Mr_President

Prediction for this season, as it stands (i.e. no further major signings are made) I am confident we will win, especially if we sign a decent back-up striker. The club did an amazing job this summer in selling certain players for good prices and then bringing in exactly what we needed for relative bargains. We have added 3 first team players that will improve the team immensely; I just love the look of this squad. Of course, if we fail to sign a back-up striker and Costa gets injured then we are in trouble, but last season we fared pretty well with only Eto'o and Torres - of course our competition is stronger this season. IMO we have the best keeper in the league (certainly the best combination!), the most solid defence, albeit without the star quality at CB as City (but as a unit I think we're better, also down to playing style), we have the best or one of the best midfield 2s in Matic and Fabregas, with Ramires ready to make it a 4-3-3 in certain games. We also have real quality and depth in the AM position with Hazard, Schurrle, Oscar, Willian, and Salah. Costa is perfect for us and I am just praying he doesn't get injured, the back-up doesn't bare thinking about. City have an outstanding squad and a very strong first team but I just have a feeling that they won't be able to do the back-to-back. Aguero is hugely injury prone, Yaya is older and it is unlikely that he will replicate his last season (not to mention the recent soap opera) and I don't think Pellegrini is as good as Mourinho, which is key IMO. I think they will run us close but ultimately fall short. Arsenal look good and I can see them giving us a lot of competition for the title provided they don't get hit hard by injuries or spectacularly bottle it (both of which are highly likely, however). Their record against the top teams is questionable and I don't really see why that would change this season; both ourselves and City have strengthened, whilst the addition of van Gaal at United or, rather, the expulsion of David Moyes will have improved United's competitiveness. Having said that, as of this moment I don't see United as anywhere near title contenders and if they make no further signings I think they'll finish 5th, behind Liverpool. If they try and fit van Persie, Rooney and Mata in the same team their attack has very little pace. They are also seemingly going to play 3-5-2 with who as their CBs? Jones, Evans and Smalling? 2 of whom are injury prone and none are particularly elite defenders - I assume they'll sign at least 1 class CB though, god knows they need to. Hererra was a good signing but they still need much more to avoid being run over in midfield. Liverpool are very difficult to predict. I think it is unwise to write them off because they lost Suarez. Yes, he was their most dangerous player last season who not only scored and assisted goals but created space for other players. However, without him Sturridge can be the main man and he fits their fast, dynamic play perfectly. They are in a similar situation to us, though, because if their main striker gets injured they go down to using Lambert? Sterling is an exciting player who is not only quick but also very intelligent, Coutinho is a very creative no. 10 and an underrated defensive player. On top of that they have added Markovic (who looks a real prospec, maybe one for the future rather than immediate impact, though), Lallana, Can, 2 new FBs and, importantly, Lovren. It remains to be seen how they will line up and who will play as their defensive midfielder (if it's Gerrard again then they will ship too many goals to be real title contenders). Also whether or not they can cope with playing in Europe at the same time is another question mark over them. So I predict that we will win, but it becomes very hard after that. 1. Chelsea 2. City ----------(City/Liverpool/Arsenal are all interchangeable IMO, it's too close to call). 3. Liverpool 4. Arsenal 5. Man. United 6. Spurs 7. Everton I'm so excited...

Agree 100%. This is not only just about this coming season but the seasons ahead as well. If we have enough money to bring him in for £30m + a backup striker like Remy then I think we should be doing it without blinking. We are going for titles this season and if we are going to be battling on all fronts (with several very strong teams in Europe right now) then it makes sense for us to do everything we can to maximise our chance of winning. Obviously this signing and the signing of a backup striker will create further issues with the home grown quota - so that has to be thought about.

Liverpool and QPR. More to do with the fans than the current set of players/management.

