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^^ [knocks on wood] hope no injury for Terry this season... I had an idea of how good Oscar was going to become, but I have to admit at this moment I don't know. His ceiling may be higher than I anticipated. so, how good is Oscar going to be? I mean, he's only 22 and his performances have been of an established world class player...

He will be back next season and far more ready having played countless matches for a good side. While it may hurt Chelsea, because he might very well be already better - at least in some aspects of the game - than the ones we've got here, it will be good for his development. Although the the exciting question would have to be, "how good Lukaku is going to be?!"

When in doubt, let the transfer marker speak... We paid 50m for Torres, so we could indeed expect world class performances from him, but we all know they did not come. He shows flashes of quality here and there, but only hits any sort of form for short periods of time. He does better against weak opposition, but has trouble finding the net against tougher sides. Then we have our 7m 27yo (now 28) "bargain" buy. Was he the deal of the century or just an average striker who is prob not Chelsea quality? I'll go with the more likely. We lost quality by replacing Daniel with Ba, but suspect other factors were at play. Eto'o was a free transfer, so in itself a huge bet. He was a striker who relied a lot on his fantastic pace, which at 32 might not be the same. So, yes, we still have a striker problem esp when comparing our options to the ones of the other top sides out there.

besides, Cole isn't getting any younger. Either we start playing Bertrand or we need to find a fit replacement. Fullbacks can't really go much further than 32 I'm afraid; they just rely too much on pace.

I'll have to steal your ratings because I pretty much agree with everything except regarding Ba. I just knew that his misses would cost us in the second half because Norwich would be back in the game. I also don't understand why a guy of his build goes to the ground so often. Although I agree with the rating, don't think David's runs were bad, but the striker was obviously instructed to try and stop them. David and the team must realize this will happen in the future. Remember Corinthians match? Ramires' game was so bad that I think he actually did commit a penalty in that strange challenge; he completely missed ball there, though norwich player perhaps made a meal out of it.

he's older now and fullbacks need pace; he will regain his fitness in a bit. Voted Oscar, but MotM for me really was Jose Mourinho.

Good assist, not sure whether it was a handball though as he used his arm to control the ball after the first touch. I first thought the first touch was fantastic, then I saw the replay and think he used his right arm to control it. I obviously did not like his finishing and thought he dived a lot.

agreed. In truth the defense got overwhelmed, which raises the question about the midfield, but if we go by the defensive mistakes alone, Terry lost the first header and then put David in on the wrong side of the striker. That type of ball is very difficult to defend against, but I wouldn't blame Terry either, because the cross was perfect. On other areas, I thought he was pretty good and Norwich manager obviously asked their striker to try and prevent David's runs. Please correct me if I am wrong, but I think every player in our defense was 1x1 against his marker. That's just asking to concede.

Sure, fair enough. That's why we discuss player's potential so much around here. We even discuss player's current ability in some very busy threads too. Some see potential in some players others don't. My point has always been that we don't really know what took place behind the scenes, especially concerning contract negotiations or perhaps some demand that Daniel may have made then. I know his contract was running out, so they would either offer him a new deal or sell him. Chelsea don't seem to have a good understanding of the players market. I don't see much logic in the deals we make; I see Spurs making far better deals for example. Our lack of depth in the center of the pitch is troubling to say the least; imagine if Ramires picks up an injury? [knocks on wood] our season would be down the toilet. didierforever, I am not talking about goals only. I'm talking about general play and even now Sturridge makes plenty of bad decisions and vanishes in tough matches. Lots of room for improvement still.

Lescott is prob one of the worst defenders I've ever seen playing for a top side, Ben Haim being the absolute worst though. With that said, that was a nice move, combined with lots of acceleration. The finishing was good, but Hart should've done better. Lukaku scored a good goal and had a poor/decent performance. His first touch and off-the-ball movement were specially lacking. Opposition is everything when assessing a player. With Jelavic's poor form, it's very likely Lukaku will keep on getting minutes.

