Vesper

many a summer down in Christchurch mek me straight a proper bim bish, lololol check out (cross posted in Music) serious wuk it up! ps full stop Swedes are HOT (I married one!!)

Ah, a Windrush yardie? My father is Swedish, mum is Bajan, they met ages ago, in the 60's in a London jazz club, when she was the stand-in for the regular singer, he was a clarinettist, and it was love at first sight. I am an accident baby, I am 20 years younger than any of my other siblings, lolol.

Yes. Agreed. Ain't Roberstson the dogs bollocks? Grrrr KILLS ME to see him wearing bin-dipper red. Always will have a soft part of me heart for jocks, as on me mum's Bajan side thats our major Brit genetic part, plus I did an away semester at Univ. of Edinburgh. Fucking love that city!!

Just the beginning of that makes me cry! Chelsea have not lost a home game IN NEARLY FOUR YEARS!!! OMFG I miss the noughties!!!! LOLOL, I just turned 27 and I am already a bitter nostalgic!!!!!

Sarabia is the answer. Or Kai Havertz (he is going to Bayern so is off the board). Isco isnt even THAT much of a scorer. We need a scoring AMF. RLC and Barkley are clearly not it. I am still not sold on Kante in new role. Something is going to have to give (transfer market-wise or formation-wise) or Sarri will be out the door by next Christmas. There is no way the current team can play Sarriball to a 4th place or higher level. We have far too many massive holes to plug. A big reason we had that unbeaten streak was an huge amount of sitters missed by other teams. That is starting to catch up to us, and we are also missing sitters now. I also think that many are banking 90% of their hopes on Higuain coming here in January and banging in 20 goals over the last half of season. I just cannot see that happening. We all had better hope I am just dead wrong. Hazard truly needs to go on a tear. He is pretty much our only true goal scoring threat, except on the rare days Pedro is on fire. If no business is done in January and Sarri still somehow leads us to 4th place (3rd is looking very hard as Spuds are on a tear and looking better each week) and also wins the EL, he should be global manager of the year, hands down. We only have 5 truly first class players and one is our GK. Of the other 4 (Rudiger, Kante, Eden, Jorginho) 2 of them are being played out of position (when Hazard is deployed as a false nine). Jorginho has been able to be neutralised a lot lately due to the lack of the other midfielders offering up much of a scoring threat, as well as the fullbacks being slow and out of position. Other teams quickly found out that pressing the hell out of Jorginho is a key to partially shutting us down. Azpi is not a true Sarriball RB, and is also not playing up to his level of last 4 or 5 years. I think father time is catching up (especially due to the insane amount of minutes he has logged over past 5 years). The rest of the team is simply not good enough as a whole. 3 of them are disasters. Alonso, Willian, and whatever striker we trot out. Kovacic is not, nor will he ever be, an AMF. Barkley has been a bust, and RLC has been inconsistent. Pedro is hit or miss and is injury prone. Luiz, whilst has had a good run the last several games, is still a time bomb waiting to happen. We need a lot of upgrades. No idea if that will occur. I would love to see some variance in our formations. All the truly top managers do it. Sarri is too stubborn I think. It is either get him the right players or we can forget about CL and titles for a good long spell. No way he can win much in way of trophies or titles or even qualify for CL with this current team, especially if Arse goes on another huge unbeaten streak, then there is absolutely zero chance. It isn't like many of us didn't predict this. It has been a downward drift since the board asininely refused to back Conte with upgrades of his choosing after he won the league.

Reason we lost is simple. Eden and especially Alonso hitting the posts, Rudiger missing that ooen header, and Willian missing that pretty open shot. It shoikd have been 2-1 or 3-1 at minimum.

So you want to pull Kante? Because the AMF Hamsik role is the only open MF position with Sarriball, as Jorginho and Kante will not be dropped. I do not want Rabiot either btw. I think a cracking MF for us would be Pablo Sarabia AMF (15 goals, 8 assists so far for Sevilla) Nicolò Barella B to B Jorgihno DH DMF Kante is always going to be a square peg in round hole I will never stop beating drum to move him back to a floating destroyer behind Jorginho and in front of a back 3 CB (Rudiger, Luiz, Azpi) set up Kante covers so much ground he would be like a fourth CB the 3 MFers in front of him give width as does the front 3 Only 2 other options are to drop him completely and sell him (or save him for when Sarri is sacked) or to completely change formation either to a double pivot 4-2-3-1 or a trad back 3 setup like a 3 4 3 or 3 5 2 (as opposed to that experimental 3 1 3 3 of mine)

