Muzchap

That Mirror article on City really raises a few questions.... At least at Chelsea we have a business model and can demonstrate 100% compliance. Buy low, sell high(er) City have nothing of the sort. A £50 million fine is nothing to them. They have renegotiated half way through the deal. Unless FFP excludes clubs from CL it will achieve nothing.

How did he play?

Yup - time to sell

Translation = we want a fuck load of money

Good get rid - not good enough for Chelsea

Exactly ! And a smart man might say the reason RW is so problematic is because of a certain RB - where the RW needs to dedicate a lot of time to defensive duties. It took Hazard an exceptional talent a few years to adjust - so dropping in a quick fix won't work. For me we either replace the current RB and play to the RW strengths - or wait patiently I'm all for trying Azpi as RB and letting the RW play That would give us so much more balance and threat - with the added bonus of destabilising the opposition defence - creating more room for everybody. At the minute it's double up on Hazard and mark Costa... With a true RW - the opposition defence would have all kinds of trouble

Dude - don't judge a nation by the quality of their journalists! that winds me up!!!! The print business is dead - so they resort to more and more sensationalist headlines - it was mentioned weeks ago that HK is eligible for the Tournament and he said himself he'd love to finish what he started. I personally as an Engalnd fan - wouldn't mind him going to get the experience - but Pochettino is complaining that he will miss a week of early season training as the tournament overlaps his start of training. There's no 'new' story here - just a desperate 'rag and hack' trying to elicit 40p out of someone gullible enough to believe the article contains any facts Our Euro 96 team was amazing and I enjoyed our games - we just had a mental block on penalties with the Germans.

In theory that could work - but you could get a situation where a team 'sandbags' their performance to finish 17th (not relegated) to obtain the most money - rather than finishing 15th. In essence - it rewards not being competitive. I guess as always in life there is no magic bullet - but a hybrid of CAP and equalisation of monies ( so 17-1) all get the same could be a fairer measure of true performance. However - all EUROPEAN leagues would need to sign up to this. It certainly would make the leagues interesting and the extra share of money would ensure clubs could reduce ticket prices and still generate enough for them to be profitable - whilst placing football back in the reach of the working man. I would certainly vote for such a system.

Depression or Mental Health as its being rebranded is deadly. At 39 - I have already witnessed 3 good friends take their own lives. It's so sad that depression affects your rational thought process and you can only see one path open to you - death. A lot more needs to be done - especially for Males - as we don't really discuss feelings - and then boom 0-100 in a short time.

Good point - my baseline for 'modest' is now slightly higher due to the ridiculous overpriced transfers every window. Soon the £50 million for TORRES will look normal. It's a shame as FFP hasn't really worked and prices have still increased year on year. I think a cap on xfer fee is the only likely scenario in the future... Legally it could only work in Europe I guess (single commom market) and xfer from International countries would have to remain uncapped - but they could legislate around the Work Permit element. It's a tough one...

Hmm you say best teams in Europe and then the World? CL only covers Europe But aside from that - fair points. But Spurs have spent big and are still shit. Spending <> Success - although it certainly helps

Some excellent points raised here - without bashing and insults - it's like the old TC So I'm as frustrated as anybody with the team - we started the season playing expansive attacking football and sure there was a need to tighten defensively (5-3 Everton) - but it seems that we have tightened too much and the emphasis is massively skewed to defence instead of attack Now - I am delighted we are consistently winning and believe the mental aspect of the game is growing within our team, plenty of results this year have gone for us, wheras previously we would have lost, or drew. The fact that we assembled a great team on a modest budget, whilst complying with FFP is to be applauded, however it's clear to see our small stadium is REALLY punishing us compared to the teams around us in the EPL and massively restricting us in Europe. Therefore, until that is addressed it's unlikely we will be able to spend at the rate of UTD. Our squad is much better now - this is the result of managerial stability (yes 2 seasons ) - it's given time to clear out the dead wood and try to shape a team for the future. I do expect at least 1-2 marquee signings in the summer. However - it still concerns me that we had a blue-print for free flowing, attacking football and we effectively ripped it up - instead of tweaking it. But without a crystal ball we will never know. Winning the EPL is all that counts and it doesn't matter whether it's the best league or not - we simply DO need to win it! So despite my outbursts on the frustrations of Mou as a Manager and the under performance (IMHO) of the team - if we lift the EPL, I will be delighted and will consider the season a success. However, I would expect a big attacking improvement come August. My final concern is that of the players - it's strange that Oscar a player developing nicely the past two seasons has stalled so much, is this a result of the negative tactics or is it vice-versa - the poor performances of not just Oscar, but other players as well - have forced Mourinho into the ultra conservative approach? I guess that's my million dollar question - to which I'm genuinely struggling to find an answer...

Yeah - one of the older players crushed his foot with their zimmer frame

I'm not saying we do I'm saying need to give the guy a couple of seasons before judging him and that even if we did want him - Levy wouldn't sell

I am delighted for the guy and England team But said it before and will say it again - 1 swallow doesn't make a summer Next season will be the real test of Harry Kane There's zero chance we will get him from Levy...

how is it bizarre? I DONT like him - simple - even last night for England, I was impressed and my belief started to soften, then I watched his interview and straight away I was back up to hatred. The guy is a complete fucking arse! Wayne Rooney was delighted for Kane - you could see the genuine emotion. Sterling asked the same question and he was moody and petulant and can't even smile properly. I just don't think that's a player I want to see in our dressing room. Now, all of the above 'could be' attributable to his current predicament with the 'losers' - but I'm not convinced. I will say he has skill, is lightning quick and could become a really special player. As always - if we sign a player, I will support them - but my head says 'no' and my heart thinks him and Hazard could tear shit up... It 'could' be an interesting summer...

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I think the OP has a point about Costa dropping deeper At the start of the season he was always on the shoulder of the last defender and making intelligent runs behind them Now he's dropping deeper and our defenders are pushing up - the whole pitch is compressed and it doesn't benefit us - we can get crowded out I would definitely prefer him staying up the pitch and doing what he did at the start of the season as it gives more space all round

Fair point - but HE chose to move to Spuds... In life you have to live with the consequences of your decisions. If Jose doesn't select grim for a few games - will he bitch and moan here? If that happens he probably won't play again. But life is all about risk. I can't ever see this happening TBH as Levy wI'll not sell to us!

I agree with your viewpoint and Jasons above - but for me Vertinghon - the issue is not skill, it's attitude. It maybe just playing at the Spuds - but he's looked disinterested and uncommitted - that just doesn't seem like a Chelsea player. We need mentally strong players who will fight 100% and give 100% every game. I'm just not convinced he would do this. In terms of ability - he has all of the basics, but it's the mental side of things that IMHO are lacking.

I'm really going to miss this calm level headed guy He has been sensational and literally put his life on the line for us (Reading game) There's no way we can see him sit and rot on the bench - I have no problems where he goes next - he has earned our respect and appreciation many, many times over. The CL video shows how much JT loves this guy. It will be a sad day for sure and I hope he gets a few more games between now and the end of the season to beat David James record - that would be a fitting tribute.

I don't care about anything except 3 points This is my new attitude for the remainder of the season I don't care who plays, what they do - just get the 3 points and move on

Especially in the hair department - dude needs to sort that shit out

So not many players are having a better second half of the season - but only Cesc is singled out

He needs a big trophy to relax - the EPL will (I'm praying) be that trophy. I really do expect to see a different team next year