Backbiter

Would have gone down well, sacking Lamps to bring back Sarri. Mind you, we did sack RdM to bring in the FSW, so...

If anyone could have got him to underperform...

No doubt this piece of gossip has already been posted on here: https://www.dailystar.co.uk/sport/football/chelsea-transfer-news-erling-haaland-23528055 At least we can use the money we saved because we weren't happy about paying for his agent's fees to help fund our bid (now that his value and associated agent's fees have skyrocketed).

I was a big fan of Deyna, based on what we saw of him in big tournaments. It's true that he never really shone at Man City, though. Maybe it was his age, maybe it was hard to shine at City back then, or maybe the English game did not suit him. His death was a real shock, as was Gaetano Scirea's. He was a truly outstanding defender for Italy and Juve.

AVB is available.

We were lucky that both Spuds and AM didn't really turn up, but they were both great results and TT deserves great credit for them. Still a lot of work to get us playing, though. Our attack is barely functioning and will not trouble the best defences. Our crossing and shooting are seriously poor, and our passing in the final third nowhere near good enough. It's good to see that TT is fully aware of these failings, and will be demanding so much more from the players.

Spuds away? Atletico away?

I think the Dippers are still in with a shout. But yes, it's going to be a proper scrap for top 4. Our next few games will determine if we are contenders.

Excellent.

Yes, he certainly belong in the list of disastrous big-money buys alongside the ones I mentioned.

Prior to his injury, Lamps had clearly settled on his starting lineup, with Silva, Chilwell, Werner, Mendy and Ziyech looking right at home and the team was on a great run. His absence from the team coincided with the catastrophic run that cost Lamps his job, and Ziyech now looks lost. As do Chilwell and Werner. Havertz no doubt looks lost, too, if we could get a look at him.

I think we've seen about 3% of what we we were hoping for from Ziyech and Havertz so far. We keep waiting for their Chelsea careers to start, but I am growing increasingly pessimistic they ever will. Chuck in Werner's horrendous form ( after a promising start), and Pulisic's disaster of a season, and it's fair to say those four big signings have been an unbelievable let-down this season. After the likes of Bakayoko, Morata and Drinkwater, I was feeling pretty good about our recruitment, but bloody hell...

One of the best volleys I've ever seen. Incredible goal.

The consequences being, rewarding him with a second cup final in two years, where he proceeded to ref us off the park. In Kova's case, literally.

Agreed. Haaland is - along with Mbappe - deservedly the most sought-after striker in the world. Can't say I'm confident we can sign either, but it would be nice to have a go. Ings is a tremendous striker. I had no idea how good he was till he started banging them in for Southampton. He's a brilliant finisher, but also - like Kane - a really intelligent footballer who makes things happen.

Yes, fascinating stuff. Amazing that we've banked some half a billion in player sales in recent years - far more than any other club. I assumed Liverpool had taken in more, due to the absurdly overpriced Coutinho, Solanke and Brewster, so I was pleased to see that wasn't the case. What is interesting is how we have weathered the pandemic better than our rivals, by virtue of our matchday income being a smaller proportion of our turnover. This is the paradoxical benefit of having a smaller capacity, and shows how smart it was in hindsight not to go for the redevelopment of SB. I hope it doe

Crucial win. Lots of positives. Bad news about Tammy, though. Kova phenomenal tonight.

This is a tough watch. We can never kill teams off.

Not been watching Kova?

Another good shift from CHO. Massive improvement in recent weeks.

Has this midfield trio ever worked?

Definite penalty for me. Yes, would have made for a great finsih.

I'm guessing this was beaten by the Joan Baez song, so I'll ignore and link to that!

So gutting that we had so many key players (JT, Ivan, Ramires, plus Meireles) who had to miss the final due to suspension. How we managed to compete and prevail against both Barca and Bayern is truly miraculous.