The only place to be

Common denominator being sideshow. The guy's a freelancer, a mock-defender so unsurprising that we looked shaky with him Ivanovic could be that main guy but they're few and far between which is why they cost so much. Hummels, Kompany (at his best) and Varane are the three that spring to mind in Europe at the moment (maybe Chiellini too, not Benatia though who again looks like a Carvalho rather than a JT). Vidic used to be one too. We've just been very spoilt with having JT there for the last few years. He'll be a massive ask to replace.

Actually a lot of people have come to that realisation. It was his first game in a slightly different role with Fabregas taking a lot of the creative burden. He has to continue improving now.

http://www.chelseafc.com/news/latest-news/2014/08/chelsea-joins-forces-with-ea-sports.html Apparently we're a partner as well. Not sure what that actually means but very happy for Eden to get this accolade. Should also ensure he gets a high rating.

He's a safety first defender. I'd rather have that than someone who tries to be clever with it. On the ball he's actually quite a smart operator.

Couldn't disagree with that more. Cahill is underrated on the ball (much as JT was for a lot of his career) and he did so much running, marking and heading for JT. Go look at the stats or watch some of the matches. Not gonna discuss this any further because I see no value to it.

"Halfway through last season, I distanced myself from the values I had grown up with," Torres told El País. Catharsis and confession come together in a remarkable interview with the paper's reporter Lu Martín, which reveals the Spaniard's self-awareness and hints at the emotional journey that Torres has undertaken. "I had team-mates who didn't care if the team won or lost because they were not playing," Torres said. "I never wanted to be like that. [but] one day I discovered that I was like them, that it didn't matter it we won or lost if I was not playing. I wasn't part of the group. I discovered that I was not happy because I had stopped being what I had always wanted to be. In the dressing room, you can never lose that group concept." "But I learned to look at myself and to realise that the only person that can change is you. The only person who can say: 'You're making mistakes, you've got to do something' is you." More nuanced than you're giving him credit for. The guy had a career-changing injury. Not everyone bounces back from that without having their character tested, but obviously you're made of sterner stuff so can judge him. I can't. I'm not perfect.

And that's different from normal, how?

Give it a rest with the personal bias shit. He had a great season last year, he made John Terry look a lot better and I see no reason not to trust him. I've said before that he's the guy who plays next to that 'rock' and I think in time we'll need to replace JT but the lack of respect for Cahill is bewildering. Here's a tip....stop watching Pogba youtube videos and watch our performances from last season and see just how much work this guy did.

Good player, but there's a weird obsession amongst some enclaves of our support.

The reason he seems older is probably because top teams keep flogging him. Part of me wonders why top teams who need a striker (us, Arsenal) aren't in for him.

Exactly. Swap deals are very rare in football. Nothing to say two separate deals can be done.

Extremely harsh considering his fine performances helped carry JT at times last year. Some people just don't appreciate what we have in him.

Good player, would take him over Salah and Willian in a heartbeat but can't see that happening now. Can't imagine he'd play as a wing-back in that United 3421, but behind the striker with Rooney....sucks to be Mata in that case.

Have absolutely no faith that this will happen, and not terribly excited about Destro but he'd be a better back-up option than Torres and cheaper....much cheaper. The best thing would be getting rid of Torres who has a gypsy curse precluding us from winning the title with him around....which he caught from Stevie G, obviously.

Yes, everyone has forgotten that Azpi was one of our most consistent players....oh, smh. How about people are recognising that there's competition for spots in our squad and they're selecting them based on form? That was never 'obvious' because most people recognise that Ivanovic is a good player whom Mourinho likes a lot. He adds a different dimension to our play. The players who might be first choice for one game won't be for others.

He should probably hold off until towards the end of the window and see what happens with Torres. Obviously Boro want him because he could be their Danny Ings.

So which player don't we register? Schwarzer and then register him in January? Could do but I really don't see the point. I think the idea of having Cech holding Courtois's hand for the first few months is a little overplayed by some. He's a top keeper with or without Cech around.

He'll sign. It's guaranteed. I simply think Cech deserves to go now rather than be strung along. He's been replaced by a better keeper and he's too good to sit on our bench, as well as being too expensive for a back-up.

The best time to sell him is now, unless he's going to be left out for all the Champions League matches because a cup-tied Cech would be worth significantly less than he is now. In fact his value begins dropping from this point on. Schwarzer is a capable back-up for now, but the job is to find a homegrown deputy for the next decade. Ruddy is still a good shout although Jamal Blackman has a contract until 2019, but he needs first-team experience somewhere.

I honestly think you pay far too much attention to superficial things like that. There are also sponsorship considerations to bear in mind, but mostly it's a comfort thing. Sometimes men like to wear a suit, sometimes you just fancy dressing down a bit. It's cute that you read so much into it but the cod-psychology is fairly laughable.

That's a remarkable insight there. So you can tell from what he wears how he feels about the team? So when he's wearing a tracksuit like this, is he not feeling good about his team?

Wrong profile for us. He's foreign and young, something we have in Kalas, Omeruo, Zouma and Christensen (feel like I'm missing someone). We need someone who's a little bit older because at the moment our defenders are either 28+ or under 21. Ideally you'd find someone homegrown and about 25.

Agreed, although I can see him popping up off the bench in the role Mikel played last night simply because he needs minutes.

It's a fair point. Last season he was playing a number 10 role and I think the expectations on him were just too great because whilst he doesn't do that purely creative/second striker role he actually brings a lot more defensively. Last night he actually reminded me more of Modric, dropping deep, linking play and popping up around the box. I don't think he was excellent and I think at times he was far too close to the player in possession which meant we lacked width but it was an interesting step in his development. He and Fabregas can interchange and that means we have far more options in an attacking sense. Fabregas simply has the vision to pick out a pass that Oscar will probably never have.