Leif

Genuine question - What is it about Inter which made Jose fall in love with them more than Porto and (seemingly) us? Was it the CL win and grinding out results especially against Barcelona? The players? The board? The fans? What was the main thing? Obviously we can't know for sure but we can hypothesise. The Premier League is more entertaining than Serie A and I'd assume he prefers the media here despite their bullshit; He can have lots of fun in press conferences here. Obviously the Inter fans far surpass our own in terms of vocal support but under Mou we had quite the voice ourselves on match day. We have a shit board compared to Inter's according to some, not so according to others - but I can understand that point swaying in Inter's favour. He cried for days (apparently) once he left Inter and there's actual videos of him crying the day of leaving which is something I don't remember what-so-ever here or at Porto and certainly won't happen in Madrid. I just don't get it. I believe he prefers Sneijder to Lampard & Zanetti to Terry, but Drogba over Eto'o & co. and Essien over Cambiasso etc. Meh.

Apparently we've made a €2 million offer for Bursapor's 15 year old Enes Ünal. He's a striker with 170 goals in 102 games in the Coca Cola Academy League and has also represented the Turkish national team at U16 and U17 level. He's scored 15 goals in 15 international appearances. He's yet to sign a professional contract, but is expected to do so quite soon and start playing with the senior team.

ANOTHER BELGIAN!!!!!!!!!

Happy Birthday. I hope the board makes an exception and shoves you into that '30 or over' category 1 year early so you can get the Lampard treatment, something he does not deserve but you do tenfold. Bye (I hope).

4-3. Luke Shaw to score a hat-trick, me to get a boner over it and then the board to submit an official bid to Southampton for him after the game. Hazard with 2 goals and Mata with the other 2. All 4 goals assisted by Oscar. Would be perfect for me.

Fuck it. Gonna get a train from Scotland to SB (or thereabouts) for the Ruban game. About time I went to another game anyway. 1 voice won't make the whole stadium shake but hopefully it'll help. Time to take the Europa League seriously IMO considering it's pretty winnable now!

Help I seem to have stopped my weight loss. It's not coming off. Stuck at 152lb again. 5'4" is my height. I believe my ideal weight is around 135lbs. I'm trying to figure out how many calories I'm supposed to be consuming. I assume I'm supposed to be eating at a calorie deficit, yes? I used one of those calorie calculators and I'm currently eating with zig-zag calories meaning I eat the same total amount each week (while keeping a deficit) but eat a different amount each day. This is apparently only suitable if I exercise 3 times a week. Am I supposed to do that exercise on the higher calorie days while limiting exercise on the low calories days such as Tuesday/Friday? I don't get it. Here's the calorie chart (I'm following the "Fat Loss" column): Am I perhaps not burning enough on the days I am exercising? I remember hearing lots of times before than 1lb a week of fat loss is considered good - but I don't seem to be managing even a fraction of that.

I agree with every comment regarding the notion of him 'not being ready' being a crap statement to make with such conviction. Lukaku has more senior appearances at club level than some players 5 years older have! He has 19 Senior National Team caps - That's more than Luiz, Oscar, Moses, Marin, Azpi & Ba have for their countries. It's also only 2 short of what Mata has for Spain. Between Anderlecht and West Brom, he's been knocking in goals at just under 1 goal a game - (around 100 league appearances for both teams combined with just 4 short of 50 goals.) Impressive for a nineteen year old, no? At West Brom, he currently averages exactly 1 goal every 2 games if you look at stats - but a closer look reveals that he scores on just about every start he gets for the team (where-as he rarely scores coming off the bench.) Maybe that is what should be commented on regarding his mental more than anything - his inability (it would seem) to come in and change a game. It seems he has to grow into the games and takes typically 25-30mins before starting to boss things. At the age of 16 I believe he was the top scorer in the Belgium league. "It's just the Belgium league" you may say - but name one other league anywhere in the world where a 16 year old has been the top scorer. (Obscure leagues such as Sardinia or Chile don't count!!!) Outside of football, he holds himself well in interviews both before/after games and on proper TV shows back in Belgium. He's incredibly humble despite clearly being aware that despite only making 8 league appearances for Chelsea, he's actually the club's best striker! People develop at different rates. Some are early bloomers, some are late. There isn't some magical switch which just turns on/off depending on your age though. You don't suddenly wake up 'ready' one day. It's all about what you put into it. Lukaku was a regular first-teamer at 16 years of age. Most players in the Premier League are lucky to be regular first teamers at 22. That's 6 years difference. Which in theory, if we were to follow the original idea that a player's age dictates his readiness to play for a big team - would mean that he's basically playing as a 25 year old given the fact he's currently 19 yet had all those extra years playing as a 1st-teamer.

