Chelsea Banter 3

12 Apr 2026 09:21:06
From hoping to be at the game today my health now dictates this will be another game I will miss this season. Over the last few seasons I am now missing more and more games.
Today my ticket will be used by my grandson, carrying on a third generational tradition of Chelsea supporters.
I would my prefer my ST was at the Shed end but for two reasons that cannot happen.

1) The Chelsea are is so called safe standing and that is no good for an OAP who currently can’t stand unaided for long periods of time.
2) The club continues to allow away supporters into our ancestral home, the Shed.

If the protesters at matches want to do something useful, in my opinion they should protest against away fans in the Shed end.

12 Apr 2026 09:53:26
Couldn't agree more, Tom.

12 Apr 2026 11:41:44
Tom, sorry to hear you can't make it today. Still, feet up, and a couple of beers on the sofa. As the District Line is shut, I will be doing a sightseeing trip around London to get to the game.

11 Apr 2026 16:50:19
Ok guys, so Arsenal have just lost, so can I ask: would you rather City beat us then hopefully beat Arsenal and win the league. Putting Arsenal from shouting about a quadruple to winning nothing.
Or us beat City tomorrow.

I'm torn as I hate this boring, whining Arsenal team.

11 Apr 2026 18:16:00
No chance, Finchy. I want us to beat City tomorrow.

11 Apr 2026 20:03:48
Obviously, I want us to win tomorrow, and I'm not that bothered if the Gooners win the league rather than City. Although I expect it would be so funny if the Gooners bottled it again.
I just do not want the Gooners to win the Champions League.

11 Apr 2026 20:33:05
I want us to win every game. Whoever finishes top after 38 games deserves it. All I care about is Chelsea winning x.

11 Apr 2026 20:49:08
I want us to beat City and I want City to win the title. Sorry, but I just think Arsenal's football this season has been dreadful for the most part. Set pieces & darkarts, time wasting, grappling, diving, all of it is bad advertisement for the league. Plus, the rivalry, and who cares if Citeh win another title.

11 Apr 2026 21:22:56
Fuser, am sort of with you. I obviously always want Chelsea to win, but having a few Arsenal fans as friends, I would love to see them bottle all the trophies.
They have been shouting all season they are gonna do the quadruple.
I wouldn't say anything to them obviously. 😉

12 Apr 2026 11:34:06
Have to put Chelsea winning today as top priority. In fact, essential if we are to play in a decent European competition next season, given so many silly points dropped throughout the season thus far.



But yes, I would love Arsenal to bottle winning the league, but reckon that's overly hopeful thinking. Definitely do not want them to win the Champions League, and pity they have a soft side of the draw in that.

11 Apr 2026 13:30:04
I am planning to be at the game tomorrow. I’m not sure we are good enough to beat a City side who all of a sudden are playing well.

I can see Lavia and Estavao starting, but it will who the boss picks as our CH’s that forms will be more interesting.

I think he will go with Fofana and Hato but I can see a case for Tosin to start.

Anyway, Come on my mighty Blues.

11 Apr 2026 18:18:38
You might be right, Tom, but if Haaland wants to score against any of our CB's, he will.

11 Apr 2026 20:50:33
I hope it's not Tosin. I think overall it will be fairly competitive. If we can keep the mistakes to a minimum, I think we're in with a shout, but we could also just collapse as we did against PSG.

11 Apr 2026 08:50:40
I actually think the Enzo ban was him saying comments about how under Maresca we had a identity etc, not about living in Madrid. Which is why Cucu didn't get a ban.
I don't like all the noise coming from players at international duty, managers aren't supposed to talk about players from other clubs so it should work the other way round.



Also unless we lose the remaining games LR will be our manager next season, there seems to be a lot of noise regarding transfers and im very intrigued to see how that goes.

Anyway up the blues.

10 Apr 2026 17:49:11
I had a very good conversation [with Enzo], I've had three or four with Enzo. He's apologised to me, to the club, and we'll deal with that after a massive game on Sunday, " said Rosenior.

"It's a serious meeting about something very serious to Enzo. I said every single step along this way I'm not questioning Enzo's character, I'm not questioning who he is as a person. I believe people make mistakes and you can't overstep the punishment for the mistake.

"I've made a sanction. I made a decision, I made a decision and what I want from Enzo is for him to go on from here and have an outstanding career.

