8 minutes ago, Snedger said:

You keep kidding yourself that we’re in transition to winning another PL title.

If your comments pre Porto are anything to go by we'll probably win back to back titles now.

4 minutes ago, El regreso said:

It’s shows how big a miss James is 

arguably our most important player 

I am not sure about this to be honest. Our attack was so toothless again that I am not convinced any crosses from James would have made any difference. The only difference would have been that at least RLC wouldn't have played at RWB

1 minute ago, azpi28 said:

Havertz must have been promised a certain amount of minutes beforehand otherwise I cannot understand why Broja was taken of instead of him 

Broja sub was probably a fitness thing. He’s only had short cameos up until today. 

6 minutes ago, El regreso said:

It’s shows how big a miss James is 

arguably our most important player 

Not sure it's even arguable at this point, he's our most important and best player. 

1 minute ago, Snedger said:

Oh yeah, I forgot, Shed End doctrine says we’re absolutely brilliant and it’s only the referee and injuries and bad luck that we’re in a desperate fight to finish fourth. We actually spent 300 million on awesome players this summer and Havertz is better than Pele because he scored a goal in a final. And Gallagher and RLC are the finest players ever to play the game. There’s absolutely no stopping us - we’re a machine. Haaland must be kicking himself not signing for us.

Stop deflecting, you said we are on the way to the second tier.

Would you be willing to back that up with a wager? If we get relegated I'll donate £300 to the forum if we don't you do?

7 minutes ago, Scott Harris said:

Kepa - 8 - Made a few good saves and came off his line well to close the space when Brentford got in.

Loftus-Cheek - 5 - Some nice runs forward, but seriously lacking in attack and caught out defensively.

Azpilicueta - 6 - Lost his man for one of Brentford's chances, probably produced the best chance for us of the night that forced the keeper into a good save.

Koulibaly - 5 - Had some nice blocks and decent at clearing the ball, but looks a disaster any time he is 1v1.

Chalobah - 8 - Best defender for us, looked comfortable again today.

Cucurella - 6 - Nothing bad, but nothing great either.

Jorginho - 4 - Poor. Crumbled any time Brentford went near him and couldn't pick out a single good forward ball.

Mount - 5 - Couldn't get into the game.

Gallagher - 5 - Went off injured.

Havertz - 2 - Horrible, pathetic performance from Havertz. Didn't look like he could be bothered all night. Slow to react to everything and I blame him for our lack of chances in the first half, killed everything.

Broja - 7 - Could have got a few shots off earlier, but he was a handful. It's just a shame he had to play alongside a player who's effort levels were nowhere near his own. Shouldn't have been subbed off.

Subs:

Kovacic - 6 - I mix of good and bad, good brining the ball out as usual, but so-so in attack, some over hit passes and some decent.

Pulisic - 7 - Very bright when he came on, should have started ahead of Havertz.

Chuwuemeka - 7 - Similar to Pulisic, lack of experience was evident though.

Sterling - 6 - Tried to make things happen, stop playing him LWB.

Aubameyang - 6 - Ran with the ball well, nobody could create anything for him though.

Agree with all of those ratings Scott. Saw it exactly the same.

Haha, the television stereotyping is laughable it really is. Julian Warren on SSN just ran through the result adding Brentford conntaining a Chelsea side. Err seriously?

3 minutes ago, Argo said:

If your comments pre Porto are anything to go by we'll probably win back to back titles now.

You can fluke a cup final, you can’t fluke one title, never mind two.

Just now, Snedger said:

You can fluke a cup final, you can’t fluke one title, never mind two.

Don't move the goalposts. You were adamant it was a foregone conclusion.

4 minutes ago, Munkworth said:

Broja sub was probably a fitness thing. He’s only had short cameos up until today. 

I was thinking the same

12 minutes ago, azpi28 said:

RLC had a bad game but a bit harsh how some people talk about him here 

No, i am sorry it really isn't. People have been crying out for RLC to realise his potential for years even though that potential was only evident in loans away from the club.

He has within him the ability to be a dominent force, strong, mobile and moving the ball, keeping the teams tempo going. Or we have tonight's RLC, slow, too many touches, lazy in possession and passing. 

I don't think we are being harsh, we are just bl00dy frustrated because he should be the dominant RLC every time he walks onto the pitch.

1 minute ago, Argo said:

Don't move the goalposts. You were adamant it was a foregone conclusion.

Be fair and let Snedger enjoy some vintage whine 😉

2 minutes ago, Argo said:

Stop deflecting, you said we are on the way to the second tier.

Would you be willing to back that up with a wager? If we get relegated I'll donate £300 to the forum if we don't you do?

Nope. Thankfully no matter how bad we get, there are always small clubs that can’t throw 300 million quid at it each summer. Maybe we are immune to relegation and it’s just the frustration of not being contenders any more, but we are on a path to being also rans. We are so incredibly badly run that its impossible to see us being favourites for anything ever again. Like Wigan, we have proven that in a cup completion, City can be beaten against all odds.

