Excalibur KTBFFH

Now that we have Salah, we won't sign him. He was the other option, but Salah was apparently easier to sign.

Hmmm, maybe against some opposition, but it's not really a footballing philosophy associated with Mourinho. Mourinho wants us to press up the pitch in every game like Dortmund does. Never saw his Madrid or Chelsea team do that.

This is actually a pretty incorrect analysis of van Ginkel's style of play.

I hear you lad. No one is saying kick out Rambo. We are only pointing out his faults, which are further magnified by playing alongside such technically gifted players. Personally, I will like to see what van Ginkel brings to this team. An I also feel Ramires is going nowhere. Just has to improve his technique like everyone else.

The blitzing handed out by Dortmund to Mourinho's Madrid in the CL semi's must have left an indelible mark on Jose. His plan for Chelsea mirrors that of Dortmund. The only difference is that we have (and even more so with our CF next season) better players to take it to a new level.

You forgot about Shaqiri, who is supposed to be replacing Robben in the XI

A Central midfield pair of Kroos and Matic would be something to behold, but I suggest we give van Ginkel a chance. He was the one who impressed me most in pre-season, and his style alongside Matic, will no doubt complement the front 4 very well. And Toni Kroos is a CM Toni Kroos is not a AM, though he played there in his youth.

Or even a world-class midfield controller, a'la Gundogan, Modric or Fabregas. A lot of people seem to think Ramires' place in the future of this squad is certain, but I;m not one of those. Like you said, Ramires' technical quality (especially his passing and his composure in and around the box) is lacking a lot. It sometimes costs us goalscoring opportunities and breaks up promising play. This actually happens a lot and these are the two things stopping Ramires from being a genuine world-class midfielder.

Untrue. The ball was arriving to the AM and the two wingers quickly because of Matic's style of play. I thought the attacking play and transition was very good. Matic makes the play so much better and like has already been stated, it should have been 3,4,5-nil

I can also make an argument and say that sort of stuff is only possible in the Spanish league were the defending is poor and the quality of the average teams are lacking. Look at the way Stoke defended today. Concentration, organisation, closing down spaces, strength in the tackle etc You will never see a Spanish team defend as good as that. That's why it's possible for a guy like Messi to score 60+ goals a season. No way that happens in the PL

Hazard is only going to get better when he has a world class striker to work with.

Messi included.

Our greatest ever player in my eyes. Osgood was king, Zola had the magic, Drogba had the highlights, this man, this LEGEND is just an absolute machine!

Best solution for us moving forward. Ash = LB. Azpi = RB.

He was called "the Spider" by Benfica fans. I think we really should pick up on that name as it sounds so cool. Either that or auto-Matic. Haven't been this stoked about a signing since Hazard.

Makes Mikel look mediocre.

Finally, someone that understands. Mata can smile all he wants, and can be a nice guy all he wants, but he's just another mercenary now.

If that's the case, I hope Essien also gets a 6th minute applause as well. I think his contribution to the club is no more less than Mata's and this is a guy who actually had his career ended by two terrible injuries. But I'm not exactly sure what the point of doing that will be. Mata didn't leave us as a legend like RDM, he left us a a mercenary.

Can't wait for his full second-debut on Sunday. Top player, and from what I've heard of him, he sounds like a guy that has a genuine affinity for the club.

Missing the point. The point of my very first comment was to remind people that we've also had other great players play for us during Juan's two years here. Maybe it's Mata's perceived good, charming guy personality that has so many people falling over him.. And it's interesting that you bring up Joe Cole as this was a similar type player that got a similar type treatment from Mourinho. Never left us, even though he was wanted by Man United and Co. Took it all in his stride, became a better player and even won a POTY award. Joe Cole,Proper Chelsea legend: Chelsea ball-boy, loyal, fan all his life and never left us at the first hint of adversity. Can't remember so many people falling over themselves when he eventually left the club, even though he did deserve it. Mata could have been all these things, but he's just like Robben or Crespo in my eyes. Nothing more, nothing less.

I think Hazard also did an amazing job in his first season (which was Mata's second) creativity wise, don't you? He certainly didn't "carry" us.

Again, just my opinion. No need for people to get annoyed with me as we're all CFC fans. I could have chosen a less controversial first few comments, but differing opinions, view-points and beliefs are what make the world a beautiful place. If you REALLY think about it, he could have remained at the club and fought for his place. It's not like he was a fringe player like Essien or De Bruyne, as he'd played more minutes than most of our "reserves" and was probably in line to start again after Oscar's two mediocre back to back performances against Hull and Man United. But he's gone to United and doubled his wages. Good luck to him, I guess.

So "immense" in fact that he f***** off right to United at the first hint of adversity. Where is the loyalty? He was great for us, but he's with the Scum now. I'll take Paulo Ferreria everyday over Mata. A proper Chelsea legend who still loves the club and goes to The Bridge regularly to watch us. The point of my comment was that he's not the bestest thing ever in the history of this great club. With or without Mata we move on. I remember Lamps winning back-to-back Chelsea POTY awards but I never seem to remember a wank-fest over it. First bit of adversity and he f**ks off to United. What happened to his alleged "love for the club" and "wanting to be like Frank and JT"? All sweet talk. Look at Zola. Initially got benched by Ranieri but kept his head down and fought for his place, all this at age 34. No need to even go that far. Look at Azpilicueta for example, we thought he was going to be a squad player, especially when Jose said he's made up his mind about Iva being first choice at RB. Proper professional. Fought for his place and has seemingly displaced Ashley Cole from the starting XI. Ashley, ffs. And people were already comparing Zola to Mata and calling him a legend at this club? Ridiculous. He's had like what? 1 goal and 2 assists all season but expects to waltz into the starting line-up when other players are outperforming him? Based off past achievements or what. Like Mourinho said "Story doesn't play football". Mata was at least, outwardly seemed like a nice guy that loved the club but the fact is that he's gone to United at the slightest hint of adversity tells you everything you need to know about modern footballers. At the end of the day, he's just another super talented player that played for Chelsea, a'la Robben, Crespo and so on. He's no Di Matteo or Desaily or Jimmy. And I won't even mention an unbelievable legend like Frank as there's no point. He should just have cut out all the love bullsh*t from day one if he never meant it. He's a super-talented mercenary to me (THAT'S MY MAIN POINT, NOT UNDERMINING HIS TALENT), end of and the Mata love-in is just ridiculous. Personally, I'll reserve that love and respect to the current ones in the team that deserve it. Lamps, Cech and JT. Now at least we'll see some sanity restored to Chelsea blogs in general. People will finally learn to support the TEAM again and trust the manager instead of individual players.

Drogba, Lampard, Essien, Terry, Hazard, Cech, Joe Cole, Ballack, Ash, Zola, Jimmy, Eidur, etc etc Why do some people think Mata is the only good player Chelsea has had recently? I mean come on, he's not the first player to win player of the year award back to back. He was very good for us, but IMO doesn't deserve to be mentioned in the same sentence in terms of quality or contribution as Drogba or Lamps. All this "best player of last 2 years" talk is getting tedious. It's almost become a stick for the Chelsea haters to beat us with. Fact is Hazard was a better player in the second half of last season.

Judas!!