LampardsRightFoot

I have to say it's very, very difficult to argue with any of this.

All clubs do this. Also, the fines usually go back to the players at the end of the year via a holiday, presents for the families, etc etc.

This. Absolutely. I'm going to enjoy the season, no matter what. But the difference on this forum after a win, compared with after a defeat is crazy. If we went on a run of 3 or 4 defeats, the internet fans will be calling for change.

Just because you seem so unhappy. If not a new team, then at least a hug. P.S. I'm English, living in England. Cheers

Just a thought... If the club 'never' fails to disappoint you. Aren't you better going elsewhere and supporting someone else? Sure Spurs would have you.

The new white kit won't be for everyone, but I like it. Actually going to buy it, which is the first time in a long time.

Many of our fans did nothing but slag Sarri off. He then does what they want and leaves, and they expect him to show respect? I think Sarri is the type of person that would show respect to the fans if it was afforded to him in the first place. If it was me, my first press conference would have been "I got 3rd, won the Europa League and made the League Cup final with an average squad. But the spoilt Chelsea fans didn't think it was enough so I decided to leave." Don't expect anything positive from a manager that 'we' have abused all season long.

It seems strange that we employ experienced business people or ex-pros to carry out roles at Chelsea. Reading this forum it seems half of the people here could get a deal done far quicker and much more successfully. As for people moaning about Chelsea being the only team to 'do things wrong' or 'drag their heels' - That's only because you only follow Chelsea. Every team has fans that moan about the way they do things. The big difference at Chelsea is that we actually win things. A lot. Calm down and wait for it to happen.

Every thread I go on, you seem to be moaning. Are you ok?

Great ending for Eden. Absolutely gutted we can't keep him. But he didn't grow up a Chelsea boy, so he's shown plenty of loyalty towards us as far as I'm concerned. He wants to play for Madrid and it wouldn't be fair for anyone to stop that from happening. I think we'll truly realise how special he is in the next couple of years because I think he could be exactly what Madrid need. As for Chelsea, it'll be tough in the short term losing him, but could be helpful in the mid to long term as it means we need to build, grow and nurture other players to hopefully fill his boots, and then some. I've never liked us relying too much on one player, but next year we may not have anyone to rely on at all. Time to rebuild... We go again.

This post has made me smile. I've seen so much on social media, whether on Twitter or on here, with fans who don't seem to care if we win or not and many doubting our chances compared to the other lot. It's good to see that some fans still remember how lucky we are to be in a final, any final, especially against Arsenal. Can we just get back to enjoying football, please? Well done erskblue.

If we can't sign players, I'd really like to see us put Tammy up front for the start of the season and tell him he's our first choice striker. If of course after a run of 6-7 games he hasn't performed, then it's fair that he is dropped and we go down a different route. What I don't want to see us 5-10 minutes here and there, as that basically shows you nothing. Ditto with Michy.

The reaction was a little bit cringe, but it's not the end of the World. I'm sure he acts like that week in, week out in training - It's just that we don't normally see it! The players have never seemed to talk negatively of Sarri so whatever his methods are, seem to be working. We finished 3rd, got to the league cup final and lost to the best team in the World, and we may well win the Europa League tonight. If he does that with our squad, his methods have worked. Simple. Still not convinced he should be in charge next season.....

Difficult to argue with most of the selections in this thread. I'd like to throw Steve Sidwell in there for good measure.

How can Emery end up having a much better season than Sarri? If he wins the Europa League, you could argue it's marginally better. But we'll have got to two finals and finished 3rd in the league.

It's not, actually. There are plenty of studies. It obviously doesn't mean every man is more dominant and assertive than every woman. But as a generalisation, it's true.

Just a thought - I think there's a good chance we're using delay tactics here and won't appeal to CAS until the last minute. Reason being, they then have a small window of time to make a decision, and if they can't get this done, it's likely that they will suspend the band until they've sorted things out, which would mean we can sign players in the summer. If the ban gets frozen, we might have an exciting transfer window because we could, in theory, spend 3 windows worth in one summer. Especially with the best part of £100 million available from the (likely) Hazard sale!

