Paddy

I don’t think FL actually sees Mount as a winger but as someone else said earlier, he trusts him over whatever else maybe available to do the job. John Lennon was once asked by a journalist whether Ringo Star was the best drummer in the world, Lennon replied, ‘ he’s not even the best drummer in the Beatles’. Read into that what you will, but Kepa would have you believe that goalkeeping is his position, yet very few on this forum would agree with that ?

Oh, good point ? so maybe only domestic playing players ? I don’t have a clue , but I’m guessing most of Brazil’s international team play in Europe ?

Agree that there is no need to rest players and I’m a lot more comfortable with Rudiger playing these days especially if Mendy is in goal. Annoyingly, Brazil have 2 games during the break, the last one on 17th, which ends in the early hours of 18th GMT - we play on Saturday 21st in a 12.30 lunchtime ko in Newcastle - imagine that rules Silva out ?

100% correct

Think you are bang on the money. You can just tell MM has a brilliant attitude, will play anywhere he is asked, will always give 100% and knocks his boll**ks out every game. Someone else said he’s a managers dream - absofuc*inglutely he is.

Hey Konakai Blue, Thanks for pointing out my spelling mistake - how on earth did you manage to work out who I was referring to ? Incredibly perceptive of you. For fear of spelling his name incorrectly again, confusing him with a car or a predictive text f**k up, ‘he’ shall remain as ‘he’ - but thankfully, you’ll know who I mean. My view is based on the few minutes of highlights on MOTD, so I accept I could and probably am miles off the mark. I didn’t say he was the best player on the pitch and I didn’t say he was man of the match, but I do think he had his best game for us, in my opinion he was, at times, very fluent and direct . I feel the signs are promising. In future, you might wanna proof read your messages before you press send, just in case, God forbid, you commit that dreadfully embarrassing act of criticising someone’s spelling whilst doing the self same thing - can you imagine ?!! In the words of FG, “ ........ that’s all I have to say about that .”

I gave it to Mount, but truthfully he was one of 3 maybe 4 who could have got it - the whole team today played well - don’t think I’ve gone to bed so contented or happy ? on a match day night so far this season

Admittedly it’s only MOTD - the boy line acher and his cronies - but massive praise from Danny Murphy for Mason Mount and from Alan Shearer for Ziyech, rightly so but no special mention for Kia who had his best game for us to date I believe - I’m sure his time will come ( for pundits blowing smoke up his bum I mean ) No mention of goalkeepers or suspect leaky defences either, how far we’ve come !! In fact it was all positives and no negatives. BUT special praise for Sean Dyche who in post match interview said, ‘ sometimes you have to take a scruffy, ugly one “ sorry ladies, it’s my stupid, common upbringing, I know it’s not funny but I can’t help myself , but I couldn’t help but smile ? , I really do sincerely apologise. .........and so to sleep, perchance to dream ........... come on you blues !!!!!!

I’ve had a drink, a couple of glasses of wot does you good, but that f**king tickled me , I actually laughed out load - ta

Ok, that helps for sure, but we’ve slipped on these kind of banana skins before, how many times have we been one in front only to concede in the last 5 mins ? So it’s great to put some distance between us on the score sheet at 3-0 with 20+ to go , means we (the fans) can relax a bit and very pleased to get a wet turf moor out of the way too. Also means I can watch MOTD tonight and suffer smug bollocky chops line acher and co ??

Well, well, well - how long do “they” say it takes to form a habit - 21 days is it ? Yet another NIL and 3 points , I sure hope this habit hangs about. Didn't see the match, but by all accounts a great display , well done fellas and well done Frank and the staff.

It was on BT sports - I would imagine that the final will be on that channel as well - Monday 2nd November @ 19.30 v Man City.

Think you are right, we will need to be prepared to go toe to toe with them all over the pitch - without getting cards of any colour - but especially in midfield , can’t get bossed in that area. There are some big units in their defensive lineup, so Pulisic and co need to draw the fouls and take advantage of the speed we have up front - any penalties have to be taken by Werner IMO , irrespective of Jorginho being on the pitch.

I make you right , I think that’s partially what happened v WBA , thought we just had to turn up for the 3 points.

Malta, It’s the UEFA Champions League - Union of European Football Associations, not EUFA - European Union Champions League, so although we are ‘leaving’ Europe politically, geographical we remain. However, if Australia can ‘qualify’ for the Eurovision Song Contest, who knows what may happen ?!!

It wasn’t great, the 4 probably flatters us, but the NIL is significant I feel . Not conceding isn’t the be all , but a good confidence booster for the whole team and the defence in particular. Rudiger and Zouma didn’t look awful, actually think they played ok as did Azpi and Chilwell and I agree with some others, that playing in front of a competent goalkeeper helps massively. Think we have CB pairing permutations that work - preference is Silva and Zouma - he is so so powerful , but if Rudiger had to pair with either I wouldn’t have panic attacks , especially with Mendy playing behind them. Need to bring on Tomori now. Until the 71st minute changes nothing much worked going forward, it was very bitty and disjointed, individually Ziyech being the exception, he was decent and with more minutes played, he will, I think, be very good for us. The changes, I felt, seemed to improve Havertz - there were glimpses of real talent and promise - fingers crossed, but up until the substitutions, he was poor ? How could we ever have doubted or denied a German taking penalties ? He gets my vote over skippy ? Always felt that Michael Ballack was our best penalty taker, but Frank was never having a bar of that !! Finally, I’ve said before that I thought my mate Kepa was valueless and that no one would sign him up , but after tonight’s goalkeeping masterclass from the Russian keeper, there IS hope for him after all - I really, genuinely do hope so.

