DYC.

They actually did need a midfielder though. Especially someone like Vidal as they've often been far too passive in midfield, lacking forward runs and aggression in midfield. Goals from midfield as well, which Vidal provides. Thiago and Martinez have constantly been dealing with injuries. You can't go into a season trusting they'll be fit for a full season. Lahm is not a natural midfielder and he's so much better at RB. Alaba is unproven in midfield. Leaves you with Xabi and Hoijberg to count on (and youth). Alonso is old and needs plenty of support to fully function, and Hojbjerg is 19 and unproven at Bayern. That's not a recipe for succes. Xabi, Vidal, Hojbjerg, Thiago and Martinez for a 3-man midfield and Lahm and Alaba as makeshift options makes sense. Good competition and they'll never all be fit at the same time for prolonged periods anyway.

Ohw Chubzard... Really missed him.

That's the right attitude. I feel like I've said this for so long but Oscar and Willian really need to step up. If Oscar manages to play at least at the level of the first half of 14/15, and Willian does the same with his form in the second half, it might not be world-class from both but they would be highly, highly valuable. It would also allow the star players to play at a higher level. I'm counting on Hazard perform at a higher level. He keeps getting better and hasn't hit his ceiling yet, I'm convinced of that. Cesc and Diego only just played their first full season for Chelsea. The growing understanding with their team mates, and hopefully improved fitness, should lead them to play even better. And Matic is no youngster, but he's still a rookie in the DM role. A player like Busquets has played their from the start, he doesn't know any other way of playing. Matic is still mastering the role and the DM role is a role of experience anyway. He should be getting better and better as well and find that consistency. Same goes for Azpi. And Courtois has everything it takes to become the next Buffon. What he's been doing at such a young age is simply astonishing. Really looking forward to next season.

You know what's strange? I've kinda blocked the whole EL campaign out of my memory. I remember the CL group stages that year though... CL winners making Shakhtar look like prime Barcelona. And then there was the Atletico trashing. I'll stop thinking about 12/13 now.

I already had a feeling Mourinho would stick to Hazard-Oscar-Willian. Cesc will play #10 in certain games. Only way Cuadrado is leaving is if the club can recoup the fee they paid. But it's more about him getting a chance (and possibly saving face). Again, not surprising. Moses staying is surprising. He's a decent player and all but he does not add much to the team imo. I think Vic would be better off playing reguar football for a team like WHU or maybe even Swansea. That said, if his presence prevents Ramires playing on the wings, I'm happy. I am disappointed he's not looking for a centre midfielder though. All in all, barely any surprises going into next season I think. But improvement is still mandatory so I hope the boys and Mourinho are fired up. The league must be retained.

That doesn't make sense. The experience is supposed to make you better. You can't look at Stones and say he's better, but I'll pick Cahill or Smalling because they have more experience, even though they are inferior. But I guess we'll have agree to disagree. Mourinho did pick Zouma over Cahill, but that was only a couple of times, and more importantly, when Cahill's form dropped. It didn't take long for him to revert back to Cahill so he's comfortably ahead of Zouma in terms of first XI status. It even got to the point where Zouma would play with Terry and Cahill on the pitch. And Zouma was always known, playing first team football since he was teenager and all. Again with the potential and ceiling. That was never my point. I'm talking about right now. I'd just like a CB better than Cahill, taking over for Terry in the near future as the new defensive rock. It's rare for CBs to play at a world-class level before the age of 25/26. Terry and Carvalho were 23/24 and 26/27 in 04/05 and we were very lucky to see a world-class duo that was still young, mostly in JT's case but he's simply awesome.

England's CB duo isn't impressive. I don't understand why his age would prevent him from starting. See Varane for example. I don't know Stones well but I doubt the likes of Smalling and Cahill would be picked over him if he was the better player. And that's why I don't see why Mourinho would pick Stones over Cahill either. Young players tend to receive too much praise for their performances because they're fresh and young. Smalling and Jones are (far) better players now than they were 4 years ago for example, but they receive a lot less praise now. They're used to be a time when both were talked about in the same fashion as Jones. I don't question Stones' potential according to many English football fans, but I wonder how good he really is right now. Like I've said before, I think we need real quality instead of a player for the future. Possibly in addition to the acquisition of Stones. Properly replacing Terry is crucial imo.

