ClaphamFox

Such as? Surely you're not throwing the Covid party thing in with this?!

It's up to Maresca to decide how to manage his squad. We don't know what's been said or done behind the scenes, and I would not expect the club to make it public in any case. We just have to trust the manager's judgment on this.

You can't. We have it prescribed for our six-year-old, who is on the autistic spectrum and has sleep issues. We use it sparingly but it is very effective.

A message to who? Who does Enzo need to be sending a message to with his team selection? The courts will deal with Hamza in accordance with the law. Why does Maresca need to get involved? I doubt there would be as much clamour for Choudhury to be banished from the first team if he was a key player who we'd really miss.

For refusing to provide a sample, it’s a minimum 12-month driving ban. You can also get sent to prison, but if it’s his first offence he’ll likely just get a fine.

Wasn't it 'J' who told us that Scott Parker was done and dusted just before Maresca was announced?

They would not contemplate it because to do so would potentially incur a huge financial and reputational cost. They were psychologically incapable as an institution of taking an honest view of the situation because they were terrified of the consequences of doing so - hence their willingness to destroy hundreds of people's lives with false accusations instead. It's the kind of thing that would stretch people's credulity if it were a work of fiction or a TV drama, but which actually happened in the real world.

Is that purely down to him, though, or is he being told to do that? Very often we seem to get into great positions only to slow the game right down and send it back down the pitch rather than try a risky pass that could lead to a goal. McAteer isn't the only one who does this. It seems to be a tactical decision that comes from Maresca - ie, whatever you do, don't lose the ball....

This guy (whose credentials I cannot vouch for) reckons that Sensi has been 'promised' to us but that they might keep him for another week because they're short of midfielders for their game against Fiorentina this weekend: https://x.com/GianmarcoDaria/status/1749749675580588114?s=20

Early on in the season it seemed like he was willing to use his whole squad and was happy to replace players even when they'd played well. It felt like a major departure from Rodgers. Now it seems he was just trying to figure out his preferred core group and, having done that, he's making far fewer changes. I like Maresca and I still think we'll win this division, but his conservatism and unwillingness to freshen things up when we clearly need it is starting to remind me of Southgate's management of England, which is something I wouldn't have expected to write a few months ago.

No. The yellow was arguably a bit harsh.

He clearly lost his footing and got up straight away without appealing.

It's either a done deal with the announcement imminent or it's definitely not going to happen because we're skint and need to offload even more players (on top of Iversen, Casadei and Smithies) before we can sign Sensi. You're very welcome.

Enzo's presser was before Casadei left. It has since been reported in the Italian media that Casadei's departure will free up space for Sensi, but we don't know whether they know that for a fact or are just speculating. We should know either way by the end of the week...

JuSt WhAt thE HelL is GoInG oN At seAGraVe?

Not quite. They're reporting that Chelsea recalled him because Enzo Fernandez has been playing with an injury and they need cover.

It's mindboggling, isn't it? My Democrat-supporting friends in the US are in despair about it - they think they're about to hand Trump the keys to the White House again.

I agree with your sliding doors comment, but are we really looking 'a bit wobbly'? We're second in the form table over the last 10 games, only a point behind Southampton despite their record-breaking run. If Fatawu hadn't been sent off against Coventry, we'd likely be top of that form table. Yes, tonight is a massive game, but we're hardly approaching it from a position of weakness...

It reads to me that the comment about needing to offload players was referring to our general situation before Casadei left. I'm not remotely convinced that Percy has spoken to the club since Friday afternoon and been specifically told that, even after Casadei's departure, we still need to offload more players before Sensi comes in. I still expect the Sensi transfer to happen this week.

Only if we agreed to sell him. You seem to ignore that part.

I hope it’s tethered down.

Or could the hold-up possibly be that Sensi has been with Inter in Saudi for the Italian Super Cup, which ends tomorrow?

Exactly. Nobody is going to stump up what we’d ask this window.

Fabrizio Romano seems to think Sensi will sign now that Casadei’s gone. We don’t need to sell anybody.

Not a chance we’ll sell him this window.