Blue Armour

He was a different player then, though. The current version, I'm not sure about. Especially the one that was at Arsenal in his last season.

We fought off Ake this season. Can we fend off Aubameyang too?

That back 3 worked against Everton, but not sure against Spurs. They have more pace in their ranks, and if Conte sets up to counter (likely) they will get exploited. With Rudiger we were spoilt with his recovery pace. Azpi Silva Koulibaly is another matter. A second CB like Fofana would have come in handy here. Either that, or sacrifice James to play him as RCB. And rely on Cucurella for WB attacking threat.

Seems like the EFL cup is still on for this year (no surprises there)? Wouldn't be surprised if that were the case.

Still find it weird that we never even took a stab at Skriniar. Is it because of his age? Maybe Tuchel wanted one really young CB since we have Koulibaly and Silva. Or just his playing style.

So ironic that in 2021 we ended up paying twice the amount that City signed Haaland for, to get Lukaku.

You want Bielsa instead of Tuchel because you think our defense will be fine by just having quality players? I guess you've forgotten how Lampards Chelsea leaked 4 to 5 goals a game with the same defense Tuchel inherited. Or how Bielsa's Leeds leaked goals for fun.

Didier Drogba agrees. Oh how we miss a player like that.

Chillwell deserves more credit for what he did today, despite lacking match fitness. He also won the penalty for this game. Having said that, Cucurella is first choice to start our next game for sure. Great debut.

Considering what happened to Koulibaly and Silva in this match, its no wonder why we need to go in for a 2nd quality CB this window. At their age, coupled with the loss of Colwill, we could face big problems without adequate replacements.

Does Kovacic need to remind Tuchel that he still plays here? Anyway. Only complaint for me. Winning against Everton away and starting the season with a win is massive. Hope Kouliabaly just had cramps.

Mourinho is right. There is always an agenda against Chelsea Even Pep has admitted as such. The red brigade is green with envy.

Another hit piece by DM who have been relentless since the club became up for sale. And right before our first match. Read through the article and you'll see it's all baseless speculation and conjecture. The PL itself did a litmus test. What more needs to be said?

So...maybe just wait for a year? Think the club can survive without one for a year., especially if it means getting a quality director in next year. Get an agreement with Edwards to start early next summer.

Be interesting to see who LWB will be for this game. Before Alonso was linked to a Barca move, I figured he would've started. Now that Cucurella is here.., maybe he can start right away? Doubt Chillwell will start given lack of match fitness.

Just hope it amounts to something. And not just constant hype build up like De Ligt, Raphinha and Kounde. Fooled me once, twice and all that...

Don't think anyone is against Cucurella. Just hoping this doesn't mean we're ignoring CB cover while letting Colwill go the other way. And keeping Saar instead.

Sigh.. hope he's just saving his best for when the season begins. The best that can be said at this point is that he doesn't disrupt play like Lukaku

Haha-haland.

On a side note...have you seen some of the reactions (not on this forum) to Kepa's potential loan move? People are claiming that this would be a disaster because they feel Kepa should be number 1 over Mendy due to his better distribution

Watching Haaland for City reminds me of Lukaku playing for us. Hardly involved.

Yeah it's annoying that we chase a goose in Kounde, but do fuck all with regards to Skriniar. Really wondering if someone in the club just decided that he doesn't fit the style of play..

Lol. I pinged you right when you posted this.

@Tomo I know you said top 4 would not be as difficult as people make it out to be, because the chasing pack (namely Arsenal & United) are hardly any better from last season. Granted, Arsenal were poor in terms of chance creation last season, but now you have Gabriel Jesus scoring for fun in this team., in preseason at least.

Can we keep Gilmour with us this season? Like McEachran, I feel he thrives when playing among quality players. I called it last year that his loan with Norwich could be a disaster, but back then people suggested Daniel Farke knew Tuchel and would handle Gilmour well. Farke fucked off and the loan became a waste.