The only place to be

Shocked we haven't been linked with him. Could be just what we need in midfield, although I'd rather us go for Modric. Don't want him at United though because he's almost exactly what they need.

I'm already on it mate....Pimms o'clock came early today and the champagne is on the way.

A tiny bit.....but doesn't it just feel so fucking right. I've said it before but this team has felt like Jose's since he left. Even under Carlo, it was still Jose's team in so many ways. It will be the same for United fans next season and for a few more in all likelihood. But Jose is just the perfect fit for this football club. No poor facsimiles (cough *AVB* cough), no fat waiters and no substitutes.... the real deal is back.

Ultimately I think what we need to do is build a spine again. Under Jose we had; Cech - Terry - Makelele - Lampard - Drogba. Now we have Cech and Mata and that's about it. If Luiz isn't part of the spine then he's not untouchable and a big bid should be considered. That doesn't mean I don't like Luiz or want to sell him, but to me he's the guy who plays next to the rock.

It is a fucking lovely day actually. Good reason to have a few outside, celebrate the return.

Everyone knows that our midfield is the problem, but this is about building a team. Jose has to decide whether he'd rather have £30 million or David Luiz to start building a new back line.

Nice to have a manager again. Better than the last one too. To me though, this is just a box ticked. We all knew he was coming back, now it's done and we can get back to the business of winning football matches.

Oscar's had one season in the league and is a young player. Luiz has had two full seasons with us, and half of another. We signed him at the same time as Torres (I'm happy to write Torres off too, I wasn't last summer). I've already said that and I spent most of last season blaming the midfield. However I still think we need at least one CB this summer because I don't think we have a number one defender - Ivanovic and Cahill are both back-ups to me and Luiz is someone who plays alongisde that commanding presence. I agree with that. I don't think he is the rock, which is why I don't think he's that tough to replace. Whatever happens, we need that rock in defence, that cool, calm, considered presence who you build everything around (including Luiz). If you tell me right now that we couldn't get someone to replace Luiz in the team who is younger and costs less than £30 million then there's absolutely no discussion to be had regarding DL. So you're saying he's irreplaceable. Fair enough. Personally I look at players like Nastasic and Vertonghen and think that maybe he isn't irreplaceable at a fraction of his price. I look at players like Papa and Mangala and think maybe there aren't other younger players out there with potential to be defenders good enough to win trophies with. But you're saying that with £30 million we couldn't replace Luiz with someone as good. I'm not so sure of that. Alex Song, Fabregas (rumoured to be leaving), Zlatan, Sanchez.....Barca make bad buys as much as anyone. There's also the issue of him perhaps being a better fit for La Liga in a team who dominate possession - that might be a factor. That's not to say he's not a very good defender, but it comes back to the price being offered. I think this is a complete misunderstanding of what we're doing. We're not fixing things, we're building a new team - that's why we've got a new coach. Now we have parts already, but Jose will build a new team with a new philosophy of football and you start with the foundations. Players like Cech and Azpi are solid but you have to think about this from Jose's point of view - if he's building a defence would he rather have David Luiz or £30 million?? I'm not saying we should sell him but if someone is having a moment's thought about that choice then I don't really understand them. Luiz is a phenomenal character, a unique footballer and just someone I love having at the club. But I wouldn't for a second say we'd concede less goals next season with him in the team compared to £30 million investment in the defence. Yes he's been fantastic for the last 6 months and yes he's cut out a lot of the mistakes but that's 1/5th of his time at the club and he still managed to throw a clanger in against Everton. The moment he does that and people in the stands around me are surprised is the moment I say there's zero sense in selling him. Until that happens, you have to consider offers of this magnitude.

You may well be right. Luiz might turn into this defensive rock under Mourinho. But are you willing to give up £30 million and the chance to acquire other hot prospects based on that? Are the club? I love the guy. I love his personality and I've defended him when he was asked to play in midfield despite it not being his forte, but this isn't a JT situation. He isn't that strong, reliable presence yet and I don't know if it's a certainty that he will become that. If we could get someone commanding to play alongside him who could keep him in line and cover his deficiencies then he'd be one of the first names on the team sheet. But when someone dangles that much money in front of you then it's a tough decision. If someone says that he is definitely, right now a £30 million defender who we couldn't replace and be as strong (if not stronger) then you don't sell him. Is anyone saying that though?

