OhForAGreavsie

He-he ha-ha-ha...

Yes but not in the parade. Meanwhile, I didn't even see the FA Cup in 2012, only that other one. Noticed it on telly afterwards though.

He'd be a big improvement on the lad who played up top in the second half today. And the one from the first half come to that!

No he won't. A player needs to reach his 10th yellow by the second Sunday in April in order to suffer a suspension and Cesc only reached that number yesterday. The next checkpoint is 15 yellows by the end of the season.

At least Claridge makes me laugh for being such a footballer, constantly butchering the English language. I've never heard a man so dedicated to crowbarring the word misnomer into the conversation as many times as possible, and always without having the first clue what it means. To be fair I did hear him use it correctly once but that was an obvious fluke and normal service was soon resumed.

Many people share your opinion, including most of our squad perhaps, so the importance of what you say cannot be denied. For me however the main aim next season, and every season till the end of time, will be to win the domestic league we're in.

Well said, and it's not just the money. As we all know, these clubs have an attraction that others can't match. While Roman was once free to pay whatever fees and salaries he wanted, any player with the opportunity to join one of the Spanish giants would virtually always take it. Throw in a cultural preference for Spain among the best Latin players, FFP, the once very favourable Spanish tax system, plus UK work permit regulations and our clubs are not competing on a level playing field. It is a simple truth that truly great teams are based on the talents of great players. When the majority of such players prefer to play for the same sides, the notion that other clubs can outmatch them over a sustained period is unrealistic.

Well then you must be right about the RFU being interested. Have to say I'm shocked; they know there will be a huge backlash from many Rugby fans and local residents. Still this many meetings suggests not only that the two parties are interested, but that they believe there is a way to make this happen despite the expected objections.

Yes, one could say that Jose might lie. I wouldn't however. For example, what Jose carelessly said about Nate Chalobah's first team chances at the end of the 2013/14 pre-season was not borne out. It could therefore be described as a lie but I don't see it that way. I felt Jose was trying to navigate the usual minefield of competing priorities and simply got his line wrong. I watched a fair bit of Nate at Watford and was certain that he had received more praise for his efforts with them than he deserved. I also knew Jose had been at Wembley to watch Nate produce an absolute stinker for The Hornets in the play-off final. I would put it as strongly as to say I knew there was no chance of Nate making the Chelsea squad in the foreseeable future. Jose must have known this too but he clearly wanted to encourage the lad and to avoid discouraging the rest of the academy. What he did say can be seen as a lie but it can also be seen as an attempt to be minimise Nate's disappointment at being sent out on loan again. In trying to do that Jose's comments went too far but, to be fair, he has learned from that episode and has spoken less forthrightly about academy prospects since. Yes, he's tried to encourage Nathan, Ruben and others, but none has been promised game time. I have one more point to make, and for me it's the most important one. I wonder if you agree... I would love Chelsea to win the league, the FA Cup and The Champions' League on a regular basis. If Jose can accomplish that with a squad made up entirely of academy graduates then good, but if he does it using no academy graduates at all then what's the problem? People talk as if promoting lads from the development squads is an end in itself. It is not. The aim is to win, who plays in those wins is not of paramount importance.

Come on Azul you know what's going on here as well as any of us. What else do we think a manager is going to say when his club is trying to maximise the transfer value of one of its players? What would shock us more, a manager telling this sort of fib, or one who was so foolish as to speak the truth in that situation?

And some transfer activity come summer.

My take on Jose's comment about Remy is that he's definitely out.

He was already beyond his shelf-life as a Chelsea player three years ago. The glory of Munich apart, Didier was generally very bad during 2011/12 and the club were, in my opinion, clearly right not to offer him an extension. If The Drog wants to play on next season it really will have to be elsewhere I feel.

