Leif

Never wanted him here. Never thought Jose would return. But Jose and Hulk together? I'd jizz.

So we're officially without a manager. Good.

Zola really isn't a very good tactician at all. Needs to be more flexible.

Chalobah joined Watford at bloody 17 years old and now at 18 has been considered not just one of the best midfielders; but one of the best players in the Championship this season - period. Sorry he doesn't have the finishing of Messi, tackling of Makelele and consistency of Juan Mata yet. But what he does have is better finishing than Mikel, better tackling than Mikel, and the consistency of Rami/Mikel/Lampard/whoever.

Oh yeah, of course there's always rumours regarding which clubs track which players and have genuine interest etc. which is most often rubbish, but I'm certain that the clubs which had/have concrete interest in him are:- Chelsea AC Milan (biggest interest I was aware of) Manchester United (they seem torn between him and Strootman. I personally feel Strootman would be the better fit for them) Arsenal last season before deciding to pursue M'Vila which they eventually pulled the plug on Ajax (and when Ajax want to buy Dutch talent you know they're special)

Carlton Cole & Kevin Davies are available on frees. Torres replacements anyone?

Sure. They're on here somewhere; the official PFA Website: http://www.thepfa.com/transferlist

Official! So we have to get a goalkeeper in now and register an English/homegrown player I believe to replace Turnbull's slot.

Skip to 2:28. This is what I mean by creativity and agility. He creates this whole goal almost all by himself starting in his own half. Incredible. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3Iq3epMbAg

Yeah, reports in France are actually quite lively about this one. Seems to be substance. They (Monaco) originally wanted Vidic but it didn't happen. They're now chasing Ivanovic & N'Koulou I believe as well as PSG's Sakho but I think he's unlikely to leave. I'd sell him for even £17m so go for it.

So. Done some research. He was awarded the Eredivisie Young Player Of The Year award this season. This has previously been given to the likes of Eriksen, Maher, Afellay, Kalou, Huntelaar, Sneijder, Robben, Van Persie, van der Vaart, van Bommel, Seedorf, Overmars & Bergkamp. Impressive list. He's valued at around £10m and that's roughly what he's expected to go for. I don't believe Kakuta, Kalas, PvA etc. are part of the deal, but I don't know for sure. He's an engine. Like Ramires, Toure (who he's more like), Essien of old (who he's even more like), Strootman - he won't stop running. The different between he and Ramires however is that he's not constantly bombing forward. He only does so when he needs to. He is definitely a defensive minded player; not a typical box-to-box player like the media make him out to be today. At the same time though, he's no anchor in midfield. I guess an almost like-for-like comparison would be Khedira. What he has over our current options in Ramires, Lampard, Mikel etc. is creativity. Like a huge amount of it. He's not an incredible passer like Xabi Alonso, Pirlo, Xavi - not even a great passer like Gerrard, Modric, Wilshere - but he's a very good passer like Rooney, Totti perhaps etc. He doesn't have the pace of Ramires but he has the same stamina from what I can see. He also stays up way more and is more composed displayed by his lovely finishing this season. He prefers to tackle than intercept. He'd rather get the ball forward with a risky pass than play the safe option which means another minute or 2 of passing around in his own half between another player. His aerial ability is decent. Probably near the level of Y. Toure (he's stronger than he looks). So he'll win maybe half of his aerial duels in theory. He can easily play behind the striker, but when he does so he becomes a lot less mobile for some reason. He'll take a lot of long range shots if put under constant pressure. He rarely gets booked. He's not aggressive but he doesn't mess about. He'll win the ball back. He won't just let you run past him without a fight. (You know how Yaya gets away with crazy shit without a card? Despite being a cunt he's smart about it. Same with this guy.) He has a cool name.

So - Now that Hilario and Turnbull have been released, does getting Lopez sound so far-fetched still?

