OhForAGreavsie

Well they definitely had an impact so there can be no ifs or buts about it. The FFP targets must be adjusted to factor in those impacts.

I've seen him play for the development squad. Looked capable and busy, staying involved in the game and communicating with the defenders constantly. It looks like he gladly accepts the 'senior pro' role with the young lads around him.

Not yesterday sadly. Day started badly when the supporter coach was over an hour-and-a-half late, followed by the driver having to take a mandatory 45-minute break at the motorway services stop. All of which meant some Blues fans missed kick-off. Then the day got worse (Lost 2-0). In truth, our form hasn't been great for a while so when you throw in 5 games in 19-days, injuries, and a third straight big away fixture, it was always going to be a tough result to get. On to Thursday night at The Bridge, when the girls will attempt to reach their third Champions League semi-final in five seasons. They lead European Champions Lyon 1-0 after the away leg. Tickets available here. Could be a good chance to check out the hospitality seats, without having to pay the exorbitant prices charged normally.

Congratulations to Harry Kane on setting the new all time England men's scoring mark. He is an outstanding player. I maintain that his headed flick to make it 1-1 in the 2017 FA Cup Semi-final against us is one of the best finishes I've ever seen. It was genius. Speaking of genius however, I want to compare Kane's international record with that of the greatest English striker ever, James Peter Greaves. Kane now has 54 goals for his country, compared to Jimmy's 44. Harry has played 24 more games than Jimmy did (81 vs 57). An extra 10 goals in 24 more games is not too shabby, but the real stat that sets the players apart is that Harry has netted 18 times from penalties at international level, while Jimmy scored; none, nada, zilch, zero. Exclude those 18 penalties and Harry would still be eight goals behind Jimmy, despite those extra 24 appearances. Kane is averaging 0.44 non-penalty goals per appearance for England. At that rate it would take him 18 more caps to catch Jimmy. and that would take his total number of caps to well over double Jimmy's number. Jimmy Greaves was a remarkable footballer. He was his nation's designated penalty taker for several seasons, but England were not awarded any spot kicks while he was on the pitch. He did score 19 pens at club level however. 19 taken, and 19 scored. Jimmy never missed a penalty. I don't deny that there is a very good case for regarding Super Frank as Chelsea's greatest ever player but, for me, Jimmy takes that honour, Eden is second, and the other places are up for debate. I give high praise to Harry Kane, but he'd be the first to admit that he's no Jimmy Greaves.

March fixture list update

Women's Champions League Quarter-Final First leg, Lyon vs Chelsea. Live HT: Lyon 0-1 Chelsea, (Guro Reiten) FT: Lyon 0-1 Chelsea.

I'm really not sold on Noni, but Hakim and Chris have got to go. They are serving no purpose in the squad, and being here is serving no purpose for them.

What will be the market for Osihmen? Can any Italian club fork out that kind of money, and will Osihmen want to continue in Serie A anyway? Bayern could afford that type of fee, but will they bin their anti-big fee philosophy? Real have every reason to renew Benzema but, in any case, is Osihmen their man? Will they spend big for him and for Bellingham in 2023? Can Barca afford an Osihmen sized outlay, even with a return to the Champions League? City are sorted, and Liverpool are committed to Nunez. Paris could only come to the party if they move Neymar, and who is going to pick up €38m a season for his contract? Arsenal could be interested but Jesus's returns before his injury might tempt them to stick rather than twist. Newcastle have the money but do they have the pull yet? I think Utd will be interested but who else will be, other than us?

My cards have been on the table about Joao from the start but if the club want to buy him anyway, surely they won't pay £80m. I said when the loan was being rumoured that, in my opinion, he had never shown returns to justify the money Atleti paid. Well, I don't think he has justified £80m either. The quality is there, but quality matters only in as much as it helps a player to be effective. In what we've seen across his career so far, Joao has not been effective enough, often enough.

The 'hard pass' is a) but, in any case, b) we have a buyback so, if we choose to trigger it, Jose has no say. He could of course try to persuade Tammy to stay in Rome, but he would not have a veto over the move.

Let's hope that you are wrong.

That draw didn't go so well. 😞 In the same half as, probably, the three best teams in Europe. At least we have the second leg at home against Real. Small crumbs.

I was! Along with a lot of other Blues. The game was played at Brisbane Road where they only open one stand for Tottenham Women's games. Trouble is it's the one where the cameras are, so you don't see the fans on screen. I went there to watch The Blues take on Spurs twice in 12 days recently. First time I've been to Orient's ground since a Men's FA Cup game in 1978. P.S. Lauren's goal against Spurs won the club's goal of the month award for February. After never having topped the poll before, this makes two consecutive goal of the month wins for CFCW players following Sam Kerr's win in January.

And don't forget the expanded Champions League. Another upping of the workload for top players. With 12 European sides spread across 8 groups in the club world cup, it's entirely possible that all 12 will progress to the last 16. That would mean a minimum of four games for us over 11 days in June, At least it's only once every 4 years.

Oops

I don't believe this. As I've said all along, I believe that Nkunku has been our player since September.

Updated CFCW fixture info

I always make this point, and I'll take the opportunity to do so again. Being a top quality shot-stopper is an entry level requirement. It doesn't make you a good keeper, it just gives you a chance to be one.

Think there is bad blood between him and Leicester fans.

It did cross my mind, but who knows?

Maybe I 'heard' it elsewhere then but, since I don't read newspapers or follow twitter, most of the Chelsea rumours I 'hear' come from here.

What happened to the rumours about TT having had an affair with a female staff member at the club? I'm pretty sure I initially heard that rumour when someone mentioned it here.

Ah, I get you. I can't say I've noticed that. Maybe officials have taken their eyes off this because keepers don't kick from hands anywhere near as often as they used to. These days it should actually be easier for the linos to monitor this. In the old days they would jockey level with the front edge of the penalty area watching to see that keepers didn't carry the ball out of the area, then sprint hell for leather after the kick to get in line with the last defender who had pushed up towards halfway. Nowadays, the last defender is usually standing next to the goalkeeper. 🙂

I must be misunderstanding you here because I don't see why a keeper shouldn't be allowed to play the ball outside the penalty area. He has the same 'rights' as any other player. It's just that he has special rights when he in his own penalty area. When he's doing a drop kick from the edge of his penalty area, as long as he doesn't handle the ball outside the area, why can't he can drop it wherever he likes?

Aside from the fact that the old law, which required the ball to be fully within the quadrant, made taking the kick harder, it was incompatible with the way the laws treat other lines on the pitch. A ball which is almost entirely outside the pitch, but which overhangs the outer edge of the touchline by even a millimetre, is deemed to be 'in' the field of play. A foul which occurs on the outer edge of a line marking out the penalty area would be penalised with the award of a penalty, not a free kick. If those lines are a part of the area they contain, then it follows that the arc which marks the edge of the corner quadrant should also be regarded as being 'in' that quadrant. Hence the 'new' law deems that as long as some part of the ball overhangs some part of the corner quadrant's arc, the ball is 'in' the quadrant.