Styles

This goes without saying really. Was it ever up for debate? Hazard doesn't just rely on his speed and power, he has an excellent football brain. He is the better player already. When Bale can play a pass like this with his weaker foot then we can talk. :tophat:

That's great to hear man :tophat: I haven't joined the twitter craze just yet haha, I always think I'll end up wasting far more time on there than I should so I've resisted temptation so far lol.

...and that's a shame! Hope everything is ok mate.

This is Mike Forde's own words: He has been an abject failure if that is his remit at Chelsea.

His 'expertise' and use of analytics somehow hasn't stopped useless transfers, unbalanced squads year after year, wasting resources, mismanagement and just rank incompetence. Isn't this some of the stuff he's supposed to help abolish? We've been on a steady decline for years (arguably since he first showed up in 2007) and have been a glorified cup team winning one League title in nearly 7 years. But hey, he speaks at conferences so it's all good.

One thing I'm really looking forward to is his delivery from open play, freekicks and corners. He looks like an excellent crosser of the ball.

You would expect the 'director of football operations' to get some criticism for overseeing a club that has been an absolute mess for years, wastes vast resources and are struggling to compete due to the ridiculous size of its squad. I don't know where you've got the 'massively respected within the game' part from. Any sources for that wild claim? I've heard him speak and he sounds like a conman; speaks in vague terms, uses buzzwords and doesn't articulate himself well at all. He actually doesn't get criticised enough because not many have heard of him.

Not really, Jose will just sign whatever player Jorge Mendez 'recommends'. So Falcao is almost certain to be a Chelsea player if Mourinho takes the job.

YAAAAAAAAAAWN.

It doesn't matter how much they earn. You have to take into account the rigours of professional football at the highest level, how much our players have already played this season, the small squad that we have and what qualifying for the Champions League means to our business model and players in the long-term. You're not looking at the bigger picture. When you take all of that into account the poxy Europa League is so far down the list of priorities it's practically worthless.

We have to lose tomorrow night, it's that simple. Hearing Benitez talk about putting out a strong side tomorrow and wondering whether Steuea can live with our 'intensity' is mind-boggling and I hope it's just lip-service.

That's nearly 16m between a season on two players. That could cover the salaries of about 5 good players.

Terry isn't fully fit and hasn't been fully fit for years. With his accumulation of injuries over the years I doubt whether he will truly be fully fit ever again. He can't run any more, his lateral movement is non-existent and he takes about 15 seconds to turn his body around. When he plays the team has to drop so deep the defenders are nearly within arms reach of Cech, which means the team can't push on or press high up the field and massive gaps start appearing between defence, midfield and attack. As it stands he can only play one game per week and he is physically unable to train the days after a game according to Benitez.

Don't get me wrong, I like Azpi. He's a very solid player and has done well this season. Despite his hit or miss crossing he's a very solid passer in open play. Look at the pass he made to Mata in the build up to Hazard's goal on Sunday, it was a lovely disguised pass that Ivanovic would never even attempt let alone pull off. Azpi is only 23 years old so he will continue to get better and hopefully he will have a long and successful Chelsea career. I just mention Wallace because he's the latest in a line of right-backs. He is supposedly a good attacking fullback so if we can develop his defensive ability then he will be a serious option long-term.

But Azpi is a much better defender. Maybe Wallace will the be the RB that can both defend and attack.

Young Heskey was faaaar better than Kalou ever was or will be.

I can understand the sentiment. The players are top professionals and are making the most of their talent. But salaries matter now more than ever with regards to Financial Fair Play. It's a disaster to have somebody like Torres 'earning' 10m a season.

Heskey was actually a decent young player to be fair to him.

He's played really well in a team with lots of issues on and off the field. Once we become a settled team with better structure and clearer identity he will be a beast. Amazing talent.

Interesting. He looks like a good young player, great technique and pace. Those Brazilian pitches are woeful by the way. I went looking for a quote and you're right, he said this himself sometime last year according to reports: Will be interesting to see what happens at left-back long-term. Ashley's contract until 2014, PVA's contract until 2015 and Bertrand's until 2017.

Why not? What does Dzeko do that Demba can't?

And thank fuck for that! He is average. Ba and Lukaku are already better players.

Hazard is a much better footballer than Gareth Bale even if he doesn't score as many. Honestly if I was given the choice between the two I'd pick Hazard 10/10.

Defensively we're a shambles, there's no doubt Mourinho would improve that almost immediately. He would restore order and hold players accountable. The biggest impact he would have on the team is psychological and that goes a long way at the highest level. My biggest hope is that he wants a quicker and more dynamic back three or four having worked with the likes of Varane, Ramos, Marcelo etc. Our use of the ball from the back is rubbish and we struggle to build play.

That's the problem. I mean Terry has no business being a in a team that play high up the pitch and press well. Likewise Mata, Hazard have no business being anywhere near a defensive team that sits deep. The problem is we have players suited to one style and another group of players suited to another. When we get it right it looks good but that's very rare and why we're so inconsistent.