The only place to be

All that makes sense, but JT will still be club captain in my opinion. Funnily enough I'd pick the same three players you did. Cech is a senior player, he's smart and he communicates effectively with his teammates. I don't have a massive objection to keepers being captain but it does make communication with the refs tricky and that's one of the most important jobs of a captain. They need to manage refs and that's one of the reasons I like Mata as skipper. He's intelligent, he's respectful, he's respected but he can seem a little shy at times. He might be a little too cerebral for the role and not have the oomph that we're used to with JT. Luiz is still a little suspect for me. Yes he's grown in stature this year and I can imagine him having the armband when just last year such a thing seemed nonsensical, but he's still got that little bit of maturing to do. That shoulder charge against Brentford and even the elbow on Connor Wickham against Sunderland suggest he's got that recklessness still. I love the enthusiasm but it has to be controlled enthusiasm but he's shown an ability to learn from his weaker points though so I reckon he's got a good shout in a year's time.

I still think he's a great player and very underrated as a DM, but if we could get someone like Khedira then we should move on from Fellaini. Khedira and a playmaker (maybe Oscar or someone like Modric would be ideal) would be a fantastic pivot and we'd still have Ramires and Romeu to come in, as well as Chalobah and possibly De Bruyne. That is enough for a decent push at the title and Champions League in my opinion.

I actually agree that we don't need an influx of physicality and made a similar point in the match thread. I actually think it's unfair to say Moyes simply relies on physical players - the one thing he's shown in his time at Everton is an ability to use the players he have to get results, hence Fellaini's move into an advanced position. He's a DM but they're used his unique tools to great effect further forward. Again, the one thing I like about Moyes is his pragmatic approach to football which is similar to Mourinho's. I'm not for a moment saying appointing Moyes means guaranteed success, but if we're not going to get Jose back then I think he's the best of what's left. Pellegrini is just such an uninspiring choice for a manager, and it just reminds me so much of Scolari's appointment. He's been a manager for 25 years and has ONE SEASON at a top club, where he spent £200 million and finished second in the league. Yes he got lots of points but you don't get a trophy for that. Then there's the Champions League exit to a French team. He's got no experience of the Premier League and up until 12 months ago I don't know if any English club had expressed an interest in him. Is anyone actually excited by the prospect of seeing him take charge of our first game of next season?

You do realise we played with Drogba under Mourinho, and that plenty of fans were saying we needed a bit more physicality against City because we looked so lightweight. Everton play the way they do because it gets results. That pragmatism is something we had under Mourinho and to discount Moyes based on that is rather absurd.

I wouldn't expect one good game to change anyone's mind. The thing is from my perspective this was another good game at DM and a performance that showed heart and passion. Obviously I don't have a chart or stat for heart and passion so it's not really important to some fans.

His cheap buys have taken Everton into the top four twice and finish one spot behind us last season, although don't confuse philosophy with the restrictions of his job. He didn't choose not to spend £30 million on a striker based on philosophical objections. Pellegrini does have experience with spending hundreds of millions of pounds in a single summer though. The fact that he lost to a French team in the Champions League and was sacked 12 months later is perhaps an indicator of how successful he was though. Tactically I think they both have things to offer this club - the difference is that Moyes knows what tactics work in this league. Pellegrini has no experience of the Premier League. He has no experience of the FA Cup. He has no experience of Stamford Bridge. But he can speak English, he's cheap and no-one will give a fuck when we sack him in 2014. Sign him up!! Getting Pellegrini is an unambitious acceptance of the status quo - but we'll probably finish top four and probably have a nice cup run. Yay!

He's the best in your opinion. Personally I'd rather go with someone who knows this league and has shown an ability to surpass expectations. Moyes has done that. He's shown a pragmatism that we need, but also a genuine desire to build a team that plays nice football and integrates young players. Any option who isn't Jose or Klopp is a step down and a big risk, but I've seen nothing to suggest that Pellegrini is any better of an option than Moyes. Neither has a fantastic resume, but at least one has experience of English football which is something that some people simply don't acknowledge as a factor possibly because of their own experiences.

If we're going to compare Shaw and Bertrand, let's acknowledge that Ryan is 6 years older than him and has played about 200 more games. I'd also still contend that Shaw has a level of composure and tactical sense that Ryan certainly didn't have before his 20th birthday, and might still not have. I'll take your word for it that people said he was a Championship-level player, but he clearly isn't. He's a good player and he's shown that in his recent run of games. What people have questioned is whether he can be a great player, and isn't that what we should be aspiring to have in our team? I've watched him for years and I honestly can't say for certain that he'll be a great player? Can you? With players like Shaw, there's something special there that hints at the potential to be great.

Maybe his agent felt it was demeaning. Nice to see Oriol involved though. Wanted to see him kick a ball but just nice to see him back in the kit. It really has got a retro feel to it but it's a very stylish piece of kit.

I probably was, but the guy has really upped his performances and that's a fantastic sign going forward. I also said I didn't think he'd be suitable as a future captain, but in the last couple of months he's emerged as a real leader in the team and been someone we rely on. I've been massively impressed with the way he's carried himself in the second-half of the season and I'll hold my hands up and admit that he's shown stuff I didn't know he had, but there were reasons why people were expressing concerns about him.

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.