Top post.

I agree. I'll add that it's too soon for Chalobah to be starting in our first team (just in case anyone's about to say we should just use our youth!), but at the same time, we need a top quality player to replace Terry as he just can't do 30+ games a season anymore it would seem. He and Luiz could compliment eachother quite well, and he and Ivanovic would make the most scary centre-back pairing in the league. Even seeing Howedes and Terry starting together in a game would be... mind blowing. I'd love to see that. A future pairing of Howedes - Chalobah (or Luiz if he matures a bit more) would be delightful.

We should sign Tevez. There, I said it. He's old enough that it won't affect prospects such as Lukaku too much and it's pretty clear that he'll be leaving Manchester City soon. They probably don't have the nerve to slap a big price-tag on him considering he hasn't even got into double figures for goals this season in the league, and being a rival should only add on an extra £3-4m on his price-tag since Mancini is pretty clueless. I could see him joining us for £13m or less, which, even with FFP looming, isn't much to Chelsea. (I mean c'mon, that's only £1m more than what we paid for Meireles!) He'd also bring a decent amount of experience to the team which I think would work amazingly well with the likes of Hazard/Mata etc. as well as Oscar and De Bruyne (in theory) next season. He's a cunt, but a good cunt. Kinda like Suarez in that respect! He has no loyalty to his clubs so I'm sure he'd come, and he's what we need IMO. Ba can be used for physical teams a la Stoke, where-as Tevez is perfect for those teams you want to counter-attack against or 'small' teams. He has loads of determination and although inconsistent, on his day he'll likely be the best player in the league that week. He'd be a stop-gap, but possibly the best stop-gap striker available.

Good point made up there ^^ He's actually quite like Paul Scholes when you think about it. Scholes is credited as an awful tackler, but that hasn't stopped him from playing in deep positions and being one of the best ever Premier League playmakers, has it? He just needs someone good to play beside him!

All this talk about offering Lamps a new contract but what about this guy? It expires in June. I don't want him to leave!!

Hasn't Van Pussy failed to score in like, his last 6 or 7 games or something? I doubt you'll see people on the United forum going "OMGZ LETZ NOT PLAY WITH HIM ANYMORE, WOT A FLOP. LETZ PUT A RESERVE TEAM STRIKER UP INSTEAD" lol. He's just having a rough patch! He creates space, tries hard (remember that out-stretched leg within the first few minutes of the game? You know, risking his body's health just to score us a goal? Passion. Desire.) He also made quite a few key passes yesterday and had brilliant awareness despite his lack of finishing-prowess on the day. I personally believe that it's no coincidence his 2 worst games for us (in my opinion) have happened against both his former clubs. Perhaps he just has this mental barrier after he's connected with fans which he's finding hard to break? He seems like a really respectful guy, but who knows. He adds lots to the team. Hazard plays better with him. Mata plays better with him. He's a focal point. He's someone Cech can actually kick the ball up to when under pressure and not lose possession from it every time. Someone who can out-muscle and shrug off defenders before laying the ball off to Mata who'll make a splitting pass to Moses to grab onto before crossing in. Oh and Ba is back in the box by the time that cross comes in! He's a hard worker. You can't berate him for having an off-day. It's incredibly unfair.

