The Liquidator

Well it would be wrong not to say a hat full of goals was due in a home game for us, so it was no surprise we at last had some end product to the over whelming control we tend to have in home fixtures. It must be stressed, Everton were shocking and got exactly what they deserved. Our manager again changed formation opting for a 4 at the back, Zouma shocking as the left sided CH. Not sure what Dave was doing for most of the game and Rudiger was running around trying to put out fires whenever Everton crossed the half way line. Alonso, unable to get as far forward as when in a 5, had a adequate enough time. Two games we have seen young Billy Gilmore and he has proved beyond doubt all I have said about Jorginho being a complete and utter fucking waste of a Chelsea shirt. There is no debate and we must now look forward to fucking him off our Island back to whoever is mug enough to sign him. Billy on the other hand has a huge future in the game and I am sure we will suffer plenty of lines from the garbage press on other clubs wanting to sign him come the summer. Our manager after the game, loving the press conference where he stopped our press officer from ending the conference too early as he was enjoying so much taking questions on how his management at last had something to stick his chest out too in the hope it would get rubbed. Me on the other hand was hoping one of the garbage press would ask him why it took till February for Giroud to start a premier league game and how many points has that decision cost our club? Gilmore was named man of the match by Sky. Its not unusual for them to get it wrong, which they did again Sunday. Barkley was FANTASTIC. Really run the game going forward and had enough energy to do plenty of work without the ball too. I honestly think there is a very good player in him which just needs to be brought to fruition far more often than either Everton or ourselves have seen. I hope he gets a run in the team, but one thing we have learnt with Frank, its unlikely as he tends to change far too many times. The front three all played very well with Willian making the Everton back line look like they were all carrying a Fridge each as they ran back towards their goal. Even Pedro managed to get free of them for his goal, which was opened up by a defence splitting ball from Barkley. Villa next and a chance to see the other player I would most like to see wearing a Chelsea shirt next season. Grealish. Come on John, work your magic!

I guess I should have swinging my Dick above my head after knocking out a club having a PL career season, but the game left me more worried about decisions my club need to make this coming summer. Last three games, Frank has chosen a different left sided CH for each game. Its March and he still has no clue who his best defence is or for that matter, how to fix it. Watching Liverpool run around using the ball given up so easily by our starting defenders had me cringing at the low level of play of our team. On another night I am sure Liverpool would have profited from the easy ball they got and been in the hat for the next round by 20 mins in. Kepa, returned to the team also had a pass it to them moment early on, but then managed to get in the way of Liverpools weak finishing. Yes we won, but our young manager still has more questions than answers and in turn the club will have a huge question to answer at the end of the season. 10 years ago I saw a young man make his full debut for the club and run a game with a performance that up to then the best debut I had seen in 40 years. Josh McEachran played in the same position as Billy Gilmore that night. Spookerly they share the same build and fast feet on the ball. Alas, those skills never were enough to even grab a squad position in the PL for Josh. Josh forever out muscled on the ball, Billy reminds me of that previous talent. It was a pleasure to see someone passing to another blue shirt and we can only hope he fills out a bit more in the near future. Leicester next.... another chance for Rodgers to break his Chelsea duck.

