OhForAGreavsie

In case anyone missed it the club's announcement about the switch to digital tickets can be read at: CFC Digital Tickets | Official Site | Chelsea Football Club I'll be attending the meeting at The Bridge on Tuesday 6th May where the club say they will present the plans in full and try to respond to any concerns fans may have. I've emailed the following as things I'd like to hear from the club about in regards to this: Will the switch to ticket master allow for a simpler journey through the online ticket purchasing process? Will supporter selection of specific seats be facilitated? Will Ticketmaster impose a transaction fee following the switch? Since, superficially at least, Kingsmeadow appears to use the same turnstile control technology as Stamford Bridge, I'd be interested to know why the club's second home has had to be excluded from the initial digital ticketing roll out. I wondered if anyone reading this has any issue they would like to see raised at the meeting about the switch to digital tickets.

Six in a row!! Well done the girls. 🙂 The fans did well too. There was a pretty good turnout even though the 8:15pm midweek kick-off made it tough for people to attend and be fit for work/school the next day. Nowhere near the three-thousand odd that travelled to the ManU game last season but they made enough noise to help the team over the line. We're nine points clear at the top with two games to play. That means we're almost certain to win the title with a bigger points margin this season, than the combined total by which we won the last five. In fact, if we stretch the lead any more, we might win it by double the combined winning margins from 2020 to 2024.

On the supporter coach to Manchester. Arsenal also playing tonight. If we win and they don't we are champions. If both clubs win, or both draw, or both lose, we'll need a point against Spurs next week to clinch the title.

Despite the way we lost on Sunday, and and the fact that I think the result might have been closer had Emma been in charge, I would not prefer our ex manager. Sonia set up to play against Barcelona, Emma would have been more conservative which might have narrowed the margin of defeat. While that obviously sounds like a tick for Emma, I'm nevertheless happy that Sonia is trying to move us on. If we're going to add European and world club honours to our collection, we have to get better. I believe in Sonia. The squad all speak highly of her, with convincing examples of how she is improving their game. She's intense on the touchline; charming and diplomatic in the press room even though English is her third language. I genuinely believe that we will be a better side next season, and better still the season after that.

We were really, really bad that day. Arsenal made us look like amateurs.

The general consensus is that Barcelona are not as good this season as they were last yet we could, and did, consider ourselves unlucky to be eliminated by them last year. 12 months on and it will be amazing if we are not eliminated by them this time around. We have work to do to reach their level.

The club's allocation will be 20,000 tickets. Get them while you can lads and lasses. These two clubs set the Women's FA Cup final attendance record when they met each other two years ago in front of 77,390. I'm not convinced that will be beaten this year, but it would be nice.

Is Santos playing DM or 8 for Strasbourg? In other words, might he be seen as an alternative to injury-prone Lavia in the rotation?

Yes please but can we snatch either of these from the list of clubs likely to be making offers to them and their clubs? Let's hope that we put our hat in the ring and give it our best shot.

Was over 10,000 last time saw a figure. At the moment it doesn't feel the game is heading for a sell out like last year's was. That said, ticket sales might get a boost if the result of the first leg in Barcelona goes our way. We won there 1-0 last season. Tickets available from £20. (£10 for concessions.)

I really don't think we can. I'm sure I read, or heard, that it has been formally, and contractually, agreed that Estavao will join us after the CWC.

I thought that it had been settled, contractually, that Estavoa will be playing for Palmeiras in the Club World Cup?

Everybody's top South America scout is watching that tournament. 🙂

Listed in order of preference?

My opinion is that you can't make an accurate positive judgement from highlight videos but you can reach a more reliable negative judgement. If a player looks good in highlight vids you always need to see more, but if he looks bad, and depending on what in particular is bad, you have almost always seen enough already.

For me, this includes Geovany Quenda. He has looked very unimpressive to me in the highlight videos I've watched. It might be that there is other material in which he looks a good player but I'm very doubtful. It's not just the outcome of his actions which I don't like, it's how he does what he does in those videos.

Feel the same way about this possibility as I did about Sancho. Ridiculous price for a player not worth half as much in my view.

It was a strange decision to sign him in the first place. Was delighted when news of the break clause emerged. (If this was public at the time he joined, I didn't notice it.)

DZAN usually put the big WCL games on their website rather than on their YouTube channel. Still free though.

Yes, Shed Lower Block 6. Best crowd participation at any Stamford Bridge game so far. Not the best noise overall because we've had much bigger crowds. In terms of people individually showing vocal support for the team however, definitely the best. I was trying to encourage people around me to stand, because we all tend to make more noise when we're on our feet. Only partial success with that but, in fairness to a group of people behind me who wanted to sit, they all said they were fine with me standing even if it meant blocking their view sometimes. That was the right attitude but naturally I would never be comfortable standing and enjoying myself when I know it means damaging someone else's enjoyment of the game, so I mostly kept to my seat. The atmosphere was encouraging last night, and it could be seen that the players were lifted by it, but it still was not where it should be. I'll be attending a meeting of the Chelsea Women Fan Forum next week and atmosphere in the ground is on the agenda for discussion. (It should also be on the agenda for the mens forum by the way.) Does anyone reading this, weather you go to women's games or not, have any ideas about how we can get more people to back the team vocally during matches? One chant which absolutely never catches on at women's games is Carefree. To me that's a big shame because, whenever Stamford Bridge is truly rocking, Carefree thunders around the ground. I can't say this for sure but I suspect that it doesn't catch on because a significant percentage of people don't want to chant the F-word. I have never sung that line myself and I never will, but the culture of womens' football seems to reject it. Suspecting that people won't sing the original version I try to encourage them to sing, "And we know no fear" instead but I'm pretty much the only one who uses that line. I just can't get people to agree that it's more important to chant things that inspire and motivate the team, than it is to exercise their right to sing whatever the F they want to.

Definitely agree that Millie was POTM. Erin Cuthbert was the main catalyst in our quick start but after those first 15-20 minutes Bright and Bjorn came to the fore.

A 5-0 win for Chelsea sees us through to face West ham in the semi-final. Game will be played on 5th/6th of February.

R

Ever since the England vs USA international last November there have been rumours about US centre-back Naomi Girma joining us. Those rumours have really gathered pace over the last week, and it is now being reported in The States that the world record transfer has been completed. Girma is widely regarded as the top defender in women's football. Former Chelsea boss Emma Hayes has described her as the best defender she has ever seen. The fee is said to be $1.1 million. That would beat the current women's world record transfer fee by a little under $500,000 although there are rumours of Chelsea's French international right back Eve Periset going to San Diego as part of the deal. It is also being widely reported that the club will be selling a stake in our women's team to an outside investor. It's not impossible I suppose that some of the money from this proposed sale is earmarked for funding the world record fee. https://www.sportingnews.com/us/soccer/news/most-expensive-players-womens-football-transfer-record/308d858c74e79a2b421a111e