Krasnodar 0-4 Chelsea: The one that a penalty taking star was born

Timo Werner summed up the match perfectly when he said 'it was not as easy as the result says in the end.' Four goals flattered Chelsea - but it's not how you get there, just as long as you do. After a long 248 minutes without scoring, I'll take four whether it was a true reflection of the performance or not. Especially after that little drought! 

Chelsea v Hull City (Tigers): Welcome Back, Welcome Back, Welcome Back

Blowing Kisses. Proper Football.

The eagerly anticipated Mourinho 2.0 era has kicked off. Days before kick-off, supporters were wondering who would be given the gift of sharing the adulation that would be ringing out through the stands. Were they worried someone would miss out who deserved a start? Thinking had Lukaku done enough in pre-season to impress Jose? Or were they just sorting out their fantasy teams because Chelsea play twice this week?*

Is the Writing on the Wall Yet for Benitez? And does it say F*ck Off?

Terry: did not care to warm up and watch
from the bench.

It would have been a fitting end to his tenure at Chelsea, however it seems that Benitez has still managed to not be handed his P45 after what can only be described as an affair as limp* on the pitch as Raheem Sterling's wrist. *Other adjectives for the European Champions performance could include but are not limited to: turgid, abysmal, flat ... poo.


Since his opening match against City where both clubs drew to a 0-0 draw attempting to bore the 40,000 at Stamford Bridge into a comatose state, one would think that Benitez in all his tactical prowess would have bothered learning a thing or two about, at minimum, his opposition. Fielding an extremely defensive lineup against a team missing their best defender? Brilliant. It's almost like it was a lineup from a man who would make pointless substitutions in the 80th minute.

Even Frank Lampard, who's not put a step wrong since his campaign to embarrass the club into a (deserved) contract extension began missed his penalty. It was just not going to go Chelsea's way on Sunday, but they could have at least acted like they cared, if (and definitely) not for the 'manager', but for the fans, for each other, for the pay cheques they are only too happy to collect. The fight is gone on and off the pitch at the moment. Not to take anything away from City, but that was a display that anyone would probably like to extract from their memory. I may or may not have opted to drink until I could not feel feelings.

Chelsea's Managerial Merry-Go-Round: And Another One Di Matteo Bites the Dust

Photo: Six months ago. Today: .... sacked.

The only thing that shocked me about RDM’s abrupt dismissal is that it did in fact catch me by surprise. On many levels, and by many, I do mean all here - there was no way that Di Matteo was ever going to remain a permanent fixture at Stamford Bridge. Not that he’s not deserving of his time to shine, but it’s just not how the club is going to operate under Roman Abramovich. We all learned it as quickly as it took Roman to say Ranieri’s name.

And if I’m being honest, I had my own questions about the tactical nous that Di Matteo possessed for the long term success of the club. There’s a bit of guess work and a lot of luck certainly helped Chelsea achieve the heights that they did under the club legend. Maybe I didn’t want to get too attached to him in the role to avoid the shock of this morning’s chop. 

That being said, and despite my own hesitations, I was fully behind Di Matteo and think that a big f*ck off shiny European trophy with bonus FA Cup success should be more than enough to keep the man until the end of his contract. It wasn’t a ridiculous Pardew sized contract - but a short and sweet one to give a little stability to a club very clearly in transition.