DYC.

Steve Sidwell and Tal Ben Haim did better at Chelsea than Torres.

Disagree with you on that. Kroos will do more than fine.

Signing of the season for me so far, together with Kroos. Little buzz surrounding him, which is kind of a first for a big money Chelsea signing. I think he's going to be excellent. Found this: The guy's a veteran.

True. But Silva plays on the sides, so does Eriksen and Iniesta is a CM. And Oscar does create, let's not go too far. Considering he doesn't take set-pieces, he creates a decent amount of chances. He needs to do better of course. And Oscar is the best #10 in the squad. He's the only #10 in the squad haha. I understand what you're saying about his skill-set but he is a 10. Whether he's good enough or not is another discussion.

Agree, I have always said this. For me, the 'lack' of defensive stability if he's played next to Matic is greatly exaggerated. You don't need two defensive rocks in front of the defence. Especially with guys like Oscar and Willian/Schurrle with their high work-rate in front of them. And this notion of Fabregas not being able to defend is nonsense. But we'll see how it goes when the season starts.

Mourinho doesn't seem to agree. He never played him there. There were more players who you'd think would perform in the middle but didn't. Ronaldinho is the prime example for me. He was never as good in the middle as he was on the sides (in a free role). Cristiano Ronaldo is a player who has everything you could want in a striker and more but he's poor in the middle. Hazard will only be the best #10 in the team when he actually performs playing in the middle. Until then, it's all speculation. Who knows, Mourinho might play him there next season. I know I'd like to see how it works.

Not necessarily. You have the playmakers like Riquelme, Rui Costa, goal-scorers like Kaka or hybrids like Bergkamp, Totti, Del Piero. Real 10's don't really exist anymore if you look around. It's more about dynamic midfielders with all-round abilities. And coaches find it more and more important for them to contribute defensively. Willian doesn't do it for me in the middle. Mourinho talked about how Cesc's mind works a lot faster than most players, Willian doesn't have that at all. He's not fit for the role imo. And I remember Mourinho saying Willian is a player for the sides so he thinks the same.

Don't know about you guys but I find the prospect of Matic, Fabregas, Hazard and Costa quite mouth-watering.

Agree. I completely disagree with those saying Willian can be used for the #10 position. Players like Willian aren't build for the middle, he needs the space you get out wide to fully operate. Hazard's a different story but that's still up in the air. Oscar is the best #10 in the team as it stands right now. The new additions should help raise his level. But people should realise Oscar will never be a playmaker.

That's what I don't understand. Even if it's about living in London, there are a bunch of clubs to play for (on lower wages of course). It's not like Chelsea is his dream club. Even a player like Kalou, who most Chelsea fans would have you believe was a Championship level player, is a valuable player at Lille, a very decent side. I understand the money's great but come on..

28 mil? Ching ching. I can't help but feel this transfer window is far from over.

Good luck to Romelu. Fairy tale transfer in 2011 but as always, reality has to kick in at some point. Great money. I say go a little crazy and buy a top attacking player.

I say make a deal a la Real. Sell him for £20 mil with the option to get him back for £25-30 mil within the next two seasons.

That's disgusting. Were they real?

Try a more subtle approach first. I'm sure the boss has some persuasive contacts that could pay him a friendly visit.

I do expect better and definitely a proactive approach, taking the initiative. Last season Mourinho would have the team soak up the pressure too much imo. Defending very deep, which led to the players having to bridge a lot space before reaching the opposition goal once the ball was won. No top team should have to result to such tactics too often. And this mentality of having to play defensively or in a reactive manner whenever the team faces a quality side also does not suit a club of this stature. I'm not saying that's always the case but it does happen quite a lot. Ball circulation was a major issue troughout the season as well. It was simply too slow, giving the opposition far too much time to set up defensively. This should improve with Fabregas in the middle but it's not that simple. This is where the work done in training shows. The coach should allow his team to take more risks, allowing players to get forward more, instead of staying behind the ball, so there are more passing options. Players like Oscar and Willian also need to step up as they tend to slow down play, especially Willian (drives me crazy), without having any ideas on what to do with the ball. I'm not going to lie, the neutrals are right about the style of Chelsea throughout the years. If you're not a fan, watching Chelsea won't do much for you or can simply be boring. That said, it does not matter how Chelsea play, they'll always find something to criticise or to complain about. And saying Chelsea's style of play doesn't matter is simply not true. An attractive brand of football attracts fans. The people in charge at Chelsea want that, Abramovich wants that, every club wants that. And attractive, attacking football does not mean having to sacrifice winning. Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern, Milan etc. have all shown it's possible to combine both. It's not easy but Chelsea do have the resources to do so. As for next season, I'm not sure what to expect. This is Mourinho so I don't think anyone should expect Chelsea to be one of the most exciting sides around. But like I said before, I do expect better.

Make him a offer he can't refuse. Phenomenal player.

Liverpool bought an inferior player (Lalalallana) for a higher price. Losers. Great buy for Atletico.

Drogba asked Torres how his goal record has come along since he left. Torres did not find that question amusing.

Don't know whether I'm watching a individual performance or a soap opera. Drogba has nothing on Costa.

Cech, Courtois, Schwarzer, Blackman Azpilicueta, Ivanovic, Cahill, Terry, Zouma, Luis, Aké Matic, Fabregas, Ramires, Mikel, Van Ginkel, Romeu Willian, Salah, Oscar, Hazard, Schurrle Costa, Drogba, Torres, Lukaku Marin and Moses will most likely leave. 4 HG players, one being 4th choice GK. A bit heavy in centre midfield. Wonder how he'll juggle playing time there. One or two player might never play. Can't imagine all four strikers staying either. Torres isn't going anywhere so I don't think Lukaku will be a Chelsea player next season. This squad has to win.

Delac? He's still a Chelsea player? Chelsea have way too many players under contract.. Fabregas and Costa, good news.

Not a logical move but football's not a logical sport. This is Didier Drogba. He will make an impact.

Would be nice if some didn't end up joining Bayern, Hummels and Reus seem to be happy at Dortmund. You talked about Ribery's heir, I think they'll get Draxler or promote a youth player. Not sure. I could be wrong but I remember the Dortmund TD saying something about getting rid of release clauses after Gotze's transfer.

He's a Dortmund supporter and chose Dortmund over Bayern back in 2012. Though you can never really rule such things out, I doubt he'll join Bayern. Amazing player and of one of my favourites. I'd be estatic if he joined Chelsea in the near future.