DYC.

I'm a huge David Villa fan but come on, when did he become capable of playing in midfield and the #10 position? He never even plays in those positions. He's a pure forward. He did a good job as a left forward in his debut season at Barca but he's a striker.Dzeko and Balotelli haven't exactly been happy with their roles at City have they? And because of that, Mancini is forced to rotate constantly up front which has led to the forwards failing to get into a flow thus struggling with form. Utd's case is different. Welbeck and Hernandez aren't 'stars'. But it's only a matter of time before they become unhappy if they remain back-ups. And I doubt Villa would leave sunny Spain and Barcelona to fill the same role, the role of rotation player, at Chelsea, the role he apparently is unhappy with now. Unless we pay him a lot of money.. not really a good idea. There are plenty of options out there.

I think he's class.

Cristiano Ronaldo won't last forever. And I'm sure he'd start over Di Maria on the right.But what are we talking about? He's here, let's simply enjoy that fact.

Real Madrid is the ultimate football club for any footballer (except Barca fans). Add the fact that Zidane is his idol and him dreaming of Real is only logical.Personally I'm not too bothered about it, not at all actually. Not every player we get will end up a Lampard case. If he stays here for 5, 6 years and then moves, we simply play/get someone else. Hazard is a exceptional talent but he's not the only one and there will be more to come.

I think you are the one getting ahead of yourself Rmpr haha. I never said anything about Mikel being a outstanding or world-class player. In fact, I agree with you. He's a good player but he's not world-class.

It wasn't aimed at you. TorontoChelsea mentioned Mikel's performance and I said something about it. I don't think you even mentioned Mikel in your post so it really didn't have anything to do with your post.

Hey someone who agrees with me. I seriously think Mikel's game is simply too boring and simple for most and that's why they don't like/rate him.

I'm watching and I saw the game against Villa. Guess I simply don't share your opinion.Me hate Luiz? Haha. I'm part of the small group of people here who have defended him whenever he gets unfairly criticized, which happens quite a lot. So I don't think I hate him Muzchap.

Mata really is the new Lampard. Brilliant finish. Just needs to work on his fitness. If he does that, he'd be able to play in the same role as Lamps in a 4-3-3.

I personally don't think he's a midfielder. He'd have to learn how to play there but that takes a long time. And I don't think he'd ever be completely suited to the role. He's a defender and a pretty good one imo. But due to his style, he'll never be everybody's cup of tea in the PL. He does need to step it up though, at this level we need better than just pretty good. Nice emergency option though.

It was him basically saying sack me (no money if he resigns himself). That's what I think that is.

That was a brilliant header really. A dipping cross and from such range, simply perfect. His heading has been the only consistent trait in his time here, unlucky not to score more due to some brilliant saves (offside at the CWC).

I don't think the people currently in charge at Bayern will ever want a controversial manager again after Van Gaal haha.Think Spalletti did a excellent job at Roma. He built a good team with limited funds. Also played good and attractive football with his Roma team. I remember us having a very hard time against him back in 08/09 I think. We even lost in the away match. He also showed he's innovative as he was the first to play a real '4-6-0' formation. Can't say I'm convinced he'd do a good job here but it would be a risk worth taking imo. Don't see it happening though.

How anyone could say Lamps is/was inferior to Gerrard.. Even now Frank keeps proving them wrong.

Ohh Frank.. I love you you super studly super stud!

Going to PSG next would be a good move for him. I personally hope Chelsea are looking at other managers.

Don't you hear that all the time though? First it was Van Nistelrooy, then Cristiano Ronaldo, then Rooney, now Van Persie.Utd are a unit but they build their team around a player who will as a result excel/catch the headlights. Besides, it's both Rooney and Van Persie carrying the team currently. In terms of scoring goals and creating chances that is. They said the same about us and Drogba but we mostly managed whenever he wasn't available or out of form in his time here.

So I'm the only one actually expecting Utd to knock Real out? Well expecting, I think they'll win.

Add Porto - Malaga to that list. I'm gonna enjoy being a neutral.

You're just repeating what I already said though haha. I never said you can't be skilled or good at moving the ball, I was purely referring to the style of defenders of Davids's ilk. If Pique pushes up and Barca concedes a goal from a counter for example, they don't blame Pique for the goal. Most will wonder why no one covered him. I only mentioned British but I didn't they say they're the only ones. Germans and Italians in general too like you said but they also produced attacking CBs, think Beckenbauer and Baresi (and they are know as the best they've had, go figure). But the game is quicker now so you get punished more. You should see Kompany play for Belgium btw, different player. Dribbling from the back, pushing up and joining attacks, applying early pressure. At City he goes into English CB mode.

He won the corner that led to the 2-1. Good cameo overall.

With British mentality I was referring to them preferring their CBs to stay at the back, keep everything very simple and just focus on defending. While the Dutch, Spanish & Brazilian for example are used to defenders pushing up, keeping the ball after winning it at the back instead kicking the ball out of play (unless there's no other option) etc.

Those dipping long range shots today were trademark Lamps. Haven't seen him that trigger happy in a long time, unlucky not to score. Would love to see Oscar and Lamps being tried out with Mikel behind them in a three man midfield.

Don't think those with that typical British mentality will ever like David Luiz. He played a bad pass in the attacking third, the opposition had so much ground to cover, flawless counter attack btw, and there were enough players at the back (though Oscar switched off). To put all the blame on him for that goal would be ignorant.

People people.. Just look at the boy, so much natural talent. And he doesn't seem to have any attitude problems and looks like real professional so I don't have any doubt he'll be huge for us. You just can't expect a newcomer to come in and rip the league apart. It has happened in different cases and it would've been nice but still unrealistic. To make things worse, he joined a unbalanced and struggling side, a team that doesn't possess a clear style of play. He used to play in a inferior league as well. Ligue 1 can't be compared to the Premier League. Remember Essien, Drogba and Malouda? They were all Ligue 1 imports and they all needed time to adjust (and they joined a team that was among very the best at the time). They were far more experienced as well, Hazard is 21(!). But they turned out okay. Hazard didn't ask Chelsea to pay 32 mil pounds for him did he? This is a completely new experience for him. Just give the boy some time and he'll come good.