raumdeuter:


Yeah in La Liga where Messi and Ronaldo are dazzling where the best attacking talents ply their trade.This yr probably top 5 Balon dor will all be from La Liga as usual since there is no Bundesliga player to challenge them

Im done arguing with you all not until I see Neymar in epl.

donjazet:
16 epl goals for hazard is definitely below his standards. We should be expecting at least 25 goals.
Still waiting for nihilist to tell us his feelings about Conte.

There's nothing particular outrageous about my statements once you view the timeline and view them with the prism of proper context.

I have always insisted that this team is good enough to challenge for the title unlike many other posters including yourself, who were always quick to point out squad limitations and imbalance, in adfition to a failure to land Conte's targets as the reason for our poor performances under Conte.

Now that the team is looking decent, it only supports my assertion that the right tactics was all that was needed to get the team firing again.

In terms of improvement, there has clearly been an improvement in the team's play since the Hull game when I first pondered if the 343 really offered anything different.

I am still not completely convinced by the tactics as they haven't been tested on any real quality teams. Leicester were dire and say what you want, but while we dominated United yesterday, they were absolutely terrible...especially with Smalling playing like a saboteur on our payroll.

Despite my reservations, I am now cautiously optimistic for the future...the team is playing well, the players are cooing in their interviews, and the cleansheet are constant.

And I can't argue with 3points either.

hensben:
Im done arguing with you all not until I see Neymar in epl.

You're still on this hazard neymar comparison, same league different position thing when everyone has realized who is better and moved on

BTW, you'd better be done with the argument cos neymar isn't coming to the epl

Sweet victory yesterday. . . New formation seems to be doing the trick. Back into contention, thats good!

We must not get ahead of ourselves. Lets continue to keep focus and take advantage of not playing European football this season. We looked fresh and well rested.



Hazard fan boys. Must this stuupid discussion always come up when he scores a goal?

Reaction: One for the fans

Gary Cahill and Eden Hazard, both scorers in yesterday’s 4-0 demolition of Manchester United, were full of praise for the side following a scintillating display at Stamford Bridge.

It was an emphatic victory and one which saw us move above Tottenham into fourth position courtesy of a superior goal difference.
Pedro scored the quickest goal of the Premier League season, inside 30 seconds, to give us the lead before Cahill doubled our advantage with a close-range finish. Hazard added a third before N’Golo Kante scored a brilliant fourth, his first for the club.
‘First and foremost winning the game was the most important thing but the performance that went with it was fantastic,’ said stand-in skipper Cahill.

‘We dominated from the first minute to the last and it was really impressive from us. We’re very pleased and I’m delighted with the attitude shown by the boys.
‘It was the way we wanted to start the game, we wanted to be sharp and that’s what Pedro was,’ the defender added, when asked about the early opener. ‘He was first to react and bang, it was 1-0. We played well, we played with confidence and overall it was probably our best performance of the season.’

Cahill’s goal was his first of the campaign, and he was pleased to get off the mark in such an important game.
‘It dropped perfectly for me and I couldn’t miss,’ he said. ‘I was delighted to get a goal, it put us 2-0 up and in the Premier League it’s very difficult to come back from 2-0 down.’

Hazard was outstanding once more, as he was against Leicester a week ago, and the Belgian believes the fact we overcame a strong opponent was particularly significant.
‘It gives a lot of confidence,’ he said. ‘We started well and for the fans and us it was a great afternoon. It was a big game and we’ve already lost big games this season against Liverpool and Arsenal, so we did well.

‘In football the most important thing is three points. We have a lot of confidence now, we’ve won three games in a row and we have to continue like this.’

It’s now three wins and three clean sheets since Antonio Conte changed the formation, moving to a 3-4-3, and Cahill says the players have total faith in the Italian’s methods.
‘He’s an experienced manager and you have to buy into his ideas, we’ve done that. We’re managing to build from the back and get out quite easily and for me, it’s nice we’ve tightened up. A few weeks ago it was doom and gloom but look at the league table. Ultimately it shows character.
‘We’ve stopped letting goals in and naturally that breeds confidence. We need to stay in contention, stay up there. It’s going to be tight until the end of the season because there are some terrific teams up there.’

CLUB'S OFFICIAL SITE

hensben:
From goal scoring to dribbling. You guys are something else. Geez! Now when we talk about hazard dribbling you guys will call it useless. Smh.

