closed Chelsea v Stoke

[manpe 10,855]

15 hours ago, cfcs most wanted said:

We have to give Matic some playing time, If we start Mikel against PSG then the game will be over for sure.

What are you talking about? Mikel > Matic and it's not even close atm. Nemanja has fallen off a cliff, I doubt he will recover any time soon and PSG is not the time to find out.

 

Courtois

Azpi - Cahill - Ivanovic - Baba

Mikel - Cheeks

Traore - Willian - Hazard

Remy

[Jase 43,479]

 

[xPetrCechx 13,546]

Hiddink says John Terry and Pedro are not fit to start tomorrow's game. Terry is unlikely to make the bench. #CFC

Hiddink confirms Terry is not fit to start this weekend. "We will see about Wednesday.“ Same with Pedro. Both doing extra training.

 

Hiddink: "We have the PSG game on our mind but we take all Premier League games very seriously and our approach won’t change."

 

[RoyalBlues 4,050]

No Kenedy news? It's Baba time again then.

[Jase 43,479]

 

[xPetrCechx 13,546]

Hiddink insists our focus is only on tomorrow's game and not Wednesday's match against PSG. #CFC

Hiddink: "Some teams in the top four are dropping points but teams like West Ham are also knocking on the door. Stoke are close too."

Hiddink: "Making the top four this season might be a bigger achievement than during my last spell at #Chelsea."

Q: Has Roman Abramovich told players + staff about Antonio Conte? - Hiddink: "Not to my knowledge."

Sounds like Guus Hiddink isn’t a fan of this European Super League. "You must be very careful. Never forget what football is about."

#Chelsea confirm that there was a meeting between the top clubs but a European Super League was NOT discussed. Mainly pre-season tours.

Hiddink: 'I'm here for a short period and the club has to go into a new era where it's not about short spells.' #CFC

Q: If this run continues, surely the fans will want you to stay? - Hiddink: "I will be at Stamford Bridge & Cobham many times, don’t worry."

Hiddink says it's difficult to put the brakes on Diego Costa but adds he might not play the full game tomorrow. #CFC

Hiddink says Diego Costa cannot be stopped at the moment. He will start against Stoke tomorrow but might not play the full game.

Q: John Terry said last night that clubs would be queuing for you? - Hiddink: "I haven’t had any calls yet. I will speak to John tonight."

Hiddink says whether or not JT makes the PSG game will be determined by how he trains next week. He adds he will take no risks. #CFC

Q: Does John Terry have a genuine chance to play against PSG? - Hiddink: "It all depends on how he feels late on Monday."

Q: Is Willian one of the best players in England? - Hiddink: "Yes, he plays consistently well. He likes to train and play every day."

 

[Fulham Broadway 16,392]

The big question is -can the coiffeured, tatooed, mulri millionaires of Stoke City do it on a cold windy afternoon in West London ?

[RoyalBlues 4,050]

Is it just my feeling, or Guus starting to talk like Jose?

Jose in disguise, reveal yourself! Now I know why you are still walking around in London.

[Wizacar 93]

really stupid from hiddink not resting diego and fabregas. psg will rest players and will beat us in extra time just like last year bcoz they are smart and will rest players. When two teams are this close in talent then fatigue is usually the factor. I just wish guus could use his brain instead of chasing 4th position.

[OhForAGreavsie 5,775]

I confess that I'd have been tempted to go weak tomorrow but I'm so proud of the stance that Chelsea football club adopt. We don't shrink from any challenge. I love Guus for embracing that attitude. I'm sure there will be some flexibility but I'm also sure there will be a selection designed to give the game a real good go. If Diego gets hurt so be it. Oh and I certainly wouldn't want to suffer a long, boring procession in Ligue 1 just so we could rest players for the Champions League.

One day we will, at long last, build a squad the quality of which truly reflects the amount of money we spend on it. When that happens the manager will have more room for manoeuvre with his selections. For now however, when faced with the opportunity to prioritise a later fixture at the risk of compromising our chances in the game at hand, we always say stuff that and go out to win the next game. Love it, love Chelsea.

[Wizacar 93]

Diego costa is also one yellow card from 10 yellows which means a 2 game ban. Fabregas has gone down the boil due to fatigue. he does a lot of running next to Mikel , it will just suck losing to psg again due to us not resting our players, makes no sense to me. It reminds me of when jose played a strong team against bolton to win the league and said the momentum will drive us to beat liverpool. What happened rafa was smart rested his players and liverpool knocked us out. fab diego and hazard need to be protected.

[OhForAGreavsie 5,775]

3 hours ago, Wizacar said:

What happened rafa was smart rested his players and liverpool knocked us out. fab diego and hazard need to be protected

I think what happened is that we were without any width at all due to both our wingers and both of our fullbacks being injured. (Robbie made the bench but did not feel he was ready and was very reluctant to play you'll remember.) Throw in the fact that each of our ties with Liverpool has been won by the side playing the second leg at home as well as that there was a ghost on the pitch and you have the real reasons for our exit that night.

P.S. Is down the boil the American English version of the UK English expression off the boil? Have to confess I'd never heard it before.

[RoyalBlues 4,050]

We will. Resting some. Don't worry. Be happy.

[Eidur the Spider 4,515]

 

Todays matchday programme is a tribute to Peter Osgood on the 10th Anniversary of his death. Looks great! 

I remember going to the West Brom away game a few days after he died, we won 2-1 and our fans were outstanding, singing Osgood's name all through the game!

[Starman60 1,343]

Can anyone put a copy of the Osgood commemoration programme online after the game............He was my all time hero 

[quickpassnmove 924]

If we win today, we're officially the in-form side of the PL, correct?

FFS, I don't wanna see Oscar starting right now. Let's see the other Brazilian or Traore.

Shaqiri v. Rahman... interesting.

Imbula in MF.

I want a 3-0 or 3-1 win, but I don't know about our attack with an Oscar starting.

[MefiX19 1,092]

4 minutes ago, quickpassnmove said:

If we win today, we're officially the in-form side of the PL, correct?

FFS, I don't wanna see Oscar starting right now. Let's see the other Brazilian.

Shaqiri v. Rahman... interesting.

Imbula in MF.

I want a 3-0 or 3-1 win, but I don't know about our attack with an Oscar starting.

Help Baba in defence a little bit and let him bomb forward and we will see Costa scoring from his cross.

[Eidur the Spider 4,515]

Team to face Stoke City: Courtois; Azpilicueta, Cahill, Ivanovic (c), Baba; Mikel, Matic; Willian, Oscar, Hazard; Traore. #CFC