spadefx

Torres to Barcelona would work out well for all parties involved. It'll be interesting to see if there's any truth to that

You say you want a striker "who wants to be at Chelsea above all else", then mention Cavani? I'm assuming it's Cavani's declaration of love for Chelsea, or his repeated comments about how he hopes to join us some day that's made you think that?...

I agree with Lane, we have a formidable squad. If Mourinho can get them ticking, they're certainly capable of really competing with the Manchester clubs for the title this season. We have a lot of gifted younger players who will only improve too. This isn't a short-term glory project, look at it as an opportunity for us to really develop and grow as a team, hopefully back to being on of the major forces in Europe in years to come. I wouldn't get worried if we don't spend millions on new signings this summer, as this might not be the time to do it. I'm not saying we won't bring in new additions, but Mourinho's made clear he's excited to work with the players already at his disposal. We're in safe hands, and our transfer activity (or lack of) will be in the long-term best interests of the club, sit back and look forward to next season.

We've got a strong squad, and we're bringing back a couple of good loanees. Wouldn't say no to one or two new additions, and I'm sure there will be, but I'm just as happy to see the current squad build together on last season. There's plenty of summer left, Man City are the only major club to have announced signings so far, and we weren't in for either of those players.

If you assess a striker purely on his goal return, I suppose that's a fair point. I stand by what I said. He's still one of the better forwards in the league, far from the top, but he certainly makes a decent contribution. I think most fans will agree that he offered more than Ba did in the last few months, and when you purely look at those statistics, Ba should be an automatic first choice. Additionally, he's been playing in a system designed for goal success from midfield. In and around the box we've tended to work patiently passing into little spaces, rather than crossing or trying to feed our striker through. Our target man will naturally be the best marked in those situations. Less opportunities. Less goals/assists. But his movement has been good all season, creating the space for our midfield, unnoticed a lot of the time. I'd be happy to see Cavani in place of Torres. But with Torres/Lukaku/Ba, we've got a fairly decent strikeforce, and (like I said earlier), there are other areas of the squad more in need of strengthening.

Not saying he's had a great season, but it's certainly not been awful. He's not the player he was, he's not an "elite" striker anymore, but he's still one of the better forwards in the league. Of course, being on 'star player salary' isn't right, as he definitely isn't an automatic pick, but he does contribute to the team. While I'm sure a sharper, more physical focal point to our attack would improve the side, I don't believe we're in desperate need of a new player there. Our strikers haven't scored a lot of goals since we switched to 4-2-3-1, but they've often opened up space for the midfielders behind them to do so. Would I take a Cavani or a Falcao over Torres? Of course, but I think there's other areas in the squad that could do with more depth/strengthening, particularly if we bring back Lukaku.

I'd be happy with Schurrle and not sending de Bruyne on loan. Not going to guess who our "first pick" attackers will be, but with Mata, Hazard, Oscar, Moses, de Bruyne, Schurrle, Torres, Lukaku and Ba to choose from, I'd be happy.

Big signing for Arsenal if they get him, but I don't think he's someone we need to be going after. The grass is always greener, but while I don't particularly rate Mikel, I'd rather have him in our holding role if it was a choice between the two. Not that I'm opposed to us bringing in a new CM (and selling Mikel), I just feel it'd be throwing money at someone who probably wouldn't improve the team.

If we don't find a striker, we've got Torres, Ba and Lukaku; combined I'd comfortably rate that in the top 4 strike forces in the league. Our attacking midfield is up the best in Europe, and I'd consider our central midfield options to be as strong as any other team's in the EPL. Defensively too we've got a strong setup, and with a fully fit selection of defenders, real competition for places. And our goalkeeper is the best in the league. And now we have a top class manager, one the fans & players want, who will help the current squad really reach their potential. We've got top players (I've not even mentioned those on loan), and we've got a top manager. I really wouldn't worry too much about who else, if anyone, we splash out on.

Looks like this deal isn't going to happen with a Torres exchange. Can see this playing out expensively. City offer Dzeko in an exchange we could end up going down the buyout clause route, followed by a highest-wage auction between us.

Well it looks like Schurrle is coming, and I wouldn't be surprised if Marin makes way. A top striker like Falcao/Cavani would be great, but I would be fine with keeping Torres & Ba and bringing back Lukaku. That would arguably leave us with the 3rd strongest strikeforce in the league, possibly joint with Liverpool. He may not be an elite striker these days, but Torres is still one of the best frontmen in the league. Wouldn't mind seeing Chalobah come back from his loan, perhaps send Ake off to a championship club to gain some experience if this happens, Romeu should be fit next season too. And I've seen a little bit of De Bruyne who looks like he could add something. If he's not transferred, would like to see him given a chance. Don't think money needs to nor will be splashed around needlessly. A few loan recalls and we're in good shape. A quality defensive midfielder would definitely be handy, but I'm not holding my breath on that happening.

Not the original poster, but I agree with his ratings. I still think Cole's the best LB in the Premier League, Baines & Evra seem to get all the plaudits, but I think that's just down to everyone being so used to how good Cole is. He's one of our best defenders, probably the best in a one-on-one situation, and I have to disagree with the Bertrand point; I think we looked considerably weaker defensively during his time in the team. Bertrand has got all of the attributes to be a good LB for us, and I'm sure he'll get more opportunities next season to stake his claim to be Cole's successor, but he's not there yet.