He hasn't played for us yet without having a proper month or longer rest, has he? He joined us right after his work in Brazil and got started in the league right away. I wonder what godly things he can do after a long rest

I'm nervous

YES YES YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Strootman is at a bigger club in PSV and thus gets all the praise, but I'm positive Marco is just every bit as good only cheaper. Oh and quite a bit younger. With better passing ability. He's like a Ramires who can pass. And shoot. Isn't that sort of what we want at times?

Bayern ruining the Bundesliga which was just on the rise again. Fantastic.

If we sign Ibra we'll win the world cup. That's how good he is.

Ronaldo First player I ever saw play. It was for Brazil. I have no recollection who it was against but I remember being up close to the TV while in holiday in Madeira when I was 2 years old I think, so close to the TV my eyes were nearly burning. I got a headache that night and couldn't stop crying. Anyway, he scored a goal from outside the box I think and then apparently I was lost for words (not that i knew many at the time) according to my mum and could barely breathe, staring at the screen in shock. It was my introduction to football. A year later my granddad took me to a Germany - Brazil friendly as he was going to where the game was on his sailing boat (also my first introduction to boats), and Ronaldo scored the winner in a 1-2 win. Then just a few years ago (2009 I believe), my 2nd-cousin's uncle, a hardcore Chelsea fan, was in Brazil doing something oil-related as he manages oil rigs. He apparently attended a Corinthians game and got Ronaldo to sign the top he was wearing (a Chelsea top), which he gave to me when he got home. I'm a little suspicious though and for some reason believe he may have just signed it himself, but he's the same guy who got me and his son to meet Makelele and Joe Cole So yes. Ronaldo.

When we won the Champions League we were a worldwide trending topic on Twitter for around 3 days I believe. Bayern have barely trended a day. Even Dortmund have been trending more than them despite losing the final Journalists call Bayern a 'model club' but that's a terrible thing to say. They just weaken their competition in the Bundesliga by taking and poaching their talent; their fans are abusive and fickle; they have too much say in what actually goes on in the league - almost like politics - like Manchester United. Sure, they bring through a decent amount of homegrown talent, but there's more to football than that. Juventus are a model club. Borussia Dortmund could be a model club depending on how they replace Gotze/Lew, otherwise they'll be seen as a German Arsenal - a team who sells their best players and are just content with floating around near the top. I think that's it in terms of model clubs. I guess you could throw in teams like Celtic, Barcelona if you overlook conspiracies etc.

I'd actually consider a £35m bid for Luiz. But the fact that it's only 'considering' when he does have his flaws and considering that it's such a big fee just shows how special he is both in terms of skill and personality. I don't think many players could replace him. Sure, Pap, Mangala, Subotic, Hummels, whoever you can think of who's considered a top defender, would probably add more stability to our back line and be more consistent, but they won't be as passionate, likeable, infectiously happy etc. as Luiz. At this point in time there's not actually a single centre back in world football I'd replace Luiz with. He simply needs a top partner to play with. Anyway I don't think he'll be sold. I think it's rubbish. If Mourinho chose to replace him I think it'd bring down Jose's name a bit. Or at least dent that 'special' title. I say this because it would give off the impression that he feels he isn't good enough to manage Luiz and coach him into a world-class defender.

Surely he'd be an upgrade in our pivot over Mikel, Ramires and even Romeu? He seems stronger than them all, a better tackler than all but Romeu and has similar stamina to Rami.

Oi. Regarding Stoch he's a really good player. I believe most Fener fans really like him. I guarantee he'll be a late bloomer and reach the level of someone like Robben later on in his career. So not an amazing winger, but a really, really good one. He's genuinely like a short, rough Cristiano. Very underrated. Better passer though with less pace. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WEQWAMX9GC8

Sorry but i find it absolutely depressing and a travesty that he has a CL winners medal but Ballack does not.

If only we coulda used him vs. City and rested Mata or someone.

#TrustInEvaAndTheMedicalTeam