4 minutes ago, Argo said:

Don't move the goalposts. You were adamant it was a foregone conclusion.

It’s not moving the goal posts. It was simply one of the biggest shocks in modern football. Pep f**ked it up.

24 minutes ago, Gol15 said:

Our run ends here, next match we're conceding. 

Well Utd are banging in a couple against Spurs

 

5 minutes ago, Argo said:

Don't move the goalposts. You were adamant it was a foregone conclusion.

Don't know about moving the goalposts, we wouldn't have scored tonight if they were two inches higher!

Just now, WhiteWall said:

No, i am sorry it really isn't. People have been crying out for RLC to realise his potential for years even though that potential was only evident in loans away from the club.

He has within him the ability to be a dominent force, strong, mobile and moving the ball, keeping the teams tempo going. Or we have tonight's RLC, slow, too many touches, lazy in possession and passing. 

I don't think we are being harsh, we are just bl00dy frustrated because he should be the dominant RLC every time he walks onto the pitch.

I don't see RLC being a long term starter for us, but equally he can be a useful squad player. That being said he is not a RB or a RWB. I would rather we use a player from the academy than continue to play people out of position when Reece is out. Instead we've now let numerous RB's leave the club, and failed to bring in any cover in that position over the last few years.

5 minutes ago, WhiteWall said:

No, i am sorry it really isn't. People have been crying out for RLC to realise his potential for years even though that potential was only evident in loans away from the club.

I'm not even sure it was evident there.

RLC was the worst player in the entire league for a relegated Fulham with some Fulham fans calling him the worst player in their history.

Played nearly every game behind the striker and finished the season with 1 deflected goal and 0 assists.

Only came back to Chelsea because no one else would take him on loan so we kept him as last choice squad depth while we loaned Gallagher and other more talented players out.

But due to chronic sick notes like Reece, Kante and Kovacic we've seen a lot more of RLC filling in gaps than we really should have.

His contract is up in 18 months and it would be a surprise to see us renew it or any club to offer him a contract anywhere close to his 150K a week salary even on a free.

He just didn't fufill the promise he had 10 years and 10 injuries ago.

Edited October 19, 20223 yr by HazardousChoice

Doom and gloomers out in full force tonight it seems. This was always going to be a tricky game, we weathered their early pressure and then settled into the game. Kepa made 2 big saves in the first half, really encouraging to see his form at the moment. I don’t know who Spain’s number 1 is but Kepa not doing himself any harm for the World Cup. 

Broja looked good but decision making let him down I felt. Think he was trying too hard to score on his own. Maybe Auba would have took one of those chances or put it on a plate for someone else, but was impressed with Broja nonetheless. 

Havertz was poor. Less said the better there. 
 

Thought we looked much better after all the subs. Pulisic and Chuks I thought done well when they came on, Sterling is arguably one of the best wingers in the league. Must be annoying he keeps getting shunted to play wing back. He needs to be as high up the pitch as possible. 
 

We really went for it in the last 25-30 mins and Brentford defended really well. I thought a draw was probably the fair result overall but certainly don’t see it as negatively as some on here. 

 

That was a boring game. Don't think we made a single clear cut chance.

Poor final balls in to the forwards, and poor choices made by the forwards when they got in to any decent position.

Our production out wide was useless as well. Between Cucurella, Sterling and RLC they offered no attacking quality.

Disappointed to see the normal effort but Broja offer no quality or cutting edge.

Well a point is better than a 4-1 loss eh? Lol

1 minute ago, Snedger said:

It’s not moving the goal posts. It was simply one of the biggest shocks in modern football. Pep f**ked it up.

Pep has previous on that though, when it comes to Europe. So was it really that surprising? I thought City looked pretty unbeatable this season with Haaland, but I was reminded when they played against Liverpool that they can still bottle the big games.

5 minutes ago, forbzy said:

I was thinking the same

I’d book an emergency appointment with a psychiatrist if you’re having the same thoughts as me. 
 

2 minutes ago, Snedger said:

It’s not moving the goal posts. It was simply one of the biggest shocks in modern football. Pep f**ked it up.

Wrong. We throughly outplayed City in that final.

What about the social distancing forever prediction, how that's one going?

1 minute ago, forbzy said:

I don't see RLC being a long term starter for us, but equally he can be a useful squad player. That being said he is not a RB or a RWB. I would rather we use a player from the academy than continue to play people out of position when Reece is out. Instead we've now let numerous RB's leave the club, and failed to bring in any cover in that position over the last few years.

This i do agree with. Centre mid or bench, it has to be. He just doesn't have the necessary attributes for specific roles whether it is the speed of thought and front -footedness of a striker, or the sniffing out danger before it happens of a defensive player. That just isn't his game, in the same way that Jorginho at RWB would be comical to see.

2 minutes ago, Munkworth said:

I’d book an emergency appointment with a psychiatrist if you’re having the same thoughts as me. 
 

Thanks. I've just cracked open a covid test 😉