Chelsea Legend 11

I stand corrected!

I know, he's now in his prime years and going forward looks the business. Not sure if you watched any Vitesse games last year but Patrick has developed into one hell of an attacking LB. And we've been around this mulberry bush before, to me Rodriguez is MILES ahead of Luke Shaw. Better defender, better crosser, scores a fair bit and dangerous from set pieces. Any day of the week I'd take Ricardo over Shaw except the day where it is imperative we get homegrown talent.

Actually no, his deal in up next January. He has half a year left.

He'll be released from his contract.

By the same token we have Patrick Van Aanholt who would also improve under Jose's tutelage, he deserves a chance to show what he can do too. I wouldn't pay over the odds for Shaw when we have Patrick and can bid for Rodriguez. Van Aanholt is homegrown too.

By the same token I'd much rather him fail at Utd for 30m than fail at Chelsea. He's good English talent nothing more than that, nothing he does stand outs as burgeoning world class.

Lets not ignore the fact that even though he didn't start, each striker was given the same amount of time on the pitch to prove their worth. Lukaku was never going to be our first choice striker and rightfully so he was twenty no need to put that kind of pressure on him. I still envision him as a guy that can be a super sub for Chelsea until he's ready to take the mantle. I would recall him and still only give him the odd start, SLOWLY integrate him into the first team.

What a LEGEND!!!! Can't ask for anything more from him he represented club and country at a world class level. I really hoped Chelsea would've cultured another LB under his tutelage. Bertrand, Van Aanholt, Shaw... One of them needed to get something from him, don't feel we've taken full advantage of the situation we had here.

Thank you...

I don't have to wait for anything if you read the title it says EXPECTATIONS in big, bold letters. I EXPECT Courtois to be back with the team, I EXPECT Lukaku to be back and see him as a capable 10 goal scorer...

Oh okay thanks Naustradamus!

I don't know, injuries happen all the time and we have to start getting more out of our own players. I would say he gets more starts then Ba but mainly comes into the game as a change of pace guy. I just can't envision a world where Chelsea yet again loan him out when we're obviously short in that regard.

Maybe because Kroos is going nowhere? Maybe because he doesn't want to come to Chelsea?

We're gonna need three strikers not two. Lukaku is the young understudy.

He left in the most perfect way, this story is out because of the date. 05/19

Not in my eyes, adequate but not good. I think Jose has passed on a lot of wisdom to them and they've flourished.

shut up... you know nothing.

I think so. Azpilicueta improved immensely under Jose, as did Cahill

I like him, a lot... Really think he can help us next season. Jose is not just a manager but a trainer, he can help Patrick improve defensively. As is his tools going forward are off the charts and he can be considered a loan success story. I say give him at least half a season under Jose to show what he can do before we make a decision on him.

For me personally I just want further advancement of our players skill and mentality, if we get that it should also coincide with more success on the pitch. We need a striker who is capable of bailing us out when we're not having the best of days... If the rumours are true and its Costa and Mandzukic we should be fine. I want to see Hazard challenge for player of the year Matic challenge for team of the year Courtois win the golden gloves. Lukaku score 10 goals from all comps Ramires return to his form of two years ago Need to make more use of our possession too, that's the area where Jose must improve the squad.

To be honest I like him in the DM role.

With the special circumstance being its a world cup year and you don't have that opportunity very often.

Let me preface this by saying I want Lukaku at the club next term. For me the striker position is more about situational play and form than it is about 1st choice, 2nd choice. You fight for your position to get the starters jersey and the competition can also be good for your mental development. If we sign Costa and Mandzukic its less about 1st choice, 2nd choice and more about who fits the type of game we need to play that particular week. For the sake of argument I think the reason some here are contesting giving Lukaku a chance next year mainly because they don't feel he's ready to be the go to guy on a top 5 club in the world. He's being groomed to be a loan striker at a very high level, he's also very, very young so the need to rush him into the side to see what he can do is not so great(IF we decide to buy, no need to pressure him to be the guy unless we don't buy). Nobody wants to stunt his development by having him here to sit on the bench for weeks at a time, and that's the thing many don't understand, he is still developing not the finished article yet. As far as McEachran and Kakuta are concerned they showed promise but weren't ready to challenge at the high level of expectation Chelsea have. They went on loan and further regressed. You really think that after the ordeal with Gael that Chelsea didn't want to get him into the 23 man roster? He went to Bolton and shit the bed, back to France and shit the bed now he's at Vitesse and you guessed it... shitting the bed. Chelsea is about winning trophies which is different to any other team in the Prem really. The fans want to win, the owner wants to win and the Manager wants to win. Just because someone shows great potential as a youngster doesn't necessarily mean he will grow to be a world beater on a top 5 club in the world, perhaps our expectations are too high? Football isn't a conveyor belt where you pump out quality if you treat it in the right way, there are so many different factors that come into play. In Lukaku's case I don't think he's matured enough to challenge for the regular start for this Chelsea team, he still has things he needs to work on before that can occur. I want him back because I feel his passion and desire to want to be the best will help further his progression. Working with Jose and understudying possibly Costa and Mandzukic (who is consider in form strikers) will push him to get to the next level in his evolution. He wasn't challenged at West Brom and neither was he challenged mentally at Everton, he knew he was the best there and basically failed to develop mentally in both instances. Sure he scored goals and outscored Chelsea's frontline players(not really that hard) but his on-field mentality hasn't been tested to the fullest. We want to win Champions league and the Prem, Lukaku has been just enjoying his football with no pressure added to him. I would have him back to fight for a spot, give him the odd Prem start, a few cup games and maybe a few cameos in the CL. If he shows the desire and most importantly the skill to excel in these situations, with two VERY accomplished strikers breathing down his neck then we know we have a striker capable of playing for a top 5 squad.

Here'a the difference between Sheva/Torres and say Anelka/Drogba/Crespo, the former were Roman abramovich buys and the rest were done through the club. Trust our manager, scouts and tech director, if Costa is there man give them a chance to prove why.

I'm thinking this, Lukaku just turned 21 and has to know that playing for CFC means you have to be performing at a high level. He isn't ready to be an every game type striker for a club as massive a chelsea therefore, I would lock him up to a longer deal and keep him as our 3rd option. And not the type of 3rd option Ba was, I say play him in cups the odd CL games and a few EPL starts as well... We have to give him the opportunity to fight for the jersey before we look to move him, if he truly wants to be the best he will know this and not run from the challenge.