6 minutes ago, Valerie said:

Please @dermott , leave it to my imagination!

Also, that looks very uncomfortable when you have to run around for 90 minutes 🤔

It’s a self portrait and I don’t run around.

7 minutes ago, loz said:

I wondered where I had put my headband

One of your arse-about days.

This is a comment from a Tottenham fan during today's game away at Liverpool. Sounds too familiar doesn't it?

"I've supported Tottenham for 30 years, the clubs infrastructure has destroyed everything now. No fight, no ambition, no hope"

11 hours ago, The Boehly Babes said:

I think a lot of the issues with Enzo and the optics surrounding him are due to what we’ve previously had in similar positions.

He doesn’t have the engine of Kante.

He doesn’t have the G/A’s of Super Frank.

He doesn’t have the passing range of Fabregas.

He doesn’t have the tactical nuance of Ballack.

They were the ‘Superstars’ of that position that we thought we were getting with Enzo.

He’s more of a Jorginho type player, he can put in some acceptable performances but more often than most he doesn’t ‘takeover’ or control a game and his limitations become exasperated.

Still, I only wrote that he had a good game. 😅 a bright spot—in a very poor team performance yesterday, he and James were the only ones actually doing some things right.

Jorginho thrived in a very specific, possession-heavy system with a world-class engine (Kanté) next to him, so not sure it's applicable to the way we play today.

Perhaps you are right though, which makes the issue expectations vs. reality. The Enzo I saw at the World Cup was a well-rounded generalist, not a specialist who fits into one of those legendary boxes. It’s hard to be compared to a Kanté, Cesc, and Lamps while playing in a squad that lacks those specific profiles entirely.

We have a glut of deep-lying and ball-winning types, which is why every manager eventually tries to shoehorn James into the middle just to find some of the variety you listed.

1 hour ago, acaeus said:

Still, I only wrote that he had a good game. 😅 a bright spot—in a very poor team performance yesterday, he and James were the only ones actually doing some things right.

Even though he's clearly nowhere near fully fit, Cole Palmer contributed a whole lot more than Enzo.

8 minutes ago, Nibs said:

Even though he's clearly nowhere near fully fit, Cole Palmer contributed a whole lot more than Enzo.

Yeah I mentioned Palmer as one of the decent performances in my original post; had he scored and it would've been an exelent one.

16 hours ago, acaeus said:

Still, I only wrote that he had a good game. 😅 a bright spot—in a very poor team performance yesterday, he and James were the only ones actually doing some things right.

Jorginho thrived in a very specific, possession-heavy system with a world-class engine (Kanté) next to him, so not sure it's applicable to the way we play today.

Perhaps you are right though, which makes the issue expectations vs. reality. The Enzo I saw at the World Cup was a well-rounded generalist, not a specialist who fits into one of those legendary boxes. It’s hard to be compared to a Kanté, Cesc, and Lamps while playing in a squad that lacks those specific profiles entirely.

We have a glut of deep-lying and ball-winning types, which is why every manager eventually tries to shoehorn James into the middle just to find some of the variety you listed.

Yes, Enzo had a good game for his standards. I specifically liked the bit where he made absolutely zero effort in letting his defender carry the ball out of the back and make an easy through ball for their goal. I also liked the bit where he made no penetrative passes.

4 hours ago, GarnachoCheese said:

Yes, Enzo had a good game for his standards. I specifically liked the bit where he made absolutely zero effort in letting his defender carry the ball out of the back and make an easy through ball for their goal. I also liked the bit where he made no penetrative passes.

That's wrong though. I remember at least 3 passes which could've easily become assists (lob pass to JP for ex), including this beauty to Delap:
https://youtu.be/nghtU-RM8_Q?t=247

You don't like his game, it's OK. I do, and I think we will miss him when he leaves (maybe even this summer?).

4 hours ago, acaeus said:

That's wrong though. I remember at least 3 passes which could've easily become assists (lob pass to JP for ex), including this beauty to Delap:
https://youtu.be/nghtU-RM8_Q?t=247

You don't like his game, it's OK. I do, and I think we will miss him when he leaves (maybe even this summer?).

Lovely over hit pass to the striker to put him at an impossible angle after having 20 seconds to make said pass with zero pressure on him.

3 minutes ago, GarnachoCheese said:

Lovely over hit pass to the striker to put him at an impossible angle after having 20 seconds to make said pass with zero pressure on him.

Sure, but that's not the one the video is pointing at, is it?

Reminder that the attacking output of the whole team was low.

On 15/03/2026 at 12:17, RMH said:

To be fair, Lewis Hall came out and said that he wanted to go to Newcastle as all his family were geordies and he was a Newcastle fan. I would have loved to have kept him, but it was his choice to leave.

I agree. That was a factor in his decision to join Newcastle. But he had just signed a new deal at Chelsea and wasn't pushing for a move at the time. If we had wanted to keep him we could have done.

11 hours ago, forbzy said:

I agree. That was a factor in his decision to join Newcastle. But he had just signed a new deal at Chelsea and wasn't pushing for a move at the time. If we had wanted to keep him we could have done.

He wanted Newcastle for the family reasons mentioned above. He also saw a limited first team future at Chelsea as a back up to Cucurella. He wanted out.

Where do we go from here? There is embarrassing and then there is this..

Might be our last CL game in a long while and we went out with a whimper.