5 minutes ago, Sexyfootball said:

Cucurella would have had your back but he was in the wrong bar ... 

Silva is already in bed by 8. 

Quality player but becoming a liability now, how can your captain play so few games a season

1 hour ago, Richard P said:

Yes! Most years there is a private Xmas party

 

1 hour ago, nonotnowjim said:

There are Xmas parties every year, so this one doesn't stand out as anything particularly special....

 

....that said, it does 'feel' like the 'spirit' of this team is not the same as it used to be. I appreciate that this is not an evidenced opinion, but is instead based solely on intangible perceptions - but to me, this current crop of players doesn't 'feel' particularly tight-knit.

For example - If I was in a bar fight  - I would have been confident that the likes of JT, Lamps, Essien., Ballack, Diego C, Rudi, JFH, Eidur, Wisey, Jody M, Kerry D, Azpi, Alonso, Kova, Giroud,  cahill, Luiz, Alex,  Brana, Riccy, (to name but a few we have had over the years) , would have had my back.

With this current lot, I am not sure there is much fight in any of them. Connor would get stuck in. Disasi might. Nico Jackson would probably lose his head and glass someone... but the rest of them? I am not sure.

Guys, the point is what party after such disaster 5 months???? What vital bonding session?

Are they pro or a kindergarden? 

These things are on closed doors no to make it on public. 

What is next? Going to party to celebrate relegation????????????????????????

Edited December 13, 20232 yr by JJ8

14 hours ago, olderschoolcfc said:

Jackson, as you describe him is my choice to take into a trench and go hunting. 🙂 got to love a crazy attitude. Hope he starts dealing it out to defenders. 

I'd prefer if he was doing his job on the pitch, scoring goals. Getting into post match fights while playing like crap doesn't make him a good addition, in my view.

Costa had a crazy attitude and loved to get into it, but he was a top striker first and foremost.

16 hours ago, Sexyfootball said:

Poor Reece's situation has got me thinking about how incredible it was that Frank Lampard played in 164 straight PL games at the height of his career. The next highest for an outfield player is apparently 115 ! 

 

16 hours ago, Sconnie Blue said:

Terry as well.

Played every PL match and every minute of the 2014/15 season. Our CBs find it impossible to stay fit now. 

Something has changed in football. Playing this many games consecutively feels impossible now. The hectic schedule and how they train are both the biggest issues I think. Footballers just seem to be constantly pushing their bodies to the max without any let up. Somebody like Ashley Cole wouldn't be able to play in todays game. I remember many times over the years he said that he rarely played a game without some sort of injury, and with how much the game is pushing players these days, I don't think his body would take it. He would be exactly like Reece James.

The Premier League, FA, UEFA, FIFA and then the ones that own the broadcasting rights like Sky, BT and Amazon, this is all down to them, they don't give a damn about player welfare. We even have a game against Wolves on Christmas Eve this year. It's all about sucking as much money as they can out of the customers, nothing else matters to them.

3 minutes ago, Scott Harris said:

The Premier League, FA, UEFA, FIFA and then the ones that own the broadcasting rights like Sky, BT and Amazon, this is all down to them, they don't give a damn about player welfare. We even have a game against Wolves on Christmas Eve this year. It's all about sucking as much money as they can out of the customers, nothing else matters to them.

200% agree. MONEY MONEY MONEY

I cancelled my Sky contract in 2016. It's truly appalling what their crazy bidding for TV rights has done to the game, and sport in general (I also like golf and despair what is happening at the top end of the game in that too)

There's an article on the BBC website today that says that $1.5 billion has gone to f**king football agents in the last 2 seasons ... only reason clubs have that amount of money to waste on these parasites is because of all the TV money. Basically being paid by the average man on the street desperate to watch his PL team. It all has to come crashing down at some point surely ? I highly doubt any club in the world is making a profit if you apply common sense rather than dubious accounting "rules" ... 

2 hours ago, abramovich said:

I'd prefer if he was doing his job on the pitch, scoring goals. Getting into post match fights while playing like crap doesn't make him a good addition, in my view.

Costa had a crazy attitude and loved to get into it, but he was a top striker first and foremost.

Some players need the fire in their belly to perform, you are absolutely correct though, needs to do it on the pitch more often than what were seeing... Here's to hoping poch and Jackson can channel that fire into his game. Still think he has the hallmarks of a good striker, just like with the Chelsea side at the minute, all a bit disjointed... Costa was an absolute hell raiser and a baller though...  what this side could do with him up top... 

58 minutes ago, Scott Harris said:

 

Something has changed in football. Playing this many games consecutively feels impossible now. The hectic schedule and how they train are both the biggest issues I think. Footballers just seem to be constantly pushing their bodies to the max without any let up. Somebody like Ashley Cole wouldn't be able to play in todays game. I remember many times over the years he said that he rarely played a game without some sort of injury, and with how much the game is pushing players these days, I don't think his body would take it. He would be exactly like Reece James.

The Premier League, FA, UEFA, FIFA and then the ones that own the broadcasting rights like Sky, BT and Amazon, this is all down to them, they don't give a damn about player welfare. We even have a game against Wolves on Christmas Eve this year. It's all about sucking as much money as they can out of the customers, nothing else matters to them.