As always you don't know what you are typing. It's hightime someone you stopped this abeg. It's not helping you.

I told you when he was at Manyoo, he was more of a dribbler than a goalscorer and in Madrid, more of a goal poacher. And you are here yarning what I can't comprehend.

Compare his dribbling in Manyoo to that of his Madrid time and you will see he dropped considerably with a view to scoring more goals. So you should understand that it's not about the difficulty of the EPL that made him score less goals then, but his pattern or style of play.

Nuff said!

barackohandso:


So na wetin you dey suspect be this? God pass you

Nihilist:



There's nothing particular outrageous about my statements once you view the timeline and view them with the prism of proper context.

I have always insisted that this team is good enough to challenge for the title unlike many other posters including yourself, who were always quick to point out squad limitations and imbalance, in adfition to a failure to land Conte's targets as the reason for our poor performances under Conte.

Despite our performances, there is one constant factor that can't be denied or hidden, THIS SQUAD IS IMBALANCED. I earlier said it would be a miracle should we win the league and unfortunately I still stand by that! But conte is really really working some goddamn magic. Would you have ever envisaged that azpi could ever become a center -back , or cahill who has always played on the right side of the defense throughout his career can be decent on the left side!! Or Moses who many had cast aside will be a very decent rightback?( many thought it will be willan).
He is now benching fan favorites John Terry, fabregas and Oscar!! These were all though calls.
This formation has never been used in EPL history but for him to have believed in it and used it to effectively cover up our deficiencies goes to show you how good and adaptable conte is.
We should really be grateful to conte, The teams current form has the imprints of conte written all over it.

Now that the team is looking decent, it only supports my assertion that the right tactics was all that was needed to get the team firing again.

In terms of improvement, there has clearly been an improvement in the team's play since the Hull game when I first pondered if the 343 really offered anything different.

I am still not completely convinced by the tactics as they haven't been tested on any real quality teams. Leicester were dire and say what you want, but while we dominated United yesterday, they were absolutely terrible...especially with Smalling playing like a saboteur on our payroll.

Despite my reservations, I am now cautiously optimistic for the future...the team is playing well, the players are cooing in their interviews, and the cleansheet are constant.

And I can't argue with 3points either.

True!! I agree with you there! It hasn't really been tested and it may be only a matter of time before teams find the loopholes we have but we can only enjoy it while it lasts and hope our players don't go injuries because any of the current 1st team player that goes on injury especially Kante or Marcos Alonso is going to be a very big blow to the team.

It's very funny when Lampard was said to be superior to iniesta because of his goals and assists and these barca rats came to tell us assists and goals alone didn't count . But they quickly realed them out in hazards case. I don't care whatever anyone says , you can't win big games without having special players like messi, in-form Ronaldo and hazard in your team. They can go it solo and win you tough games , that hazard failed to do last season though and why should nt we feel happy for his rejuvenation?. If you don't like it, kill yourself.

donjazet:


Despite our performances, there is one constant factor that can't be denied or hidden, THIS SQUAD IS IMBALANCED. I earlier said it would be a miracle should we win the league and unfortunately I still stand by that!

If we finish in the top 4 this season, the we would have achieved the feat 3 times out of 4 consecutive seasons. Some would argue that the one season that we ended in 10th was the real 'miracle'.

If we ask you what balance means again, you will start quoting articles and pointing out teams skewed towards attacking instead of defining your nebulous concept of 'balance'.

I'm at work now though so I don't have time to indulge such talk this morning. So just leave me to balance in my chair.

This formation has never been used in EPL history but for him to have believed in it and used it to effectively cover up our deficiencies goes to show you how good and adaptable conte is.

This kind of ignorance really annoys me. Bobby Martinez was playing 343 with Wigan as far back as 2010, and West Ham occasionally played it last season and this season. Watford play 343 now and even Sunderland have done it this season...all before the Hull game.

And I'm just keeping it to teams that start in this formation not those that transition into it during the game..

True!! I agree with you there! It hasn't really been tested and it may be only a matter of time before teams find the loopholes we have but we can only enjoy it while it lasts and hope our players don't go injuries because any of the current 1st team player that goes on injury especially Kante or Marcos Alonso is going to be a very big blow to the team.

