Overall it was a tough performance but one that will have got the rust out of the players legs and is better preparation than a comfortable defeat to lesser opposition. I am always wary when Chelsea go through pre-season undefeated it feels like it has the opposite effect than you would expect. So I am choosing to take this defeat as a positive rather than a negative and think other Blues fans should too.

Lol this thread was created since 2013 and the mods just went and dug it out from the archives, in other words 'twas resurrected haha! Nice one

See that boy jeremy boga he's looking terrific in this game. Opening up space for willian and making a great run.

nateevs:



Don't try to influence how we react to our team's performance. You have every right to not read the comments, if they irritate you arsehole

The thing tire me oh.

Well said bro.

European football journalist Mina Rzouki on BBC Radio 5 live

If you offered me the choice between Morata and Lukaku, I wouldn't even think about it.

I would pay £20m or £30m more if I had to and I would bring in Morata.

That is because I would always prefer an intelligent player in my team. Even if he doesn't score as many goals, even if he doesn't do whatever he needs to.

If he is more intelligent then he can be moulded quicker, he can do what he needs to do. And Morata has Champions League experience. He was second top scorer for Real Madrid despite not starting.

He has done it at Juventus and he has done it at Real Madrid.

He understands, he has the pace, he is intelligent, he links up play, he can be a counter-attacking threat.

The stats

Morata's conversion rate last season was 27%, the highest of any striker to score 10 or more goals in La Liga in 2016-17; he scored 15 goals from 55 shots.
Morata's goals won Real Madrid 13 points in La Liga last season; only Cristiano Ronaldo won more for the side with 15.

Culled from BBC sport

Morata has got more class in a pinky toe than Lukaku has in his whole body. #Fact

OFFICIAL: Chelsea have agreed terms with Real Madrid for the transfer of Alvaro Morata.

The move is now subject to him agreeing personal terms and passing a medical.

Morata, 24, is a Spanish international forward, and helped Real to lift a second successive Champions League last season.

More to follow...

Matic doesn`t want to compete against Fabregas, Kante and Bakayoko.... He would rather stand in line and wait after Pjanic, Khedira, Marchisio, Hernanes and Asamoah How does this make sense? Chelsea have less competition within the team.....

According to AS journalist Manu Sainz, there's another surprising striker Chelsea are looking to Sign. He tweeted that the Blues are looking to sign Manchester City's Sergio Aguero and that Pep Guardiola has already sanctioned the deal.

Elnino4ladies:
Aubemeyang up next

Chelsea can't mess about much longer. If they are waiting for the Sanchez situation to be resolved they could end up missing out on everyone. We don't know what may be going on out of the public eye, but currently Chelsea are heading for the start of the season without Costa, Hazard, Bakayoko, Matic (and Moses for 1 match). Chalobah and Ake were regular subs last season but have been sold. Wasn't this transfer window meant to give Chelsea more strength in depth and more quality to compete in the CL?

Finally

Tiemoue Bakayoko's move to Chelsea is set to be completed Saturday.

Goal understands that the Monaco midfielder traveled to London on Thursday and passed his medical with the Blues a day later, despite lingering concerns over his knee. He was set to sign a contract later Friday, having spent the day at the club's training ground in Cobham and speaking with Antonio Conte.

However, the move was complicated by several factors, with Monaco vice president Vadim Vasilyev asking for a higher fee at the last minute and Bakayoko having signedk several mandates with mulitple agents or intermediaries, making it difficult to identify the parties who needed to be paid and slowing down the process of finalizing the deal .

And later in the evening the player himself cast doubt over the deal with a series of strange activity on social media set off alarm bells.

