.append("(id: ");
         buf.append(id.toString());
 
-        if (isConnected()) {
+        if (connected) {
             buf.append(", ");
             if (getParent() == null) {
                 buf.append(getLocalAddress());