Slam Dunk

Hughes: “Jose has a lot of versatility which is something I like my players to have. He can operate right across the back and can also play the holding role in midfield." Wait... What?

RDM: Aspirations to build on last season and do better. Marin is still injured. Oscar is available. Style of football will change inevitably. Core is still strong. Not willing to talk about transfers. Will see what happens in the next 2 weeks. Expectation levels are high as always. Perhaps more pressure has been added. RDM expects around 4 teams to be challenging for the title. Chelsea included, playing catchup to the Manc clubs. Considers City favourites for the title. RDM's imprint on the squad will take time. Says he always feels responsible for results. Pressure is inevitable. Has spoken to Abramovich about expectations - Not willing to discuss. Will decide RE: Oscar starting against Wigan. RE: Lukaku - He has to look forward to his new challenge. Had a difficult season last season. Better to look forward than back. Should concentrate on the coming season, not the past. RE: Mata - Had a long summer. WILL factor in a break for Mata at some time this season. RE: Wigan - Had a strong end to the season, expecting a difficult game, will not be easy. Not expected to win the title, will of course try to challenge. RE: Moses - Player for Wigan, not willing to speak about him. Says he is young and talented, repeats he plays for Wigan. Expects him to play. RE: Meireles - A lot of speculation about our players, not much he can say, will be involved at the weekend. Says Chelsea will not be held to ransom for players. Will pay what they feel is appropriate. No players coming in before Sunday.

Sounds familiar.

RDM press conference at 12.45 GMT - Should find out then.

What a coup that is!

But only 2 senior strikers

I think it's a near certainty that we'll bring in another striker (as well as Moses). The club have clearly been trying to bring someone to fill that place in the squad left by Drogba and i'm confident we'll see a striker arriving in this window*. *If not, I expect a move for Cavani in January.

I've seen a lot of rumours today regarding Moutinho to Spurs. Many Spurs fans seem to think it's a matter of when, not if. Has there been much speculation in Portugal mate? Do you think it'll happen?

Agreed (depending on Luiz). There was a reason RDM played that 11 vs City. Would personally prefer to see Hazard behind Torres and Mata on the wing but I can guarantee that neither will stick to one position anyway. Hopefully Marin will be fit to come on from the bench as well.

No chance IMO.

Should get confirmation on this before the weekend then. Let's hope he's worth the wait

The deal seems to suit both parties (to an extent). Arsenal get maximum money for a 29 year old player and United are now resounding title favourites. Arsenal should reinvest the money and United will easily justify spending that amount if they win a trophy next season. Win-win, no?

I wish I could enjoy watching England the way I do Chelsea. So uninspiring.

No, he said he "heard" Chelsea had bid £40m.

The '£40m' bid from us was never really confirmed though, i've no idea how much we actually bid, although I imagine it was more than £23.5m. Levy's crumbled.

Seems as though it's the only option for him now. Whether through the fault of the club (constant changing of managers/different systems etc), or through fault of his own (his attitude whilst on loan etc), it's a shame that he never got the opportunity to show what he could do in a blue shirt. A mature decision by him. He's still got huge potential, and i'd tip him to flourish at a club like Marseille.

Some of the criticism and pre-judgements i've seen regarding Oscar tonight has been hilarious (not necessarily from on here). He didn't have a great game today but had been consistently good up until the final. The fact is Brazil underestimated Mexico and deserved to lose the match and to blame one individual for the loss would be pointless as the team mentality was not right. I'm looking forward to seeing him in action for us in a few weeks, I think he's just what we've been missing in midfield. A very astute signing.

Good luck big man. Reckon he's going to have a stormer.

He's not cup tied for CL games.

FA Cup & top 3 finish and i'll be a happy man.

Still think he'd be a great signing. He's raw, but he's direct, quick and powerful. As has been said, he's a better option to have than Ramires going forward, although I cant remember him playing on the right much, maybe it's just me. Hopefully this could turn out to be a signing in the mould of Valencia. Let's get this done, and along with a striker and a right-back, we're set.

There wont be a knee-jerk reaction from me concerning RDM's management abilities, but that was fucking embarrassing.

That half of football was even worse than Chelsea TV's faux 'Mod' theme title intro. 4-3-3 doesnt suit Nando. Ramires is still not a winger, no matter how many times he plays there. Meireles can fuck off. Hazard looks like he'd rather be elsewhere. The midfield should try passing it forward from time to time, instead of sideways. Meireles can fuck off again.

I never thought the player that would divide opinion among Chelsea fans would be Mikel. I'm on the side for Mikel. After Cech and Terry, he's first name on the team sheet for me.

I'd expect the first 11 we see on Saturday will be the same as for the Community Shield (It pretty much picks itself IMO). We need as much game time as possible for these new players to gel.