CHOULO19

Yeah, sure, why wouldn't we? This season alone, we've already actually paid money to acquire the worst player in the league last season in Falcao, extended the contract of the worst player in the league this season in Ivanovic and then signed another has-been striker with one of the worst injury records at the top level and who has not played since November. This wouldn't even be one of weirder decisions this season...and we wonder why we're in 13th!!

The reoccurring injuries are part of his inconsistencies and why we need to get another top striker.

But I just don't agree with the assumption that to players would refuse to sign for us, even if we finish 17th. The ambitions for next season will be the same whether we finish 8th or 17th; we are one of the most successful clubs in Europe in the past 12 years and everyone knows our financial powers. I'm not saying it won't be a factor at all, but saying that all top players would refuse to sign with us because of it is pretty baseless, imo.

RLC has got to start this one after his performance in our last FA cup match. Would be a complete joke if he doesn't.

I don't mean to be cruel or disrespectful to Cahill in any way, but if this is actually true, I'd regard it as very good news. This is nothing against Gary himself who has been an excellent servant to the club and has helped us win a lot in the past four years, but we NEED to sign a top center half in the summer; someone who can partner Zouma and become a long term solution. Cahill leaving would ensure the club would go out and do just that instead of trying to rely on a JT on the decline or Cahill himself who just isn't good enough to be first choice. That said, his departure would leave us with a problem to solve regarding the homegrown quota and we might be forced to do something radical like, god forbid, actually give playing time to some of our youth products..

Sorry, but that's not at all convincing. There is no difference between 7th or 17th. The motivation for players to join us with CL football is the name and ambitions of the club and the money we offer. Heck, even Inter still manage to get players based on their name alone, and they can't even offer decent money anymore! When we're safe from relegation, and top 4 is certainly impossible, there are NO excuses not to play youngsters.

With him being a nailed on starter, now, I reckon he has a good chance, probably next season, of making it into the top 5 most PL appearances in the history of the club. He's 18 behind Drogba right now: http://www.11v11.com/teams/chelsea/tab/stats/option/appearances/ He's also top 4 in the all time appearances by players from outside the UK. Legend.

No he isn't! Apart from a few exceptions, he was sub-par and at times awful throughout all of 2015! How is it short sighted? He's been here for a season and a half and during that time, between the second half of last season and the first half of this, he's probably had more poor games than great ones for us. Everyone who's worked with him describes Diego as 'very emotional'. I'm sorry, but that's not AT ALL a positive quality for a professional footballer. It's unprofessional and a recipe for inconsistency. We can't afford to have him as our only top striker.

Sky reporting it now. Looks done and dusted. He has the easiest task in the world: Do better than Falcao did here.

Tbf, I'd have taken Shevchenko over Falcao this season...

Dunno, to me, they're basically saying that all refugees are rapists, which if not racist is at least Trump-esque which is probably worse. Certainly, if the past year especially in Europe proved anything yet again, is that you have the freedom of speech to support the mainstream narrative but express anything that opposes that...good luck!

No of course a drawing of Mohammed is not racist, but saying Eylan would become a rapist is. Wouldn't say 'no one' is off limits. Remember that in 2009 Hebdo fired an artist for making a drawing about Sarkozi's son marrying a rich Jewish heiress, saying he's converting to Judaism 'for financial reasons'. http://anonhq.com/charlie-hebdo-fired-anti-semitic-cartoonist-ridiculing-judaism-2009/ Most of their work seems aimed at the most vulnerable groups in society and largely it serves to legitimize extreme and offensive opinions about those groups.

The official language in Nigeria is English, you racist! Yeah, I totally agree that the board is largely to blame, but when it comes to defenders I think it's likely that so was Jose because we didn't try ton increase our defensive cover in the period after selling Luiz.

Think you got the wrong thread, mate

Dunno. There's nothing funny about a picture of Mohammed getting butt-fucked either. These cartoons are a just a way to express disgusting and racist views while hiding behind 'art' and 'comedy'. Because if you say "I'm happy that that baby drowned to death, he was going to grow up to be a sex offender any way" then everyone will rightly label you as an ignorant racist, but if you draw it satirically, then it's 'expression of free speech'.

That is very true, but we need to remember that Jose himself is also to blame for why have so little options in defense from before this season. He sold Luiz with no replacement, let both Ash and Bertrand go for "best-LB-in-the-world" Luis. We've desperately needed a center half and full back since Jose's arrival here but both he and the board didn't act. We currently have just 6 defenders in the entire team. That's suicide!

Obviously the players shoulder a big part of the responsibility in addition to Jose and the board, but you can't fire the squad, can you? And the lack of transfers as well was a hit.

True. His hamstring is still a problem. I think we all expected him to undergo surgery in the summer but he didn't. Maybe that was one of the reasons that Jose was upset with the medical team..

I've said this before, but I think it's just the nature of his motivation and man-management techniques that they will always be short-term and have a tendency to blow back after winning major silverware. But even that, I think, was just one factor at the start of this season. Another is the awful post/preseason format we did that left the players well behind everyone else fitness wise, then there was the bad publicity and the effect it had on moral, and the fact that some key players returned from vacation a bit overweight and others started the season in a very nonchalant taking-it-for-granted attitude and whole other bunch of factors but I think the motivation was probably the biggest one.

Bamford will not feature because if he does he won't be able to get loaned out again.

I don't think anyone can rationally say that we've missed Jose. We are clearly improving substantially since his departure in both performances and more importantly results. That said, I do agree with something he said before he left: He did do an incredible job last season, particularly in the first half, to get these players playing WAY above their standards and winning the title. I genuinely doubt any other manager would have managed it because this squad is simply not good enough.

That's obviously the hard bit. Cavani has been mentioned. Kane? Doubt Levy would sell to us. My fantasy is Benzema but that's near impossible. We could go for either Morata or Mandzukic from Juve. Higuian? Griezman can play striker as well. There are options if we want to consider it seriously. Yeah but for how many matches in the season? How often will Diego be more concerned about scoring than starting a fight? If Costa can play like he did against Arsenal for just 70% of the time, then we would not need to buy another top striker.

Yeah, I'm sure this thread will be flooded by all those people who watch the Chinese league on a weekly basis!

Ramires' and RLC's minutes this season combined can very easily be filled by a single player. That said, I do believe we will actually go for a replacement, but probably in the summer given that it's already the 25/26th.

There was also a handball inside the are (stopping a Cesc shot) in the first half that looked like a pen to me. Clattenberg actually had an awful game, but thankfully his mistakes did not change the outcome.