Davey Baby

What a crock of sh*t. How often have you seen him play? If you saw him play at Derby you'll know he was their best player, according to their fans. If you're judging him solely on a couple of pre-season games, well, I'll repeat, what a crock of sh*t. You have no idea if he's good enough. You can't have. When Klopp gave Alexander-Arnold a chance, at the age of 18, were you saying he wasn't good enough? Tomori is one year older than Alexander-Arnold. Maybe he needs a manager who believes in him. Maybe, you never know. Instead of saying he isn't good enough, how about saying, we won't know until we play him? By all means judge him but judge him once you've seen him. Your opinion is uninformed.

What we're witnessing here is very sad. There are people such as Brutos who can't see (or refuse to see) that when a white man sacks a black football manager (for example) it may not have anything to do with race, it may just be (for example) that the team's results aren't any good. Similarly, they can't see that when a white fan screams at a black player, it may not have anything to do with race, and it may just be because passions run high and the player in question plays for a rival or has just kicked one of our players up in the air. In other words, you can sack a white manager or scream at a white player but you can't do the same to a black person (if you're white) or else you're a racist, and if you oppose this view you must be a racist yourself or an apologist for racism or simply in denial, as Brutos has claimed. Sadly this is the world we live in. Victimhood is rife and so is stupidity.

Frank could try 433 in the next game, with Barkley and Mason in the advanced CM positions. It may leave us even more vulnerable defensively however, and once Kante comes back, it's unlikely to be our formation anyway. Kante has always excelled in a central pair, with Leicester, with Chelsea and with France.

If you think that photo clearly depicts racism then you're an absolute idiot. I could show you a thousand pictures of white players being treated exactly the same. You're just playing the victim card. Chelsea hired Sarri and retained JT, but they've thrown this fan under the bus. Shame on them. The CPS didn't have enough evidence to proceed, unlike with JT, but the club have banned him for life. How appalling. If you're a player and you racially abuse someone you get a 6 game ban. Those are the rules. This guy gets life, despite the CPS ruling there was insufficient evidence. The other fans, there isn't even a suspicion of racially-aggravated language, but they've been banned as well. Why? They were giving a player an earful, as happens up and down the country all year. The board have really let them down. The board are lily-livered in the face of the media. All they think about is their public image and money. They have absolutely no loyalty towards the fans, as we saw with the EL final. This is a disgraceful decision by the club who were always going to find them guilty because they didn't want the bad publicity of allowing these guys straight back in. It's all about publicity. It's all about their fear of the media. No other club in the world throws its fans under the bus like ours does. Personally I'd like to throw them all under a bus, starting with Bruce Buck. What an absolutely pathetic decision.

I agree with this. Kovacic has looked superb pre-season, and Kante has to be a shoo-in in a double pivot, so I'd expect Jorginho to make way when everybody's fit. I only saw the first half today so I'm interested to know how Kenedy looked when he came on. If Lampard were picking the team on merit rather then reputation, Kenedy would have started today at the expense of Pedro. Kenedy, alongside Kovacic, Barkley and Mount, had been the pick of our players this pre-season up till today. I thought Emerson looked good first half and I'm hoping this will be a big season for him. Defence is definitely a worry though and Rudiger won't be too worried about his spot but things can change. Talking of change, Tammy needs time, people need to cut him a bit of slack right now. We have to make do with what we've got and he may just be our best option over the course of the season so I hope people show a bit of patience. Christensen, Mount and Kenedy probably feeling they deserved to start today. Can somebody please tell me who got brought on second-half and how did they do?

He was better than Pedro but Pedro was playing top of the diamond.

Ruben.

