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The worse thing with Sturridge is that everyone knew he was going to succeed elsewhere. It was not a surprise to no one. But he should of had more chances to start up front. I cannot blame him. The thing that annoys me is that I know if we let Lukaku go he will score bagful of goals elsewhere and it will once again beg the question as to why he was let go. But even with Sturridge not willing to sign an extension, we surely don't want another situation where we let a player with loads of potential leave when he is ours. It was indicated that he did not want to join Everton as he wants to fight for a first team place here. Holland almost confirmed that. If he is assured by Mourinho that he will get his chance he will stay, it is as simply as that. You would have thought after last season it was a no-brainer for him to remain herr but same situation arises again and it is bloody frustrating. He has got 2 years but I would rather the board just make sure he stays here this season and Lukaku will see for himself how he feels this season goes. If he is happy and proves himself he will sign a contract extension imo.

LOL and like Sturridge proved we could have kept him but wasted our time on fucking ..... Fernando Torres. You might not care but Sturridge could have been a genuine, English talent here. He still got into double figures for us whilst playing majority of games out of position but guess what we sold him and look how good he has proved to be. Almost scored more goals than all our strikers put together last season. It just does not send a good message if we buy top talent then ship them on. We have loaned him out for 2 successive seasons. He has scored so when you say what has he done to show he wants to succeed? He has scored goals ffs and reached double figures. We would benefit from him being here but how it feels to me is that he is being pushed out. Holland had to speak about Lukaku returning, not Mourinho. Mourinho clearly is the one who is edging him out, not Lukaku because like I said the way Mourinho came out and complimented Drogba at 36 as still being "one of the best strikers in Europe" says it all. Has there been any vote of confidence in Lukaku from Mourinho? Never. I know which stance I take here. He wants to play and prove himself but once again he gets kicked in the teeth. I am just hoping the rumous of him leaving are rubbish. Holland said last week that he will return to pre-season and then after a decision will be made. I would rather Costa, Lukaku and Torres than Costa, Drogba and Torres. Drogba will be gone next season and if Lukaku goes we will definitely splash out money for a new striker.

You will be bothered in a few years when many of the top strikers of now enter their 30s and he is scoring goals for fun and proving himself as one of the best strikers around. Only time will sell but it is amazing how many fickle fans there are. Judging a 21 year old striker as the finished article. Amazing really. Patience is not there for some people.

He said he wants to fight for his place. Maybe it is Jose just not wanting him. When Drogba arrived in the week he stated in his own words that he believes he is one of the best strikers in the world. When have you ever heard Mourinho compliment Lukaku? Mourinho imo wants Costa, Drogba and unfortunately Torres as his main strikers. While Lukaku might want to stay, Mourinho might just want the transfer fee. Anyway nothing surprises me with how we treat and sell on players who deserve to stay. This is probably another one which we will look back on in regret.

He said he wants to stay and fight for his place. It seems if he goes it is down to Mourinho. If we had got Shaw the HG rule would not be as much bother but it is clear that we need to take the HG rule seriously, especially for the UCL. But if Everton make a huge bid got a bad feeling we will sell. We should keep him along this season regardless. I can't see him wanting to leave unless he feels pushed out as 3rd striker once again. But even with Drogba here I am hoping this is a boost for Lukaku.

The board would be so foolish to sell Lukaku. Drogba will be off next season and if Lukaku goes we most likely will look for another striker in the market next season anyway. We should meet the HG rules but it won't help by selling Lukaku. If we do that we are just creating a problem for ourselves. When I keep seeing Everton are still working towards signing him on a permanent basis I just keep hoping bour board aren't foolish to sell him. It is a blessing that he is a HG player as he can be with us for the next decade. It should be a no-brainer for the board. One being because he is still the future of this club and secondly he is homegrown and an exceptional talent. The HG quota is very important. We are just setting up a problem for ourselves if we get rid of him. Will be ludicrous to sell him. Words can't explain how angry I will be if he is moved on.

Spot on. If Boyata had got regular football at another team he probably would be a lot better. But he has been on the fringes. He has got injuries as well but lack of playing time has stalled him. If Boyata was exposed to first team football elsewhere you most certainly would see a very good defender and he may of possibly been in the Belgian squad but he has been at City for a few years and never got consistent playing time. I will say the same with Rodwell. Making the move to City was the worse decision he could have ever made.

Always baffles me as to why a lot of people put Matic on the right hand side of the double pivot with Fabregas on the left. Fabregas is right footed and Matic is left footed. They aren't wingers where they need to play on the other side to cut in. That is not their job. Matic will play as the left CM and Fabregas as the right CM. Got it?