Thanks to Blue&Wine for the ride down to the south coast Saturday morning. There is no doubt Bournemouth away is one of the better fixtures for enjoying ourselves outside of the football. Yet again our young manager hamstrung us with his starting selection and as ever, was full of excuses after the game where his interview consists of the same tripe we have heard for most of the season. As we enter March he still hasnt fixed the defence and this week he decides to drop Rudiger and bring back the youngster who hadnt started a game in weeks. Simply pathetic manager decision. Tomori was picked upon by Bournemouth, Wilson pressuring him each time he received the ball often leading to the youngster rushing possession and losing the ball. Again, he isnt a natural left footer, so opening his body when he has the ball towards the left touchline isnt in his favor. I can not stress how much of a disadvantage Franks decision to return him left us. Tomori was making at least one mistake a match early in the season. At Bournemouth I counted 6 before the manager put right his selection mistake. Couple that with his ongoing love affair with Jorginho, who he loves until we have allowed the opposition to be leading, then he wips him off like the manager has at last seen the light. Fucking pathetic and thank the lord the slowest central midfielder in the EPL now has 10 fucking TEN bookings and is out for two games. So thats both the CL and PL that useless fucking twat is now suspended for. We should ask for an extension. I hope its true what you wrote MKBlueheart, in sending a letter to Jorginho's agent offering to drive them both to the airport in support of his agent, forever pulling our cocks that his player wants to return to Italy. You could have added my name as I would go so far to pay his fucking airfare! Meanwhile after his season being spent in the stands, a decision solely Franks, Giroud now seems to be first name on the teamsheet, at least infront of Mitchy in the pecking order. 5 at the back, width from the wing backs saw plenty of crosses from outwide. The inclusion of Pedro was another head scratcher, but as others have pointed out in the thread he did produce late in the game. Lastly, Alonso! I am so pleased for him. The system suits him which I have been banging on for since he has been at the club and yet again he finds the scoresheet. Yes, he isnt a great defender, but in a five he offers so much more. WalterDavis & Lemoncfc question is one that is starting to get some coverage through many media outlets and Tony Cascarino has been one of the first to highlight Franks inconsistent team selections. I have alot of time for the Ice Cream man as he tends to get right to the point rather than pussy foot around like 99% of ex footballers do when evaluating former team mates clubs ect. I believe the club do face a very important decision off the pitch at the end of this season. Universally agreed the whole squad needs major surgery, we need to decide if we believe Frank has it in him to oversee what is needed? As we sit here in March I am torn. The question has to be who else can we get, and only when we know this, can I make a decision on Frank. As much as I want it to work with him, only his bravery playing the young players is in his favor. There is nothing in what we have seen in his managerial efforts which count in his favor and his playing players out of position and team selections which saddle us with passengers from the kick off has me looking elsewhere. -------------------------------------------------------- Haha, wonderful timing those in this thread calling for Tomori

Sat with my fellow Chelsea regulars and witnessed what has been coming all season. Sometimes you have to hold your hands up and admit the opposition were just too good for our team. Without any doubt, Munich are on a different level to us, maybe as many as 2 or 3 levels. The movement of their front 6 was outstanding. EVERYTHING our team does not have. Abundance pace and a centre forward who is at the top of his trade. Their defence was not tested and when we did escape their high line our forwards did not have the pace to even get a shot at goal. Mount is a number 10, not a player who is wasted outside. Their midfield players were so much easier over the ground and fully exposed our central positions. The manager main comment on our performance was our lack of knocking the ball about. We have done it well against the better sides in our own league, but last night Munich dominated the middle of the pitch allowing them to boss the game from the 1st min onwards. We got spanked, but I really enjoyed the night. Our young players will learn more from that game than any of the group stage games and the older players exposed by Munich SHOULD leave the manager no doubt they need to be moved on. It was a pleasure to see a team play football at an elite level and not take their foot off the throats of the opposition for the entire 90mins. The only other team I have seen do that to us at Stamford Bridge this season was Leicester City for around 20-30 mins. This allows the club to concentrate on the league, but to be brutally honest we need to improve if we are going to be a worthwhile entrant into the CL next season.

So Frank plays his 3 at the back trick again and it comes up trumps against a very weakened Spurs side. I have often said Alonso is only worthy when we play this formation and yet again he comes up with the goods. However, the playing of both Mount and Barkley in very narrow midfield positions made up for having the complete waste of a Chelsea shirt, Jorginho. The two youngsters got through a huge amount of work and it was nice to hear the manager give them both plenty of praise. For most of the game we were 4 against 3 in midfield which closed out alot of Spurs trying to hit on the break. Of course we must also thank Jose, who for the 2nd game running against us left out his best player. Giroud got a huge cheer both before the game when his name was read out and when he came off. As much as we have loved having one of our own lead the line this season, there is no doubt in my mind Giroud should have started games as far back as early days of December. Another benefit of playing three at the back is it makes Christensen look safer, pretty much as it did when Luiz played that role in the middle of the three. Now I am not saying he is now a player, but I think he benefits having two players alongside him in the middle. With the manager praising his form this season before the game in his presser, it looks as thou he is here to stay. The two guys who started the season in the middle of our defence must be scratching their heads and wondering if its going to be loans again next season? Great result and a much needed 3 points. I am looking at Leicester rather than the teams behind us mainly because they are all as weak as we can be. Frank needs to be much better between now and the end of the season and I think we will be fine. Same formation till the end of the season? Who knows how his mind thinks! Oh by the way, has the goalie gone for good?

