Thacker

no way would he be a second striker

I am sorry but there is no way  should Drogba be given another season, all he will be doing is blocking a space for Bamford, also Solanke & Brown will be looking for a chance to shine.
It is hard for him to give it all up, he is a legend here, but time to help the team in another way, as a coach to our youngsters

If JT played on that side Ivan would find himself in position a lot more.

Cahill is far better than many give him credit for, if JT played in Cahill's position as right centre back he would struggle as much if not more from the lack of A to Z outside of him and covering for Ivan's being out of position .

Well name calling isn't necessary but agreed. 

If Robben was the same age and in a similar physical condition, and I look at it in a cold ruthless way where both were for instance, Arsenal players (I'm not saying Liverpool because I probably wouldnt want them however good they were) and both available at the same time, it would Robben over Hazard.
Hazard, you have a natural affinity towards because he is a current Chelsea player, his style is very easy on the eye - you'd enjoy watching him play, he's a more creative, team player and he plays the game the right way without all the added dramas.
Robben, on the other hand, is electrifying - a pure, effective, direct attacking menace and persistant goal threat with the drive and single-minded winning mentality.
It's a Little like Messi and Ronaldo in a way for me. One has a style that is charming and devastatingly effective while the other has a style that is ruthless and devastatingly effective.
For me, Robben ahead, but Hazard's play this season is showing he is getting there and is not far behind at all.
Two of my favourites. Imagine both in the same team... Words can't describe.

Robben is a champions league final match winner, he's done it on all the top stages including world cups. He has multiple titles to his name in which he played a large part for his team's success. Of course he'd be rated higher than Hazard. 

You can use that argument for literally any player not in the PL. I don't base my opinion of Robben solely on what he does for Bayern, but the Netherlands as well. Similarly, I take into account what Hazard has done for Belgium so far.I agree that Robben is flashy, whereas Hazard's best attribute is his subtle ability to open space for his teammates and glide past defenders (I made a post on that exact thing in this thread last Fall).
That's the difference for me though. Hazard makes his team much better, but he needs his teammates to perform. Robben is like the best kid on the block growing up, he just does it himself. You want to say something because he never passes you the ball, but he's so incredibly good that you just stay out of his way and let him do his thing. If it weren't for injuries, Robben would be higher rated in more people's minds.
Edit: I do agree that there isn't a clear 3rd best player in the world, and that Robben is a huge drop below Messi and Ronaldo. And I'll take Hazard over any player in the world for his age, attributes, and potential.

Hazard isn't on Robben's level, yet. Robben has the ability to completely take over a game. Everyone knows he's coming, everyone knows he's cutting in...and still he slashes through the box and makes defenders look silly. He is the third best player in the world imo, but Hazard and Neymar are the heirs to the throne.
I can't wait to see what Hazard becomes three years from now. There is no ceiling.

Hazard isn't on Robben's level, yet. Robben has the ability to completely take over a game. Everyone knows he's coming, everyone knows he's cutting in...and still he slashes through the box and makes defenders look silly. He is the third best player in the world imo, but Hazard and Neymar are the heirs to the throne.
I can't wait to see what Hazard becomes three years from now. There is no ceiling.

Hazard isn't on Robben's level, yet. Robben has the ability to completely take over a game. Everyone knows he's coming, everyone knows he's cutting in...and still he slashes through the box and makes defenders look silly. He is the third best player in the world imo, but Hazard and Neymar are the heirs to the throne.
I can't wait to see what Hazard becomes three years from now. There is no ceiling.

In any case, I will rate Hazard above Neymar and Bale when he starts winning matches on his own--truth be told, he hasn't made much of an impact in the Champions League for us yet. Last season's semi-final run was pretty much a team effort, and this season, he was very impressive in the group stages but the team went absent against PSG. 
 
Next season will be very important for Hazard and Mourinho in the CL. If he can do it against top teams, and basically come alive when the team needs him the most (being clutch) then he's on his way to the top.