With the travel issues, Mkhitaryan missing out, and now the Cech to Chelsea rumours, this final is becoming a little bit embarrassing. In terms of the match, I think Arsenal will want this slightly more than us and their fire power up front makes me think they'll have the edge. But such a circus of a game might play right in to our hands and we could win it. Ideally for us it'd be the perfect situation for a Chelsea win and Hazard to bow out with the winner and a MOTM performance. We can hope.

Brilliant, this. Well done to OP.

The most frustrating with the whole Sarri In or Sarri Out debate is that people seem to attribute success or failure to whatever they want to push their own narrative. The 'Sarri In' people claim that everything positive is down to the manager and anything negative is because of Roman, the board or the players. The 'Sarri Out' brigade are the opposite and the manager can't do anything right, but everything wrong is down to him. It makes no sense. My personal opinion is that Sarri doesn't have the type of personality or management style that appeals to me and makes me want to see representing our club. I was also annoyed by the lack of flexibility and his constant, predictable substitutions. But in his defense, throughout his managerial career, he's done things his way and whether that's right or not, it's what the board employed. They knew what they were getting with him. In addition, the type of football this guy plays relies on a certain type of player, certain philosophies, etc. You could argue that it's impossible for him to implement exactly what he wants until he's had a couple of seasons and that he can buy whoever he feels necessary. If we don't overturn, or at least delay, our transfer ban, then my personal opinion is that Sarri isn't the man to take us forward. The reason being that he won't be able to sign additional players to build the team in his image. So I think it'd be a case of him doing his best with unsuitable players until he gets sacked. Not beneficial for everyone. So I actually think Lampard and Jodie might be the way to go. My only fear there is the current crop of fans expect too much and I worry that they'd be on his back if things weren't going well and I couldn't watch as we destroy a legend. I've read things on this forum where people have said that reaching a final isn't an achievement, unless you win it. There's a maximum of 5 or 6 trophies available per season for top flight clubs in England, so the vast majority of clubs won't win a trophy. We've been spoilt over the years by being 'too' successful. Now all the young crowd think it's a failure if we don't win a couple of bits of silverware every single season. I for one am grateful just to be up there competing with the best teams in the country, and Europe. Of course I want us to win, but that's true of every single fan in the world. But we shouldn't take it for granted. Let's just enjoy supporting a fantastic club. Regardless of anything else.

I think the most important thing to do with a situation like this is to ignore the gender/race/religion etc of the applicant and just look at their skillset, record and history of managing a team of the same or similar standard. If you do that, the simple answer is that Emma Hayes isn't anywhere near the level we should be looking for in a manager. Could she be successful? Absolutely. But so could anyone. You have to hedge your bets and go with what is more likely to give you a positive result. Now if you take gender in to account, this would be a fantastic appointment in terms of publicity and gender equality. However, if it then went wrong and she was sacked quickly, we'd be a laughing stock and it would damage us as a club and Emma as a manager. If she was successful however... Wow.

Just seen on his Twitter that he starts work for Chelsea tomorrow - new goalkeeping coach, maybe? https://twitter.com/capitancarloc/status/752225382888271872

I did say 'seasons'. Can you honestly say we haven't had huge decisions go in our favour over the years? Yes we've had some shockers against us, but come on, the paranoia is insane!

Firstly, let me say that the thought of Liverpool winning the league is as bad for me as it is for the rest of you, however I truly believe that it wouldn't be possible if they were playing champions league or even europa league football. From the second the transfer window shut in September, Jose decided that the squad was full of potential, full of possibilities but it would be next season that it really started to dominate. That being said, how can anyone be disappointed at how we've done? Second or third by only a matter of points and a minimum of the semi final in the champions league. Not bad in my book. As for refereeing decisions and the conspiracy theories claiming the FA etc want Liverpool to win, it's absolutely mindless. Every team in the league gets decisions in their favour and against them and I genuinely think over the seasons it evens itself out. Finally, although it's gutting to see Jose's record disappear, how unbelievable is it to get there in the first place? We all love Chelsea - Let's not forget that. Keep the blue flag flying high.

I actually think the ref got the red card decision right. For me the other defender had the momentum to get back and cover. Either way, it didn't matter. All in all, I think the ref had a good game, and that's from someone that despises him!