43 minutes ago, Sexyfootball said:

And I imagine he actually WANTS to play every minute for his country too ... it's the pinnacle of sporting aspiration for most players.

Bah, where's the glory in representing a country named after a line on a map? I don't see everyone getting excited about turning out for Greenwich Borough.

Edit: Never mind, they were liquidated in 2020 and the phoenix club's ground is now in Bromley.

Anybody want to turn out for my national outfit the Tropic of Capricorn Republic?

Edited November 20, 2025Nov 20 by PloKoon13

Cristiano Ronaldo gets a straight red card for a violent conduct against Ireland and an automatic three match ban (Armenia and the first two matches at the WC). FIFA turns it into a one match ban (against Armenia) because "it is his first red card in over 200 intl matches" and he is not banned anymore for Portugal's first match at the World Cup as he initially was.

Whereas Caicedo gets two yellows against Argentina and is still banned for Ecuador's opener at the World Cup because FIFA does not take friendly matches into consideration. But they will make intl breaks mandatory for friendly matches during the season.

What a farce this is.

39 minutes ago, petre ispirescu said:

Cristiano Ronaldo gets a straight red card for a violent conduct against Ireland and an automatic three match ban (Armenia and the first two matches at the WC). FIFA turns it into a one match ban (against Armenia) because "it is his first red card in over 200 intl matches" and he is not banned anymore for Portugal's first match at the World Cup as he initially was.

Whereas Caicedo gets two yellows against Argentina and is still banned for Ecuador's opener at the World Cup because FIFA does not take friendly matches into consideration. But they will make intl breaks mandatory for friendly matches during the season.

What a farce this is.

If I was Caicedo, I would demand the same treatment and not shut up until I got my way. This level of favouritism is as blatant as it gets.

He's the top DM in the world.

I absolutely adore Kante. The wee man is fabulous and a fantastic human being. Simply love him.

He was 24 when he came to the Premier League and was considered the best defensive midfielder in the world maybe two or three seasons later. Caicedo just turned 24 this month and already looks like Kante in his absolute prime. And I am absolutely sure he would look even better with a very solid defence behind him. Imagine him in the current Arsenal setup. As much as I hate that bastard club, they have an immaculate backline.

Caicedo's ceiling is incredibly high and we are so lucky to have him.

Funny I was recently thinking to myself Caicedo may be turning into a N'Golo / Maka hybrid. After this Barca match I think he may be there. What a performance.

I think we got him cheap 🤣🤣🤣

He was an idiot today, and cost us the chance of a much needed win vs that lot.

Of course we will forgive him quickly, but for Now is advantage Rice in that debate.

A learning moment for sure. Needs to find the balance, which is tough given the style of his game.

Frustrating to face next three games without Caicedo, Lavia (nothing new) and Essugo. Santos time to shine.

Definitely cost us a win today he MUST learn from this

I'm not going to be too critical of him, he's been one of the most consistent players for us, but I do think this moment has been coming. He's been so close to getting a red card over the last year and now it's finally happened. Love the enthusiasm, but there are many times where he looks out of control, which is why I have always been against saying he is on the same level as Kante. Kante's aggression was more controlled, his tackles felt deliberate and well timed. There are times where I feel like Caicedo will see the ball and he's going to take even if it means he takes the man too. This is the part I want him to clean up.

I have absolutely no issue with the red card today, the day he stops going for those challenges is the day he isn’t the same player anymore. 99% of the time he wins those tackles and we’re celebrating.

45 minutes ago, axman2526 said:

He was an idiot today, and cost us the chance of a much needed win vs that lot.

Of course we will forgive him quickly, but for Now is advantage Rice in that debate.

I mean, really? Over two seasons Caicedo has carried our midfield and Rice has done f**k all, least of it today when James, not a midfielder, has been twice the midfielder tHan Rice. Why is it that Chelsea fans w**k so much over Rice, an ex wet spam and present Arsenal player, to the point of thinking that Rice is today the better player than Caicedo? What’s next, saying that he is better than Kante was? Are we mad?

Caicedo let us down massively today, but he has a lot of credit in the bank given how many points he's won us over the past year.

42 minutes ago, RMH said:

I mean, really? Over two seasons Caicedo has carried our midfield and Rice has done f**k all, least of it today when James, not a midfielder, has been twice the midfielder tHan Rice. Why is it that Chelsea fans w**k so much over Rice, an ex wet spam and present Arsenal player, to the point of thinking that Rice is today the better player than Caicedo? What’s next, saying that he is better than Kante was? Are we mad?