As we stand there is no managerial footballing evidence for Frank to keep his job next season. Yes there are a number of reasons why he should be allowed a second, but nothing he has added through his performance. Another home defeat to a poor side with a lacklustre performance in the final third of the pitch just adds more weight to those questioning if he will ever prove his worth. Last nights game reminded me of Tom Henning Øvrebø. If you have to look him up, you are not a real Chelsea fan. Does not help this morning having former officials stating there should have been sending offs and goals stand which were ruled out. It is what it is, we was beat again by a pile of shit. I have been saying all season long, Frank puts out starting elevens with far too many passengers. The biggest of which is Jorginho, We may as well play with 10 men. FUCKING USELESS CUNT! Broke his record of passing the ball off the pitch last night, took 1min n a few seconds! Only now, 1 and ¾ seasons in are pundits seeing the truth with him and even ChelseaTV, who never say a bad word about any of the players highlighted his faults last night.I am told he is the only midfielder to start in all the home defeats to West Ham Southampton Bournemouth and now Utd. If we are going to play Kante out of position, sell him. It’s that easy. Christensen is not a EPL central defender, never was and has lived up to everything I said of him. Why does Frank keep starting Pedro, but wont entertain Giroud until he ran out of players? The most frustrating thing is there is a good team in our squad which we have seen from time to time and I agree with Glenn Hoddle, of all the chasing pack, we have the nucleus a truly cracking team. This morning I ask, is Frank the man to bring us to fruition?

Like I said

So we spend a small fortune taking FIFA to court to get the transfer ban lifted and then decide to be prudent by keeping our powder dry for the summer? Or so it seems. Plenty of Chelsea scratching their heads n mouthing off against the club, spouting all number of uneducated ideas with the clubs lack of movement in this window. I guess they are fuelled by our manager looking like his world has just caved in as none of his recommendations have found their way to Stamford Bridge, soon followed by his again making public his opinion we are underdogs for top four. Nothing to do with his inability to get the team to play a full 90mins and generate points against teams who are losing to most others. For me I think someone should illuminate the fact nobody of note left the club either and lets face it, the list of players who need to be moved on is far longer than the reasonable amount of players one could expect us to sign in a Winter window. Those players are that poor even Italian clubs wont take them back. ---------------------- Mason Mount starting to feel the Chelsea numptees on his back as his assists and goals have dried up. He is not alone having a turn in form, but the teams Frank is picking carry far too many passengers and I guess it was just a matter of time before they brought the other players down to their level. Kovacic started off the season as our best player, now 25 games in, he cant get a starting place in Franks team, yet Jorginho starts every game no matter how often he is caught in possession and exposed by opponents of not being able to run. Now we have idiots who praised the previous manager for moving Kante forward, expressing a need to replace him with someone who has more attacking flair! The home games we lost to Southampton West Ham and Bournemouth, Jorginho started all 3 games and was pathetic. Frank pulled him off in the first two, yet still picked him against Southampton who ran around him like he was treading in quicksand. I am sure I saw Pierre Hojbjerg have a shaking his pocket moment aimed at Jorginho during the 2nd half. You hear anyone say Jorginho is a “player” I show you someone who knows nothing about football. FUCKING USELESS!!!! and is the major weak point of the front two thirds of our team. Need an example of his poor play? Just watch him in our last game & see how unprotected he leaves the boys behind him & offers nothing going forward both with n without the ball. The Chelsea idiots are the same people pointing fingers at Mount and Kante. Anything to take the spotlight off of Jorginho. Get him out of my club!! Back to Frank, Tammy has gone off the boil, so suck it up and play Giroud. I think the one thing Chelsea fans agree on is Mitchy is very limited so for god sake play Giroud and maybe even play Tammy and the French feller together. Pulisic loss has become more hurtful as the games against defensive side come and go. With luck he will be back soon. Reuben Loftus-Cheek return will good in a attacking view, but we must remember he is as much use as a heart attack defensively.

