ClaphamFox

That's exactly what I said to my fellow jurors when I was called up for jury service! Surprisingly, they not only ignored me but also got me removed from the jury. So disappointing

Not very reliable. They just seem to get a lot of their information from the media then act is if they've obtained it from inside sources. They tend to repeat any old crap, some of which occasionally ends up being true.

Did Stefan Borson speak to Blue Tinted Glasses, or did they just use his vague guesswork about us on the radio last week as their sole source?

Skipp, Ayew and the Italian CB weee purchased within this year’s accounting period, not 23/24.

It's so going to be us. However, I find it interesting that we've apparently been briefing the media that we're very confident of not breaching for 23/24. This time last year the club were briefing that we probably had breached for 2022/23 but had a strong case for mitigation. This time it seems we're going to flat-out deny we've breached at all. So if the PL charges us, it can only mean that they have looked at our accounts and come to a very different conclusion about what they actually show. A lengthy legal battle looms...

We’ve been crying out for the team to have more shape and to restrict the opposition to fewer shots - and that’s what we’ve got.

Today marks the beginning of Luke Thomas’s Soumare-inspired redemption arc.

That’s the spirit! El Khannouss is on fire You know how we feel Soumare is reborn You know how we feel We actually have a game plan You know how we feel It’s a new month It’s a new year It’s a new life For us And we’re feeling good We’re feeling good…

KDH did not want to leave but was persuaded to by the club because we needed the money. His departure was nothing like those of Kante, Drinkwater and Fofana, all of whom were desperate to leave. KDH deserves nothing but respect and gratitude from us - I hope he gets a decent move soon because his career will remain in deep freeze if he stays at Chelsea.

If the club is indeed confident that it hasn’t breached, it will be deeply irritated by the Guardian story because of how it will impact us in the transfer market. You’d think the PR dept would want to correct any false rumours as soon as possible, so I’d expect to see articles by John Percy and/or in the Mercury challenging the Guardian article fairly soon. If no counter-story appears in the next few days, I might start to get concerned….

Did you not see Hamza when he came on for JJ on Sunday? He was a clear and immediate upgrade.

I really like KDH. He was our best player for last season and I was gutted when he left. But his one outstanding season for us was in the Championship. He hasn’t proven himself in the PL yet and Chelsea have already decided he’s nowhere near the standard they require. Would you honestly pick him over BEK or Buonanotte, who have both performed at PL level? Given your claim that you’d pick him over any of the ten outfielders, presumably that means you’d also play him as a striker over Vardy or as a centre-half over Vestergaard? I would love it if he returned and was one the midfield options for RVN to pick from. But if we’re recruiting an attacking player I’d prefer we prioritised a specialist right winger or a striker. KDH is a very good attacking central midfielder who has had one brilliant season in the Championship, but to suggest he’d be the first name on the team sheet if he came back is a bit silly.

Who would he replace in the first 11?

This is the key consideration. Why would we risk letting go of a proven performer at this level for someone who we hope will perform? It would be a daft move.

John Percy reporting today that he is definitely going back.

Not a chance we’d agree to that.

No surprise - Jordan Blackwell also wrote in the Mercury the other day that Buonanotte is ‘going nowhere’. Great news about Edouard going back 👍

Presumably we’ll find out tomorrow whether or not Brighton are recalling Buonanotte. I can’t see it happening myself- I think he’s with us for the season.

People were predicting Liverpool would hit double figures against us. They were then predicting Man City would beat us 6-0. Now it’s a 4-0 win for Villa. No explanation is ever given - just a cursory “This lot will batter us 6-0” (or whatever). I’m genuinely curious to know whether any actual thought goes into these predictions whether they’re just a bizarre form of therapy for those making them.

Using those games as a guide to how we’ll do against Villa assumes we’ve made no progress since then (also, remember who was in goal for six of the seven goals we conceded in those games). I have seen enough in the last two games to believe that we’ve improved and are on an upward trajectory. That’s why I think we’ll give Villa a proper game and have a chance of getting something there. Clearly, others disagree.

What have you seen?

You wouldn’t bring Choudhury in for Justin?

We created several very good chances to score against Man City.

Do you think we’ll play as badly against Villa as we did against Newcastle?

So ninth-place Villa are going to beat us more emphatically than runaway leaders Liverpool?