Jase

4 goals. A clean sheet. Vital win and a nice little boost to the GD.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2018/01/19/thibaut-courtois-adds-antonio-contes-growing-list-problems-chelsea/ Courtois has an ankle injury. Expected to be out of this game. Drinkwater is doubtful.

If only we could find some way to merge Alonso and Moses. Would have a decent WB then!

Seems like Conte changed his tune from the usual 'I give my opinion to the club but it is them who make the final decision etc' to this... http://www.espnfc.com/chelsea/story/3353049/ross-barkley-in-chelsea-squad-to-face-brighton-antonio-conte Indication of something happening?

We are getting desperate, aren't we? Not sure why people seem so hopeful about signing Dzeko. Knowing the board, it's probably just a smokescreen and we'll end up signing Crouch. Worth pointing out that Dzeko, like Morata, hasn't scored a lot in recent months. He's got only 2 goals since that 3-3 game with us - that's 2 goals in 16 games. In fact, his goal record this season is rather similar to Morata's. Dzeko - 2 goals in last 16 games after scoring 10 in the first 10 games Morata - 4 goals in last 16 games after netting 8 in first 15 games.

http://www.skysports.com/football/news/11701/11212838/stoke-city-deny-chelsea-have-made-peter-crouch-approach Stoke deny any Crouch approach.

Scored twice against QPR? Already a club legend.

It's not 100% perfect but those idiots handling referees and VAR in England should have a look at how Bundesliga run the system.

Morata may not be the long term answer but neither is Aubameyang. Agree to disagree, I guess.

Hamstring injury.

Morata has missed loads of chances and it has been frustrating but to say he'll keep on missing them is nonsense, especially when there's only a number of games to back that up. If he's still missing them, say, this time next year, then your point would hold a lot more weight. Did I say Morata is perfect with his build play contribution? No. Aubameyang may be the better finisher but he is by no means better than Morata in linking up the play etc. You're just gonna judge him based 6-7 months? He is 26 this year and there is still time to improve and get better. Even Aubameyang did not become the consistent goalscorer that he is today till about 2-3 years ago. This whole thing is just funny. It has been frustrating to watch Morata, especially in recent times, but to just dismiss after such a short amount time is baffling. It's not as if he has been completely useless. I dread to think the treatment some players of 10-15 years ago that we all love would have gotten had social media been this prominent back then.

So what made the ref used VAR to check that corner/goal kick incident? Given all the farcical decisions, surprised the ref didn't just have the shootout to be taken at the away end! Also, what's the deal with the penalty shootout system? Thought ABBA in in play in the FA Cup as well, no? Not a big fan of it but seems silly that it is used in Community Shield and League Cup but not FA Cup.

What strikers?

You are right. Even forgot that James is on loan at Bayern. But given our whole transfer business mess in the last couple of years, this just doesn't sit well, IMO. We don't want to pay the big bucks and so, we're just randomly searching around for cheap options/loans. Let's not forget we, originally, wanted Andy Carroll on loan last week. ANDY F***KING CARROLL...ON LOAN!

IIRC, the ref checked with VAR to give Norwich a corner after originally signalling a goal kick in the second half.

Is Youtube really a good platform to judge players?

Sure, we do create chances every game but let's not make it as if we do so consistently. Hazard, Fabregas etc are hit-and-miss with their chance creation. Don't want to make it sound like Aubameyang is bad but he does have a tendency to miss easy chances as well. But what happens if there isn't space to do that? Most of the teams that we play don't give us that. Aubameyang relies heavily on services if there is no space for him create chances for himself. If there's no space, no service for him, you won't see him get involved much. Maybe. But he's not as great as many have made him out to be. Morata may not be in on it right now but he definitely has time and room on his side to grow and get better.

Decent point but christ! We are a big club (supposedly) and we are going around wanting to sign players on loan. What's the point of signing Palmieri on loan? I get that he got the ACL injury and there may be option to buy but what if he struggles during the loan? Will he adapt fast enough? What if he turns out to be even more useless than Zappacosta? Then we have practically wasted a place in the team and will continue to run Alonso to the ground. We might as well just use someone from the academy or even Baba Rahman until the end of the season and then look for a top class option in the summer.

Do people actually watch Aubameyang or are they just going off the reputation or hype? Sure, his goalscoring record is utterly impressive but apart from that, he doesn't do much. His link up play is bang on average and he is extremely reliant on his pace. If teams limit the space for him to operate, then that's 3/4 of him gone. And not to mention, he comes with baggage off the field. Has been disciplined several times by Dortmund over the past year and there's a reason why only a small number of clubs want him.