Loving the fact we are above spurs and arsenal. I hate spurs a bit more though, hope we end up above them. 

On a different topic i dont see many articles written about Chelsea making champions league, yet there will be dozens of articles if there is just a tiny bit if unrest or things not going our way! 

2 hours ago, fitz said:

This must be what it feels like to win a race because everyone ahead of you fell over. ?

Foinavon.

 

Edited May 5, 20197 yr by Backbiter

Foinavon.
 

Foinavon came from my home village. Serious. No wonder I followed Chelsea.

We're going to win the league
We're going to win the... oops, wrong year.

Unbelievable Jeff...one of the worst Chelsea sides in Abramovich era has somehow got in the top 4...hilarious..thank you arse and manure...somehow you've managed to be worse than us...Some achievement 

Edited May 5, 20197 yr by The Brit

Genuinely thought we had no chance to make top four.

Turns out, we can fail as much as we want...as long as every other competing team fails a little bit more.

one of the most gratifying things about Chelsea Football Club qualifying for the UCL next season was the fact that majority of the talking heads predicted that CFC wouldn't make it & that Don Maurizio got his tactics wrong - I guess Don Maurizio did know what works in the end

7 hours ago, Bobbywoodhogan said:

If they beat us in the final, winning the trophy and getting CL football they’ve had a better season than us.

They will have, it would be a gut punch for sure. I'm pretty pleased with finishing top 4 the way things have gone this season. New coach, Morata/Higuain, Jorginho being an absolute liability, losses at key parts of the season, the FA Cup debacle. 

It's disappointing what could have been but we've been just good enough in a transitional year to qualify for the Champions League. Improvement on last season in that respect and I'm more encouraged we'll start to give academy players who are good enough chances they deserve than I have been in a long time. 

The Steve Brabury achievement but actually a bit better than that. Steve Bradbury is my hero. https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=2&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwir_M7sgobiAhURb30KHQ3GCpEQwqsBMAF6BAgIEAc&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DvN7ih576VYM&usg=AOvVaw0J4CIbyZJtdP1zi-2zls3M

So much change next season to come, but let's take what we've got.

So Sarri has finished higher than both Klopp and Pep in his first season compared to their first seasons, this despite having a squad suited to the 352 system under Conte.

Hopefully we can sign players next season and let the revival happen. The one thing we need is a team with more goalscorers, when you the look at the GD City & Liverpool have compared to the rest no wonder they are both that many points clear.

As for finishing in the top 4, it's not because Arsenal & Spurs choked, as we choked many times to let them into it. In the end we scored more points and deserve our top 4 place. 

So we are not actually back in the CL are we. Arsenal wins the EL and we finish 4th and we are out. We finish fourth and lose the playoffs. 

Hope not. 

34 minutes ago, evissy said:

So we are not actually back in the CL are we. Arsenal wins the EL and we finish 4th and we are out. We finish fourth and lose the playoffs. 

Hope not. 

If I had a f**king pound for every time somebody has posted this completely incorrect nonsense since yesterday, I'd be the new f**king Chelsea owner!

WE CAN'T LOSE A CHAMPIONS LEAGUE SPOT REGARDLESS OF WHAT HAPPENS ELSEWHERE!!!

36 minutes ago, evissy said:

So we are not actually back in the CL are we. Arsenal wins the EL and we finish 4th and we are out. We finish fourth and lose the playoffs. 

Hope not. 

There are no longer play offs/preliminary rounds for qualified teams from certain leagues. The epl is one of those leagues. So whilst the 4th placed epl team would previously have entered at the CL preliminary rounds, from this year they enter straight at the first group stage.

I experienced a very odd thing yesterday, a glass of water that I'd taken up to bed the night before, and was half empty yesterday morning, was somehow, miraculously even, half full by the time I retired last night.......carefree.

2 hours ago, Malcolm9 said:

 it's not because Arsenal & Spurs choked, as we choked many times to let them into it. In the end we scored more points and deserve our top 4 place. 

If we beat Leicester and get 74 points it will have nothing to do with the others choking, 74 points is almost always good enough for top 4. In fact looking at our form against the top 6, if anything, we have given them a chance with our poor results against them.

2 hours ago, Malcolm9 said:

So Sarri has finished higher than both Klopp and Pep in his first season compared to their first seasons, this despite having a squad suited to the 352 system under Conte.

