Styles

KDB - 7 goals 9 assists Marin - 1 goals 1 assist Genius move.

Nobody is asking Marin to be Messi. I've said plenty of times Moses has been quality for us because he's a reliable squad player. If Marin could offer us what Moses has this season Mata, Hazard, Oscar wouldn't be playing 60 games a season. We need more another Moses to replace Marin.

Exactly. He was a gamble and it never worked. Just move on and let him get on with his career somewhere else. But as usual I bet he's got a nice contract now that will be hard to move on.

I don't think we should give him another chance. We need our squad players to be reliable and healthy. He has proven to be neither one. Players like Marin are why we're in the mess that we are because they are just not good enough. Why waste more time trying to find out what we already know? Get rid asap. I don't want to see Mata, Hazard etc playing 60 games a season because Marin is rubbish.

Haha! I know it's going to be a proper battle but our players should be really motivated to get this wrapped up as soon as possible. We can't rely on other teams to do us a favour. If qualification is out of our hands then I fear the worst.

I will go crazy if we start the game slow tomorrow. Win our next two games and top 4 is ours.

We can't lose tomorrow.

If you want to be competitive at European level you will run into teams like Dortmund and Bayern at some stage. Just like we continually ran in Barca in their prime.

Youre right, he'd be a better option than Khedira in terms of competing physically in midfield. Not as a good a passer though so there's that as an issue. But if Mourinho wants to bring someone with him I'd take Varane.

Yeah a Martinez type player would be the ideal. He cost €40m but he was 23 when they bought him. Bayern have a top player for the next decade. The fee is great when you look at it that way. It's like Hazard for £32m. We've got a quality young player for a very, very long time. If I was a betting man I'd go with there being a player in that age range that fits what we're looking for. The problem is identifying them. The pivot has been a massive problem for us all season and with Rafa forced to playing a CB in that position perhaps the club have already been scouting. I think if Oscar was to play in midfield it'd be more like Lampard's old role in the 4-3-3. The most attacking with licence to join the attack but still with defensive duties. I can't see him as one of a two man midfield as that would limit his game. McEachran is a terrific technical footballer but he lacks the athleticism. As sad is it I'm really struggling to see a role for him as a first choice player. I think long-term players like Chalobah, Loftus-Cheek, Baker and Swift could make for great central midfielders. They're all strong, athletic and good technically.

And that Shakhtar goal was pure luck so it's really 1 in 29. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uIn_X2VV1dw I can't believe people are fooled by his goals against rubbish teams and think he's doing well. I really hope they're because there's no other explanation for it.

Partnering Alonso with Ramires wouldn't hide his deficiencies, it'd just double Ramires' workload. Here's some comments from Gary Neville (who is one of the most insightful people in football today): Alonso isn't ideal so why settle? I don't know who I'd buy but I sure as well wouldn't bring in a slow 31 year old midfielder on massive wages. We should be moving away from slow players to high-energy dynamic midfielders. They exist. The club should identify them.

I don't doubt that Alonso's passing is very good and he would feed Hazard/Mata etc better balls to work their magic. The only real gripe is it's a short-term solution and many people though we'd moved on from that way of thinking. I wasn't saying Schweinsteiger and Martinez are even close to being the athlete Ramires is because he's truly one of a kind but they're much stronger and more mobile than the Alonso's of this world. Here's the touches of the ball Martinez had against Barcelona in the 4-0 win last week (he was literally everywhere pressing all over the pitch not giving an inch to guys like Iniesta). Romeu is probably the least mobile of our midfielders. He's so slow it's sad. An Aloso-Romeu partnership would be a disaster.

Are we really though? He's a good passer but athletically he doesn't fit the ball. Why settle when we could identify somebody younger and more long-term? I've heard many people complain this season about Mikel, Lampard and Romeu's lack of athleticism and that Ramires aside our midfield is way too slow. Alonso would just add to the problem despite his good passing. We saw what the super dynamic midfields of Dortmund and Bayern did to technically gifted but slower/weaker players in Busquets, Alonso, Xavi, Khedira etc. They steamrollered them with their superior physical ability. We've seen what City have done to our midfield this season. I really don't see how Alonso would help.

I find it funny that Mourinho's first purchase (reportedly at this point to be fair to him) would be a 31 year old midfielder on ridiculous wages. We all had hopes of our younger players stepping up and perhaps buying others in areas we want improved. Nobody wanted this just a month ago and now people are arguing that it's fine, it makes sense etc. We might as well keep Lampard and Essien in that case, at least they're proper Chelsea heroes. I don't want another ex-Liverpool mug in this team. KDB having a fine season. Will Mourinho even give him a look?

Our problem this season has been we don't have enough dependable squad players like Moses. If Marin could offer us what Moses did we'd be in a much better position to rest Mata/Hazard/Oscar more. Our squad is weak not because we don't have enough special players (we do) but because we don't have enough squad players like Moses.

It'll probably take Mourinho that long to negotiate his compensation with Madrid. He's a smart man.

This guy is amazing.

Yep, you'd think we'd want to improve on that not bring more of the same.

And even 100 p/w is a conservative estimate. I would think a 31 Spanish international playing for Real Madrid would be on far more than that.

He lacks the athleticism and mobility. We complain about that regarding Mikel/Lampard. Alonso is a great passer but we need to be more competitive physically in midfield than we are now.

I think you're being naive. First of all you don't move from Liverpool to Real Madrid for 30m and not get a massive increase in salary. If we were to sign him it would be his last 'big' contract in football considering his age so it would be more than what he's on now. Why not invest that money into a younger player that could be here for the next 6+ years? I really doubt it'd be a cut-price deal when you factor in his salary. Makelele was great but we were desperate for instant success then and money didn't matter then (no FFP). I'd like to think we're thinking long-term now and a soon to be 32 year old player on big wages doesn't fit into that scenario for me.

Not a good game for him there but you can clearly see the excellent pace and good technique. If he plays at a better level and improves his decision making then he will be some player. Would be a good signing I think.

No more ex-Liverpool players. I bet he earns way too much for this to ever be a serious option for Chelsea anyway. I thought we moved away from signing 30+ year olds on massive fees/wages so can't see this happening.

No yellow for Ramires tonight please! Missing two finals in two years (if we make it that is) would be cruel.