Moses shouldn't be on this chart, but anyway, just some fun:-

I just read that Mata is the 3rd highest scoring player in our squad - behind Lampard & Terry. Amazing that in a 3rd of the time (I think) he's outscored Torres. Heh. What an odd club we are. Never expected this when he arrived.

Call me crazy, but is anyone else glad that Tottenham have risen quite a bit and are actually neck-and-neck with us this season? Hear me out. Tottenham - Arsenal = Huge rivalry. Manchester United - Liverpool = Huge rivalry. (We can throw in Manchester City there too now.) Everton - Liverpool = Huge rivalry. Chelsea - Leeds United... err... well, we don't really see that rivalry often, do we? Could throw in West Ham United as the derby maybe..? But that's not exactly heart-stopping stuff! Chelsea vs. Arsenal is of course a London derby, but despite many of us (including myself) despising the fans of Arsenal and many of their former players, there's no real hate for them from most of us (aside from Ollie on here I believe!). There's always been a hate between Chelsea and Tottenham though, regardless how long you've been a supporter or how much/little you know about each club. They hate us for being polar opposites of almost everything they stand for. We've always taken the piss out of their small club after humiliating them on countless occasions; But it's not as easy to do that anymore. They're now competing for the same spots we are in the same competitions that we're competing in. I think most of our fans hate them back primarily due to them being ignorant dirty cunts who think signing Chelsea rejects is some sort of achievement Arsenal will always be Tottenham's biggest rival, but is Chelsea - Tottenham developing into one of the rivalries the world will stop for? I think so. •They've got our ex-manager who's working wonders over there which is making some of us feel a bit bitter. •We recently beat them in a cup semi-final (which I can't even explain how much I enjoyed.) •We've obviously had the history of pretty much abusing them as a team etc. Oh, and remember that time when we won the Champions League Final thus preventing them from playing in the CL themselves the following season? Fun times. Point is - it feels like this is finally turning into a proper rivalry. Our rivalry. Chelsea's biggest game of the year. I know we've developed a rivalry with Manchester United over the last decade due to us being the biggest and most realistic contenders for the title for the majority of the last 10 years, but it's just not the same. It's not a derby. The appeal of playing for Barcelona would be a lot less of an appeal if Real Madrid were to no longer exist. No one wants to join Barcelona to play in the Barcelona - Espanyol er, derby. Having this rivalry can only help. In 10 years time, when the next Messi, Ronaldo, Hazard or whoever comes along and we're fighting for his signature, the idea of playing in THAT match between Chelsea - Tottenham has to be a lure. I will always hope for Tottenham to lose & crash out of every cup competition, but is their rise actually good for us? I think so. Not to mention how much passion it will bring out of our players, hopefully forever embedding them with blue hearts, eh.

After seeing Cole return to form (for the most part) recently, it's really evident just how much of a chasm is between Cole & Bertrand's natural talents. When deployed on the wing, Bertrand whips in a decent cross. But when deployed at left back, Bertrand seems too scared to actually wander up and get himself into that position like Cole so often does. I'm still adamant that Shaw is the only player we should consider getting in to replace Ashley. Yes he's young, but so what? He's great! I also like the fact we've typically had English left-backs. Le Saux, Bridge, Cole. When I look at Shaw, I just see a child version of Ashley Cole. The way they play is so similar. Shaw arriving would have me feeling much more optimistic about the future. With that said though, I doubt any player we ever buy will be a better left back than Ashley, meaning regardless who we pick up it'll be a downgrade of sorts. The amount of goal-line clearances Cole has produced for us right in our time of need are crazy.

I got my car. I haven't gone over 20mph yet. I'm too scared that I'll scratch it. I'm also craving a Subway but I think the smell of Chili sauce in my new baby will bring tears to my eyes...