Hopefully we can sign players next season and let the revival happen. The one thing we need is a team with more goalscorers, when you the look at the GD City & Liverpool have compared to the rest no wonder they are both that many points clear.

As for finishing in the top 4, it's not because Arsenal & Spurs choked, as we choked many times to let them into it. In the end we scored more points and deserve our top 4 place. 

No, Pep finished with 78 points.

71-74 points is not great, but I agree with others that you'd be unlucky to miss out on Top 4 if you get that tally, at least historically. 

1 hour ago, evissy said:

So we are not actually back in the CL are we. Arsenal wins the EL and we finish 4th and we are out. We finish fourth and lose the playoffs. 

Hope not. 

A-wha?

We make the group stages regardless of where we finish and what Arsenal do.

Emery does have an excellent EL record, so it wouldn't surprise me if Arsenal won the EL, but it's not particularly material RE our prospects of playing in the CL. 

Feels good to have finally made it back where we belong. Who cares how.

Well done to Sarri and the squad. Not an easy thing to achieve. And we did it while blooding CHO and giving Ruben a big role.

15 hours ago, big blue said:

I thought this aswell, but it would have to be a champions league winning team finishing outside of top 4. There is now no possibility of us finishing 4th arsenal 3rd, and spurs 5th. So we are guaranteed cl football. 

No.

Top 4 qualify. Unless that country has a champions League winner AND a Europa League winner from outside the top 4. 

Essentially a country can't have 6 teams in the champions League 

6 hours ago, ozboy said:

The Steve Brabury achievement but actually a bit better than that. Steve Bradbury is my hero. https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=2&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwir_M7sgobiAhURb30KHQ3GCpEQwqsBMAF6BAgIEAc&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DvN7ih576VYM&usg=AOvVaw0J4CIbyZJtdP1zi-2zls3M

So much change next season to come, but let's take what we've got.

Great story, but a ridiculous sport. Not that I'm a fan of horse-racing, either.

It’s happening again, Tottenham Hotspur it’s happening again...absolutely hilarious that we might end up higher than them after all their hype in the media. Can’t believe how negative some people are on here. The league table does not lie and we are currently the third best team in England. Not bad and a lot better than many of us might have anticipated around February. I am looking forward to UCL next year, well done Chelsea.

15 hours ago, Bobbywoodhogan said:

If they beat us in the final, winning the trophy and getting CL football they’ve had a better season than us.

Cross that Bridge when we come to it, right now I'm very happy to have this safety net and can now go into the rest of the Europa "only" playing for the trophy.

Getting the top 4 with a game to spare is quite satisfactory considering the number of thrashing we had this season. Having said that, if we go out of the Europa league this week ( unlikely but possible), or lose the final against Arsenal, the top 4 thing will be quickly forgotten. After all, we aren't a club that's just contend with the CL money.

4 hours ago, Old Shaggy said:

If I had a f**king pound for every time somebody has posted this completely incorrect nonsense since yesterday, I'd be the new f**king Chelsea owner!

WE CAN'T LOSE A CHAMPIONS LEAGUE SPOT REGARDLESS OF WHAT HAPPENS ELSEWHERE!!!

I didn't know. Thanks for not being an idiot about it... 

16 minutes ago, icecoolguy22 said:

Getting the top 4 with a game to spare is quite satisfactory considering the number of thrashing we had this season. Having said that, if we go out of the Europa league this week ( unlikely but possible), or lose the final against Arsenal, the top 4 thing will be quickly forgotten. After all, we aren't a club that's just contend with the CL money.

In media I think we've flown under the radar. I don't think people really care how we do if we don't fail miserably. 

Been thinking about this year's race, and the best I could come up with was...

The Bottle for the Top 4

Bottle Winners - Manchester United and Arsenal, though Chelsea and Spurs gave them a real run.

I was away during the second half of the Arsenal game, so last I had seen it was 1-1. Have to say that was a quite satisfactory score check. I think there may have even been a "Holy #@%^, Arsenal Bottled it" said out loud in front of my 9-Year old.

5 hours ago, Old Shaggy said:

If I had a f**king pound for every time somebody has posted this completely incorrect nonsense since yesterday, I'd be the new f**king Chelsea owner!

WE CAN'T LOSE A CHAMPIONS LEAGUE SPOT REGARDLESS OF WHAT HAPPENS ELSEWHERE!!!

You are correct but please don't have a heart attack and miss us winning the CL next year! ?