Loving the comments from Mourinho recently. No matter what anyone says, he has been consistent in his interviews since day 1 when he returned to Chelsea; he knew that last season would be more of a transitional season where we would not be winning anything (but still managed to put up a credible fight in the PL and CL). It was always about the second season and he hasn't shied away from his initial comments that we are going to "attack" the title now. At the end of this (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/managers/jose-mourinho/10996098/Jose-Mourinho-desperate-to-sell-Fernando-Torres-as-Chelseas-squad-exceeds-foreign-player-quota.html) article, he talks even more about the future and guys like Solanke, Brown, Boga and Baker and how they are the future of Chelsea, and how it would be his failure if they don't become national team members in the next few years. I love how he puts that pressure and expectation on himself. It must also be fantastic for the youth team members to hear that the first team manager, Jose Mourinho no less, is tracking their progress and has genuine plans in place for their (steady) introduction to the squad. The message has always been the same: we needed stability and longevity which Mourinho will provide in abundance (so long as Roman's trigger finger doesn't get itchy!). It's also exciting to see him already starting to take snipes at opposing teams (comments about Luke Shaw) which has already caused quite a stir. He seems massively up for the challenge and he now has the squad to truly compete. So excited not only for this season but long into the future.

Boga is so silky. Hope he remains injury free and perhaps can get a loan where he'll be playing week in week out.

Oh ffs I just want the season to start so I can see my Chelsea play. So glad we got our transfers done at a reasonable price and early on in the window, despite the world cup. The only thing that is of slight concern is the quality of our fullbacks as attacking options. I know Luis is a monster defensively, and so is Azpilicueta, but I'm not sure how he is offensively (didn't watch him much last season - can anyone educate me?). I am hoping that when Dave is switched to the right it will make it easier for him to be more effective going forward whilst maintaining his defensive solidity. I really hope Schurrle continues to improve and can play on the right or interchange with Hazard because the team just looks better set up, to me at least, when he is part of that 3 behind the striker instead of Willian. I think right now Willian is the better all-round footballer but Schurrle has the potential to be more useful to the team by stretching defences and having much more end product. Even if he isn't ready to be 1st choice, he's a machine when he comes off the bench. Also looking forward to having a striker like Costa. It has all been said by members here already but he is the kind of striker, like Muller when he plays as a striker, who is constantly moving and playing off the last man and occupying defenders. Add to that Hazard being backed up by Luis on the left, Fabregas adding some serious quality in midfield and our usual defensive strength then I can't help but feel this will be an awesome season. My only concern is Oscar.

This is a very strange feeling. I generally stay away from the forum and newspaper transfer stories because of past 'transfer sagas' but I like how we've wrapped this up. Myself and lots of other members said we needed brains in the midfield for at least the last 18 months, now we have the perfect player for that IMO. Importantly, he is in his peak. We have enough kids with potential, Fabregas is a successful and mature player. The transfer staff/board deserve massive credit too: they have overseen the acquisition of players with great potential at (relatively) low cost e.g. de Bruyne, Courtois & Lukaku. Buying already class players like Mata and then sell them on for almost double after 2 good years of service, then somehow flog Luiz for a ridiculous amount. All the while we have identified which areas we need to strengthen and have already seemingly sewn it up. Now he has the blue shirt on all my past feelings about him are gone and I will support him like any other player. This is exciting because one thing is for sure: Mourinho and Chelsea are not playing around next season.

Hope so. He was great for Arsenal in that kind of deeper role, he's also a good goal scorer despite playing quite deep. We've all been saying we need some brains in the middle of the park next to Matic, Fabregas will provide that.

Never liked the guy but the second he becomes a Chelsea player (if he is signed) I will back him like all of our others. Matic-Fabregas? Yes please.

I meant 'decent' as relative for a top level CM. I am aware of our outstandingly bad passers in midfield. Thankfully Matic isn't bad.

Can only echo what others have said really. Luiz came to us full of promise, as you'd expect from a young CB costing £25m-ish. He has had some fantastic periods here, despite short term thinking that forces opinions to the contrary. However, this season especially, he has shown that he cannot be completely relied upon as a top CB should be. He has been useful in midfield, but that is the extent of it. He is essentially our 3rd/4th choice CB and a part-time midfielder. If we are able to get anything over £30m for him it is fantastic, nevermind the 40-50m prices that are being thrown around. I do not feel the way our team is set up gets the best out of him as a CB. At Bayern or Barcelona, for example, I think we would fit in very well with his aggressive pressing, his decent passing and pace. Defending deep and being fully concentrated for the whole game like he has to be at Chelsea doesn't suit him. Wish him the best because for all his errors and flaws, he seems like a thoroughly decent bloke and is no doubt a very talented player.