It's always fun when the windows come around for our club as we tend to be, when not banned, at the forefront of the market in some shape or form. Yeah I know of the twitter feeds that have the reputation of having someone with an in at our club, but to be honest the most reliable info I find on all sorts of Chelsea subjects are matchday conversations with the guys I have been going to games with for the past 20+ years, however the very best time was when I had a friend working for ChelseaTV. He was brilliant for info. I won alot of money when the newspapers said Bony, who was playing in Holland at the time was 100% going to sign for Chelsea in the next window. He told me there was zero chance of that happening, took on a few bets and sure enough he ended up at Swansea. My fav was the telling of Ruud Kaiser almost (It wasnt almost ) coming to blows with others at the training ground and leaving within his first year of the club. I am sure you all know that story. Rather than the players coming in, I am more interested in who is allowed to leave in this window or set up to be moved on in the summer. I believe there are as many as 6 players who will be moved on if we can find buying clubs. My first choice out would be Jorginho with Emerson strapped to his back (Stewart Robson assessment of Jorginho over Christmas was 1000% correct & nice to hear from someone without shit in their eyes) & I have offered to drive him n his family to the airport. One presumes for every out, Frank would want one in. We shall see. ------------------------------------------ Brighton was more of the same. Unable to kill them off, allowing them a chance till the end. Their goal came from Odi losing the ball allowing a counter attack. We can only imagine Frank sold his soul to Odi's family who in turn have raped our club of a contract which will burn us with each passing year. News Tammy wants not a penny less. BLOODY RIGHT! Frank facing plenty of questions on Odi in last few pressers & it does sound more n more he promised far more than he should have to get him to sign. The boy has been disappointing all season long and as I said at the time, should of called his bluff & sold him. Needs to out on loan. Forest at the weekend ~ What kind of team will Frank put out?

Strange run of results? You better believe it. West Ham Bournemouth and Southampton have been bordering on some of the most pathetic 80’s-90’s level home performances I can remember attending. Throw in amongst those fixture two visits to North London gaining two wins and you have some idea of the roller coaster season us Chelsea fans are enjoying. Enjoying? Well I am not sure if that’s the right word. Last season, even with silverware, was no more than a 3 or 4 out of ten. This season Franks return, the playing of our homegrown's and the bringing of most of the faithful back together is all contributing to a season we are not used too. There are games when Enjoying is by far the correct word. Feeling so down on the underground after suffering the Southampton game contemplating not being able to sit with my Arsenal friends in their stadium a few days later for fear of a footballing spanking. Haha, it’s a great season and BobsKnobb season description stealing Forrest Gump’s “Box of Chocolates” line is bloody brilliant. We truly have no idea what we are going to get from game to game. So away to Arsenal. We were getting stuffed, truly no idea what was going on and after 30 mins substituted one shit player for another. It was shocking. Their manager sussed ours, knew he would start with his winning White Hart Lane formula and asked his players to play at a very high intensity which they were not used too. For pretty much all of the first half they bossed the game. Some are saying Frank changed the game from the bench. DON’T YOU BELIEVE IT. The reason the game changed was because Arsenal players were knackered 10 mins into the 2nd half. Their high press became a stand at the half way line and allow us to move the ball about far more freely. The shit midfielder who came on for the worst defender in the Premier League managed to get booked and should have been sent off as he cant fucking defend and fouls all players who run by him for fun. For him to score the equalizer is clouding people dumbass opinion. The Arsenal fans sitting all around me knew what had happened and there is no doubt we had a HUGE slice of luck to get that result. A pure example of how tired Arsenal were is the 2nd goal. Willian out sprinted the Arsenal defensive players to get up alongside Tammy, and while he almost fucked it up by running too wide, Tammy got him out of jail with a very well taken goal. I don’t think I can remember a Arsenal manager who asked his two wide players to double back as full backs. There was no chance they could get through the whole of the game playing like that and to be fair to their manager, he did speak about they were not used to doing as he asked in his after presser, a presser I thought he was very impressive. So both North London Giants put in their place back to back, with the hope our home form is a little better when the reverse fixtures come around. Window opens tomorrow. I am sure you have all heard the rumours on who might be coming to the club, but something that I heard gentle waves soon after Boris took over the PM job might be coming too fruition. Roman may get a new visa in the new year after the Torys won by a landslide. We shall see. Wishing you and your families a wonderful safe night tonight and A Happy New Year

