Very entertaining game of football that and thank f**k we got the 3 points, Gusto and Palmer very good, Jackson did well and good cameo and goal from Mudryk.

Can go to bed happy....................!

2 minutes ago, Scott Harris said:

This has nothing to do with being out for so long though, this is just who Cucurella is. Even at peak fitness he does this kind of thing.

I’m not talking about the mistake. Its crazy playing him for 90 minutes period, after such a long time out

1 minute ago, Frankie8Lampard said:

4pts of 7th with a game in hand!

Dizzying heights 

1 minute ago, PloKoon13 said:

That sounds like a mandate for Graeme Souness. One can only assume that he's looking for work.

I would make a single exception for Ben Chilwell who has obviously put in a lot of time, product and presumably money into his hair. Perfect example of why you need experienced players around from whom the youngsters can learn: it was nowhere near as voluminous until Chilwell started playing with Giroud.

Oh for sure, no doubt Ploks. Chilwell is one of our all time greats from a hairstyle perspective. Right up there with Christian Panucci and Graeme Le Saux.

 

hard pill to swallow but id take gusto over james.

Flattering scoreline for Newcastle - they were terrible. But like always, we are our own worst enemy with unforced mistakes.

Jackson's best game for us? Don't really count the Spurs one which was a freak game.

Happy for the win, it would have been tragic if we hadn't won after that early goal that I couldn't even imagine happening.

Newcastle is an underrated team, yes they have many injuries but it takes a good team to win against them and hopefully the squad will have a real boost of confidence after today, confidence alone can carry wins in the future.

That was made out to be way tougher than it should have been. Newcastle were terrible, but some of our players just don't understand how to control a game of football and make vital mistakes when it matters most.

Some good performances tonight though, Gusto, Caicedo, Palmer and Jackson had the right mentality from start to finish. The rest were up and down apart from Mudryk who made a big difference when he came on. He was an instant upgrade on Sterling.

1 more point to safety - believe!!

5 points off last seasons total with 10 to go.  We might just make it.  

1 minute ago, PloKoon13 said:

White got booked for the challenge.

I didn't even notice that, I've just messaged his dad to tell him his lads sh*te....

Next 3 league games are very much winnable. 

10 minutes ago, Scott Harris said:

Cucurella's mistake. The guy just can't contain, he always has to pres.

But there is no guile to it from him. It is all so open and readable from him, he just jumps in, usually from the wrong angle. 

Blue billions pounds prevails !

Get in Chels 

1 minute ago, Conte said:

hard pill to swallow but id take gusto over james.

I would too, and not because I don't think James is worse, but because he doesn't have the legs for it. He cannot cope with the physicality of running up and down the pitch and getting back to make tackles, he will always break down with an injury. 

We have 11 games to go, time to get a few wins under the belt and finish the season strongly 

2 minutes ago, PloKoon13 said:

Yeah, that's basically his signature move: regardless of the situation and who is around him, rush out to the player and try to win the ball. 25% of the time he wins the ball and looks like an effective front-foot defender, the other 75% of the time the attacking player skips past him effortlessly and rushes into the massive gap Cucurella has left behind.

He's basically all the bad things about David Luiz without the many qualities Luiz actually had.

in peak cucurella form he actually wins the ball 40-50%

thats not to say everything you said is correct 

Plenty of positives amid all the usual negatives. 

Jackson, Mudryk, Gusto, Cole, Gallagher and to a certain extent Caicedo looking like we may well have half a team.

Three points, patchy performance. We can go from pub team to top side and back ina matter of moments. 

Gusto is superb 

1 minute ago, WhiteWall said:

But there is no guile to it from him. It is all so open and readable from him, he just jumps in, usually from the wrong angle. 

Yep. His defending is almost identical to David Luiz, but David Luiz was a much more gifted footballer, so he could still have a career at the top of the game. I don't think Cucurella can be anything more than a squad player at the top level.

10 minutes since final whistle and I'm still thinking we'll find a way to drop points.

 

Involvement in Newcastle first goal aside I thought Gusto was excellent and Caciedo much improved. Palmer again showed he is our class act up front. Jackson put in a good shift too.

Tonight's car crashes were Sterling and Enzo

16 minutes ago, Frankie8Lampard said:

Hope Gusto isn't dropped even when James comes back, James needs to work to earn his spot back as much as I love him

We have a perfect opportunity to develop James in other areas like DM, where he played at Wigan, or CB in a back three, just to see if it's less intensive on his hamstrings.

4 minutes ago, Sconnie Blue said:

Next 3 league games are very much winnable. 

Wow, do you think we could go above 10th place ? 😵