The only place to be

They play slightly different positions.

The point is that the fee is reported to be somewhat cut-price. Plus buying 30+ year old midfielders from Real Madrid worked out well the last time we did it, didn't it?

I would be gutted if Rami or Luiz missed out on the final. JT and Cahill can play at CB and Lamps will take one of the midfield spots so one of those three will probably have to play, especially as Ake played on Monday.

They're different types of players and Alonso is younger. He's still a fantastic player who can spray the ball around from midfield better than most. People have been saying we should get Benat because he could be the 'next Alonso'...well why don't we just get the original for a couple of years with the plan that McEachran or Oscar takes over after that?

If that's true then I think it would be ideal. I've long said that Roman and Mourinho getting back together could be bad if they haven't grown as men, but that doesn't seem to be the case. For the first time it appears as though he needs us almost as much as we might need him. That story about Essien's birthday is shocking if true, but it also isn't that surprising. You don't get the feeling that there's a real team spirit at that club and it makes those photos of Luiz's birthday all the more special. It's also serendipitous that this is all happening in the shadow of Bayern's demolition job on Barcelona which might make those at Chelsea a bit less enamoured with that style of football. Bayern played like we used to, strong at the back, quick on the counter and with leaders throughout the team. That's something that the right man could build here in relatively short time.

Technically he might not be up to his level, but if I wanted a player who influenced a game and actually did stuff more consistently then I'd pick Chalobah every time. When you say you like 'his type of player', what do you mean? He's a fantastic passer of the ball, under the right circumstances. But Chalobah is a fantastic distributer and recycler of the ball too. He also offers something in defence, contributes assists to the team and scores goals. I also have worries over Josh's tendency to let his head drop when the pressure is on. He's really got to man-up a little bit and learn to impose himself on matches when he has the ball and when he doesn't, otherwise he becomes a passenger and that's not something you can have even if you're a deeplying playmaker. He should look at players like Modric who play that position but have tremendous workrates in their game - the same can't be said of Josh at the moment.

He didn't start either of the play-offs against Serbia (behind Lowe and Rodwell) and I'm not sure he's played consistently for the u21s at all this season. He was good against the 9 men of Austria but the standout man in those two fixtures was Chalobah who I didn't think was at all sloppy with his passing. It seems unfair to keep comparing the two, but they're similar ages and in similar positions but one has just had a much better last 12 months than the other. Any criticism of McEachran is seen as 'writing him off' but there are concerns around him. I honestly don't know what the best thing for him to do next season is because finding the right environment for him is going to be tricky.

I can't see this happening, but he's still a fantastic player and exactly what we need in our midfield. Obviously it depends on the price but if we're actually looking at developing someone like McEachran then who better could he sit behind for the next two years? I was one of those people who thought Pirlo was 'too old' when we were linked with him four years ago....

He hasn't been consistently brilliant though. He's been good at times but he was by no-means guaranteed a spot in the team, and was maybe even a slight doubt for the squad. Unfortunately one of the main obstacles he faced getting into that team was the emergence of Nat Chalobah who had a couple of really strong performances in the last two friendlies. Next season is absolutely massive for him so he needs to get fit as soon as possible. But I really don't know what the plan is for him at the moment.

The immediate reaction from Boro fans online (admittedly not that many) doesn't exactly seem to be a ringing endorsement of his win. Unfortunately it looks as though he's having surgery on his ankle. http://www.gazettelive.co.uk/boro-fc/2013/04/30/josh-mceachran-in-england-setback-84229-33259576/ On the plus side that might explain his latter season form, but he could miss the Euros. He really needs to be fit for pre-season.

Still can't quite see a point. Yes I understand they want a 'voice' but I'm still not sure specifically what they want to say and what issues they realistically think they can influence.

Where have I said he should be England captain without having a single cap for England?

The problem with Josh is that he's not exactly got much to offer to a team if he isn't at the heart of everything, and it's hard to encourage a team to do that when he's on loan. In all honesty, he's a very, very limited player. He's a fantastic passer.....and that's it. He's horrendous in defence, he's got a pretty poor workrate, he's not a great finisher, he's got very little pace and he's got the backbone of a jellyfish. He's found it very hard to impose himself on games which means all his talent goes to waste and what's most worrying is that he's a really timid lad. I don't see that fire in him that you need to make it at the top level. That doesn't mean I'm giving up on him, just that I've got a lot of reservations about what he can do. Someone on that thread compared him to Joe Allen and that's not a bad shout, but he's had a rough time at Liverpool this season and the jury is out on him.

The Swansea team should wear them in honour of the measles outbreak in Wales.