Just a point on De Bruyne & Salah. Jose wanted him to stay. It was the boy himself who insisted he leave the club which too his credit he is on record many times confirming. Anybody who said they knew Salah would have the career he has since he left Chelsea is a FUCKING LIAR. The boy was terrible, scared beyond belief at Stamford Bridge which he pretty much admitted and looked no more than a serie B player at best. Granted once he went on loan he began to be the player he has become and ended up at Liverpool, who Jose gazumped to get him in the first place. That's football, some you win some you lose. At least we got the best one right in Hazard.

The Southampton performance was the worst of many home performances this season. Huge question mark over the managers head until he proves he can get these players to perform in these fixtures against the clubs that make up the Premier League. So far he is being made to look a class A prick by almost all managers who visit Stamford Bridge. Its all well and good he bemoaning we dont have the flair players to open up the two banks of 5 visiting clubs set up as against us. This is where a manager earns his right to be manager by finding a way to win these games. End of the game was met with boo's. Not that loud because the stadium was almost half empty by that time. The previous manager was fucking useless, saved by the best player at the club during the last decade. The garbage he both put out on the pitch and offered with his mouth had me convinced he needed to be moved on before Christmas (Well to be totally frank, by September I knew we had made a mistake). West Ham Bournemouth and now Southampton, 3 exactly the same games where they have set up defensively and we have not had a Scooby on how to break them down. This is 100% down to Frank. As I have said in the past, Frank gets the longest slack of rope to get it right, but lets just state a fact that he has slid down half of it after the Southampton game. Boo's? You better believe it, it was fucking dreadful. They knew our manager does not have the know how to manufacture a home game win when the away side come not to play. It's not Rocket science what they are doing, they are all setting a Mouse Trap and our Frank walks into it each game. Last seasons manager heard boo's from October till the end and he was fucking hated with a passion by the real fans who go to games. Be warned Frank, home performances have not been good enough ALL SEASON. We now go into the Arsenal game pretty much feeling as we did going into the Spurs game. I'll be there!

