The Skipper

Well, I guess David Luiz and dozens of other players are as big of a cheater as Suarez is as well then, seeing as they've also had their fair share of bad tackles and bad elbows...Rooney isn't anywhere near as dirty as Suarez, like I said before, Rooney's a saint compared to Suarez. You just seem to have a personal hatred for him. I've followed his career since his time at Ajax and you can't compare him biting opponents, his racist remarks and what he did against Ghana (and plenty of other things, he really is a scumbag who takes winning at all costs to another level) to anything Rooney has done.

DDA, Hutcho & Peace.

Oh I do, but because we're in the DDR thread I didn't want to elaborate because it's off topic. My main opinion on Mikel is that he's very talented but he's just been restricted/misused here at Chelsea. If you want to discuss about Mikel though just quote this post in the Mikel thread.

Hey Peace. Thanks for the thought provoking and balanced argument. You made a lot of valid points and I can't say I disagree enough to send you back an argument of equal quality. At least you can still admit that he's still a good player unlike others who don't want Rooney.You're right in basically saying that Wayne won't get any better - that Wayne peaked early. I don't disagree with that. What I do disagree with though is the notion that he's basically "over-the-hill". What I personally see in Wayne is a very talented player that is frustrated at not being allowed to play in the best circumstances and we at Chelsea potentially have the right environment for him to excel. He's a player that when fit, motivated and under the right roof is easily a top 5 player in the world. I still believe he's in his peak but just had a season that didn't go his way last year. You bring in the Villa, Pirlo, Xavi and Lampard arguments and they're all very plausible but to me Wayne's situation is different. The players you've mentioned above are all above 31 whilst Wayne is just 27 and clearly has still got plenty of top level football left in him. You are correct in saying that he's somewhat lost his power/pace from his youth days but it doesn't matter if we were to sign him. If we needed a striker that brought pace to the table because there is a lot of space in behind the defence and in between the lines - we'd just play Lukaku, simple. However, knowing that that won't be the case for the majority of our games, a striker who can play in tight spaces and bring in other players is invaluable and Wayne is one of the best in the world in that aspect hence why it would be a great signing. Wayne is very strong technically, has a great first touch, and doesn't get bullied off the ball easily at all. He's also got a knack of finding himself in the right place at the right time. When Rooney's at his best he's unstoppable. He'll win you games. That's why I believe he'd be a great signing for us because he does offer something different at a high quality level. I also want to say this - Rooney is still very mobile as a player even if he has lost a little bit if pace and power. He's not like Villa for example who you could definitely say is in decline because of career threatening injuries he's suffered late into his career - the same can't be said about Wayne's who has still got at least 3/4 years left at the top. He's still at a moderate stage in his career. Like I said before, I still think he's in his peak. Even when he does decline, it would be a steady decline - he'd still prove to be a very valuable player because he doesn't rely on that pace/power unlike Torres. Again, Rooney would be a fantastic signing because it would truly go a long way to us having a versatile squad which will allow us to be far more unpredictable thus giving Jose more options. If we get him for around the ~£30m it will be an astute transfer for a world class striker.

You might not rate Mikel as a player but giving the ball away? He very rarely does that.

I like that idea. If 60 people pay £1 a month we're already covering the cost for the current server.

Didn't they just sign Higuain? What about Insigne and Pandev will they just be shoved aside or?

You really don't know Suarez if you think Rooney's more of a cheater than him. Rooney is a saint compared to Suarez. You really can't call Rooney more of a cheat than Suarez. That's ludicrous.

CHOULO19 makes a valid point. Our team revolves around our attacking midfielders - and whilst having Wayne as our striker would obviously be an improvement because he can play in tight spaces and his movement is excellent - our team is more geared towards our attacking midfielders. Getting Rooney would be fantastic but it wouldn't be the end of the world if we didn't either.

I think Rooney would rather stay at United than go to Arsenal to be fair.

Higuain and Reina having medicals at Napoli.

You're trying to put words in my mouth - I never said Rooney wouldn't perform to his best. All I'm saying is that it isn't as black and white as you're making it out to be - you could be right, I could be right. Thing is, nobody knows except for Rooney and his camp right now. As I've said before, the ball is in his court. If he really wanted to move he'll put in a transfer request. If not then obviously he wasn't really up for the move in the first place. We won't know until the window's shut or until the Rooney camp come out and make a statement either way.

*bump*

Will they really be laughing when they've got an unhappy player in their camp, causing a sour atmosphere? It isn't as black and white as you're making it seem.

United and City all offered high wages. You've got poor memory if you think Hazard chose us over United and City because of money. Don't you remember that Lille had offers from all three clubs accepted and that Hazard sat down with all teams who all offered him similar contracts? He chose us because we had the most interesting, ambitious project and because he would be the main player for us. Simple. Anyway, back to KDB talk. Hopefully we'll have news regarding his injury real soon.

Bad news for United if true. Is Moyes just a puppet?

Tool? Ha, funny. It's the way you insinuated your post. I never said that you said that his "play acting" got Terry sent off. What I am saying is that you shouldn't hate him for it because what JT did wasn't good to begin with. Don't know why you'd hate someone for that. And as for his footballing ability? You can call him overrated or whatever, I don't really mind that. But to say he's a "terrible" footballer is just naive and stupid. It isn't as simple as that though. Right now, the ball is in Rooney's court. If he really wants the move, and hands in a transfer request; it is only then we can push through and up our bid.

Happy birthday pal!

Van Ginkel isn't a number 10.

No, he isn't a terrible player at all and no, Terry's stupidity got him sent off. Even Terry himself said it was stupid.

The depth in our squad means I'm not worried whatsoever about these three missing out. Would never have been able to say the same if we were in a similar situation last season. Mata's not playing? That's okay, we have Oscar/De Bruyne/Hazard/Schurrle/Moses. No Azpilicueta? Cool, we have Ivanovic/Kalas who can easily slot in. No Torres (lol)? It's okay, we have Lukaku and Ba coming in. Even Rooney potentially. Squad depth really is a wonderful thing. My starting line up vs Hull, providing everyone stays injury free: Cech Ivanovic - Luiz - Terry - Cole Mikel - Ramires Oscar - De Bruyne - Hazard Lukaku

As I've previously stated, I would like to keep Ba because he offers something different to Lukaku and Torres (not that Lukaku can't learn to be a target man like Ba but for the mean time he's the only proper target man we have). The club should be looking to sell Fernando before selling Ba if we do get Rooney. Ba's on low wages and is the ideal squad player. A Rooney/Lukaku/Ba strike force offers versatility and tactical flexibility. Almost as good as City's strike force - would probably be the second best in the league.

Wilshere is the only English player apart from Rooney and maybe Shaw that I would actually want here. He's a phenomenal player but he's been ravaged by injury recently so people have obviously forgotten how good he is. Josh is definitely the better passer + better vision but Wilshere just owns Josh in everything else.

Good enough for what? When Ba was signed, no one thought of him as our first choice striker. He's a very good 2nd/3rd choice striker though, better than most in the league.

I respect him for playing and training in the humid heat whilst fasting. That requires huge mental strength.