OhForAGreavsie

The modern day Torres in that his good spell was the blip. I firmly believed, and said, that Torres was a very ordinary footballer while he was scoring goals at Liverpool and I've always believed, and said, that Alli is equally ordinary.

I was worried about the signing because the LCFC fans did not believe in him and were delighted at the fee they received. I have been worried about Ben's output in a Chelsea shirt because I've seen the same unproductive displays that we all have. Just a matter of weeks ago there was discontent here, and among Chelsea's coaches, about how Chilly was contributing. For a while he was our backup so querying Ben's output has not been a fringe opinion. For you, having always had a positive take on Ben, it is completely logical to see the current positive impression he is making as nothing more than what you expected all along. Fair enough. For more sceptical people like me however it will take sustained contributions to move us from where we have been to where you are. Personally, I need more evidence before I can conclude that it is Ben's basic quality which is making the system work and not the system which is making the most of Ben's recent, and therefore temporary, form.

I've always rejected Rom's cover story for changing his tune and deciding to re-join Chelsea. The claim that he "Had unfinished business at Chelsea", just doesn't fly. Instead, as I said at the time, I believe that he was motivated by the jingle of Chelsea's wallet and by the realisation that Inter preferred the money over him.

That's the right question but I'm afraid that I don't have a good answer to it. I've read on Sky Blue News that Cov fans like Maatsen but I haven't watched him there so I have no valid opinion beyond one based on his development squad outings and his cameo against Grimsby.

Definitely.

If the solution is to be a recall then I see no sense in Emerson being the choice.

Yes, until and unless someone designs an effective counter to it the tweak is working well. It's not specific to Reece mind. Dave was deployed in that way first.

People are getting carried away. It's only a few weeks since I was posting that despite being European Champions and Premier League leaders there wasn't a lot of optimism around Chelsea. More than a few agreed with me. Based on what he was saying last night I can extrapolate that Jason Cundy was among them .Now, two good wins later, he's declaring that we're the best team in the world. It doesn't work like that.

For completeness the full list of tie-breakers is: - Article 17 Equality of points – group stage 17.01 If two or more teams are equal on points on completion of the group matches, the following criteria are applied in the order given to determine their rankings: higher number of points obtained in the group matches played among the teams in question; superior goal difference from the group matches played among the teams in question; higher number of goals scored in the group matches played among the teams in question; if, after having applied criteria a) to c), teams still have an equal ranking, criteria a) to c) are reapplied exclusively to the matches between the remaining teams to determine their final rankings. If this procedure does not lead to a decision, criteria e) to k) apply in the order given to the two or more teams still equal; superior goal difference in all group matches; higher number of goals scored in all group matches; higher number of away goals scored in all group matches; higher number of wins in all group matches; higher number of away wins in all group matches; lower disciplinary points total based only on yellow and red cards received by players and team officials in all group matches (red card = 3 points, yellow card = 1 point, expulsion for two yellow cards in one match = 3 points); higher club coefficient (see Annex D).

Remember that the away goals rule has been scrapped. Away goals between two sides who finish level no longer makes a difference. Away goals in all group matches is on the tiebreak list but its down at number six behind, for example, overall goal difference in the group.

And you can't even explain it to non-football people. They just think you're a nut job.

Thank you once again ML. My maths career ended at the A Level stage. (UK examination following two years of study typically sat by students aged eighteen. They are precursors, and in almost all cases prerequisite, to entering a three year degree course. Generally full time students study three A-Levels, although gifted pupils may take four. I took three. 🙁) Beyond that it all starts with set theory, I have never delved into the philosophy of mathematics. To describe my take on the distinction between arithmetic and the other mathematical sciences I'd say that the understanding comes from individual sciences, but the application always dwindles to arithmetic. I don't rely on that however when I argue that factorials are only a shorthand for progressing multiplication. Indeed, given that the multiplication operator is implicit within the factorial function in the same way that the addition operator is implicit in multiplication operations, I'm not aware of any way to derive the value of n! without applying an arithmetical operator. I grant that this may be a case where I simply don't have a sufficient depth of understanding to realise that I'm wrong but I can't get on board with the notion that factorials lie somewhere outside arithmetic. When 1x2x3 is clearly arithmetic I would need quite some convincing that 3! isn't.