Rumour: Marcos Alonso to be dropped for Watford vs Chelsea https://www.101greatgoals.com/news/rumour-marcos-alonso-to-be-dropped-for-watford-vs-chelsea/ Rumour: Marcos Alonso to be dropped One Chelsea social media account called Bridge News has set off alarm bells about how the Blues will line up against Watford. They’ve announced the predicted Chelsea XI for the match at Vicarage Road. Spanish defender Marcos Alonso has been omitted from the XI, while Emerson Palmieri is tipped to get the start instead. As you can see from the social media engagement on the above tweet, this predicted XI is doing the rounds. Why? Because Bridge News carry to social media repuatation of being ITK – in the know – meaning many believe they have inside knowledge about what’s happening at Chelsea. Fans will have to wait to see if this prediction proves to be accurate. snip and when this doesn't happen

Captain material!!!

I would rather start Morata than a false nine or Giroud. I have almost zero faith in Giroud at this point, and the false nine, if it is Eden with Willian and not CHO (you know Sarri is never going to start him I fear) on the left, is not the answer. Other than his mental issues, Morata is a far better striker than Giroud at this stage in their careers. I think both need to go go go. I also am NOT on the Higuain bandwagon. I certainly wasn't this summer, and he is looking even worse now. Let us just hope that Sarri, if Higs is brought here, can somehow fix him. We really look so desperate, it fucking sucks. We are so unlucky with footedness. CHO being right-footed (when if he was left-footed or ambipedal he could slot right into the RW spot), and then both of our best young fullbacks (Ola Aina and Reece James) being RB's, when we desperately need a LB to bench the insipid Alonso.

If that happens the season is close to being shot, unless we somehow win the EL.

Our look back on big moments from festive periods gone by continues as we recall our final trip to Highbury in December 2005. https://www.chelseafc.com/en/news/2018/12/21/christmas-crackers--highbury-high?cardIndex=0-1 Highbury, for many years, had been a stadium we dreaded visiting. That began to change in the early-mid 2000s, with that unforgettable Champions League victory in 2004 instilling a belief in the side that we were more than capable of going to Arsenal’s home and coming out on top. In 2004/05 we came from behind twice to draw 2-2, and just over a year later we headed to Highbury again for what would be our last visit before the Gunners moved to the Emirates. The Blues went into the game in fantastic form, top of the league and having only sampled defeat once, away at Manchester United. We had won our four Premier League matches since the Old Trafford reverse. The Arsenal attack included Thierry Henry and Robin van Persie, with a young Cesc Fabregas in midfield, but on the day they were no match for the Blues who took the lead six minutes before the break when Arjen Robben raced clear before finishing well from a tight angle. Joe Cole then made sure of the points when he robbed Lauren, cut inside and fired a left-footed strike home via the foot of the post. It was the first time Arsenal had lost three consecutive Premier League matches in 10 years, and a result which restored our nine-point advantage at the top of the table. snip

Hard to see us spending £50m on LB Chilwell (we should buy Firpo for £45m IMHO) when Sarri and the board think we have the second coming in Alonso. If Sarri refuses to bench him soon and trots him out for the rest of the season (Willian falls into this category too) then when/if he gets the sacking, here is exhibit A. Obviously I prefer Firpo, but Chilwell would also be a huge upgrade. Big advantage Chilwell has is he is HG. I will say that it is 95% likely that Shitty buy Firpo or Chilwell or José Gayà or Alex Telles either in January or the summer. Lucas Hernandez is off the board, as he is going to Bayern. He is the best of the lot, as he also is a superb CB, which is where Bayern will use him). What do you think of Kieran Tierney? He seems to be very similar to Robertson and now Chilwell. Just not sure if he is at same level. Scottish League is so hard to judge players in, as it is so shit.

Michael Essien fears Chelsea star Andreas Christensen will be tempted by Barcelona January transfer https://metro.co.uk/2018/12/25/michael-essien-fears-chelsea-star-andreas-christensen-will-tempted-barcelona-january-transfer-8282900/ Michael Essien fears Andreas Christensen will be tempted to quit Chelsea in January if he continues to sit on the sidelines. The Denmark international enjoyed a stellar breakthrough campaign under Antonio Conte last season, having previously impressed on-loan at Borussia Monchengladbach. Maurizio Sarri’s arrival, however, has prompted a change in system which as seen Antonio Rudiger and David Luiz installed as the Italian’s first choice centre back pairing. Christensen is yet to appear in the Premier League this season and although Sarri insists he wants the 22-year-old to stay, former Chelsea star Essien believes it is only natural that the elegant centre-half will be considering his options amid reported interest from Barcelona. ‘Every player wants to play,’ he said. ‘Chelsea isn’t an easy place to come and the competition is very fierce. ‘At the end of the day, all the players work but it’s the manager who will pick who he wants to play. ‘When you’re not playing you get frustrated and you want to look elsewhere.’ snip

