09 Mar 2019 09:38:26
It appears we have turned the corner as the team is once again playing great football, creating numerous chances in games and being able to break down defensive units. Defensively solid too. More than enough rotation of the team which is great to see. During this busy fixture period we have rested a few key players and we have still won. Dynamo Kiev is a strong team but they way we dismantled them sad pleasing.

Well done to Sarri. Confidence installed.

1.) 09 Mar 2019
09 Mar 2019 10:21:07
If CAS don't freeze the transfer ban until the appeal is heard then that would be bad of course but it will not be the end of the world.

I'm sure they will make a fair decision based on the evidence avaialble to hand. If the evidence is damning and if they know an appeal is likely to fail 100% then I can see the reasons behind not freezing the ban until the appeal takes place. It is almost playing the system to sign a load of players to compensate for when the ban is enforced. For Fifa to deny the freezing of the ban says to me that they have damning evidence against us which is a shame if its true. But obviously the evidence must be damning enough to warrant banning of two windows. If that is reduced at appeal then the decision to deny freeze is unfair.

Obviously the Spanish clubs had their bans frozen until the appeal but maybe their situation was different. Maybe the evidence to hand wasn't as strong as here. We can't compare the cases until we know more about what we have done here. Either way if we have breached massively then we have to pay For it.

If the same scenario occured to Man City or any other rival club and if they were appealing to freeze the ban so that they could mass recruit players then I would be against it. Obviously the evidence to hand must be 100% damning so that the decision to ban two windows is not overturned even at appeal stage.

Either way it's a shame

What are your thoughts Ed.

{Ed001's Note - as I mentioned in the news review, it is unjust and totally against the rule of law as it stands in Europe. Chelsea have a right to be considered innocent, no matter how damning the evidence, until after they have exhausted all avenues of appeal. FIFA are setting themselves up for a big fall. You may be against it if it was anyone else, but you would be talking from bias, which is what must be set aside in a legal case. The punishment should only be enacted at the end of the trial and any appeals process.}

2.) 09 Mar 2019
09 Mar 2019 11:38:57
Hopefully CAS see it the same way and freeze the ban until appeal. It seems like Fifa want to put a point across but are being very blunt about it. Thanks for replying and putting some sense to it mate.

{Ed001's Note - there should not be any point to put across. If the punishment can be worked around, then they need to take a look at them, not act like judge, jury and executioner.}

3.) 09 Mar 2019
09 Mar 2019 17:59:40
100% Ed001. Funny how quickly FIFA have been with this decision, but still not finished investigating the Qatar World Cup- 5 years after the investigation started!

{Ed001's Note - they are two totally different things to be fair and they have also punished the FA, which suggests there is much more to this. The World Cup will not be allowed to be questioned until afterwards, there is too much money at stake.}

4.) 09 Mar 2019
09 Mar 2019 20:52:37
You can’t even appeal to CAS until after this appeal is finalised by which time the summer transfer window may already be closed. I’m surprised they have tried to change how they deal with this kind of thing after a president has been set.

5.) 10 Mar 2019
09 Mar 2019 18:18:07
Fair enough Ed001. Would love an article on your views on Qatar 2022.

{Ed001's Note - I have added it to the to do list, I will have to try and remember to move it up the list a bit or I will only get round to it in about 2025 with the length of the list!}