chara

Thanks mate...I know you are right..I suppose it's the contrast between RA..an indulgance in many ways but a benign one...and the Business focus as stated earlier...Does Todd (and Co) really care if Chelsea beat Leeds (as an example) ?....or to be more precise,,does he understand the reasons behind the glee of a certain group of Chelsea followers..or cares?...Leeds as an example as I said but any of a number of clubs for many different reasons?...just a Balance Sheet Image matter? Just getting old I guess.

Thanks @ROTG for posting that,,,does my head in though.....all very "modern" and Big Business orientated. What about the game as it is enjoyed by so many all the World over,,,in school playgrounds,public park pitches and patches of bare earth all over the World ? Bringing the game down to Balance Sheets Media income and Elite Leagues somehow seems a loss of something..heart? emotions? for an OG who has gained so much from the game in many places...the "benefits" outside of the game in local settings...just playing at different levels..however modest and the sheer joy and despair following Chelsea over so many years. ...You don't know what you've lost.....?

Good question....will he want to come back to the UK after a season back home?....and to a squad he will barely know! ?

OG Jackson assessment. With all that entails!..... too much time, too many Blue games in the memory bank and too many years of "opinions"! In My Very Humble Opinion....Jackson will do well over the years in the EPL..definite improvement in his on field game and I believe he will become one of those players who, whilst never reaching the great heights will be a thorn in the side of opponents and one who the oppo coach will worry about although not in a media headline sense but with a sense of relief if he is not on the team sheet. (By that I mean able to concentrate on other set up issues.) Of course he may just fizzle out and fade away to a lower Euro league but given ,hopefully an upward curve in the overall development of the squad plus sensible additions I think the lad will be an asset...but then again I still believe in Tinkerbell!

Across the Forum there is a definite "softening" of the feelings about The Poch...me included...but that does not mean an across the board acceptance that The Poch is the right coach to take Chelsea back to the top. The Poch has a ceiling quite obvious to most from his past history...(as is the case with many coaches)an average coach...one to keep Chelsea (or any side) "in contention" but never going to break through to the top challenging group....accepting all the difficulties over the last two seasons don't forget quite how bad things were earlier in the season.... falling at the last hurdles in both cups was not so much bad luck as indicative of The Poch's history over a good few years. Not to debate the rights and wrongs of the stumbles but given his track record not a surprise if you stand back and look at things. Unless there is a proven superior long term appointment (Chelsea long term!) out there it makes little sense to fire The Poch at this time. Accept a reasonable table position..reasonable not excellent,,next season and a reprise of this seasons Cup exploits,,and with some luck a learning curve ..for the squad..Euro adventure and nerves will not be stretched..expecting anything more might cause some indigestion! The "established" pool of coaches is well known and once past the Media "fairy dust" sprinkling on the chosen young Turks (apologies CarefreeM,,not an insult).most upcoming coaches are only "good" at best..not great. The Poch will probably join many a coach to lead Chelsea into an early false dawn as one of the annual overachieving "surprise" teams that join the top groupings before falling away, That my friends is the IMHO OG take on the immediate future, ADDED....The player/coach need time myth.... not completely false but how long is "time"...CHO RLC needed time among a host of others........?......some eggs never hatch however long they are incubated.

Always an interesting debate but don't forget to throw in the Media encouraged or rather actively promoted rivalry issues....I'm biased, of course, but for me SFL was a far better all round midfielder/footballer than Slippy. "Charge The Cannons" leadership is great when it works but is a little bit one dimensional ,,,,just saying,,,a good coach would make a SFL/Slippy partnership work....we will never know the truth behind things but the Jose "wooing" of Slippy was an intriguing prospect.....if for real would have been very interesting to see how he would have set things up! The game?....hmm...watched the recording at leisure and even given maybe a lack of motivation from WH the mobility of the Chelsea lads stood out for me...and watching Conor and Cole hit two very good shots down and direct was indeed encouraging...especially Conor's volley....more of that sort of basic technique would not go amiss!..Cucu?..as I said.."Berserker" never thought he was quite as bad as some but it used to drive me crazy when he would seem to forget he had a man he should be "on to" lurking out wide or standing behind him! Just the sort of performance from Chelsea (and Cucu)a side like WH in it's present confusion could not handle.

Agree but for the real football followers opinions and viewpoints stay pretty much within a slightly moveable framework over a season...it's the media's constant search for "talking points" and the need to show how much we need their guidance as to how the season is panning out for players clubs and coaches! My viewpoint of The Poch as an example..I think he has improved his influence on the squad but IMHO will never be anything but an average coach...my anger from earlier in the season has settled somewhat but not my overall opinion of him,,,I don't need the media to tell me what I can see and come to my own conclusions over.

As I said Alchemy,,,, got a lot of lead here if you take it further!..This time next year we will be millionaires😁

It may well have Ham...would explain why it took so long!

@Sciatika...you probably know but in case you don't all EPL games are on Peacock stream here...VPN to me is close to Alchemy but maybe this helps you?

Hard not to agree Mark...certainly not one of those "Win some Lose some" evens up over the season myths!

As Sam says...not so much the check but how long it took...no sound for me so I sort of thought they were looking for an OffSide... missed the "check"..usually I don't miss much which says something........ the almost forensic in depth analysis was "suspect"

@Sciatika....happens at times over here...some strange options on occasion...not so much EPL..all available...but Cup games can have whimsical (unaware) choices!

Great post Sam...sums up ..I think..the overall thoughts of the majority of fair minded posters. (extreme views either way accepted as well)

Wow!.... I guess that makes sense to the media...who would want to watch a local derby between "rivals"? Brighton v Villa far more intense and "neutral" appealing.

Just reread this excellent post...very interesting looking back and pretty spot on...the absolute "Titanic" proportion injury disaster list was something nobody could have foreseen although the potential was there but the sheer breadth of the list is beyond prophesy! Well done Morgs..take a bow!

@Blue Moon.... enjoyable read as ever...and I did notice the Jackson "heading" in the right direction! Cucu.... the word/image that kept going through my head watching him was "Berserker"...absolutely barmy and outrageous reactions with and at successful team mate tackles etc...said in appreciation not censure! Alfie was also very vocal and committed...what we all look for and embrace.

Ok...on rechecking KO time it appears I will be able to watch most of this game but will have to leave 20/30 minutes before the final whistle...so....do I watch as much as I can..albeit somewhat disrupted or rather with distractions...or do I take a more leisurely approach to the morning,(,,it's 7-00am KO) and ignore all possible score info and wait until later to watch a replay?.... any helpful views?

Agree up to a point (low) but for example Mark and I have been consistent from early in the season,,,in fairness I believe we both (and others) have acknowledged the better offerings from The Poch coached games and rightly condemned the disasters..... for me he is not a long term Chelsea leader or a short lived shooting star. Just an average mid table jobsworth without the bottle or ability to go all out for the elite spots As an aside ..watching the Spurs coach post match interview was embarrassing...no looking at the camera or interviewer.... appalling..for me...show of deceitful or suspect body language.....??

It's nights like this that seem to be Pay Back for the insufferable kids from my youth who glory hunted but had no football ability or "genuine" interest...and before anyone asks..I do hold life long grudges!

@east lower,,,Hows the mood?

Yeah I was wondering if we should do a poll but enough jinx'es around!...but a timewasting yellow on Petr or Conor looks a good bet!

I'm not one for a yellow card for every iffy foul but there were a few that needed the "watch where this is going" card...cynical and nasty not hurly burly coming together fouls.

10-5 in fouls and no yellow for a series of nasty ones.

Has the Ref dropped his yellow card?