Jase

Well, I do not want to go completely jump the gun. Wait for the official announcement.

Holloway, di Canio and possible Mourinho all in the Premier League next season. Oh my.

Kinda disagree on a few things in the article. As much as Turnbull is nowhere near a top class keeper and is a bit dodgy sometimes, to just rate him 2/10 seems nonsensical. Unless my memory have gone completely wrecked, he hasn't really committed any apparent mistakes in the games he played in, which you mentioned barring probably the Brentford away FA Cup game. And think people have also forgotten that he replaced Cech at HT against Everton at Goodison Park last December and coped well with the shots/pressure he faced. That 2/10 rating to me feels more of a case of judging him based on his reputation as opposed to his actual performances. On the subject of judging a player based on his reputation, same case goes with Ferreira. I'm not denying the fact that he has done alright whenever been called upon but to even rate him at all when he has made just 7 appearances all season with only 2 of them as starts make very little sense. Think there should be a minimum requirement perhaps in terms number of starts etc if a player is to be judged. That way, we can probably gauge the rating of the performances better. And also, I think you're being too generous with your ratings on Luiz, Cole, Ivanovic and Cahill. Each of them did have their own great moment(s) over the course of the season but ultimately, the trio of Cole, Ivanovic and Cahill had an average season and proved to be disappointing after the high standards and quality performances that they have set themselves to be at and we, as fans, come to expect but didn't get it. Azpilicueta was arguably our best defender all season - defended better than all of our other defenders and was consistent from start to finish, especially when you consider it's his debut season in England, and to be rated at 8/10, only 0.5 more than Cole and Ivanovic doesn't do him any justice in terms of his actual performances. If you are to give Cahill 7, Cole and Ivanovic 7.5, then Azpilicueta should probably be getting like 8.5, 9 or 9.5. Even Cech can probably be compared here, despite the different position, when his performances have been consistent from the very first game till the last and he saved loads of times in games as well. To give him an 8 only, again, doesn't do him justice whatsoever.

Think the most important game or result that set us on the way to getting Champions League football was the 1-0 win against United at Old Trafford. It was an extremely crucial win that gave us more momentum and confidence heading into the final few games. That game came after we played Basel away in the Europa League IIRC and after the number of games we have played this season, the players were probably already running on an empty tank. But getting the late goal and winning such a huge game especially after both Arsenal and Spurs won the previous day, gave the players a lift, renewed energy and momentum heading into the last few games. And not to mention, it put us 3 points ahead of Spurs then going into that head-to-head clash and giving us that small cushion or insurance policy in case things go wrong then but of course didn't. Had we not beaten United then, who knows what could have happened. As we have sometimes seen in the past, nerves could really kick in and we might well have messed up the last few games (thankfully we didn't) and not finish in the Top 4. At that point of the season, any wins like that and continuing the winning run(as we were then) can help the players forget about tiredness and push them over the finishing line and achieve our targets.

Thread merged.

Not another Star Wars-Chelsea related meme!

It originated from Bild, which is believed to be rubbish. Think it was already made clear that no decision will be made on KDB till we get our next manager in.

Rui Faria is there...

Speaking of Juventus, here's an article about Conte potentially changing his formation (again)... http://espnfc.com/blog/_/name/juventus/id/814?cc=4716

This! At least that was what CHOULO told me yesterday...

Speaking about Mourinho and Ibrahimovic, it's worth remembering that Jose traded the latter for Eto'o in his second season at Inter and he apparently even said the Eto'o is better than Ibrahimovic. So, that might be some sort of indication of their relationship already.

Too bad Benayoun is leaving.

And you then think Llorente will be nothing more than a squad player? He'll probably be an upgrade, in certain aspects, on some of the Juve STs right now.

Selling Luiz, who is still young and approaching his peak, or anyone like Ramires is just plain silly. We already have concerns in the other areas of the team that needs to be fixed, and fixed first and foremost! Why then try to create even more problems by selling players, some of our better players perhaps, in positions that are of no concern right now?! We'll just be shooting ourselves in the foot if we do so because not many other top quality CBs, CMs or which ever player is exactly available for sale right now. And even if they are, their club will over-price them knowing that we will desperate to sign replacements. What we should really be doing is buying players to address the areas of concern first and then only look elsewhere, if really needed. Main priorities should come first!

Forgot about Giovinco!

Not sure if we can say Juve have a 1st choice or squad player STs when Conte has been rotating the front 2...

Wouldn't then Higuain be a better option tho rather than Ibrahimovic? Already have a similar imposing ST figure, though with less quality perhaps, in Llorente. Higuain could probably be a replacement for Matri in terms poaching the goals.

Courtois just tweeted this... Translation: "I want to stay here one more year to continue sharing joy with you!"

Mourinho watching at Wembley...

And... Mourinho spotted in London at favourite Chelsea Harbour haunt with Special One in town for Wembley jaunt

Mourinho is at Wembley right now, preparing to watch the Championship play-off final between Watford and Crystal Palace.

Is Conte like going to sell any of the STs away? I mean he's already got 4 now - Llorente, Vucinic, Quagliarella and Matri. Higuain is rumoured to be joining Juve and surely Conte is not thinking of getting Ibrahimovic too??

Liverpool fans then us. They have been making noise about it because Coutinho has been tearing up the (smaller) teams and some here aren't satisfied with Oscar for not exactly doing the same (when their style of play and role is completely different!).