10am EST Saturday injuries from back to front Rud Reece Kante Mason CHO Pedro squad is looking THIN these days due to this not so mini injury crisis the kova/jorhinho pivot surely set to return at risk of getting absolutely diced apart by 2-3 simple passes maybe a start for Tomori this weekend? willy to return to the starting lineup? 3 points would be a tasty followup to our first win of the season last weekend, especially before the *vomit* international break
Of this group, we'd been playing without Rudiger, Reece, Hudson-Odoi (and Loftus-Cheek) for the start of the season anyway. I think Mason Mount will play. It was just a kick on the calf, which can be brutal, but there was no muscle issue. I think it'll be some form of: Kepa, Az, Zouma, Christensen, Emerson, Jorginho, Kova, Mount, Pulisic, Abraham, Willian Cabellero, Tomori, Alonso, Giroud, Barkley on the bench.
Sheffield's form this year: Draw v. Bournemouth Win v. Palace Loss v. Leicester Win v. Blackburn (Carabao) A crazy league.
i think the front line will be fine i.e. Pul, Tammy, Willian. they should still be able to create some chances. a midfield of Kova, Jorg, and Barkley isn't terrible considering the injuries but i do think if Mount is healthy he starts. overall i think it will be interesting to see if Mount isn't available, if we play a 4-3-3 or a 4-2-3-1 with Barkely at 10. not overall much different but could tactically make an impact.
Agreed. I think it will the same 11. It will be interesting to see how Lamps manages the schedule. He’s never dealt with something like this before as a coach. We play... 9/14 - Wolves 9/17 - Valencia 9/22 - Pool 9/24 - TBD (league cup 3rd round) 9/28 - Brighton 10/2 - Lille 10/6 - Southampton
It’ll be my first Chelsea game. I’m in London ahead of the Conservation Optimism Summit in Oxford (yes, that’s a thing). What is the deal with hospitality tickets? You can’t wear your jersey? I have to bring mine and change before I head to my seat. Weird. I’ll be somewhere in the west stand.
I am optimistic because . . . the planet is dying. https://rebellion.earth/ I am optimistic because. . .Chelsea have some good young players. I am optimistic because. . . .Oxford has some decent pubs. The Eagle and Child - J. R. R. Tolkien and C. S. Lewis, who would regularly meet in the Rabbit Room at the back of the pub. The pub is known as the "Bird and Baby" The Bear - oldest pub 1242 or something like that The Lamb and Flag - aka The Lad and Slag. . .I know. The Perch. The Trout. A little further out. The Harcourt Arms. A lot of my fave pubs were in East Oxford. Now closed :0(
Hospitality is smart casual. Mostly for people who aren't fans tbh and they want a 'nice' experience not surrounded by 'louts'. A concession would be to wear an official club tie or lapel pin or something. In some areas though you can wear shirts. Places like the museum and some of the bars. Jim, what hospitality do you have?
In the more posh seating parts of sport games (suites and so on), it just looks a little silly, especially with the way modern club shirts are*. A tie or a lapel pin is subtle at least. Or in the NBA's case, a polo as well but I imagine the rules for Chelsea are set by them. I can't speak for the types of person who sits in hospitality but having done the VIP thing at NBA and NHL games for years, there's a lot of perks to it that I'll happily take. *: To quote PCU, "you're wearing the shirt of the band to the show? Don't be that guy."
Frankie’s. I was told scarves are okay, but if I want to wear the jersey, I’ll need to change for the game. It’s fine. The hospitality tix seem to be the most straightforward option for American travelers that dont want to join two different fan groups to get access to tix that might be used once in a blue moon (no pun intended). There were tix on StubHub but I saw in several places that re-selling tix is illegal and StubHub wouldn’t give me a straight answer. Like I said, it’s fine. It wasn’t an outrageous sum and it comes with lots of perks (including food and drink). One way or the other I wasn’t going to miss my chance.
Really not a bad option for a one off match. Sometimes the only option tbh and scalped tickets are hit and miss these days (long gone are the turnstiles where someone ripped the stub off). Have a great time and remember never let the football ruin a day out at the football
1Arrizabalaga 28Azpilicueta 29Tomori 15Zouma 33Emerson 17Kovacic 5Jorginho 8Barkley 22Pulisic 9Abraham 19Mount SUBS 3Alonso 4Christensen 10Willian 13Caballero 18Giroud 23Batshuayi
hmmm time for Barkley to earn keep, Willian must not be impressing Lamp, or wants Barkley to stiffen central D a bit without Kante wonder if more a diamond or the 4-2-3-1
i imagine Pedro and Willian are just not fully fit and AC must have a knock. Frank has to deal with a transfer ban and a serious injury list. The season shouldn't start until September imho. We need less teams in the top flight.
Excited to see Tomori start, though I’d have preferred it to be in place of Zouma. Much less excited to see Barkley start again, though I appreciate our options are limited.