OhForAGreavsie

On the bench for Rennes tonight.

Wow, that free kick routine with the three step-overs. They must have had a real laugh working that one out on the training ground. And then to have it come off in a game. Amazing!! As for Zivkovic, there's a lot to like in the highlights package above. He looks a very interesting player indeed.

I agree with you that the fans being described are not fickle. There are people here who behave as if they hate Jose and they have always behaved that way. Nothing fickle about them. We're all frustrated. It's the foot stamping I can't stand. My take on yesterday's game is a little different to many of the views posted, including yours in the comment I'm replying to. I don't think we played all that well. We won well, but the performance was underwhelming and even against a very poor side we conceded too many chances. RLC did just enough to merit consideration for the weekend but Baba did not. If I was picking the side, Dave would be back at LB and that would draw Brana into contention for a place whether people like it or not.

And neither was DDA, the poster of the comment to which your message above is a reply. Take another look at what he said, and see if perhaps you might agree with me.

I agree with your implication that this has been a problem for years, and not just at CM. We have tended to recruit players with qualities rather than players of quality. I love Rami for some of his qualities, many of us do, but he simply isn't of the quality a top level club needs. That's how it is for many members of our squad. Given Chelsea's resources our XI on any given day should contain more quality than most opponents it faces. There have been, and there continues to be, too many occasions when our side has not come close to matching that expectation. We simply have to get better at selecting the players coming in to our squad. The brilliance of our manger and the long lasting effects of the system and attitude he installed during his first spell has often papered over the cracks but, in the end, it really does come down to the players. All involved have to up their game.

Thank you TC. It still seems more than odd that we've heard so little about Charlie's continued absence. Had he been able to play, I think Charlie would have been a great option for Vitesse. Given that Josh had made himself first choice there by the end of last season I believe Charlie would have been a perfect replacement for the club, and the club would have been great for him.

On the bench for Rennes this afternoon.

thanks again, you're a star. I did search The Chels website before I posted yesterday and I've just scrolled back to early August in his twitter feed but saw nothing. I confess though that I don't know my way around twitter so I'll just take your word for it and save myself a bit of RSI.

OK, thank you. I haven't read that news anywhere. Where was it announced?

The mystery continues. No sight of Charlie yet and no explanation that I've seen. Does anyone know of any information which has been released? There is nothing on his twitter feed. The last tweet, posted on 31st August, was the fairly enigmatic, "Don't tark to much...." plus an egg timer graphic. We might all have our own guess what that suggests but it's likely that if the absence was caused by an injury we'd have learned about it. Makes it seem more likely that the problem is disciplinary, not medical. If so, it's a big shame but let's hope he's back sooner rather than later and puts it behind him.

It's funny you should say that. I was all in favour of moving if it meant we could get the stadium we needed, and as for naming rights, the sooner we get it done, the better. I was therefore considering what my personal lines in the sand would be and I think there are just four; Chelsea, Blue, the Lion Rampant Regardant with Staff, and Ossie's statue. Everything else is negotiable as far as I'm concerned.

Well played Wayne; 6 more goals than Jimmy Greaves from only 50 more matches!

If City fail to win on Thursday, we can clinch the title with victory at Liverpool in two weeks time. Be nice to get it done then and turn the last fixture into a celebration. Unfortunately I think City will win in midweek. They are the form team in the league right now.

Subbed on 50 minutes. A couple of good involvements in the second half but nothing decisive.

I don't think that Ruben's talent was ever in doubt. It's always been mainly a question of hustle with him. After Kennedy's first appearance in the summer my first thought was that I hoped Ruben was watching. (Which he was of course, but you know what I mean.) Jose took it easy on RLC when he laid into him in Australia. The young man needs to to be more involved in games, to be an influence. Yes this applies when we don't have possession but it applies just as much when we do. For me, Ruben still drifts through some games so it was music to my ears when Jose said he'd be staying here to benefit from more time under TSO's tutelage. There's a dark side to that statement mind, a side that can best be summed up with a question; what have the academy coaches been doing? Two and a half years ago I said Ruben needed a kick up the backside or he'd fail. That may have been administered privately of course but, if it was, it certainly didn't work or else there'd have been no need for Jose to repeat it. I've been a staunch defender of the Academy but I won't defend them on this.

From the first time I saw him, a youth team game against Cardiff, I felt he had no chance here or at any top four club for that matter. Scott has taken a lot of stick over his moves to Chelsea and City but I just don't see why a lad isn't allowed to show a bit of ambition and self belief. He backed himself and took his shots. Good for him. I don't for one minute believe that he's about to prove me wrong but if he did I'd be delighted for him.

I hope Oscar is available. For me the start of the season has offered more evidence that he's the best ten we have. Willian, as he often does, has looked eye catching at times but, as usual, has achieved virtually nothing. Oscar has many flaws and we definitely need an upgrade but for now we are a better side when he plays than when he does not. At the back, maybe Zouma should play to offset Lukaku's pace.

That's not accurate. Lot's of people were unhappy with the fee rumoured to have been offered for Stones.

I 100% hope you're right. !!

Absolutely no indicator of anything whatsoever at all of course but his teammates looked pleased with it.

You are right but I can't imagine that fee is correct. If there is any truth to it at all then it's much more likely to be the total cost; transfer, agents and wages.

As for Martial. I've seen him play three times. Once against Arsenal and twice against Valencia. He didn't catch my eye against Arsenal, was absolutely brilliant in the first leg vs Valencia and, to be frank, was crap in the second leg. The fact is that all players have good and bad games; the trick is to see through the form and try to judge the finite quality of the player. Two such different displays make it hard to be confident in an opinion but, he showed so much to like in the first game against the Spaniards that you'd have to say there is something there.

Absolutely, completely, 100% right and it was always thus. One dimensional simply does not cut it and never did. For example Michael Owen* was, in my opinion, the best English finisher since Greaves yet, once people saw through the initial hype, he couldn't get a game for anybody. That was because being a pure finisher, even a very good one, is nowhere enough and never was. I heard Mickey Quinn talking the other day about an early season game where he and Clive Allen were subs for their respective teams despite having scored 80 goals between them the previous season. Quite right too, neither of them had enough to their games to hold a place in a good side. *Owen was a much better finisher than Shearer. Anyone offered a bet on any English footballer scoring a one-on-one vs any keeper will obviously take Greaves unless they're an idiot but next comes Owen in my book; a beautiful finisher. Even so Shearer was the better player. More to his game.

So do City. (Have youth products plying their trade in the lower reaches of the professional game.) We just don't know their names.

Well... There's truth in that of course but, in my opinion, City have shown themselves to be better judges of top quality players than we are. We have never signed a Silva, a Zabaleta or a Ya-Ya* and when we had the chance to sign Aguero our manager didn't fancy him. My point is that while City will lose players, they have shown themselves very capable of retooling well enough to stay ultra competitive. *I know many people will offer Essien as a Ya-Ya alternative but I'd take the City man every time.