Like Conte before him, Frank reverted to a back 3 to shore up our very leaky defence. As with Conte it worked like a charm and it was obvious to anyone watching what Frank had us doing on the training ground all week. What was plain, Jose didn’t see it coming. So much so he resulted to his usual deflecting garbage after the game to cloud how badly he had been sussed. We must thank him too. Not starting Eriksen was wonderful for us. For me he is their best player, the one player who makes them tick and to face a center midfield duo of Dier & Sissoko instead was a major factor in the ease we gained the 3 points. Thanks Jose! Talking of midfields, looks as thou Frank has at last tumbled who are our best starting central pair. Kovacic and Kante bossed the middle of the park linking up well with each other and the players further forward, plus bringing in both wing backs into the game when needed. Defensively they snuffed out most of the Tottenham possession showing excellent athletic ability to cover from touchline to touchline. Praise due too for the manager of his substitution of Kovacic. He had been booked and replacing him soon after the Red card stopped any soft evening up by the referee. Jorginho came on and promptly lost the ball twice with nobody about him and ran about as thou he was carrying a Fridge on his back, but I think Frank did the right thing. Looking too the future James could be the one taking over from Kovacic. Willian getting plenty of praise for his match winning performance and rightly so. I admit he is a Marmite player who can frustrate the hell out of us. Every now and then he puts in performances like Sundays and we all smile in unison. I hope to hear we have signed him up for another two years. Another player I tend to defend, well better than he can defend, is Alonso. Right system and he becomes half decent. Won us a penalty good distribution and a much more penetrating cross in from the left side than other players who have been wide left this season. I was happy for him and this performance must put a huge question mark against those who believe he is on the way out this window. Frank marched too us after the game and celebrated as thou we had just won the league again. Can’t help love the bloke. He understands us better than any of the managers we have had this century and the huge advantage he has over them is he can communicate with us in our mother tongue. We are all in with him and while I will continue to point out the things I do not agree with, he gets the longest length of slack to get it right in the long run. These 3 points were down to him. However without the same points gained against Southampton on Boxing day... no need to describe that feeling. Lastly, Tottenham’s new ground will do the London NFL franchise proud. Surly its built for their clientele in mind over their real football followers? Wasted on them. Wishing you and your families the very best of Christmases!

No, you are not alone. Many are picking up on his first touch being weak and his overall play being less than convincing. It's to be seen if he will live up to the hype, or he was kept to get his so called best friend in football to sign for us?

The most painful watch since many of last seasons games. Unlike the many games we were this bad last season, Frank escaped the bad feeling towards the then manager. I have to say I don’t think I have seen the team look so lacking ideas from the first whistle. As I have said, Frank isn’t great influencing a game from the bench and Saturday was another example. That’s not to say his starting eleven was any better. It's not Rocket science how West Ham and now Bournemouth set up against us. In both games Frank picked the wrong starting elevens. Jorginho is a waste of space in 90% of games, but when a club turn up n have 11 behind the ball, he is the weight that drags us under the water. Jorginho was pulled off in both said games. He was not the only selection mistake. Why James was rested\dropped is beyond me. Dave reversed back to right back and the useless Emerson brought in the left were mistakes. The biggest selection wrong was no Kovacic. I could not believe my ears when the team was read out. It’s as thou Franks believes we are good enough to rest players. We sure aren’t! Alonso who again didn’t make the bench would often turn in important games in these kind of fixtures. Barkley was another missing from the bench, yet Pedro made it. Again very strange. Sitting on the train traveling home playing the game and Franks decisions over in my mind, I have to admit I feared for both the club & him. I wondered what Jody keeps telling him during these games when the players he has picked are failing him? You see them together, Jody talking Frank nodding. Yet nothing happens out of the norm. Anyway, by the time I got home I was pretty downbeat. Then I saw Franks presser after the game on youtube and suddenly I feel more optimistic. He said all the right things, looked like how I felt and you could tell he has the club inside him. So we again put our trust in him and allow him the slack to get it right. Important we remember our expectations back in August.

Dont rate most of the players you already have. One of the few players it would trouble me if he signed for you.

Very interesting starting eleven from Frank last night. Only one of our youth products started, Tammy, as Frank retreated into his shell taking a more conservative stance in a must win game. Baring in mind Lille played a much weakened starting eleven we could have hoped for a much more dominant display and result. What we got was more of the same chance making & failing to kill off an opposition we have been fed in 80% of our games this season. Flipping Dave back to the right bringing in Emerson and at last Rudiger getting a run out, Frank has a habit of changing the starting defence from game to game. It’s not difficult to understand why, but for this game we again have to question his starting selection. These changes at the back and the starting of Jorginho alongside Kante & Kovacic for me are defensive selections. While we won, it would be difficult to find someone with a good football intelligence to say Frank made it an easier night with the selection decisions he made. We must be thankful we are in the hat for the knockout stage with our fingers crossed we draw a German team that’s not Munich. ----------------- I am not enjoying Frank’s fending off questions from the media on what we have planned for the January window. He is too helpful with his answers and I hope the club make it plan during the window he has very little to do with any decisions we make. How he allowed the making good replacing the loss of Hazard, when it wasn’t even on the agenda is very weak. I have always thought he was a very intelligent man and have enjoyed the effortless way he has kid gloved the media, but of late, then the media have had a run of questionable results and reasons to fire more penetrating club questions at him, he looks and sounds uneasy. Fix the fucking defence Frank!

