OhForAGreavsie

I was literally just wondering if, given his age, he might be happy to join as a squad player.

But: - Has his pay been stopped? Otherwise what kind of punishment is it to be given a week off? Pay or no pay this is just a sop to quieten the masses. What difference does his suspension make to anybody? What are they doing to fix the problem? There need to be two VAR officials officiating independently and without the ability to communicate with each other. If their assessment of an event is unanimous that decision is passed to the referee. If they are split, the ref is called to the screen to make the decision. Ideally the referee would not know which officials are on VAR duty and neither VAR official will know who the other is. That at least makes cheating more difficult.

Update: Club site now showing fewer than 1700 tickets remaining. Be quick! 😀

As of this morning there are only 6,262 general admission tickets remaining on sale to Chelsea fans for the women's opening game of the season against West Ham at Stamford Bridge. If you've never watched CFCW play this is your best chance yet. https://www.chelseafc.com/en/tickets/womens-tickets

I've got to get out of this thread. My blood pressure can't take this. Every post I read makes me want to open a catering size can of baked beans with a hammer. Only way to avoid giving that foul is if you are determined to cheat. No possible other way.

Well I'm not calm yet and I'm a waaaaay calmer bloke than TT. Based on how I'm feeling it'll be 2027 before the manager is back on an even keel.

Hass he shown himself to be ahead of Mando?

I was also unimpressed by his highlight videos.

👏 Different topic but I question the way academies are used to give apprentice coaches their first look at a coaching job. I know young coaches need to start somewhere but at elite academy level we should be employing specialist 'teachers'. Instead of the kids being coached by people who are themselves learning their trade, they should benefit from working with experienced men and women who are world class teachers. P.S. I taught myself to use my left foot in the school playground simply by deciding that I wasn't going to use my right at all. From memory it only took about a week. I think I was probably eight when I did this and I'm sure that I learned so quickly, and so well, because of the age at which I did this. From then until the end of my playing days, anything I could do with my right foot I could also do with my left. Except for dribbling.

Boy did it! I managed, just, to forgive him because he was arguably the best defender in the world.

First, I said all along I wanted an upgrade to Chilly, not a backup to him, so I was happy to see the club targeting a top level LB/LWB. What do I have against Cucurella? His one footedness irritates me. I knew it would happen but between him and Anthony Taylor, yesterday was all I could take. Cucu will do until we find a player who does everything our new boy can PLUS use his weaker foot more confidently. I think we are going to have a sewsaw situation where the coach will switch between the two LWB's looking for something that neither can quite give him.

At some point in yesterday's game I came to what I'm sure will be a controversial opinion. We have many higher priorities now but, once we've worked our way through all of those in a season or so, we are going to need a left back/left wing back. For now, I don't rule out that Ben will be re-designated the starter within a few weeks.

It is being authoritatively reported in Sweden that midfielder Jelena Cankovic is joining Chelsea from Rosengard FC. So far this summer The Blues have recruited one prospect and four first team ready players. This latest arrival would be a fifth newcomer likely to be first choice at Kingsmeadow. Emma Hayes is definitely not messing about. These additions represent a challenge for the rest of of the WSL and will give Lyon and Barcelona plenty to think about in the Champions League too.

Thanks again. I saw that he had scored which makes it two in two so far this season.

Thanks. That was top of my list of guesses but I didn't know. Did you happen to watch the game today? If so, how was Nkunku. Two in two to start the season I see.

Still time to make it £80m well saved.

And was on the bench today though I have no idea why.

Paying a world record fee for this player would be a poor choice in my view. Walk away please TB. The reported bids are already too high. We have to discipline the market to understand that we are not an easy touch and that requires disciplining ourselves in the way we spend..

As someone who cheered when he was touted to replace Aguero at City because i didn't believe he was as good as the Argentine, I have to agree that those are impressive number but, even so, he never made himself the undisputed first choice there.

I say if a player is available in a position of need who fits our profile, including of course his age and his qualities, then we take him. The fact that we can't identify or can't attract a player in a different position of need should only affect that decision if the club can only afford one or the other. I don't get the impression that this is the case. Do you? The guiding principle has to be quality, quality, and patience in acquiring it. Collect top players and top players only. I understand that there are various opinions but from me De Jong is a top player.

At last! This was first reported months ago and I could never find confirmation of it. Looks a good prospect. Expect to see him in the 18s. We've signed some good players at development level this summer and Tyler has a chance to be the best of them. Speaking of development football, did everyone notice the 21s first PL2 result of the season. They thrashed Wolves 7-1 with a beautiful display of free-flowing attacking football. It was a lot of fun to watch. They play their second game of the season at Kingsmeadow on Monday. A family occasion means I can't be there but I'll be going to the game Vs Man City in a couple of weeks. Tickets for both games are still available on the club website.

I'd forgotten that he played with Denis Law. Bloody hell. Unbelievable footballers. Thanks for this.

I agree with all of this. The only slight twist I would put on this, and it in no way contradicts what you say, is that I think the deal was already done with Pep for his next stop to be Manchester. This would mean that decisions to bring him and the backroom staff were simultaneous rather than the one following the others, or the one being a part of the plan to lead to the other. I hated the way Roman and our club were treated in the sanctions fiasco. I have still seen no evidence that justifies his treatment to my satisfaction. (I've read both of Bill Browther's books on dirty Russian money and, though he names other names, he does not mention Roman once.) Nevertheless, a change of method was required and, like you, I have belief that Clearlake can get the job done. It will require the fanbase to be calm and patient however.

Deleted. Bad.

I haven't had the interest to read the details of the sale but the only thing I think those bodies could want to examine is whether or not the price paid puts a realistic valuation on the company. If it looks like the price has been inflated to bail Barca out then football's regulators should step in.