Boston Blue

Players may come, players may go. But the trophy remains at the Bridge..........

If he did this, there are too many young influential players in that dressing room. You simply cannot allow that disrespect. Jose didn't play him, so he went to PSG. Conte didn't play him and he sulked. Now he tossed his toys out of the pram when a coach dared to offer feedback. We really had no choice but to get rid of him.

It's been reported that it's not his FB page. Which is good since his father, on a couple of occasions, has said his son needs to play at Chelsea or else he'd have to look to move on.

They just need to give the ball to Jorginho or Kovacic. I think we're looking for our defenders to defend.

We have a young an influential squad. I would have liked him to stay and use his experience and (stated) love of Chelsea to help mentor some of the younger players. If there was any thought that his attitude might poison the younger players or undermine the manager, I can see where we might want to get him out. He could have stayed and fought for his place realizing that players get hurt, or young players might experience a dip in form. But he chose to bail out at the first sign of things not going his way. I don't see the logic in selling him to a club that will rival us for a top 4 spot. They are weak defensively, so we sell them a defender. I don't get it, but then again, I haven't understood the previous times when we sold players to rivals...….

Clearly Luiz is not happy at something that has happened since he signed the extension. The reason(s) for that unhappiness is speculation. I think the message is that Frank wants defenders who can defend, whereas Sarri wanted someone who could play balls out of the back. The priorities in system and style of play will be different. And as for defending, Luiz is a 32 year old guy with little pace who is prone to rash actions and lapses in concentration. Even his free kicks have become unproductive. I was surprised we gave him a 2 year extension, likely because we were backing Sarri. I like that the move helps establish Lampard's authority as boss, and that personal relationships won't influence footballing decisions. If Lampard comes in and says all the young players have an equal shot at playing, then the best players have to play. And he said he only wanted players that wanted to be Chelsea players. It seems for all the positive comments Luiz had about Chelsea were only true while he was playing. If he truly meant them, I think he would have stayed and fought for his place, showing leadership by respecting Lampard's decision and working to prove him wrong.

Agree. He's better when he knows one mistake won't get him replaced.

I agree. Luiz, Alonso, even Emerson to some extent are essentially offensive defenders. There for their abilities to play out of the back, play good balls, cross, make runs down the wing, etc. Like you, I want my defenders defending, doing what they can to prevent goals and chances. That should be their priority. If they can chip in with some offensive contributions, that's a bonus. With Zouma, I think we look at how big and strong he appears to be, and we think he should be more physically dominant. Christensen, Rudiger, Luiz are not tall or particularly muscular, so I don't think they scare many attackers with their physicality.

1) M City 2) Liverpool 3) Spurs 4) Arsenal 5) Chelsea 6) M United I think Arsenal will score a ton, which they'll have to do to overcome their defensive issues. I think they'll pip us to 4th on GD. I think there's just a bit too much youth and inexperience in our side, and we will miss Ruben and CHO the first part of the season. They both carry a threat to opposing defenses that we will miss. I think Ole will be United's weak link.

I know those close to the club believe the deal is done. I thinks it's curious that the deal hasn't been announced. And until it's announced, there's always the chance that his head could be turned (again) by Bayern. Especially since his agent/brother seems to have a good relationship with Bayern. Reports are deal was done, then there were reports it was close, then it was believed the club were waiting until the players came back from Asia, now pre-season is done and still nothing. It's a distraction that Frank will be asked about at every press conference, and if the deal is done, then announcing it eliminates that distraction. Cryptic social media posts do nothing to answer the questions.

I agree with this. I always thought he played very deliberate and tentative. But he was totally passive vs BM, deferring to other defenders to step in and make a play instead of taking charge himself. We can't have a central defender standing in the box waiting for a teammate to deal with the danger.

Agreed. It would cost more to replace him. The money is there...….No one says Liverpool overpaid for VvD, or that United are about to overpay for Slabhead Maguire. Most supporters wanted him to stay. If that's what it took, then we should just be happy it got done.

I think, perhaps, you've missed the intended humour of my post...….

Ah. So that's how we can afford to pay an 18 year old £100k a week...……...

I still cannot, for the life of me, understand why the club do this Media Watch thing. It's utterly embarrassing for them to be essentially legitimizing media gossip.

Last year, the pressure was on Sarri to play him. Now, the pressure is on CHO to perform. I hope he doesn't play trying to justify his contract, and works on developing himself and improving, being open to the coaching he's being given. He doesn't need to be Hazard. He just needs to be Hudson-Odoi. I suspect the staff now will give him a bit more freedom than Sarri gave him, and I think this staff will provide the environment for him to grow and improve. And I hope the supporters will be patient with him. He's going to make mistakes.

If it took an offer of £180k a week to get him to sign, it sounds like an offer too good to refuse. It sounds like we had to overpay to get his signature. Wonder what (if any) release clause is in.

Those Sky Sources are at it again...…….

Being reported in several places now. Good news. Now Bayern can tap up someone else's player...…..

Reports of an agreed extension with Chelsea now surfacing by the Daily Mail.

We need buyers...…..

Wouldn't be my first choice, but I'm much more worried about Kante's knee than I am about Willian wearing the #10. While there's a certain section of supporters who are anti-Willian and will criticize anything he does, I would not have given it to him based on the classless post of the trophy over his coach. I get that he didn't like Conte, but that lack of class and using a trophy picture to demonstrate that displeasure did make him seem an ideal squad member.

Nagelsmann said he would look to play him in midfield. And there apparently is a possibility we could get Liepzig in our CL group.

And gets to kick Bayern players a couple of times a year. Bonus.

Smart public comments if we are to sell him. Talking him up will keep potential bids high and prevents any interested club from thinking they can submit a low offer.