None of our strikers compliment each other, which makes playing 2 up top pretty nonsensical, unless it's at the end of games and we need a goal. Barkley and Mount could play together in a 433 but who would play the holding role? Jorginho you would think but he's pretty poor defensively, and where would that leave Kante? I suspect we're playing 4231, with Kante alongside Kovacic or Jorginho, and Mount and Barkley having to fight it out amongst themselves. Who will partner Luiz in defence? That's another question. I suspect Christensen will get the nod. I like Emerson but I'm not sure he does enough. I'm wondering if Frank will try Kenedy there. As for attack, it really is anyone's guess. Tammy, Pulisic and Pedro could well be our front 3 on the first day of the season.

Mount looks a player. Good day for him. Kovacic has looked good despite his mistake. Nobody else really stood out that second half. First half Kenedy and Barkley stood out. Bakayoko also stood out but for all the wrong reasons.

I've always said Kenedy has got potential. He has pace, aggression, flair, he can shoot. He's also versatile. He needs to feel settled and he probably needs to sort his head out. I get the feeling he's staying.

Kenedy and Barkley have been our two best players. Both deserve their goals.

Yes he has but he's pretty limited on the ball, and we have way better options. Bakayoko is so sh*t you have to wonder why he's playing. Hopefully this is the last time he ever represents us.

Baka and Drinkwater are simply not good enough but we know this already. Kenedy and Barkley are doing themselves a lot of good.

I'm amazed at this line-up. Even if Baka and Drinkwater were to excel, there's simply no room for them in the squad. Same goes for Tomori.

If you're right and there's only room for one more, then agreed Kenedy could get the nod. However are you sure there's 16 non-homegrown players in your list? I'm assuming you've picked 2 of Pulisic, Zouma and Christensen as non-homegrown. Which 2, and are you sure they're not homegrown? I'm asking because I'm not exactly sure what the criteria is.

Unless the rules have changed, some of those players won't count as homegrown or non-homegrown, but rather as U21s. If that's true, that leaves space for a bigger squad. Assuming that's true, Zappacosta will stay IMO, at least till January, as James is currently injured. Like you I also think Kenedy will stay, particularly as CHO is currently injured. I think it will depend on whether Kenedy signs a new deal however, as he's in his final year. If not, the club will possibly decide to sell. I actually think it's a really strong squad and we will have a really good season with a really good vibe. A lot depends on Pulisic and CHO giving us an attacking edge. They could make us a very exciting side. They'll certainly have the fans behind them. Edit: We could be only one season away from seeing a Chelsea side featuring James, Tomori, Christensen, Ampadu, Mount, RLC, CHO and Tammy. Just imagine the buzz. It would be unreal.

RLC, Rudiger, Kante and CHO may have something to say about that.

James or Zappa? Tomori or Zouma? Keep Kenedy or Moses, for their versatility as well as depth? Those are the questions for Frank to answer. Drinkwater and Baka are gone.

Very good first half from us. That must be Frank's preferred line-up, given the players at his disposal. It's a big game for Mount and Tammy and they've both done well. Pulisic looks a special player with a great attitude but his stats at Dortmund weren't that good and here we could see why. Three big chances to score and finished poorly each time. Considering we have 5 key players out, that was very encouraging, albeit against a Barca team lacking fitness and lacking their best players, which must be taken into consideration.

That means Tomori is out on loan.

He has one year left on his deal, that's the key thing.

It would have made sense last season. A complete waste of a season for him. We did exactly the same with RLC, kept him around without ever getting much game-time, when he was perfectly ready to go out on loan. As a result he's further behind in his development than he ought to be. We really don't have a clue sometimes. Hopefully that will all change with the new regime, who seem invested in allowing these kids to fulfil themselves. It's going to be interesting to see what Lampard does with Mount, Tomori and James. If they stay they have to get significant minutes. That means we would have to sell the likes of Drinkwater, Bakayoko, Zappacosta and Zouma. I can't see any way Palmer is going to stay in the squad either. It looks like Gilmour is the only player from the last squad to miss out. It looks to me very much like we're going into the new season with 24 players, maximum 25. Rudiger, RLC, Willian and CHO will all make the squad, and possibly James too. 3 or 4 players are definitely getting sold, if we can find a buyer. It will be interesting to see if Kenedy stays at Alonso's expense. Edit: 20 of our squad are already nailed-on. The rest of them are vying for 4 or 5 spots.

