The only place to be

It was just a professional job, but a few performances were a little concerning. Hazard just never got into the game and really didn't look up for it. His worst performance by far in my opinion. Moses worked hard but the crossing in general was just horrendous, especially when you realise that Torres still doesn't make the right runs into the box. Nando still put in a good shift but he'd get so many more goals if he was just a yard quicker off the mark. The double pivot was still an issue, despite Ramires putting in a hell of a performance. I'm not one for stats usually, but his were astounding last night: 94% pass completion on 48 passes (second most in the team) 7 long balls ALL accurate 2 key passes 7 Tackles (team high) 6 Interceptions (team high) Now I've criticised him in the past, but he did everything in that midfield last night and it was essential because Lamps really wasn't that effective in all honesty. JT and Luiz looked solid in defence and should probably start against Liverpool if JT can manage it but Suarez and Sturridge will provide a stiffer challenge than Fulham did. All in all a good performance with plenty to work on going forward. Benitez deserves credit for getting such a comprehensive win against a tricky team after the weekend.

He was making a fair number of mistakes and there were rumours that Barca were interested in a bid for him, so people said that maybe it was best that he moved on. I don't think any person on here 'never got behind him', but just expressed concern at his suitability to this league.

Any manager coming in should be mounting a title challenge. We're a good side only a couple of players away from being a very good side and once that pivot is addressed, all the other pieces really should fall into place. Pellegrini is just such an uninspired choice. There are other, younger managers in this country who would be a gamble but have massive potential, and then there's Jose who is not only a world-class coach but also beloved by the support. Pellegrini is a middle-of-the-road choice, a repeat of old mistakes. He's spectacular only in his being unspectacular. He seems like an affable chap who won't cause much disruption, he'll manage games effectively, he'll probably get us a respectable league finish, give us a respectable run in the cups and leave without much disruption in a year's time. But he speaks English and he's cheap, and at the end of the day isn't that enough for us Chelsea fans?

Wow. Very well done Adidas. Simple, yet stylish with a bit of a retro feel about it. Great marketing campaign backed up by a great product. Can't ask for much more than that and it's a definite pre-order for me.

So you've only seen him play one game in the DM position? That's interesting. Oh, and it was a fairly obvious dig at Mikel.

Aren't we already on plan m by now? Hey if people want an affable chap who has won the Intertoto Cup and has Champions League experience, there's this guy at Monaco called Claudio something.....what about him?

Was he written off or did people just say he was an above-average player and that we should be looking at other options (like Luke Shaw) who have the potential to be world-class?

Besides the fact that Guardiola has a fairly strong, obsessive personality the only thing those managers have in common is that I'd rather have any of them here instead of Pellegrini. Except Benitez.....maybe.

Pellegrini is a great choice for manager. Ignore for a moment that he's won fuck all despite being five years away from retirement age. - He's cheap - He'll be cheap to sack - He's exactly the type of manager we hired in 2008, and we were good then weren't we? - We get to keep this thread open for another 12 months - He's cheap - He's got a foreign sounding name but he speaks English - He'll open up the lucrative Chilean market - We all say we like change and we want to see Chelsea change, but really isn't this more exciting? Who saw this year coming for example? We all got our hopes up for Guardiola, and then for Mourinho and ended up with Benitez and South American Redknapp, but isn't the unpredictability more fun than things like 'trophies' and 'enjoying watching your team'.

Maybe. I've watched him play a few times and he's not exceptional in any regard. He's not amazingly fast, he's not fantastically strong, he's not got a thunderbolt of a shot and his passing is good but nothing special. But he just scores goals. I've been thinking something for a while, and I've been holding off on saying it because it's probably over the top but he reminds me of a Sheringham-type player. He's got this sense of knowing where to be to finish shots off and he does that fairly well. At the moment I could see him leaving us and having a good career scoring goals wherever he ends up a bit like Forssell, but I wouldn't be in the least bit surprised if he got a shot here and did well.

I really don't get the bellyaching about this deal, and the comparisons to Sturridge are laughable. Here's the thing about Danny - he's probably about half as good as some of the people on this forum think he is. But that's still nowhere near as good as he thinks he is. We need a winger - Schurrle fits the bill. Yes he's played mainly on the left and cut in but Hazard has shown himself to be a threat from both wings, as well as drifting into the centre. People have mentioned the fluidity of our front three, but Schurrle is also a disciplined player comfortable with tracking back. We need a third striker if Torres leaves or Lukaku goes on loan - Schurrle fits the bill. He also offers a physical presence on the wings that Oscar and Hazard certainly don't. The price isn't that crazy either. Around £20 million is roughly Nani/Di Maria/Sanchez money so seems about fair. The Marin comparisons are really stupid - Marin was a player with unfulfilled promise looking for a move to revitalise a flagging career. He was also a back-up transfer in case we didn't get Champions League football. Schurrle is a player very much on the ascendancy. Plus just because the news of this move seems to be out it doesn't mean we aren't going after other targets. I know some people have a low opinion of our board but there are people there who are capable of having one conversation with one group of agents and scouts, and then going on to another one with a completely different set of people.

So you're saying a man who spent £200 million and got knocked out of the European Cup by Lyon is the man for us? This isn't an argument for Pellegrini - this is an argument for repeating the mistakes of old. Neither of these two men have a particularly impressive trophy haul, but Moyes at least knows this league. He knows the rigours of it. He knows what the Christmas period is like and what toll it takes on a squad. He's respected throughout the league by players and fans. The next manager doesn't have to just take us through the next 3-4 years. There has to be a continuation of the change at this club. You say that Pellegrini has experience at a big club like Real Madrid, but that is almost exactly the type of model we're looking to move away from isn't it? He isn't going to come in and buy Galacticos, but instead be tasked with using our young talent and building a new ethos. Your love letter to Pellegrini is a love letter to 2008 Chelsea. We need a manager for 2013 and beyond. Oh and if you want a manager who puts the Intertoto Cup near the top of his resume and has managed a team like Spurs, why not Harry Redknapp? There would seem to be a stronger argument for him than either Pellegrini or Moyes based on some of the criteria you're using.