Alonso is easily replaceable within the squad. Kante is the only irreplaceable component of our defensive unit.

Just seen Clarke Carlisle (ex Burnley captain who attempted suicide by lorry) on metrolink train. We both got off at Etihad. Wanted to ask the ninja for a picture but I felt sorry for dude so I left him alone to carry on in peace. The ninjas whole face is scarred from the accident.

dmcdad:
Guy talk to your man. His arguments are stale. Nahim dey cause am.

I don taya walahi....

hensben:
Im done arguing with you all not until I see Neymar in epl.

I want hazard to go la liga . Real Madrid . The environment will suit his game more. Just leave the neymar issue for now bro. Hazards last season's poor show gave even some Chelsea fans the right to call him out. Some barca fans have already started calling neymar names now. So shlts happen.

Can't remember d last tym i watched chelsea game confidently... Nice game lads
#ktbffVh .....

P.s... Enough of dis hazard-neymar whatever

Ibime:
Just seen Clarke Carlisle (ex Burnley captain who attempted suicide by lorry) on metrolink train. We both got off at Etihad. Wanted to ask the ninja for a picture but I felt sorry for dude so I left him alone to carry on in peace. The ninjas whole face is scarred from the accident.

Never heard of this story. Let me do some Google...

Edit: hmmm depression, alcohol, gambling..wicked combo. I don't know much about him because he spent most of his career in lower leagues. Thank God he survived.

Bigkesh remember ur promise to get a conteholic account if cfc wins man u....

This new formation will suit Felipe Luis if he was still here. I really don't have much confidence in alonso both defensively and when he's attacking. I always feel that other teams may deem that left wing vulnerable sooner.

I'm not criticising dude cos he's been doing a great job but I feel Felipe woulda been phenomenal playing that role. He'll do a decent job defensively and spice up our attack on the left wing with hazard.

Greatihex:
what you don't understand is that in such situation, he prefers to hold unto possession than pass the ball when there is no likelihood of the ball getting to the Player on the run.

Holding on to possession is not the only problem, 9 times out of 10 and especially when he swiches to his annoying pause & play mode, he ends up losing it. THAT is the MAIN issue.


But hey, I don't want to get into Hazard debate. My point was that the team won yesterday. Thibaut was top class, Azpi ran his lungs, Moses was for 90 mins, a mini Finidi. Heck, even Cahill scored. Matic provided and assist, Pedro scored inside 30 seconds and Conte got just about everything right. In other words, it was a perfect alignment of Sun, Earth, Moon, Mars—and team Spirit.

Nihilist:


If we finish in the top 4 this season, the we would have achieved the feat 3 times out of 4 consecutive seasons. Some would argue that the one season that we ended in 10th was the real 'miracle'.

If we ask you what balance means again, you will start quoting articles and pointing out teams skewed towards attacking instead of defining your nebulous concept of 'balance'.


I'm at work now though so I don't have time to indulge such talk this morning. So just leave me to balance in my chair.


This kind of ignorance really annoys me. Bobby Martinez was playing 343 with Wigan as far back as 2010, and West Ham occasionally played it last season and this season. Watford play 343 now and even Sunderland have done it this season...all before the Hull game.

And I'm just keeping it to teams that start in this formation not those that transition into it during the game..


Alonso is easily replaceable within the squad. Kante is the only irreplaceable component of our defensive unit.

In football,there are general cliches used which do not have general/ definitive meanings but are generally understood. Words like team chemistry, parking-the-bus, gegen-pressing, team cohesion, squad balance etc. These are common words used in football without having a definitive detailed description but are generally understood or sometimes generally debatable based on individual perceptions.
When I say balance, I mean the general basic factors which define player positions and affect general team play.
Factors: Chelsea had a right-back playing at left-back for so long! This limited the the attacking output from the left side of the team as the left winger who was arguably the best player in the team was mostly isolated upfront and had to drop deep most of the time to retrieve the ball or defend.
2. Chelsea had an old right back who was very slow(utter lack of pace) , couldn't carry out the basic functions of a right back such as helping in transitioning of defence to attack, his crosses being very poor, very poor support of the right winger and was almost like a minus in the team.

