nofacej

First and last months of the season look pretty comfortable which might prove decisive. Actually from Feb 4 onward we have a really clean run to the finish line. If we can stay in the mix or even find ourselves on top until then I'd say we've got a pretty good shot at snowballing out of control from that point onwards.

Much as I still appreciate everything Mourinho achieved with the club, I have to say, Conte's brand of optimism is very refreshing on the back of such a dour season. It feels good to have that excitement back, and I look forward to seeing his brand of football week in, week out over the course of next season, and hopefully long beyond that. If nothing else, Conte is saying all the right things.

If they do score, I hope they score early. We have a habit of conceding late this season against the big teams, especially when defending a lead, and that could be costly against PSG. Still, I have confidence we will get the job done.

Costa without a moment's hesitation.

This is why I always get blank shirts. Plus I support the club, and not individual players anyway.

Every club in the world except Chelsea, Manchester United and Bayern Munich, though I do think he's currently a superior keeper to Courtois and De Gea, his age excludes him from being picked over either of them.

10H, 5A.

Would Robben have become the player he is today if he'd stayed with us though? I somehow doubt it.

Taken from Wikipedia. Ivanovic also captain's his country so he wouldn't be a bad choice if not for his age. The assertion that we don't have many players with Captain potential in them seems unkind to our players tbh. Admittedly we don't have as rich a selection as we have in the past when we had the likes of Cech, Lampard, Ballack, Terry, and Ivanovic all playing in the same team, but we still have a number of leaders in the squad.

I don't know if he'll be the next captain, but I voted Courtois because I can see him becoming captain at some point in the future.

Hope that silences all of Drogba's critics.

I don't hate Willian, and I don't care about any of the numbered points you listed. Willian's a useful player to have in the squad, and I got a lot of amusement out of his Tottenham snub. I just think he regularly makes poor decisions in the final third and it's something he can work on. I gave him credit for his great run, and then said his reaction was good after getting the ball back. I didn't realise player threads were reserved for worship and adoration alone.

Yeah, I'd even go so far as to say that clip/goal showcases his poor decision making as much as anything else. After making a great run, to then try and beat the keeper at his near post, from that position, with two runners bursting into the box, just seems wrong to me. He was incredibly lucky to get the ball back after the save, but he reacted well once he did get it back, so full props to him for that.

I think a won penalty should be an assist in some circumstances. If it's a tug on a shirt from a corner then absolutely not, but if a player has beaten his man and gets hacked down then I think it counts. I'd say the same for a lot of assists from open play as well. Squaring a ball to a player who then does all the work is hardly worthy of an assist credit, but it happens all the time. So I think you might as well include penalty wins if you're also going to include unremarkable passes from open play.

I'll be happy if Oscar steps up next season and proves all his doubters wrong, and it's certainly possible given how young he still is, but I think he will find playing time limited unless he shows a big improvement quickly. There's just too much competition in the squad now. Hazard is a nailed down starter, so that leaves at best two spots for Oscar to inhabit, and he has to duke it out with Fabregas, Willian, Schurrle and Salah to get one of them.

I think you're overestimating the maturity of the majority of young players. When most 15-year-olds signs for Chelsea they don't sit down and analyse the situation with reason. They celebrate with their friends and family, and dream of the day they'll play for the first team. Signing for Chelsea probably means it's only a matter of time before they'll be in the first team to them. Having that bubble burst must hurt a lot. Like being turned down by a girl you fancy for the first time, only so much worse.

Has completely won me over with that interview. Lukaku should take notes.

No, but it makes sense to keep an older, more experienced, and most importantly reliable keeper who doesn't mind being second choice as backup to a your highly rated young keeper.

Given he was only on the pitch for 12 minutes + stoppage time, it would be ridiculous to lay the blame at his feet. Especially given the performances of Pique, and Casillas.

I think the important thing to note is that we don't need Costa to score 30 goals to win the league. We were a hair's breadth away with Torres/Eto'o/Ba, and they combined for a pitiful total. I don't see Costa scoring less than 15 goals in the league and, provided some of those goals turn 0-0 draws into 1-0 wins, then I see that as being good enough. Drogba wasn't the most prolific striker, but he sure as hell scored some crucial goals. That's what our current team needs more than anything else.

A domestic double is the minimum? That's crazy. I'd be more than happy with just the Premier League title. We haven't won enough of them, and it's been too long since the last one.

For me success means taking home one of the major trophies (CL or PL) Par is competing on all fronts. Failure is pulling an Arsenal.

People (esp. media) like to make the comparison between us and City due to the whole billionaire owner thing. I could be wrong (not (m)any City fans out here that are my age) but I imagine most City fans view the City/Chelsea match as the second biggest of the season after United for that reason. I know I certainly enjoy it when we beat City. It kind of feels like the older brother putting the younger brother in his place. There was also the whole Bridge/Terry thing that happened a while back and the Robinho steal.

I am so sad at this news, but realistically Lamps hasn't been good enough to compete at the very highest level on a consistent basis for a while now. I really did hope he would end his career with us though.

The other way is set pieces, but sadly we've been poor at those for much of the season. We're still feeling Drogba's absence and it's not surprising things have been rough without a proper replacement. Hopefully we correct that next season.