Styles

I did laugh when the commentator said Costa's goal drought has ended. How many games without a goal had it been? 3 or 4? Compared to Torres going several months without even having a shot on goal that is absolutely nothing. Goal drought ffs!

Exactly. He hasn't put in a good performance in several weeks and is getting worse with every game. People talk about Zouma being poor on the ball but what about Cahill? He is absolutely SHOCKING with the ball and is one of the worst around.

Lovely assist for Costa who hadn't been getting much service recently. He looked to have that little burst of speed back that he didn't have against Newcastle. Does Hazard really need to play against Derby? Another week off (next game after Derby is on a Monday) could really allow him to get his legs back before the flurry of games.

Yet another terrible performance by England's greatest ever player. He should have been sent off today. How much longer will Zouma have to wait?

Yeah, because that has obviously worked well so far (for the academy players, not the Courtois' of this world). Let's just be honest: our 'academy' is the transfer market, we sign 18-19 year olds, let other clubs develop them and then decide who to keep/discard. The actual academy itself is completely and utterly irrelevant.

So why not just close the academy? With that way of thinking only small(er) teams who can afford to give opportunities should have one. A youth team player will never be considered as good or better than a senior player in his position, so, seriously, what's the point of Chelsea having an academy? It's all just for PR purposes isn't it?

For his position I'd say he is equally as talented as those two - he is so comfortable with the ball and has the ability to pick a pass or advance into the midfield and create openings. He really is one of the most promising young players around in any position.

RLC had some very good moments there in a brief cameo.

Ramires is so rusty

I can't wait for Chelsea TV to release a video celebrating RLC's debut which is actually longer than RLC'S debut.

For PR and no other reason. Man City opened their new state of the art youth training centre the day before so the club probably felt compelled to get their own bit of good press.

Academy day has a been a huge success.

I guess we just have different expectations. I was very much looking forward to seeing one or two actually start and yesterday's presser got my hopes up. I should have known better I suppose. Will do :tophat:

Come on, you can't tell me you didn't expect to see at least one, JUST ONE youth teamer in the 11 tonight. And I'm very happy with the season so far. 36 points from 15 games is amazing.

It just goes to show how thin the squad is really.

Academy day my arse.

This kid is amazing, man.

I think I would start by giving other players a chance instead of playing the same group to death. And perhaps I'd even drop underperforming players. I know, crazy stuff.

Wouldn't Bertrand be considered a senior defender? He's 25-years-old and he probably would have been content with being backup. Or maybe we could have signed a young defender to develop with the minutes Luis is getting now. I just don't understand the point of signing a 29-year-old Luis for the role he has now. I think Mourinho knew Azpi was his first choice LB so why did he sign Luis? It wasn't an Emenalo signing.

Let's be honest, Cahill is average at best and rubbish at worst. He is the weakest member in the first 11 and is only really in the side by default (Zouma who is the only other option is not considered a real alternative just yet). He was fine last year when he had all the protection in the world and even then he would try his best to make mistakes.

You guys know what's going down tomorrow, right? Mikel is going to put on an absolute masterclass in Newcastle. I can feel it. Quote me and tell me I was wrong after the game. I dare you. This of course requires him to start and/or feature for a large part of the game. Don't quote me if doesn't, innit.

I think that's the plan and I hope it works out that way - Drogba deserves to retire a champ.

Yeah, they put all their effort into the Chelsea game with no regard for their midweek fixture; I'm pretty sure they won't recover for another week or two. Sunderland don't even put in that kind of effort into the Tyne-Wear derby ffs.

I'm glad he said it because that has been obvious for a while. Look at Sunderland: they were fucking queuing up to throw themselves at the ball against Chelsea but didn't put in anywhere near the same level of effort against City.