Costa is without no doubt our number 1 but I do think too many people are believing that he is going to be a bit-part player. I reckon Jose got him because he sees him playing a big part. Ideally I would want Drogba as 3rd choice striker but judging by Mourinho's comments that he bought him because "he's one of the best strikers in Europe. He is coming with the mentality to make more history". That is not words of a man who plans to rarely use him. Mourinho still rates Drogba highly and I would not be surprised to see him ahead in the pecking order over Lukaku and Torres. Mourinho has never said that about any of our strikers before iirc and I think he knows that while he is not as good as he used to be, Mourinho clearly feels Drogba will be effective as an impact player or 2nd choice. The only way I can see him not being involved much if his performances reflect that but initially I got a gut feeling Mourinho will go with Costa then Drogba as his main strikers. If Mourinho planned on using him partially, he would say so or at least indicate it. The general consensus amongst fans that Drogba will rarely be used is much different to what Jose has planned for him imo.

I know the situation is different with us and Liverpool as we have a lot more money and therefore the younger ones find it difficult to come in at the expense of the players bough whereas at Liverpool they have money but there expectations are not as high but it will be a shame to see the likes of Sterling come through their academy and thrive and be one of their most important players while the likes of Boga who has come through our academy, leave due to a lack of opportunities. Boga is 17. Sterling broke through the Liverpool first team at 17 years of age and look where he is now. I was just looking at the chelsea youth twitter page which is brilliant and saw one of the statements being made is that it could be argued that Boga is better at 17 than Sterling was at the same age. It is a big statement but one I agree with as well. I have been following Sterling from his QPR days and because he lived very local to me and when he eventually moved to Liverpool I followed him more. He was far too good for the reserves and U18 and deserved his first team call but then Sterling relied on his pace and trickery. Boga is not as fast but his acceleration with the ball is excellent and while he thrives in the no.10 role he is also good out wide. Boga can dribble, got an eye for a pass, has tons of flair and scores some fantastic goals. Sterling is a much better all round better player now but Boga can be as good if not better but I just would hate to see him make a mark at another club because I reckon if he was given the opportunity he would thrive because I have no doubt that if Boga was at other PL teams his potential and current ability itself would be too good to ignore and he probably would be integrated into their first team already. Such a good feeling when you see young ones who excite but it is even better if you see them make the breakthrough. IMO, the only thing that will stop Boga making it here is the club. He is good enough and will get better but the question is when he reaches an age where a first team call up is warranted will he be given it? I hope so because he is a genuine talent. He has everything and if the likes of Sterling can come through at Liverpool, there is no reason we can't do the same with Boga but I hope he keeps impressing Mourinho and hopefully he is one who makes it here. The greatest thing is we all know how good he is but to non-Chelsea fans he is an unknown player and if he is given chances, teams/fans won't even know what has hit them.

Not ahead of Terry and Cahill though. Mourinho wouldnt throw him in for our opening PL game. He will go with his trusted and more experienced CB. Zouma will be eased in. If we are win a comfortable position might come on as a sub. But I reckon his first start will come in the capital one cup.

No chance. Will be Terry and Cahill. Bamford's movement looks really good.

I really can't pick out that much games if any at all where I would say he was poor last season. I can't really criticise Miranda as I have not watched him closely but in the games where I have seen him he has been excellent and I have heard good reviews about him over the season. So I would not slate someone for saying Miranda is better but stating he is much better than Cahill, I completely disagree. Cahill was fantastic last season. I think his reading of the game has improved big time and his tackling/interceptions have also improved very much. Cahill's form has been so consistent for me that I have him as one of our first names on the team sheet. I think in general, Cahill is one of the best all round defenders in the game. That is just my opinion. But I agree with the bolded part. Terry is 33 and while he is still a quality CB he will need to be rested once in a while. Ivanovic has looked solid at CB when he has played but we have not seen him there on a consistent basis. If Terry or Cahill get an injury next season then we have Ivanovic or Zouma for instance covering and they make mistakes, people will be questioning why we never bought another CB. Especially if Mourinho wants to make a serious challenge for all honours next season we would be well prepared with having 3 quality CB. Likelihood is that if Terry leaves/retires after this season we will sign a CB anyway because I think it will be a while before Mourinho trusts Zouma/Omeruo/Kalas or whoever to be a consistent first team starter. Considering the fixtures and especially the Christmas period it definitely would help if we had another CB like him. We have got the money as well and I would feel even more content than I already am with an addition of another top CB.

The only thing I would say to that is as Chelsea fans we watch Oscar more and are more credible critics. Other fans may go on percieved notions about Oscar being a very good player without actually watching him play. I reckon he started well for us but after his form was not up to standards. I mean the majority of non-Chelsea fans reckon we are stupid to have loaned Lukaku out and may think it is further ludicrous if we sell him. I agree with this but then there are many Chelsea fans on here who believe Lukaku is overrated and is not good enough. My point being other teams fans seem to think of Lukaku better than our fans. As fans, it seems many of us are generally critical of our players and set high standards.

