LDN Blue

Ah come on, that's unfair to Bertrand I think. What you've described in his flaws, as a left-back, can be something that's easily improved the more he's allowed to play at left-back. We've seen him play left midfield and wing so much that people do often forget that he's actually a good defender. Bertrand will only pick up that instinct of when to/when not to go forward the more experience he picks up there.

Woo a religion debate!

Lmao, I was wondering how long it would take for this to pop up. But no thanks. He's never come through in a big match in his career and he won't begin now. Not to mention his wage demands etc.

The man had his flaws in Venezuela, there's no doubting that. But he's a man I have deep respect for, his policy of nationalizing Venezuela's resources was fantastic and the fact he's given more aid to Cuba than America has to any other Latin country just tells you all you need. He substantially reduced the poverty gap and his Bolivarian Revolution was a great success - albeit probably not how he wanted. And of course, how can you not take a minute to enjoy his.. Interesting singing Rest In Power Chávez!

I'm so glad you've brought this up.

I would generally be pissed off if I was a Madrid supporter. Mourinho's comments along with Ronaldo's lack of effort was just appalling. Ronaldo could've easily had 2-3 more but continued to pass the ball to De Gea as opposed to having a proper shot.

I'm so annoyed with people's attitudes and sympathy for United today, really makes me furious. Some news reports you read suggest Real Madrid were never in the match, or even in the country last night and that United going through was a sure thing. The fact is, the decision changed the game but it was more of Mourinho's tactical changes that really made the difference. Whether Nani was on the pitch or not, Modric displayed a class act in retaining possession and unleashing his shot. I read that 'shot that went off the post', totally discredited the magnitude of Modric's shot. And you know what. The same people who complained De Jong should've been sent off by Howard Webb are the same who say Nani's conduct was innocent. Double standards.. Everywhere.

300 appearances for us, it's truly incredible! Totally worth the tapping up fines we had to encounter

Nope, and sometimes I feel very sorry for him because as Semia+7 has correctly said, his mind was never in the right place to a. Leave Liverpool or b. Be successful at Chelsea with that £50million price tag. I think he still has a future in football but I don't believe it's at Chelsea, nor even in England. If Torres does need to feel comfortable there's only one place he can do that, where he grew up, Athletico Madrid. But there's probably still some grievances El Nino has with their board, if they can make that right then he can still be used there. I'm not even proposing a trade for Falcao, because I don't want the Colombian. But selling to Madrid is in the best interest of all parties.

Definitely. Someone as despised as Benitez would never have such an effect. But the argument is there. You can say Di Matteo was the epitome of 'new manager syndrome' with his fresh laid-back approach guiding us to monumental success. Guus Hiddink had the same effect too.

This is a fantasy, a myth. Longevity simply doesn't exist anymore, and you could make the argument that it doesn't need to exist. The fact is, any manager we hire will have their days numbered if consistency isn't delivered. So if the next manager were to win us the treble next season, he'd be fired if that wasn't repeated the next. Such is the way at Chelsea that we thrive upon "new manager syndrome" that we have to keep reverting to that.

OH team photo! Yeah he's gone from there, I thought people thought he was nowhere to be seen around the Bridge. There are still pictures of him from that night.

Lmao I was at SB on Thursday. There's no "airbrushing", what a joke, he's still there.

I found the article a joke. I'm mixed between anger and pity for the writer. Using words like "Devil" to describe Roman was just unnecessary and then some of the suggestions were even stranger. First of all, replacing Rafa with Hiddink won't happen. Why? Well is the author forgetting Mr Hiddink's currently coaching Anzhi right now? I don't think he's leaving the Russians for us again. It was different last time where he actually had time to coach us. Then calling for Roman's head. Well Roman's made some pretty foul mistakes during his tenure. Mourinho. But he has always tried to do it for the greater good of the club and when he's f'cked up, he's often tried to correct things. "sell to the right people" - who exactly is that? Americans who will take out huge loans against the name of the club? Rich Arabs who are going to build an unsustainable project on-top the one we already have? No. Roman is the "right people" thanks. So now the man who built up his own wealth doesn't have a "Strategy"? Okay. Oh and how nice to point out Arsenal.. They're REAL inspiration aren't they? This was particularly amusing because it demonstrates to me another fan who's picked a random name out from club hierarchy and pointed the finger at. I'd love to hear his reasoning for this. What did Emenaldo do wrong? Why can Hiddink do better exactly? I'd love to have heard this person's reaction when he heard we signed Hazard, Oscar, Mata, Azpilicueta etc.

I didn't really see today's result as Rafa's fault. Yea, his substitutes were a bit like "what?" though they did kind of make sense when you think about it. Lampard & Hazard weren't really in the game and Mikel off for a more attacking player was a given. Yea I want Rafa gone, but today it was the players not giving a fuck rather than Rafa being an idiot.

I reject the notion he's our 'best defender'. I think Ivanovic is a better defender than Terry is, and it's not that we're saying cut JT loose, it's just that he's not a starter. This has the makings to be a Lampard-AVB repeat and I hope for the sake of the team Terry accepts that he's not a preferred option anymore. And let's not forget how his temperament almost cost us the Champions League last season.

Hardly. I want him gone as much as the next Chelsea fan, but I do believe his decision has been justified. JT offers not much defensive cover as Cahill-Ivanovic does. His leadership is missing, granted, but that alone isn't enough imo.

Always a pleasure Chou!

True, as a stopgap he would've been a good option. I think he was very hard done by at Real Madrid, the politics he had to deal with was silly.

He would've been a great asset. Of course that would've meant one of Carvalho/Terry would have been displaced, but he wouldn't have harmed us by any means.

Precisely. The question will then become of whether he can provide the same assists as he does usually. The team should be built around Mata, which is why Cavani may present a better option than Falcao.. For the reason you stated about Torres.

But we both know how fickle players can be, especially when they're that young. Look at Scott Sinclair as prime example, from having a good set up at Swansea he opted for Manchester City both for the increase in wages and a higher level of football. He'll know that he doesn't have a shot in hell of making a regular first team contribution, as he was Johnson's direct replacement, but players are like this.

I've never been impressed by Pellegrini to be honest. I mean his credentials make him a worthy candidate but he seems a bit too.. Timid for me.

Oh and Fabio Cannavaro of course.

When Juventus got relegated, there was real potential to sign some of their stars. Marchisio, Ibrahimovic & Thuram were all available.