OhForAGreavsie

Haven't really been able to concentrate on the game but he's looked OK to me. And compared to what i usually have to say about him OK is a big compliment. The one really good pass we've made in the first half came from him.

No I don't believe that. I believe that that is one of the great myths of the game. A good young player will become a good experienced one. A poor young player like, Islam Feruze for example, will be poor all his days.

I tend to disagree with that argument, or rather I only agree with a part of it. We do need proper full backs but just because Azpi isn't one, does not mean that Baba is. As I say, I'm a Baba non-believer. My take on his debut was that we might never see him again. He was that poor. Still, that's my just my opinion, other people were more impressed.

He's shown absolutely nothing, nothing whatsoever, to suggests that he deserves a run. Tonight then would be as good a place as any to start proving that he has something to offer. I confess I'm not a believer, to me Baba's looked hopeless, but opportunities are there to be taken. Good luck to the lad.

Can only imagine that those who believed in his chances were inspired by reports and stats rather than by what they actually saw. Hopeless player. Never had any chance whatsoever at any decent level.

Of course not. Hopeless. Semi-pro at best for him. Worse than just being a poor player, he displayed a poor on field attitude. Although I admit I haven't seen him play for a couple of seasons, and it may be possible that his attitude has changed, I doubt it. The way he scowled at team mates for not passing to him while being outstandingly greedy himself, seemed too much a part of his personality to hope for real change.

Sadly you are correct.

I was going to say that. Got to admit though that you tell it better than me.

I like Lucas but that much has been clear for a long time. I also like our loan policy but I do think we need to be more alert in making decisions. Once it's been established that a young man has no realistic Chelsea future, and that's probably been the case for at least two years with Lucas, we need to be honest with him about it. We must allow the player to move on if he can find a club which will pick up his CFC wages and we have to refresh the loan army with newer prospects. A case in point currently is Nate Chalobah. A permanent move is best for the lad I think. Of course, if no one wants to match their CFC contracts then, fair enough, we owe it to the lads to work hard on their continuing development. If a good move is available however, let's do the right thing for the young men and for ourselves.

A song I've been singing for a long time. Of the three positions Nathan offers, LB is clearly his worst.

Naturally people are going to roll out the old caveats but, bottom line, Baba simply has not looked the part. Nowhere near it.

Might be because they, the FA, have nothing to do with the actual Premier League fixture list.

Thank you Alex, it's refreshing to read the truth. I love Ruben and have hope that he'll make it but that which was his major flaw two-and-a-half years ago, is still his major flaw. He simply is not busy enough and that applies equally as much when his team has the ball, as when it does not. You've spoken about the situation when his side is out of possession but Ruben also does not work hard enough to get into the play when a team mate is on the ball. He has a tendency to wait for the game to come to him. That's not how he's going to command a place in Chelsea's first team.

Started brilliantly with Gemma looking too good for the oppo once again but it didn't last. We fully deserved the win and missed at least one glorious chance to double the lead but there was some serious misfiring. Gemma being Gemma, she enjoyed good moments but Glasgow had a plan for her and it shut her down quite well for the middle hour of the game. Ji was quiet. One or two nice passes but not enough effective contribution. Eni didn't have a good game. She didn't link well with the other strikers, while all her efforts on goal lacked power or direction. She was also caught in possession more than once. Biggest minus was our passing high. Time after time we won possession but just gave it back immediately. A lot of very makable passes were missed. As a result almost everything we tried to do fizzled out. Three highs: - Fran's goal really was a heck of a strike Millie Bright was excellent. Was delighted when I saw her name on the team sheet and she didn't disappoint. Covered a lot of ground, won a lot of headers put in a lot of crunching tackles, was constantly showing for the ball and hit some stunning cross field passes off either foot. Clear MOTM, hard to see how she can be dropped for next week. Niamh Fahey was even more calmly authoritative than usual. Reminded me last night of JT at his best.

Finished 1-0. Second leg next Wednesday.