Tottenham Hotspur will not transfer Adrien Rabiot from Paris Saint Germain https://hotspurhq.com/2018/12/24/tottenham-hotspur-will-not-sign-adrien-rabiot/ It has been reported that PSG midfielder Adrien Rabiot will make a move to FC Barcelona, not Tottenham. This may disappoint some supporters since Spurs were a possible destination for the Frenchman. Many players are being talked about when it comes to upcoming transfers. One of the most talked about players is Paris Saint Germain’s Adrien Rabiot. Though not a high-scorer, Rabiot serves as a level-headed connection between defense and offense. The Frenchman has been linked with several clubs including Juventus, Liverpool, Chelsea, and Tottenham. Needless to say, he is a hot item. Now, though, it is reported that FC Barcelona is almost a certain destination for him. While there has been much talk and many rumors, Barcelona seem the closest to actually taking action. It looks as if Rabiot will stay put in PSG until the end of the season and then Barcelona will close the deal. Also, it is believed that Thomas Meunier backs this claim up. Meunier is a teammate of Rabiot’s in Paris. He said ‘The fact that an offer arrives for him from such a big club is something that you can’t rule out at his age, in that position, and in the face of such a proposition it’s hard to say no.’ “Big club” is believed to mean Barcelona. Many believe Tottenham should make some signings this January. This may be because several players have gotten injured recently and are still out. These include Victor Wanyama, Eric Dier, and Mousa Dembele. All three players are midfielders, like Rabiot. snip

Obviously would LOVE this, but ZERO chance, less than zero, of this happening, on every level. Dartboard story.

TRANSFER NEWS: BORUSSIA DORTMUND READY TO RIVAL BAYERN MUNICH FOR CALLUM-HUDSON ODOI http://www.thehardtackle.com/news/2018/12/25/transfer-news-borussia-dortmund-ready-to-rival-bayern-munich-for-callum-hudson-odoi/ Bayern Munich are leading the chase to sign Chelsea wonderkid Callum Hudson-Odoi, but could face fresh competition from arch-rivals Borussia Dortmund. According to a report by Goal, Borussia Dortmund have entered the chase for Callum Hudson-Odoi, giving Bayern Munich some fresh competition to deal with as both the German giants battle it out to secure the services of highly rated English forward from Chelsea. Callum Hudson-Odoi is widely regarded as one of the most talented youngsters in English football at the moment and is seemingly gaining a reputation for obvious reasons. However, having failed to make a single league appearance with Chelsea this season, his future at the club is uncertain with Bayern Munich, in particular, poised to make a move in the upcoming January transfer window. However, the emergence of Borussia Dortmund in pursuit of the Chelsea prodigy could be a huge blow for Bayern Munich, who have struggled with a series of injuries to their star players this season. As a matter of fact, the Bavarians are also set to lose the services of Arjen Robben at the end of the season, after the Dutchman confirmed his departure earlier this month. In addition, Kingsley Coman has missed a large chunk of this season due to a ligament tear. The Frenchman is also toying with the prospect of retiring, in case of another recurring injury, leaving Bayern shallow in the attacking department, thus accentuating the need of a new attacker in January. Hudson-Odoi, in that regard, could be an interesting choice for the Bavarians. snip

Chelsea could save rival’s Premier League life by sanctioning triple deal CHELSEA could dish out a late Christmas present to one of their Premier League rivals in the January transfer window. https://www.dailystar.co.uk/sport/football/749657/Chelsea-Transfer-News-Gary-Cahill-Danny-Drinkwater-Victor-Moses-Fulham Maurizio Sarri has a bloated squad with a number of first-team players on the fringes under the Italian tactician. Gary Cahill, Danny Drinkwater and Victor Moses are the three most high-profile players to have been frozen out. Cahill - out of contract at the end of the season - has been limited to seven appearances in all competitions, Drinkwater has not featured since the Community Shield defeat to Manchester City while Moses has started once all season. snip

I think our youth teams are better than most is sheer numbers of decent talent, and a great system, NOT that we are loaded with potential superstars. Many of the teams we play have much fewer high quality young players. I have never been huge on assuming that a member of a great TEAM at youth level automatically means they are a great prospect for the big parent club. It is why I REALLY love it when we loan out younger players to a foreign top league, not the meat grinder Championship, which I think is a really poor place to judge who is fit for the EPL: I know many on here disagree with me on this but Tammy is perfect example. He dominates in the Championship and has been a bust in the EPL. I saw Ola Aina, our 22yo RB, playing for Torino in the Milan Derby v Juve. He absolutely OWNED Ronaldo. I am so sorry, but Sarri is full of shit that these young players (some, not all) are not ready for the EPL. If you can play and boss CR7, you can play against some shitkicker from Huddersfield. I just dont expect that all our great youth teams will have most of their players come good at top level.

