The Mak

Great, not my point though. Not many players do it who are 6.2 and built like a tank. Would JT, Zouma, Matic or Mikel carry on the way he does? Would they hit the floor as quickly as Brana does when he gets tackled by players much smaller than him? Not a chance in hell. The point is that labeling a prone diver as a 'warrior' is absolutely ridiculous.

Just saw all of the 'warlord' and 'warrior' posts. Not sure how anyone can honestly say that after seeing the numerous times of him diving and screaming like he's been shot. Stuff like this just makes those antics even more embarrassing. I'll say again, man-up Brana.

Uh-oh. Henrique is making yet another baseless prediction, we all know what that means...

Kind of shit seeing this and knowing that he was forced out...sigh. Still, what a gent. All the best Andre.

Welcome. But I'm afraid I'm still not buying into the 'shiny new toy syndrome'. We've still lost 2 wingers in exchange for one, specifically our only natural LW back-up for Hazard; we will be unbalanced and pretty much screwed on the LW if Hazard gets injured. Also, if even one winger gets injured now, we're pretty much forced to constantly play our only remaining wingers or go back to Ramires on the RW (shudder). So I'll wait until the end of the season to judge both him and the club's decision. I really hope it works out for the best and that we're not short-changed in our quest for the title.

I fucking knew it. Thank you.

Agree with everything you said Barbara, but to be honest this is the reason I'm pissed. I don't understand why people aren't making a big deal out of it: Hazard was running for a counter-attack, City get an imaginary throw and manage to score from it (because who is ready for an imaginary throw?). Changes the whole game, changes the tactics. We were so much more comfortable before it and I say we would've won. How the fuck can the ball go over the line when Hazard himself didn't?! Such bad refereeing this season, it's fucking astonishing.

When you wear a City shirt and you fight us for the title; the Bridge is not your home and we're not your friends.

Everything about this transfer has annoyed me so far, so I'm not surprised he's gone and picked 70-fucking-4. Obviously. Duh. What else would he pick.

Ramires for a lovely smash on Lampard please. Let him know he isn't playing against his mates. And it would be great if there was none of this Lampard clapping/chanting nonsense. He certainly didn't show the fans respect when he decided to join City, so none should be shown while he wears that shirt. Respect is a two-way street.

I said something similar about Kalou as well because I don't think Kalou ever knew what his next move was so how could a defender. I'm not saying he'll be like Kalou, but I personally think he's more of a headless chicken than anything near Hazard's level of dribbling. Hazard always dribbles with intent, I don't think Cuadrado always has a plan to say the least. I would love to be proven wrong.

No one batted an eye at Aguero's blatant two-footed stomp on Luiz last season purely because 'the ref saw it' (which I think he only got a yellow for). But now the witch-hunt is on simply because of Costa's personality and the fact that the ref never saw it. Still, they can in no way prove it was intentional. I'm sure he meant it, but he was looking the other way and made no unnatural movements that could be construed as 'blatant intent'. If they ban Costa anyway (which they probably will), there will be uproar from Mourinho for the rest of the season and it will feed the entire team's hunger to hurt City on Saturday and to push on in the league.

OK, grand. He also put his head into Azpi, but maybe you want other examples where players got away with far worse. Here you go: The fact is, this would've been brushed over like any of these actual stamps, but because we're Chelsea, because we have Mourinho and because of the scouse biased media, this has happened.

The media witch-hunt gets its prize. Diego shouldn't have done what he did, but it doesn't matter because the FA like to cherry-pick who they ban. Remember this? Where was Toure's retrospective ban for this? Or Howard? Cunts. Do they only do it when every corner of the media is in unison? Only in big games? For big players? Cowards. They should measure every incident with the same stick.

The only real mistake you could point to was the massive gap the gave Coutinho. The difference between him and Cahill is simple, Zouma will learn from that experience and become a better player, Cahill will not. Here's hoping Terry stays at this level for as long as possible, because Cahill is no partner for Zouma.

I don't think it's the end of the world either. José made sure to make the point that Ramires is back to 100% so I can see him starting even if it's just to ensure Fabregas is not risked further injury.

No Cahill?! DELIGHTED.

Eh, he's a centre-midfielder...why compare to Salah exactly?!?

His latest tweet...deleted now You can get anyone to say anything with the Internet.

Dear lord, don't tell me we're THAT stuck for quality in this window. Recall Moses, recall Hazard, anyone. Just don't waste money on players who aren't even good enough as squad players. It sucks that we're addressing the wings now when there's next to nothing available, while players like Sanchez, Griezmann and even Shaqiri have been snapped up since the summer. Frustrating.

Just like Matic wasn't good enough in 2011? I would take MVG over Mikel any day of the week.

