Leif

I think Josh should get his chances next season, but not against the big boys like Utd or Arsenal. Teams like Wigan, Aston Villa etc. should be good for bleeding him into the team more. A weakened team of - Cech Ferreira, Cahill, Terry, Bertrand Romeu, Josh Marin, Lampard, De Bruyne Sturridge Would do the job in my opinion. Got the experience in there, with flair on the wings, and little Josh controlling the game. In theory, that could tear lower teams apart. I'm not sure what I agree with though in this debate of is he more Xavi or Iniesta like, or should he be an attacking midfielder or a deep-lying playmaker. I haven't seen him take many great shots when I've watched him, and we do lack a playmaker deep, so I guess he should play there.

This Italy - Russia game is great so far. Just attack, attack, attack. http://www.firstrowsports.eu/watch/125179/1/watch-russia-vs-italy.html

I'm sure there's a free agent out there who'd be much better than VDW.

Vertonghen confirms he's joining Tottenham.

I'm reading a lot of "Van der Wiel will be good cover" - I highly doubt he'd join us to be 'cover'. He's the Netherlands starting right back, and wants to stay their number 1 right back. It's like Lukaku - He was often starting for Belgium, and is now lucky to make sub appearances. He probably wouldn't have joined us so soon if he knew this was his fate. If he joins, I expect he'll play an equal amount of games as Ivanovic.

Yes, but not a blind fan who pretends every game will be won and that every trophy will be ours. (I'm not implying you are that either, but there's a massive amount who are.)

To be honest, Romeu >>> Fellaini. Romeu was superb in almost every game this season. His best attribute was his extraordinary positioning - something which the Afro-man needs to work on.

Kalou will have a great career wherever he goes now I believe. I personally feel he should either go 'back home' to Feyenoord in Eredivisie, or go to Ligue 1 in France. Although I'm sure other clubs are aware he hasn't exactly been world class for us, on paper, a versatile 26 year old Champions League winner for free sounds like a once-in-a-club-time deal.

1: Manchester City - The team now completely understand eachother. They haven't bonded like our players or Utd's, but the individual quality in each position outweighs that when it comes to match day. Toure and Kompany to be their best players. Silva to be average. 2: Manchester United - The usual. They always fight, and never give up. Don't have the money Manchester City have, and I feel SAF is becoming a little naive when it comes to underestimating opponents. 3: Chelsea - Our new players won't gel right away, and some might not even work in our system. We don't have a firing striker, but we somehow get results when needed most of the time. I feel Mata may decline a bit with the arrival of Hazard, as Mata will perhaps be pushed back out wide to fit in Hazard. Best player to be either Mikel or Ivanovic. We will be better the following season. 4: Arsenal - If Van Persie stays, they'll be strong. They could pip us to third, but being a Chelsea supporter, I just decided to slot us in instead. Podolski to flop, M'Vila (if he signs) to not live up to the hype, and Walcott to be reborn into a great player (lol jk). Persie will do all the work again. If he leaves however, Arsenal will finish 5th. 5: Liverpool - Rodgers will get them playing attacking football which is what Suarez needs. Will use Gerrard properly. He doesn't motivate very well though. Talking to a snail would be more interesting for me. He'll either be a revelation, or Liverpool will finish roughly where they did this season. They won't go backwards. The bacteria on my poo has more class than their fans. 6: Tottenham - They're just annoying. Cba writing about them. Relegated - Norwich, QPR and Wigan. No more miracles for Roberto Martinez. Top scorer - Rooney. Most assists - Bale or Valencia. Player of the Year - Aguero or Kompany. Premier League: Manchester City F.A. Cup: Chelsea or Arsenal Champions League: Real Madrid or Bayern Munich Europa League: Bordeaux or Liverpool

So - Who takes our free kicks from now on? Hulk, Mata, Hazard and Lampard are all capable. Hulk will be the best at long range shots and free kicks clearly. His accuracy from distance is unmatched. I haven't seen many close-rangers scored by him though. Mata has amazing vision and finesse, but often lacks power behind his shot. Hazard is the same as Mata really, but he has not quite as good vision, but more power behind the shot. Lampard is Lampard. Hit or miss when it comes to FK's.

As long as he flexes those huge arms of his when he scores, groans, and does a loud scream which echoes across the stadium, I'm happy. Judging from his tweets saying "thank you to Chelsea fans" etc, it does seem like he actually WANTS a move here. Hope he's not a bit slow though and realises AVB is no longer here.

I'm probably alone on this, but while everyone is getting excited over Hazard and Hulk (and rightly so), I'm just sitting in anticipation, counting the days down until we get those Audi seats installed in the dugout etc. (I wish we'd also get one of those outdoor roof things above an actual bench like Real Madrid have, instead of our players just sitting in the crowd basically/sorta/not really/you get what I mean.)

Hulk is going to be extremely marketable. Hope the club have a good media team to take advantage of his look, size, build and name.

It's only just hit me right now - We're about to sign possibly THE most sought after young player in the world right now (aside from Neymar, who I personally don't like), and Hulk, who COULD be hit or miss, but if he is a hit, will be a HUGE hit... and yet the transfer window isn't even officially open yet. Love you Roman. x

Malouda just scored one of the better goals of his career for France.

Anyone get any idea when the new away kit will be revealed? I hate the look of the black/yellow one circulating the web at the moment. Wish we'd go back to a simple white away kit like this -

Great. The other England fans don't appreciate him, and therefore, don't deserve to have him in their team.

Alvaro can F off. I want Bertrand to become our starting left back within the next 3 or so seasons and then stay that way until he one day is replaced by another young fine Englishman.

What's this guys accent? Can't put my finger on it. He calls us "Chalsea". It makes me giggle like a little girl meeting Justin Bieber.

Could this thread perhaps be moved to the main forum page, near the top, so that other threads such as Eden Hazard etc. (which I contributed to F'ing up) can be used properly? Perhaps below "Matthew Harding Stand" and "The Match", and just above "Transfer Talk"? I feel people neglect this thread because it takes a few extra clicks getting to. Just a thought. In more related news however - I was just looking out my window, and a woman walked past with a HUGE rack. Shame that there were 2 moles on the left one though. Why on earth are they called 'beauty' marks anyway?

Romeu starts for Spain U21's in an hour or 2.

From what I've seen and heard of Lukaku, he's a bully outside of football, and is extremely disrespectful. He removed the status (i think) after an intense back lash, but after our game vs. Bayern, he joked about some people who had died in Munich a few decades ago or something (I know such a serious topic shouldn't be spoken about so vaguely, but I can't remember exactly what he said). I haven't been on it for a while, but here's his personal Facebook - http://www.facebook....melu.lukaku.186 The big smile of his just hides what he truly is I fear. He likes playing the victim. Liverpool should have bought him.

I agree.

I'm not trying to be extremely rude, but are you... well, you know...