The only place to be

It was also the same answer under AVB, Di Matteo etc. We don't just want spending for the sake of it, but sensible spending hence why most of us won't overly enamoured with the Willian signing.

Mourinho's record over Wenger is being played up....if we do lose then expect to see a lot of stories about him losing his aura, and perhaps rightly so. This Christmas period is going to be incredibly important to the future of this club, and I don't think it' beyond the realms of possibility that Mourinho could be under immense pressure within 12 days. Need to get a result tonight.

He got 15 minutes against Hull and 25 against Villa. He didn't get to start a game despite having a good pre-season and coming off of a 17 goal season. Really? Two things. One, how do you know that? It's a nice narrative but is it true? Two, surely the manager had the final say and should've kept him around because he's much better than our other strikers. I didn't think Ba would be so flimsy as he has been, but I had real reservations about us signing a 32 year old from the Russian leagues who had essentially taken semi-retirement. None of us here is paid a few million quid a year to get these types of decisions right. No, it seemed like classic Chelsea to loan out a hungry kid who has earned a chance and instead go with a 32 year old shirt-seller.

Yup.

It counts for a lot, but obviously not to you. It's not something that shows up in stats but it matters in REAL football. They're both great players and were integral to our success but in my opinion Terry and Lampard are on a different level, Terry especially. He's a Chelsea lad through and through and he deserves to retire as a Chelsea player, as will Lamps hopefully.

Wasn't really a game for strikers, but some of his link-up play with his back to goal was superb. He leads the line well and has to be watched constantly. He should be improving his game here and loaning him out may well cost us the league.

Yes. Two undeniable Chelsea legends in the mould of Osgood, Harris, Bonetti and the other names I grew up hearing tales of. It isn't just about trophies, but what this club meant to it's supporters and that is why it should always have an English core who understand what English football is.

The Terry and Lampard era. Drogba and Cech were also important but this club is English and it should have an English core.

There was this decade called the 1980s where English clubs were extremely successful in the European Cup (that's what the Champions League used to be called) and they were stuffed full of British talent. This club should be promoting English talent and signing the best English talent around because we'll only be successful with an English core.

Let's not forget that this all happened AFTER Jose signed Eto'o. Without that we could've had Torres, Ba and Lukaku. Oh well, what's done is done.

Here's the other thing about Kompany and Luiz....we'd swap Luiz for Kompany in an instant. City wouldn't. Kompany is the type of defender we could maybe bring Kalas into the team alongside, and he'd be our captain. Luiz is the type of defender we need to play alongside Terry.

Can we just agree that David Luiz can almost certainly do more keepy-uppies than Kompany? John Terry's inability to score goals from from 30 yards out are the reason he'll never make it here. He spent too much time focusing on that boring defending, plus his online presence is shit and I never see him stick his tongue out in a funny manner. Me too. Reminds me of Desailly and Terry. David Luiz could be a great defender but he's just a poor copy of Lebouef in a wig right now.

Not really. Everyone admits it was a bad decision to loan out Lukaku don't they?

It is bad, and some signings like the Torres one are going to just have to be written off to a large extent. There are some bright spots though. A fair few signings will have increased in value like KDB, Courtois, Luiz, Mata, possibly Ba and Azpi. If we actually cashed in on the likes of Mata and Luiz then we could probably strengthen the areas we need to. That to me is the difference - the signings we've made have value after we're 'done with them'.

Because they're roughly the same age and are both apparently 'world-class' so they're going to be compared to one another. Plus most of us would love a defender like Kompany in the team.

I disagree. I think Luiz can be a good player but he simply lacks the mental toughness that Kompany has. There's a reason he's been dropped twice this season and can't keep Cahill out of the side (who also put in a great performance in Munich). You build your defence around a rock like John Terry. That ain't Luiz.

The problem is that the 2-3 signings we need are right down the spine (CB, CM, ST). That's at least £70 million in spending, plus we probably need a new left-back (£15 million+). We've got the tinsel and the baubles but no tree to hang them on.

I'll take medals over funny hair and Miley Cyrus-mannerisms. Kompany is a rock in defence like John Terry is/was. He's the guy you build a team on and he's a very intelligent, articulate MAN as well who never shirks a challenge. Luiz is a prodigiously talented little boy. Go and watch the goal mouth scramble against Palace and watch David Luiz. Seriously.....it's utterly astounding.

He's always been a bit of a twat but he was a great player so he was allowed a lot of latitude. Now he's not doing it on the pitch so he can't get away with as much off of it, although this whole story makes me feel a little sad for Ashley.

It's his personality. It's like he's got ADHD or something and that the simple act of defending isn't enough for him. He's a frustrated midfielder and sometimes that's great for us (like away to Fulham last year) but most of the time you just want someone who does the simple things every time. Yet everyone here would happily swap him for Luiz.

I still think that De Bruyne is more suited to Mourinho's style of play than Mata and that Mata offers the most in terms of transfer value, but the pressure on Jose to play Mata was massive.

Whilst I agree with that statement in most cases, it's hardly the case here. 22 year old De Bruyne simply hasn't been able to displace 22 year old Oscar, 22 year old Eden Hazard or 23 year old Andre Schurrle. Now Lukaku....that's a different story.

Does he count as trained in England?

No, but they should start growing up by that age. Look at Kompany and Terry. Fair enough....but I've heard for a while now. I really hope you're right but I'm just not that optimistic and I wouldn't be surprised if he's gone by January, although it's unlikely.

I once indulged in a bit of 'Niall Quinn's Disco Pants'.....probably should re-phrase that. He's 26 and we're still talking about being close to the finished article. Personally I think he's still making the same mistakes he did 2 and a half years ago. Really? I think he could've and he simply hasn't. The thing is I don't really care about his form. It's been good and it's been bad, but ultimately I think his problems are all mental. Top players have a certain mentality and I just don't see it in him. I don't think it's something he's going to suddenly develop and I'll be the first to say he's one of the most technically gifted defenders around, but there's something missing. Bottling the challenge up at Newcastle and the entire performance against Cardiff just confirmed my views.