But multiple sources have confirmed that the deal is still very much on and that Bakayoko is expected to sign a five-year deal with the London club on Saturday morning.

bigkesh:
Chalobah rejected 70k per week contract renewal to join Watford


Yes!!! These boys should find their way and not let a confused club ruin them

Sad to see him go, very talented kid, hard worker and down to Earth, can't blame him for going to Watford, he wants regular game and with arrival of Bakayoko, there won't be much for him. All the best to you, Nathan, have a great career ahead of you, lad!

brainpulse:
Hypocrisy is when you are living in the same UK you abused of bringing/amagamating Nigerian together.

Hypocrisy is when you left your family abroad and beating the drums of war in Nigeria and goats and baboons joins you.

The albino is a scam and fraud looking for relevance. He was interviewed some days ago about is succession plans and structure, he was just unconvincing, moulding words incoherently and had no plans at all.

Ode!

You are so much in a haste to castigate but you can't differentiate which of the Kanu's wife they were talking about.

This is Kanu Nkankwo and not Nnamdi Kanu's wife.

The hate some of you display will consume you one day. Cue the hate dude!

Evans wannabe

Fayose, the generalissimo of the South West. The only sophisticated Yoruba leader i respect together with FFK.

The end game

Sheriff on his way back to Maiduguri

Manchester United-bound Romelu Lukaku 'arrested' in Los Angeles


Romelu Lukaku will appear in court on October 2 after being arrested in Los Angeles.

Beverly Hills Police Department arrested Lukaku after attending a residence on five other occasions on July 2 due to alleged noise complaints, each of which resulted in a verbal warning, according to police.

The 24-year-old was not handcuffed or booked into custody by the police but was handed a misdemeanor citation for violating Beverly Hills Municipal Code 5-1-104 for excessive noise, the department said.

Lukaku, who is on the cusp of sealing a transfer to Manchester United, will appear at the Los Angeles Airport Courthouse on October 2, 2017.

A statement from Beverly Hills police read: 'On July 2, 2017, at approximately 8:00 PM, Beverly Hills Police Department officers arrested a 24-year-old male subject by the name of Romelu Lukaku Bolingoli.

'Bolingoli received a misdemeanor citation for Beverly Hills Municipal Code Violation 5-1-104 – Excessive Noise.



http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/sportsnews/article-4678020/Manchester-United-bound-Romelu-Lukaku-arrested-LA.html

omenka:
It is amazing how the minds of some people work. I get a migraine trying to wrap my head around the nature of their character honestly.

Isn't this the same news media they vow NEVER to take seriously, and whose stories they claim are ALL lies? How does one profess these things and then shamelessly publicise stories from the same source?

In the fullness of time, these hazy cloud hovering above my country will disperse, that I'm sure of. No single individual or a bunch of inconsolable nutjobs and sore losers is bigger than the state, and sooner than later, that truism will confirmed by events as they succeed one another.

We've been down this path before, but I don't suppose kids who were born just a couple of days ago would know that.

Forget all this grammar, nor be by grammar, binders full of grammar.

Grammar fall on you

The chicken are coming home to roost, e go soon clear for your eyes.

Jesusloveyou:
are we Christian celebrating Xmas?
It is the Muslim that are celebrating, and the need to felicitate with them with the very language they can easily understand.

I never knew you were this daft. what kind of foolish logic is this? So what about the SW Muslims ? What about other Muslims in other part of country who can not understand Hausa ? Are they not Nigerians.

And going by this your logic, when it's Christmas Buhari should address the Christians in Igbo, ijaw, yoruba, ogoja, ishekiri, etc.

Boy, Refrain from using Nairaland as your personal therapy session to combat delusional fantasies.

bobowaja:


Please create a thread with this or will you give me a go ahead to create it on your behalf? Nigerians need re orientation seriously.

Pls go ahead permission granted.

The whole essence of staying together is so we can have a robust economy. The primary reason is defeated. The secondary reasons of might and strength has also been defeated. There's absolutely nothing to be proud of. I lost faith in the country already. Any region that feels the same should be allowed.

