Enda

I don’t like this idea that we have to name a replacement before we can criticize Olsen. Or that if we can’t name exactly who it should be, he doesn’t exist.

I don’t know who’s the best 23 year old goalkeeper in the Championship. I’d never heard of Moreno before we signed him. Scouting networks exist for a reason.

Olsen is clearly a good pro but for whatever reason it’s not working here. There is a keeper available on the continent who would be better for us than Olsen, I’m sure of it.

1 minute ago, Kiwivillan said:

He's played loads in a back 3 at Wolves. Jesus you post negative every time and then make out you don't

Pot kettle, tbf!

We ran a big survey and it didn’t have the impact we wanted so we are gonna have another survey and hope it has the impact we wanted.

Look, I'm here with a beer, and this match is like watching an U-12s. Could be worse.

Is Lenglet actually on the pitch? Why is Chambers running through jelly? Can we clone Duran? Do we have full backs? Is Martinez wearing a bib?

18 minutes ago, Jareth said:

Aye but he’s forren right? 

He is.

I’m not sure what you’re at with your spelling of “forren”, but I think it’s harder for a person to move countries on top of changing employers. There are exceptions but foreign (“forren?”) players will generally need a bit more time and patience to settle in.

14 minutes ago, Jareth said:

Diaby slotted straight in 

Yep. On his thread I called him elite, as good as Emi. Wonderful player.

A famous English legal saying is “Better for eight guilty men to walk free, than one innocent man be jailed.”

Brand is one of the eight.

He’s our best player. Maybe Emi is better. But this fella is absolutely elite.

That touch for his offside goal

2 minutes ago, Don_Simon said:

It's. What. He's. On. Course. For.

It's a barometer of current form. 

It's obvious. Come on Bobzy, you're better than this.

To be fair, a goal in the first match of the season puts you on course for 38 goals. But nobody claims that, since it’s such a small sample size.

September is too early to be forecasting the rest of the season with any accuracy.

He should have buried a few this season. He’s a bit off the pace.

16 minutes ago, turvontour said:

I've asked this before, and I dont think people knew. But is there someone counting each pass that's made in the premier league, or is it automated?

We have data collection centres all around the world. For every match we have three guys using bespoke software, which overlays a live video feed on a pitch graphic: one guy watches the home team, another does the away team and the third man is essentially a data checker,” explains Banoub.

“Using a combination of hotkeys and mouse clicks they track who’s on the ball and what happens to it. So let’s say Wayne Rooney picks it up on the halfway line and passes it out wide to Antonio Valencia; they’ll click where Rooney is on the pitch when he plays it, again where Valencia receives it and the software records an X/Y coordinate and time stamp of the pass.”

Each match produces between 1,600 and 2,000 individual pieces of data, which are analysed by Opta’s in-house team and packaged for use by broadcasters, the press, brands, irritating betting ads and coaches to formulate game plans for upcoming matches by obsessively observing opponents.
 

Linky linky

43 minutes ago, Rugeley Villa said:

I agree he misses too many. Even when he’d score two maybe three you always feel he should have scored another couple. I like him I think he’s an asset to the team/squad and he’s playing well enough for me to think it will come pretty soon . He’s creating chances still and is looking dangerous but yes I know he needs to do his job more and that’s being more consistent scoring goals. 

Gary Lineker made a good point on his podcast last week. He said a striker who is missing chances during a dry spell will more likely than not come good. It’s the anonymous ones that will struggle. Ollie always has chances, as you say. He’ll be okay.

The threat of being dropped (we have alternatives now) and the prospect of a new contract will affect him. I reckon he will hit form again.

He’ll settle and be immense.

It takes time. Does anyone remember Moreno’s first few matches? Like a fish out of water. Give foreign players a couple of months before judging.

Should have taken his goal first time

2 minutes ago, Tomaszk said:

Nicooo starts.

Moreno and Bailey bench. Everything else as you'd expect.

Thanks Tomaszk! Always appreciate it.

Any leaks of the team sheet?

1 hour ago, OutByEaster? said:

https://www.chelseafc.com/en/club-chelsea/the-dugout-club

£680

Word-that-begins-with-F me.

Villa had a thing a few years back, you get to play a match in VP for ninety minutes, all for charity. I remember thinking it was pricey but probably worth it to actually play on that grass. It was £500.

10 minutes ago, Tom13 said:

PS there is certainly no chance now of Darius making a comeback  R.I.P.

Wtf? Vassell is still alive. You scared me.

1 hour ago, bannedfromHandV said:

Cash and McGinn missed guilt edged chances too

Cash’s header? No complaints, he got it on target with pace. Ideally would have been less central but you can’t ask for everything from a full back.

Which was McGinn’s?

Liverpool’s first goal was offside, second goal was an unfortunate deflection.

Meanwhile Bailey completely missed a fairly easy chance from about six yards out. Had that gone in, the match could have transpired very differently.

But also, we were crap. But Emery will sort that. We’ll be fine. I’d like to see him drop a couple of players against Palace though.

19 minutes ago, Adam2003 said:

Amazing for us if we signed him on a free and then banked £30m or so from this imaginary transfer six months later.

With a buyback clause just in case.

7 minutes ago, Leeroy said:

I said Maddison would be a great signing for us then got told by Kiwi he was rubbish and doesn't track back.

 

Been a fabulous signing for Spurs and exactly the type of player we needed.

Yeah. Callum Wilson, who’s scored 80 times in 200 PL appearances, is also muck apparently.