Slam Dunk

Yeah, he'd probably end up going on loan. Willian could come in and play, but maybe AVB will persist with this team he has at the moment (as he's said a few times now). I mean, it's the team as a whole that are not performing, I don't think signing one player would make a huge difference.

Of course he's a good player to have on the bench. The problem is, at what point does having an experienced international on the bench negate the opportunity to have a young, talented player on the bench who has everything to prove? Agreed, he's been much more effective in midfield for a long time now.

John Chapman on twitter reporting via Belgian media that Genk officials were in London yesterday to meet Chelsea over KDB's transfer. Think its either KDB or Willian this window.

They paid over £15M for Willian as I recall. He's improved since then, I think what they're asking is pretty reasonable, regardless of the quality of their league. Hazard's transfer situation is also a lot more complicated than Willian's. Don't see any reason why we can't sign them both tbh. Zhirkov/Anelka/Malouda/Kalou/Kakuta have all left/look to be leaving, they'll need replacements.

Polite at all times

Too late.

Yes, i'm aware that you wrote the word 'just' (I can read), you don't need to enlarge it any further thank you.

Wow, one random guy's opinion from YouTube? I'm convinced.

His release clause is around €35M/£29M, but they'll play ball at €30M/£24.5M. Our first bid was €20M/£16.5M.

While I seriously doubt Hazard will be joining this month, the fact that AVB is in Mallorca wouldn't make any difference. The negotiations would be completed by a team made from the board.

Ok, it's only Youtube, and anyone can look good on there, but my word, what a goal at 1:39. Great shift of pace. Can't say i've seen much of him in the context of a real game though. I like the fact that he bases his game on getting past the man in front of him by himself though, something we haven't had for a while. AVB did call him 'very interesting' however, and we know what that means...

So true. In terms of wingers, the era Duff & Robben would be called glory days. Loved having those two switching sides and running at defenders. I think the days of traditional 4-4-2 at top club levels is gone, players are not defined by their position on the team sheet anymore. I'd call Mata and Torres a strike partnership as much as Hasselbaink and Gudjohnsen were, because the dynamic of the league and the teams within it are changing.

Just come on! 66 mins gone.

The away support was great as always though! Well done mate.

Although to be fair, Cole was just as poor as Bosingwa today. Really can't understand why Bertrand cant get a chance.

I'll tell you what will improve creativity - Quicker, more accurate passing from everyone.

He probably was, but I can't forgive a central defender for juggling the ball in the box when the score is 0-0. Other than that, he did play well.

You cant, no. Therein lies the problem. Transition has to happen in the summer window. The fact is, we didn't acquire a creative midfield player and this is proving pivotal. We all knew this season was going to be a critical time for the club in terms of transition of the team. You can't just go out and buy a whole new team and expect them to gel instantly. This is why we kept our older players, and even the 'deadwood'. These players then had to adapt to a new 'footballing philosophy' as AVB calls it, some of which are not suited to it, which is why, I believe, we're struggling this season.

The defender covered well, ok he may have made better contact with it with a header, but that doesn't constitute saying he 'fucked it all up', does it? At least he was in the position to get near the ball, unlike so many other attempts where crosses were made and there was nobody in the box at all.

Don't start singling anyone out, yes Malouda shouldn't have had a shot from 30 yards, yes Torres should have scored, yes Bosingwa can't cross a ball. The thing i'm truly worried about was the lack of spirit and determination. The only sign of that was the run by Lukaku after 80 minutes. If our team had shown even half of Norwich's team spirit, we'd have won that game. So disappointing.

You were wrong for saying it after he'd been on the pitch for 8 minutes.

Let's not single anyone out, they've all been poor.

Even I could have kept that in!