The Mak

Carlo was a good coach...that is, until he was found out. We became so predictable, every team knew how to play against us in the second season and Carlo had no answer for months. It was so mind-numbing to watch. His transfers also have to go down as the worst of all time. I love the man, but not so much the coach.

How long do seriously expect Carlo to last before he's ousted by the big names? You'll probably start off pretty well with Carlo, but you'll soon find out the man has no plan B; then, more unrest and the Madrid merry-go-round continues... P.S. For the love of God, don't let him make transfer decisions.

City haven't really strengthened yet as far as I can see. Isco would've definitely been their biggest signing and improvement so far and they missed out on him! Brilliant! Now all we need is for them to miss out on Cavani, or better still, we beat them to him and we're very much in the hunt for the title next season! P.S. The fate of Torres is also a big factor.

City haven't really strengthened yet as far as I can see. Isco would've definitely been their biggest signing and improvement so far and they missed out on him! Brilliant! Now all we need is for them to miss out on Cavani, or better still, we beat them to him and we're very much in the hunt for the title next season! P.S. The fate of Torres is also a big factor.

Less than 3 weeks away lads! Can't wait!

I think it's the whole Brazilian mentality he seems to have. I mean 'Brazilian' in an attacking/flair sense. It's like he feels like he has to defend with flair or some crap; he tries too hard and forgets the simple things. He does it every season with us: plays well in the second half of the season, picks up form and then goes off on his holiday to Brazil and comes back with more samba crap at the start of next season. Hopefully José can smack some sense into him because he has all the tools to become truly world class.

So many people watching this thread every day ​ ...all waiting for more twitter bullshit no doubt...

http://www1.skysports.com/football/news/11668/8793084/Fernando-Torres-feels-people-should-stop-judging-him-on-past-showings Fernando Torres feels people should stop judging him on past showings Sorry Torres, but fuck off. There's a reason why you don't want people to talk about your past at Chelsea, it's fucking beyond terrible. He's going into his 3rd year here and he's done pretty much nothing to note (Oh, but he did win a corner!). Every year he promises the sun, moon and stars for the next season...we're not stupid though. Does he think we can't see him when he's been sulking around the pitch for the majority of mid-season? 5 months to score a PL goal Nando? How do you explain that one? He's some piece of work. Every interview he does annoys me further and makes me believe that every player who plays at Liverpool becomes as delusional as the club thereafter...

It'll be 16 or 15. My first thought was 16 though.

A lot of people getting completely carried away with no real evidence whatsoever...

See, if we banned twitter sources like I suggested a couple of hours ago, we wouldn't have another 3 pages of nonsense!!!

I'm thinking we should add twitter to the unreliable sources pile...this thread wouldn't be nearly as active and we'd still know as much as we do now!

Seriously, what is it guys? What makes you believe he'll 'change'? Because some of you are sounding like the other half of an abusive partner... Is it his hair? His face? Because it's certainly not footballing reasons or his effort, they've been highlighted over and over again. Perhaps people are just in love with the big name of 'Torres'? Because that's all I can see; a striker who made a big name for himself but is no longer a big striker. And now people just seem to be clinging to the name in hope rather than expectation....

I've noticed he gets very emotional when you draw attention to how often he changes his mind... No offense or anything Leif man, but now I tend to just ignore your posts based on the fact that you're so indecisive (coupled with the fact that I have little time these days). You don't seem to have a particular solid stance on anything as it changes from day to day. Some other things you say are also perplexing. Earlier I saw you say that Rooney is very similar to Eto'o? I just didn't know where to start with that one, so I just left it....

I think doing it once (or a few times for Nigeria or whatever) and doing it on a regular basis for Chelsea is completely different. Ramires has all the natural attributes to allow him to roam forward. Specifically, he's very fast and Mikel isn't. Also, Mikel doesn't have a world class first touch or reactions to fall back on. Personally, I think all this talk of Mikel playing a more attacking role for us is pointless. For the same logic of the argument 'Mikel has been a starter for every manager for almost 7 years', I say that if Mikel was really that good going forward he would've been played in a more advanced role by any one of those managers. He could've been given the license to run with the ball, shoot from distance, get into the box or wait on the edge of it; but the fact remains is has never really been given that opportunity in 7 years and I think that says everything.

That guy was just begging for the banhammer...

On SSN now. Kevin De Bruyne will fight for first-team place at Chelsea next term http://www1.skysports.com/football/news/11668/8786203/Premier-League-Kevin-De-Bruyne-will-fight-for-first-team-place-at-Chelsea-next-term

If you think of the fact that they managed to win the league with the likes of Cleverly, Anderson, an old Scholes and Giggs, a dysfunctional Fletcher and even Phil Jones in midfield, this guy is such an upgrade it's not even funny. No comparison really.

Loving the contrasts! Torres: scores 4 goals against Tahiti - nothing but sarcastic compliments - sparks jokes. Mikel: plays one good pass against Tahiti - one genuine compliment - sparks heated debate. You just have to laugh at this place sometimes!

I agree that he has a lot of important attributes already: fantastic work-rate, likes a tackle, good passing range, deceptively strong, vision, speed etc. He just needs to work on his positioning and awareness and he could be fantastic. But then you have to ask, are we limiting him? Could he be even better as a CAM? Can he dictate from further up and allow another to dictate from behind? What are supposed to do with Mata then? It's a sticky situation, but we're blessed to be in it in many ways! It'll be fascinating to see what José does!

This is similar to my view on Oscar and I got slated for it. He is good and will become great. I love him, but his purchase has simply caused problems. When he was bought I didn't know much about him and just assumed he would be a good CM/DM because that is what we needed at the time. I was shocked when I found out he was an out and out CAM. If he was bought for cheaper, I'd understand as he'd probably be an understudy for Mata. But you don't spend that amount and not play him. Now he's been shoved out wide because he's simply not as good as Mata and he can't really play anywhere else. It's a bit mad when you think about it. You don't want to stump his development either. He's the right player, but he's just here at the wrong time. I think what she was trying to say was that 'the best for the team' at the time (last summer) was to simply purchase a CM/DM instead of an out and out underdeveloped CAM who would be unable to displace Mata. He's probably the best option we have at the moment in terms of a 'DLP', but the truth is that we should've just bought one in the first place instead of trying to mould a CAM into a DM/DLP. He has great potential and all, but I think in Oscar's case the club got confused between buying potential for the sake of it and buying what is 'best for the team'. Emenalo seems to be great at getting good players, but he doesn't seem to actually have an overall picture of how each will fit into the team and what exact role they'll have; evident by our abundance of CAMs, one winger and no DLP or top quality DM. Hopefully José will fix it and bring some balance to the team.

Yes, when everyone thought they had the potential to be great. As it turned out, they're above average at best. Where is Kalou again?

Nah, I think they have to get games first to be a scapegoat!

Seems a bit too good to be true. It doesn't really make sense to put him on such a lengthy contract and sell him a year later...unless this comes straight from Mourinho. In that case, it hints at a new style for the pivot or even the development of Chalobah/Aké (if you take into account his mention of not challenging for the title right away). That said, it would make sense to take the year to simply develop new blood instead of having some players who have hit their ceilings or never fulfilled their potential (Mikel) hogging game time.