Guardiola represented a new type of football as this club, but he's not available. The interesting thing is that Barca were destroyed by a Bayern team who play a similar style of football to Chelsea c.2006. That doesn't mean tika-taka is dead but it isn't the only way. I'd have loved him to come but he's off the table. That leaves only Klopp and Mourinho as real top-class coaches at this moment in time who are at the right point in their careers to take us on long-term. Part of what I like about Klopp is his character, and that's why I don't think he'll leave right now. That leaves Jose. I agree that people aren't talking about the reality of Mourinho as coach too much and a lot of it is tied up in nostalgia, but I personally think that's what exciting about his appointment isn't what's old but what's new. He's seen the world, won everything in Italy and had his Spanish experience. He's been humbled somewhat and maybe he's learning to appreciate different things in life, which is why coming home might make perfect sense. Roman too has had his fingers burnt and seen that the grass isn't always greener. Maybe I've overly sentimental but this seems like the perfect marriage for these two men, and we could all benefit. Yes I have reservations about his appointment, but I'll be excited to see what he does everyday. At the end of the day, in a rather silly game of kicking a ball around isn't that the most important thing?

He had £200 million spent on making the team better - if he's happy to have that happen to his team without saying anything, why on Earth should we want him here? Madrid is the place for a seat-filler, a custodian who will manage for a few years, keep the stars happy and then move on. I don't think many strong-willed managers would do well there to be honest. Mourinho being more trouble than he's worth is perhaps accurate. He's high-risk/high-reward but he's a great tactician, a great motivator and someone clubs can get behind. It happened here, it happened at Porto and it happened at Inter. If you want someone 'competent' without 'extra drama' then I think you're at the wrong club. We've always been a bit dramatic, a bit high-maintenance and a little bit Hollywood Diva. It's part of our appeal and it comes with being in 'fashionable West London'. That's why Jose was the perfect choice. Pellegrini is low-maintenance, competent and won't cause much drama - he's the perfect choice for Arsenal. He ain't Chelsea. I'd rather have Ranieri back if we're going down that road.

So Mourinho failed at Madrid because he only won one league title.... But pellegrini is a good option for us despite coming second in the league with Madrid?That expensively assembled squad... Who helped assemble it expensively? I get that you don't like Mourinho. I don't quite understand why but he's clearly the fans choice. He helped build what this club is now and whilst he ain't perfect neither is this club. But he gets this club. He understands the culture. He's got the arrogance and the swagger that is such a great fit. Exhausting other options is the best way to describe the appointment of Pellegrini because he'd be gone before March.

So who would you suggest?

Because that's what people do. If you're leaving a job the first thing you do is sound out current clients and potential clients so you hit the floor running. You're not supposed to and you keep it quiet but when every other club is starting to plan for next season, you need to be doing the same. If a big player is moving, then a lot of people are involved. Agents are one thing but then you've got marketing considerations to bear in mind. People at Adidas would be getting winks about who might sign depending on the profile of the player. Most rumours turn out to be bollocks because most of the time people are guessing, but sometimes they do actually have a scoop. The better reporters are the ones who can discern between what is a solid lead and what is just a coincidence. When a reporter names four players all of whom have the same representation as each other, usually they're just guessing. The kernel of that story is almost certainly, someone at Chelsea spoke to either Jorge Mendes or someone related to him.

Because if he wants someone, the first thing he does is sound them out (not tap them up). His agent might ask the player's agent if he's happy. The agent then might (but doesn't necessarily always) mention this to his player - the agent obviously has a financial interest in the player either moving or signing a new contract. From there anything can happen. The player's current club could sound out other clubs or agents for replacements, the player could do something stupid like ask mention something to someone else in his entourage/management, even his wife could mention something to her hairdresser who then mentions it to someone. There are so many moving parts in a deal that leaks are always happening.

Agents, intermediaries and entourages. That's where leaks almost always come from. Look at what happened last night. We were strongly linked to Mourinho, and he's represented by Jorge Mendes. Then we were linked to four players by Sky Italia. Pepe, Di Maria, Moutinho and Falcao - ALL represented by Jorge Mendes. So journalists actually get solid leads from these sources or they put two and two together, and guess.

I don't think those two are mutually exclusive. I think Mourinho has changed and appears almost humbled by his experience in Madrid. He's literally looking to go back to where he was loved.....we're looking for someone to love. This could be the perfect marriage.

Twitter lighting up now....every reporter trying to get the scoop.

That is about as big a 'come and get me' as anyone could expect at this point in the season. He's a professional, we've got stuff going on so he's not going to be too blatant but.....I mean come on. :blue scalf:

Fuck You ITV.....FUCK YOU!!! Literally watching that interview screaming 'SAY CHELSEA!!! SAY CHELSEA!!!' and they cut to ad-breaks. This is why everyone hates you ITV. You miss goals and you miss exclusives. Bunch of twats.