My problem isn't his price, but the actual quality of the player. I don't see the point of buying a CB who is apparently inferior to Cahill. If I'm not mistaken, he's been 4th choice CB for England in the past year or so. I'd get someone who would take Gary's spot rather than a player who can become better in the future. Zouma is supposed to be that player and he's already here.

But Ferdinand had far more experience (didn't he also play CL football for Leeds?) and was a starter for England. Why is £30 mil Stones not a starter for England? His competition doesn't even compare to the one Ferdinand faced. A real question btw. Personally, I think the club should look for someone to take over for Terry. As in within a year, possibly two. Gary is not the man to guide Stones or Zouma and be that world-class defensive rock for Chelsea for me.

Best Player in Europe Award shortlist announced http://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/news/newsid=2265440.html#ronaldo+messi+best+player+europe+award Eden made the top 10. Great honour for him, nice for us as a representative of our club. (Matic in 28th place as well)

5 out of 8 seasons (+ 1 comeback season).

I agree with you. Many here seem to rate him very, very highly but I don't think he's that good. He has amazing reflexes, which allows him to truly shine at times, but he's not a great GK imo. Courtois beats him very easily, no doubt. I like how both Courtois and Begovic almost touch the maximum height for footballers btw.

A reliable back-up GK is always comforting so he makes a very welcome addition to the squad.

They'd have a bigger chance winning the World Cup.

Bony is still there. They might sign a cheap striker for 3rd choice, sign a versatile forward or use Sterling as a 3rd option. I'm more interested on their plans to improve their midfield, both centre midfield and options out wide. If they stick to 4-2-3-1, they'll need more than Silva, Sterling, Nasri and Navas. The Fernando/Fernandinho-Toure partnership isn't working. Maybe Toure in the #10 role and a new player in centre midfield.

The £30 mil release clause? I would love for that to happen. Very good talent. The money is crazy but when you think about it, it's comparable to the £30 mil Rooney transfer, considering that was over 10 years ago. If he quickly becomes a key player, it won't be a problem. If he doesn't, well... The bad thing about this is the fact that it won't hurt City's spending power too much. They already sold Negredo for €30 mil, and Dzeko and Jovetic leaving should see them receive €35-40 mil, maybe even more. The question is how much do they have left to spend.

I'm not sure about the last part of your post, but that first part is definitely true. Most make great progress after hitting that age of 25/26, 27 even.

Ferreira-Carrasco apparently on his way to Atletico. I think Atletico have done some excellent business this window, both coming in and going out. Really impressive. They now have a very talented group of youngsters in addition to the vets. Gimenez, Saul, Oliver Torres, Vietto, Correa, and possibly Carrasco. Then there's the likes of Oblak, Koke and Griezmann, all still young and getting better. And I have very good feeling about Martinez succeeding for them, he's perfect for them. Now they need to add at least one new CB and probably a new LB. Luis returning would make sense.

You should fix the title. 1.League champions. 2.Don't think this is a CL winning team tbh. But there is one great positive though. Bayern, Real and Barca are the last three winners of the CL so it's possibly 'someone else's turn'. Barca is the only team to win the CL within three years in the current era, with three wins between 2006-2011. Chelsea's win wasn't too long ago but that was all so surreal. And then there's the Mourinho factor, who will be looking to win it again. But I think some added quality will be needed. City, PSG, Juventus, Atletico will all be burning to win it as well. 3. FA Cup would be nice, but football is all about cycles. After winning it four times in the space of just six seasons, it's possible that trophy will escape Chelsea for a while.

You realise there are talks of Salah leaving for a higher figure? If you think Salah is worth more or even anywhere near the same amount as Oscar, I guess there's no point in going on with this.

It says Juventus are a bunch of cheap bastards. The story is obviously not true. But they could loan him for £12m.

I'm not on Twitter but just looking at the anticipation and reactions here, whatever he's doing is obviously working. Even those who don't like him can't stay away from him.

It's his terrible history of choking. It's always Higuain. The opposite of someone like Drogba, who scores a last minute equalizer in a CL final, and no one is the slightest bit surprised it ended up being him. Maybe a harsh example but look at the confidence with which he scored the 6-1 vs Paraguay. 0 pressure, expert finish. I think he took a pen because he wanted to prove himself, he said something like that before the game.

How do you go from Arda is perfect to Pedro is perfect? Two players with completely different characteristics.

When did England ever play that team? The players you mentioned enjoyed their primes at different times, except for Ferdinand, Terry, Cole, Lamps and Gerrard. There was always something missing in the England team. And like lucio said, other teams had players just as good or better.