3. In central midfield, we had very sluggish midfielders in matic and Fabregas.
fabregas is highly creative but defensively shambolic and slow.
matic is averagely defensive, has good tackling but doesn't know what to do with the ball (bar very recently) and is extremely slow!!
Kante is defensively astute , athletic and energetic but vision less and creatively limited and when they all play together, you have a very slow midfield which becomes a recipe for disaster.
we have a no 10 (Oscar) who is known more for his defensive contributions than offensive contributions!!!

4)We have a right winger who has ONLY a high work rate without end product.
Then we have hazard who for all his perceived potential hasn't lived up to the billing yet.
When you look at all these problems in your Team, one is bound to say the team is not balanced.
Yes this team won the league but it is still very debatable whether it was down to any mourinho's factor, over-perfomance of the team, the inconsistency of our rivals and the major rebuilding done at other top rivals but one thing was certain, The squad wasn't balanced and the General standard of the league itself was poor.

It should be noted that the time we finished 3rd, we still had Lampard, Ashley Cole, David Luis and Mata. These players all played huge roles in our 3rd placed and semis appearance in UEFA.

I may have forgotten about wigans formation because that was long ago and Moreso it was very unpopular because that system failed them, so you can forgive me for saying it hasn't really been used. But you Shouldn't lie to buttress your pint. Watford have been using 3-5-2 or a 4-4-2 since the season began, so don't misinterprete that. According to whoscored, Sunderland have been using a 4-3-3 or 451 so I don't know where you got that from.

Ibime:
Just seen Clarke Carlisle (ex Burnley captain who attempted suicide by lorry) on metrolink train. We both got off at Etihad. Wanted to ask the ninja for a picture but I felt sorry for dude so I left him alone to carry on in peace. The ninjas whole face is scarred from the accident.

Do you work the Etihad?

You seem to be around that area a lot.

I remember that guy's story when it came out in the news. A lot of these footballers suffer from severe mental problems. While they are still at their clubs, they are given first rate support with one-on-one interaction with mental health professionals. When they retire, they immediately lose that safety net. You only need to look at the likes of Michael Johnson, Gary Speed, and that former Aston Villa player that got tasered to death a few months ago. I think there was a former Bayern keeper that offed himself too.

Mental health support is very good and widely available either privately or on the NHS. I just don't understand how the PFA allows these guys to slip through the cracks.

To add to that, the most common formations for top teams in football has always been 442,433, 4231 and to a lesser extent 352. As such, one can say the 343 is quite foreign /new. Nobody could have predicted that conte would use a 343. None of us ever saw that prior to this. The current Chelsea squad doesn'thave the capacity to effectively carry it out. So for him to use this formation is a stroke of genius.

Antonio Conte has exorcised Jose Mourinho ghost at Chelsea

]Sky Sports' Niall Quinn dissects Chelsea's win over Jose Mourinho's Manchester United and says the Antonio Conte era at Stamford Bridge has well and truly begun.

In football you don't always get what you want but sometimes you get what you need.

A few weeks ago Chelsea looked as if they were in serious trouble having been turned over by Liverpool and Arsenal in the space of eight days. When Chelsea beat Leicester in between those defeats we only talked about that result as a sign of how quickly Leicester had fallen.
Whispers went around that Roman Abramovich was feeling trigger-happy again and that Antonio Conte was in the crosshairs.

The rumours of Conte's imminent demise were no doubt greatly exaggerated but that's the Premier League. Two bad results in eight days create rumours. Rumours create pressure. Pressure creates crises.
On Super Sunday, Antonio Conte sorted out several 'crises' in one game of 90 minutes.

Before kick-off Conte was one of a group of Premier League managers being haunted by the ghost of a predecessor. That the predecessor was just up the touchline prowling like a grey wolf didn't help. We were wondering if the next addition to Chelsea's backroom might be an exorcist.

No need as it turned out
Having parked the bus at Anfield last Monday night Manchester United gave an early and comical hint that they had actually left the bus where they parked it. The slapstick defending that let Pedro in for a goal after 30 seconds wasn't Conte's worry. Next time he looked up the line the grey wolf looked old and sheepish.

Four months into their new jobs the Conte era has definitely begun at Chelsea. Conte has ended up, through circumstance, with a team that looks nothing like what Jose Mourinho left behind.

