Blue Armour

None of these CBs are good on the ball. Chalobah's main weakness.

I expect him to restore Fofan to the lineup. Acheampong as usual will struggle to get minutes, but hopefully the last match will at least convince Maresca and the directors to start him over Tosin & Badiashile next time. Hopefully James starts this game too.

The risk of the books not being balanced, would simply mean we can't register them for Europe right? Still would keep someone for the league. Although, if Maresca and the directors gave more chances to Acheampong, we could manage until end of the season (assuming Fofana also stays fit)

I just dont want another repeat where they dump 50 plus million on yet another winger, while we persist with the same center backs from the past 2 seasons

Even if we lost, Josh is still a better defender than Tosin. No reason to keep him out. Tosin has bungled up too many times this season. How he keeps getting selected for matches is down to the club's rotation policy to grant some players more exposure.

Again, if this wasn't evidence enough.. Obviously he would be an idiot to say Tosin is doing well., so he deflects by saying 'Wes is doing well, Chalobah is doing well". There is pressure to make Tosin start games. It's becoming more apparent.

And on cue, Tosin returns. Fuxk. I'm telling you, the knobheads up top are also influencing the selection. That news article from the Mail makes more sense. Rotation is the name of the game and Maresca is a stooge at the hands of these guys, as they want certain players to gain as much exposure as possible. The only reason Acheampong got a run of games this season is because Mr.Tosin was out.

Acheampong should come in for Fofana, who I think might be rested. Santos in for James. Gusto at RB. Joao Pedro off the bench. Garnacho starting. Doubt Acheampong will get a start though, with Tosin there in the squad.

From the official Premier League channel:

The funny thing is that those fans are saying that James is no longer a RB, so therefore can longer be compared with Timber.

Fofana lost his man, damn.

Lol

Yeah, these are the kind of decisions where Maresca seems to panic for. He should have kept Estavao on to try and force more yellow cards out of Arsenal. Anyway, let's see.

Arghh...why. They should have removed Joao Pedro and played with the false 9. Garnacho coming on is fair. Just dont agree with the choice of sub.

I dont think Ramos ever sorted out the red card issues in his senior years either, lol.

I think more than this game, Caicedo being out for the next 3 fixtures is what stings the most. At least Palmer is back, so hopefully we can offset Caicedo's absence. Need James and Gusto to fill in when needed.

No expectations for this match. Arsenal are probably the most in form and well rounded team in the world atm. Because it's a home game, my hope is that the team at least turns up, regardless of the result, and doesn't simply roll over like Spurs.

https://www.reddit.com/r/chelseafc/s/UcVpapJ5xI Ronaldinho with some advice for Estevao on the Nike football page.

Estavao signed a deal with Nike at the age of 10. Youngest Brazilian player to do so. Probably Nike is the one we should give credit to for scouting him 🤣

Also, that embrace between James and Enzo when the former was subbed off, was great to see. The pair of them have shown great character in the past few matchweeks. Between them and Caicedo, there seems to be a spine of a team taking shape.

Post match interview of Estavao with Chelsea fan Alex Aljoe.

They targeted Postecoglou as well.

Yep, its the main reason why the likes of Tosin and George continue to get minutes. A bit of window shopping for potential buyers.

It should be obvious by now. It's not Maresca making all the calls with squad selection and subs. The hierarchy above him WANT to give certain players as much exposure and minutes as possible. There was an article in the Mail about this a few weeks back saying this is a calculated risk. They know we might have the odd draw or loss here and there because of it, but the directors accept it as necessary step.

Some of the reactions on the net to Palmer's latest mishap are so overblown It's as if he's out regularly like Lavia or Badiashile. This is the 1st ever season where he's been out for such an extended period. Symptoms of the modern football fan with attention deficit syndrome I guess.., ready to turn on a player and boo a former club player at the turn of a dime.