Both are top class players.

I would not Swap Moi for Rice. Today he let himself, and the team, down and cost us a chance to win.

That red has been coming for a while if we’re being honest. It is what it is given his style of play. Won’t be too harsh as he probably been the best player or 2nd best player over the last 18 months.

4 hours ago, Scott Harris said:

I'm not going to be too critical of him, he's been one of the most consistent players for us, but I do think this moment has been coming. He's been so close to getting a red card over the last year and now it's finally happened. Love the enthusiasm, but there are many times where he looks out of control, which is why I have always been against saying he is on the same level as Kante. Kante's aggression was more controlled, his tackles felt deliberate and well timed. There are times where I feel like Caicedo will see the ball and he's going to take even if it means he takes the man too. This is the part I want him to clean up.

I agree it has been coming, but I won't fault him for it either. One, because his aggression was needed to ensure that Arsenal couldn't bully us. It set a marker for a scrap.

Two, because Kante is still relatively fresh on everyone's mind and to compare Caicedo or anyone to him is folly. Kante was the cleanest tackler of a ball since Maldini and Nesta hung up their boots. Caicedo can join many other great DMs - Essien, Makelele, Vieira, Keane - as players who would happily take some of the man with the ball. Caicedo probably cost us today, but I want every other EPL's club's AM to sh*t their pants before playing us knowing hard tackles are in his locker.

Edited December 1, 2025Dec 1 by SydneyChelsea

1 minute ago, SydneyChelsea said:

I agree it has been coming, but I won't fault him for it either. One, because his aggression was needed to ensure that Arsenal couldn't bully us. It set a marker for a scrap.

Two, because Kante is still relatively fresh on everyone's mind and to compare Caicedo or anyone to him is folly. Kante was the cleanest tackler of a ball since Maldini and Nesta hung up their boots. Caicedo can join many other great DMs - Essien, Makelele, Vieira, Keane - as players who would happily take some of the man with the ball.

I'm going to look at it this way. I think Caicedo is already close to becoming a world class player, this is one thing he can work on to get there. Turn those nearly red or definite red card moments into clean tackles and he's there.

Edited December 1, 2025Dec 1 by Scott Harris

41 minutes ago, SydneyChelsea said:

I agree it has been coming, but I won't fault him for it either. One, because his aggression was needed to ensure that Arsenal couldn't bully us. It set a marker for a scrap.

Two, because Kante is still relatively fresh on everyone's mind and to compare Caicedo or anyone to him is folly. Kante was the cleanest tackler of a ball since Maldini and Nesta hung up their boots. Caicedo can join many other great DMs - Essien, Makelele, Vieira, Keane - as players who would happily take some of the man with the ball. Caicedo probably cost us today, but I want every other EPL's club's AM to sh*t their pants before playing us knowing hard tackles are in his locker.

Kante was amazing at taking the ball off opponents without fouling, but that’s not really what, in my opinion, made him one of the best midfielders of his generation. His transition from defense to attack was the quickest I’ve ever seen — league, cups, even the World Cup with France.

Away to Leeds, Away to Bournemouth and at home to Everton he will miss. Could be worse.

Week between the second and third games there as our CL game at atalanta is in between.

Goes without saying yesterdays disappointing result means we need to string together a good run of wins in the league and hope Arsenal lose Gabriel and saliba for the long term and drop points.

Bad error of judgement yesterday. Went in for tackle he had no need to make. But that is Caicedo - he tries to win everything and that's what makes him so good on the whole.

Cost us yesterday but he will get a good rest now and hopefully we won't miss him if Santo's plays like he has been.

13 hours ago, axman2526 said:

He was an idiot today, and cost us the chance of a much needed win vs that lot.

Of course we will forgive him quickly, but for Now is advantage Rice in that debate.

For sure it would have been advantage Rice is Arsenal had won the game, but given they drew against 10 men, why should Rice get any plaudits. He was the 3rd/4th best midfielder in the game.

Suspended v City. Seems to be picking up cards at a rate of one yellow per game. Not convinced he is a DM; seems shackled in that role, and doesn’t help that he is partnered with Enzo. He is a Kante type player that needs to be freed up to put out fires, not playing a 2 man midfield alone.

Been Cuttin a frustrated figure. Are he and Cole fed up with just Maresca or this bullsh*t ownership?

He's been poor lately but I can't criticise him. For a long time he was the only player who always have his all and performed well bar maybe Cucu and James. I don't think it's fair to hold him up to such high standards just because he's been so insanely consistent that he' s got us used to this. He has more credit in the bank than anyone else.