Meanwhile, Manchester United are still just the backdrop for the long-running soap opera that is Jose Mourinho.
Sunday was the third game in succession that Antonio Conte has deployed the 3-4-3 formation that he used so well during his time at Juventus. At first glance Conte didn't seem to have the resources to play 3-4-3 at Stamford Bridge but injuries and defeats have forced the formation upon him. The upshot has been three wins on the trot; nine goals scored, none conceded.

Injuries to Cesc Fabregas, John Terry and Branislav Ivanovic were probably the last thing Conte needed but with his professional life flashing in front of his eyes he had to think quickly. After Arsenal picked Chelsea clean Conte came up with a radical change of shape. Chelsea have gone from the frumpy mothballed outfit that Mourinho left behind to a slinky 3-4-3.
They suddenly have the confidence to change shape and be fluid. Results obviously help but the players look like they have bought into the new deal.
The 3-4-3 is what goes down in the team sheets that appear in the papers and on the TV screen before games but when Chelsea attack now Marcos Alonso becomes a winger and when they defend he is a left full-back. He has more mobility than Ivanovic and he suits the new style. His versatility means that David Luiz can do the things he is good at, like moving the ball forward quickly and also be well covered when attempting the things he is not so good at, like old fashioned defending.

Alonso has also freed Eden Hazard up on the left side of a front three. Hazard is part of the new theme at Chelsea right now

Players who were going backwards, getting sulky or being ignored during last season's doldrums are now looking revived. Diego Costa looks better with support around him. Victor Moses is like a brand new signing.
Chelsea are more likely to continue evolving than to go back to what they were. John Terry is just recovering from injury and he¹ll have felt that sinking feeling that any player deep into his thirties gets when he sees that, in his absence, his team has smoothly switched to a formation that he possibly hasn't got the mobility for.

Terry, though, is enough of a leader and a presence that he will get game-time as injuries and suspensions kick in. Fabregas, on the other hand, looks as if he might be redundant.

I don't think Chelsea fans were jumping up and down with joy when the transfer window closed at the end of August. The club's main signings, Alonso, N'Golo Kante and Luiz didn't have the marquee value that the Bridge has become used to. They weren't big statements or bait for those thinking of buying season tickets. They were additions.


Chelsea have gone from the frumpy mothballed outfit that Mourinho left behind to a slinky 3-4-3.
They looked like solid enough business but Alonso had been at Bolton and Sunderland in previous incarnations and his success in Italy with Fiorentina had gone largely unnoticed. In Chelsea terms he looked like a signing who would deepen the squad without improving it greatly. His versatility, though, has suddenly become very useful.
Luiz had caused enough palpitations in his previous spell at Chelsea, while in France he didn't look to have been playing at sufficiently high a level to have improved. The last vivid memory most people had of him after he left Chelsea was captaining Brazil on the night they got stuffed 7-1 by Germany in the 2014 World Cup. He's back in business now.And Kante? Of course one fine season at Leicester but his time at Boulogne and Caen hadn't brought any international recognition. Not that Chelsea couldn't afford it but £32m seemed like a lot of money for a guy who might turn out to be a one-hit wonder.

But as Conte exorcised the last echo of a Portuguese accent from his office Kante gave a performance which suggested he is the midfielder Manchester United should have bought this summer.
It wasn't just that Kante was one of the dominant forces of the afternoon but his goal in the second half highlighted the fact that United are playing at the moment without any world class defensive presence in their midfield.

Antonio Conte reacts after a comprehensive win over Manchester United
By contrast Chelsea¹s midfield is built around Kante and Nemanja Matic, two pretty frightening guard dogs. Kante is settling in and looking more like the player he was at Leicester last season. He has a bit to go before he matches Claude Makelele in the role but even the fact that people are talking in terms of comparisons shows what a good investment he has been.
Kante's energy and defensive ability has allowed Matic to show another side to his game. He gets forward now when there is the space to do so. He is less worried about being the last man back before the ball moves into Luiz's orbit.

There was a bit of cynicism in the air when Kante moved to Chelsea. Players usually use their desire to play Champions League football as an excuse to leave smaller clubs behind. Leicester were heading off on a Champions League adventure though and Kante was going to a club who would have no European involvement this year.

No European involvement might end up the most positive part of Mourinho's legacy to Conte and his players. As Leicester had last year, this Chelsea team has the time to recover between games and work hard on their formation. Manchester United are stuck in the Europa League, a competition that feels beneath them but which involves tough Champions League-style preparation and travel for Thursday night fixtures.