Yep. Different times, different playing schedules.  The PFA reported recently that there were 30 players unavailable due to hamstring injuries attributable, they said, to workload.

 

2 hours ago, Sconnie Blue said:

 

So as per last time. Surgeons advised against surgery. Rinse and repeat.

Rumour has it that is both his hamstrings that are now damaged and that is why he is also having knee issues....

Poor Reece if true.

That’s Enzo and James with career defining injuries now. 
 

What is happening?

5 minutes ago, Sconnie Blue said:

That’s Enzo and James with career defining injuries now. 
 

What is happening?

What's up with Enzo ? 

6 minutes ago, Sexyfootball said:

What's up with Enzo ? 

A lot of talk about him having a sports hernia (Athletic Pubalgia) 

If true, it's likely he will be out for 2 months, probably 3 given how bad injuries are these days.

I don't think he had a sickness bug like some are saying. You don't cry when you have a cold, flu or stomach ache.

27 minutes ago, Sconnie Blue said:

That’s Enzo and James with career defining injuries now. 
 

What is happening?

Not sure an hernia is career defining. Its not new after all. James granted looks like this could be a pattern for the rest of his career, however long that may be. Enzo will be out for a while no doubt, and recovery from an hernia can take a while, but he should be fine over time.

13 minutes ago, Scott Harris said:

A lot of talk about him having a sports hernia (Athletic Pubalgia) 

If true, it's likely he will be out for 2 months, probably 3 given how bad injuries are these days.

I don't think he had a sickness bug like some are saying. You don't cry when you have a cold, flu or stomach ache.

Oh dear ... good news if true for Conor I guess .. and Lavia ... 

Potential nightmare for Enzo (and the team in general) though.

I guess we'll have to wait for the official news coming out of the club ... "Enzo is beginning his recovery after his operation" or some similar vague update 

Guy is done, unfoprtunately. Real shame. We'll never know how dominant him and Chilwell could have been if they'd been fit all the time. I'm pretty certain Tuchel would have won the league if they'd both stayed fit.

3 hours ago, Zeta said:

Guy is done, unfoprtunately. Real shame. We'll never know how dominant him and Chilwell could have been if they'd been fit all the time. I'm pretty certain Tuchel would have won the league if they'd both stayed fit.

Against Pep? Not a chance. 
Personally still think that one season was one where all the stars aligned, neither him or Chilwell have come even close to mirroring that season injuries notwithstanding.

5 hours ago, Scott Harris said:

A lot of talk about him having a sports hernia (Athletic Pubalgia) 

If true, it's likely he will be out for 2 months, probably 3 given how bad injuries are these days.

I don't think he had a sickness bug like some are saying. You don't cry when you have a cold, flu or stomach ache.

I agree. Definitely seems like there might be some substance to the hernia rumours. If so he will need a decent amount of time to recover. Probably a couple of months. Also explains why he has looked off the pace in recent games.

Unlikely to work in all honesty but trying to convert him into a DM or even CB may be the only way he saves his career. Who knows if he'll be good enough for a top side in those positions but as a fullback he's more or less done I think.

The owners also have a genuine dilemma on their hands with him which for once I will have sympathy with them for. He earns 250k a week and its impossible to count on him. That's a problem and perhaps a problem they want to get rid of...

5 minutes ago, OriginalS said:

Unlikely to work in all honesty but trying to convert him into a DM or even CB may be the only way he saves his career. Who knows if he'll be good enough for a top side in those positions but as a fullback he's more or less done I think.

The owners also have a genuine dilemma on their hands with him which for once I will have sympathy with them for. He earns 250k a week and its impossible to count on him. That's a problem and perhaps a problem they want to get rid of...

In hindsight, this was another mistake from Clearlake ... it was a far too generous contract for a player with a dodgy injury record, and an un-necessarily large increase on his previous deal.

 

On 13/12/2023 at 19:19, olderschoolcfc said:

Jackson, as you describe him is my choice to take into a trench and go hunting. 🙂 got to love a crazy attitude. Hope he starts dealing it out to defenders. 

You might have a long wait. The way Dan Burn just eased him out of the way from reaching Gallagher's through ball doesn't inspire confidence. Drogba or Costa would have left Burn on his arse staring at the sky.

9 minutes ago, just said:

You might have a long wait. The way Dan Burn just eased him out of the way from reaching Gallagher's through ball doesn't inspire confidence. Drogba or Costa would have left Burn on his arse staring at the sky.

Neither Costa nor Drogba played for us at age 22.

1 hour ago, Gonoir Beniashile said:

Neither Costa nor Drogba played for us at age 22.

True. But exercising your physical strength and imposing that on opponents isn't age related. Look at Evan Ferguson, Halaand or Calvert-Lewin.

Tammy Abraham was exactly the same as Jackson.

5 minutes ago, just said:

True. But exercising your physical strength and imposing that on opponents isn't age related. Look at Evan Ferguson, Halaand or Calvert-Lewin.

Tammy Abraham was exactly the same as Jackson.

Yes, maybe you're right. Still early for Jacko. He has the temperament to go toe to toe with defenders which is more than half the battle.