The only place to be

Did anyone seriously believe this 'theory' though? The lack of a clinical striker is so painfully obvious that sometimes people try to overthink things and look for other issues. Sometimes when you hear hooves, think horses not zebras.

Rio was 23, captain of a good Leeds side, had made about 200 first-team appearances and had played Champions League football. He was already proven at the top level in most respects. This is a far bigger gamble than the Ferdinand transfer in my opinion.

Progression. That's what you want each year and for the first time in a while we have that opportunity. If our defence can maintain it's solidity whilst incorporating someone like Kalas in more matches then that's progress. If we can get more from the play of our strikers then that's progress. Plus you want to see individuals step up so Oscar needs to be far more consistent than he was this year. You'd hope that Matic, Schurrle, Willian and Salah would kick on from their first seasons here and contribute more. In terms of young players I'd personally like to see Chalobah play a role in the first team this season. Failing that then a Premier League loan with regular football is a must or he will stagnate. Baker, Swift and Ake are probably going to leave on loan to a Championship club and I hope they continue to grow as professionals. A lot depends on the summer pre-season though and with players needing a rest after the World Cup then some dark horses could make a bolt for a starting spot. Beyond that I'd love for some progress to be made on the stadium front. Commercially we seem to be in good hands but there needs to be some steps taken with the council and hopefully with the CPO in regards to extending the Bridge or finding someone new. We can't fall further behind other teams in this regard, in my opinion.

Greaves, Ossie, Kerry, Jimmy Floyd....time to bring some honour back to that number rather than turning it into a curse.

Fantastically consistent and won his place despite not being in Jose's plans at the start of the season. Gives his all every game and a model pro in every respect so it's encouraging that the players recognised that.

Honestly I don't care so long as Torres isn't wearing it.

Give him the number 9 shirt.

Pogba is viewed as being better currently because he's been given chances at a high level by Juventus. Chalobah was equally as well-regarded when they were playing one another at youth level and I think he has as much potential as Pogba. It might not be as instantaneous as buying Pogba for £35 million but it'll be far more rewarding.

Give him a target and he's not too bad. The same criticism was levelled at Azpi but who did he actually have to aim for? Slot a target man into the team (look at Dzeko at City, his goal against Palace being a prime example) and someone coming from deep (Paulinho does seem to have a knack for finding space in the box) and you complete change our second and third-phase attacking play.

See, I know there's a lot of people who might want us to get a pure passing Deep-Lying Playmaker in midfield, but does Jose? I've not really seen us linked to any and when you look at players like Matic, Loftus-Cheek and Chalobah, these are almost hybrids capable of recovering the ball but also striding out of defence with it and picking a pass. Look at how much he values that blend of athleticism and finesse in Oscar and Willian, and delegates Hazard as the most creative outlet. I'm not entirely convinced his desire for that type of DLP is a great as some here might.

What about Ivanovic, Cahill and Azpi? What about the new stars of the team like Matic, Oscar and Hazard? I think we'll survive without David Luiz in the side on the bench.

Can't agree with any of that. How is he the best locker room person when we still have JT, Frank, Cahill, Cech etc? In fact there were plenty of rumours of some people being pissed off with him around the Newcastle game. And like fuck is he the connection between the foreigners and the English players. Sorry but that is just utterly ridiculous. There is no 'Brazilian Chelsea' either - there's Chelsea. Some people need to get some perspective. We're selling a player who isn't a starter for us for enough money to buy someone who is.

Named in the England squad and a nailed-on starter. Congrats Gary and most importantly...don't get injured.

They're not in the slightest bit alike. One is a creative number 10, the other is a pacy right-winger who cuts in onto his left foot. If we wanted to bring a player back who is like Salah then it would probably be Atsu, maybe Traore.

And we should've dropped a point against West Brom at home. But we should've gone more attacking at Old Trafford. And what if Lamps shot was an inch lower at Arsenal. But what if Aguero hadn't have been injured and Liverpool shut up shop against us and Palace. And if Torres had been a few feet further forward at Palace. Or Cech hadn't have gotten injured in Madrid. Ifs and buts can drive you crazy, but the best team probably won the league this year as they do most years. Talk about us bottling it is a little harsh when the reality is that we didn't have a decent striker up top.

It's not as simple as saying we bottled it. I think what sets a league apart from a cup competition is that over 38 games, any deficiencies will be exposed. In a cup game you can maybe go 90 minutes without these being exposed if the luck goes your way. But the simple fact is that we knew we were missing quality up front and Liverpool knew they were weak in defence and the 'beauty' of this league campaign is that those weaknesses are ultimately what cost it for both teams. Man City were by far the team with fewest weaknesses in their side which you'd expect because they are further along in their development. Toure, Hart, Kompany, Silva, Nasri, Aguero, Clichy, Kolarov and Dzeko were all part of the team which won in 2012 and are still key players in their first team. The addition of Fernandinho was probably that extra piece they needed to push them over the top even when they were missing Aguero for almost half the season. So I don't think bottle has much to do with it.

It's just a nice feeling ending one season knowing who the guy in charge next year is going to be. We know exactly which areas we need to improve having already improved other positions, the young guys like Oscar, Hazard, Azpi etc. have that little bit more experience of being in a title race and getting to the business end of the Champions League and I'd say we've also had great success with the young guys who have either been on loan or won the Youth Cup (and hopefully the u21 league too).

Let's not pretend that spending £30 million on an 18 year old is a normal bit of long-term spending. When you spend that much, you're looking for an immediate contribution as well as a long-term prospect. The fact that he's a left-back as well makes it a tricky one.

I like how people say we could afford him....surely that depends on what other transfers we're looking to make not just this summer, but January, next summer and beyond as well as what the health of our balance sheet is like this year. Maybe they're acquainted with them intimately, but I doubt it. Ultimately the player has a lot of power in these negotiations. £27 million may well be the United bid but it means fuck all if the player says he has his heart set on one club. The guy says he's a big Chelsea fan and we're certainly interested (at a certain price) so I'm going to wait and see how this one plays out.

That's actually a fantastic point. Everyone seems to assume we'll be looking for a DLP in the pivot a la Modric or even Rakitic, but I don't know if Mourinho wants or needs that. Oscar tends to drop deep to pick-up the ball so he could play that role, and the pivot becomes an engine room/creative hybrid. Look at Matic's ability to pick a pass whilst also doing the dirty work. I think what Paulinho could offer is a goal threat from midfield which is something we really don't have at the moment. He can also spread the play better which isn't me saying he's Alonso, capable of long-raking 30 yard passes which some people seem to think. What he does is make those 10-15 yard passes quicker and more consistently than Ramires currently does. I think some people dislike this deal because he doesn't fit into their plans for the team, not Joses's.

Great to finish with a win but it's always sad ending the season. No matter how bad the football is at times, we love this club for those 90 minutes of drama whenever they might pop up. Going down the Fulham Road with your mates, seeing the old boys turning up or a young lad getting his first experience of the Bridge, the tension before the match, the beers after, the piss-taking on Monday morning. And now a summer of transfer speculation and the fucking world cup....urgh. The first day of next season can't come quick enough.

Not a bad season when Liverpool fans come so close....yet so far. And Stevie G you cost them the league.

What a class act. Honestly the national team can go fuck themselves though. The FA are a bunch of cunts and the sooner England are knocked out the better.

A kid from Kingston rushing to put on the shite shirt of United....how delightfully 90s.