DYC.

Being excellent both offensively and defensively is impossible. One will always outweigh the other. With the way Ivanovic has been charging forward, when possession is lost, he'll always be caught out of position. That's why players have to cover each other.

Hmm from talk of him not being good enough and selling him in the summer to playing a key part in the team set up. Quite a turnaround on Ramires after a few games. It's only been 4 games. Way too early to draw conclusions. The game plan has changed. It's going to take time for everything to be in place. If there are still issues in November, then you start fixing problems (this being Mourinho's job). The team is winning and have won every match deservedly. And on the matter of pressing, there's nothing worse than disjointed pressing. So when that happens, mistakes will be made. Learning how to press effectively doesn't happen overnight, it will take time to perfect it.

You could always look up Hazard, seduce him and become his boy toy on the side.

Why not? Chelsea have one of the highest wage bills around.

It's fine. I hope they're favourites for the title now.

You're right about Zidane. But you need to be able to carry your team (at the highest level), win titles and more importantly, you need big moments in your career to achieve legendary status. Hazard doesn't have any of that. He's young of course but being that kind of player is not a given for ever the most talented players. EDIT: That said, him reaching that kind of status is not important. He's a great player, just enjoy watching him play.

Apparently Blind is the second coming of Redondo.. All I saw him do is play passes to the nearest player under 0 pressure and recover a few balls because of some terrible play by QPR. I've seen Carrick and Arteta put in much better performances and they didn't get anywhere near this kind of praise.. Mikel can do what Blind did. Di Maria and Herrera were far more impressive. So was Rooney.

Quality performances in the CL. Diego can take Kompany. The midfield battle is more tricky though. Unless Mourinho choses to sit back.

In what years though? When he first took over in 2001? The last time they won the league was in '99. Terim was sacked during the 2001/2002 season and Milan were in the UEFA Cup, which meant they didn't even finish in the top 4 in 2000/2001. What manager wins the league in a situation like that? They finished fourth under Ancelotti and qualified for the CL. Juventus were the best team in the league by far and deservedly won the title in Ancelotti's first two seasons at Milan. The gap between Juventus and Milan was far bigger than the one between Chelsea and Utd in 2006-2009, yet Utd dominated. Chelsea were great, Utd was better. I guess winning in 02/03 was a possibility but the odds were against them. Ancelotti wins the league in 2004. After that, Juventus buys two league titles. How do you fight that? Milan were punished in 2006/2007 and started the season with -8 points, Juventus were relegated. Only one team was going to win the league. After that season Milan kept declining without refreshing their team. Their team was just filled with players past 30, well past their prime.

Yeah he's played an incredible amount of football for years now and that must surely play a part. But is Oscar the only one? And like you said, there doesn't seem to be a period of rest on the horizon so I really don't know how that will affect him. I just hope he somehow regains that part of his game. It's not only good for his own game but good for the team as well.

To be fair, his time at Milan needs to be put in perspective. When he took over in 2001, Milan were anything but a winning team. He had to rebuild that team and the Serie A was still the best league in the world at the time, with Juventus as the dominant team in the Serie A and one of the strongest sides in Europe. And then after Ancelotti won the league in 2004, there was the scandal with Juventus 'buying' those two following Serie A seasons. So there were two 'blank' years domestically in his time at Milan. Inter were the only top team not suffer because of the Calciopoli. They spent big, bought some of the best players in the league and just dominated the league for 4 years. And in those years, Ancelotti had a squad that was seriously declining. You look back at that Milan team and think about the big names they had, but they weren't all performing or in their prime at the same time. After winning the league in 2006, Chelsea have only won the league once in a 7 year period. You look back at the big names in the team and huge amount of money splashed on players and based on that, it's shocking how the league was only won once. But we know what went down in those 7 years. Perspective.

What worries me about Oscar is the big change in his energy levels nowadays compared to when he first joined. His stamina used to impress me a lot. He used to in constant motion, always running around at a high pace. And that was one of his strengths as he would tire opponents and always provide a passing option for his team mates. He has not been the same for the longest time. If he would somehow recover that in his game, he'd add another dimension to his game. And he surely needs that.

That's because Torres was a true false 9.

Bald thug.

It's like he can slow down time. One moment he's standing right in front of you and in the wink of an eye, he's gone. He's an okay finisher as well. Amazing.

Special mention to Mourinho for that half time change. That change was responsible for that second half performance. Diego, I'd give you my Playstation. Games and controllers included.

That's true. It's something I will never understand. Still, I would love him at Chelsea. He has a big ego but his time at Utd and Real have proven he is not a disruptive figure. In fact, most seem to like him and more importantly, they respect him. And adding him to this already strong team would guarantee success. Not that it's ever happening. We just don't agree I guess.

You're crazy Chou. This guy has 4 years of top level performances left in him, at the least. Signing him would guarantee PL titles and I'm sure a CL title would be in the cards as well in let's say, a five year stay. He would also significantly boost Chelsea's status. And he would be a huge reason for other top players/talents to sign for Chelsea. Cristiano Ronaldo joining Chelsea would be epic, regardless of his ego.

If Big Nose wants to leave after the completion of this simply brilliant and diabolical plan, no problem. His next club would have to make him the most expensive GK of all time though.

Operation 'Play Courtois for a few games so he'll think he's starter, which leads to him signing a new contract and puts Chelsea back in a position of power' is complete. Next phase, the return of The Helmet in goal. Suck on that Thibaut!

Platini, the dirty old man, trying to hide his boner.

Zlatan is something else, he has everything. I'd say he's one of the most talented players I've ever seen and for me, his genius tops everyone else's. He comes up with the most imaginitive moves and pulls them off. He's simply the most spectacular player. And the best thing of all, he's turning 33 within a month and he doesn't even look like slowing down. It's just too bad he plays in Ligue 1. He's better than he's ever been strangely enough and he should be playing in a top league. No, I wasn't saying they were as good as him. Simply naming other striker greats. Ibra lacks the impact Ronaldo had in big games, though Henry wasn't that far off. Henry was absolutely brilliant in his prime. An amazing goal-scorer and an amazing player overall. I'll always commend Zlatan for performing for Sweden though. They're a poor team, seriously lacking in creativity but he really carries them. Ronaldo could score with his eyes closed. He was a freak. As for Costa, he's very good but not special. But if he continues like this, he will be. Not the most gifted of players but his power and drive could get him very far.

Zlatan is the most outrageous striker/player though. The things he's done on a football pitch, there will never be a player like him again. Henry was a force of nature as well.

Even the Tower of Pisa has better balance.

It's not the same when it's not Fred though.