The only place to be

70 minutes down, struggling against a parked bus, who wouldn't want Drogba coming on?

Schurrle doesn't rest...he just waits.

He was entering his last year of his contract. It made sense to tie him down even if you're planning on loaning him out so you can cash in either next year or further down the line. Mikel's problem is that he's unsellable apparently. He's also nowhere near as fun to have around as he used to be because those people who used to defend him and suggest he was one of the best DMs in Europe have abandoned him. He's no longer their 'favourite player' in their profiles and there's no screen captures showing his importance to the team anymore. Certain members be all like

I don't think the loan system has got much to do with Piazon's development or lack thereof. He was never really an exceptional prospect at youth level, simply a very nice, silky player who looked a bit like Kaka. The thing is I never really saw him take hold of a game at youth level in the way a Baker or Boga or even Musonda has done. His peak was probably the Youth Cup game away to Forest. Maybe he could be a 5th or 6th choice AM for us, but the reality is that we need a high calibre of player and there aren't that many around so the chances of bringing them through is slim. Someone like Bertrand is perhaps good enough for 15 teams in this league, but not for us so it's why unearthing real talent suitable for us is so tough.

Sweet. More dead wood on the way out. One year left on his contract so can't imagine the fee would be that high, but hopefully he has a decent career.

Hopefully Mikel.

Good to see some are. Would love to see him hang around the team until Winter and train with the top-class players we have. We knew what we got when we signed him and he's not going to become Frank LeBouef overnight. He's a first-class physical specimen in his first month at the club, and yet people are farming him out already.

Exactly. And pre-season is one of the best times to lay down a marker for that first game of the season. I'd see it when I played rugby and players would look to make an impression. Yes you can do that in training, but pre-season matches are a step up especially for fringe players.

Good loan for a player who will never make it at this club. Best we can hope for is bumping up his value closer to £10 million although recouping the transfer cost would be an acceptable return at this point.

Spot on. Integrating youth takes time and that's something we don't afford many coaches. Jose is now entering his second year with these players so he knows them fairly well. Now he can start to take a few chances throwing one or two into the settled side. Comparing Boga to Piazon is a bit unfair because Piazon isn't very good, he's never been that good and he'll never make it here....because he's just got nothing special about him. Exceptional talents are rare and Boga is one of them.

I think the answer is clear when you ask yourselves what you want each player to do next year. With Courtois we want him to continue his form. With Cech you're hoping he gets back to his form of a couple of years ago. Which is more likely?

Pessimism is cool. Fuck the world. I know you like to moan about things, and it's very easy just to shit on things and pretend it's an informed opinion but most people move beyond that in their early-20s. This kid is a special talent. If you can't take enjoyment in that then fuck knows what you follow football for. Seriously. I don't understand your mindset, but every pub needs someone like you to prop up one end of the bar for seemingly days on end.

Wasn't a cheap shot in the slightest. It was a fact. He's played in strong teams, but he's still a great keeper.

I'm thinking that Matic, Van Ginkel, Luis, Zouma and possibly one or two of the youngsters might be used in the coming season. It's hard to explain why pre-season matches are so important but once you've played some (in any sport) it's fairly obvious.

No it's not. It's also about learning things that are important to that first match, like tactics, players' movements and idiosyncrasies etc.

Well Mikel probably is a problem. He's on high wages, a long contract and is apparently unwanted by any team even at a 'bargain' price.

Here's what Cech can teach Courtois....play for a great team with a great manager. Cech's clean sheet record is at much to do with Carvalho, Terry, Makelele, Essien, Ferreira, Cole and Mourinho as it is to do with him. That's not to say Cech isn't a great keeper, but he's also been one of the best protected keepers in Premier League history. Cech was dropped last year. His form has steadily declined over the last two years. Fuck all the future shit then. In the present, Courtois is the better keeper.

Why look at that game and not the others where Cech made mistakes? Cech was dropped last season because of poor form. Everyone seems to ignore this, but Schwarzer got his first start in the CL not out of some sense of sentimentality, but because Cech was losing us points. Courtois has exceeded every expectation we had for him and right now he's the better keeper.

So if Courtois makes mistakes, we drop him? This idea that Cech can teach things to Courtois is somewhat patronising to be honest. Courtois is a better goalkeeper than Cech is right now. There's the old cliche about players coming to this league and having to do it 'on a cold night in Stoke'. The truth is that on a mild afternoon in Stoke Petr Cech cost us points with his errors. Right now I'd trust Courtois more, but that's because I've got a soft spot for talent and form.

Jose was wrong about this type of thing at Madrid though. Different situation in many ways, but it shows Jose can be fallible. I don't get why you'd feel more secure either. Courtois WILL make mistakes because keepers do. But he's a top class keeper so he'll grow from that, except with Cech around you'll have Sky's cameras immediately cutting to Cech on the bench. It creates an extra narrative, conflict that is unnecessary. Courtois is probably the number two keeper in world football. I just don't think there's a valid reason not to make the change now.

Really curious as to what Jose's playing at with Chalobah. Omeruo has already had his loan to Boro confirmed, so you'd assume Nat isn't going there but he's got very little time in midfield so far and has been used in defence primarily but with Zouma being given the 5 shirt you'd have thought he would be ahead of him in that pecking order. Worst case scenario is that we delay loaning him like we did last season and he ends up in the wrong place again. It's frustrating seeing Romeu selected in that DM spot as well, although that's partly down to us not having enough defenders for the first couple of games. Fingers crossed he gets 45 minutes in the next game with Cesc likely to only get the first-half. But then you have the problem of Mikel and Ramires coming back.

It's got nothing to do with angering football gods and everything to do with practicality. Goalkeeper is just one of those positions where rotation doesn't have a great track record.

What's most impressive about that goal is that he picked the ball up in his own half and just went, and it's something he's done at youth level as well. He takes responsibility and isn't afraid to take chances. That goal just showcases everything he has in his locker. The skill to beat a man, the acceleration to go past one, the agility to stay on his feet, the strength to go shoulder to shoulder with a defender and still find an excellent finish at the end of it. Even when the ball is lost he still makes the run forward in case it does break for him. He's as complete a 17 as you will likely ever see. I don't know if he's better than Sterling was....technically he definitely is but he's not as fast. But he's far stronger. What they both have is that youthful arrogance to just go at players. He's been better than most people he's played against for most of his life, but he needs to face stronger opposition and get knocked back because that's when you know if you've got a PROPER player on your hands. To Sterling's credit, he stepped up. Maybe a better comparison is Barkley who also has that very direct mindset that a few of our players could do with. How often do we bemoan Hazard's somewhat lackadaisical style when we know he can just run at a marker for 90 minutes? One thing I really like about him compared to our current number 10 is that there's no hesitancy in his game. Oscar can look tentative and almost delicate with the ball, whereas Boga (so far because he's still untested) always looks 100 percent in control of the ball and his body. I think he'll stick around next season, be a big player in the under-21s and possibly also the Youth Cup team and be included in the first team a fair bit. I would not be surprised in the least if he never saw a loan spell longer than 6 months.

I'll remember you said that. That sounds remarkably patronising. Like I said, Britain is a more progressive society and we've moved on a lot from these types of things. That's not to say we don't understand why people feel the need to be religious though, in fact it makes a lot of sense. But this isn't the place to have this discussion and you're certainly not the type of person I think I'd want to have it with in the first place.

Actually isn't it your view that your ancestors 'just appeared on Earth' when 'a god' willed them into existence?