"No he won't play on Sunday. But hopefully after that he'll be a massive part of the group moving forward. There are still a few hurdles that need to be overcome that I won't go into. But at the same time I want every player really, really focused on a huge run-in. "

Asked whether Chelsea were shooting themselves in the foot by not picking one of their best players, Rosenior said: "Football is a team sport. It's not about individuals. It's not about shooting yourself in the foot.

"There are certain values and cultures that I believe in, that this club believe in that makes the team stronger if you get that right. "

Liam in his presser, make of it what you will.

10 Apr 2026 18:46:57
Should have dropped him for the remainder of the season. Also, should have given Cucarella a suspension.

10 Apr 2026 21:00:12
Honestly, I don't fully understand the situation. Enzo is a top player, very intelligent on the ball, and sometimes decisions like this... they don't always make sense from a football perspective.



But we respect the rules, always. Chelsea will miss him, for sure. Players like Enzo, they change the rhythm of the game. You cannot replace that easily.

From Pep in his presser, make of it what you will...

11 Apr 2026 03:32:14
The silver lining could be that the decision costs Liam the job.

Failing to get CL next season would hurt, especially if we're stuck in the Europa League or Conference, where anything but winning would be a failure, and you're stuck traveling across Europe.

It's a positive that Reece committed his future after supposedly having talks about the direction of the club, and I would expect we offer some big wages in the summer to players that are a class above. We will need to if we don't have CL.



My biggest issue with Liam, and it's a catch-22 of sorts, is the way he talks about the players; it's like he has molded them and brought them up himself. It's Jose-esque with the "my players", however, Jose earned it, and Liam just seems like a guy pretending to be a top manager. Why does Enzo owe Liam an apology? The supporters, yes, but I can't imagine many people look at Liam and believe he represents us or our club. He hasn't earned anything.

11 Apr 2026 13:29:58
Tom

I agree with you. They will both be honest soon in any case.

10 Apr 2026 07:36:13
I have expressed many time my anger at players trapping off on international duty. I personally would also put a gag on players' agents. They make statements supposedly on behalf of their clients that do nothing for the club, who are paying his clients' wages and probably paid him a fat fee when his client signed a contract.


It shows a total lack of respect. Every time a players agent says something in public, I would fine the player one week's wages.

10 Apr 2026 14:39:43
Agreed, Tom.

It's always when they go on international duty.

10 Apr 2026 07:39:18
{Ed's Note - Zeddicus has posted a new article entitled, From Rush to Slot: A Supporter’s Breaking Point

09 Apr 2026 18:21:06
If the rumours are true about Frank Lampard being the club's number one choice to take over this summer, I shall be very pleased to see it happen, not only will it unite the hardcore fanbase, we sing his name at many an away game, it will also help attract top level players whilst also offering encouragement to the academy players due to his track record of working with and developing young players.

Whilst I freely admit I didn't want Maresca to leave (and said at the time the grass is not always greener), appointing Lampard is the correct way forward after the mistake of letting Maresca go.

09 Apr 2026 20:25:51
Greenaway

Let's see how he gets on with Coventry in the prem.

He has had two cracks at the job with us, both ending with him leaving.

09 Apr 2026 21:08:59
Bill, Lampard was brilliant for us in his first spell. He got us top 4 despite a transfer embargo. He gave the academy players a chance. He got us into the last 16 of the Champions League, which we went on to win. Yes, he had a poor run in December and got binned by Roman. His 2nd spell, as caretaker, was done at great expense to himself, but was to help the club through a difficult spell after the utterly stupid appointment of Potter, who just about everyone could see was an accident waiting to happen, bar the SD's.

He is clearly talented, loves the club, understands what the culture of the club is all about, is liked by the fans, and will be respected by the players. As I have said many times, the decision to part company with Maresca was a huge mistake and has left us in a mess under Liam, so we now need to correct it. In my opinion, Maresca should still be here, but we have moved on, so hopefully Frank Lampard comes back and unites our great club again.

09 Apr 2026 22:02:05
Lamps will always be a legend but I can't see him being our manager anytime soon. I didn't want him as our manager the previous times and I don't want him now.
Good luck with Coventry.

08 Apr 2026 11:40:01
Linked players this summer

Barco looks done. What does that mean, is Cucu gone?

Senesei looks prefered cheap option. Should help stabilise the cb spot, but again id go Murillo all day long over him. Murillo and Colwill would be a great pairing.

