Jonty

Felt like we really missed him this morning, Valencia were virtually walking through on goal all match.

He scores when he wants

Haven't felt this conflicted since Bosingwa came back with QPR

True, but if they think he plans to leave in the Summer and the distraction is the cause of their terrible form they might prefer to sod him off early before more damage is done.

Where did Mikel criticise his attitude? Would be interested to see. I'd still love to have him back, there's been no point bleating on about him given how exciting a season we are having without him, but he's still an all-time great Chelsea player. I'd go so far to call him the icon of the second Roman generation - with Terry/Lamps/Drogba/Ash/Cech being the heroes of the first, and Hazard being far and away the leader of the second, and this season marking the rise of the third gen.

As others have alluded to, this reeks of them choosing to sack him before he can leave. It would be an absurd decision to get rid of him unless they think he already has a foot out the door. I think Jose would actually be a perfect fit for them, he tends to do his best work as an underdog where he can build a siege mentality, and there are plenty of wounded egos in that dressing room. Provided he still has it in him to unite a dressing room, it could be dangerous. They have the talent to seriously challenge but just haven't looked arsed this season. Edit: I would think his preference would be to come in during the Summer though.

I think too many posters in this thread are overlooking the hilarity of Pep being subject to an abysmal refereeing performance. Tis a f**king disgrace, one might say.

Honestly Pep, Aguero et al. have become such unbearable w**kers (compared to previously when they were slightly more bearable w**kers) to the point that i'd rather Liverpool win the title. At least Klopp, Salah, Mane and most of their key players seem like genuinely decent people, rather than the entitled princesses at the Etihad.

Just quietly, and with the caveat it was his first game back in a while, but I think with Kante coming back in for Jorginho on the weekend our midfield looked worse. A sentence I never thought I would type or even read this time last year. Granted this certainly wouldn't be the case against more lively opposition, but still, it's going to be tough to leave one of our midfield 3 out each game.

We really can't play him against good teams, or even average teams with decent attacking players like United.

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2019/oct/03/chelsea-christian-pulisic-callum-hudson-odoi Interesting point - i'd almost forgotten about Pulisic with Mason and Hudson Odoi coming through ahead of him. Feel like there's a good chance this is Pedro's last season here, and that Pulisic perhaps deserves to at least be getting that 20 minute substitute role ahead of him.

Already emerging as a strong contender for player of the year for me.

Would love to see him used at RB in a back four, think he was a bit uncertain of where he needed to be at times, but made a few tidy tackles and is clearly very athletic.

His hold up play, first touch and ability to lay off balls thumped at him with just about any part of his body to an on-rushing teammate is superb. He's already almost as good as Giroud at those elements of the game, but is also a more clinical finisher. Looks a completely different player to the United game where he couldn't get anything to stick.

Leicester look like the real deal, and as much of a caricature as he is, Rodgers has proven to be a top coach, and with Vardy, Maddison, Ndidi and Schmeichel, they have a top quality spine. I think there's a legitimate chance they take one of the top 4 spots with Liverpool and City, with us and Arsenal fighting for the other spot. I think i'd happily take 4th at this point in time.