Madmax

Like our pressing.

That part where he talked about wanting a manager to convince him of his importance to the cause seemed like a way to explain why Arsenal wasn't an option. Wenger didn't reckon he could've fit both Fabregas and Ozil into the side. Glad about two things : 1. "This was my only option" 2. "I want to win everything" Warming up to him.

Fucking hideous. What is this, Tron for the Nintendo DS?

Sony Six.

Quite dumbfounded to learn this'll be live on tv here. Maybe they thought we're playing Wolfsburg

3 assists for Baker?

2-2 Salah. Baker's been very good.

How do Chelsea TV subscribers tolerate Clive Walker? He's said the same thing about 40 times now.

Why does it matter that he's 33 and not 25? You said it yourself - you want someone to add numbers and options without necessarily being world class, and Tiago does exactly that. You're stuck in a dichotomy there - you want someone good but aren't sold on Tiago because he won't 'thrash every midfield we come across' - which is what 'decent/good' but not world class players do. And I don't think anyone's hailing Tiago as our saviour - people are saying he's a good squad option, which is exactly what he is.

Boga looks our best player. Confident and positive on the ball.

Clive Walker is fucking annoying.

http://ifirstrow.eu/watch/270352/1/watch-afc-wimbledon-vs-chelsea.html

GK kit is class.

Those that were able to watch the first game - did firstrow work?

Well you have to hope and expect so, I suppose, because then the only justification that's left open for not playing him is that he's bowing to some sort of pressure from above to play Torres or that he has something personal against Lukaku. You'd have to count those two situations out because a) he's already shown what he thinks about Torres by playing Ba ahead of him and b ) because people like Mourinho don't get to the top of their profession by holding such petty grudges.

Cheers, didn't know that.

Mourinho isn't a one-dimensional manager and surely just that can't be a consideration for him. Maybe Mourinho doesn't rate Lukaku, which is his prerogative as a manager and if that's the case then we have to go along with it, whatever our take on Lukaku's abilities. However, you see what his constant yapping has done here is that it's given Mourinho a ready excuse to not be even-handed the moment Lukaku falters (rightly or wrongly).

Why not? If Mourinho can play Ba ahead of Torres, he can play Lukaku ahead of Torres, provided Lukaku is willing to drop the attitude and back his talk by taking his chances.

This is what really surprises me about Lukaku. For a supposedly 'intelligent' guy, why can he not grasp this simple concept? Chelsea's no.2 striker will play a heck of a lot of games, some of them on the biggest stages the football world has to offer. Why can he not recognise this, hunker down and strive to make that spot his own and then take it from there? As things stand his only competition for that spot is the biggest failure in English football; surely he should be absolutely raring to go?

Seriously, just read the full interview transcript TOPTB posted above. Lesson in how to convey your ambition and confidence while remaining respectful and humble; he mixes a bit of steel with a bit of silk. Impressed by his manner already.

Am I missing something? The two links on the previous page don't even say anything other than 'Everton feel a deal could be done'. Do people need nothing other than a run-of-the-mill 6 pictures, 3-paragraph Daily Mail 'article' to start calling the board 'idiotic'?

And how does Tiago not fit that mould? Bar Matic he was better than all of our other options last season.

Kicking a man when he's down ... I like you.

Never really understood why Albion got rid of Long.

The comment on the three Brazilians was right on the mark. It's not about worrying whether they're mentally shattered from the WC results, it's about challenging them to pick themselves up and use that humbling experience as a catalyst to re-focus, to dedicate themselves to rising above the disappointment. @Jason above: I have a feeling we'll sign Tiago.