Madmax

Very good decision all around. Mid table team playing in a tough league (plus Europa) should provide an appropriate platform to judge his talents as it seemed like he'd outgrown the Belgian league. Edit : This guy says we've accepted loan offers from Schalke and Wolfsburg as well :

Hmm, come to think of it, you both are making good sense and are probably correct. I'll have to keep a keener eye on these mechanisations. Sorry Choo Choo

http://vimeo.com/99727761

Nope, not suggesting that. In a dynamic, extremely competitive industry like sports journalism what you get is 90% of the baying crowds fed by biased pieces and rhetoric (especially in this age of twitter and the like) drowning out 'informed, articulated' opinions. This 90% then becomes the general consensus.

Basically what I said a post above - reporters influence general consensus more than it being the other way around. The same fans who snickered and laughed their heads off when the guy was at Liverpool. Anything to make CFC look bad.

In my experience it's the reporters who influence general consensus, not the other way round.

No, you're overestimating when you say journalists write stuff based on the general consensus of which the forum is a part. Journalists don't give a fuck about the general consensus, otherwise they wouldn't have been praising Benitez to high heaven when most Chelsea fans (paying and virtual) couldn't stand the sight of him. They write stuff entirely based on their biases and observations - good and bad.

Is 'El Confidencial' any good? The link says they want Lukaku to sweeten the Luis deal - which sounds bollocks to me. They've already signed Luis' replacement and we've already paid Costa's buyout, which means Lukaku's not a sweetener for Costa either. The link also says Atletico are waiting for Courtois, but Mourinho himself confirmed to MARCA that Courtois will be with us this season.

Sorry but that's ridiculous. I think you're vastly overestimating the impact internet forums have on actual football and actual footballers, especially at a club like Chelsea and especially when we're talking about a bullheaded fucker like Costa.

I see, because users on an internet forum posting "he'll score 40 next season!" = 'fans and the media'

Don't know about the rest of you but it was a privilege for me to see one of the premier forwards of the last couple of decades donning the Chelsea blue. Not at his vintage best but still a few sparks here and there, reminders of exactly why he has the status he has. Thank you and good luck, Samu!

The less pressure on him? So you telling me Diego surfs TalkChelsea? "Shit, man. This Choulo fella doesn't want to pressure me. Thanks, Choulo19. Have a like!"

Maybe 5 years ago.

Schurrle, Lampard and Oscar - 3 worse than him within the Chelsea squad itself.

https://twitter.com/FutbolSergi/status/482808965407842304

Perfect Liverpool player. Malevolent and delusional.

We don't have a Tiago thread? Anyway, don't know if this means anything but : https://twitter.com/FutbolSergi/status/482808965407842304

Yeah read that now. Still cheap for a pretty solid CB.

Avg goals conceded in 2013-14 by a Bundesliga team : 53.72 Premier League team : 52.60 La Liga team : 52.25 Serie A team : 51.75 Ligue 1 team : 46.55 Look guys, what wank leagues! Must bow down to the superior knowledge of zyzz!

Pathetic backtracking from the guy who brought up leagues in the first place.

Well he's been saying that Chelsea keep buying strikers but it's not a problem for him because he has a lot of clubs interested. I think he could have chosen to stay last season precisely because the competition consisted of a stop-gap Eto'o, an okay Ba and the unmitigated disaster from Spain. Following the Azpi route could've done him wonders. Nevertheless, he decided to leave (WC or whatever, like you say) and what's done is done. He had an alright season albeit nothing spectacular. I do agree, he should be given a chance here. Well Ba has already come out and said that Mourinho has promised him more playing time this season so it's up in the air if he will actually leave. Torres is Torres, he'll be here even after he is dead. If one of them (or both - Hallelujah!) do leave, it's a no brainer that Lukaku will be with the squad. The problem then comes from the guy's attitude. He's young, badly advised and appears borderline bipolar in his continuous mouthing off. Mourinho doesn't like this ("Lukaku likes to talk") and I have a sneaking suspicion that he doesn't rate him as a player either ("Playing for Everton is different from playing for Chelsea", no quotes in the recent MARCA interview where he chose to spoke about nearly every other squad issue, our being linked with other strikers). As it should; he's the manager. Lukaku is saving Mourinho the trouble of making up his mind, though.

I do too but the man himself thinks he is too good to be #2 at Chelsea, which is highly unlikely to do down well with the man who runs the team.

Garay to Zenit for 6 million euros.

Poor nothing. Their fans won't blink twice when they cherry pick players from lesser clubs. They're just part of the chain.