The only place to be

That's overly harsh. He actually played some nice balls in the first half but in the second everyone seemed a little knackered which isn't all that surprising. He still needs to work on some of his positioning but that will come in time. He's a prospect for sure though.

Not every player needs a loan. Some are just that good that they can skip that process and this might be that one. He can beat a man, has nice pace, can pick a pass, finish and seems to be fairly strong already. Reminds me a tiny bit of a young Rooney. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uu7wm9FB0Ag

I think I'd rather have Boga in the team than Oscar.

Think we've got something special in Boga. That goal was stunning.

Salah hasn't really shown a decent touch yet which is a bit worrying. You clearly aren't watching the match.

I just don't get the argument that Salah can get away with being this poor because he's fasting. To me that's simply not preparing for a football match professionally and isn't something we need at this club.

Nice first half performance...except from Salah. Again. Van Ginkel might need to watch how many tackles he throws himself into.

That back 7 is first-team calibre. Also Salah wearing 17 and Ake wearing 6.

Given the number 6 shirt for the friendly, and it looks like it could be his number next season because everyone else's looks legit.

The new number 17 apparently.

Deserves credit for keeping himself in shape in this way, but he's apparently very committed to his career so it's not too surprising. Now he's got to come back, know his role and work his bollocks off. Simple.

When our first kit is blue and our second kit is yellow, is a third kit necessary?

Actually doesn't look too bad on....but Andre, those boots mate

It's roughly about £4-5 million....ish. Academies aren't really designed as money-making exercises in the strictest sense. They're essentially a cost you write-off because they're seen as a necessary part of a football club. Maybe they're somewhat anachronistic, but if you can produce a top-level player then you're saving yourself £20-30 million as well as having that priceless connection with someone who has come through the club.

So no-one's mentioned this team's name sounds like arse pellets?

Because I watched a bit of him last season and whilst he's lost that pace and explosiveness, he's still 6'2", strong, good with his back to goal, a massive threat in the air and still has better technique than Lukaku and Torres. I would never start him because I don't think he has it in him anymore to play more than 65 minutes against a fresh defence, but if we're chasing a goal then I'd probably bring him on ahead of Ba, Eto'o, Torres or Lukaku. And he's also a pretty decent dead-ball striker, which is something we can't really sniff at right now.

He can do his coaching badges whilst at the club....part of which will involved taking training sessions and (prepare yourself) possibly touching cones. That might be the only thing you remember about Henry's return. He also scored the winning goal in two matches. I honestly think you've got some weird view of people's legacies that verges on the precious. Drogba can't do anything to tarnish his legacy...he's a legend. That's the end of the discussion on the matter. But in pure footballing terms he actually could offer us something that we're lacking, and that's something you don't want to talk about apparently.

Why? Sorry, I don't quite get your point here. Putting cones out is beneath him in some way? You're really going to need to expand on that because most of us probably don't see something wrong with someone who wants to move into coaching performing menial but essential tasks like that. That's what most people in the real world do as well. They start at the bottom and work their way up. Others have, see... Oh look, another legend holding cones. Are you still in smh mode? There's a two-times Champions League winning coach not just touching a cone, but wearing one....hard times.

Not even worth getting excited about. He's going nowhere.

Beyond being black, from Africa and playing up-front, Eto'o and Drogba are very different players. If you remove any analysis of their tactical impact then the comparison makes sense (almost) but I'm not sure if this is a case of Drogba replacing Eto'o. In fact out of all of our strikers from last season, Drogba is most likely a replacement for Ba as the target man/aerial presence/back to goal type striker....except better. If we're playing against a parked bus and Costa alone isn't working (because there's a lack of space behind the defence for him to exploit) and we're looking to pepper the box with crosses, which striker do you want to bring on? I think even aged 37 I'd still plump for Drogba over Lukaku, Torres or even Eto'o.

No proper Chelsea supporter is going to let whatever transpires in the next 12 months affect Drogba's 'legacy'. He's a legend, end of story. As for Eto'o, they're different players. If you want to discuss the tactical implications of Drogba coming back then that's an interesting discussion to have but I think this is more akin to you discussing Mourinho and his suits or your 'outrage' at our light blue training kits which might look too much like City's. It's a massively superficial analysis. Again, how does that work tactically? Costa does what Eto'o does, whereas Drogba offers something different. I'll go back to the West Ham game last season where we created 39 chances. If you're pumping balls into the box against a packed defence, who do you want to introduce - Drogba or Eto'o?

Is Lewis Baker better at picking out a pass than Oscar already? And I asked it in the main thread but what exactly is Van Ginkel's game? Not an exceptionally good passer, not that strong defensively, not shown himself to be a goal threat yet (although had that in the Dutch league), looks skittish most of the time...what's he actually do better than say John Swift?

Three goals, all came from Lewis Baker. Exceptional young talent.

Salah took his goal well, but he's been poor all day. He looks absolutely fucked as well.

Salah's been poor, but he's fasting....which means he's not preparing for a match in a professional manner. So that's ok then.