Kostas

While a good shout the cynic in me can't but point to the painfully similar threads we had last year about Sturridge, Borini, Kakuta, Stoch, Bruma and PvA. And we all know how that worked out..

Annoying games. Would like to know what wages he'll demand the next time we come knocking Santos' door. Not to mention his current pricetag..

Anything but 09/10 as fas as I'm concerned.

Cosign every single word. The only thing about Mikel that hasn't tremendously improved is his reputation. Most opposition fans (who probably watch him like twice a year) still fail to recognize the numerous qualities he has and are quick to say he's limited and his game mediocre. That is probably the biggest Chelsea related lie after Cech never being the same since his injury.

You've barely seen them play! That's not faith that's football muppetry.

Absolutely, however in Ancelotti's defense while Mikel is (currently) generally better than Lampard or Essien, his game offers less to our attacking play in terms of runs and exploiting space, which our team probably needs more than Mikel's passing ability due to all our attackers having a terrible touch. +1'ed the wrong post

Apparently goal.com isn't completely useless. I read an article about Brazilian prospects some time ago and they mentioned this Lucas kid. Brazilian Scouting Special @goal.com

Good to see Iniesta praising him. Some fans of Spain told me they were shocked by how bad he was in that game.

I take it Neymar is playing well? Who, apart from the bitters, is genuinely surprised?

You're wanking over random 17 year old midfielders establishing themselves in one of Europe's top 5 teams. I'm not even going to have this discussion.

I'm not worried nor do I believe the club are v worried about the fair play rules. What I'm sure Abramovich, Gourlay, Buck and co. are trying to achieve is getting closer to breaking even and by the looks of it we've got a long way to go.It has been widely suggested that the club felt the need to buy players like Torres and Luiz to ensure our Champions League spot, which at the time, was in danger. So in that sense those deals were a needed cash injection to ensure investment as much as they were a statement of intent from Roman.

True but I had to remind everyone how baseless this discussion is. Anyway I fully expect some to hype Chalobah next year as the next JT and "discuss" about a possible partnership with Bruma/Luiz that will last 2 decades.

Have to wonder how many of the posters in this thread have watched over 10 full games of the players being mentioned.

Afaik we don't have much footage from Chelsea's training sessions

I think a reality check is needed. Or less time spent on FM/PES.

Expanding the Bridge is not an option. It's discussed every 3-4 months and people should have got it by now. Do we? I was under the impression that most of the times that we don't sell out it's due to the away fans.I'm not going to pretend I'm sentimental over this as I've never been to the Bridge. Building a new stadium is absolutely vital to maintaining our place in English and European football.

I remember similar reports leaking last year, just can't recall if they were actually confirmed.

The Facebook and Twitter thread

This probably gives us a clue about where we scouted him.

Anyone willing to bet whose place on the bench he'll take?

It may not, but that was not a case of a player keeping someone in his pocket. Mind pointing me to a post of mine that made you think that?

Giving him credit is one thing. Overstating things is different.If you don't remember how Bale was double or even triple-marked during that game I suggest you watch it again.

Good news.

He, Kalou and Ramires did.