CHOULO19

"Boring, boring Chelsea"

So sorry to hear that, mate. My condolences.

Arabic/English interview:

Doubt it will come into effect, but apparently Lazio can make the deal permanent in the summer for 3m: http://weaintgotnohistory.sbnation.com/chelsea-fc-transfer-rumours-news/2014/2/3/5374050/lazio-have-an-option-to-make-the-gael-kakuta-loan-permanent-according

"I have no idea [what will happen in the summer]. I need to decide at the end of the season. Many things can happen," Romeu told Sportsmail. "We will sit down and decide what is best for me to do. They are watching me and they are always telling me things. They are looking after me and that's good. "You never know what can happen, but they are looking after me." http://www.sportsmole.co.uk/football/chelsea/news/romeu-unsure-about-future_134741.html?utm_medium=referral&utm_source=t.co

Hey, welcome back :D 

So we're the only team in the top 8 to take points off them? Brilliant Don't bet against Mikel scoring or you'll end up like this guy:

Honestly, I love it that everyone is writing us off. Takes all the pressure off the players. I was dreading the West Ham match because everyone kept saying that it was easy 3 points.

Regardless of what anyone says, tonight we'll have 11 players on the pitch and they'll have 11 players as well. The way I see it, anything can happen and we have every chance to win.

Wow, this thread is more depressing than the "RIP Aragones" thread! I'm going for a 1-0 win from a JT header. Come On You Blues :blue scalf:

Haha poor, Tom.. But, why?!

  Hey, the bet is between you and [b]@[member='The Skipper'][/b], I'm just the executioner :D 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gxUAwxtwpF8 Pirlo

So, is the bet still on? If we win tonight, I change [b]@[member='BluesMaster'][/b] name to #1 Belieber :yay: 

Because getting rid of Petr and bringing Thibaut is also a significant risk. No doubt, Courtois is performing at the level of top 7-8 if not even top 5 keepers in the world, but the fact that he's doing at another team and in a different league all together means that there is a risk of him not being able to replicate that here at Chelsea or take a season or two to adjust. Selling Cech before making sure that Thibaut can play better or at least as well as him at Chelsea is a risk. For me, ideally, I'd have Thibaut here next season to fight for a first place with Petr. But every time I suggest that, I get told that it is physically impossible, immoral, against human nature...etc. But like I said, I'm fine with whatever Jose decides. PS: 4-5 years is long-term in football!

Match Preview. Not sure what the 'D' is, though

Nothing to do with Courtois, I'm just asking how a lot of people seem sure that Petr will only play at the top level till he is 32 or 33 and not till he's 38 for example. Another thing that people say that perplexes me is that the choice is pretty clear. We've had pages and pages of debate about the matter this season. It's obviously not an easy or clear choice. For me, Friedel played some of his best football at the start of last season and end of the previous one. Mark is 41 and is practically playing at the same level he has always played. Fair enough about Jaaskelainen, but even if we agree that his peak was in 2007, he was 32 back then. And that's not to mention great keepers outside the EPL like Weidenfeller and Buffon. Even Kahn, for me the best keeper of all time, played till he was 39 IIRC.

He's 31. Keepers are much more likely to keep going well into their late thirties than outfield players. It's not nearly as rare as you're saying: Brad Friedel, Tim Howard, our own Schwarzer, Jaaskelainen...etc recently from the EPL alone.

Mowbray actually played him on the right wing

RLC and Lewis Baker to start in the pivot..

I'm not saying that we should let Thibaut go or anything and as I've previously said, I'm fine with whatever decision Jose and the club make, but how in the world would you Petr only has one or two years left? How can you predict that? Based on what exactly? Apart from a minor dip in his form at the start of this season, the past three years have arguably been his best and, for me, last season was his best season for us.

No seriously, I don't know if a NT has previously won two consecutive continental titles and the WC between. I know that Italy won the WC twice on the trot, but that's about it. So if you say that it's been done before, then fair enough.

The posts about Diego Costa in every single thread are getting incredibly annoying. Am I missing something? Did we buy him already? Half the football fans had never even heard of him a year ago and now he's the flavor of the season...smh

He's still what? 21? 22? With loads of potential. I think 15m is the smallest offer we should even consider.

Apart from Swansea where he had absolutely no hope of getting into the team, is this the first team that we've sent him to that actually plays proper passing and possession football? I know that those are hard to come by in the championship, but the thing about Josh is that even after his failed loans I'd be thinking that he'll never make it here, then he'd come back here and play in preseason or play with the England U21 and he'd be a joy to watch on the ball and I'd say that we'd be fools to give up on him. The kid's just got so much natural ability.