LDN Blue

Tbh I don't think anyone thinks he is. Someone posted earlier (maybe on here or Twitter), there's no guarantees that Zouma wouldn't make the same mistakes that Cahill does.. But it's likely he would probably make less of them and/or he would learn from the mistakes he does make and adapts his game.

I found the missing you forgot to add to that.

If Lampard really was proper Chelsea then he should think about the PR and the image of the club. It look incredibly stupid for a player like Lampard, with all his accolades from Chelsea, to leave for the club that are in direct competition. That bit was in bold because people like to belittle the view that Manchester City are our rivals.. Let's get it right, they are. They tried to copy the model of Roman and they got it incredibly wrong/took them longer.. Now they've rubbed it in our faces that it's finally becoming successful by taking the icon of our success. Look at Steven Gerrard for fuck sake. That prick is thinking about Liverpool's image by going to MLS and collecting bucket load of money, while being respectful of his club. Albeit he came close in 2005, but the fact is it didn't pan out. He'll forever be associated with Liverpool in England. If Manchester City win the league, Lampard will be there. People will associate Frank Lampard with both Chelsea and City. Disgraceful.

I hate being right about this issue. When everyone told us to chill out because the loan was for the end of Jan just to "train" and stay match ready, I hoped I was going to be wrong and he would leave as soon as he could. But now it's come to it and Lampard has chosen how he wants to be remembered. Yes, what he's done in a Chelsea shirt will live in and it will probably eclipse the man. But Frank Lampard is no longer a Chelsea icon imo. The lack of loyalty shown to us, going back on his words of old, it's a tough pill to swallow. Mourinho didn't seem impressed either, but I'm sure he was saving face by not speaking further on the matter.. More so than he did anyway. I'm just glad we've got guys like Drogba & Terry here. I hope they won't turn out the same, but honestly nothing surprises me in football any more.

4-2-3-1? That's interesting. I'd personally do: Hazard Hazard - Hazard - Hazard - Hazard Hazard - Hazard - Hazard Hazard ---------- Hazard ----------- Hazard

Not saying I agree or disagree on your notion, but there's definitely political influence on football period.

We'll he's most likely to pick up a retrospective ban. Referee didn't see it, so he should be getting 3 games.

@OptaAlex

2/4 anyway lol. I think the reason Mourinho keeps Azpilicueta at LB is because Hazard's defensive burdens aren't as big as Willian's.. Thus he feels he needs to reinforce that left-hand side. I wonder if it would be different if Mourinho placed Hazard on the right of midfield.

Yeah. It's a problem I think we've known about for a while, the cover of when Matic isn't available. The job he does is quite tiring, so 3 games in a week will definitely take its toll on his body. I imagine that he'll be rested vs Watford, but there's enough talent that could be available on the market.

It's not too late to get Pardew in, contracts are yet to be signed

Yeah this ^. To be fair, City have surprised me quite a bit.. They haven't dropped as many points as they usually do, which means we haven't had to room to make mistakes that City themselves used to get away with.

To be fair, we've only conceded one less goal than United who are meant to have the worst defence in the league lmao.

At least in Fabregas, those twats will still have someone to boo

My mate who supports Newcastle is delighted

I often worry we take FFP too seriously though..

Alex Song captained West Ham today and Arsenal fans weren't impressed.. Kind of want Mourinho to do it with Cesc

Let's hope there's no stumbling block regarding wages/length..

You're right for sure. People need to jump off this interview, it's irrelevant to be honest. It's a stunt and José deserves a lot of praise for that, but I don't buy it for a second lmao. I may be a bit naive, but I do have the feeling he's spoken to Ivanovic and Cahill and the rest of the squad about diving. The 2004-07 team didn't have divers in it, sure there was an over dramatic Drogba - but never cheating. Though, if you look at his Real Madrid team in his first season they were as rough as it came (Ramos, I suspect, was the leader behind that albeit). Mourinho knows PR and he's doing well with it.. But this is for them and the papers, not for us. We should see past it.

It would be easy to mock this thread considering what a turbulent afternoon it was but I won't because football is all about emotion, even if it is overreaction. The passion is good and it's what makes football what it is.. No need for 'I told you so' or quoting extreme views. This is a stand-out post. I don't for one minute think there's some FA campaign against us, if there was a legitimate penalty claim denied then see the post I quoted next. Perception is everything and if Ivanovic and Cahill have been proved to be divers then that's part of the package. It's "the boy who cried wolf" story. Term I agree for the most part. But then again, you have to look at the performance v Stoke and West Ham. They were disciplined and tactically astute.. I can't comment much on today because I haven't watched the game, but remember this squad is evolving, those characters are being built and we're still on fine form despite today and Newcastle. We do have to learn how to win games in the dying stages for sure, and that's why I've criticised Hazard recently because he has to step up to that level of grabbing the game by it's neck like Ronaldo etc do. That's not me giving him the burden of the job either, it's just an example.

What are you talking about? We have Mr 30 yard screamer Ivanovic.. Who almost scored in in the 94th minute v Newcastle, because he's done it so much before (yes, I'm still mad at him.)

Interesting about Robben. On the performances we got out of him, I find it hard to feature him.. If anything Joe Cole had more of a case haha.

I'd probably only buy this kit because of the sponsor change at least it'd be worth buying on a historic note. I've got our old Fly Emirates one somewhere..

Football fwends

Ah I was hoping he'd find a role in England. Hopefully he'll come back sooner than later