Naitch

All that matters is a player with no interest in playing for us isn't on the books any more. We might be up shit creek in terms of replacing him but my expectations aren't high for next season. Although seeing the Lampard announcement stuff the other day completely swung me around and got me as hyped as anyone, I'll be happy with just qualifying for Europe next season in any form.

Maybe it's a miscommunication and he actually said that he wants to finish second.

It's five years for a 29 year old, I think the point was more that he'd still be getting £350k a week in 2024.

How many of those are real? I've heard of three of them.

That video should've just been sent straight to r/ATBGE on release.

Genuinely didn't know that Blackman was on the books. Getting rid of Higuain is a good call as he wasn't any better than Morata even though the latter definitely didn't/doesn't want to be at Stamford Bridge. I'm warming to the idea of Lampard taking on the reins with the rumours that he wants to focus on bringing young blood into the first team.

I'm quite probably in the minority but I'd quite like Rafa at Chelsea...

At least Ipswich learned from the mistake of having their Magical Vegas sponsor in colours not fitting the kit. This year's has changed to fit and it looks a million times better (spoilered for size):

The last new game I bought was GTAV in 2013. Pricing is a little ridiculous, especially for annual games when you can get them for 1% of their release cost just by waiting a couple of years. This is worthwhile for me because I don't have any interest in online gaming. I've never played Ultimate Team on FIFA and, while the concept does interest me, I wouldn't even consider spunking £50 for the privilege each yer.

Without Hazard, an aging squad, and likely no incoming new players, it'll either be a dogfight for 6th place or somehow we end up challenging for the title.

Thank fuck for that.

Damn. I'll have to retain my idea of a Chelsea Pensioners season for a Cube diary then...

Does a transfer ban include signing free agents? There's an awful lot decent players available at the moment, including some Chelsea old guard, and it might be worth filling out the squad just to keep it going for a season or two. Sturridge, Welbeck, Herrera, and Mata could all make for decent-ish rotation options. The Independent (via Google) also reliably informs me that Ospina, Vorm, and players called Rabiot, Brahmini, and Pereira are available as cover in positions with aging players.

Not keen on that article's suggestion that Lampard is the most likely candidate. Derby have been a playoffs-or-thereabouts team for over half a decade so it isn't like he's performed any miracles. Club legends returning as managers is a demonstrably ineffective solution to long-term issues; let the man continue to prove his chops in the Championship for a few years before even considering him for the job.

Glad to see Cesc is shutting Martin Keown's shit talking down. I'm sure he feels much more of a connection to the Chelsea side compared to Arsenal, having started the season as part of it after all. Cech and BT Sport also on point shitting on UEFA for not moving the final to Wembley. Nice.

PSG 2023?

I'd rather not tbh. Keep Giroud around and don't bother sending Batshuayi or Abraham out on loan for the umpteenth time. I'm sure one of the three can develop something resembling form long enough to keep us challenging for Europe until the ban ends. Giroud is at least a better fit than Higuain and the other two would hopefully want to prove a point that they actually belong in the team after being shipped out year on year.

Me and @stokeriño will be over here hoping that we at least get something out of this year's summer window 😕

Wolves doing Chelsea a solid. Now for City to convert to make it three for three please. Just a shame that the Burnley game was squandered to make it a fight for 3rd place rather than a scrap for 4th.

The question is will Chelsea Spurs it or will they SPURS~! it?

Messi 2-1 Ronaldo is the only score that matters now tonight, right? I suppose the other 42 players at least deserve participation trophies.

Trigger Happy Raheem Denies 550 Paying Fans Match Tickets

I really like the look of that England away kit.

Nightwish - End of an Era

Academy Shows take place to highlight less experienced wrestlers and give them a chance to get some match time in front of a crowd, but do feature main roster performers when they're around. Using the February shows would be a good call since it includes the February tour. That said, I'd be able to provide a much more accurate split of the roster/s (Bellatrix too) as I've been working on that myself recently. Shall we PM?