Chelsea Banter

01 May 2024 15:54:37
Big ange said his injuries not good, Werner and left back out.

Chelsea have 14 (fourteen) first team players out for spurs, lol but we should be competing.

Poch needs to lay off on the intense training cos this is getting longer not shorter,

01 May 2024 16:49:55
Matt, I have no idea if the majority of our injuries this season are as a result of “intense training, ” whatever that really is?

Remember both JT and Lamps saying the training and practice match sessions were FULL ON and made games seem easy.

Maybe, just maybe the trading isn’t intense enough. Or, maybe it’s just bad luck.

01 May 2024 17:17:23
Didn’t know we could attend and watch training sessions, need to pop along and watch sometime.

Looks like Disasi and Silva are out for tomorrow’s game too. So imagine the team will be:

Petrovic
Gilchrist Chalobah Badiashile Cucurella
Caicedo Gallagher
Madueke Palmer Mudryk/ Casadei
Jackson

Tough choice between Mudryk and Casadei. I’d probably start Casadei as Mudryk’s been poor but Spurs play such a high line, Mudryk’s pace could be good if we ping balls in behind.

Slight possibility we might see Colwill, Nkunku and James on the bench but think it might be a bit too early for James and Nkunku. Not sure if Sterling has recovered, think he was only ill and not injured on the weekend so he might be back.

01 May 2024 15:02:29
If Nkunku and Levi are out tomorrow that's 12 players missing through injury!
A chance for some academy players maybe?

01 May 2024 15:34:50
G8, I may well be wrong but I think it’s 13/ 14 players out for tomorrow and that is just about our worst injury total for the season.

You are correct about opportunities. I would like to see the RB position filled with one of academy players.

01 May 2024 16:11:29
It is utter madness Tom, half the squad missing! I guess Alfie will play RB with BB and Big Trev at CB and Marc C at LB. Conor and Moises in the pivot with Noni, Palmer and Mudryk behind Jackson leaving a bench of academy players.

29 Apr 2024 21:19:16
I thought Noni was brilliant against Villa, the boy gets stick from some but just look at the talent. Yes, he made a mistake with the penalty fiasco, yes, he needs to work harder in defence but he is a talent, big, strong, quick and direct with a goal in him as well. About time he got some praise.

30 Apr 2024 08:17:09
Has had some really good games recently will be interesting to see how he develops has an eye for goal good dribbler to my mind he doesn't have his head up enough to view his options but undeniably a talent.

30 Apr 2024 08:43:06
He has certainly improved throughout the season. I’m still not totally convinced but I think it was Ed001 who sad that the lad needs good coaching.

Another player who has improved throughout the season.

30 Apr 2024 09:09:01
Good player but my only concern with him is is attitude.

30 Apr 2024 09:51:45
Were you concerned about Ballacks attitude when he tried to take a penalty instead of Lamps? All a bit unseemly from my recollection and he was an experienced player, but it didn't affect his attitude going forward.
Likewise Noni infact he's played well since Wembley/ Pen incidents.
And he is still a kid coming to terms with playing for a big club so he should be cut some slack.

30 Apr 2024 10:51:29
Love Noni too, G8. Thought he was stand-out during the tailend of last season. He's worked really hard to improve on the defensive aspect during the last few months, which was my main concern about him, because he's obviously massively skilful going forwards – if he can keep working on his game and decision making he's going to be some player. These are young kids with very few seasoned pros in the dressing room to guide them – I think Poch should get no little credit for this aspect of the situation.

30 Apr 2024 10:54:13
The penalty argument that stands out for me was between Drogba and Lamps. It was also an important pen as we were going for the title and Drogba wanted the golden boot. Eventually aLamos took it and scored but Drogba had the right hump. I would add that at no stage did JT or Carlo get involved in the on field argument.

30 Apr 2024 11:02:04
EdW. I agree Poch should be given credit for players performances improving throughout the season.

I can only think of 2/ 3 players who’s play hasn’t generally improved throughout the course of this season.

30 Apr 2024 15:08:28
You'right EdW and as have saiud myself not sure more than a hadful of managers could have done much better and many would have done perhaps a good deal worse.

30 Apr 2024 18:20:18
Which does not mean Poch cannot be criticised in terms of getting line-ups or substitions wrong - which he has on occasions. Yet in terms of odd line-ups, and some substitutions, this might be a matter of trying obver his first season to look at all the players properly, give them game time, so that the right decisions can be made about swho should stay or who should go - subject to this being possible! - in this coming transfer window. Who should stay, from what Poch and we have seen, should surely include, CG, CP, MG, TC, Enzo, MC, CC, NJ (as winger), and assuming head right NM. Quite a lot of others in the should probably keep too column. RJ if ever regains proper fitness should be an easy must keep but one worries about his fitness as most of us do, along with that of BC.

A manager can also be criticised perhaps for being seemingly unable to get players off to fast starts at start of games or after intervals, or to be entirely focused for whole of game. But players also responsible for this as they most certainly are for obvious blunders in front of goal or at the back.

