OhForAGreavsie

I don't care if he really hates them. (As long as he can fake it for one day!)

Glad that people who watch performances and judge what they see honestly are now commenting on Charly. Many posts over the last two years have been too generous about his output. There was a time when the super positive opinions in here bore very little resemblance to the performances I was watching our young Belgian turn in for Betis. We’re Chelsea fans; of course we want the very best for Charly, but just wishing it won’t make it so. The penny has to drop very soon that, if he is to succeed at any kind of level, he needs to remodel his game. He must abandon any lingering belief that the hype surrounding his performances in that first spell at Betis was anything but the purest honeymoon reaction. Charly has a lot of thinking and a lot of work to do. I wish him well with it.

Agreed. That was a wonderful goal. Absolutely ridiculous that it did not win goal of the season. Most long range efforts are pretty much hit and hope. This one was different; it was a precision strike. Everything about it was completely intentional. Perfect contact, generating perfect fade to achieve perfect placement. One of the all time great goals.

I've been drinking a nice scotch and am feeling pretty happy. I find that I've drifted deep into my, "I absolutely love it when bad things happen to Spurs" zone. This is a good place for me. I like it here. If you can hear the drunken strains of an old bloke slurring out, "It's happened again. It's happened again", fading into "Double, double, double. John Terry's won the double" then you live closer to me than is good for you. I'm in an especially good mood because I've seen that stat about Spuds and five 21st century FA Cup semi-finals and no finals at all, Zilch, nada. Love it. Love it to death, "United, United, United, United, United!" P.S. It's a good scotch. Edit: right now this is my favourite song in the world:

With you.

Three words, Sepp bloody Blatter. I could easily loose respect for football fans. We all* hate international breaks but we do nothing about them other than bitch and put up with it. If we boycotted internationals until FIFA get rid of Blatter's ugly brainchild, international breaks would be gone in a flash. *Can't honestly say I know that ALL football fans hate international breaks. Indeed I know some people who are England supporters rather than fans of any individual clubs. Those people love the breaks but the rest of us, the vast majority of us, hate them don't we?

Interestingly, when the new Wembley was opened, the FA announced that the semis would be held under the arch for ten years. Of course they dressed it up with nonsense justifications but, in the end, they were honest enough not to try to pretend that it wasn't about the money really. Last year's semis marked the 10th successive semi-final round at the national stadium (2008-2017). As far as I'm aware there has not been a peep from the FA about the future. Even if we give them that they meant ten years, not ten pairs of semi-finals, I'm still not expecting them to say anything following up on that original ten year statement once this season's matches are over. I think they are just going to continue with the new 'tradition', and keep counting the money. Big mistake. In my opinion, the policy was wrong headed even in it's own terms. Staging the semi-finals at Wembley contributes to the diminishing reputation of The Cup, and that has led to a contraction of revenues overall. Where once attendances went up for FA Cup games, and Clubs were often able to charge a premium on ticket prices, now Cup attendances are typically down from league fixtures, even after clubs heavily discount the cost of tickets. Throw in the fact that the limited sponsorship value of the competition reflects its diminished status, and the whole plan is a disaster. This is because the FA's income from the competition is less than it used to be in relative terms and less, in my opinion, than it would have been had they staged the semi-finals away from Wembley .

That's always been the best part of Willian's game. The burst of controlled ball carnying at pace to turn defence into attack.

3. At least we reached the final... 1. Bitterly disappointing, but definitely better than... 2. Unthinkable, unbearable.

I've won the battle with myself to keep this polite so I'll just say that I hope yours is not a widely held opinion among Chelsea fans, and that we need to avoid sounding like spoiled brats. Indeed, even more than that, we need to avoid actually being spoiled brats.

The 'light' of day.

They also don't pay transfer fees to German clubs if they can possibly help it. They just plan ahead, and entice players to run down their contracts.

Looks a tremendous player to me. My big fear is that City will get him. He's perfect for them so I'd gladly settle for him going to Barca instead.

Surely this story belongs in the way, way, too good to be true file. Not least because, according to his agent, Dembele turned us down in the summer of 2015. My guess has always been that this was likely because he feared he might become a part of the loan army, and that he didn’t fancy that. What lovely irony it would be if we got him on loan from the club, we were told in 2015, that he most wanted to join. Anyway, if this is possible then yes please. Pretty please with bows on.