Thanks. You've calculated the probability of three hits when the question you posed was three or more hits. This is why I was interested in the method used. P.S. It is probability theory until you put the numbers in. Then it's arithmetic. 🙂

Interesting. It's not random of course but I'd still be interested in seeing the arithmetic which underpins that probability calculation.

Oh come on ML, I thought we had all reached an agreement about the wonderful Marina Granovskaia. Knowing about football is not her function. She almost certainly has opinions about the game, after all she watches more live matches than most here, but there is not one iota of evidence that she is part of the football decision making team. Nor should she be.

This sounds like a good time for me to remind people that I did not spot this kind of potential in Connor during his academy days. I didn't see a Chelsea future for him. With each passing week this is seeming an increasingly large fail on my part..

https://www.chelseafc.com/en/news/2021/11/16/kerr-commits-to-chelsea0?fbclid=IwAR1vYU38aQf40CFN7w_UstjFqx0OKhmnmaaU1bcJWoHtEGujFIg2eJcIh64 Aussie striker Sam Kerr has signed a two year extension with the Blues. Takes her to the summer of 2024. Great news.

I'd love Chelsea's hat to be in the ring for this lad. His talent level is off the scale. Huge talent doesn't guarantee huge success but it is the best of all indicators. Caution has been suggested because of the level Adeyemi is playing at currently, and that caution must be sensible, but it is still the case that this kid can do things with a football during a competitive professional match that most professionals could not do on an empty pitch playing against 11 red cones. Chances of winning a transfer tussle with Barca more or less zero however.

The weekend turned out to be a good one for second placed Chelsea and for me. We won at City for the second time in a fortnight and I actually made it to Manchester this after transport foul ups messed me about last time. On top of that Arsenal dropped points for the first time this season when a last minute equaliser nicked them a draw at Spurs. Those results saw Arsenal's lead reduced to 1 point and their goal difference advantage over us cut to 4. Highlights of Man City vs Chelsea 14/11/2021: https://youtu.be/Icy0yUT3ntM

Based on the videos @Vesper posted, the lad looks more of a second striker than a leader of the line. I don't agree that Daka ever looked as good as Adeyemi does here but I accept your overall point. What I think the kid has demonstrated is the talent to exploit opportunities when they arrive. The times when the defence denied those opportunities obviously didn't make the videos above and we can be sure that the tougher defences will ask more questions of him. His talent is so outstanding however that he is certain to get a chance at the highest level. I would not be at all disappointed if the club spent the money required to bring him here and give him the chance to prove himself. I would however be annoyed if they choose not to throw their hat into the ring. You don't see footballers at this kid's talent level very often. It'ss off the charts. Clubs simply have to take a chance on him.

After the seven goal blast against Servette confidence must be up in the CFCW camp but tougher challenges lay ahead for us. P.S. Although the caption on the thumbnail describes the video as the story of matchday 2 it is in fact matchweek 3.

I stopped watching midway through the first highlight video. Felt there was nothing more to be learned there. The lad has an exceptional technical level. Quickness, quality and natural instinct for a pass. The bits of the game you can't learn, the bits you have to be born with, he was born with. Now it's a question of attitude and application which we won't learn about from a highlights vid. That said, it's hard to see how any football club owner could view the video I just have without thinking, "Where's my cheque book?"

I'd be very surprised if planning was obtainable there. It is also a long walk from Sloane Square or Fulham Broadway. Sixty thousand people stomping through those busy streets on match days would be a planning issue to start with.