OhForAGreavsie

It's a fair point. In fact the first time I offered this opinion a few years ago, I thought that was the best argument given against it. It came from a poster, on another Chelsea forum, with the screen name Droy Was My Hero. Not you is it?

I hope not. I like Steve a lot and can see why he'd be regarded as a safe pair of hands even though he has said previously that he thinks assistant manager is the role for him. So it's nothing against Steve when I say that I don't want to see him appointed. I'm not ready to give up on Maurizio. I want the club to try to ride out the rough patch with him remaining in charge. Let's break the short termism cycle.

The fiasco assessment is possibly premature. It may turn out that the fiasco is at fifa's end. The FA have said that they will appeal, and that they believe there is something wrong with fifa's process. That's a statement of the obvious. No. Either club and governing body are both in breach of regulations, or both are not. My money is on not.

There is a fundamental problem with the system. Major employers recruit graduates, they don't necessarily train them. I've written previously that I don't believe the current academy system will survive beyond the next twenty years, if it lasts that long.

I don't believe for one moment that this will stick. Remember, that fifa are both judge and jury in these cases. As I said in a post a month or so ago, we can't judge this until the process comes to an end and that the end would not be when fifa issued its initial verdict. Chances are that we have two more stages to go before this is settled.

I didn't take to Jonna when she first arrived. She replaced a popular player who is more technically gifted. On top of that, Jonna is very one footed. Once I began to recognise what she is, rather than worry about what she isn't, Jonna quickly became one of my favourite members of the squad. She's a tremendous fullback. Jonna gets up and down the line all game and her partnership with Kaz Carney down the left is a key part of our attacking play. She netted five times last season, playing wingback, but Sunday's strike was her first of the season after Emma Hayes switched to a 4-4-2.

You'd never get that sort of thing into a managerial contract. Indeed they always explicitly say the exact opposite. Sole control over team selection and tactics, etc, etc. Of course clubs can make plain to managers that they are expected to buy into the organisation's culture but who knows how those conversations went.

I was shocked when I read the headline. Reece is so level headed, he more or less never puts a foot wrong. Having read the tweet itself however, it's pretty clear that he was liking the idea that he and Ola should be fullback options at Chelsea. I don't think he meant it too seriously either; just sort of saying thank you to the person who posted something nice about him. Hope that, from now on, Reece accepts that it's best only to 'like' a comment if you mean to show support for everything it says. For all any of us know Reece agrees with every word of that tweet, but I would almost guarantee that he knows better than to make such opinions public. Lesson learned hopefully. P.S. I'm grateful to Vesper for making me aware that Torino have a solid option to buy Ola at the end of the season, and that they've said they mean to exercise it. That said, while Chelsea's hands may be tied on this, the player will always have an option as to whether or not he wants to make the move permanent. That being so, we at least have the chance to try to persuade him to choose London blue, over Turin red. I'm sure the consensus opinion here will be that there's no chance of the club pulling that off but at least it allows a glimmer of hope. Assuming the decision makers want him of course.

Keppa is a long way from losing my confidence but I have not altered my point of view from the one I expressed in the summer. There is absolutely no way Keppa is £71m better than Marcin in my opinion. Italian managers love experience so it was never anything more than fantasy talk, but I'd have used the money on an outfield player and gone with the kid.

In a 3-4-3 he's been devastating at CB. Outstanding defensively and joining to great effect, then spreading passes to make David Luiz green with envy. All of this was, of course, at development level.

Reece is also an outstanding CB.

Of course the answer has been blatantly obvious for at least a couple of years now but, even so, we've all enjoyed asking whether Reece is good enough for Chelsea. As I say, the answer is completely obvious but, many more displays like Sunday's and, Reece is going to start wondering if we're good enough for him.

On the person, or persons, who do make the footballing decisions. I've written many times about who I think that is but I don't even have any evidence, never mind proof. I have also written many times about the fact that, were I in Roman's position, I would be making all of the transfer decisions myself. I'd listen to advice and recommendations of course but in the end I'd decide. I can conceive of a situation where I might defer to an experienced football person in whose judgement I trusted but there's no way I'd give up my dream of selecting all of Chelsea's players to someone with zero credentials. I don't think Roman would either. What'd be the point? Where would the fun be in that? I might give someone else the responsibility of handling the boring business side of deals but the fun part? No chance. Then why hasn't Roman sacked her? Vesper's answer to that question is that Marina has some blackmail material over her boss. I don't remember Vesper's response to my follow up point which was why, if you have such powerful influence over a billionaire, why waste it on getting a job for which you are not qualified? One from the performance of which, you wouldn't gain a single scrap of prestige or self-esteem? Why not take some other, equally well paid, position on the board. One that didn't entail actually working? It's possible but, for me to believe that I'd have to believe that Marina is an extremely stupid individual. I don't believe that and I've seen no evidence to cause me to doubt that opinion.

