Tomo

I don't think Cahill is captain material, id put Azpi before him, Gazza needs stability in defence to perform his best, which, for me, rules him out as next captain.

He is probably the most overrated player in our squad atm bar Torres (the fact not everyone thinks he's absolute shite makes him overrated by default). If he stayed with us he would have faced the same rotation policy the others have (with such young am's, no way would a player with rough edges be no 1) with that i reckon he would have got roughly the same amount off goals as Eto'o did, who's contributions last season are criminaly under rated. Gary Neville said a few weeks back he now see's why he went on loan, Everton fans are not convinced about splashing big money on him, there's a reason for that. KDB was getting the same type of hype which ended in the meltdown, and before some one accuses me of discriminating against Belgium players im constantly on the Hazard thread saying he's our best player by a distance, i say Courtois should be our keeper next year and i was practically starting a campaign to sign Witsel before Matic became available. I say it how i see it and for me Lulu has a long way to go

I don't think any other person in sport has as many myth's created about him than Jose does, some of the shit people spout is utterly mindblowing.

I honestly wouldn't sell this guy for any price, we sell him for 80 and to replace him with similar quality would cost the bulk of that money anyway, what's the point?

As good as our transfer policy on signing young players is, this summer unless it's to boost our HG quota we should delay it for 1 year and solely focus on players approaching their prime or players that can offer a role in the squad NOW, early signs are that's happening, which is good. In future summers we should strike a balance between the two, meaning the squad will continually evolve and we won't face another massive stagnation then transition period (to the same extent as this one atleast) ever again. I hate using other clubs as examples but there is a reason Fergie only had 1 transition period the 20 years after he built a winning team.

I can almost see it now Costa has an average debut in a match we win anyway, next pre match thread opens we have a group led by thekid9 saying Costa's been average and Torres deserves a chance to start.

In an ideal world we would sign both him and Shaw and put the latter on a loan programme akin to Courtois, but this is the real world and that is unrealistic. Looks like this and not Shaw is the deal happening and while i desperately wanted (still do really) Luke for many reasons, this won't be a bad deal at all, one of the best LBs in the world, can give us 3-4 good years, which is a long time (to put it in perspective Ivan broke into being a CFC regular only 5 years ago, feels longer right?). We need some HG players and Shaw would have been ideal but this guy would be a very good addition.

I had been thinking that, only issue is unless Oscar is moved to the middle it would almost certainly mean 2 off the other AM's would face serious lack of games. Hazard is untouchable while fully fit unless he completely loses form, which would mean 4 players effectively fighting for one spot, even if Oscar goes into midfield, that would still be Schurrle, Willian and Salah fighting for one spot. One would almost certainly face similar problems SWP did.

If our board pulled that of it would almost be revenge for the Torres deal.

Two and a half weeks since the trophy drought was broken it's like it never happened, the fans back to criticising Wenger and the board, saying if they let Cesc come here it would be Wenger's lowest moment, they are also having a complete meltdown over the Gazidis q and a thing. It was annoying seeing Le Arse win the cup, but if that is what made Wenger re sign then it was a necessary evil.

That's a good point, the likes of Costa and Drogba battled adversity (in Drogs case life as well as football, have no idea re Costa's childhood backstory) and faced a long hard battle to get to the top. Nando had it made for him at Leti and Liverpool, which goes a long way to explaining why he struggled to cope mentally when thing's started to unravel with us because in football he always had it good.

Unless he specifically wants 19 and Demba leaves to free that spot i would actually give him 9 and lump Torres a rubbish number. It needs to be made clear to him he won't be playing if he stays.

He got 20 in 44 the season before despite playing 2nd fiddle to Falcao, the 1 season wonder thing is a myth. Also Leti's system is a more advanced version of what Jose is turning us into, it's not like say SAS who has benefited and helped themselves to goals due to Brendan's borderline brainless attacking approach.

I gave up on him after the carling cup loss to Liverpool, i have been angry at the situation since then made worse by the fanboys and special treatment he received. Slowly the anger is turning to laughing at the situation. Lets say for argument sake Torres stays and Costa has an average debut, you just know that people will be clamouring for Torres to start in the next pre match thread after, i can see it now.

This has got to the point were im starting to make light of the situation, playing five a side earlier i kept chanting "Torres Torres Torres" at people every time they missed sitters.

We need to tie him to a new contract asap, he has 3 years left, it slowly starts to enter player control terroritry from then on. As for any one who wants him gone get real, he's on another level to anyone else we have. We sell him for 80 then what? whoever we spend the money on won't be fit to lace Eden's boots.

When Eto'o was fully fit we looked a much better side compared to when Torres played, heck even Torres when he got those unconditional minutes before Ba arrived bagged 11, and he's an absolute clown. Im not saying Costa alone would suddenly turn us into Bayern, but i can't say he won't improve the team or his presence won't massively improve results because imo he will.

Nothing winning games and massaging each others ego's won't sort out, Mou and Fergie started off badly, less than a year later they were playing 'who can give the other the best compliment'.

This will probably be where Tiago comes in, as he's fairly astute defensively. Also you mention the Rami-Lamps pivot, that wasn't actually that bad, if the Rami-Cesc pivot is on the same level then that won't be too bad a 'squad pivot combo' anyway.

I think to much is made of this 'hate' Mou and Cesc have for eachother, remember Eto'o?

He wasn't even 6th, Cahill was next up if it went sudden death, im guessing Flo would have been 7th, heck it wouldn't have shocked me if Bos and Mikel were ahead in the pecking order. Torres would almost certainly have missed, best decision Robbie made as Chelsea manager bar none.

10 years to the day since Mourinho arrived the first time Lamps leaves. I wonder what will happen on this day in 2024? This feels strange, i have mentally prepared for this day ever since it looked liked he wasn't getting a new contract 18 months ago, or so i thought i did, nothing can prepare you for days like these.

This signing would surely mean the paranoia some have about Rami being a Jose untouchable are not true. Hopefully he will be used in situations that suit him and his qualities next season, because games against team's that sit deep that Rami plays is so frustrating.

In terms of the meaning the Bolton pair. In terms off the goal in itself my favourite was vs Palace in 04-05, perfect hit.

As you can tell from my OP i have never been his biggest fan but I couldn't stand Cole when he was at Arsenal (and given he grew up as a gooner i doubt his feelings for Chelsea were particularly pleasant) now we love him and the feelings mutual. I couldn't stand Rafa, now i respect him and the job he done here under difficult circumstances, and i think all bar the stubborn few feel the same. Couldn't stand Eto'o as a teenager during the Chelsea vs Barca constant clashes, now i love him. If Cesc comes i will put all my previous ill feelings to one side and hope he brings a lot off wins and trophies to the table, if he does then all is forgiven.