What happened to football on Christmas Day? The lost history of a Victorian tradition https://www.fourfourtwo.com/features/what-happened-football-christmas-day-lost-history-a-victorian-tradition Football was once as much of a Christmas Day staple as the Queen's Speech and pigs in blankets – but was it all festive fun or just a freezing farce? Paul Brown dons his silly hat... For football fans, the Christmas period serves up a real festive feast, with fixtures stuffed into the calendar like sage and onion into a turkey’s nether regions. Christmas Day, however, is a football-free zone, with supporters left to sit indoors and endure the Queen’s speech, cracker jokes and kisses from elderly relatives. This wasn’t always the case, though – up until the 1950s, football was traditionally played on Christmas Day. This made a lot of sense, particularly in the early years. Christmas Day was a rare public holiday, and football was one of the few entertainments available. In the days before television, it wasn’t possible to slump on the sofa in front of the EastEnders Christmas special, so folk wrapped up in new hats and scarves from Santa Claus and went out to watch football instead. There would be a full programme of fixtures on Christmas Day and, usually, another full programme on Boxing Day. In the Victorian era, when many of the festive traditions we enjoy today were introduced, football was very much a part of Christmas. TWO DAYS, THREE GAMES In 1888, Everton played two matches on Christmas Day, then another on Boxing Day. All three matches took place at Everton’s pre-Goodison home – Anfield. On Christmas morning they played a Lancashire Cup tie against Blackburn Park Road, coming from behind to win 3-2. Then in the afternoon they played an annual exhibition match against Ulster FC, winning 3-0, with goalkeeper Charles Jolliffe scoring the third goal to the great amusement of the 2,000 spectators – a large crowd for the time. The Boxing Day match against Bootle was less amusing, being played in a shower of hailstones, and ending as a goalless draw. The first Football League match to be played on Christmas Day was Preston North End versus Aston Villa in 1889. Preston’s 'Invincibles' were the reigning league champions, but Villa had won the previous meeting between England’s top two sides. This was a real Christmas cracker and 9,000 spectators postponed their turkey dinners to see it, making it one of the highest-attended games the fledgling league had seen. Man of the match was Preston’s Nick Ross, the fearsome defender-turned-forward who terrified opponents by hissing at them through a crooked set of rotten teeth. Ross gave Preston an early lead, but Villa hit back with two goals before half-time. In the second half, Ross hit a long-range equaliser and then claimed his hat-trick with a “lightning shot”. A hard-fought game ended 3-2 to Preston, who went on to win the league for the second season running. snip

PSG maybe (as they wanted him badly enough last summer to offer us £30m)? I really have no idea, but there will be a lot of teams that would want him. He still obviously can play at a very high level. He would make huge money in China, if that is what his main wish is. I do see why we will not break the 30yo plus no multi-year contract rule for him. It would lead to major problems down the road. It is one of the few things I completely agree with the board about. The other is our loan policy. I have no problem with the loan army as it is a big source of revenue for us. It isn't like we are cheating the player out of anything, although some think we are unfair to them in terms of first team (CFC) play, but if they are good enough to play on our first team, surely they would be. THAT all said, it is crazy to hold onto very expensive players (ie Baka, Bats, etc, IF they are never going to play for us again. We should (if we get a good price) sell them and re-invest.

He wont primarily play fullback. He has been playing CB. I am sure that is what Bayern want him for.

This is truly crazy. First they say this Sarri could certainly do with a new striker, perhaps another winger, too, but there’s no concrete suggestion that we will pursue either this winter. Oki, fine, they are going down the 'CFC isn't buying shit in January route. I understand this, I feel it too, more than a little. BUT THEN 21-year-old Lyon midfielder Tanguy Ndombele would fit like a glove. As ESPN report, his agent has recently revealed that the Ligue 1 giants would be prepared to let him go for €80M. A hefty price, but a worthy investment if he fulfills his potential. WTF! LOL Obviously we need a CF and a RW (LB too) before any other positions The articles admits we may not spend shit, so we may not even fill our 2 (actually 3) super needs. sooooooo What do they do? Suggest we spend 80 MILLION EUROS on ANOTHER MFer, and one who could have been had for 50m euros just 6 months ago! I do not understand these articles, ffs

He is straight African, wouldn't he need a work permit? He wouldn't qualify as no international Sr team status.