Mr_President

Ramsey for Ballon D'or

Hi, does anyone know if it is a loan until Jan with the option of extension or a season long loan? I'm glad he's at Everton rather than warming the bench for us; Everton are a fantastic team and he will learn and flourish, with the aim being to bring him back next season so he can compete for the #1 spot. If he can get a similar or better return of goals at Everton as he did at WBA then the Chelsea management would have to take serious notice. (they arguably should have taken serious notice of him this season..) But let's be positive about this: we have a cracking young striker who is out on loan at a great club with a decent manager where he should learn a lot as a player and compete for a national team spot for the WC. Then we unleash him as our own striker next season...

The Skipper. Always seems to make well reasoned and articulate posts.

I'm happy he had the balls to step up and take it. Yes, he choked under pressure but he is 20 y/o and will learn, as Drogba said. I am sure, because of his big character, that this will make him stronger in the long term rather than destroy him. Keep going, Romelu. Micky Mouse trophy too. Not going to lie, would have liked to have won but let's be honest, Bayern are the best team in the world right now and we put up a decent show with a relatively young/inexperienced squad - we will only get better.

i want to be sick

Lahm as DM? wtf

eh shaky performance, but 3pts matter most. I know villa fans will whinge about the peno shout but, in my very biased opinion, it should have been a FK to us for a foul on Terry. The reason his arm was in the air was because he was being dragged down and climbed on by the Villa player, moving his arm like that was a natural reaction (for balance..)

come on guys, saw this bumped with a few views on it and you got my hopes up

Good post, welcome to the forum. Whilst it is great to see every Chelsea player working hard, that is to be expected, they're professionals. I didn't want to whinge about Torres yesterday because it was such a great day for Chelsea FC: Mourinho returned to the bridge, Abramovich reached out to the fans for the first time, and that first half performance was sexy (though against Hull...).. and just generally everything is pretty good at Stamford Bridge right now.. the atmosphere is back. But let's be honest, Torres is never going to hit the form that we pay/paid for, we just have to accept that we are probably stuck with him for a while and have to support him whilst he's on the pitch (which Chelsea fans have patiently since we signed him).

That's what I thought. I honestly believe any bid is a waste of time when it comes to Fabregas though. He was amazing for Barca last night and it looks like they need him tbh, they just lost Thiago and Xavi can't play forever..

I agree that Fellaini would be a good signing for you and would add some 'steel' to your midfield, as well as being a decent player alongside Carrick. It was pretty well publicised that Fellaini had a 23.5m(?) release clause that expired in August, which Moyes must have known about, so did he just not think Fellaini was worth that or did he have other targets instead?

Oscar easily MoTM for me. Ramires had a good game, as did Terry. De Bruyne looked bright and Hazard looked ok but didn't show all he had to offer in this match..

I agree mate, and I think when players retire the hero worship begins and all the bad things are forgotten. I don't think that we would have done much better by using Ba or Sturridge as the other poster suggested because we had many other problems... but clearly, given the number of chances he scuffed (or even failed to create because of the time he spent on the wing) we would have been stronger with a more established striker... I think that's all the other guy was suggesting really. I suppose you can always blame a certain player (whether it be Mikel, Luiz or Torres) for defeats but ultimately the team has to perform as a team, if the striker isn't performing then the midfield needs to step up etc..

Whilst I agree that it isn't just Torres's fault, and much of the blame can be laid at the feet of defenders (and a certain manager who shall not be named), you can't say just because he didn't miss a 1v1 means he didn't have a negative effect. I believe the poster was meaning Torres wasn't creating any chances for himself with his lack of movement, or 'ghost mode' as he put it, which is a very important part of a strikers job.

And Hazard will only get better. He has all the natural talent, we can all see that, exciting times

If we got him and managed to offload Torres then it would be perfect to be honest. It's not like he is 35 or 36.. he can still do the business but he is not young enough to hinder Lukaku's progression. Only problem is getting rid of Torres/Ba.

Lads (and Barbara), I'd just like to say how great these articles have been recently and would like to thank you guys for taking the time to write them. It really adds something to the site that other football forums just don't offer. Cheers

His tackling and break-up of play (sometimes by fouling) has been pretty impressive in pre-season and if his passing improves he will be a v. good midfield signing. I think the combination of him, Ramires and Lampard in the midfield against Madrid probably didn't help him shine to be honest, all three of them miscued passes and looked uncomfortable under pressure which ultimately kept inviting more and more pressure onto us.

what it is with these fucking pre-season games.. can't start on time. I'm already knackered and my laptop isn't fully charged and I don't want to get up to chart it!

Have stolen my Dad's mini-fridge (usually used for beers) and put in some red bull and some snacks to keep me up till the end of the match. I can't go downstairs to eat without waking the whole house up so I brought the fridge to me

I agree with the UTD fan. At the moment Bale is the more effective of the two, but I believe it is clear to see that from a technical point of view Hazard is already ahead of him. I believe this, compounded by the fact that Hazard is younger and a Chelsea player being discussed on a Chelsea board, is why many people suggest he is better than Bale or at least has a higher 'ceiling'. Hazard already gave an interview himself a month or two ago about how he wants to be more clinical and start scoring like Ronaldo rather than looking to do something flashy or make a pass, so I think we may see exactly how talented he is in the coming years.

It's just not how the modern game is anymore. Chelsea, and many other big European clubs, have an 'international following' and sponsorship arrangements which mean they need to go and promote the game in other countries, who happen to have different time zones. I actually think it's good they're going to the States to help promote football and it is also a great opportunity for American Chelsea fans to see the team live (whilst also serving the function of pre-season and raising the club's profile, revenue streams etc.. (which is what it is about).

Doubt he would move to Russia. He is on great wages here, gets to live in London where I assume he is fairly settled with his family (unless they are back in Spain?) and I doubt it would help his WC chances if he is in Russia, although his WC chances won't be great if he is on the bench here either..

o wow

Chalobah has looked tidy, what does everyone else think of him?