He's absolutely right in what he said, it was said respectfully and it's refreshing to hear honesty rather than the stonewall non-committal BS that most players are coached to deliver in interviews. Reading the reaction here then it's not hard to see why players are coached in such a way.

Footballers deserve what they get paid because that's the way the market works. It doesn't make the blindest bit of difference whether or not they're smart, good human beings or ultimately bring value to society; their worth is determined by their (perceived) talent and value to their clubs. If a player demands too much then the club won't pay it. If the player demands a lot but the club end up paying it, then it wasn't too much in the first place and the club has decided that they are indeed worth 200-300k or whatever it may be per week.

If you read what his agent is saying, it's actually hilarious. Probably a ploy for more cash, despite only signing a new contract last year. Probably realises this is his last big pay-day. I won't even entertain the idea of us being able to get him because City would rather allow him to rot on their bench, even with the implications that might bring for FFP compliance. From the Sun Seluk told The Sun: "There's a big possibility Yaya will leave this summer. "What happened at his birthday meant the club don't care about him. It was proof. "In a normal team, his team-mates and club would at least give him good wishes. "He's very upset and he started thinking of leaving the club. And he will leave if things carry on like this. "It's not a question of money or contract, believe me. He has everything he needs. For Yaya what is the most important thing is human relationships. "When your best worker has his birthday from time to time it's not bad to shake his hand. To make him feel valued and appreciated. They don't give any attention to Yaya." _________________________________ From the BBC "He got a cake but when it was Roberto Carlos's birthday, the president of Anzhi gave him a Bugatti," Seluk told BBC Sport. "I don't expect City to present Yaya with a Bugatti, we only asked that they shook his hand and said 'we congratulate you'. It is the minimum they must do when it is his birthday and the squad is all together. "I hear one newspaper has written that City congratulated him from Twitter but this is a joke. It is better they don't put anything on Twitter if they are not saying anything to him.

Here's the goal. https://vine.co/v/MHZwVlFi95Y

I think that is an over reaction. Maybe it's just me, but things sportspeople/managers say to the press seem to get blown way out of proportion and people always think there is some massive drama behind it. I don't think anything will come from this (and I hope it won't).

Sounds like it was comments made in private to one of his coaches, someone he should be able to trust. IMO it's no more stupid than Mourinho's comments about our strikers/Eto'o's age when he also thought his comments were made in private. Let's look at this for what it is. A young Brazilian flair player, in the comfort of his national team surroundings/with his coach, has disclosed to someone, whom he supposedly trusts, that he prefers a more free role.* Is that so unreasonable? I personally hope next season his role will be more free so we are not relying on our #10 to chase the ball down and make the most tackles in the team. I am hoping his primary role will be to create next season (obviously he will have defensive duties as well). *I am speculating as to what Oscar's preferred role is, but that is a reasonable guess. On a side note, I am really looking forward to see how he does in the WC; it would be massive for him if he could be a key part of a WC winning Brazillian squad, in Brazil.

I expect this team, with a few more additions, to win the title. That is not to say, however, that us being pipped by a couple of points should automatically mean that Jose's job is under threat.

No one knows if they are invalid in a court of law because there has been no litigation in this space yet. The rules were agreed upon and adopted by UEFA and apply to all clubs wishing to compete in UEFA competitions. UEFA competitions are private and I believe operate on an 'invite only' basis (despite the qualification process) - City do not have a statutory right to be there. If UEFA have a set of rules, i.e. FFP, and any club is in breach of them, then I think you'll find it is perfectly reasonable for them to punish clubs that contravene the rules. This is not about punishing other clubs for having more resources than others. Technically, Manchester City (the company/club) do not have more resources than many top clubs, their owner does. There is a big difference. What City have done is inflate the value of their sponsorships to ludicrous levels in a bid to comply with FFP; UEFA has seen through this. Is it really pathetic? The effect of Chelsea, City, PSG and Monaco's spending the transfer market, players' wages and, consequently, ticket prices/tv prices is a small issue in your mind? The game will be much better off if FFP can be implemented properly and, as some cynics might suggest, UEFA don't simply use it as a cash-cow.