Blimey. That is his place isn't it? Triplex penthouse in Putney. The difference is that they are all younger and fit a Mourinho team. There's a couple of question marks over Oscar but they'll be answered in his second season I expect. With Luiz it's different. And our defence is broken - look at the points we chucked away last season. There are a number of factors in that, like the midfield, but it needs rebuilding. Can we sell Luiz for this price and build a defence that is better? I think it's certainly possible and £30 million would go a long way to helping with that. We're talking about a defender that a lot of our supporters don't even think is a defender. Personally I think that's his best position but is he an irreplaceable rock? No.

We're pretty good with negotiations - I imagine a lot of bonuses will be built into the contract.

He leaves Madrid with the highest win percentage of any manager who took charge of more than 100 games. He won La Liga against a pretty decent Barca team.

I could imagine him doing that one day - 1-0 down at Fulham dragging Moses off after 27 minutes.

Less grey hair I think But yeah, he's not a winger. Hazard's job is safe for now.

Mixed metaphors with the arse and cock references. It's best to stick with either the arse or cock and give that you're full attention, otherwise no-one is satisfied. :tophat: (With that type of good advice I'm sure to win MOTM again).

The gouging thing is something I can't defend. It's disgusting. But the rest of that stuff - that's Jose and that's Chelsea. He's perfect for this club. He's arrogant and he's got a swagger like no other and most importantly, he's a winner.

Which is why he's perfect for this club.

Fine, let's sell Cahill too. To me he's a good third-choice CB a bit like Ivanovic. Papa and Mangala are both defenders I like because they're a bit more no-nonsense than Luiz but they're both buys based on potential. The difference is they're both young guys. If we could get both of them for roughly the same money we'd sell Luiz for then it's got to be considered.

Hey look, a pop at Jose. You keep playing that one note. If Barca offered £15 million for Cahill I'd say take it. If Barca offered £25 million for Ivanovic (like Monaco were rumoured to) I'd say take it. If Barca offered £10 million for JT, then I'd say consider it. This whole discussion is based on a £30 million bid for Luiz. That is a lot of money for potential at the age of 26. I think at this point in his career the David Luiz we see play week in and week out might be who David Luiz actually is. If that's the case and there are other, younger players out there who do what Mourinho wants defenders to do for less money than it has to be considered.

Here's a question. We sell him to them, sign someone like Cavani and we meet them in the CL semi-finals. Would part of you be thinking that Luiz might throw in a mistake that gifts us a goal over the 180 minutes? At this moment, I'd be thinking exactly that because that's what I'm thinking when I watch him play for us. Until I don't go into matches thinking that, then why wouldn't you consider an offer like that? Until you don't see him do what he did against Everton and think 'yep' then you have to look at offers like this.

At this moment, probably Luiz but it depends on what happens this summer and what their form is like. If we signed two CBs then I wouldn't be surprised in the slightest. We might even look at internal options like Nat or Ake.

No, Chelsea supporters are talking about the make-up of our team next season.

Good points. The issue I have is whether he has the personality that can eliminate these mistakes entirely. When you look at someone like JT and Kompany, these guys live to defend. They love to make a near-post clearance or a clattering challenge. That's the best thing about football for them. With Luiz, I think he wants to be on the ball, going towards goal and having a shot. That's great but is that what Jose Mourinho wants to build a title-winning side on? Does he want that as his platform or does he want to nasty cunts who stop the ball and give it to the midfield? Personally I'd like to see what Mourinho could do with Luiz but if he chose to sell him then I'd understand entirely.

We enjoy irreverence in this country. The problem with him in Spain was that he didn't walk around on bended knee in awe of the spectacle that is Real Madrid. They don't want coaches with personality there, they want caretakers, bland and invisible.

What is this unique skill set? 30 yard screamers and free-kicks? I don't need defenders with a unique skill set. I need defenders that midfielders can trust not to make silly mistakes. Yes he has cut them out of his game a lot in the second half of the season, but he still threw one in there on the last day of the season and I still don't trust him like I did someone like Terry. As for other teams, Kompany to me is a £30 million defender. He's a rock that you build on, an intelligent leader and the closest thing to Vidic/Terry around. I'd even say Nastasic is a better defender if we factor in potential.