TacticalBlues

Manchester City are the best paid team in global sport according to Sportingintelligence’s Global Sports Salaries Survey (GSSS) for 2014. The 2014 report considers 294 teams in 15 leagues in 12 countries across seven different sports: football, baseball, basketball, American football, cricket, ice hockey and Aussie Rules football. http://www.sportingintelligence.com/2014/04/15/revealed-man-city-yankees-dodgers-rm-barca-best-paid-in-global-sport-150401/ So Chelsea are just barely above Arsenal... Also: Man City are likely to face sanctions over breaching FFP rules. Apparently clubs directly affected by City could influence their FFP fate. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/manchester-city/10767413/Arsenal-Manchester-United-or-Liverpool-could-challenge-Manchester-Citys-likely-penalty-for-breaching-FFP-rules.html

Not sure if I should even dignify this with a response but I'll bite. Honestly I've watched Oscar for a long time before he even joined Chelsea and his touch has always been impeccable. Even in his last game against Swansea I recall him coming on and taking the ball away from a player in one touch in the penalty area. I can agree he's had a dip in form, especially considering how amazing he was in the first half of the season but it's erroneous to compare Oscar to Mata in your critiques of him. To quote a previous post: Adding to this: "It would be crude to label Oscar as a classic Brazilian #10. That stereotypical technical player is given a free role in midfield, and is charged with the defense splitting vision to feed the goal scorers upfront. They draw the plaudits for technique and vision, shimmying away from challenges nonchalantly before unexpectedly showing the type of creativity fans can’t help but applaud. Crude, not because Oscar isn’t capable of these things (he most certainly is), but because it detracts from how modern of a player he is, having evolved past these tired old labels in much the same way the game of football has evolved over the past decades. His game is less about swagger and more about intelligent decision making, fueled by his crisp passing and delicate touches. His first touch, in particular, is excellent, and his ability to pop up throughout the pitch, with a well timed late run into the box or a one-two on the flanks, can make you feel like he is playing multiple positions. And in many ways, he is." People love the idea of having world-class talents at Chelsea but as someone mentioned earlier, the moment they suffer slight dips in form people lose their minds!

Awful, just awful...

YES!

Of course there will be murmurs of discontent from non Chelsea fans, but there's absolutely nothing wrong in this. When they signed the contract it was there in black and white, they were aware of this possibility. And tbh Athletico themselves will probably not complain to much, Chelsea have paid his wages and gave a player who's one of the primary reasons they're both top of the league and where they are in the UCL.

It will be interesting to see him play in the semi's (hopefully he stays free from injury). Assuming he'll play in his natural RB position and Ash' will come in at LB seeing as Ivanovic is suspended. Azpi's been this good at LB imagine him at RB.

Video of Ibra' wishing Jose good luck:

"Proof of that welcome arrives almost instantly when David Luiz turns up at our Cobham training ground and immediately greets his newest teammate in Arabic, Salah's native tongue. He returns the greeting in Portuguese as the two embrace."

Very eventful day, Chelsea win, Arsenal lose, Pardew gets sent of for headbutting a player . Liverpool slipping up today would make it a perfect day of football.

Groening tried to, but he kept ending up drawing Sideshow Bob . Also this is an epic deal! Simpsons is a shade of the show it was, but to be immortilised in such a show is fantastic stuff.

You're no better than the trolls mate. Also why are some being dicks to the few legitimate Galatasaray fans here? On the game itself though, hopefully Chelsea can win the tie tonight. :blue scalf:

35 - No defender has scored more goals than John Terry in Premier League history (excl. penalties) - Legend

Has there ever been a more marketable manager in the history of football?

Haha the way Hazard looked at Matic after the strike.

Man City fans chanted: "Jose Mourinho, your football is s***e.'' Chelsea fans responded with: "Jose Mourinho, he's won more than you".

He is a great player who I don't want to see at Manchester United at all, but before Guardiola came he held an attacking role under Heyneckes. It's only when Guardiola came that he changed Kroos's role to a deeper one. This isn't necessarily a bad thing at all because he's taken to the role like a fish in water managing a staggering 92% pass success in the Bundesliga. His versatility, youth and success would make him a great signing who I wouldn't complain about. Nonetheless, I'd question a move for him by us with our current squad. For Man United his position in the pivot alongside Carrick/Fellaini is obvious but we have Matic, Van Ginkel, Ramires, Lampard and Mikel (Luiz too) who can cover midfield and had to sell Mata because our attacking midfield options are so strong. Van Ginkel particularly is a 21 year old box to box midfielder (that Mourinho himself has lauded as a Gerrard/Lampard hybrid ) who would work amazingly with Matic IMO. Unless we plan on selling Ramires/Mikel and letting go of Lampard I can't see the room for him here. I still doubt Bayern will let him go so easily and when a player of his enormous quality becomes available it's stupid not to follow it further, but like Bayern did with Kroos, I think we have a player with amazing potential quietly recovering in our ranks who given the opportunity will develop into something special.

Have Barcelona and Bayern? But in all seriousness I think yesterday was nothing less than a freak game.

Winning in the greater context. Looking at the games at Old trafford and the Emirates in isolation is missing the bigger picture. When I say he's driven by a philosophy to win, I mean his philosophy in the grand scheme of things isn't driven by an inclination to play a particular style of attacking football like Arsenal neither is it to defend. Unlike Wenger for example (who was beating Barca at emirates but went to camp nou and lost 4-0) Mourinho isn't so naive that he will stick to one philosophy but changes it for each game depending on what is required to win trophies in the grand scheme of things. ala. Inter Milan v Barca.