That's football, you don't always get what you want. Sometimes you get what you need and that's Antonio Conte's blessing.

Mourinho? He got the club that he wanted but does he know what he needs? That could be Manchester United's curse.

Media rips the special one to shreds.

Hmmmm....no be small wozing we collect for chelsea hand yesterday sha! But such is life, they were the BETTER TEAM and fully deserved those 3 points! That was pathetic from man united! Totally!



We have a lot of work to do, but I still trust jose and the boys to get us back into the champions league! At the same time beatdowns like this can sometimes inspire something in a squad and then they kick on and do big things, I hope this is the case...




Anyway nihilist your papa there!










**continues munching humble shawarma**

raumdeuter:
So key question,

Did Mourinho take the team to a level they didnt deserve when they won the league or the players took Mourinho to a level he did not deserve or belong to based on his current skills

you of all people should know that it is not yet time for that question to come.

Chelsea here Chelsea there

We check on the progress of some of our loan players and preview the week ahead…

LOAN HIGHLIGHTS
In the Premier League, Patrick Bamford came on as a late substitute for Burnley as they beat Everton 2-1 at Turf Moor courtesy of a late winner.

In the Championship, Christian Atsu was brought off the bench for Newcastle in a 3-0 home win over Ipswich, having done the same in a 2-0 victory at Barnsley last Tuesday. The Magpies are now three points clear at the top of the Championship.

Tammy Abraham played the whole 90 minutes for Bristol City as they returned to winning ways with a 1-0 victory over Blackburn after a 1-0 defeat at QPR in midweek. Kasey Palmer completed his first full match for Huddersfield who beat Derby by a goal to nil after they suffered a defeat on Tuesday night, going down 3-1 at Preston. He came off the bench for the final 25 minutes of that game.

Lucas Piazon started both of Fulham’s matches – a 2-2 draw against Norwich followed by a 1-0 defeat at Aston Villa on Saturday. Izzy Brown started for Rotherham last Tuesday in a 4-2 defeat at Birmingham City and came off the bench in Saturday’s 1-0 loss against Reading.

In League One, both Charlie Colkett (pictured above) and Jake Clarke-Salter were on the scoresheet for Bristol Rovers in their 2-0 win at Oldham at the weekend. Colkett opened the scoring in the first half with a fierce left-footed strike and Clarke-Salter added a late second after coming on as a substitute, heading home from a corner. The duo both featured for the Gasheads in a thrilling 3-3 draw at MK Dons last Tuesday and linked up brilliantly for one of Rovers’ goals, with Colkett producing an audacious back-heel which Clarke-Salter ran on to before squaring for Matt Taylor to score.

In League Two, Alex Davey was a substitute in Crawley Town’s goalless draw with Accrington Stanley. Jamal Blackman was in goal for Wycombe in a 2-0 defeat against Barnet. Jordan Houghton played for Doncaster who lost 4-2 at Blackpool and Alex Kiwomya was a starter in Crewe’s 1-0 loss against Yeovil. In the Ryman League, Nathan Baxter was in goal for Met Police who lost 3-2 against Staines Town.

In La Liga, Victorien Angban started for Granada against Gijon. In Serie A, Mario Pasalic started on the bench as AC Milan hosted Juventus.

In the Dutch Eredivisie, Lewis Baker and Matt Miazga played the full game for Vitesse Arnhem as they were forced to settle for a point after conceding a late equaliser against NEC Nijmegen. Nathan was a second-half substitute. Baker saw a late strike, which would have won it for Vitesse, ruled out. Danilo Pantic, meanwhile, came off the bench for Excelsior as they lost 1-0 against Roda.
Bertrand Traore was involved for Ajax as they earned a valuable draw away at PSV Eindhoven and he also played in their Europa League game against Celta Vigo last Thursday. On both occasions he was deployed wide on the right-hand side.

Baba Rahman came on as a late sub as Schalke beat Mainz 3-0 yesterday after completing the full 90 minutes in their Europa League win over Krasnodar last week.
In Spain, Victorien Angban started for Granada as they drew 0-0 with Sporting Gijon.
In Belgium, Matej Delac was in goal for Mouscron against KV Mechelen, with Islam Feruz coming off the bench for the closing stages, while Christian Cuevas played the full game for Sint-Truiden as they lost to Gent.

