OhForAGreavsie

With the ban, we can't sign him anyway, but if we could I would. I know that the basic flaw in Studge's game, his greed in and around the box, must still be there. I argued years ago that this flaw is so obvious that coaches would have been trying to cure it since he was a boy. The fact that they were not able to do so before he reached his late teens indicates that it is hard wired into Daniel's psyche. He's therefore stuck with it. Even so, Sturridge is a better player than Bats and I would certainly have been tempted to offer him a 4-month contract. I think that would have helped us make it to the transfer window in better shape than we will now

Leaving aside Sturridge's ban, which rules out a move anyway, players who are without a club can be registered outside of the transfer windows. If he, or she, has no club, then joining a team is not a transfer, and so is permitted. I assume fifa would examine any such move carefully to ensure player and clubs are not attempting to game the system.

Thanks. That's as it should be.

We have to assume this is OK with fifa else it wouldn't be happening but surely any player signed in such circumstances should be restricted to representing his new club in domestic football only. Else this gives Spanish clubs an unfair advantage in uefa or fifa competitions. Does anyone know if there is such a restriction?

There was a press conference during the winter window where Frank dismissed any links to Zaha. That was, and is, a relief. I'm on record as saying I trust Frank's instinct on players. If he had any interest in Zaha I'd have had to reassess that.

Goal highlights of the Conti Cup win: - Two Arsenal Fans TV references to the makeup of the crowd: -

Boy it was cold! Great turnout by the blue faithful nevertheless. Visually, the majority in attendance were Chelsea fans. A big majority. As for the game, the better side lost. Arsenal played superior football and dominated the contest. Beth England was the official player of the match, and she did play well in addition to scoring the goals, but goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger was the true difference maker for Chelsea. She pulled off a string of saves. Some of them absolutely top class. You could say Arsenal were unlucky to loose, or you could say they should be ashamed of themselves for failing to win a game they totally controlled. Either way, the cup is ours. Next up for CFCW is an international break followed by two crucial fixtures with Everton. First, there's a trip to Walton for an FA Cup quarter final on 15th March, then the Toffees visit Kingsmeadow seven days later for a vital WSL game.

Tomorrow the women battle it out with Arsenal in the final of the League Cup. The game to decide the first domestic trophy of the season is being played at Nottingham Forrest's City Ground. It is being broadcast by BT; 17:30 UK time kick-off BBC Preview

Highlights of last weekend's clash with Man City: The draw leaves us one point behind City at the top of the table, but with a game in hand. Arsenal are a further three points adrift.

Oh, finally a good reason to visit twitter!

Is there a way to set an embedded GIF to auto repeat? I bleedin' love Spurs. Their capacity to make me smile is endless.

I really enjoyed watching Bayern last night There is no flashy football from them. Instead, they function on power, pace and precision. The number of times they execute their chosen pass with the right accuracy, the right angle and the right speed is stupendous. We have a long way to go. Teams with more pace in their squad, who can therefore afford to press Bayern more, and with better ball retention when they do recover it, will give the German champions a better game than we can.

Using a back three you mean? That's how Jody found room for both Reece and Tariq Lamptey in the U18s.

TOCWS preview of CFCW's top of the table clash with Man City on Sunday. Scroll down the article for good Unseen video coverage of the reverse fixture earlier in the season.

Exactly this.

I felt it was time for Ash to go and I don't blame Emerson at all for wanting to leave. Time's up for him too. I've never believed in Emerson, don't see the potential that some do, and hope for everyone's sake that he gets his move.

I'm very surprised how things are panning out for Dembele. I first saw him when watching Rennes games to see how Boga was doing. Frustratingly he was keeping Boga out until he got injured and let Jed in to get some games. The frustration soon turned to admiration and then to disappointment when his agent said Dembele had turned us down the season before he joined BVB. Looked such a good player.

How long is Barca Dembele out? Could they be thinking sell Sancho, bring Dembele back for a much reduced fee, pocket the difference?

Some United fans have a more realistic view of the world than some Chelsea fans.

Pleased for him. Well Done Thibo.

From the time I first watched Billy's junior level youtube videos when he was rumoured to be joining from Rangers, I felt, and posted to say, that he would find a lot of good CFC youth players in his path towards first team level here. In the intervening time, I never felt I saw enough evidence to drastically revise that opinion. I really enjoyed his display against Grimsby but posted to say that it was by far the best I'd ever seen Billy play. As such, that performance was an exception not the norm, meaning that we'd need more outings of that standard before it would be wise to base judgements on it. We haven't had the chance to see those yet. To set against that I have confidence in Frank's, and particularly Jody's, assessment of players. They like Billy a lot and that carries weight with me. Personally, I prefer Lewis Bate. His touch is smoother and more secure, his movements faster and he's more combative out of possession. In short I think he's more talented but, talent is only an indicator of success, not a guarantee of it. We need to see Lewis progressing through the levels and to judge whether he can continue to impose his talent against better players in faster games. Long way to go.

You mean that the smile indicates a bid from ManU?

Do we accept that a deal for Ziyech is close, or might this be a puff to drum up interest? Is he dedicated to playing off the right or does he line up in other positions too? I'm asking because of the links with Sancho. Edit: I see @Tomo has already raised this above.

Tino scored a good goal and played an impressive part in another on Monday night.

No, I think Armando is a good player. Never rated Nando and always said so. The purple patch at Liverpool, 18 months tops, was the exception in a career which otherwise reflected the fact that his ceiling wasn't very high.