flllerywhereru2

Having been to champions league matches (mens and recently ladies) and dutch league games i can say that the use of VAR is strikingly different to the use in the premier league. On the continent, it is used only when necessary and you dont get the great pantomime of the referee strollling chest puffed out to the screen and then spending 3 to four minutes checking. You hardly notice it's prescence to be honest and as a spectator sport it is much better. I went to dortmund v chelsea and hardly noticed the VAR it is slicker and not used to create a narrative. In the premier league it feels like a made for TV drama with the officials and VAR narrators of the manufactured drama. I think the game suffers for it and so does the integrity. It needs to either be canned or the use of it massively simplified and marginalised.

So in the delight of two away wins in a row we managed to overcome quite a few decisions/non decisions and still manage to take three points. At Forest there was a clear penalty in the build up to Gustos late chance, not even looked at. At Brighton, penalty decision overturned despite the Brighton player going through Cucurella to get the ball, a clear elbow by Lamptey warranted only a yellow yet Mudryk had to go off with concusion. Yet another Jackson goal ruled out in marginal circumstances and James reacting to one of several late challenges (no complaints as long as lamptey went too) and VAR is straight on it with a red. Luckily we are now getting stronger as a team and negate the misuse of the VAR, but the bias is still there. Getting rid of VAR won't get rid of the bias but at least it wont be on two fronts.

Well written, i remember similar criticism aimed at Tammy Abraham the season that we had a transfer ban, and i would hazard a guess some of the same are calling for us to sign him again due to seeing him scoring goals in Italy.

I think it confirms what we feared that the technology is open to bias and is being used with it. forest were right to highlight it and if Atwell does have Luton connections their could be a ground breaking court case. Just add this to Mike Deans comments re the spurs game at the bridge and the inconsistency of decisions in identical situations....they are scripting outcomes

One of those players who you have to see live to really appreciate just how good he is. Really is world class and i would say great as opposed to just very good like many of the current crop in the premier league. Prior to his previous injury there were those who said he was slowing us down passing out from the back, as the last few games prove the problem lay elsewhere. So glad he came to Chelsea

Interesting to see Forest go for the jugular with their twitter statement. It of course touches on something we have long suspected, non impartial use of the technology. That coming at the end of a weekend where another team gets a penalty for something we didnt just a day later. Coventry had a winning goal disallowed probably correctly but if we are honest weve seen enough to doubt if that gets chalked off the other way round. I expect major changes next season to answer the doubters

Felt for him saturday, he was once again excellent and gave everything. A final would have been a fitting end to his time at Chelsea

Not with us unless we rapidly improve in the coming few seasons

Im not going to bang the drum for Pochettino but also not push for getting rid at this point. We are two thirds of the way through a season where in my oinion we have made some steps forward (a cup final and some wins/draws against better teams). There have also been dissppointing results and performances but for me there is more substance than under Potter. I would say should we make another final/ go out in the semi to Liverpool or City and finish 7th or 8th then the coach deserves to continue as i do not see anyone coming in and making a huge difference with this squad. I think there is an element of taking frustrations of where we are as a club/team out on the coach because he is ex spurs.

Of course the media is now full of implications that the drop ball was not a deciding factor as the goal came a minute later...all part of the plan to brush it under the carpet. Next up how to make citys visit to anfield as uncomfortable as possible...

allowed or assisted...dont rule it out...

I fully expect at least two of their injured players to miraculously be part of the matchday squad on sunday...all part of the pantomime....

I just hope that we turn up and give them a proper game unlike the nonsense at Anfield where we capitulated after conceding a second. Hopefully the defence are sharper and we win the midfield battle unlike the other game. Up front we have a fitter Nkunku and Jackson so we should be able to cause them problems. Palmer wasnt great at anfield either so hopefully he has one of his better games too. But the key to it is winning our battles physically and staying alert to their danger up front. They are an opponent that can look unthreatening and in the blink of an eye create a goal. I hope that our young lads dont freeze on the day.

Totally agree, don't do the bbc these days but the guardian gets some annoying trolls many of whom seem to attach themselves to Liverpool for whatever reason. Luckily they dont tend to infiltrate chelsea reports as much as before unless we are playing them. Theres a few fantastic posters on the guardian, often wondered if they also come on here.

Whether fell or was pushed doesnt matter i think, but most neutral observers recognise a decent football man who can look back on a good career with pride. He is well thought of italy, sweden and Switzerland only here in self important england is he seen as an average low level manager mainly due to two jobs where he took on squads that were not as good as the media/teams supporters thought-England and Liverpool where he inherited a messy situation. Decent guy who has enriched english football with what he learnt abroad. Hope he enjoys his retirement.

Actually it was me who brought it up (the possible pen), mainly to add it to the different types of fouls in the box that are technically fouls in the box that dont get given. I have noticed this season that there is little censure of holding in the box, not just in Chelsea matches. I think it was two seasons ago they were going to punish this with a penalty though the only example i can remember was for Broja who sort of over played his fall for it to be noticed. Agree re the possible foul on Calceido, it did look to be a foul but given that we won little has been made of it same with the incident in the box where our player was prevented from jumping. I guess that will stay that way until one of our players is punished at wembley for one hand on nunez who swan dives and a pen is given against us....

