Reddish-Blue

He's a talented player but I feel bad for him. He does relatively well for Vitesse in 2 seasons, the club rewards him with a fringe first team role, he makes 10 appearances, then the new manager comes in and he's told to go back to the same league on loan.. At least send him to a more challenging league (like Bundesliga or Spain or France)..

That's what I heard as well...he was keen on staying in England and fighting for his place at Chelsea under Conte But so far this season...he's probably been our least effective attacking midfielder

Expecting a draw...unless Costa/Hazard do something special

Can't sell him if nobody wants him. We might be stuck with Oscar..

Chelsea legend or not, watching a Mourinho-led team get hammered will always be satisfying.

He already justified his price tag with the 'wonderful' performance against Fenerbahce

He'd be a good signing as our team often lacks creativity...but our first priority should be a defender

Well that's what happens when the players with attacking instincts are sold off for short term gain (e.g. De Bruyne, Schurrle)

https://www.avfc.co.uk/News/2016/10/03/club-statement-roberto-di-matteo Di Matteo sacked by Villa

Bellerin was a starter for Arsenal last season as well... In terms of talent development, Arsene's biggest success has been Laurent Koscielny.

Fixed.

That would be great news...

I completely agree with this. Cazorla doesn't need the team to be built around him. He can slot in alongside a more-defensive minded player and dictate the tempo of the game. Fabregas needs the team to be built around him, otherwise he is useless on the pitch.

At Chelsea, Mourinho preferred Oscar as he wanted balance in the midfield. (He already had Hazard in terms of creativity) At United, he needs Mata as they don't really have anyone else capable of the creative spark. (Rooney's on the decline, Miki is still adapting and Martial is injured atm)

What if Christensen doesn't want to come back? He might enjoy living in Germany, playing for a quality side ( I don't want a repeat of the Courtois situation where the player gets bored of Chelsea and uses the media as an opportunity to talk about a move to La Liga)

The Hiddink appointment last season made no sense. What's the point of papering over the cracks when you know there are significant problems in the first team? I thought things would change this season but the same problems from last season are showing up again (players jogging around, attacking midfielders standing around waiting for the ball, defenders looking clueless without Terry, Courtois being cocky). I feel bad for Conte, he comes over from Italy, where he demands respect from his players (both at club and international level) and he gets stuck with a Chelsea squad who are known to put their 'tools down' if things don't go according to plan.

No one is asking Conte to drop all the under performing players and replace them with Under-21 players Replacing one senior first team player with a youngster shouldn't be a problem. A small change in the lineup may be a good thing. For example: Try Chalobah in midfield alongside Kante, see if it makes our midfield more dynamic against the opposition..

The funny thing is, out of all the average/interim managers we've had, Benitez was the only one who showed signs of progress. Hopefully Conte is backed by the board.

The Spurs manager is backed up by his board. They wanted to invest into under-25 players and build a squad capable of challenging for a champions league spot. For some reason, at Chelsea, everything is mixed messages. Under performing players aren't being sold, veterans aren't being replaced, and we lack leadership on the pitch when Terry is unavailable. It's like Conte has been given the challenge of finishing in the top 4 with a handicapped squad.

I wouldn't mind seeing something like: Azpi - Ivan/JT - Luiz - Alonso/Aina for a few games Hopefully Conte shakes things up

Arsenal also had a very good transfer window. They signed specific players capable of complementing the first team. Mustafi is a perfect partner for Koscielny and Xhaka adds balance to the midfield with Ozil and Cazorla capable of dictating the tempo.

The only change we'll see is Terry for Cahill or Luiz. At this point, I'm hoping Ivanovic or Matic gets injured...just so someone else gets an opportunity

I knew Arsenal's pace was going to cause us problems...but I didn't expect a 3-0 scoreline

It's more awkward considering a past-it Terry offers more to the team than Cahill (who is supposed to be in his prime)

It really doesn't matter who wins the cup match between City and United. Both teams will be difficult to beat this season. United may be weaker than City but you just know Mourinho will want to prove a point if he gets drawn against Chelsea.