paulw66

And of course nobody here does. Would have been some kid sat in their parents living room, sending messages on social media on their phone and could have been from absolutely anywhere. Have never been anywhere near Stamford bridge, nor been part of a platform where genuine Chelsea fans gather to exchange opinion on all things Blue.

I don't think we could do that. If you look at what happened to Costa at Atletico and Turan at Barca, they both just had to sit in the stands, when loaning them to someone would have made sense. Depay is a player I would be tempted by. United were quick to discard him, but he is a clear talent. Icardi is a mental case, with a fruit basket of a wife (and agent).

I have some mates who support Palace. They are not convinved he is good enough for a top team as a bit inconsistent.

You're dodging the point being made though. Giroud's much superior hold up play alleviates the pressure on the rest of the team and allows us to get further up the field. Is he the "answer"? No. Is he the best of a poor bunch? Yes.

How could I forget!?

If Willian and Rudiger are in proper cotention, the squad is starting to look a lot healthier: Kepa, Willy Rudiger, AC, Zouma Tomori, Emerson, Alonso, Azpi, Zappa, Kante, Jorginho, Kovacic, Barkely, Mount, Pulisic, Willian, Pedro, Kenedy Giroud, Abraham, Batshuyai. Leaving James, CHO, and RLC as the only absentees. 8 defenders, and only 7 attackers (including Kenedy).......lopsided squad.

He was clearly off his line. Having made a big thing of it in the summer with the rule change, it has taken 2 matches to be "abandonned". Quite simply the officials were too gutless to stop Adrian wheeling away celebrating the win. Which is plenty and easy to spot if that is your ONLY job.

Whilst I don't disagree about givind Zaha a wide berth, largely due to cost and age, the spell United is somewhat irrelevant in the discussion. If Zaha failed (in 4 appearances) at United, then Kevin de Bruyne and Mo Salah failed at Chelsea....... I also don't think him trying to move to a bigger club is any different to an infinite number of any other players trying to do the same thing.

Curious to the reasoning here. The difference between last Sunday and Wednesday was noticeable, largely due to the extra experience on the field, and Kante obviously. Less naive in all areas. In a ridiculous way, Sunday is a must win. I'd start with Giroud for sure. Mount possibly in midfield but not in the front 3. Pulisic and Pedro or Willian depending on their respective fitness.

About 2000 years older, I would have said.

Technically, last night is a draw! I'd be tempted to leave Rudiger. Last thing we want is him coming back too soon

Good job, Frank! Really like the look of Pulisic. Fast with an eye for goal.

Yup, we had 29 breaches to their 2. Murder is an extreme example, but if you get done for speeding 29 times and someone else gets done for speeding twice, the punishments will not be the same. I think the people involved are no longer at the club anyway

You are missing another crucial point. We were charged with 29 offences. They were charged with 2.

In a game where we will dominate the ball, that midfield 3 offers close to zero goal threat. Fine against Liverpool, but not at home to Leicester. For me that was Sarri's main failing last season, picking that 3 against non top 6 teams.