Blue Armour

This signing looks more and more useless, unbelievably....He hasn't played since November, and will probably take at least another 3-4 weeks to return to full match fitness only to play a few months of his loan period...

Speaking of Old Trafford, we're playing United at the Bridge next...I sincerely hope he doesn't go for this cautious lineup on Saturday, as United don't deserve the same respect they would get if they played on their home ground.

Time for Matic to be relegated to the David Luiz DMF squad role....only to be used against sides that are going to dominate possession, but should not start in games in which we really need to be on the front foot.

I find it really funny on this forum when people have a go at United, or say that we must absolutely prevent Arsenal or Liverpool from winning the title...only to reserve a soft spot for City by likening them to a kindred spirit... City have emerged as the biggest threat to Chelsea in the past 5 years, and also stand a chance of eclipsing whatever we have achieved in the past decade.. In fact, off the pitch they might have already overtaken us...the only reason why they haven't achieved as much on the pitch so far is probably because they were not fortunate to have an established core like Terry, Lampard...and now we seem to be carelessly giving up that as well.

Fine, if we take loyalty out of the equation, where does practicality come in? In a team already short of quality and tactical nous, why take out the the most regular starting member of the back 4? If its left for assessment of the new manager (who we're not even sure will last beyond 6 months) , why did the same rule not apply to Ivanovic who was easily one of, if not the most under-performing player of the season? I understand your opinion on Ivanovic, but you can't deny that that contract extension makes this situation with Terry look more strange.

After the 5-1 FA cup win, its been one piece of shitty news followed by the next. Terry not being given an extension, and City confirming Pep's arrival. Granted, he was always going there, but I was hoping we wouldn;t hear more until the end of this crappy season. Next we'll probably hear United confirming Mourinho, and then we can go back to the shitty seasons were the two Manchester teams duke it out while we watch and provide comic relief.

Sorry mate, but I disagree with your last statement. I doubt there would be as much of a reaction if we at least knew that we had capable replacements in the squad, or were at least linked with good replacement targets. Don't get me wrong, I'm also excited with the prospect of having a proactive defender like Miazga in the back four, but the fact is none of these guys are proven and the move could easily backfire.

From all our supposed transfer targets this Jan, the videos of this guy excites me the most... Yes, youtube clips will never tell you whether they will be a hit or a flop....but it gives you an idea about their approach and style. And for his pro-active style of defending alone, he warrants a place in the squad. Like Styles said,..too many MJ impersonators in our back line.,

Yeah, the timing of this makes no sense...already short on quality CM's and we let him go at this stage.

Eto'o and Torres also sounded good 2 years ago on paper...didn't really hit the heights though even though Eto'o was good in stages. (But yeah, we had no main striker like Costa at the time) If Pato does come here, I also hope he can be useful..not too optimistic though.

"My garlic plays the holding midfield role for me"

Excellent positioning is what I loved about Cech too...really underrated skill. Prefer keepers who have excellent reading of the game and have good positioning, over those who just make gung-ho saves for the cameras.

Sometimes, I get a feeling that this forum is on an emotional roller-coaster seeing how quickly players turn from heroes to villains to heroes back again within a space of 3 matches

When I think about Mark Hughes, I think of his time back in charge of City. I don't mind ex-Chelsea coming back in charge, but Hughes is NOT the first person on my mind when it comes to that

Lucky not to concede in the end, but the defense were up for it and tried their best (ignoring Courtois fumbles today). If only they could match this performance in the other games..

Hazard setup 3 goal scoring chances towards the end...I don't know what was up with Remy for two of them, although I suspect he took a knock before the second one came his way. Willian bungled up the third.

But all the same, still value him for what he's contributed over the years...don't mind him staying on, just hope the other senior player in the squad is given equal treatment

After all that's happened this season, all I can do now after seeing this is laugh. uncontrollably..

I'm not saying go out and get a Gundogan/Pogba., and yes we we need to be shrewd with our transfers, like you said. But IMO, getting Pato is more of a gamble and falls into the territory of signings like Benayoun, Falcao (even if he is a lot younger than those two)... where there is potential for them to contribute immensely to the squad but more often than not they end up being injured/wasted on the bench and become a headache to get rid of in the next window. I do hope things improve in May like you suggest.

Like FB said, I'm hoping that this is just a bad period for him...Cech had a torrid time in the second half of 2008-2009, especially in the league, but came back to finish the season strong...with the highlight being the semi-final leg at Camp Nuo

Like FB said, I'm hoping that this is just a bad period for him...Cech had a torrid time in the second half of 2008-2009, especially in the league, but came back to finish the season strong...with the highlight being the semi-final leg at Camp Nuo

A striker before a CM/full-back? Pato as the first choice target for said striker? Come on Chelsea, enough trolling with the fans this season...

Haha....in the midst of all the ordinary results., its easy to forget that our goal threat has considerably increased.

Going through the first 6 pages of this thread and you can remember what a stellar player he used to be ...People were actually praising his crossing technique! how the mighty have fallen...