Bob Singleton

There was never any serious talk of that happening.... just in the febrile imaginations of bloggers, ITKs who are nowhere close to being "ITK", and "journalists" who were after clicks.

Southampton have been very good this half. Man U very poor. Onana has kept them in this. Big Les has indeed looked good. Tidy, unfussy but solid.

He could do with a Steve Clarke/Ray Wilkins/Steve Holland/Paul Clement type of assistant.

Chelsea are negotiating with the Premier League over a financial settlement related to secret payments for transfers made during Roman Abramovich’s ownership. A financial settlement is seen as the likeliest outcome as the club’s current owners, Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital, discovered the irregularities during the takeover process in May 2022 and reported them to the Premier League and Uefa. An outcome is expected before the end of March, with sources confident Chelsea’s self-reporting will ensure they are not hit with a sporting sanction such as a points deduction. The possibility of sanctions was raised after leaked files obtained by the Guardian in 2023 revealed a string of secret payments made during the Abramovich era, sparking questions over how the Russian funded the club’s success. The Premier League has been investigating payments that appeared to be connected to the ­signings of Samuel Eto’o and Willian in 2013. Payments apparently related to the signing of the former Belgium winger Eden Hazard have also been under investigation. Secret payments would normally run the risk of a sporting sanction but Chelsea’s argument is that any allegations of rule breaches were connected to the previous ownership. It has also been pointed out that the payments would not have come to light without Boehly and Clearlake alerting the relevant authorities after conducting a thorough due diligence process. Chelsea reached a similar arrangement with Uefa, agreeing an £8.6m settlement in July 2023. It is expected that the Premier League will make clear that any settlement should not be seen as a sanction, while it is believed that rival clubs are sympathetic to the situation faced by Boehly and Clearlake after the takeover. There is also a strong expectation that the case will not cause Chelsea any issues with the league’s profitability and sustainability regulations. Chelsea have remained compliant from a PSR perspective. Eto’o and Willian were bought in August 2013 by Chelsea from Anzhi Makhachkala, a now defunct club from Dagestan. Financial records indicated that payments unrelated to the transfer fees were made to two companies, Tobeo Services Inc and Fernington Invest Corp, based in the British Virgin Islands. There is no suggestion either player had knowledge of the payments. Chelsea and the Premier League declined to comment. Jacob Steinberg in yesterday's Guardian

An oldie but a goodie (no doubt posted before)

Official now... https://www.chelseafc.com/en/news/article/trevoh-chalobah-returns-to-chelsea

While I agree that the "pundits" ought to be former players and/or coaches, I'm not sure the host necessarily needs to be a former player. Des Lynham, Brian Moore and David Coleman weren't former players; they were journalists and presenters, and it was, dare I say it, lack of real-life experience in one but expertise in the other, that held their respective programmes together.

If only our finishing was as good as our transitions, passing and movement! Could - should? - be at least two, if not three up..

Great finish from Palmer, but that was made by Jackson

Hard to tell... he's only 19, not played that much for Bayern since joining from Rennes as a 17 year old for €20m, but is worried that Harry Kane is blocking his 'career path' (at least according to reports). Considered a pretty top prospect, though.

I was searching t'interweb and came across this. Obviously all players will be on "best behaviour" in interviews, but he really doesn't come across as a troublemaker. I'm not doubting that at times he may act like an arse (and let's not forget that JT, Jody Morris, Frank Sinclair and Lamps were mocking American tourists stuck at Heathrow not long after 9/11, so he won't be the first and he won't be the last!!!) and I don't doubt that he may have been on the wrong end of bollockings from more than one manager regarding his attitude in training and/or games... but he doesn't come across as a would be 'gangsta'

Came out of Brixton in early 2010s, based on garage and 'gangsta rap' and grime. Very much gang-based. Many acts (though obviously not all) use numbers as names, such as 67 an 410, and essentially you can't like one act and also like another... a bit like saying you support both Chelsea and Spurs 😉 You're either in one gang or another, and whatever gang you're in, all other gangs are your (potential) enemies. And of course, when we're talking gangs, we're talking drugs and knife crime.

This might help...