What's incredible about that?

Huge game on Saturday away to, second in the league, Manchester City Women. Before City's loss to Birmingham last night it looked like we'd need to beat them to have a realistic chance of regaining the title. Now though, City may well feel the tables have turned and that it's them who badly need to win the game. Should be a tense affair featuring the two best sides in the country. If either team takes all three points they will become big favourites to be crowned Champions in May. The supporters coach to Manchester leaves Stamford bridge at 6:30 on Saturday morning; I'll be on it. Can't wait. For anyone planning to be fast asleep at that crazy hour on Saturday, the game is live on BT Sport. kick-off 12:30pm

City going out has to be good. Here's hoping we don't get turfed out by Leicester!

You are blaming the club because the sports media are linking them with a player? Makes no sense basing a criticism on mere transfer gossip.

Hello DV, Is this your long standing opinion, or are you reacting to some action you saw over the weekend? I haven't watched Charly at all since he's been with The Bhoys.

Just don't agree. From the first time I watched him on youtube I felt, and said, that he wasn't good enough to play for this club. Sadly, he has not done anything to change my mind and I long ago gave up expecting him to.

Doesn't affect me one little bit. He's shown great loyalty to this team especially since we appear, temporarily I hope, not to be trying to fulfil his expectations. Remember he came here because, he said, he wanted to win The Champions League. We're a long way from having a squad with a realistic chance in that competition. I think Eden has respected our club and deserves huge, and unreserved, acclaim from Chelsea fans.

I don't agree with the, "You live in Brazil so you don't really know what you're talking about (as regards in Stadium chants)" bit. I don't agree because the volume of appreciation for a player registers on TV and that's what @Barbara is talking about. You are right that stadium chanting is more influenced by quality of song, than it is by depth of love for the object of that song. You are wrong however to claim that Eden does not have a song; he does. It's just not very good, but perhaps that's what you meant to say.

Well, I understand your point and agree to an extent. That said, when Eden is subbed on or off, for example, he gets a bigger ovation than anyone else. I don't think he can be in any doubt of the affection the stadium has for him. It's a fact however that the sustainability of a chant has a lot to do with how often, and how persistently it is sung. The song sung most often, and most loudly, at The Bridge is the one which sustains the best: - #Antonio, Antonio, Antonio Antonio Antonio# sings on a perfect loop. Its end scans seamlessly back into its start. Eden's song, by contrast does not repeat quite so well. There was a great example of this 'sustainability' phenomenon on Monday night. The day we signed Gianfranco Zola, I envisioned a chant for him to the tune of Lola by The Kinks. I'm not the sort of personality that gets chants started however so I was delighted when the same chant I had in mind (more or less) broke out at The Bridge. That version of it is not, if I say so myself, as good as the way I had worked it out and did not sustain. It was often chanted but usually petered out. In was not until the following chant was taken up that the great man's name reverberated the way it deserved to. : - When Franco, Luca and Tore-Andre Flo paraded around the pitch at half time on Monday, it was this song which rung out most loudly. There is no doubt that Franco is one of the best loved Chelsea players ever, but there is also no doubt in my mind that his chant was sung most on Monday because it's the best song. I'd have preferred the following for Eden. I think it would have rocked stadiums around the country. (Phonetically) : - Aden Azar (Clap, Clap, Clap) Aden Azar (Clap,clap,clap) Aden Azar Zar Zar Zar Zar Aden Azar (Clap, clap, clap) Ooo-Ooo Ooo-Ooo Aden Azar.... Sung to the chorus of: - It sustains beautifully and then there would be no doubt possible about our love for the magical Belgian.

Not quite as ridiculous as having signed him in the first place, but yes, I agree.

We can be sure that the club arranged the best loan they could. Why would they send him to a lower status club if a higher level team wanted him, and were offering realistic prospects that he’d actually play? If the place he’s being offered minutes is in League 1, it’s League 1. Playing at Charlton is more useful than sitting on the bench for a better team . What counts is that Jay performs well enough at whatever level he’s in to earn progression.