Fair play to Bradford, but that was absolutely disgraceful from Chelsea. Maybe the players will learn what it means to really give 110%. We probably have the best starting 11 in the league, but in terms of the overall squad? I think today has answered that we could be screwed if even one of Hazard, Fabregas, Matic or even Costa become injured for a long period. For example, if we sold Schurrle and Hazard got injured, who the hell would we play there?! Players who are totally uncomfortable in the position. The thought certainly doesn't inspire confidence.

1. I said IF. 2. Hazard and Costa had vastly superior records (this includes trophies). Hazard had a lot to do with Lille winning the league in 2011 and Costa drove Atletico to win La Liga and into the CL final, so I still do not know what your point is. They also had an entire summer and preseason to adapt to their new team, get settled in etc. They were also specifically targeted by the club and not simply a result of a set of circumstances. 3. I suppose everyone in finance thought the economy was hunky dory before 2008?! See what I've just said about stats. 4. Yes, because I desperately want him to fail. I want him to fail and the club to suffer because I want to be proven right...I fucking hope to baby Jesus that I am wrong if we sign him, but because of the reasons I have already outlined in my previous post, excuse me if I am not full of confidence in a player who is close to 27, has won nothing, has no CL experience, has an average record in a poor league and who we are only signing just because, basically, we have to sign a replacement.

1. You clearly did not read my post properly, I'm not explaining it again. 2. Maybe it has something to do with him being at the club before? Speaking English or having a friend/living in London before? Anyway, players hitting the ground running like Matic did are very rare indeed. 3. And you are looking at the information arseways! You're making it seem like Kezman was a freak 1/100 accident and that players adapt perfectly 99% of the time, when it couldn't be further from the truth! Case and point, Schurrle and Salah! Jesus Christ, Schurrle's stats were almost identical to Cuadrado's before the came to Chelsea except he was younger, and Salah's weren't far off either. And what happened? Stats mean fuck all unless you are in freak territory like 30+ goals a season like Costa was. 4. How can you say the risk/reward is high simply because Salah and Schurrle have contributed so little? What makes you so sure? It is because Fiorentina stuck on a couple of extra million than Schurrle? Is that 100% indicative of a player's quality? Torres?! LOL, THIS IS NOT FOOTBALL MANAGER. Did you ever think that Cuadrado could just be an even bigger, more expensive flop than Salah or Schurrle?! Did you ever think of this simple fact: if Cuadrado was good, even if Cuadrado was on Mourinho's wish list, he would already be in the team. Because when it comes down to it, the signing of Cuadrado is a singing of circumstance, not of necessity or a want or a need. We will sign him if a player wants to leave, that's it, not because he was always wanted. Compare with other Mourinho signings: Matic: Need Salah: Circumstance Fabregas: Need Costa: Need Willian was needed because clearly Mourinho was planning on ousting Mata but whether he is the best for the team, I don't know; the fact that he wants to spend big money (not just 'Salah' money) on another RW tells me he isn't 100% confident in Willian. As far as Schurrle, maybe he is just a signing that just didn't go right as he never found consistency. But you can easily spot the signings that were 110% wanted and needed for the structure of Mourinho's team. Cuadrado, no matter how you want to look at it, is a signing that is a result of a set of circumstances rather than a player Mourinho has identified from the beginning. I would rather wait until the summer when the market is more open.

1. Not if he is shit it's not. 2.. How did Salah adapt since last January then? You can't deny that the time for adaption makes this transfer the potential to be yet another waste of everyone's time. 3. As a statistician, i'll tell you that stats like that don't point to shit unless they are under the same conditions. Kezman had fantastic stats in Eredivisie didn't he?! 4. This is probably one of the most ridiculous things I have read on this forum; you are comparing Fabregas & Costa to Juan Cuadrado? Lets compare then shall we? Fabregas: a proven WC player with multiple honours and PL proven. Costa: scored 36 goals in 52 appearances last season and was the driving force behind Atletico winning their first league title in 19 years and reaching their first CL final. Vs. Juan Cuadrado: a 26 year old who was completely anonymous to the majority of the footballing world until he was seen at the WC, in a team that was carried by James Rodriguez no less. In case you didn't notice, what I was getting at was that we are expected to pay a price that is indicative of a guaranteed success when Cuadrado is far from. At least with Salah and Schurrle they were cheaper, young, and would've kept a lot of their resale value (which they have obviously); but with Cuadrado, if he flops we will not be able to sell him for anywhere near the price we paid. Not only could it be a big fat waste of time, but also money; these are the things that must be thought about with FFP and a title on the line. Point is, if we are paying that money for a player these days we should have a 90% confidence in his ability to adapt and succeed, if not, he should at least still have the age and potential to improve elsewhere if he does not succeed so we can get our money back or make a bit of a profit - Cuadrado currently falls into neither category. Besides, if (God forbid) something happens to Hazard I would much prefer to have Schurrle here than sticking square pegs in round holes by putting Willian on the left or a new player who is not only uncomfortable in the position, but is also adapting to a new team, new style, new league, new life etc. Something like that has the potential to seriously disrupt a title challenge...