Blue Armour

Don't think so...but just imagine how it would sound: "Captain Cahill"..we could make a new banner

That's not really an apt compasion...we got Costa and Drogba for Eto'o and Ba would be more like it. Better off yes, but that you can't make comparisons to how it would have been with Lukaku...I think this sale was more of a case of Chelsea trying to balance its books

Don't want to pick needles from a haystack...but the winning goal did come from a Torres shot that was saved...

Man of the match performance...wasn't just any pre-season game for him

In the second half he does that incredible one touch reverse pass to send Costa through, and then later on he struggles to get his head onto Ake's great cross in front of a goal...quite an enigmatic player (although I think a lot of fans have already made up their mind on what kind of player he is)

Even in the first half, when he really didn't have much end product...was really happy to see his hold-up play...haven't seen seen that kind of hold-up play since Drogba's time here and now even he's back. The club is going all out to fix the cracks...

True..but there was a sharp decline in quality of the squads of the traditional big 4 (United, Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool) since 2010. Its not that their opposition became tougher in the league,... its that they became more level with their opposition. This has in turn made the league more competitive I think this season, (if all the rumored transfers go through), will make a direction change towards what we used to see in 2004-2009, with better performances in the knockout rounds of the CL.

Of course not, but teams like Chelsea, United and Arsenal face tougher and similar-level opposition on a more regular basis in the league, when say compared to Madrid, Bayern or Barcelona. Plus you have the crazy fixture pile-up. That's why squads of PL teams tend to be quite worn out when you reach the knockout rounds of the CL competition.

FYI, I know that City and NYCFC share the same owners, and are technically "sister" clubs. And that doesn't have anything to with what I was stating in my post.

Still not the same as putting on a city jersey.

I've suspected this for quite a while...there might be an appearance related clause as well...

The bus is a transformer in disguise

Maybe now we can see if the fabled Torres-Drogba partnership can come to fruition... Nah screw it...Lets play Lukaku and Drogba upfront and the give the opposition two man-mountains to deal with... But seriously...would like to see how well Hazard and Drogba can combine in a game... .....Man I'm excited.

GIANTfranco Zola

Honestly expected him to stay with us last season, after the pre-season matches he had...but hey, that's pre-season for you!

Funny thing is, he really hasn't even been given a first chance...

And that probably is the long and short of it. There hasn't been a word from the player or his agent for more than a month now...but this topic has been buzzing nonstop during that period..more than it should be.,IMO

Cheer up man...maybe Torres and Costa will form an excellent strike partnership

Don't want to dash anyone's hopes...but its looking increasingly likely that Costa and Torres will be 1'st and 2'nd choice strikers next season...

I'm surprised none of the media outlets have used Mourinho's own quotes to stir up more rumors..like when he said that Pogba was the best young player at the WC.

While he had all those shots on target throughout the match, the one thing I was begging for him to do all game was to actually run at his full-back and do what he normally does for Chelsea when playing on the left wing...instead of passing the ball back to the center or waiting for some overlapping support... And surely enough, in ET he finally does attack and runs out wide, and comes up with the one of the best chances in the entire game... But all the same really happy for him..most of the attention was on Goetze, but it was good to see him get mobbed by his team-mates at the end, especially Klose..

That central midfield role is really the missing piece in the puzzle for United.... If Vidal does go there, United will be right back in it next season...

We don't exactly have good cover for Costa...and I don't really see a second attacker coming in this window. I still think its not the best idea to let him leave without him getting some game-time here.....although I won't be surprised if Jose plans to go in this season with Torres and Ba as his 2nd and 3'rd choice.

The dinosaurs in JP look more realistic than most of the CGI turd that has come out 20 years later...

Also, don't forget... the team spirit when that season started was unlike many other... It was after that disappointing exit against Barcelona, and with Drogba starting his quest for redemption (following the FA cup win in 09)... I just hope the results of last season, with it being a close title race and the disappointment in the WC (for most of the team players), will leave this "green" team hungry this season...