•De Bruyne currently in general is better than Schurrle in my opinion. He has a higher ceiling than Schurrle. He is more versatile (it would seem) than Schurrle. •Schurrle however is a really good player with the potential to become a 'great' for whichever club he goes to. He works tirelessly, seems humble, can play anywhere in attack and tracks back far better than De Bruyne. •De Bruyne is the better passer, and I'd say they're around equal when it comes to their abilities to finish off chances. •De Bruyne is also a good set-piece taker, something I wouldn't credit Schurrle with having. This is something our current team lacks (although I'm sure if Hazard was taking free-kicks that opinion would change a bit.) •Schurrle seems like less of a 'rough' diamond and more like a consistent self-made player who'll carry his talent well wherever he goes. De Bruyne looks like the kind of player who'll be average here under the likes of Benitez (who'll really hopefully be gone after this season), Di Matteo, AVB etc. He, like Hazard, needs an incredible manager to unlock that equally incredible potential. Under a manager like Mourinho, the sky would be the limit for Kevin. •De Bruyne is more likely to play for his national team on a consistent basis meaning he'd continue developing even when he's away from Chelsea. There's also the fact that he'd build more chemistry with Hazard & Lukaku. So it comes down to apples & oranges really, and this is the sort of situation where having a stable, steady, long-term manager would ease a potential headache. Edit: De Bruyne also has an incredible amount of vision. Amongst the top 10 midfielders in world football surely when it comes to this trait. Pin-point passes of any length plus an ability to predict where a team-mate will be. Isn't this something special, especially at his age?

No way! I am NOT risking getting a little round white stain on the leather!!! As cliche, cheesy or however it sounds, that's something I realised recently. Of course it's good to be financially secure, but loads of us get to the point where we want too much security - earn/save up as much money as we can - and then spend it! I doubt spending the money on PS3/PS4 games, food, weed brownies ( ) would make me anywhere near as happy. I think I've made a good choice. Don't be sorry you bitch! It's one of those situations where, although "It's better to have loved and lost, than to never have loved at all", since I've never had a dad in the first place, there's nothing to miss. I've never experienced it/him, so there's no void feeling or unhappiness which comes from it! It's just made me more independent I think while at the same time made me a total momma's boy Now with all that said, I'm getting an early night (for me anyway) now as tomorrow I'm waking up nice and early to pick up my car, and then hopefully drive it somewhere nice for a few hours so I can err, spend 'quality time' with it So to @, & @Blue-in-me-Veins, both; GOODNIGHT BITCHES! :blue scalf:

@Blue-in-me-Veins, Oh god... If I heard the engine that beast possesses in person I think I'd faint before soiling myself.

@, I'm scared that I may be tempted to make love with it... but nonetheless, thanks For the model I'm getting + a few upgraded specs, it's £21,765 I'm personally spending exactly £10,000 on it (I've been saving up all my money since I was young. I never really bought much!), while my mum spends around £5,000 as a huge 18th Birthday present (which I'm getting early obviously since my Birthday is in June). The remaining £6,000 or so is from a bank account which is filled with funds which I recently got due to my dad leaving before I was born. It turned out we we (me and mum) were supposed to be getting some sort of 'benefit' all this time; which we didn't; so we got to settle on a one-off cash sum!

@, I'm getting this rather sexy (in my opinion) beast! I'm getting it in black however instead of white. - I wouldn't usually go with this company for cars as I always aim for 'bigger' brands, labels, companies etc. - but this should start me off nicely! The guys my age around my area all go for more 'sporty' looking cars, but I've always enjoyed being different, so I thought instead of getting a flashy, sleek looking car which can only go 100 miles before breaking down, I'd get something quite fuel efficient and 'beefy' to scare the other cars Basically, while my friends drive around in Jovetic I'll be driving around in Drogba (if that makes sense) I've gone for the beeper which helps with parking as well as an upgraded sound system (A necessity to me), so I guess there's only one other major thing to consider; How will I get on TalkChelsea while driving!? I'll find a way... I hope. Lucky for me I only have to pay half the worth of the car in installments ( ) while a few family members chipped in for the other half!

Good day of football. Heh.