Disagree. Players are constantly improving and to me it is clear that Sturridge has. It would've been very strange if a player as young as he is did not improve. We can all be disappointed that our coaches did not see that potential in him, but that happens all the time (potential ability is difficult to assess). However, I certainly did not see this amazing player when he was with us.

no he wasn't. He was a good player with us and should not have been sold aside. At least not based on skill alone, but some of us considered there was more to it than that. Players evolve and he seems to have evolve. Even not considering his ability, look at him, he looks a lot stronger physically than he did a couple of years ago.

He rarely goes forward for Brazil. I reckon it's all about strategy; in some games, especially at home against a team playing 11 men behind the ball, David will get the freedom to venture forward which can be, as it has in the past, a surprise factor. It's an invaluable asset to have a player with such characteristic, who can dynamically switch roles during a match. It's up to him, manager, and teammates to synchronize that movement. Honestly, ppl make it out to be harder than it actually is. Also, people, esp commentators, confuse his (occasional) bad positioning with his ability (and freedom) to go forward - completely different things. He can and should work on his positioning, as it is his weakness. The going forward part is more about instruction and strategy (from manager) than anything else. Update: I've just watched the CL match against Steaua and you can clearly see in the 26" when David makes a run and stays up, Ivanovic then becomes the CB. When David gets back to his position, Iva moves wide again. This is a movement that Azpi for example cannot do. It could be yet another reason Iva is Jose's choice as a RB. BTW, he'd be mine as well.

We got Eto'o because Jose did not trust Ba and Torres, and Lukaku was loaned out because we couldn't move either Torres or Ba. Had we kept Sturridge and not signed Ba, I reckon Lukaku would be still in the squad because Daniel is more versatile (than Ba). Oh well... too many ifs.

yeah noticed that too. Perhaps it's no coincidence that now that he is able, physically, to actually play close to his potential/limit he's picked up an injury. I honestly hope that it isn't so, but I do remember his time @pool and the way they overplayed him.

Which brings up a huge problem actually. With MvG's injury, we essentially only have Mikel and Essien as capable of filling in for Lampard, who cannot play every game at 35. Essien being a big question mark on fitness obviously. So, while Mikel deficiencies do bother me as well, that's what we've got at least until Jan. On paper, Mikel and Ramires both in the CM position should work (their abilities are complementary), even though so far it hasn't. Also, we have no long-term replacement for Lamaprd which is disturbing. Are they expecting him to play until 40? He's not a lightweight guy like Giggs.

Forget the numbers and esp his finishing for now. Just notice Schurrle's first touch, quick flicks, movement. He's a fine player and can improve a lot. Great signing by Chelsea.

in 5 years Barkley will cost around 50m. That's what Arsenal have learned about English talent - gotta buy them young. Barkley looks like the real deal as youngsters go. Predicting his development is obviously very difficult though.

Not sure if posted already, but here's a funny bit from Carragher: http://www1.skysports.com/football/news/29327/8950707/jamie-carragher-says-romelu-lukaku-can-fire-everton-into-top-four I was expecting the same power, no not the speed but just the power, from Ba.

sorry wasn't really following the thread - busy at work.

Not sure about that. He's a very big kid and I reckon he should do fine in tight spaces. Even if not, having a guy like him as an option wouldn't been bad. Hey the fact he's going to play a lot for Everton is a good thing, but we ought to stop messing around and play this kid come next season.

just one thing to say about Lukaku: stick a fork on this one because he is ready.

prob the greatest interview ever! And he *is* right about the irony of what reporters are interested in. BTW, wish there was a camera on lampard during the entire interview....

That's not what bothered me. It after their attack got past mikel that he jogged back instead of sprinting. I did notice that and if u watch a replay u can spot him running back trying to get back into the action - just too slow.Lamps was never about defending, but if mikel's job isn't defending then i don't know what it is. I guess Mourinho also did not think much of what mikel was doing or not doing in the first half. This is what I wrote on the match thread:

I can't get past the image of Mikel freaking jogging! behind spurs attack when they scored. He should've been sprinting at 100% then.