LDN Blue

A fallacy. Ramires is actually better at his passing this season, it's his judgement that's always been in question. But he's one of those that's going to be part of this 'new' Chelsea spine for a good while. Something we need, because his energy must be exploited in the last 10-15minutes of a game.

This is my fear. I mean it's a very unusual marketing campaign they've embarked on this time :-\

£20million makes me cringe. That being said, I haven't seen much of Schurrle to even begin to see reason why it would/wouldn't be a prudent investment. Squad depth is necessary however, so a player in that position, with that versatility can't be bad?

I think there's just less emphasis on the full-back having to deliver the ball in. I mean the biggest change in the full-back department this season has been on them being a lot more defensive than attacking. But that's because we now have the wide guys like Hazard & Mata do put those balls in (even Oscar can deliver a gem of a cross). The biggest evidence of this is Ashley Cole's general play, he's now used more for a dummy run than he is an actual wide-player, it's more positive imo.

Yea definitely agree about Lampard & Terry. Rafa's doing right in leaving these two out of the big games because of the points you've stated. It's just a shame that we don't have cover for their absence, but that alone shouldn't warrant their own inclusion in the squad. I'm sure the board is under no illusion we will need a new centre-back & central midfield player this summer, the only question is if it actually comes to fruition.

This is a good point. I mean watching Yaya Toure yesterday, I just couldn't help thinking that Essien, in his prime, would've had Yaya in his back pocket. We did very well in acquiring Essien to be Maka's successor, even buying Essien when the latter was around. Unfortunately, we didn't do the same with Essien (albeit, his injuries couldn't have been predicted). There's still room for Mikel alongside a big, strong, centre-mid.

I disagree. What we need is the players we have now to stand up and become the new leaders. We have players capable of having a presence; guys like Ivanovic, Ramires and Cech are all capable of being those fearful players. I support Rafa's decision to leave out Terry & Lampard, in the long-term it's beneficial for the new leaders for this team to emerge.

I do believe this is a transitional season though. I mean we've seen the relationship between Hazard, Oscar & Mata click. We've seen a big improvement from players like Luiz & Azpilicueta as the season's gone along. It's not good for our league position, with what's happened, but there are little tells for positives.

I think we're just looking for excuses in the wrong places and blaming these 2 oversights allows people to have someone else to blame instead of looking at the team. You can't really compare it with the ball boy incident, I mean Luiz didn't even make a deal out of it because he didn't know what happened. No other players saw it properly, only the TV cameras did. This thread is unnecessary.

Well the complaints aren't very convincing. I mean he couldn't even see Aguero's challenge on Luiz and the Torres one.. Well put it this way, it's something all defenders do, including Chelsea ones, and they're rarely given.

I don't see what he did wrong lol

Agree with the OP, Roman for me.

I don't think that shortage can be blamed on a fee rise though. That's where we move onto a tangent of what our schools are actually emphasizing are the "in" degrees if you wish. This is where you could even blame Thatcher for that paradigm shift, but that's another issue. The fees can't be blamed for the shortage of technical engineers considering that we're not actually paying fees during time of study - we're provided by a loan that doesn't require us to pay it back until we're earning a certain amount. There's also an argument to be made about the lack of information being provided to youngsters about the benefits of vocational subjects. Again, another issue that needs to be addressed by the numpties in Parliament. That issue will never be discussed because this country's reliance on the financial sector is key in high school & college's encouraging those degrees and careers. I also agree about the German approach, it's one of the reasons they're the leading countries in industrial development, why they're experts in the automobile industry for example. But that's because Germany relies on that, as the UK does on Financial industries (thanks Marggie again)

Can you elaborate on this? I'm not going to question you for putting Thatcher & Stalin in the same bracket as Gandhi, Castro, Chavez till I fully understand

I think it also depends on your degree though. For example, I'm going to study Law in September. If I want to continue living in England (which I do) and practice Law then I have no choice but to study here. I'm okay with that. I don't pay back until I'm earning over £21,000. I'll never even see that money because it's automatically deducted at a fixed % of income. The same applies for the medical based degrees. Dentistry & Medicine must be practiced here if people want to continue living here. As I said, it's not ideal, but I don't think it should encourage people to go abroad. UK Universities are still among the top in the world.

This 'stupidity' is a fallacy. Yea, I don't like it, but do I hate it? Not really. Yeah £9,000 is a major leap, but if it makes you a millionaire years after.. It's a small price in comparison

Lmao, what the hell is going on here? Hall of Fame locked, this post

"I respect the dead, but I do not glorify them. Death is inevitable, but the dead don't immediately become saints because they've departed." This sums up my feelings on the issue tbh.

Derailed

Yea I suppose. But Sterling did play a hell of a lot during that beginning spell, whereas Lukaku was rotated with Long, Odemw & Rosenberg. But I stand by Weimann > both.

I see why people are saying Lukaku should get the young PotY, but I think there's been better players out there than him. He's had a fabulous season standing out of that impressive attacking prowess WBA have (helped with Odemwingie's antics). But Weimann has been great for me. If Sterling gets it I can understand that, he is 17 and really did light up in the beginning of the season.

I actually think (and I hate saying this) that Suarez should get the Premier League PotS. I hate the little creature, but the talent he has and some of the things he's done this season (football) has been truly outstanding. His goal v. Newcastle just showed his quality on the ball. Van Persie will probably pick up the Player's PotY because.. Just because. FWA award will either go to RvP or Gerrard PFA Young PotY should go to Andreas Weimann

Indeed. I hope Hazard, Oscar and co aren't taking note of this player power that preceded them.

Deja Vu It's these kind of stories that make me understanding, sometimes, of why Chelsea isn't offering new contracts to the older players.