By the looks like of it we may have Ramires, Fabregas, Matic, MVG, Mikel, Chalobah and Romeu for them positions. If he is kept around he will more than certainly be playing U21 fixtures and might get some cup appearances. I think it would be good for him to experience first team football at a Championship team. This hopefully will develop him better mentally, technically and physically and would be better rather than him having a majority of the season with the reserves.

He does not need to be included as he is under 21. Personally I think he would be best by having a loan. He has been playing reserve football for around 2-3 years and has clearly outgrown it. I think he needs competitive action this season to aid his development. Hopefully at the right team. But he is a real talent.

I want to see Fabregas in the no.10 role. That is what I hope. Pleased that Boga is still around the first team.

What that also shows is that is acceleration on the ball is very good as well. He done a similar thing against Milan where he used exceptional dribbling and acceleration of the ball to score a goal. His acceleration and dribbling on the ball is underrated.

Quite comfortably? That is really stretching it. Miranda had an excellent season but so did Cahill. Can't see how you have concluded that. Cahill has kept on improving and last season was arguably the best CB in the league. I prefer his all round game compared to Miranda. I would take Cahill.

He even scores free kicks with his left and right http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kp6xvaziBrA

I just hope that even if Lukaku does confirm he will stay and fight for his place he means it. The same time last year, Mourinho confirmed Lukaku would be with us for last season and vice-versa, Lukaku said he was staying here then last night of transfer window he left out on loan. I will not take anything for granted until the transfer window is ended. For what you know he possibly/probably won't start a game before the transfer window ends and he might want to leave so I hope he is willing to fight for his place over the season. Don't take any player's words for granted. All could change when the transfer window closes but I just hope he stays.

Swift, like Baker have made massive strides. Before the last couple of seasons Baker struggled to get even 5 goals in the U18 then he just transformed into a quality player and same with Swift. I reckon Swift is underrated. He is a dark horse to make it here but with the right guidance I can see him having a big career in the PL. But I agree about Swift. He cannot be played in a 4-2-3-1 on a regular basis. He is best of in a 4-3-3 as a b-2-b midfielder. Like Ramires. He is best in a trio or as no.10. But a couple years ago I would have laughed if anyone told me Swift and Baker would have made their first team debuts last season. It was a nice gesture for how excellent both Swift and Baker were last season. With MVG I know he came here as a big prospect but I just see no indications that he is any different from Josh. Looks good in nice tidy passing but long term going forward just think he faces the same situation. There will be better all round players but tbh he has from what I saw last season got an impressive range of passing. If he is able to dictate play more it might just change my opinion but I have been a bit underwhelmed in the 2 friendlies I have seen him in so far. Look how Baker changed the game when he came on today. That is what I want to see from MVG. I know Baker was playing in the no.10 role but even when in CM he makes things happen. I am not sure how realistic it is but I wonder what Jose thinks a loan would do for MVG. Would be nice to see him involved with the first team but I don't want him to stall due to a lack of games. But that is the stumbling block for Swift as you say. There are better no.10 than him and much better wingers. I rate Swift a lot but out of him and Baker I assume Baker will make it here. I think we will see Swift for a while here though. He will make the odd apperances but I agree with you about his long term future. Baker has a huge chance of making it as a CM (I hope so) and Boga can make it here. He is good enough from LW and the no.10 role. Interesting season for all three. Boga will probably stay here for this season. Baker and Swift may be loaned out at some point as they have played too much reserve games and now need to be exposed to weekly first team football.

I never said he was better than him. I said he has more to his game. Jeremie Boga has more elements to his game than Oscar. Does that mean I think he currently is better than him? No. It basically means that in the future I reckon these variations to Boga's game will help him excel in hopefully making it here where as Oscar who is a good player but struggles in some areas of the game, I reckon this is a drawback for us at times. Back to MVG, what I have seen of him I don't think there is much to his game apart from dictating play. I can understand why you think I said it that way but I did not. I simply mean that Swift in the future will be a better option than MVG possibly because he has got more to his game. In simple terms I think Swift and especially Baker have more chance of excelling here because they are not limited. They have got tons of abilities and are versatile. Believe me I would never say Swift is better than MVG right now if he has only played like 10 or minus in his professional career so far but going forward in the future he might well possibly be. We will just have to see.

Sorry. My bad. I assumed Monday. But just remembered the WC. So I assume it will be 2 weeks. Would be great to see Costa and a wanting to stay Lukaku as our strikers next season.