Totally agree, in fact i think at wembley in two weeks we could suffer big time without his experience

Probably spot on there.....last nights episode of the sports soap opera with it's VAR director called for plucky palace to grab a point so that the talking heads in the studio could talk about how much money the Chelsea project had wasted and demoralise them in time for their new show at the weekend....luckily Chelsea were not reading the script...this time...

Another example of non intervention of VAR last night which is as much of an issue as intervention. Since when can you put two hands on an opponents shoulders in the box and stop them from jumping. We must be getting close to double figures with not given penalties/not even looked at this season.

They played quite well from what i saw, with a touch more composure may have grabbed a draw, of course the the turning point being a lengthy VAR check that ruled kicking a Burnley player after the ball went was no foul and that Elliot could not possible be offside despite looking so....

lady Karma didnt take long to catch up with Steinberg did it, within hours of this snide article his team suffers their biggest home defeat for decades...keep em coming...

So the media reporting that the ''use of VAR'' is nowhere near good enough at the moment. It takes too long and impacts on the enjoyment of the spectators at the live event I agree and having attended matches in the champions league and the dutch eredvise i concur in fact you hardly notice that VAR is even present . Why is that i ask? How can the use/ interpretation of it be so different in England? Pressure on the officials to make a correct decision is most probably a factor, which of course comes from the media who focus massively on contentious decisions and without doubt influence the work of the officials in the stadium. The use of it feels different in live televised matches having been to games last season (Wolves/bournemouth/necastle at home) there was relatively little use of the VAR. then compare that with games away at spurs and liverpool where there was several referals/non referals to VAR. And there is another point the consistency of decision making and when or not that VAR gets to overule is an issue still, some teams get preferential treatment it seems and some not. You dont see many VAR controversies when Luton play bournemouth or palace V burnley for instance. I think overall they have to stop being the centre of attention of what should be a sporting contest. Some things of course wont change such as media interference, talking of which in both articles i read BBC and guardian ''Notorious example of VAR mistakes'' such as in the LIverpool Spurs game...were mentioned....now i wonder what the effect of that being highlighted could be...

Jose used to0 do it Ferguson before him most successful coaches try and influence officials. there is of course a difference with how the media reports it...or not

Further to this, actually it did, there was a penalty not given when macallisterwent through havertz to get the ball. Almost identical to Gustos tackle that did concede a penalty. Obviously where arsenal obviously had enough to overcome that Chelsea were already 3-1 down and the 4th goal pretty much sealed Wolves 3 points. As with the Liverpool game VAR didnt cost us the game but it did seal the deal for the opposition.

Indeed, i doi think some of the reactions from our fans come from the fact that people are struggling to accept that we are a MID table side again. Yes its hard to take as it was engineered by outside influences a nd justified through rather flakey facts etc But we are now a midtable side, one look at the results/performances tells you that, we are inconsistent and we are just as likely to get a draw with a top team as lose at a bottom three these days. We do have some players who are better than this level (Palmer, Enzo, James, Chilwell, Sterling, Silva, Nkunku) the rest are either at their level, adjusting to the league (Gusto, Badiashile, Dsasi, Jackson, Mandueke ) or they have been injured/lost form through that (Mudryk who is like werner was, Forfana for instance. We also have players who have come from Villa, Brighton, Palace (gallagher) and may or may not have a higher level in them. Also youngsters on the verge of breaking through and could be the next john terry or perhaps the next to drop down and have perfectly respectable career lower down in the league pyramid. The fact that this squad have to bond as a group at the same time is an extra hurdle, in the scheme of things i think the coach is doing ok as opposed to very well. He is however an improvement on Potter who never looked like dealing with all these things at once. If you take last wednesday, we didnt cope defensively, mainly the fullbacks who included Chilwell who was poor. Silva is 39 years old and still brilliant but no one else in there has his positional sense and he cant stop everything in fact his level is amazing given the responsibility on him. In midfield i like gallagher but what is his real level? Is he a palace player or that level where the occasional goal and outstanding performance v a top 4 team is enough? Or is he a chelsea squad player? or is he developing into a first on the team sheet...note not yet... Sterling was fairly invisible the other day but what did he have up there with him? Palmer was pretty quiet for instance and mandueke out of his depth. That said the team weathered the expoected early storm and should have had a pen. Then it went downhill we shipped two soft goals (though if VAR was used properly one would be chalked off) then we get a non penalty awarded against us. So the team has had to cope with all that. I actually thought the half time changes intially worked we looked brighter, but then we let yet another soft goal in. What foillowed was our best period of the match where we scored and got at liverpool and should ve had the chance to go 3-2 down and get screwed again by the VAR/ref. Heads started to drop after yet another soft goal. What will be the yardstick here will be the performance at wembley on the back of what had a bit of a feel of injustice to it. The players/coach have to find an antidote to a 4-1 going over, the VAR stuff and officials favouring for liverpool want change but our dealing with it and avoiding another humbling must.