KdB started the second half on the season on a high. He scored today again. It was an important equalizer two minutes from time, Lampard-like.

Lassana Diarra is apparently training with West Ham with a view to signing a short-term deal:

 

http://www.theguardian.com/football/2015/feb/10/lassana-diarra-west-ham-free-agent

 

Fat Sam:

 

“He is training with us, I’m not so sure whether we have finalised a deal yet but he is doing a little bit of training with us. The deal is very close to being finalised and on the basis of where we are with our squad and the injuries, once we have him fit he will be a very good addition based on his previous record as a footballer.

 

He won’t be in any good shape in terms of being on the bench on Wednesday or on the bench on Saturday against West Brom.

But I certainly hope that, with a good few days training with the lads, he will be close in seven to 10 days if he finally signs the contract."

I thought he'd retired and become a freedom fighter for the East. 

I thought he'd retired and become a freedom fighter for the East. 

That was rebutted by his lawyers last year in April. The allegations were false. 

That was rebutted by his lawyers last year in April. The allegations were false. 

 

Mikael Forssell getting into mischief at Starbucks:

 

Interview with Frank Lebueuf

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/31502949

Just seen that Jimmy Hasselbaink is currently joint 1st in League 2 with his Burton Albion side.

 

Well done Jimmy! 

Jimmy floyd as a manager. Never expected it. Good on him though. Di Matteo, Poyet, Petrescu, Zola, JFH all managers now from the lot I started supporting. Wonder who's next...

De Bruyne making passes like Xavi, he's been fantastic. Schurrle has been really quiet, made a few good runs that weren't picked out and should really have scored in the first half.

Hat-trick for Lukaku against Young Boys

Kevin de Bruyne has come out with some very insightful and humble comments about his failure to make it at Chelsea which don't make him sound bitter or entitled at all:

 

http://www1.skysports.com/football/news/11095/9731311/kevin-de-bruyne-blames-small-transfer-fee-for-unsuccessful-chelsea-spell

 

"Maybe things would have been different if Chelsea had to pay €45m (£32m) and not €8m (£6.7m) when I arrived from Racing Genk.

A higher transfer fee would have potentially handed me a different sort of status inside the club. And possibly, handed me more chances.

Chelsea FC has not been the best choice at that point in time. Being with Chelsea is like being in a different world. Manager Jose Mourinho did not explain to me why I was not playing more regularly for the club.

I feel very much at home with VfL Wolfsburg in this very moment. Life in football can be fast-moving. Wolfsburg is not yet like Bayern Munich, of course and my biggest ambition is to play for a big European club – one I can win trophies with."

What is it with Belgian players saying they want to play for big clubs? First Lukaku now him.

He had a chance but he didn't fancy staying and fighting for a place. Thick ginger twat.

I don't think he was given a fair crack either or long enough to prove himself but in the end he choose to go and not to stay and prove his worth.

The reason he was not a £32 million buy is because he simply isn't good enough like Hazard was to merit such a fee.

Being bitter about it is pointless.

Edited February 25, 201511 yr by Chelsbear

Kevin de Bruyne has come out with some very insightful and humble comments about his failure to make it at Chelsea which don't make him sound bitter or entitled at all:

 

http://www1.skysports.com/football/news/11095/9731311/kevin-de-bruyne-blames-small-transfer-fee-for-unsuccessful-chelsea-spell

He's not wrong. 

He's not wrong.

He's not a 32 million pound player and he couldn't handle playing at a big club.

Sour grapes from a guy who ran rather than stay to prove himself.

Another 'weak' Belgian

He's not a 32 million pound player and he couldn't handle playing at a big club.

Sour grapes from a guy who ran rather than stay to prove himself.

Another 'weak' Belgian

He didn't say he was, he says things would have been different and would have been offered more chances which is an undeniable fact. 

 

Has good grounds to be a sour grape, he was promised game time and didn't get it. Think it's a bit ridiculous how people are criticising someone who would rather play games then sit on a bench collecting his paycheck. There are different ways of proving yourself, you can do it in training or you can go to a club that will play you. He did latter, nothing wrong with that. Schurrle chose to do the former, good for him but it doesn't make him better than KDB in any way.

 

Also can we please stop with the weak Belgians thing, it's really silly. 

So you're saying the only reason that he didn't get game time was his relatively low price tag? Are you sure it had nothing to do with his perfomance in training or attitude?

So you're saying the only reason that he didn't get game time was his relatively low price tag? Are you sure it had nothing to do with his perfomance in training or attitude?

Exactly.

I'm sure Jose knows about the situation better for some reason....

He didn't say he was, he says things would have been different and would have been offered more chances which is an undeniable fact.

Has good grounds to be a sour grape, he was promised game time and didn't get it. Think it's a bit ridiculous how people are criticising someone who would rather play games then sit on a bench collecting his paycheck. There are different ways of proving yourself, you can do it in training or you can go to a club that will play you. He did latter, nothing wrong with that. Schurrle chose to do the former, good for him but it doesn't make him better than KDB in any way.

Also can we please stop with the weak Belgians thing, it's really silly.

Who promised him?

That's a bizarre thing to say

He'd have had a bigger price tag if he was a better player.

If he was a better player he'd have gotten more time.

He couldn't stayed, he didn't want to. Now he wants to go to a big club??

So you're saying the only reason that he didn't get game time was his relatively low price tag? Are you sure it had nothing to do with his perfomance in training or attitude?

Of course it's not the only reason, I didn't say it was. KDB isn't completely free of blame.

 

The fact is though, if you pay that much for a player then you are going to play him (certainly more times than KDB got at the very least) regardless of his perceived attitude or performance in training. 

 

Who promised him?

That's a bizarre thing to say

The only reason he came back from his loan at Bremen was because Jose convinced him he was in the first team plans. He would have joined Dortmund otherwise.

 

Then there was also Jose's comments around December time where he says he would be giving him more game time, which, again, he didn't. 

De Brunye didn't make it here because he didn't want to work for it same as Lukaku.

The fact is though, if you pay that much for a player then you are going to play him (certainly more times than KDB got at the very least) regardless of his perceived attitude or performance in training.

No it doesn’t.

That’s like saying we must play a player because they cost a few million £ regardless of anything else. That’s not reality, players are picked on merit and performance levels, KDB never showed enough during the games Jose did start him then there was the attitude issue.

If he thought he should be starting games just because a club paid a few million then he would be very naïve indeed especially at a massive club like ours.

If your attitude stinks and you aint pulling your weight in games or training then you sit it out, that's the real world.