I think I'm in the overwhelming minority in wanting Everton to win today. I would rather we still had a shot at the title and 'risk' Liverpool winning it than just hoping City win it to stop Liverpool. I'd much prefer City to win over Liverpool and I am tired of the whole 'special/'YAWN bollocks that they spout but seeing as I don't actually know any Liverpool fans in real life it wouldn't be such a bad thing. I'd just switch off social media until the WC starts and then everyone who is not a scouser will have forgotten about it.

Wow, some people have really got their knickers in a twist over nothing.

I don't know why it is only now that I am ignoring your posts. I used to find your misplaced commas vaguely amusing but now even they don't make up for the drivel that you post here.

It's hard to answer without knowing what we'd be working with at the start of the season in personel terms. However, I want to see progression in the team and a focus on the league. We should be aiming to win the title and to not do so would be a disapointment. It would not, however, be a cataclysmic failure that should result in anyone's sacking; that would completely undermine what we are trying to do here. I also either want to see our promising youth players flourish on loan or be slowly integrated into the squad (note: squad, not first XI).

If we are playing this game, I'd like a turn. Even though I have never played Football manager and can barely last 30 mins on Fifa without going insane this post may come across as FM-esque. I've dealt with players that I know a lot about because I don't feel I can give a fair assessment on quite a few of the lads who've been out on loan . I have tried to be realistic, yet optimistic at the same time. Summer transfers: Players in:** Costa - Best striker we can reasonably obtain. Cavani has only just moved and PSG would have absolutely no motivation to sell unless UEFA are going to seriously implement FFP - even if that was the case he'd cost the world. Rakitic - Good player and I imagine would fit nicely next to Matic in the pivot. He's the right age as well, we need some players actually in their peak rather than just buying 'potential' - especially in an area of such importance to the team. Still pissed off we missed out on Modric. If Kroos is available then we should be all aboard that ship. He lacks pace but is a fantastic passer and cannot be allowed to go to Utd if he is available. I can't see why he'd possible choose Utd over us right now, unless they were to offer a Rooney-esque package. Ricardo Rodríguez - I'm a big fan of Shaw and if we could get him for a sensible price i.e. not more than 25m (and even that's pushing it) then I'd prefer him to RR. Rodríguez is a very good attacking fullback and I think one of the main things that has held us back has been not having two good fullbacks to create width and stretch teams. We may need another backup CM if Luiz and Ramires are sold, though I don't think Ramires will be. I think it would be good to retain Eto'o and Schwazer. Out:** Torres - need him off the wage bill and with Costa & hopefully Lukaku back here there will be no space Ba - decent striker and a good guy but not needed if the aforementioned two are here - should be able to recoup the fee for him. Luiz - Not good enough to start as a CB and not good enough to start as a CM consistenly. Therefore if an offer of 20-25m+ comes in for him then I don't see the rationale behind keeping him. Romeu - Hopefully we get a decent offer from a Spanish side and he's able to stay over there. Injury and managerial instability ruined his time here. Ramires - I am split on this but think if a 20 or 25+m offer came in for him we'd do well to cash in. Moses - we are stacked in his position and I'd rather give a youngster his place. Again, should be able to recoup his transfer fee. Marin - No place here, doubt we'll get much, if anything, for him. Kakuta - Again, not really sure we'd get much but there's no point in him being here. ** This is assuming fair deals can be reached for the players Players back from loan: Lukaku - If he is willing to come back and to fight with Costa for a place. In some cases, as I will discuss further below, he may play with Costa in a 2 man strikeforce. As others have pointed out, when we play the weaker teams at home there isn't much need to be conservative. I'd like to see us play like City do at home against the poorer sides. Courtois - Quite possibly the best keeper in the world. No place for sentiment in football, Cech should have to fight him for his place. I love Cech and I will consider him a legend of the club but if Courtois is even 1% better then he should start. Players to go back on loan/go out on loan for the first time: Traoré - Looks very talented so either more time in the Dutch league or a loan to a Spanish side would be good, provided he can play consistently; that's what he needs right now. I'd rather not see him in the Championship. Piazon - Not ready for Chelsea yet and if we did bring him back I imagine he'd be on the bench or not even in the squad most of the time - not good for his development. Loftus-Cheek - Love watching him and think he is very talented. Often looks like he's on another level when he's playing youth matches. Ake - Probably won't be in the first team squad much, if at all, so should seek oppotunities on loan to further development. Christensen - Good player, probably needs to be playing at a higher level to continue improving. Thorgan Hazard - Will be watching his development closely. If a team in a tougher league can take him and play him a lot then that would be perfect. To be fair, he's 21 now and needs to move on from the Belgian league. Chalobah PVA Atsu Lalkovic Wallace - if he's still alive? Maybe go out on loan: John Swift Other youth players to watch: Boga Musonda Solanke Dasilva Probably lots more. So for our first XI that will give us a fair amount of flexibility: ----------------Courtois----------------- --Azpi---Cahill----Terry---Rodriguez- ---------Matic-------Rakitic------------ --Willian-------Oscar--------Hazard-- -----------------Costa------------------- Or for smaller sides/when we're chasing a result: ----------------Courtois----------------- --Azpi---Cahill----Terry---Rodriguez- ------------------Matic------------------ --Willian-------Oscar--------Hazard-- ---------Lukaku------Costa----------- We'd also have players like Schurrle and, although I'm not a fan, Salah to come off the bench and stretch defences by making those fast runs behind. Also consider that our key offensive players: Oscar, Hazard, Willian and Matic will all be a year older and more experienced. I only hope that the world cup doesn't knock the stuffing out of them and I actually look forward to the tournament finishing so everyone can just focus on Chelsea.