I tell you what though. I was proud of the way The Bridge stayed with Torres, kept singing his name, making excuses for him and willing him on to succeed. I admit that by the end the well of patience had run dry and the frustrations were showing a little, but only a little. For 99% of the time he received great support, but we'll get no credit for it. Torres has spoken of his love for Liverpool fans, and I have no problem with that, perfectly fine that he should and I respect him for it. Contrast their behaviour with ours however. He gave them a great scoring record, for a while any way, and good times so of course they loved him. How would they have been if he had struggled in the way he did here? Where was that famous Anfield support when Leiva, Johnson, Baloteli, Mingolet, etc needed it? It's easy to support a man when he's doing well but we supported this man while he was being a useless, £100m flop. Oh, and when Nando returns he won't get dog's abuse either. I suppose this just proves that we're not a big club, like Liverpool.

When he was linked to us before joining Liverpool. Watched him for Atleti and Spain, felt he was extremely ordinary and said so. He received a lot of praise for his efforts at Euro 2006, a tournament in which I felt he was mostly poor. For a brief period at Liverpool, his numbers made my point of view look foolish but I maintained that if you actually watched Torres, instead of just counting his goals, the truth would be unavoidable.

Or to sit on the shoulders of Man City's U18 defenders on Monday.

Great news not least because they aren't likely to go all that way for one game. Maybe a game or two in Japan and China on the way back? Obviously whoever is paying the big fee to get Chelsea out there will want to see the stars but let's hope that Boga, Brown, Colkett, Loftus-Cheek, Musonda, Solanke and maybe even Da Silva get a seat on the plane too. Too good a chance to waste surely.

Before I answer I have to repeat the admission that my opinion is based on Youtube vids only. If therefore you, or anyone, wants to say that this opinion can't be valid, I couldn't really argue. Having admitted that however... No, I don't rate him. To me he looks decent but not special and special must be our benchmark for expensive transfer targets. Even if I'm wrong, and Icardi is better than I realise, I don't think we need his type anyway. Yes, I do want us to sign a striker but I'd like that player to be a contrast, and potential compliment, to Costa. Specifically I want us to bring in a striker with top level technical skills. That might be someone like Dybala but it does not seem to me to be Icardi.

Good.

I can't argue it since I've only watched Dybala in one full game (last night) and that's not enough for a truly valid opinion. Meanwhile, it's clear that Palermo are trying to massage the fee. That said, I am not a fan of Icardi (another youtube based opinion I'm afraid) and am in no hurry to see him here. He does not strike me as outstanding in any department and anyway, he looks too similar to Costa. I'd like us to add something different, not more of the same.

For what it's worth, and I can't complain if you say it isn't worth much, I watched youtube videos of Pastore when he was linked with us ahead of joining PSG. From those I formed the opinion that he was not worth signing and that he would not be a success in Paris. On the other hand, having watched Dybala's youtube clips, he looks better than Pastore in my opinion.

A sensible attitude by club and player I think.

The three strikers you've listed sound a better combination to me than any two of them plus Drogba. If Didier continues to play next season, I hope it's elsewhere.

Watched Dybala today. He set up both goals in a 2-1 win, hit the woodwork and was MoTM. I like this bloke and we need a player like him. If we land him I'll be pleased.

Speaking personally, I don't consider myself a super fan but I do care about the football that's played. I have two issues however: Although some will disagree, I am convinced that this squad is not good enough to win the league playing on the front foot. I've seen it happen time and time and time again that clubs arrive expecting a battering but become emboldened by the fact that our players keep passing to them. We survive this habit when our shape caters for it but we are horribly exposed when it does not. Our squad is better than it has been in the recent past but it is still not good enough. I am seldom frustrated by how we play but I often am by how poorly we play. @Blue Coloured Sky won't have it, but the the only difference between our league performances at Man City this season and last, is that in 2013/14 we played well there, while this term we did not. The shape of the side was exactly the same. Atletico are much admired, including by me. They don't play front foot, they play what Jose is now calling strategically but with the difference that their passing is more sound than ours. This allows them to move forward with greater purpose and effect and also allows them time to recover their shape before possession is lost. When Jose returned I felt we were 8 players short. We've made progress in that regard but there are still too many weak links. If we are still having to play like this three years from now, I will be as angry as some others are. For now however, I am calm and happy. Because we have Jose.