Flinkers

Thank you Eden for your skill, goals, assists and commitment. I would have loved it, if he’d stayed but can’t begrudge him his move after everything he’s done for us. Just hope the dream lives up to the reality... We’ll miss his goals and creativity, and next season has just got exponentially harder, but if we can consolidate this year, bed in a couple of youngsters and use our cash stockpile wisely when we can, we should be good going forward. KTBFFH!

Congratulations to Daniel Sturridge. Double CL winner with zero minutes played!

F’in bent ref

Congratulations on another trophy my fellow Blues! We’ve been through the wringer this year but once again showed that when silverware’s at stake, Chelsea always come to play! Cheers to Blue Fizz!

And IMO she’s worth interviewing. Whether she’s the right candidate is another story

Or conversely, the “Harry Kane, Mo Salah and Kevin de Bruyne aren’t good enough for the Premier League” argument. l admit, I also googled whether there were any female managers coaching men’s teams. After Shelley Kerr and Corrine Diacre, I wasn’t getting too many hits. It’s unusual yes, but Emma Hayes has done her time down in the gumboot patches. I just think she shouldn’t be dismissed that easily. She’s certainly done more than most ex-pros have done before getting an academy job.

And I’m not suggesting they should! I’m suggesting a coach with 6 years experience coaching at Chelsea, who has won silverware and is quite clearly a talented coach should be taken under consideration and not simply dismissed because their achievements have been won in the wrong gender.

I don't understand this viewpoint to be honest. Lampard et al are 100x more valuable with ZERO managerial experience than Emma Hayes with a multi-national, silverware-winning coaching history just because they've been involved in men's football? That's obviously why Alan Shearer and Thierry Henry (to name but two) have been so successful translating all the great things they were 'exposed' to in their careers... Gerrard was the coach of the Liverpool U18s for 1 year before getting the Rangers gig. Lampard wasn't even that. You aren't ready to coach Chelsea in the same way that all the ex-professionals who jump straight into a managerial position aren't - no quantifiable experience. Emma Hayes has 6 years experience coaching and managing in the Chelsea Environment; successfully too. Where it’s been earned should be irrelevant.

Without having a chance to manage in the men's game I disagree that it's everything - my point was that she'd grafted to get where she is and had proven to be an adaptable, successful Coach. Probably not, but I'm not proposing Johann Schmidt, from down the road, or Joe Cole to be the next manager either. Similarly, I've not actually proposed Emma Hayes - merely stated that if interviewed / hired she'd be an intriguing prospect. And yet we had the same arguments about suitability thrown around when (Massey) was introduced in 2010. From what I've seen and heard of her, I've found her very competent in footballing matters and quite insightful. Certainly a step up on Mark Lawrenson et al. Whether she would be accepted by a professional men's team is the key question. The number of women involved in male professional sport is still very small. So had Thierry Henry!

I think that's unfairly dismissive of you - she's done her time in lower league Football, college Football, as an assistant Manager and as a Coach. She's been sacked and won titles - she's tried, failed and succeeded in her chosen sport while competing against her peers. The boys vs. girls comparison is moot. I agree about Phil Neville - I don't believe he should have got the job, but in fairness, he's made a decent fist of it. Yes, she is a good lino. There was also the same outcry about her when she first started in the Premier League but having been given a chance, and having suffered the abuse and naysaying, she's shown that she's just as good at a 'man's job' as her colleagues. Maybe one day we'll say the same about Hayes.

Why though - if it's good enough for Gerrard, Lampard and co, why not for her?

You're right - women play on different sized pitches, with a different number of players, under different rules and constantly against players of the opposite gender - it's not the same sport at all! Hayes has gone through the same education as her male counterparts, has had to do the same graft to get where she is and has more claim to be a football manager than Vilas Boas did when he went from tactical scout at Inter to the hot seat at Porto. Why is it acceptable for Phil Neville to take over the women's national team, Lampard to take over a top 6 Championship side or Gerrard to take over the second biggest club in Scotland with ZERO managerial experience, but it's not OK for Hayes, who has won multiple league titles and Cups (against men no less) and holds a UEFA Pro Licence to take over a senior side? The only reason people find it strange is because of gender typecasting, not because she's incapable.

None of which is relevant to her ability to coach/manage the men's team. Hayes wouldn't be coaching women against 15 year olds with all her foreign-based players missing - she'd be coaching men against men, on a level playing field. She's been successful against her competitors in league and cup football, plays an attractive style, builds teams well and is tactically flexible. She's also been in the job for over 6 years which has got to make her one of the longest serving management staff at the club. These are things we look for as translatable skills in foreign managers, who have never coached senior football in England. Why not her?

The Sunday Supplement suggested Emma Hayes as a potential candidate over the weekend. I'd be intrigued how she'd go - ticks most of the boxes people are after for our manager...

We go straight in to the group stage now https://www.premierleague.com/european-qualification-explained