What do you think of Grealish?

I didn’t go to the game. Watched it via BT coverage on the telly and like most Chelsea fans saw where the result was going from their first goal. For me summing Chelsea up at the moment is very easy. The defence hasn’t improved since the first game of the season. 16 league games half a dozen cup games and Frank has failed to improve a lack luster group of defenders who find both defending and keeping possession of the ball difficult. When I take my Chelsea hat off and try and be as honest as one can, we are very lucky to be in the top four and still in the CL. Rather than go through the defenders one on one I will state the obvious. Christensen, chosen by the manager to replace the dropped\rested Tomori has been terrible in the last two games. I believe a decision needs to be made on him. He has not improved over the time he has been at the club and is still a liability when the ball is in the air. Many have been calling out the goalie these last couple of months. I have always had a question mark over him since I learnt the length of his contract. Yesterday he again fucked up, this time costing us a goal through his inability to pass the ball. We have other weaknesses at the back which Frank has failed to address. I guess this next window will be the first time he has had the chance to fix. We shall see. I felt the rest of the team played well other than failing again to score from the many chances we created. There is a lot of pressure on these boys now because we know we are going to concede at least 2 goals. I lost count of the chances Tammy either had or was in position to receive a shot opportunity. He has plenty of goals so far, but I do believe he needs some competition up front. When MHEnd777 says there is no reason to keep Giroud or Mitchy till the end of the season, I tend to agree, as long as suitable replacements can be found. And I mean two players. 3 league defeats in the last 4 games. Lemoncfc points out Franks time at Derby also gave some runs like this, normally defeats with more conceded than we currently are. This looks like to be a theme of Franks. Good points. After such a disappointing result you would think there would be few good points, but there is no doubt we have a proper midfield pair in Kante and the much improved Kovacic. You can add my name to Bazilfoolty StamfordSid WalterDavis TheRealFatFrank JentheBaller 7OaksCFC & others who see no reason to keep Jorginho around and he should be used as a make weight in a deal that more benefits this young squad. I have to say Kovacic has won me over and I think the major reason for his up turn in form is the loss of Hazard. I lost count the amount of time he passed to Hazard when he had the ball. This season, with that outlet removed he is taking more responsibility on himself either by running with the ball forward or looking for a more telling pass infield. Kante is Kante, while he isn’t as good on the ball as Jorginho (Who is also known to pass the ball to the opposition with no pressure on him) without the ball he is 500% better and when you have a defence which is as leaky as ours, it’s a no brainer selection. None of the conceded goals were down to those two. The front four played well together. They are making chances but for whatever reason, they are not taking enough of them. I would have liked Barkley introduced early in the 2nd half, but that has more to do with my feeling old boys tend to come back n haunt. Talking of substitutions, was Willian injured? Mitchy for James? I kinda get the latter one as we needed a goal, but I find it very difficult to warrant any substitution involving CHO, who for me shouldn’t be at the club. He is far from ready and it fucks me off every time I see him on the pitch, GLOVES n all. So onto ChelseaTottys brilliant post on the ban lifting and our first chance to see the magnificent Chelsea threesome (What a description ChelseaTotty!) of Frank Big Pete and Marina in action. I think you make some great suggestions and raise some thought provoking questions, none more than Pete’s opinion on the goalie. With a war chest full to the brink and a number of players who could be offloaded to sweeten any deals to help get the players we want, it could be a very exciting window. On the other hand, do we sit tight and make do with what we have and spend the next 6 months getting ready to make one hell of a splash come the summer? For me this window? Frank, just sort the fucking defence out or we wont be in the CL next season. Hope to see many of you Tuesday night

Is he still your manager for the future?

