Ashley Cole hatred from us was warranted given the obvious tapping up and the manner of his leaving. It being a hated rival only added to it, but was not the major cause of our hatred of Ca$hley.

Fans need to realign expectations, yes. From 1989-90 until 2002-03 they finished 11th or below 5/14 seasons, and 5th or below 11/14 seasons. Then Roman’s dirty money came in and bought the league for a long time. I’m not saying that previous period is what should be accepted or acceptable, but expecting top 4 every year just because you are Chelsea isn’t realistic.

Liverpool finished outside of the top 4 in 7 out of 8 seasons more recently. Arsenal had a run of 6 straight. Man United not quite as bad, but missed it in 4 out of 7 seasons. The reality is that clubs need to reset and rebuild sometimes, and that takes time. This isn’t La Liga where Barca and Real are guaranteed top 3 every year.

Yes and no. I was Arsene Out from earlier than most, and while I still look back and see mistakes I also think we have to acknowledge what he did under terrible conditions. He was given no budget at all, and I don’t think any other manager could have kept getting top 3-4 finishes with squads full of Squilachis and Yaya Sanogos and Andre Santoses and Bendtners. How he kept us in the CL every year with that trash is a miracle.

Squilachi not being a cb is a massive miss. Mustafi was awful at times, but also very good at times. The latter don’t make up for the former but there were so many worse cb’s than Mustafi over the years.