01 May 2024 08:41:30
I think Poch will be given another chance but he needs to improve his half time team talk.

01 May 2024 13:50:32
Agreed Bill – we've often been shocking after half time.

And with JBS (although I've personally not seen anything from him that suggests we should keep Cucurella! ) – line-ups might have been an aspect of trial and error with a squad that was seemingly built with no sense of coherence. But one can also question why for example, if the goal was to learn about the players, he never tried Maatsen in his natural position?

Anyway, although I've found many of Poch's decisions baffling and have seen obvious negatives, I don't believe we can keep cycling between managers, and don't want to keep cycling between managers. To change that culture, as the new owners said they would, at some point you have to show some steel. If we continue to fire and hire a potential long-term manager will simply not look at the club as a viable place to pitch up.

29 Apr 2024 16:43:20
When I saw the badiashile nudge I thought it would be given as foul by ref,
Ref was right there, he saw it, no obstruction and yards away. He saw it and didn't think it was a foul, var obviously said we think you got this wrong we suggest he takes a look, cancelled goal almost instantly, my gripe with this was the sterling push in back v Brentford not given as it was shoulder > to back, then I was suggested would that of been a penalty the other way around and I don't think that would be given,

Then there was Michael Oliver yesterday. 5 yards and actually waved his arms to say definitely not a penalty when rice absolutely booted Davies,

The level of refereeing is at all time low, referees don't want to make calls, there just waiting for VAR to do there job for them, and they can't be trusted as they are
Looking for reasons rather than anything " clear and obvious, and once they do make a decision or let it go on, as soon as VAR suggest otherwise they almost always change there mind, there's no consistency across the league with referees,

29 Apr 2024 17:19:45
Agree with you Matt.

29 Apr 2024 17:57:37
Couldn't agree more .

I would change VAR have automated offside like they are going to then give each team a challenge per half on non offside decisions, when they challenge the ref goes to the monitor to look with nothing said to him by stockley park, if the team is correct you keep your challenge if wrong you lose it.

29 Apr 2024 20:11:25
I think when a referee allows the play or goal to stand, VAR should ask the referee, did you see the contact between badishille and Carlos, if so are you happy to allow, then referee can say I saw and it stands or I didn’t see, or I saw, was 50/ 50 I’d like to look again, let these refs ref the game and be accountable, and limit the VAR as much as possible,

30 Apr 2024 07:25:49
Completely agree Matt, although the Grealish hand ball that was on target until it hit his away from his body arm was deemed "not a foul" by VAR. This is where ref's should be Mike'ed up with VAR and available to the fans in the stadium and on TV, so instead of one person deciding there was nothing, everybody would be accountable. This is where
technology is heading, and, if refs are going to abide, rather than make a tough decision, then our premier league is in a spot of trouble.
Whilst we admonish our referees for bad decisions, our VAR advisors ( who hold far much more power) go unpunished! These people (very well paid I might add) produce one bad decision after another, they need to be made accountable along with the referee's.

30 Apr 2024 13:05:36
100% agree Matt. VAR should be asking ‘did you see the incident’ if yes, they should ask the ref to describe what they saw. If they say the defender got the ball and they didn’t, send them to the monitor etc but if the ref has said I saw a shoulder barge then there’s no need for it to be referred to the monitor unless it’s a red card offence imo.

The handball in the city game, the ref gave a corner, so the contact wasn’t seen so they should have gone to the monitor, it should be down to the ref whether it was accidental or on purpose, the decision shouldn’t be made by VAR.

The whole point of VAR is to ‘not re-referee’ incidents. So if a ref has seen it and makes a subjective call it should stand.

30 Apr 2024 22:11:27
it was a clear and obvious foul and a good decision in my opinion the ref should of spotted it in real time do.

01 May 2024 05:33:20
The wonderful experience of celebrating a goal with your own fans within a stadium has now become a time when fans hold back on that emotion.

VAR for me has become a technology that sucks the life out of game.

{Ed025's Note - im with you Tom..

28 Apr 2024 21:54:43
Another loan player who seems to have had a productive season in the lower divisions with Bristol is Harvey Vale. Played over 40 games. I'm sure he will progress and have a good football career.

29 Apr 2024 01:12:35
He’s done well but probably not done enough to get a chance in the first team. Omari Hutchinson on the other hand is some player in his first full season. We really are blessed from the right wing with Palmer and Hutchinson but Kendry Paez is the player I can’t wait to see join. He looks like an Endrick level talent.

29 Apr 2024 11:46:33
Hutchinson is very inconsistent has games where he's anonymous and others where he is a game changer.
He certainly wouldn't be ahead of Palmer/ Noni and wouldn't be happy on the bench.
He left Arsenal due to not getting enough starts so another loan period would be best for him next season ideally in the PL if he would be a starter.

29 Apr 2024 12:16:41
KDrog think you're probably right re OH at the moment.