Term-X

Will be getting the hardcover of that no doubt, interesting time to release it though.. career-wise.

Agree with what you said in your first post mate, he would have to do worse than Moyes for me not to be devasted if he was sacked. I'd definitely take a sabbatical from Chelsea and football in general for a while.

Christian Atsu, Cristian Cuevas, Thorgan Hazard, Kenneth Omeruo, Mario Pasalic & Bertrand Traore all have a good chance at going for big money once they get a decent loan. We'll get more Lukaku/De Bruyne scenarios in the coming seasons.

Close call between Aguero & Suarez. Costa is the perfect fit for us and that's all that matters.

Not going to question why TOPTB was banned because there was clearly 'behind the scenes' stuff via PM's. He didn't mention me in his little speech, but I have no problem with saying he was a quality poster. The difference between us however, is that I usually just pack my punches in the argument.. whereas he would attack the user too.

Psychology 101 really.. At the end of the day, if you're a Chelsea fan, it's the easy and preferred route to just 'brush things off'. Whether it's an English club not having any English players or a legend joining a title rival. It also stems from a lack of control, because we have none, so why not take the happy route and twist reality. Actions speak louder than words, and I will continue to judge Frank Lampard on his 'actions'.

Mourinho was there, for some reason he isn't in the offical lineup photo (maybe left early) but he was there. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2743405/Manchester-United-boss-Louis-Van-Gaal-not-invited-annual-manager-s-meeting-Europe-s-elite-coaches-Nyon.html

Van Ginkel is not a better player than Chalobah. Yet.. he will get 'preferential' treatment because of the fee involved (ROI), because of how the FFP system works, there is no risk in the academy, if you spend £8m on Van Ginkel.. you need to see him being given some sort of chance, whether that's being involved in the side or high profile loans. Mourinho works closely with Emenalo and the board, there is a element of politics.

Nobody knows the inner workings of the club, I just think my guess is better than yours. Mourinho will have to deal with the politics that goes on, it's about ROI, Van Ginkel & Zouma have pound signs over their heads; they can't go to waste like a mere academy prospect who's arguably just as raw. The spending on the academy doesn't go on the FFP books, Zouma & Van Ginkel's deals do.

I don't care what he did with Inter's stone age youth setup, no point building a house only to abandon it, he left Inter in a mess when he left for Real, old washed up has-beens on big contracts. Hopefully we can keep him long enough to actually see a youth project like that through to an end. Paying a premium for highly rated foreign 'yet still raw like Chalobah' youths kills the academy, it's fact; if this was a queue, these guys would be jumping the line.

You clearly know absolutely zero about Jose Mourinho, and you are very naive. Varane was a highly rated foreign youth like Zouma, that's not bringing anyone through! lmao. Highly rated youths like Van Ginkel are killing Chalobah and the like, because their age range blocks the path. Again, Shaw was the best natural left back in the Premier League last season, there is a reason highly rated pundits like Neville rated him above Azpi & Baines. We went for Shaw (as Mourinho mentioned) but his wage demands were too high, so the club itself disagrees with your opinion on him. The legacy (the type that matters) he left behind at Inter was only negative, old & past it players on big contracts, he left a mess behind. Clubs in general eventually revamp their youth setup, and let a few of them sit on the bench etc, integrating them is another thing altogether. Mourinho can change all that at Chelsea though, not this season however, the pressure to win is too high after last season. I personally expect and hope to see changes in the 3rd year.

Shaw was the best natural left back in the PL last season, he 'proved' he was capable, and since he's just 19 years old.. the £30m (bargain) would soon be recouped. What a stupid thing to say about Mourinho, he has practically zero record of bringing through academy players. Varane is Zouma, in the sense that these young foreign talents block the path of our own young talents. It's ok when 25-30 year olds are blocking the path of academy players, but for every raw foreign youth we buy it kills a potential domestic/home-grown academy player.

I wanted us to buy Shaw, who had 'proved' himself capable of playing for a top club. And the reason it's worth paying the tax is because academy players like Loftus Cheek & Chalobah have foreign talent like Van Ginkel blocking the path, the latter cost money.. so it's more beneficial for ROI to water the flowers you've paid for.

The top clubs should be a showcase for the country they reside in, like Real & Barca for Spain and like we had with Cole, Terry and Lampard. If you identify with the club, then you should be able to identify with the national mentality and adopt it.

Just wondering, he'd be a good addition.

This is an English club, so it's important for the identity/the culture, football clubs the world over have their own distinct characters; you lose that when you lose domestic players. It becomes soulless, faceless and more of a corporation than a club when the fans don't have someone to identify with. This is Chelsea not 'World XI'.

Is Twitter's @ParkedTheBus on TC?

We don't know what goes on behind the scenes, so it's impossible to say whether there was influence within the club or not. Costa is tailor made for the club, Rooney wasn't even playing as a forward when he was being linked here. It's clear the move took off when it became apparent Rooney wanted to earn more, that's not long-term thinking, that's going on a whim based on current circumstances. It's nightmare worthy to think we'd have THIS Rooney right now in the side on 250-300k pw and Costa at Atletico. Madness.

86 to 84 because we signed him, smh.. There are no Chelsea fans working at EA, zero.

It wasn't long term thinking, he's just another 'reputation' like Torres.. not tailor made for the side like Costa is. Rooney is a marketers wet dream, so the brand-conscious suits at the club will have pushed for it.. 'english rose'/poster boy etc. He would have been on bat shit crazy wages and given his evident decline, that would have put us in another Torres situation, Torres-Lite™ shall we say.

Rooney earns £300,000 pw at United, that was the deal that kept him there, so our offer would have been 'there or there abouts'. Possibly could have been a one-season-wonder, but he's on the decline, and we would have been stuck with him, whilst Costa scores for fun at Atletico.

In general I'd agree that the transfer policy/philosophy has changed. However, being a major club we're gonna have those moments of madness, like when we tried to sign Rooney, which was only a year ago.

You realise any 'perceived' affection Mourinho had for United was actually for Ferguson right?.. Mourinho was one of a select few people who knew he was retiring before it became public, hence the reaction that night at Old Trafford Vs Real.

This is an English club, it's important to sustain the culture, it really can't be stressed how important Terry is here. The club must do everything possible to get our English backbone back now Cole & Lamps have gone.