Sifu

Bleurgh, another horrendous evening. Absolutely pathetic defending and what a very shit performance. Once again we did fuck all in the final third. Starting Shola from the off was probably the worst decision ever and to keep Cissé on the right wing for the whole game, man...speechless. We can't do anything right. This month is going to be very crucial, I'd take mid-table right now.

Wait what?

Still Cabaye for me like

I initially opted for Smith because he didn't really do anything on the pitch apart from a few "tackles" but tbf to him, he did do something useful off the pitch/in the dressing room. But having thought about it, Owen was by far the worst signing of the last decade, he didn't deliver when it mattered (the 08/09 season) and he completely abandoned us imo - he just gave up when the going got tough. Some captain he turned out to be. Owen basically epitomised what was wrong with the club at the time - overpaid s**** who couldn't give a f*** about the cause. £17 million - what a f***ing waste of money.

Bientôt, mes amis, bientôt. From the sounds of things we could get this sorted by the week (and hopefully in time to make his debut agains Brighton). Mind you though, hope he doesn't get put off by tomorrow's game

Had an inkling that this would happen. I'm going to guess that it was the case of Ba/Ba's agents asking for too much... Looking forward to seeing him play on Wednesday...

If that is so, then it could sway the decision in our favour tbh...(that is, he might actually stay).

He's just about to hit his stride. Would be madness to let him go now.

This thread is a bit of a moot point like. If we sign Debuchy then I reckon our defence will improve a bit so logically speaking that equals stronger. But on the other hand, if Ba leaves then our attack will become a bit weaker. It basically cancels each other out. One in and one out (that is a defender in for a defender/striker in for a striker etc) and then we might get somewhere in terms of strength.

You've just admitted you watch BBC Three. But The Incredibles is on! For the third time in a week. First time I've seen it this week.

You've just admitted you watch BBC Three. But The Incredibles is on!

I'd be happy with this. As long as Simpson doesn't have a hissy fit over being backup...

If we (finally) do pull this one off, it'll be a sizeable coup. An attacking RB (or someone who's comfortable with the ball) is what we desperately need. His age is irrelevant btw, we would have a very decent player on our hands and one who could help us to push on in the second half of the season. Good looking lad to join the ranks too.

So much for my post last night. Obviously, Chelsea are one of those clubs who would be willing to pay silly money for a player if they think the player's worth it and they definitely have the means to meet Ba's (and his agents') demands. Ba's knee could yet end up being the stumbling block though. You could even say that Ba's agents could end up asking for too much... So yep, I'm still holding out hope that he stays. Having said that, this has come about rather quickly so it is very plausible that they could sort out everything by the end of next week so it looks like Ba's swansong could be that of the Everton game. If he does go, I won't hold any ill-feelings towards him - he was instrumental to our successful season last year after all. Whilst his attitude recently has been rather questionable, he has still done the job he was paid to do - to score goals. I'll miss him.

Was probably just pissed off that we conceded 7 goals and wanted to get off the pitch as soon as he could.

The talent we saw briefly last season is finally coming into a game of his own this season Was a class act tonight.

The release clause thing isn't as simple as it looks really. If it was the case of a club meeting the £7/7.5 million fee then Ba would have almost certainly been gone during the summer. I don't see how things would be any different next month (that is unless another club is willing to pay him silly money and is confident of looking after that knee). The only thing that's changed is that Ba's attitude towards leaving - it seems to me he's more open to a move now than during the summer.

Not me.

Another somewhat promising (attacking) performance from him. Looks like he's more suited to LW than RW which I think is down to him having less thinking time on the left. Just guessing there but in any case, we're seeing more positives from Obertan these days.

No idea how this is going to go. I'm just going to head to the pub and hope for the best.

It's rather sad to see that he's not the force that he used to be. The signs are still there mind so I'm still going to put my trust into him. All he has to do is to get back to basics and stop trying to do complicated stuff. He has to remember that his job is to protect the defence and to find the simple pass to our attackers, he's been dawdling on the ball a bit too much for my liking this season.

Woop, Gameiro/Erdinç saga all over again, nearly.

His worst performance to date, unfortunately. He has been one of our better players this season but nothing went well for him tonight. I'm sure he'll be fine in his next few games.

True, the second half of 08/09 was an utter shambles. Heads completely dropped then.

My head is firmly in the sand. Don't think we're in that deep of a shit yet.