After the disapointment of yesterday's result I think some balance is needed. Thankfully the overwhelming majority of fans on here and IRL are not schizophrenic hyper-critical armchair fans that jump on Mourinho, Hazard, Oscar or whoever it may be after a disapointing result but then disappear after a fantastic result. Also, on that point, I cannot believe some people actually lambasted Hazard and blamed him for the defeat. If you get to a point where you rely on your best attacking player to also be flawless defensively then you are lost. On the game, I thought it was fairly even until the pen and then we started to chase the game which obviously played right into Atletico's hands. It should be remembered that Atletico aren't some mid-table team from an overrated league anymore, they are leading - and in a convincing manner - the strongest league in the world. We started the game with a Ramires and Luiz in midfield. Therein lies the big problem for me and a midfield of that combination will always mean we lack control and composure in the game. But what choice did Mourinho have? Lampard - Suspended. Mikel - Suspended. Matic - Ineligible. Van Ginkel - Out all season because of injury. Really, I'd love to hear the bashers' views: who could we have started in that midfield 2 that would have given us a better grip on the game? DL actually did a good job in the first half IMO but he is not CM. This season people have finally realised Ramires is not a top CM either (although he is a good player and has his uses). Clearly this is an area that needs strengthening in the summer and I'd argue it is almost as important as adding a striker. I think this midfield combination necessitated - at least in Mourinho's mind - a more defensive line-up (in the form of a back 5). That is not to say that Mourinho is absolved from any criticism. I'm sure he'll be the first to (not publically) criticise himself and analyse what he could do better. Our weaknesses have been glaringly obvious this season and I do think that part of it is down to the style we employ, but we only employ such a style because of the players that we currently have. To get as far as we have got in the CL and PL with the team we have (let's not forget, last season was a complete mess) is an achievement. I also believe (and hope) that Mourinho will be able to complete his puzzle in the summer which will mean we can see more expansive football when needed. Looking forward to next season.