Talk of Van Heck also. I would not be opposed to him.



Who replaces Enzo is the big question. There isnt too many midfielders linked, maybe Wharton?

Up top looks like Emegha will come and Delap will go and id personally sell Garna and give Jackson a look left wing.

Obviously I wouldnt sign a keeper with Penders coming back id sell Jorgensen and keep Sanchez.

08 Apr 2026 15:25:52
Barco would likely be bought for the midfield, not lb, and he is nowhere near as capable as Cucu there. If Cucu leaves, I'd give Hato a chance to make the spot his.

If Enzo leaves, I think we would need to bring in an established player to fill the void. Vitinha would be my preference, but he's already said he won't lease PSG. Maybe we could tempt Neves? Wharton, I haven't seen enough of. Would be worth trying for Tonali, although he seems United bound.

Emegha is definitely an upgrade on Delap, and if he rediscovers his form from before the injuries, he will be amazing. Quenda brings competition for Estevao on the right, and it's no secret I'd go all out for Yildiz on the left.

Let Neto fight for minutes, as well as Gittens, and sell Garnacho.

If we're going balls out for attackers, I'd also bring Uzun from Frankfurt to add another option, especially if Palmer doesn't find his spark again, although he also has had injury problems this year, so a risk.

I'd have no issue with Murillo, and think if we can get Senesei on a free, we should bring in another cb while offloading Tosin, Badi, and Disasi.

Penders has had a great season, but I fear it's a year too soon, especially without a settled, functional defence in front of him. We either throw him into the fire or stick with what we have, which isn't an option. Maybe Neuer would consider a year in London, haha.

09 Apr 2026 11:21:09
Melbourne, all jokes aside, who would leave a top club for Chelsea these days? Neves aint gonna leave PSG for Chelsea, nor would any top player. I think our market is chasing Anderson or Wharton or someone, but I do agree it has to be someone as good or better ideally. I dont think we get someone better in the market the way the club is going, that aint a negative dig, I think its just harsh reality.

Maybe on Penders, but no way is he any worse than the 2 we have. 😆

I have not seen the Uzun fella play so not sure how good he is, but we have a poor track record of signings from the German league, id stay well clear personally.



Murillo and Senesie could be 2 shrewd signings, and if we offload Disasi, Tosin and Badiashile, the 3 fees would cover a fair chunk of Murillo's fee you would imagine.

Please God, its a big summer in a sense, we dont just buy experience but proven pl players who have been very solid.

Very hard to judge Gittens, he hasnt played enough and id agree Garna has to go, hes absoloutely useless.

09 Apr 2026 15:32:44
I'd say it's close to 0% chance we get Neves, haha, but one can hope. My wants are definitely not necessarily likely, however CL qualification would play a big part. I do think Santos can be fantastic next to Caicedo, and is still very young. If we sold Fernandez, replaced him cheaply with Barco, and had Lavia stay fit, I think a main pairing of Santos and Caicedo could do extremely well. There wouldn't be a lot of cover though, and the likelihood all four stay fit isn't high.

Uzun looks a very skillful player with an ability to score consistently, and Turkey is producing plenty of quality currently, but I see your point about the Bundesliga.

I don't actually think we need a lot of pieces to challenge. A keeper (hopefully Penders steps up), CH (Murillo and Van Heck are both decent shouts), a midfielder (Wharton/Pavlovic (?)/Larsson (?)) (ignore which league the last two play in, haha), and a quality player on the left (Yildiz), and I think with the incomings already of Quenda, Emegha and Barco, we would have a capable squad.



Whether they can stay fit, whether Levi returns to his best, whether we have a manager they respect, are all the unknowns. You also have to assume Liverpool and United are going to look much better with a summer of incomings.

Unfortunately Kendry Paez has fallen off a cliff and can't get a game at Riverplate. I think Sarr and the lad who replaced him at Strasbourg, whose name escapes me, both have promising futures as well and could do a job next year.

07 Apr 2026 22:32:54
Further to my earlier post about top five Premiership teams qualifying for Champions League. Apparently, if Villa win their European comp and finish in top five, the 6th placed Premiership team qualifies for the Champions League.

08 Apr 2026 09:33:15
I believe if Liverpool also win it, then it's the top 7. Wouldn't be sure of us finishing high enough still, haha.

08 Apr 2026 11:36:26
Looks like another Conference League campaign, and the first club to win it twice. 😅