If you wanted a more poignant illustration of how useless assists are as a statistic, bear in mind that Jon Walters got an assist on Saturday for his five-yard backwards pass to Charlie Adam in his own half, but Willian got no statistical recognition despite playing a pivotal role in creating both our goals.

He looks to me like a player coming into a ridiculously pressured situation and is trying not to make mistakes first and foremost, whether under instruction or his own nerves. To decide he's not good enough already and he should be sold is unbelievable.

I think he's out for the season.
 
Remy gets his chance and he deserves it. 
 
Remy is a goalscorer but there is nothing else to his game.
 
Costa is superior in every way so it's a loss but we'll just have to make do.
 
Luckily there are no international tournaments this summer other than the Copa America.
 
Costa gets a rest and hopefully puts his hamstring problem to bed.
 
It's been a niggle all season and I still don't think we're seeing him at full throttle.

It's kinda funny you say that, the Serie A has been accused of being boring cause it's not really a goal fest but some people poke fun at the BuLi for too many goals, you can't really win with fans I guess is the moral of the story[emoji16]

It was a charity match at his former club.
What do you want him to say?
I fail to see why this is bothering people...

When was the last time he went on a roll ? It's gotta be close to 5 years now hasn't it ?

Yesterday summed William up for me. Lots of running. A bit of tracking back, Some neat play around the box. But ultimately disappointing. 
 
Not causing opposition defences anything like enough problems and if Cuadrado had impressed up to now, Willian would have been subbed early. And he cannot escape any blame for the first Hull goal. Not sure what he and Ivan were doing but it was really poor play from both.

Soldier, There are really only a handful of nations that I wouldn't want hosting the WC (Qatar being one), but I really think it should stay in Asia/Oceania this time around. It's been held in Europe/Americas so often in recent history.
Jezz, thanks for the clarification. It would be much easier to compensate two leagues than every league that competes in Oct-Jan.

I see that Gary Neville's been making a case for holding the tourament in Qatar, based largely on the fact that there has not yet been a World Cup held in the Middle East, and that world football doesn't revolve around the Premier League, that it is a World Game, and so the venue should not be limited to just Europe and South America.
 
Speaking generally, Gary Neville may well have a point, but the argument is not a general one, it's about Qatar specifically. I find it impossible to believe that Qatar were awarded the World Cup for anything but purely financial reasons. Looking at the Middle East generally, there are any number of more suitable canditates. For reasons that have already been discussed in detail, both here and elsewhere, it's difficult to imagine a worse location than Qatar, which has no footballing history, no football infrastructure, but is intent on the creation of purpose built stadia using slave labour working in literally life-threatening conditions.
 
Despite all this, it seems as if the tournament will be going ahead. My hope therefore is that the FA and other national football authorities worldwide will refuse point blank to have anything to do with the Qatar World Cup, leaving the final to be contested by footballing minnows viewed by record low attendances and that the stench of corruption and greed emanating from everything to do with the tournament will be enough not only to ensure the failure of the event, but to finally bring an end to Sepp Blatter's evil empire.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-31608062
 
Good read about the failed promise of air conditioned stadiums for the Qatar World Cup. 
 
Was a big part of the bidding process and is now somewhat conveniently being ignored. 

Forget the disruption of the footballing calendars, there are way bigger issues here. FIFA is taking the WC to a country that practically uses slave labour to build the stadiums. Slave labour. I'm at a loss for words about how disgusting that is. There should be a real moral outrage all over the world.

Basically, FIFA is trying to hold the world's biggest sporting event in a 16th Century feudalistic kingdom...oh, and it's hotter than Hell and the clubs that pay the players get to sacrifice at least a half-season of revenue.
It's easy for me to say because I don't have the choice, but I wouldn't participate in the 2022 WC if I was a player. Disgusting project all around.

Basically, FIFA is trying to hold the world's biggest sporting event in a 16th Century feudalistic kingdom...oh, and it's hotter than Hell and the clubs that pay the players get to sacrifice at least a half-season of revenue.
It's easy for me to say because I don't have the choice, but I wouldn't participate in the 2022 WC if I was a player. Disgusting project all around.