So, some good news on the transfer ban. Villa game. I liked the starting selection other than Tomari again being benched for Christensen. Their goal Christensen was weak in his battle with his man which allowed the ball to fall to the next player. It's a part of his game which needs improvement or he can leave. Loved the midfield two. Happy Tammy was back. Team made plenty of chances again, but failed to kill the game off leaving another nervy ending. One of the best young players I have seen live this season was Hakim Ziyech of Ajax. I have now seen another. Jack Grealish is good enough to have a big club buy and build a team around. Outstanding talent. Hate to say it, but he is the first United building block. Not they are bright enough to know! Typical Everton remove their manager just before we play them! I am thinking of having a fair sized wager on Zouma, if he starts to score at anytime?

Saturdays performance and result is firmly put down to the managers starting selection. There was only the one forced changed, being Tammy. The other decisions were manager inflicted highlighting his inability to change the outcome of the game once it started. The Good. James: While their goal came down his flank, he continues to perform as thou he is a 150 game pro. It will be surprising if he isnt England's starting Right back come the summers competition. Goalie made some good saves. The Bad. Giroud Mount Pedro & Emerson. No description needed The Ugly Our Frank. Quite simply a pathetic days work where his immaturity as a manager shone through leaving us all without any doubt he is years away from being the finished article. In a game were we was 1-0 down, we played the 24 mins without a center forward due too his tinkering from the bench. If nothing else, he must have learnt how old pro's react to being frozen out when labeled to be moved on. Jorginho. In the week when Chelsea fans voted him out of the starting line up on Football London, he again found himself getting the hook off the pitch after another nonentity display. I have seen some poor performances by my club over the years, but I am hard pushed to think of such a performance caused by the sideline at home. Probably AVB insistence we played a high line against Arsenal at home that lead to a heavy defeat. Frank should be happy the squad does not contain as powerful people as AVB's squad did back then Tammy is possible for the Villa game. Frank needs to take his head out of his ass and stop selecting players who are already looking too their new clubs in January or soon after.

I would like to know who made the decision to sign him.

My second visit to Valencia for a Champions League game proved to be just as exciting as the first, alas no late Essien goal to send us all home with a win. Have to admit, we should have lost and any decent team who were offered as many great chances to score as Valencia were would have scored a hat full. Very disappointed Frank saw fit to change the 2 CH’s after they got some questioning remarks from ex pro’s this past weekend. Christensen did not improve anything and when the manager decided to go 5 across the back we actually looked weaker as a unit. Ok the good. Pulisic again looks a proper prospect who some are saying he looks very much like Hazard when he first arrived from France. If he turns out half as good as our fav Belgium it would be money well spent. Kovacic. That boy gets through some work during a game. Loved his goal, celebration even more which I hope his hand gesture was pointed at people like me who have been flagging up his lack of goals n assists. An assist and a goal in back to back games is wonderful for him. Now we know you can do it…. PLEASE CONTINUE! The Bad. Our Frank. I didn’t like the starting selection he made his substitutions and change of formation. We are a 3rd of the season in now and as a defensive unit we have not improved. This is down to him. If he cant get that right he needs to employ a coach who works with the defenders. I understand Rudiger is about to be available, but for me there were times last season he wasn’t the shut down defender some would have you believe. Kante’s ball control and distribution. Ever so poor last night. Mitchy. Waste of a shirt. The Ugly Kepa. I know he saved a penalty, but before the end of the game yet another goal went in over his head. Some here have said he should have done better with the first goal too. I couldn’t tell from where I was in the ground but I will watch the game back this afternoon as long as BT havent changed the channel. I hope he gets better as he is a real worry. The Ugly two Referee. It seemed very one sided, weak n caved in to a home crown, who to be fair were very impressive. I haven’t watched the game back yet so I would be interested if anyone else felt the same? We have to win our last CL game to advance. While Lille are bottom of the group, I remember them giving us plenty of problems and its unlikely we will keep a clean sheet, as per the norm. It’s a cracking night to look forward too with hope we perform well enough to sneak through. West Ham Saturday…. Once upon a time my fav fixture of the year. C U there :)

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