After independence, in order to build a great nation, each country went to work. But in Nigeria, after independence, our people went to pray and fast.
So, while we were praying, Malaysia came here and took our palm seedlings and built a great factory of it.
While we were praying, Singapore went into investment in technology.
While we were praying, India went into ICT.
While we were praying, China went to massive industrialization.
While we were shouting Allah Alakuba! UAE went into massive infrastructural development.
While we were binding and casting Lucifer, Japan went into technological development.
While we were speaking in tongues, Denmark went into education of her citizens.
While we were mounting big speakers in our places of worship, USA was mounting man on the moon.
After our prayers, God, being a wise God decided to reward us according to our labour.
Since those that went into industrialization, technology, infrastructural development, ICT, education etc have been rewarded accordingly. It's only wise God rewards us with our efforts in prayers.
That's why today, Nigerian pastors are competing in building the biggest churches. That's why there are more prayer houses and worship places than hospitals and schools. That's why people rush to prayer houses for medical and business solutions instead of hospitals.
That's why we don't do business proposals before jumping into business since we are going to back it up with prayers. And when it collapse, we blame devil.
That's why it's a sin to say anything negative about pastors and imams.
That's why our pastors don't consider the opinion of engineers while building and blame devil when building collapse.
That's why faith in God replaces building pillars and when it collapse we blame it on Lucifer.
That's why our pastors are making sure they plant church branches instead of schools in every streets in Nigeria.
That's why we always wait for God to do that which ability to accomplish he has already handed over to us.
That's why we want our teachers to labour on earth and go to heaven for their rewards.
Nigeria is a prayer loving, God fearing nation. Religion has taken the place of technology, infrastructure, education and all.
When we are traveling, we ignore all the necessary road requirements, servicing of our vehicles and pray. And, once we pray, we can put a half fit vehicle on the road and blame our step mother or mother in law if anything goes wrong.
That's why there are more people dying on our roads.
Because, we pray and fast and leave everything to God when God has given us all we need to survive and build a nation.......
I hope it made sense to you.

N.b thank God for these industrialist they are trying their best to make our nation compete in the emerging economies of the world.

APC gave us a President that's not available to do his work.

- Gave us a Governor that believes meningitis is spiritual punishment.

- Gave us an ajekun iya Senator.

- Gave us a Minister that wants to manufacture pencils in 2017.

- Gave us a Governor that boasts of owing 15 months salaries.

- Gave us recession.

- Gave us an Acting President that can't swear in ministers.

- Gave us a comical anti-graft agency.

- Gave us a Police Force that can't arrest killer-herdsmen.

- Gave us global date-stealing embarassment.

- Gave us Babachir Lawal

- Gave us propaganda as governance.

My fingers are hurting, please tell us what this government has given you in 2 years either good or bad.

CHELSEA'S POTENTIAL 2017/18 XI

Just got this on my Mobile as a breaking news. Wow!!! What a world. The midfield enforcer in his days at Newcastle.

Rip Chiek

Officialkplus:
Ppl are coming for you...

17 going to 18...??
Suffered many heart break

Nawa oo

I thought i was the only one who saw that.

17 going to 18 and already suffered many heartbreak.

Hmmm...what do I know, let me come and be going.

What A Treatise:



I was speaking with a very young pharmacist from the South East yesterday. I advanced the restructuring/true Fiscal Federalism as what I believe is the way out of Nigeria's muddle. He would not buy it.

"Forget it ma'am. It's better we just go. Give us ten-fifteen years and see how Biafra would be transformed." He spoke with conviction. His eyes shone with what I thought was longing. "Just forget it. There is no need dragging this thing with them," he concluded.

A good number of Igbos, and I dare add, other young Nigerians, are totally not understanding Nigeria as it is right now. It is not enough to make dismissive remarks like "They were not even born when the war happened." Or remarks like "They don't understand what they're asking for."
Make them understand. That is, if you understand what you're asking them to understand. If it makes sense to you. It even gets more annoying when you hear the older ones, the actors and spectators of the unfortunate war, urge the younger ones to learn from history.

