Rubber bullets

Will still have a role in the team, and for good reason. Its funny with the double standards going on. Many people this pre-season lush over Essien on supposedly how well he does the basic and holds the ball in the midfield and not need to run around too much. Yet this is what exactly what Mikel has done for us the last few years (and quite well in my opinion) yet gets constantly slated over. Still should be ahead over Essien in the pivot positions. Either partnering van Ginnkel or Ramires.

All my streams have gone, can anybody provide me an alternative one?

RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!!!

Its a bit late to be quoting my post (its been about 3 months. And anyway, I was basing it on the fact that Terry seems to be much more injury prone and get injuries that put him out for 3 or more months. Football is a results business and we are putting ourselves in danger if we think that Terry can be part of the spine of our team in considering that h is decaying as a footballer. If this was any other player that had the same problem as Terry (such as fitness and decaying pace) many here would think £12 million would be the bargain of the century.

Geoff Hurst, Hamit Altintop,

Looks like he could develop a really good partnership with Ramires in the pivot. In the first they seemed to really compliment each other.

That was brilliant dribbling skills by Moses, and a fantastic goal by Oscar.

Nervous, anxious and uncertain while looking at it all with a philosophical view

If they want to make the birth of Will and Kate's baby boy interesting for everyone... they should act out the opening scene from The Lion King

Good luck to him if this is true Two former successful Chelsea managers managing two of the biggest rivals in football, who would have thought?

I was very impress by him today. Acted like he has been paying top flight football for years by making excellent runs,passes and scored a well taken goals.

Was decent yesterday, but then again the opposition never used the midfield so he did not have much to do apart from a tackle every no and again. But every time I see him in a competitive match at Real Madrid, he was mostly inadequate, easily played off and unable to add pressure to the opposition. Heck I remember our 4-1 win against Napoli and he looked completely loss, gave the ball away far too much. It was amazing that we did not lose the match because he was unable to control the midfield I don't get this idea that he is still some sort of tank that no one has bottle to take on. If anything h has no bottle to play a more phyiscal game, every time I see him he does a half-ass attempt to perform a tackle an often does not get the ball.

I just think we are making the wrong choice about hiring him again and then try and big him up as a manager to stay with us for as long as 15 years. Considering that his whole basis for his previous success is based on very hedonistic short term decisions - so there is a fear that it will all end in disaster, maybe not this season, or the next. But certainly if the problems that came from the first time he was here resurface.

All I did was comment on what Jose said about the Europa league,m which to me came across as distasteful. I don't think I commented anything about Jose himself between now and when he was resigned as manager, and certainly the first pre-season match did not come into my mind when I made that comment.

Its not a personal problem per say (I don''t have a picture of him on a dart board for example). I guess it comes across that I don't see the whole image that "Chelsea is Jose's only true love and they were meant to be with each other for ever" being made as anything of a facade. It would take a fully-developed essay to do that and I have not got the energy to do that in the heat where I live.

Of course previous discussions were not helped when everyone was emotionally charged and heads were clashing with each other. At the moment I see none of that, and you just come across at the moment as someone who wants pick a fight with someone because they said something you disagreed with it.

This thread was having a nice discussion going on with people with different opinions sharing them in a civilized manner. Don't try and spoil it with idiotic comments like that which comes across as nothing more then trying to start some kind of flame war.

Two semi-finals an the last round of 16. At the end of the day winning a major trophy is still something to feel good about. So I interpret his comments as nothing more then a half-dig at Rafa and a bit of sour grapes that Rafa took us to a major European final, otherwise he might as well as belittle all the Fa cup finals we won because its not as prestigious as something like the Premier league. I seem to remember when we won the final how everyone was pleased and proud about how winning the competition .put us into an elite group to have won all major European trophies (and knowing that because we are unlikely to compete in the Europa league for the next few years), now all of a sudden because Jose says that winning the Europa league is a disappointment because its not the Champions league everyone is going to look at that day with disappointment?

Was still cringewothy that he kept using the word we, as though he was part of it, to me its nothing more then to try and use sassy talk into fans ears to get the swooning over him because some people cling on to every word he says.

I guess my gripe is that he seems to not know what wining the CL and the El in the last two seasons actually meant in terms of the new history the club is making. Even if the Europa league is not the competition that we compete in year after year. It would not hurt to let hat abide it because of what winning it does for us in the grand scheme of things. All that comment he made does seem to be a swipe at Rafa and trying to downplay it because he was not the one who was a part of it.

We all have different interpretations, that is the beauty of the human mind.

Yeah go onto the post match discussion of the Europa league final and all of the comments pretty say "meh" (sarcasm). At the end of the day wining any major trophy is something to cherish,and there was certainly no weak mentality of "at least there is still the Europa league", it just happened that circumstances put us there and we took advantage of it. I thought that was the 'winning mentality' so many cherish about. And when winning it put us into an elite group who have won all major European competitions, then you can at least abide that its not as prestigious as the Champions league and celebrate how far Chelsea have come.

And after that he did not mention it a lot when we won the thing, apart from that cingeworthy interview when he rejoined us when he kept using the pronoun we, as though he should be given credit for it.

I remember those games, and I remember a lot of people highlighting that Mourinho got is tactics all wrong in both games. And while we lost the first on due to dubious decisions, it is especially the later where we lost due to Jose's obsession to play a defensive counter attacking style that Rafa took advantage of as we did not try an take the initiative. For a man who supposedly has Chelsea as his one true love in life you would think he would give huge praise to Chelsea about us the last few years. Wining the Champions league and the Europe league in the space of two years, achieving the rare feat of holding both major European trophies at the same time. Not to mention joining an elite group to have won all major European trophies. But since he was not a part of it which does not fuel his ego he just brushes them off or or even puts into a negative light.

Of course it would work if Essien was any decent still. Every time I see him he gives shit performances (he was absolutely woeful in the Copa Del Ray final).