Cech 9 Azpilicueta 8 Ivanovic 7 Cahill 6 Terry 6 Luiz 9 Cole 8 Bertrand 5 Mikel 5 Lampard 8 Ramires 7 Oscar 7 Hazard 9 Mata 10 Ba 6 Torres 6 Kinda tricky to allocate a number that sums up a player's entire season. Looking at each one individually, I'm happy with the ratings I've given, could probably write a page on why I felt each number was right, then I look at it as a group and I see Terry & Torres both have 6, which isn't quite right. Also - only 17 players made a big enough contribution to warrant a season-rating. 17!! Shows how thin our squad is...

Not ususally the first to leap to Benitez' defence, but regarding improvement, all he's said is that the players have improved and that they have more experience. Which I'd say is true. Was Benitez a contributing factor in our team improving? I'd say yes, but I wouldn't exactly hail that as some wonderful achievement. A lot of the younger player (he mentions the three amigos) have massive potential, of course they're going to improve with game time. Don't forget it's their first season together too. As for the praise in him introducing Luiz as a DM? Well, I think the majority of Chelsea fans believed that should at least be tried. The talent was already there, and naturally he's got (arguably) better the more games he's played there. I just think a lot of the praise being given to Benitez is a bit strange really. There's been a lot of natural player progression. We've generally won games when our strongest side is picked. We've finished in the top 4 in the league with (arguably) the 3rd strongest squad. We've won a European trophy in a competition where (again, arguably) we had the strongest squad. Not intending to be disrespectful to any league/European opposition, but that's just the way I see it. He's done a job, but I don't think he's achieved an awful lot that anyone else wouldn't with the team at his disposal.

Just imagine if an FA Cup final ever played out like that? That was embarassing. No doubt it'll be hailed as a passionate final, but that sort of 'drama' is certainly not why I watch football. There were a few moments of brilliance from both sides, but the play-acting and the hissy-fits (from the players, the crowd, the coaches)... it was just laughable. Great to see Courtois play a stormer though, hope we hang on to him.

That final was pretty cringeworthy to watch at times. I admire a lot of players from both sides, but the play-acting was embarassing. Don't see the same spark in Mourinho anymore, hope that a renuion will reignite that.

About as likely as Mata to Stoke. As for the whole "bookies have stopped taking bets" - I might be wrong, but I had a nosey on OddsChecker and there's only two listing Ronaldo tranfer bets anyway, and Paddy Power are the only one to shorten odds?

Reckon he's off to Paris in the summer, and I'd say it's more likely somebody's trying to bump the odds on that happening than Ronaldo coming to Chelsea. Wouldn't mind being proven wrong, but that's the way I see it.

I'm not a big fan of scoring players, as it's difficult to fairly judge an all-round performance. Take Lampard, for instance. I didn't think he played particularly well defensively, he was caught out of position a bit too often, leaving Luiz isolated, and I don't think either he nor Luiz offered the full backs support quickly enough when Benfica switched play. Yet at the same time, he was one of our main threats going forward, and was unlucky not to score with that rocket in the 2nd half. How do you rate that? In terms of 'moments of magic' - Torres and Cahill without doubt deserve mentions. I'll actually give Torres extra praise for that goal, because he easily could've went down when Luisao tried to trip him before the goal (which would've been a red card). Either way, massive team performance, it wasn't spectacular, but we got the job done. So I'll say Chelsea - 10/10.

A bit off-topic, but Benfica fans must be absolutely crushed. Two massive games, two games that could've sealed a league title and a European Cup, and they lose both in the final minute of stoppage time. Not sympathizing too much, as the constant card waving, flailing and cynical trips got on my nerves, but that's a tough week!

Not read all the way through this thread, thoroughly enjoying some of the comments though. This team just doesn't seem to know how to fail. We've secured our the top 4 finish, which looked like it could escape us, and we've beaten some tricky opposition and a very strong Benfica side to lift another European cup. Big credit to the players, I believe we're approaching the 70-game mark for the season?! And I'll even tip my hat to Benitez today, I feel he picked the right team, and I think he was right not to "tinker" in the 2nd half. It wasn't a tactical masterpiece, but it did the job. Tonight I'm a Chelsea fan with a very big smile on my face.

Maybe not to the point of exhaustion, but I doubt they'll press with the same intensity for the full 90. Either way, we're capable of passing around them, and pressing ourselves. Just need to step it up.

Don't think it's as bad as everyone's making out. They've pressed us hard all over the park, they probably should be ahead. They'll tire. Obviously we need to step it up second half, but I wouldn't rush to change anything. Moses for Oscar later on (Ramires has played worse, but his energy might be the difference on a late break). Bring on this half!

Any Benfica suspensions/injuries?

Seems a waste, the lad looks to be a decent player (although admittedly I've only seen him in 3 full games, the rest have been highlight shows). Perhaps there's more to it, it may be that he pushed to stay in Germany? Either way it's a shame, from what I've seen he looks capable of holding his own in the PL, perhaps not an immediate starter for us, but certainly one to consider. Evidently, if this goes ahead, our scouts believe Schurrle will offer more than De Bruyne would. I hope they're right.