Remy10

I think we were due a refresh anyway, right? 😅

I thought we'd accepted he was out for the rest of the season so he could get proper treatment for this and be ready for pre-season - why would we rush him back for the final game, a completely meaningless fixture? Madness.

At this rate we'll be lucky to end up with Ted Lasso.

If only we had some way of knowing Willian likes to cut in on his right foot and shoot

I have to agree that things feel a little surreal as a fan right now. Obviously we're in a new era with new ownership, but the sacking of Tuchel hasn't helped. He won us the Champions League and was there with us through some dark days for the club, always leading the way with a combination of dignity and passion and had built a strong bond with the fans because of all that. He was backed in the transfer market and then, a half dozen games in, he's gone - even quicker than we'd have expected Roman to act! Even for a fanbase numb to the managerial revolving door it was a shock. Seeing so many fellow fans I know on social media sharing heartfelt messages, including from an ex-colleague of mine who worked with him at Chelsea, brought it home how much emotional attachment there was to the man. It also doesn't help that we don't really have a squad of experienced winners and leaders who can help compensate until the manager finds their feet. I do believe that Potter was probably the best call at the time with an eye on getting us to be a bit more direct and another eye on the future and building something, and I also believe we have several players who could go on to form a strong spine, but it also feels like these are unprecedented times and there's a very real possibility things could fall to a new low before any of that comes to be! All in all, I'm trying to see the positives and believe that the groundwork is being laid for a future just as full of success, albeit achieved in a different way. A performance and result from the next game will certainly go some way to calming me down, so hopefully the club take full advantage of this break to have a bit of a reset and kick off this new era properly. I started supporting the club at a time when I was never involved in any playground arguments about who was going to win the league etc. that season, surrounded by Arsenal and southern United fans. I wasn't even guaranteed bragging rights against the West Ham fan, so I'm trying to remain level-headed and not take success for granted or like some sort of right.

Completely passed me by that Luton were in the Championship - and 6th at that! Definitely a potential for an upset, but you'd like to think we have enough about us to get past them easily enough in the end. Even though we lost the final it was a good performance generally, and we've had some positive results over the past month so shouldn't feel like we're in a bad place coming into this. Optimistically hoping for a few goals and a good watch to lift our spirits!

Don't they all share a team bus into the ground though?! 😂 In other news, looks like some Spurs fans are filling their spare time with "Levy Out" stuff - I guess they realised the shiny toilet seat NFL stadium won't win them any trophies. Trouble is, if they get themselves into bed with some dodgy oil state owners, then they won't be able to attempt to take the moral high ground and moan about how we're not "run like a proper football club" and we "buy our success" any more (ignoring that I believe they spent a club record fee on Lo Celso, so clearly if we're buying success, they've been buying failure).

Oh yeah for sure, sorry I didn’t mean it to sound like I thought we were fully out of the race (I’ve seen enough football to know it can all change in a few games - for better as well as worse!), I was just acknowledging that even outside of that we have some big things to fight for this season, which should be exciting if this game sets the tone for 2022!

I honestly think the fact it was in the 6th second of the game made it more of a red card, it was clearly a pre-meditated "let them know you're there early" move. Incredibly dirty (not to mention dangerous), and the ref bottled it. As for the game itself, even though it was a draw, I thought we were brilliant. Fantastic to see such fighting spirit and how much it meant to every single player, even after 2 sucker punches when we were on top. I also think it should put to bed any concerns about Tuchel losing the dressing room. Obviously it would've been nice to grab a winner, and it again highlights that we don't have players with clinical finishing abilities like Liverpool do, but having said that you won't find two better finishes than our goals! It would just be nice if we could score the simple chances as well as the spectacular 😂 Hopefully this is one of those games that you sometimes get where it sets the tone for the rest of the season, because even if we're out of the title race, there's still some big silverware to fight for.

I figured I was the only one with links to Lille on here! My family are from there, so it's always bittersweet when it's Chelsea v Lille, but at least if there's an upset and they win then I won't be quite as sad...maybe. 😅

I think his biggest asset was always that he was one of the quicker players in the league, which meant he could look dangerous going forward but also recover and keep up with most wingers defensively. The trouble with players that rely on pace rather than actual technical ability is that once they lose even a fraction of it through injury/age, it ends up being obvious how average they are, which I guess is why he's fallen off massively since his injury.

I just can't get behind the idea of paying big money to re-sign a player we let go years ago. The pressure and scrutiny will be huge for those reasons, and we know from experience that a Chelsea striker rarely performs under those circumstances. Add to that the pressure of him returning to the PL after a relatively dissapointing time at United. I would love to be proved wrong, however, and for this to be a great story of redemption and us finally managing to get it right with a record transfer for a striker, but I can't help but be sceptical! I guess the optimistic spin is that under those circumstances it's "written in the stars" for him to return and win us the league, scoring a crucial goal away in his first game back at Old Trafford or something, so, y'know...there's always hope!

I’ve seen the debates in the match day threads, I’ll pass the honour to @Zeta, and we can see which colour Stamford will be wearing... 😂

I had to zoom in, but honestly, it was all the thanks I needed!

Yeah, they've also been pushing the storyline of it being a "rags to riches" story for City, despite 3 weeks ago them being "everything that's wrong with modern football". Honestly though, I'm pretty used to it by now - the state of the FA Cup final coverage meant this was to be expected really! Focusing solely on us now, the players have had nearly a week to rest and regroup, and hopefully with the pressure of getting top 4 removed their heads might be in a better place than they were for the last few games of the season. Cup finals often exist in their own bubble, separate from form and recent results etc. and, as we know very well, anything is possible, 'part of the narrative' or not!