According to Osibanjo, "experience is the best answer for a fool. History is a much gentler teacher.' I agree.

But comments like that could even draw the ire of the young ones who have today been denied history classes in school. Who keeps a people ignorant of their history? But even more annoying is the fact that those who urge this learning have themselves not only failed to learn from experience, but have bluntly refused to learn from history, the much gentler teacher.

And what is there to learn? What is there to understand?

That a boy from Anambra State aspiring to get some education at the prestigious Unity schools has to score about 139 marks in the entrance examination while his counterpart, perhaps even his classmate or neighbour from Zamfara State would only have to score 4 marks. And that it takes an even weirder turn when they're done with school, at which point the Zamfara boy would have over 80% more chance at a federal job than the 80% more studious boy from Anambra. How do you explain that to a young Nigerian so that he may understand?

How can they understand that a State like Kano, created at about the same time as one like Lagos, has about 44 local govt areas while Lagos State has a paltry 20 constitutionally recognized local govt areas. Bear in mind that Kano state has long been sub divided into two states of Kano and Jigawa. Jigawa alone has 27 LGAs of its own. You can say that the old Kano State has 71 LGAs while Lagos still lags behind with 20. And that the entire South East of five states has only about 94 local govt areas? Did it strike you that the South East is the only region still dawdling with five states? It would not have mattered of course if the National cake wasn't shared on the basis of local governments. Only if it was baked on that same basis. How would any young person without a brain for understanding twisted things get this?

How can they understand that in the present Govt, the entire South East has no representation in the security body of the country. So when the security chiefs sit to discuss security, the primary role of any govt, there is nobody from the entire SE region in attendance. How can anyone understand this.
How can even a gentle teacher make anyone understand that a South South youth would die for daring to steal crude oil from what used to be his fertile and arable farmland, while his Northern counterpart can freely mine minerals from his backyard. We only get to hear anything about it when lead poisoning begins to ravage communities.

How do you understand that we have Petroleum Equalization Fund which ensures that petroleum products get to the people in the North at the same price at which it gets to those in the South but we do not have Tomato Equalization fund or Carrot Equalization Fund to trim the cost for people in the South? Break it down for me so that I may understand since I didn't witness the war.

How do you break down the brazen massacres of Igbos, Christians and other innocent Nigerians any time the North wakes up from the wrong side of the bed? Or when an artist draws a denigrating sketch of Mohammed in countries some of the victims have never heard of? Or when a group of girls decide to bare their bodies in beauty pageants? Or when a man cannot win elections? Or when a farmer must till his farmland? Or just about when anything... Just unbelievable impunity. And no one ever gets justice.

But we can start by explaining how Katsina State alone just got allotted more slots that the entire SS, than the entire SW, than the entire SE, than the entire N.Central in the ongoing (or is it completed?) recruitment by the DSS.

And a host of flustering matters.
So what is it you want History to help you teach? That the oppressed should stay calm and "ask nicely" like Obasanjo put it? They should ask nicely for their share of a piece of cake jointly baked by all? They should treat Nigeria with love like Obasanjo again suggested. It shouldn't matter that they get only rebuffs in return. I don't blame Obasanjo. It's probably the way he knows love and reconciliation...one sided. Any wonder his daughter would literally disown him publicly?

I listened to all the speeches made at the Biafra@50 event. They were all rich in flowing grammar, beaming with rhetorics but glaringly bare on commitment. Nobody but Nwodo dared point a way out. Osibanjo's speech had no mention of restructuring, something I can bet my last finger that he believes in. It would seem like we don't want to find a way out of our predicament yet.

Make no mistake, the clamour for Biafra is getting more tumultuous by the day that I fear that the voices of some of us preaching 'restructure' may soon be drowned.
And this house may come crashing on us all.

Food stall 'The Veterans Kitchen' were selling a host of title-winning themed foods including the 'Title Winning Bacon Roll'