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The bells go well with the architecture in my opinion. I wouldn't mind if this was one of our new themes for the new stadium. Maybe as the entrance theme for our players :) (Just kidding, no one would like my weird taste of music!)

Yeah that's what I thought. I have no doubt that people from anywhere will try to cheat, but I do doubt that a major club like Chelsea would do business without having some sort of reassurance. Of course, I am just guessing, but it seems like a reasonable guess.

Some very good points here. I think it's fair to say that we are prepared to pay a lot if, and only if, recent performance records are up to certain standards and there is marketing potential in the deal. In Torres case, for instance, he sold more shirts than Lampard and Hazard. He probably contributed a great deal towards overall revenues (nowhere close to £50m of course, but still more than most players), and on top of that he laid some groundwork for later deals with Yokohama and Nike that are both very interested in how many shirts we sell. Add to this the fact that at the time of his transfer he was considered the best striker in the Premier League and it's easy to see why people though this would be a well invested £50m. That puts us in a different category than, say, Manchester City or Manchester United, who will spend that kind of money on anything with two feet and an instagram account.

So how do we know? Maybe make him pass a lie detector test with three Russian speaking fellas?

That's exactly what I had in mind, too!

Thanks a lot for your efforts neilando! I had a look and it is fantastic work! I thought I should let you know that the East Stand's upper tier is not entirely rectangular when looking at it from above. It's a pentagon with the seats in the middle going further up than the ones on the side (just as West Stand Upper, but much more symmetrical). If I had to make a guess, I believe it propagates the elevation from the MH and the SE and reaches its highest point right in the middle of the East Stand. I attached an image. Maybe you'll find it useful, in case you are still working on this :)

Great collage ;) But I think it's fair to say that Shevchenko and Crespo Veron are the very reasons the club/Abramovich became more money conscious. As for Torres, at that time 50m didn't seem like too much. I think everyone agreed that it was a reasonable amount for someone many considered the best striker in the Premier League. Mind that overpaying is not the same as paying a lot. For example, 100m for Messi is not overpaying.

Is it a normal thing or does it only happen to African footballers that they look older?

So true, I noticed there are some people who will never be happy. It's not just in football, if you read user comments in the Guardian or other papers, people have a go at everything. In real life I noticed it's often a sign that people try to deflect their dissatisfaction with their own situation to other themes. Someone who is generally unhappy will often choose to see the negative things in life. But that's just my observation, I could be wrong. It makes it hard to have a discussion with them, because emotions undermine the meaning of facts and reason. Just look at Brexit or the rise of far-right parties in France and Germany.

I saw that opinions are divided about the stadium. I personally am not 100% behind the design. For example, I think it's the most beautiful stadium in the world from a pedestrians view but some aerials look odd. But it's not that important in the long term. People get used to visuals. What's important is how this stadium will help us to grow as a club. With the increased capacity, the atmosphere should become better and more intimidating. Add to this the unique look, the divine feel, and the fact that this stadium is a reminder of traditional London architecture, and I could see this quickly becoming the most iconic stadium in the world, that other clubs will want to visit as much as they want to visit the Camp Nou or the Westfalenstadion. Let's be honest, no one visits London to see the Shard or the Gherkin (or the Emirates). As far as I know, people are curious about Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace or Tower Bridge. As someone who is from abroad I can appreciate how this stadium will fit into people's perception of what London is, an intimidating, imposing, and unforgiving place. I love it. It will certainly put us on the map. I am 100% positive.

This image says a lot about how Conte feels about Michy. I am sure he wants him to succeed as much as everyone else.

Some updates: The Guardian published something today, claiming that our bid was rejected. They back it up with some quotes by his agent. Whilst it's true that his agent admits that we are "very interested", he neither mentions a rejection nor the suggested asking price of €40m. Having said that, it wouldn't be entirely over the top to ask €40m for a talented player these days. Maybe it was a mistake to sell Oscar before having a replacement ready. Obviously, clubs will now try and exploit this gap we have created, even though it's just a depth problem for now. We're certainly not the kind of club that is known to overpay for players. In fact, contrary to the word on the streets, we are the only top club in Europe that's taking cash-flow seriously. But still, if there's truth to it, it's a case of how much do we want him? We're certainly able to get him for €40m. It's a lot, but not too much for CFC. If he turns out to be as talented as Hazard or Robben, we'll be saying it was a bargain.

This remains the worst transfer decision we ever made. Period.

I voted for Hazard because he was the driving force behind almost every good attack we had. But Pedro was very good, too. It's not unfair that he is getting away in the vote.

hahahaha! You are really funny!

Lots of talk about his age being off, hahaha! I guess because he is such a good player? ;) That would be good!

I know Youtube is useless on an absolute scale. But on a relative scale (since all players appear better than they are) it's still useful to compare players, with my rationale being that, if a player is really talented, there will be more impressive highlights that are comparable to the likes of players that I know for a fact are good. When you look up Kessie, there is some pretty impressive stuff. Especially when you consider his age. I've never watched him play though, so I am really not in the position to say anything beyond that. Edit: And btw thanks for sharing @havelschayeshavelschayeshavelschayeshavelschayes

Emotions are never permanent. You see, heads can be turned and they want to go one week, but if you show them that they are wanted and needed then opinions can change. Be honest with yourself, how often were you seduced by something and then later realised it was wrong? Point being - they might succeed in turning his head for some time, maybe a few weeks, but that by no means proves that he will never want to play for us again and only focus on getting the move done. Ribery, Lewandowski, Aguero, there are numerous examples when Real was successfully put in their place. You appear a bit resigned - a bit like you are trying to mentally prepare for his departure. I hope my view on this does not upset you any more.

Yeah, Real are known for ridiculous offers. It wouldn't surprise me if they offered 120-130 for him. Who else could realistically replace Ronaldo? It will probably come with the usual "Hazard wants Real move" or "Hazard close to fulfilling his Real dream" nonsense by the likes of Marca and AS. It will be important for us to remain calm and regard it as what it is - made up tosh. Also, I am confident our board and RA will figure that no money in the world will do us more good than keeping Eden.

Not really into "this player vs that player" discussions :) They usually lead nowhere. I am just glad we have Hazard. In my opinion (and it's just an opinion), extending his contract should be as high on our priorities list as getting a new defender.

He is better than Iniesta in my opinion. He has more skill and scores more. It's fair to say that Neymar and Messi are the only players who are better than Eden, but that's in a much softer environment.

Rewatched some of Hazard's full-game highlights of this season and it's hard not to appreciate the fact that he does not complain when there are players in the PL who earn 50% more than him, playing considerably worse. If we could secure a deal with him for another five to six years at 250k a week that would be a great deal for us in today's market. And who knows, it might also give us some leeway for a possible Sanchez transfer, who we'd never be able to offer more than Hazard. I hope Emenalo/Granovskaia will offer him a new deal soon.

I find it means something beyond that. Like he is fully committed to the club. He is not the type of guy who will sign a contract and leave a few months after that :)

I agree with the argument regarding our lack of depth. We could use another quality defender like VVD and possibly another midfielder. With that Koulibaly money and the 52m for Oscar we should certainly see some activity in January, I hope.

He is a special player indeed. The better he plays the more worried I get about Ronaldo getting older... I know Hazard's deal runs until 2020, but maybe we should bump his salary a bit and extend until 2022/2023? I don't want you-know-who to even try to sign him.