I don't believe Marina selects the transfer targets. Do you?

So if, for example, she worked for PSG her £220m offer for Neymar would have failed? My point is that there are other factors involved and I just don't buy into this scapegoating of Marina.

I've not read the whole thread but so far I've only seen one post saying the poster would gladly loose to damage the hopes of Spurs and Liverpool. I confess I've got a lot of sympathy with that view but I can't go that far myself. All I do say is that, if we should loose, then the fact that the points can only help City in the title race will be a very big consolation for me. I'd be shocked if a large majority of Chelsea fans don't feel exactly the way I do.

Yep, I understand what people are saying here. I want to win on Sunday, naturally. If, however, we are to loose a league game to any of City, Liverpool or Spurs, then surely the choice is an absolute no brainer for a big majority of Chelsea fans.

Is anyone here going to this? If so, are you aware that the women's team is playing City's women on the same day, across the road at the Academy stadium? Women's game kicks of at 1:00pm. If you're up there early, and fancy a double header, tickets can be bought on the gate or online direct from Man City. If you want to be sure of getting there in time then You can book on a Thomas Cook coach to the women's game for a tenner. If anyone would like more details let me know.

Even in yesterday's presser it seemed that Maurizio had not yet given up hope. When asked about this he said something like, the club know my opinion on this and we will have to see what happens. That doesn't sound like a man who knows that there is no possibility of any further incoming transfers. It sounds like a man who thinks there is a chance that something will happen. Not sure who backs up Dave should Zappa leave so I think that's a potential move we might be wise to avoid.

Exactly, this can only be news for non-Chelsea fans. That said I think the report is probably inaccurate to say Roman won't sanction big money signings. It's more likely true to say that he won't sanction unfunded spending and that's pretty much been the case for a while. Years in fact.

I would have hated that goal celebration so maybe it's not all bad.

Looking at the league table a few weeks ago almost made me wish there was a God and that he owed me a favour. Everybody other than City, Liverpool and Spurs being out of contention was enough to make any self-respecting Chelsea fan get out the prayer mat and beg for help. O Lord, I'll throw away my Dawkins, Hitchens and Pinker books. I'll delete and wipe my Carl Sagan audiobooks with military grade security software; please, please let City win the league. Bloody Benitez. What did I ever do to him? Well alright, I wasn't very nice to him, but you can overlook that can't you? Come on you light blues! Amen.

Funny you should say this. There are always people with different opinions and, when I argued against buying Sheva, someone countered with his Milan statistics. I answered that by saying that I preferred the evidence of my own eyes over the stats. To which the other person replied with even more stats. More interstingly though, what you say has a bearing on probably my strangest football opinion. Without the merest speck of evidence to support it, I believe that Arkaidy Abramovich plays a part in selecting transfer targets. In fact it was what I saw as the immaturity of one our signings which first gave me the idea that Arkaidy might be involved. Signing Marko Marin was so ridiculous that even Bremen fans laughed when we bought him. I can see how Marko's talent could have looked impressive to a young mind which was able to recognise ability, but was not yet mature enough to take proper account of the negatives.

Sadly, I have to agree with this. When Mason is scoring, and he hasn't been since the early part of the season, the goals round out his game and give it a gloss. Underneath that gloss however he isn't yet giving enough to be considered ready. Again, I fully agree. Spot on once more. Haven't watched the player so can't offer an opinion but, assuming you are right about him, your analysis about how he can help us paints a very encouraging picture. In that regard, I wonder what you think of Ola Aina who I notice you excluded from your most recent squad list suggestion/speculation? Ola isn't ambipedal, but contributes equally well on both flanks. Might this, plus his superior physicality and greater technical prowess compared to Marcos, make him a candidate to replace Chilwell or Emerson in your list?

After watching him at the 2006 World Cup I was certain Andriy had nothing to offer us and should not be signed. I posted, elsewhere, to say so but included another opinion. I felt then, and still feel now, that because signing a player he loved was a part of Roman's motivation for being here in the first place, that transfer should be acceptable to all Chelsea fans, even if it didn't work out. To be fair to Roman he seems more wiling to back others judgement than I would have been. I make no bones about the fact that, in his position, I would have made all of the transfer decisions myself, every one of them. That isn't to say that a manager might not have persuaded me to back his judgement if I felt he was right, but I don't think anyone would have sold me on Andriy. If that seems like I'm being a bit boastful with the benefit of hindsight, then let me balance the record by saying that I also doubt anyone would have convinced me to sign Didier Drogba. Even I'm not perfect.