1 hour ago, rtwelch said:

Pretty sure that's why he chose to stay in a top league. He wants to go to the World Cup with Brazil.

Qatar Dec 22, not the time and place he would of chosen to end his career, much better to do it winning the double in May 22 with us.

28 minutes ago, coco said:

Qatar Dec 22, not the time and place he would of chosen to end his career, much better to do it winning the double in May 22 with us.

He would probably see out the remainder of that season at a minimum (unless he has an idealistic narrative of retiring on a WC win). 

Regarding tonights match i think we should rest Kai, Kante, Werner and Chilwell for the weekend (torn over Silva). We have the squad depth to do it and still put out a side that's top 4 standard.

Mendy, James, Silva/Rudi, Zouma, Azpi, Jorgi, Kova, Mount, Ziyech, Tammy/Oli, Callum.

5 hours ago, Argo said:

Playing in the next world cup is one of the biggest reasons Silva is still so highly motivated (he said as much himself) so this is a trade off we just have to suck up.

Yeah, I imagine that his wanting to continue playing international football for Brazil was a non negotiable requirement of him signing a contract, but I wonder if being “rested” was also part of the discussions and subsequent deal ? 

20 minutes ago, Argo said:

Regarding tonights match i think we should rest Kai, Kante, Werner and Chilwell for the weekend (torn over Silva). We have the squad depth to do it and still put out a side that's top 4 standard.

Mendy, James, Silva/Rudi, Zouma, Azpi, Jorgi, Kova, Mount, Ziyech, Tammy/Oli, Callum.

Yep. We have the squad to do so, I agree. Let's not risk it too much

3 minutes ago, Paddy said:

Yeah, I imagine that his wanting to continue playing international football for Brazil was a non negotiable requirement of him signing a contract, but I wonder if being “rested” was also part of the discussions and subsequent deal ? 

As much as he's a freak 36 year old (fitness wise) he's still a 36 year old so we need to manage his gametime carefully. The next two games he's set to miss (due to returning from Internationals) are Newcastle and WBA, providing Mendy is in goal we should be able to negotiate those two without him.

4 hours ago, Argo said:

Zlatan at nearly 40 is top scorer in Serie A, Thiago is the same age now the Sweede was when he went to United.

That's not to 100% say Thiago will last as long, but he's not looking like the usual 36 year old so in his case i don't think he's being that overly ambitious personally. 

One of the best defenders ever, Paolo Maldini retired at 41, age is but a number.

Edited November 4, 20205 yr by dkw

If Trump can declare he's won the election even before its over...I declare Chelsea the winners of the Champions League....and if you deny us the victory I'll sue your arse. 

Should be a breeze tonight - 4-0

First game with the new name, I hope it's a good luck charm!

COME ON YOU BLUES!

51 minutes ago, CFCCAN said:

If Trump can declare he's won the election even before its over...I declare Chelsea the winners of the Champions League....and if you deny us the victory I'll sue your arse. 

Should be a breeze tonight - 4-0

I laughed at the Trump analogy,

this for the the 2nd sentence.......

Why the hell is Lampard starting Chilwell and Werner. He never learns and will either run them to the ground or risk them having muscle injuries.

No Havertz tonight then...

1 minute ago, The Don Antonio said:

Why the hell is Lampard starting Chilwell and Werner. He never learns and will either run them to the ground or risk them having muscle injuries.

International break coming up and this team needs to gel...

Edited November 4, 20205 yr by doctorblue

3 minutes ago, doctorblue said:

No Havertz tonight then...but a 19 year old 'keeper on the bench 

 

1 minute ago, doctorblue said:

International break coming up and this team needs to gel...

      Very true but Chilwell and Werner wont be rested during International break They have both started every game since the last International break . I just hope we dont have a Pulisic or Kante situation with these 2. Especially when we can easily switch them for Azpi and Odoi

Kai not in the squad

10 minutes ago, The Don Antonio said:

Why the hell is Lampard starting Chilwell and Werner. He never learns and will either run them to the ground or risk them having muscle injuries.

You saw the last game we played without chilwell right?

5 minutes ago, Andy2461 said:

Kai not in the squad

I think he tested positive for COVID. 

Just now, Slojo said:

I think he tested positive for COVID. 

Yes confirmed by lamps

1 minute ago, dkw said:

You saw the last game we played without chilwell right?

I get your point but we played Alonso in that game. i am saying we should play Azpi there. I  would rather lose him for one game than lose him for a month. We cant forget that he started the season injured when he joined us

11 minutes ago, The Don Antonio said:

Why the hell is Lampard starting Chilwell and Werner. He never learns and will either run them to the ground or risk them having muscle injuries.

They're in their early twenties, playing twice a week really isn't a big deal for them. Frank doesn't have to manage their game time anywhere near as much as he will Silva's. 

Is this 4-3-3? Werner on the wings wasted a bit. Maybe start with CHO instead of Werner. Otherwise pretty okay squad. 

3 minutes ago, Jezq8 said:

Yes confirmed by lamps

Ugh

1 minute ago, ForeverCarefree said:

They're in their early twenties, playing twice a week really isn't a big deal for them. Frank doesn't have to manage their game time anywhere near as much as he will Silva's. 

          I beg to differ. Pulisic is in his early twenties and has hamstring issues. I just feel like Players whose games depend on speed should be protected especially in this jammed up covid season. To be fair though Salahs game is based on speed and is rarely injured so what do i know. I just dont like Lampard running his players to the ground. he did it last season with Tammy and Mount and we all know how that panned out, especially for Tammy. Thankfully we had Giroud to take us past the finish line