Blue Armour

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.

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...

This is official too I believe.. All we now need is Ford to become our kit sponsor and we're all set..

Its a shame Mikel was never given a chance in his original role as number 10 at Chelsea...instead of playing as inconsistent DM

Understand where you're coming from, but Oscar is one of those players I'm least worried about when it comes to that. Irrespective of his antics on instagram/twitter, as a player, he's as level-headed as they come and I feel he has the maturity to transition seamlessly between different roles on the pitch.

Yeah,,,used to have that impression when Didier was on the ball at times..but then he would pull of something totally unexpected to shut me up.

This. This is what I'm hoping we'll see more of, cause we almost definitely are going to need this from our striker.

Was about to say the same...in fact have they sold anyone so far this season? At least 3 key players of theirs are targeted by other clubs, and they also look set to lose Courtois back to us...That's a big change for any club in 1 transfer window.

Hah...I'd love to see him try to bite someone like Costa...would be his last attempt for sure

Good performance today,,...who would have thought?

Yep...in the first half he cut a frustrated figure, but he really came alive in the last half hour of the game... Would have scored a brilliant goal (with that swivel in the box) if not for the deflection, and should have had an easy second assist as well..

You're missing my point...I did say in the previous page that Costa should be much better than those 3 What I stated was that Mourinho was looking for a forward who would have to create chances for himself to pull the team ahead when we're facing a packed defense...And I've not seen too many examples showing that Costa could do that... BUT...one point that does work in Costa's favor is that he can hold the ball pretty well, and could probably help in creating a chance for others... You're right...and ideally that would be all he should have to do. But from what I've seen in the last two seasons our midfield demands more from the forwards in terms of build-up. But I agree Fabregas could be the game-changer here, and of course, Costa should be a better target-man compared to what we have now....

Great goal no doubt, but not what I would call something "created by himself out of nothing", or to be more specific...he did not create the chance entirely by himself. If you take a look at his goals last season: Most are from chances served on a plate for him Also...before someone comes breathing down my back, I'm not in anyway against the signing. I just don't see how he will be the type of forward that Jose claimed he was looking for

Meh...chance for more delightful "guard of honor" moments

Honestly couldn't care about those 2 Spain matches...none of Spain's attack/mid deserved to be judged base off those 2 results... BUT..coming back to Costa... Good striker in his own right...but I'm still not sold on how Mourinho decided that he's the best fit for the team...Jose has repeatedly said he's looking for a forward that "can create goals out of nothing" ...or basically the type of striker we don't have....(and that's fully understandable considering how short of ideas our midfield looked at times)... If you look at a good number of goals scored he has scored this season, you can see that he has been put through on goal with very good service...how many times have we seen our strikers in similar situations? Granted Costa's attacking movement and pace will be eons ahead of our lot, but I doubt he would find that kind of space to run into when playing in our team...not against the majority of PL sides that visit the Bridge. Anyway, I just hope Fabregas' signals a change in our approach play, meaning Costa or any decent forward that comes in gets the service they thrive on...