In Turkey, Kenneth Omeruo was in the Alanyaspor rearguard in a 2-0 loss against Bursaspor while further afield, in Brazil, Wallace played 90 minutes for Gremio away to Santos last week.
THE WEEK AHEAD
It’s a busy week of action across all levels, starting tonight as our development squad take on Derby County at Aldershot. The game kicks off at 7.05 and can be watched live on Chelsea TV.

Antonio Conte will be speaking to the media at Cobham tomorrow ahead of our EFL Cup tie away at West Ham United on Wednesday, which kicks off at 7.45pm.
The Italian will then preview Sunday’s trip to Southampton on Friday afternoon, with the game at St Mary’s taking place at 4pm on Sunday.

Chelsea TV’s Friday Night Live airs for the second week in succession with Nemanja Matic and Asmir Begovic the studio guests.
Jody Morris’s Under-18s are back in action on Saturday when they entertain Leicester City at Cobham. That game kicks off at 11.05am and will be shown live on Chelsea TV.

Chelsea Ladies, meanwhile, play their final home game of the FA WSL season against Reading at Wheatsheaf Park on Sunday at 6pm.

CLUB'S OFFICIAL SITE

Ibime:


Neymar only moved into striker position for Brazil this year. He was on the left prior to that.

Please tell me how many goals Ronaldo scored under Mous restrictive tactics at Madrid?

Or tell me why Gervinho outscored Hazard almost two to one when they were together at Lille? Gervinho was playing rightwing and Hazard leftwing.

Continue yarning. . . .we are listening.

I don't want to involve myself in this argument o, but, I just have a question. How come the young hazard was still winning the Player of season when his teammates were out-scoring him?

airmark:


I want hazard to go la liga . Real Madrid . The environment will suit his game more. Just leave the neymar issue for now bro. Hazards last season's poor show gave even some Chelsea fans the right to call him out. Some barca fans have already started calling neymar names now. So shlts happen.

Forgetting that the whole team we're affected last season. Even Messi will find it difficult to be at his best in that type of situation the team found themselves last season. Mou man management cost us last season only a blind bat of a human will disagree with me on this.

Nihilist:


Do you work the Etihad?

You seem to be around that area a lot.

I remember that guy's story when it came out in the news. A lot of these footballers suffer from severe mental problems. While they are still at their clubs, they are given first rate support with one-on-one interaction with mental health professionals. When they retire, they immediately lose that safety net. You only need to look at the likes of Michael Johnson, Gary Speed, and that former Aston Villa player that got tasered to death a few months ago. I think there was a former Bayern keeper that offed himself too.

Mental health support is very good and widely available either privately or on the NHS. I just don't understand how the PFA allows these guys to slip through the cracks.

My company has a small project with Citeh which I work on one day a week. I actually just went on paternity leave today and wanted to enter town to buy stockfish and crayfish so I said I might as well pop in quickly for a few hours as I haven't been there in weeks. Funny enough, when I asked the guys, they said City are involved in a football degree and Carlisle is a lecturer on the mental/psychiatric aspect of the game, hence his appearance at Etihad.

Chestar5:
Bigkesh remember ur promise to get a conteholic account if cfc wins man u....

Heheheh

I got this somewhere and feel like asking Chelsea fans how true it is

"Now I know how dangerous the word PECK can affect someone's life.
JUDAS ISCARIOT BETRAYED JESUS WITH A PECK. Am sure you know the end result.
Terry greeted MOURINHO with a PECK and the result produced
P-PEDRO
E-EDEN HAZARD
C-CAHILL
K-KANTE"

Ibime:


My company has a small project with Citeh which I work on one day a week. I actually just went on paternity leave today and wanted to enter town to buy stockfish and crayfish so I said I might as well pop in quickly for a few hours as I haven't been there in weeks. Funny enough, when I asked the guys, they said City are involved in a football degree and Carlisle is a lecturer on the mental/psychiatric aspect of the game, hence his appearance at Etihad.

Oh seen.

Stockfish and crayfish huh? So you sef be one of those papas wey dey hold nylon bag to roam Levenshulme market.

Good to hear that the guys life is back on track again though. It just goes to prove that money really isn't everything...