I was going to write a longer piece about him, but I really can't be arsed. Essentially I see him as a high performance piece - like an F1 gearbox. Those things are technically brilliant, but they have to be coddled and kept at the precise temperature otherwise they malfunction. Plus to get the most out of them you need to put them alongside other high performance pieces of kit. Sure you could jimmy it into a Ford Fiesta but you wouldn't get the most out of it, it would occasionally misfire and eventually it's just going to give up. Josh's ability has always been in seeing passes that other players can't see. But if his own teammates aren't good enough to read his passes then he simply spins his wheels. With someone like Chalobah, if his technical game isn't working he always has his physical presence and defensive understanding to fall back on. Josh doesn't really have that. You can't throw him on with 20 minutes to go and expect him to change the game or tighten things up. He has to be on from the start, linking play together and being that metronomic presence who puts players into better positions. That's why the best place for him might be here. The type of team with the calibre of player that he needs to be around to flourish aren't going to be interested in taking a player on loan in all likelihood. He needs time to develop and there's too much pressure to take a risk on him. 20 games a season here might be more beneficial than 50 games at another Championship club.

None of that makes him a much better coach in any way, shape or form. In fact Pellegrini didn't come to Europe until he was the age Moyes is right now - and Moyes has spent the last 10 years making Everton into contenders for a Champions League spot when they really don't have the resources of us, Arsenal or even Liverpool. Last night he got a point at a team pushing us for a top four finish, whilst having faith in their own young English prodigy (Ross Barkley). That's mightily impressive and deserves a bit more respect than some here are willing to acknowledge. So it's a biased, unmeasured case for him then? Skirting over issues like spending £200 million to be knocked out of the Champions League by Lyon is allowed? I suppose that counts as experience with big budgets though - I've got experience driving Ferraris. Admittedly I crashed it into a lake, but that's experience right? If we don't get Mourinho, why not Moyes? My gripe with him has been a lack of a distinctive style of football but last night I saw a pragmatism and a faith in youth that I think we'll need here. I saw heart in his team's performance and the guy has turned that Everton team into something to be truly proud of. He's not the perfect candidate but no-one is, not even Jose but I'd feel safer in his hands than Pellegirini. If we do hire Pellegrini then I would bet everything on him being gone by the end of the season at the latest. He's nothing but another seat-filler who will come in, maintain the status quo and get a nice pay-off. He's not one for the future, he's one from the past. A case for him is a case for repeating the same old mistakes.

84% pass completion, 4 interceptions and a team high 7 tackles for the people who care about stats. Looked like he gave a shit about his club, his teammates and the supporters for 90 minutes for the people who care about such things.

He needs a commitment to play him, and he needs good players around him. That means the best place might be here, but it could be bumpy along the way and there's no guarantee that it will work out. The other option is to send him on a long-term loan or sell him but include a buy-back clause. That gives a club the chance to build around him over time which he needs. He's a fairly unique player and that has a fairly unique set of issues.

Are you fucking kidding me? How is that in any way, shape or form important? We probably need to start with the same team that started the semi-final. Mikel needs to step up his game, but I expect Mata to have a biggie too.

Sorry, how do you know for certain?

He spent £200 million on players, including arguably the second best player in the world, and was knocked out of the Champions League by Lyon. This is not a fair analysis of a manager, but a love letter. When you skirt over serious issues like his complete lack of experience on the Premier League with 'he's experienced enough to adapt' and don't actually acknowledge that there is a real issue with not understanding the rigours of our league, you undermine the rest of your points.

I don't hate him - I love him. Behind Drogba, Lamps, Ashley and Cech this guy was probably our best player in Munich.

He's 59 and the only thing of note he's won is the Intertoto Cup, and he doesn't know the league either. Scolari mk.2.

He played the first-half and about 15 minutes of the second-half against Man City. He played just the second-half against Rubin. When you're talking about Mikel's bad performances, you have to be specific which one you're referring to.

I actually think you have a good point. When he was last 'in-form' he was simply doing the basics a little better, but our expectations of him were so low that it excited us all a little. Now he actually seems to be doing better than that. There's a little spark that hasn't been there in all of his time at Chelsea. However, that doesn't mean that he's back. Hopefully this just makes him a little more attractive to prospective buyers, and even if he leads us to Europa League glory with a hat-trick in the final I'd still be inclined to want him out.

I think you, and a couple of others, are blind to his character problems. We need people who will fight for this club every time they put on the shirt. We need people who are leaders and will make players around them better. How people can what this guy representing the club they profess to support when he shows such disdain for the badge is beyond me. The funny thing is that you guys defend him and he repays you by putting in such disgraceful performances....and then you continue to defend him. :lol2: :lol2: :lol2: :lol2:

He benefitted from the defensive set-up we used against Bayern (and Barca) but it's stupid to think we're going to play like that anymore. That performance is also horrendously overrated by his supporters considering they keep saying his job is to protect the back four. Here's a little secret about that game - we got lucky. Bayern created over 30 chances and if you play that game 100 times, we get beaten 99 times. He's not Chelsea material at the end of the day. We need leaders in the spine of the team, not passengers.