so whats going to happen Saturday who will play up front? will Adrian have one of his unbelievable games or a headless chicken one? questions questions questions and slav hopefully has been pondering this over the break because we are going to have to be at our best for this one...spuds will start fast and we had better be on our toes and match them or it could turn into a torrid 90mins...thankfully we will be missing noble so no one in midfield spinning around and disappearing up there own backside!! and of course the mandatory yellow he gets for that lunge tackle he always does and the square ball across the middle that the opposition pounce on(harsh but just saying)...I reckon slav will have kouyate and obiang starting in the middle but with pele injured will he revert to a flat back four?.....one things for certain and we are going to have to be strong and yes I hear the players understand how much this game means to us but don't they realise all the others meant just as much....I hope really hope we put the commitment into the coming games that we did against chelski but on the evidence seen so far this season I honestly doubt that....I hope for a win and can accept a draw but defeat Saturday evening well it just does not bare thinking about. COYI lets show some character

yes I mean Payet......so two months away from the jan transfer window and the rumours have started again with the usual "Payets not ruled out a January move" "Bilic pleading with him to stay".......if there is any truth in any of it then let him go...he has not been the same player this season loss of form? or seeking riches else where? if anything it would probably been the latter because he does not seem to have a problem when playing for France.
Lanzini whilst not at his best either this season could well grow into the role we expect Payet to play.....Also when we hear gold/Sullivan bleating about the jan transfer window is not good because of the inflated prices you have to pay well if you had not spent all summer harping on about "marquis signing" and actually done your work quietly(never happen)instead of in the end grasping at straws and trying to do things on the cheap...tore/zaza have been a total disaster and thankfully they are only loan deals but more worryingly is they were both players that Slav had wanted and fought for......we need some players with fight and determination because to many do not in the current squad...by the time the transfer wndow opens we are going to have to be active and quickly as the relegation dogfight we are in and make no doubt about that we are well and truly in it is going to be the hardest for many a year.....so sort out the Payet question quickly as we cannot afford to be distracted by this as the season goes on.

So as we go into yet another effing International break, what's that the 3rd since the season started?, we are firmly rooted in the bottom half of the table. Certainly not what I expected when I saw the fixture list back in July. Sure the string of games we now looking at seemed daunting ( I have us to pick up just 1 point from the next 4 games from my July predictions) but coming of the back of last 8 games where I predicted we'd pick up 19 points it wasn't gonna be panic button pressing time!
Well that's gone out the window and tbh I expect us to be rooted in the bottom 3 by the time we entertain Burnley mid December. Clearly my predictions aren't worth shit so who knows, we could pick up 12 points + a SF in the EFL Cup if we turn over Manure twice in the space of 4 days, both at OT. But let's be honest, the way we're playing, there's buckley's of that happening.
We've conceded an astonishing 16 goals in those 8 games, been on the receiving end of 3 hidings and look as likely to score now as when CC was playing!
The players need to take a damn hard look at themselves in the next couple of weeks and even if it means rattling a few ego's point out individual errors and demand better. Half look like they'd rather be on holiday still and the rest seem to be regressing to the bad old days of Sam. Noble can't go forwards, Adrian's flapping around like a seagull, Kouyate's probably wondering why he's now at the back, the front 3 are playing as if they've never met each other before, there seems to be an increase of headless chicken's now that we've moved from the chicken run. Passes astray, runs down blind alleys, shots to terrorise the birds in the sky, it's been a very poor start to the season.
What's the solution? Buggered if I know, but these players are better than they're showing and they need to not only realise that but get it into their heads that hard work is the only way out of this malaise and their efforts have fallen well short of expectations, from fans, the boss, their team mates and the opposition who probably can't believe how easy they're having it at the moment. Off field distractions should not be a concern for the players. They need to concentrate 1 game at a time and improve drastically. There's no-one too good to go down

Rumours this morning that carroll is wanted by a couple of Chinese clubs willing to pay him £300thousand a week...well if we get our money back or a bit more on top then someone needs to have a word in his ear and tell him to go...its a shame because when he plays he is a great asset but sadly he is just never going to play a full season for us or anyone so financially this would be a tremendous deal for him and a chance for us to sort out our front line

just heard this and shook my head in disbelief but here it is....we are the only team in the premier league whose strikers(Antonio is not one)have yet to score in a competitive match...injuries aside and only playing 1 upfront that is a truly a shocking indictement of our players and coaching staff.

Sky Sports reporting that Carroll was held up at gun point after training on Wednesday.
I heard it was David Sullivan trying to claw back some of the wages Andy continues to pick up despite his clear objective to never play again!

no not to give up but that we can do ok this season. i think now that bilic to his credit has changed the shape of the team to a back 3 we look a lot more composed on and off the ball. yesterday first half we were pretty good imo just as usual lacking up front. cress well had a quiet game though and that was a surprise as this formation is well suited to him. perhaps koeman did a job on him. on the other side i thought fernandez was pretty impressive. he looks to be probably the best summer signing although we can't comment yet on ayew. i did feel bilic deserves credit for putting antonio up front…most managers these days would be terrified of moving a winger up front. although he doesnt have the cutting edge of a striker he does use his power and pace to good effect up there. its not ideal though at this level. it did seem a little odd seeing valencia in the stands when he could well be useful on our bench, poor that he is he is better than Zaza. Zaza looks like he belongs on an italian fishing trawler hauling in nets with that beard and those tattoos. he has had his chance and offers nothing even coming off the bench. we would have been far better putting ayew up front and either putting antonio wide and moving fernandez inside or simply taking antonio off at that point. for me ayew is the best option we have up front at the moment. i must say fred was right about kouyate…he looks a lot better at the back and his ability to roam forward like a sweeper is a benefit.

Watching the news on whatever channel nowadays is 90% filed with depressing or morbid reports. So it should come as no surprise that after clicking onto Newsnow this morning the vast majority or "articles" were focused on the trouble that marred a fantastic result against Chelsea. Make no mistake if it wasn't for these mindless moron's this result would have covered the back pages in a much more positive light. Instead I've had my fill of mocking comments and purile statements made about my team and have to admit I'm outraged!
These retards, with IQ's way lower than their shoe sizes are dragging our club and everything it stands for through the mud and we're coming out smelling of Shit!
I don't know if these idiots are so called "die hards" who have found a second coming after the hooligan littered 70's and 80's, representatives of other clubs who've managed to secure a season ticket on the flawed +1 scheme and are hellbent on tarnishing our once good name, or just total imbeciles who seem to think this is a smart way to spend an evening.
I watch other sports around the globe and none of them come near to enduring this problem, why? Are football fans that effing stupid that rather than do the world a favour and jump off a bridge, they'd rather come and spoil a game for the many honest fans who go to watch and cheer on their club.
I honestly hope that everyone of these thugs is identified, banned, charged, jailed and hung out to dry by their employers so that hopefully one day in the not too distant future honest fans can take their kids to games once more and not have to shield them from mindless buffoons.
A great victory but a very sad result.

Not seen the game but heard the result I cannot wait to see all the chelski fans who were crowing on sunday about how great they were and a number of my family who support them seem to be unavailable for comment!! ha nothing makes me happier than beating that bunch of tossers

What happened to all this friday & monday night football we were promised by sky and bt nothing better to ease out of the week end than a match on a dark cold monday night