The only place to be

It's a bandwagon I'm seriously thinking of jumping on. :blue scalf: :blue scalf: Always loved Belgium and Bruges is a lovely place to unwind and rest, and I was watching the match thinking about picking up one of their shirts. The amount of quality in that team at this moment in time is astounding and the fans seem to be genuinely enjoying it.

You can't say peace one minute, and then immediately threaten revenge. :lol2:

I apologise if you felt I insulted you. I was just having a bit of fun with your predictions (you are the prediction guy after all). No need to go off the deep end. :tophat:

That's a very classy way to go out and though it's easy to give him stick for what happened at the end (both in terms of performance and ultimately an unwillingness to leave and maybe play football for a living), footballers are people too and they do have the same concerns when it comes to money and providing for their families both now and in the future. Personally I think he could still do a job in the right environment and I'll try and focus on that period when he was nigh-on unplayable.

Absolutely agree on the second part. I just don't see Cavani as being the person who will win us the league next season because I think the defence and midfield need so much more attention. Over the last couple of years we've been remarkably sensible in our dealings and literally the moment Jose comes back we revert to 2011 thinking. Maybe he does come in and bang in 30 goals and becomes the difference maker in the run for the CL but I think everyone needs to hold a certain amount of reservations about this whole deal.

Apparently we'd only let him go if we got an offer we couldn't refuse. Honestly I think this Boateng story is one that just gets churned up in summer when we're looking at other players. Maybe his agents are trying to get a bit of interest in him or maybe we're trying to drive the price of someone else down. Maybe the club see him as someone who could perhaps take over the squad duties of Mikel and Ramires next season....

9 minutes passed and you haven't backtracked yet....a new record? Are you a recent graduate from the Daily Mail school of sports reporting? If you keep talking long enough and link enough players then eventually you're bound to be right at least once? But what you're ignoring is that this one is definitely different. He'll definitely score goals (despite having no record of scoring in this league whatsoever). Anyone who isn't shitting it about this deal until he gets into double digits by December at the latest.....well I have some magic beans to sell you, but they're not like the magic beans you were sold last time...

Interesting player, could be another great squad option but makes me wonder what that means for someone like Ramires to be honest. Could take Mikel's spot in the squad if that Galatasaray rumour is true and he's also retired from international football which places a few less demands on his time and means no buggering off in January 2015.

Absolutely delighted that he's going to be around and he's certainly deserved it. Would love him to see the signing of Cavani (or whoever) as a challenge and for him to come in and absolutely dominate that position because I love everything about this guy, but the fact that he's one of us just makes me want to see him succeed. He made 38 appearances last year for West Brom (wiki) and I see no reason why he can't make close to that number or more again, with League Cup, FA Cup and CL starts.

Yes you're right, it is my opinion. Well done. The point I made was that he's been nominated because of some bizarre prediction that he heard around Cobham in February. Is that particularly insightful? I know the award is a meaningless thing, and I know there was more done to devalue it with last month's winner but what is the fucking point of having it if people who do contribute consistently are going to be overlooked? No offence to Sam (whose avatar is tasteless, classless and downright cunty in my opinion) but some people actually take time to make this site worth visiting with what they post.

I'll wish him all the best, but I'll be happy we've moved on from him. Some of his performances last season were atrocious and the disdain with which he treated the Europa League (before the Kazan leg, not the final where he couldn't wait to get his hands on the trophy) was pretty much the final straw. I thought maybe Mourinho could help reinvigorate him, but I honestly don't think we'll miss him with Lamps, Rami, Romeu, Ake, Chalobah and Loftus-Cheek here for the present and the future and people like De Rossi being mooted for him. But apparently there's a list of some players who can have gifs posted for them and some who can't - fuck know's what Marin did to be on that list apart from not being good enough. Can't blame the kid for trying though.

Good signing for them. Stick him alongside Arteta or Wilshere in the pivot behind Cazorla and you've got a bit of strength and fight that Ramsay doesn't have. He had a storming game at the Emirates in April (?) so I'm not surprised Wenger is interested but like Skipper alluded to they're lacking in depth beyond the starting XI.....in fact I think they're lacking at least 4 players IF they manage to hold onto the players they've already got. Makes me laugh that they finally decide to splash the cash but they're still languishing behind Us and City.

So wait....we've got rid of Benayoun and Malouda today, there's a transfer bid for Mikel and we're closing in on Cavani. Lads, get out on the town tonight and go for the fittest bird you see because our fucking luck is in today.

If we do sell him, I think it's only right Choulo be the one to move this thread to the ex-players section of the forum. Alternatively auction off that privilege and you'll probably have the money to run the site from now until Mikel scores his next goal. :tophat:

What's that? Speak up? Sorry, I would turn the music down but the party's just getting started.

I was mentioning that the other day. I mean, you wait for a day like this to come and you think it'll make you happy.....but you're just not prepared for just how happy it makes you. Any news on how much we'll be paying them?

in Paulo Ferreira's pocket still? going to cut in from the left and shoot? He's fantastic at exploiting weaknesses and mistakes in the opposition, if they stand off of him and give him space or simply capitalising on the naivety of full-backs but I'm not too sure he'll have another season like he did last season if he sticks around at Spurs. I'm not going to call him one-dimensional because he isn't, but I think teams can nullify him. It's doing that for 90 minutes that is going to be the challenge and he's shown a propensity to pop up late in games and take advantage of teams tiring. Comparisons to Hazard are inevitable but that Spurs team is built around him, whereas we tended to build around Mata last season. Personally I think Hazard is going to explode this season and get into twenty goals at least because I think he'll back his talents a bit more.

No offence, but weren't you like 9 years old when Roman took over? You're signature is about wanting Roman out and being against 'modern football', but isn't 'modern football' all you've ever known? Out of interest, this era of football that you seem to long for - were you even alive to experience it?

It's different. There's more pressure than there used to be because the expectation is higher, and the little things you used to take pleasure in simply aren't there anymore. Mostly the pleasures are different and the club is different and some of these are for the better, and some of them aren't. I think I'd prefer to look on it more as a journey rather than a then and now. I think you've also got to remember that the world has changed now - as soon as we're linked with a player then it's off to whoscored, youtube, FIFA and FM to scout him so that by the time he's signed you know his shoe size. I remember turning up to the Bridge one day and discovering we'd signed some bloke called Laurent Charvet....that doesn't happen anymore. I honestly don't know....there's a thousand changes at this club in my time supporting Chelsea. I don't miss the wooden seats in the West Stand but I do miss the old Shed. I don't miss some aspects of our support but I really miss others. It depends how nostalgic you want to be. I honestly miss the smell of beer and cigarettes because that's what I associate with my early days of going to the Bridge, but I'm sure the kids who go nowadays have got better lungs and less fag-burns. Still that smell takes me right back....I suppose that's a bit like Chelsea. Everything's cleaner, shinier and in HD, but I wouldn't swap the old days for anything and it's nigh-on impossible to compare the two. Fuck this....I'm digging out the VHS and watching the 93/94 season review again. Spoiler Alert Ellery's a cunt.

My mistake...wrong person.

Let's not compare Rooney's baggage to Terry's because it's not even close.

I'm not bitter. I just think that there are more deserving people than you. Don't take it personally.