Spiller86

Jose what have you done! Honest to go he must be desperate. Have to say given how little Levy spends and their wage cap I could see it all ending in tears quite quickly. He will make an absolute beast out of NDombele though.

I think you're doing him too little credit and buying into this media stereotype of him. I think half of the time he is playing a character in the press and on TV. Still our greatest ever manager and his advice on these things should always be welcomed.

Jose's not wrong. Particularly when he talks about finding the balance between good football and the pragmatism required in the big games. No doubt we're doing well, but beyond Liverpool in the Super Cup I haven't seen us really knuckle down and play the kind of football that gets you through those big matches yet. City is a huge test for us. If we play as open as we have been I could see it ending a little like last year's disaster, particularly on the back of the hiding they got from Liverpool. Be great if we could spring a surprise though.

He was great yesterday. Helped James by doubling up on Zaha and was always a good outlet to keep possession on the right. The assist of course was superb. Nailed on starter right now.

Bizarrely he is 27 now too. Seems to have been a raw talent forever. The whole Palace system is set up for him to score goals and he has been dire. Literally a poor mans CHO. He was great yesterday. Masterclass from Frank to pick someone with pace on that side. He got great help from Willian and Kante but he handled Zaha's speed with aplomb. Good work going forward too. I have a feeling Dave may spend some time on the left this season.

Naturally I disagree and I think we have a different view on managing. For mine it's about getting the best from what you have, rather than imposing naive ways of playing when they don't suit the team. Remember it wasn't just Frank he cut but Cole too and others. Now Sarri was similar, imposing a way of playing that didn't fit the squad. Recall it was only when he adjusted after the City loss that we turned it around. That puts him on a higher plane than AVB in my view who was so stubborn he couldn't change and then insisted on blaming everyone else years after.

I thought both were better off passing. Pulisic did it a couple of times as well. Head is down and there is no thought of anything other than shooting. As a fan it's almost my pet hate. Make no mistake though, Michy was turning from back to goal onto his weaker foot. His was much worse. Another reason why he will always be a bench player, very selfish, not really capable, or at times it seems, interested in playing a role beyond him scoring.

A sign of maturity today. Tough match in miserable conditions. Exactly the type we have a history of losing. Good all round display. Willian, Kovacic and James the standouts for me. Credit to Frank for starting James with his extra pace on Zaha. He pocketed him start to finish. Hopefully this finishes off the utterly insane idea of paying big money for him. We've got better already. Great win. Hopefully we get a bit of luck with other results and we might even be up to second.

We're playing Palaces game currently. Slow, foul central and frustration. Wouldn't be surprised to see a red this second half. This is the kind of day where you just need one good moment from someone to get you the win.

Bugger. Shame for him. Tbf he had only played 1 game all year.

That's the crazy thing about it all. We've been missing our best centre back, one of the best midfielders in the world and one of our best creative sparks and we're doing really well. With those three to come back in over the winter we're well set up. Not to get over confident at an early stage but this season has been so much better than we've hoped for.

Can't wait to see him and Kante on the pitch in a two tonight.

No issue with those comments. He wanted to play and had given the club many years of service before essentially being blanked. Just on the Frank stuff, he wasn't playing poorly. AVB just had a sh*t setup and was trying to shoehorn a style onto players who it didn't suit. No surprise Robbie came in did away with that crap and we won the Champions League with Frank at the heart of it all. Anyone who would play Raul Meireles ahead of Frank Lampard needs their head examined. AVB had one good year at a club where he had a ludicrously good squad and then has been sh*t the rest of his career. He is by far the worst manager of Chelsea in the Premier League era.

Don't think anyone is placing all the blame on him. But his height is a factor when you consider he is half a foot shorter than Pete and Tibo. Not sure how that translates in arm length but it makes a difference as does the lack of height in our backline. When you compare JT, Cahill and Branna all 190 plus, plus Cech or Tibo to our current lineup you can see why set pieces are such an issue. I'll say in England that is worth probably 6 points over a season. It's defintely cost us that many so far this year. I dont think so. It might have even been a free transfer. Shame because he was a great young player.

I wouldn't discount the value of a strong keeper who really dominates his box aerially. Pete and particularly Tibo were strong in this area. It makes a massive difference to know your keeper will come and claim if it close to him. Kepa is unfortunately too short to do that and is often left a sitting duck when opponents do get a head to the ball. I'm on the record as saying he isn't big enough to be effective in the PL over the long term. No doubt he is a decent shot stopper and a good distributor but for mine I don't think he has fully filled the hole left by Courtois (whatever we may think of his douchey behaviour he was still a great keeper).