Wow! What a goal by Fran Kirby. Brilliant turn on the edge of the box, pushed the ball to give herself the angle she wanted and then a fabulous drive off the underside of the bar. Top, top quality goal. 1-0 Blues. I was just about to do a post saying how pleased I am to see Millie Bright back in the starting line up tonight. Fact is that, in effect, it's Fran keeping her out of the side as we changed our shape to get Kirbs into the team. Maybe Millie should rotate a bit more with Drew Spence. I love her too but Millie needs to play. P.S. We're playing Glasgow City in the first round, first leg of The Champion's League.

Gemma Davidson is basically too good for Sunderland. What a player.

3-0 now. Still 25 mins left but that's the title wrapped up surely. Really enjoying watching the ladies play. Eni has been great, Fran Kirby is having her best game so far in Chelsea blue, Drew Spence has just been subbed but has been excellent at the heart of midfield, Gemma Davidson has been outstanding as usual and Ji has been imperious in the ten. A pleasure to watch this team.

I don't see any trap there, certainly not an intentional one. I simply mean that we are here giving our opinions and in doing so we leave others free to judge us if they so choose. In fact the comments we make contain judgements all the time though perhaps not of each other. My own judgement is that I am not given to attacking other members but perhaps others who have read my posts will have a different, and certainly more dispassionate, judgement about that too.

Please Judge away. DDF seems to me to lack patience and perspective but I probably don't want to read what he thinks of me. :) When you you start following the club ZY? Edit: I've just read your profile and although the age given there makes you a fair bit older than me, I have, according to the 1975 date shown, been supporting Chels for 9 years longer than you.

What kind of Chelsea fan can have no interest in a Chelsea match? A different kind to me that's for sure. Personally, I couldn't be uninterested even if I wanted to. It's not for me to tell anyone else how to support their chosen team, or even who to support in the first place, but I do wonder if some people here wouldn't have been happier if fate had made them Arsenal fans. I think they would have been, but I suppose they're just as stuck with Chelsea as I am, so they have my sympathy. Me, I'm Chelsea till I die. It's part of my identity and whether the team is fabulous or frighteningly frustrating they are my team and I support them always. That support is never uncritical, but it is always unmistakeable.

First fifteen minutes were not great but, overall, the best performance I've seen from the ladies. The scoreline is a fair reflection of their dominance. Ji was great and picked up MOTM but Gemma Davidson was outstanding too. Excellent wing play from her, including two brilliant assists where she beat her 'man' and pulled it back to set up easy chances. Title is ours next week if we beat Sunderland, or City fail to beat Notts County. If we draw then City need to win by four goals or more to overtake us on goal difference. In certain circumstances however, a three goal win might do for them. Of course if we loose then any win will do for City.

A key point is that if Patrick was as good now as Studge was when he went to Bolton, he'd be starting at Palace. The further down the pyramid you have to look for a place where a player will get minutes, the further away he obviously is from being ready for us. I don't think Patrick will ever be a starter for Chelsea but he wouldn't agree with me about that of course. Good luck to him.

The club has already said that, if the new stadium goes ahead, the plan is for the Shed to become a home area once again. The number of away fans will fall a little which will mean a big drop in percentage terms. If I remember correctly they will be seated at the south end of the east stand, toward the junction with The Shed. I hope, and expect, that every seat in the new stadium will afford a decent view. The ones I think are designated for away fans do look likely to be those furthest from the pitch however.

Patrick was a player in demand and so I think it is reasonable to assume that his temporary club are paying his wages plus a loan fee on top. It is also reasonable I think to assume that conversations were held with regard to what role Patrick would play in the Palace squad and that satisfactory answers were given. With the natural desire of both Chelsea and Patrick that his latest loan should be at the highest level possible, to hear from a premier league club which was making the right noises and which was prepared to underscore their interest with hard cash would have been encouraging and attractive. It's a balancing act. Do you send the lad out to a lower league because you know he'll play but prove less, or do you send him to a top flight club where minutes are harder to come by, but where, if he's good enough, his minutes will tell club and player more about his capabilities. In any case, I didn't say this looked a good loan. I said a Premier League loan looked good but I definitely think the club were right to give Patrick a chance with a top division club. In the end however, if he's not good enough, he's not good enough. Some people were arguing that Patrick could serve as our third, or even second, choice striker this season. If that was ever true then he ought to be able to get a game at Palace. If he can't however then that's something we need to know.