Styles

The reality is Belgium just aren't that good. Origi is still a few years away; they play Fellaini; their fullbacks are shit; manager seems clueless etc etc etc Besides maybe 4-5 players they're really just not that good.

Fair play to Bale, he has worked incredibly hard to make the most of his limited ability. I just think he's distinctly average in most areas and absolutely hate his style of play.

Just had a really good game against Wales. The most dangerous player on the pitch by a huge distance; Wales shat themselves everytime he touched the ball and were sending 3 men to cover whenever he had the ball. The most expensive player in the world was on the same pitch and can't even do half the things Hazard does. The difference in quality between the two is massive.

Robben was in the final year of his contract and refused to sign a new deal. The club wanted him to stay but it was either sell him or lose him for nothing. Needless to say, the club made the right decision. And I still prefer a young Robben to the current Bale. One of my favourite ever Chelsea goals. Damn shame we couldn't get a few more years of that.

Best young midfielder in the world.

50m and he would almost certainly become our highest paid player ever. THANKS BUT NO THANKS. Hate repeating myself but Bale just isn't that good. Better players than him get bought and sold every summer for less than that.

Hazard, Costa, Fabregas were relatively cheap. Torres did cost top money, however... I want us to stay within the 25-30-35m range and use our money wisely.

Didi deserves an Oscar for that performance best acting I've seen since Daniel Day-Lewis in There Will Be Blood

45m for somebody to run really fast in straight lines and shoot on sight. We might as well just give Salah more minutes and try to develop him.

We're gonna have to agree to disagree on this one. I'm just not a fan of Bale's overall game and think there's better value for money in players like Reus. If we're spending massive money on a player like Bale then we would have failed as a club.

I'm serious. Bale is an overrated kick-and-run merchant with a good shot. I wouldn't want him at Chelsea for even half the fee it'd actually take to get the deal done. We can get better players for just a fraction of what Bale would cost.

Reus >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Bale

No thanks. Not good enough.

That's a very controlled finish. It's a really good goal - and hopefully we see more of that. Willian doesn't score many but when he does they're almost always technically perfect. I mean, take a look at this goal in the spoiler (sorry for posting gifs, guys). Look at how well he caresses the ball; the control and poise...it's just an outstanding goal:

That's great. He's taking it easy in a meaningless friendly. Keep up the good work, Hazard!

Hopefully he becomes consistent at doing the good things and cuts out the basic errors that plague his game.

Good stuff. Sounds like the new contract is merely a formality.

With better technique Ronaldo would be on Messi and Hazard's level.

That would be treated as the end of the world by some. Giving Mourinho more than enough time to think things through.

I've made my own concerns about Fabregas very clear over the summer/early part of the season. The first 30 minutes today our midfield was way too open, but Liverpool didn't take advantage and I don't think Mourinho would set the team up like that against better opposition. We can take liberties with teams as bad as Liverpool; that belief has got us 29 points from 11 games. I'm not going to complain. Where it gets really interesting is how Mourinho uses Fabregas / set the teams up in the latter stages of the Champions League.

So what do you propose? That he doesn't play in the big games?

I think the shooting thing is getting to him. There was one run in the second half when Ramires was totally free inside the box and Hazard went for goal, normally Hazard would see and make the pass 9/10. Guess he wants to score badly at the moment. Honestly, I'd prefer he just played his natural game without thinking about things too much.

I loved the sound when he blasted the ball had to replay it a few times

Henderson and Fellaini both have an athletic advantage over Fabregas; he isn't going to shake off players and impose himself if man-marked, and especially not when he's carrying an injury. I'm not really trying to make excuses for him. I'm just trying to make sense of why he didn't really perform.

Liverpool are dreadful. I hated how open our midfield was for the first 30 minutes but even then they could barely take advantage. Shame we couldn't properly hammer them because the difference in quality is massive.