Line-up just announced .. Cech, Ferreira, Cole, Tomori, Luiz, Makelele, Morris, Lampard (captain), Drogba, Ballack, Newton. Looks like Lamps is going for a healthy mix of youth and experience.

I'll give my opinions on the squad. Kepa is a top keeper but if he gets injured for any length of time we're in trouble. Willy may have the odd good game but he's a poor keeper. Who's our number 3? Blackman? If so, unless he gets promoted above Willy then he will suffer greatly this season with his development. I don't know how good he is but if we believe in him and we want him to develop he has to play some games. Last year was a write off for him with injury. He's nearly 26 now with 2 years left on his deal. Logic dictates he will be our 3rd choice next season, having zero experience of the PL. We're heavily reliant on our 1st choice staying fit, far more than all our rivals. Defence. I think Zapacosta will be sold and Reece James will be Dave's back-up, so there's one young player that will get games. I think our 4 CBs will be Rudi, Luiz, Christensen and Zouma. I think Tomori will get loaned to a PL club that can guarantee him games. Left-back is interesting. Emerson will be our first choice but what of Alonso? We need a back-up LB. I have a sneaky suspicion it might go to Kenedy, who has undoubted potential if you can get into his head. He only has one year left on his deal so it may well decide on whether he wants to stay. Alonso is a safer bet but if we're playing a back four he's not really that good. Midfield. Drinkwater and Bakayoko will go. We just have way too much depth in this department. For me, Ampadu has to stay. I think he is the jewel in the crown and is our future captain. I think Frank will look at him in training and decide to keep him. Here's another youngster that will breakthrough IMO. Kovacic, Barkley, Loftus-Cheek and Kante. That leaves room for one more midfielder realistically because you don't need more than 6. Jorginho or Mount? I think Jorginho will stay and Mount will be loaned out to a PL club that can guarantee him games. There's no point keeping Tomori and Mount if they're not going to play. They need to play regularly. Wingers. Pedro, Willian, Hudson-Odoi and Pulisic. It's possible Moses or Kenedy stay on to provide depth because they can play in defence or attack, but unless we let go of FBs they're not really going to play. Strikers. Abraham, Giroud and Batshuayi. A breakthrough season for Tammy. Whether he's good enough, we'll soon see. People will need to be patient. Go on the RLC thread and see how many people thought he'd never be good enough. You need to be patient with kids, it takes time to assert yourself. Not always but usually. I always thought RLC would make it but I'm not so sure about Tammy but he's got a chance. There's no way of knowing just yet. One thing's for sure, he will get games. That's five young players breaking through I reckon (CHO, Tammy, Ethan, Pulisic and Reece James). When you think of RLC, Christensen and possibly Kenedy as well, all of whom have just turned 23, we start to see it's a young squad. Then you factor in the 24 and 25 year olds (Kepa, Emerson, Barkley, Zouma, Kovacic and Batshuayi). The only players in their 30s are Luiz, Giroud, Pedro and Willian, and they all have a few years left, so it's a young squad and it's a strong squad. As I say, back-up keeper is our weak spot but hopefully Kepa will stay fit and our only other point of weakness is up front but in a way that's a good thing because it gives Tammy his chance. Maybe left-back but we'll see by the season's end. On the flanks, Pulisic and Callum may give us real strength. We hope so, because without Hazard we may struggle for goals. Edit: All in all I'm very optimistic for the season ahead and I think the ban may well work in our favour. I'm looking forward to seeing a few of our kids. Whatever happens, with Lampard at the helm, there's no reason not to be extremely happy.

For a moment there I thought you were serious.