Yeah maybe, you could well be right, but surely some players like Drinkwater and Bakayoko have had their day and others are ‘untouchable’ like Malang Sarr ? Although I suppose everyone has a price ?

Yeah, that’s his end of the opinion, I wonder what the club thinks ? I also wonder how much game time he would have gotten if he stayed cause no one in his department is knocking things out of the park at the moment ? Fair play to him for pushing the loan deal, guess it’s his shop window to FL ? He does frustrate me , he’s got it all I feel, but maybe there just isn’t enough fire in his belly and he did have a terrible injury to overcome too , maybe that’s more of a problem that I realise ? Cant help but think he’s in Cat 2 ?

I get a little confused when players go out on loan as to what the expectation/hope is in each case? I’m thinking that there are at least 3? permutations of rational behind the player going on loan; 1) definitely not for sale, don’t care about wages etc , just want the player to get some game time and prove they are good enough for us at someone else’s risk- definitely returning to the team come what may? 2) possibly for sale but it the loan exceptionally goes well , then they come back into the fold, if the loan goes no better than ok, then all reasonable offers might be considered ? 3) definitely not wanted at CFC, so a shop window for potential buyers, get them off the wage bill, get them away from the squad? For example, I would say Danny Drinkwater is a category 3 - I know he isn’t currently on loan , but when he went to Villa and if he were on loan now, I would guess that cat 3 would be the clubs expectation? Where does Loftus-Cheek sit ?

Amen to that .

HI Stim, Apologies, you did claim that he was top class. You don't forrest gump your way into being a top flight league and international player. I may well be wrong and he obviously has his supporters, but I just don't think he’s good enough to be playing top flight football ? And most definitely not at the level needed by Chelsea IMO. I don't see it at international level either but Spain can pick him to their hearts content as far as I’m concerned.

Hi Stim, I don’t know if Kepa is a world class athlete , I’m happy to believe that he is since you claim him to be so ? What I do know is he isn't a very good goalkeeper.

Hi Valerie. I was at pains, in my previous post, to make sure that my feelings regarding Kepa were just that, my feelings, a statement of opinion and not one of fact. The matter in discussion is subjective, you accuse me of attempting to mind read and yet you would have me believe that everything you say comes from a position of omniscience - you dont know any more than I do what Kepa was or wasn’t thinking when he signed for Chelsea - its your opinion and you are most welcome to have it, but it can only ever be your opinion. The argument that you put forward for Kepa, is almost that he was some goalkeeping deity in the years preceding his move to London - I freely admit that I don’t remember seeing Kepa play before his move to us, so I don't have any first hand knowledge of his performances, but his record, I don’t think, supports anything sensational so I don’t see the goalkeeper you describe ? To suggest that being selected to represent a country in and by itself means quality or ability, is misleading - look at Pickford, he’s Englands or rather Southgate’s first choice keeper, but he definitely wouldnt be mine - likewise Rudiger, Low seemingly loves him and is a first choice at CB for the German national side, but Frank doesn’t see it the same way, to the point where he doesn't even even make the match day squad. As far as Kepa’s goalkeeping record prior to joining Chelsea is concerned , you say he played Primera Division for years ? I dont recognise this league, but Wikipedia tells me it’s the Argentinian league - you can’t mean that can you? I couldn’t find any record of him playing in Argentina, so I’m not sure thats correct, so unless you meant Primera Division Femenina - the women’s Spanish league ? - I imagine that you must be mistaken? So unless I've completely got it wrong - which is perfectly possible of course and I’m certain you will correct me, I believe that he played in the Spanish leagues, mostly 2nd division and below with the exception of 2 seasons when he played for Athletic Bilbao in La Liga - I dont believe he pulled up any stumps during those 2 seasons with Bilbao, finishing 7th and 16th respectively, although I assume that he played adequately enough for a mid-table finishing team ? I think it unfortunate that you mention Chec alongside Kepa - apart from them both being labelled goalkeepers, they are incomparable - I suggested, as an opinion, in an early post that the reason Chec has come out of retirement is because Kepa is so poor and his position untenable ? It’s perfectly normal for people, not just footballers, to want to improve and better themselves, I encourage it and believe in it, but it has to be tinged with reality - maybe Kepa genuinely believes that he is the greatest goalkeeper in the world and that his time will come ? Maybe it will, but I don't see it. You say; “..........I suggest you base your criticism on how they play,.......” Well, that rather proves the point , my opinion is based exactly on how he’s played !! He’s been f**king rubbish, a talentless waster, who is a complete liability and someone in whom no f**ker has any confidence, trust or belief - I don't mean to be overly harsh but that is the reality. My assertion of Kepa is based entirely on his performances, its not personal, I don't know the fella, I’m sure he’s a great guy, but its those performances that lead me to my conclusions and I don't for a second think that his performances of late are only of late - there is no suggestion on my part, as you allude, that there is some sinister and devious plot by Kepa to hoodwink anyone, but I would believe that Kepa has always known his limitations and that, putting goalkeeping ability to one side, those limitations have only increased with age when he didn't grow to have the stature of a Chec or Courtois. In conclusion, I still hold the opinion that given Kepa’s abilities and my belief that he was aware of his limitations , that he doesn’t have the talent, quality nor ability to play, perhaps, anywhere in the premier league, he should not have signed for a team with Premier or Champions League aspirations and that to do so was under false pretences. Anyways, I may well be wrong, but it is my sincerely held belief, I respect your opinion and that it differs from mine , but in the words of Forest Gump, thats all I want to say about that !!

Did I read about him taking a cocktail of snus- it’s like a small tea bag of tobacco that you put under your top lip and next to your gum - red bull and brandy before each game ? Or was that just an urban legend ?

Might be the advantage of not making it as a youth player - don’t think he signed for Leicester until he was mid 20’s ?