The Mak

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.

I'm afraid his big chance for Chelsea was blown with that injury. I'm sure he would've been one of Benitez's boys. He would've picked him quite a bit and we could've got a real chance to see what he could do on a consistent basis, but alas...

My point was about disregarding the level of opposition, not solely Mikel. But whatever. No point in continuing this.

"Romelu Lukaku recently told Sky Sports News of his determination to make an impact at Chelsea next season, but he could be offered a move to Germany. According to BILD, Borussia Dortmund are considering a move for Lukaku after also showing an interest in his Chelsea and Belgium team-mate Kevin de Bruyne." BVB linked with Lukaku because their director came out and said some bullshit about KDB wanting to join...sounds legit.

Well, I say us as a select example of, what I like to assume, are educated fans (mostly )! I've seen the crap some people say on twitter. More recently, the SSN article on Torres and meeting Mourinho. 80% all wanting Torres to stay, one of them said they hope he becomes a 'Chelsea Legend'....yeah. I mean, are these people blind or something? They must just keep watching his old Liverpool videos on youtube and hoping. That, or they fancy him. I just don't get it... Anyway, back to Mikel!

'Not a big deal'? Says the guy who took the time to post: It 'not being a big deal' is my argument! If it's not a big deal, why did you post it?! And I hope you didn't edit that image yourself; it would be an awful lot of trouble to go through for something that's 'not a big deal'. I'm sorry you feel the need to glorify every small positive move made by Mikel; especially against a pub team while being up 5-1

Do you hear that?... I think it's the banhammer being charged up...

http://www1.skysports.com/football/news/11668/8781513/ Transfer News: Fernando Torres set for Jose Mourinho talks One word...bench. All the recent interviews from Mourinho point to Torres being our Kaka. Mourinho doesn't care about his price-tag and won't put up with his sulking crap. I can see him benching Torres for the majority of the season if he stays. Especially if you consider that he wants Lukaku back and how much effort he will bring to the team in comparison. You heard it here first.

http://www1.skysports.com/football/news/11668/8781427/ Transfer news: Edinson Cavani has described Real Madrid as a 'beautiful team' What is it with South American/Continental players and Madrid? Yeah, they used to pretty good. They also won the European trophy about 5 times in 10 years, or some crap, at the beginning of the competition when it was practically rigged. As far as I can see, Barca will have the league the majority of the time as long as Messi is there, so they're not moving for trophies really. Their fantastic fans who abuse their manager's wife? Perhaps it's the player power? Maybe they fancy themselves running a club? I just don't get the fascination...

So who wants to tell Kevin he's not going anywhere? ...Ah, best leave it up to José! Seriously though, Kevin has 4yrs left on his contract. So they'd want to cough up some serious dosh (which they won't) or put Lewandowski/Gundogan in the deal (which they won't). We need squad depth and are in no need to sell. Dortmund must've actually confused him for a Bremem player or something. Maybe they should piss off back to picking from lower German teams, because they're not getting him as far as I can see. One good season in the CL doesn't make them a bigger club than us.

And Torres scored 22 goals this season, some great ones in the Europa League, but I can't find many people here who want him to be at the club. Another example is Mata. Scored a nice goal against my own country the other day, but I didn't think much of it because I know how bad Ireland are and I know how good Mata is. I expected him to score (at that moment) because the gulf in quality. The same way Mikel is expected to execute such a pass because he's the best player on the pitch. Don't regard my criticism of Mikel as trivial hate. He's a good lad, but I think a club such as Chelsea should move past such an archaic type of DM. However, I do think it's trivial to praise one good pass against what is the closest you'll get to an actual 'pub team' and in a game that ended 6-1. I find myself agreeing with a lot of your arguments, but just not when it comes to some on Mikel.