Blue Armour

If Cucurella is not fit to start, I'm fearing that Maresca will once again go with Gusto at LB, and maybe play Acheampong or Chalobah out of position at RB (because James might need resting).

Could have traded the both of them for 1 single WC center back Badiashile is barely fit to play more than 5 games a year, and Disasi is just a waste of space at this point. Genius recruitment from the club.

Top of the table club wants to get reinforcements to become even better, while the club barely in top 5 with a weakened squad and no shirt sponsor thinks everything is fine. Every time I see Eghbali on the screen I keep thinking of his ridiculous statement of how the old Chelsea were not competitive in either a sporting sense or financial sense. Yet he and his cronies have assembled a team that is struggling to keep the club within UEFA FFP rules, has failed to secure a permanent shirt sponsor, and is struggling to make progress on the results from last season. The major achievement is the low wage bill and low average of the squad. Great resale value., which is no doubt their number 1 priority.

Yeah, this has all the makings of an ugly (as if it wasn't already) situation. Palmer showing discontent. Its not the first time he has expressed annoyance against Maresca (remember his comments after the conference league final) .The fact we go onto lose the match against Villa after his sub doesn't help Maresca. Yes, Palmer was below par in that match but the subs that came on afterwards hardly covered themselves in glory. Maresca on the other hand is probably at war with the board, and to be fair, Eghbali & co. have left him short-handed with their transfer strategy. No defensive reinforcements, and a lot of money spent on spent on squad-level wingers and underperforming strikers. Unfortunately, none of this gives Maresca any leverage.

"Worked with them at Man City" Ah yes, the most shining hallmark of any top class player. And he's a U-21 international too!

Both of our strikers struggle in tight spaces, Joao Pedro maybe a bit better in that regard. Neither of them are strong aerially either. If they had an aerial threat, things would have been better. Even an over-age Giroud would do a better job. Delap for all his height, strength and being called an old fashioned English forward, can't really convert anything aerially to take advantage of crosses in the box. Directors didn't look at the qualities each striker would bring when making signings, and instead looked at the most value for money deals on paper.

Has more yellow cards than goals + assists. Must be some kind of Stoke city heritage.

No side has dropped more points from winning positions this season than Chelsea (13). Shows the weak mentality of both players and manager in terms of how to control a game.

Caicedo will stick around. Palmer might choose to jump ship if Chelsea dont secure top 5. And IMO., I don't think the club will mind it if Palmer decides to force a move. Clearlake & co., will have dollar signs in their eyes thinking about potential transfer fees associated with that move.

Well that explains the Gusto sub. Putting him at LB though, was stupid. James had played well at LB before, and he should have moved him there allowing Gusto to play in his natural position. As for Badiashile starting this game, the less said the better. Crackpot directors and subservient manager will continue to rotate this lineup till the end of the season, regardless of these results., until a top 5 finish comes under risk.

Wish the media would question him on these decisions, but that wouldnt be a newsworthy story

Wish they would stop rotating the back 4 so much. Unfortunately Clearlake have equipped Maresca with an army of data analysts that encourage him to slot in squad players like Badiashile and Tosin whenever possible

Youngest age and have a feeling these directors will want to keep it that way. They want Chelsea to be a better Brighton. Churning out players like Madueke for profit,.and luring fans with a false promise of genuine trophy challenges.

If Liverpool have fully recovered, even 4th would be a stretch. Seems like 5th would be the more realistic target right now. That would be something in terms of year on year progress.

Defense is almost always guaranteed to never help (except for Sanchez who has been the best member of the defense in the past few months IMO) I keep saying the likes of Badiashile or Tosin getting game time is partly because of the directors influencing line-ups, but that decision to bring Gusto on for Cucurella at LB, was one of the dumbest managerial move ever. Gusto a low football IQ player, being forced to play out of position. Genius move.

Regarding Maresca, it would be nice if there was a real good managerial candidate out there. Emery was good at Villarreal and he's good at Villa, but he's still a notch below real world class managers IMO. His horror show at Arsenal is something I won't forget, and pair that with Chelsea’s directors & board, it looks like a recipe for disaster. The biggest fear is that if Maresca leaves they go for someone like Rosenior and De Zerbi who also are unproven at the highest levels. Only interesting option out there is Fabregas, and thats a remote chance in hell, if we could get him.

That's fair. But when you said 'completely' disagree it was confusing.

The worst part is that even after all the shitty draws and defeats, the likes of Badiashile and Tosin will be there to stay. Why choose to drop Fofana (who is at least a notch above the rest) for the Villa game and save him for Bournemouth is mind boggling.

Completely? So, Badiashile and Gusto were fine?

Can't give Emery credit today. Villa were awful for two thirds of the match, but a stupid CB and a manger playing Gusto out of position were enough to break the game

Gusto at LB is Maresca nonsense. The guy has low footballing IQ and you make him play out of position. Amateurish moves. Inexperienced manager and this club board litters the squad with inexperienced players. And the only experience coming from shitty players like Tosin.

It will take Maresca to fight with the directors and the board for this to happen fast. Unfortunately he won't be able to take the directors with him when he leaves.

Thank you Maresca and Clearlake. Winnable match ruined with a shitty CB pairing and bringing on Gusto at LB.

Gusto at LB is an unsafe option. Not sure why Cucurella was hooked.

Yeah, we needed a minimum of 2 goals right from the off to win this match. Objective hasn't changed yet.