OhForAGreavsie

There's a headline on the BBC football page asking why is it so hard to defend the Premier League title. I have not read the article, mainly because I believe I know the answer. The answer is that it is not hard, it's simply that the last several Champions have not been great teams. United's last hurrah, City's side limping home when we and Liverpool slipped up late in the season, ourselves twice and Leicester. This City side is different; it is a good team and will almost certainly defend the title. They are too good for us. No sense beating ourselves up. We just have to get down to work and focus on trying to get closer to them.

Unless Sari gets to Waitrose for a bit of shopping over the next four days, he'd better set up with 5 eggs at the back or we are going to struggle badly. Our full backs are not going to help provide the right kind of attacking platform in a flat four, and we are not getting the width from anywhere else.

I think there is probably a different reason. To start with all academies recruit players from the age of 6, with parents signing forms committing their youngsters to a club from age 8, so all teams have a big percentage of players who have grown up together. That means it's no advantage to us that our lads have too. Further, our graduates have progressed. I know you mean at Chelsea but I think it's worth remembering that the promise of any school can only be that it will help students make the most of their talent. No school can turn me into Einstein, or Joey Barton into Lionel Messi. Cobham has done well for the kids passing through it. There are a lot of Cobham graduates making professional careers for themselves at all levels in this country and abroad. If none have yet cemented a place in Chelsea's first XI, it's because none have been good enough but Cobham is working on it.

OK, I'm going to say it. If Thibaut leaves then we should get radical, reinvest the fee in other areas, and go with Marcin. From the first time I saw him in the youth team, the kid impressed me. It would be a bold move, to the point of near recklessness, but you win prizes when you get the big decisions right and I think this lad would justify the decision to back him. I'm not expecting it, but I'm hoping that he'll start today.

In addition to Calum two lads on loan in the Championship, plus a lad in the current development squad, have serious first team chances in my opinion. IF this opinion proves correct that's stunningly brilliant work by Cobham. For years I've argued that it was too early to judge the work of our academy. My point being that only players who have had their entire football education at the new academy represent evidence of how Cobham does its job. Given that the average age at which players establish themselves in the first team is around 22, and given that players start their journeys with Premier League clubs as early as 6, it takes a long time to see the real results. Up to now the players surfacing have either started in the old academy, which the club recognised as hopeless and dismantled, or were not genuine Cobham graduates because they were recruited as mid to late teenagers. If this way of looking at things is right then we should expect to see a gradual improvement in the general level of academy players. I believe that this is what we are seeing. For example, in my opinion, George Mceachran is a better player than his big brother yet, while Josh was touted as the star of his academy generation, George is not generally regarded as being even in the top five.

No. His reccomendation of Grealish, which I haven’t read, just makes me more confident in my belief that JT should never be Chelsea manager.

He already was when he was 15. Grealish should be filled under, ‘No interest - ever.’

We've seen the possible, but Sarri has seen the problems. That'll turn out to be a good fact finding exercise.

What's different is the quality of the latest academy graduates. For my money Calum, as good as he is, is not the best prospect from last season's U18's. That's Reece James in my opinion. On top of those two we have Mason Mount who I believe should have been with the squad now, rather than going out to Derby. I think that they are all better than their predecessors. Cobham is doing well.

Hope Sarri is not writing off Bulka as a possibility for 2019/20 onward.

This is why I found it interesting when the pre-game graphic had him lining up on the right vs. Inter. Interesting because, as I said on Sunday, it suggested that Sarri was looking at a way to get both Eden and Calum into the line up. Turned out the TV company had it wrong. Perhaps the boss will look at it in the Lyon game.

For whom would you say?

I love the bloke as much as we all do but, while he is a great defensive RB, he is not out of the very top drawer as an all round full back. That RCB role in a three suited him to a tee.

Smith-Rowe is also going to be a terrific player. Hasn't shown it so far tonight but he's a top talent.

Amid all the talk of Fekir, Malcolm was the bloke I wanted. More than two-and-a-half times the cost for Zaha would be hard to take.

First match at The Bridge in Jan '74; first season ticket in 1976. By the way, that season ticket cost me £22. Twenty-two quid!!

I’m in full favour of bringing Calum into the squad. Having watched him quite a number of times last season, including half a dozen times live, as well as many times the season before that, I know he did ok on Sunday. I also know he can do better though.

I saw a headline attached to that video which said that Calum had dazzled against Inter. The headline surprised me because, as big a fan as I am of CHO, I would not have said his display on Sunday was dazzling. When I watched the vid however I began to second guess myself because the performance it portrayed looked better than I remembered. While watching however it dawned on me that this was not an all touches presentation. The times he was caught in possession had been edited out, as had some of the times he gave the ball away. Callum is a great player. I'm a huge fan but his display at the weekend was not as good as this video makes it look and not as good as he's capable of. It wasn't bad mind.

Exactly what I've always favoured and argued for. If this possibility becomes a genuine option then I'd back it one hundred percent. Even though I've attended more than a thousand football matches at Stamford Bridge, I believe the benefits of relocating far outweigh the emotional attachment to our traditional home. In addition to the advantages listed, and those alone already make an unanswerable case in my opinion, a new stadium would also permit improved amenities around the ground and better transport links to it. Compared to a new build at Earls Court, there is nothing to be said for redeveloping The Bridge other than nostalgia. Is nostalgia enough to justify spending an extra billion pounds, playing four years of 'away' fixtures and finishing up with a stadium which is less good than the one we could build at Earls Court? I don't believe that it is. Nostalgia is great but it's the future that counts. Look what happened to Fulham. They used to be the best team in London but in 1905 they decided against moving to the new stadium down the road when they were offered the chance. Their decision forced the owners of Stamford Bridge to start a new club instead. Now Fulham are not even the best team in Fulham. Let's not make the same mistake The Cottagers did. It's wise to use the present to make plans for the future, and it would be catastrophic not to choose the future over the past.

Exactly so.

He definitely has it. When he feels more comfortable in the side he’ll give a better representation of what he can do.

His pass selection and weight of pass are two of his strengths. Be patient you’ll see.

He’s been at the club for a couple of seasons. Definitely the best academy level keeper we have in my opinion. He didn’t feature in either of the last two youth cup winning sides but did appear a lot for the higher age group side.

The pre game graphic suggested that. I just made an observation about what it might mean IF he was playing there. As soon as it kicked off it was clear the graphic was wrong.

If Calum is being used on the right, as the graphic suggests, that would be interesting. Is Sari checking if he can play Eden and Calum rather than Eden or Calum?