thespecialone05

Overall I can't complain too much about this transfer window. Kante and Batshuayi were both quality buys that represented great value for money in today's market and in positions where we desperately needed reinforments. Sure David Luiz and Alonso might not have been on anyone's wishlist but we've got real depth in defence now, 8 defenders all capable of stepping into the first team and this means we won't see another repeat of last season where Ivanovic was repeatedly selected because we didn't have alternatives. I think under Conte's guidance Luiz can improve the defensive side of his game and his ability on the ball can be an asset to our defence, not to mention his versatility. If Zouma comes back without too many repercussions from his injury and Matic can get anywhere near his form of 2014, make no mistake, we will have a real strong squad on our hands. Considering we didn't have the CL factor to attract the biggest names, its been a solid transfer window and slowly but surely we will become the Chelsea of old again, f**k all the negativity. KTBFFH

The semi final against barca in 09 without a doubt. I can stand losing on a penalty shootout especially after we ended up winning one in Munich which made the win in 2012 even sweeter, but 09 was just plain robbery and the fact it happened 4 times suggests there was clearly an agenda against us that night. People call that Barca side of 09 the greatest team ever but the truth is had we'd been given a competent ref that night they would've been on the end of an absolute drubbing and perhaps pep's career wouldn't have progressed the way it has done?

My thoughts exactly. A lot of people wrongly assumed that the cause of our defensive crisis last season was our centre backs when in fact it was Ivanovic and the complete lack of protection from midfield. With Azpi at RB and Kante at CDM, I really don't see why we can't go into the season with Zouma/Terry/Cahill/Ivanovic as our 4 CB's, this too in a season with no European football hence less games and less chance of injuries.

This one's an absolute no brainer and a player we should be doing everything in our power to sign as soon as possible. Anyone who has seen him play would know that he has the attributes to become the best left back in the league as he is solid defensively, strong in 1v1 situations and is an excellent crosser/set piece taker as well as being intelligent positionally. Having played in the Bundesliga and the CL he would have come faced some of the best wingers around and shouldn't be fazed by the PL, this too at only 23 years of age. Azpilicueta at RB and Rodriguez at LB would instantly make us better defensively as well as a whole lot more dangerous going forward as both are good crossers on their favoured side which would bode well for the likes of Costa and Batshuayi. Sign him up!!

Really don't understand this desperation to sign a centre back to the point where we are bidding over 50million for a guy who is completely unproven at the highest level with next to no experience of playing against top strikers. Everyone laughed at City for paying 50million for Stones but atleast he was English and at a young age with bags of potential and some experience in the PL. IMO 50 million for Koulibaly is a greater risk and he could easily turn out to be Mangala 2.0 and at the very least will take a while to adjust from Serie A to the PL. We should really be going all out for a top left back (Rodriguez) so that Azpilicueta can revert to his best position with Aina as back up and Ivanovic can be used as a CB/not at all. We would then have a threat from full back on both sides and I could see us scoring quite a few goals from crosses with the likes of Costa and Bats as Ivanovic's crosses don't tend to beat the first defender. If we somehow do not sign a top left back and instead throw all our at money at Koulibaly, prepare for another season of teams walking through the right side of our defence whilst we are overstacked with centre backs.

Never been a fan of spending big in the January window and even now I don't think we should spend big in the coming window. However, I agree with the OP in that we desperately need a quality CM, and personally feel we should go all out for a top centre-mid in this window. A lot of our problems this season have stemmed from being overrun in midfield and being unable to string passes together. The obvious choice would be Witsel, who confirmed yesterday he wants to leave Zenit.

Absolutely embarrassing performance once again. And those that are saying a point at Old Trafford is a decent result can f**k right off - Norwich, Stoke and Bournemouth outplayed them and what do we go and do? Sit behind the ball and make them look like Real f**king Madrid. Its obvious our 4-2-3-1 system doesn't work anymore, Fabregas isn't mobile enough to play either as CDM or No.10 and Oscar struggles to play simple 5 yard passes as we saw today and in most games he plays. Also the less said about Mikel the better. We need to switch back to 4-3-3 if we are to have any hope of a top 10 finish. It would benefit literally every player in our midfield - Matic would have better protection from either side and wouldn't be left to do the job of 2 midfielders, Fabregas would be given licence to roam from deep without being overrun, and Hazard and Pedro/Willian would actually have the freedom to concentrate on attacking rather than having to play as wing-backs. Guus, please do something about it.

Im actually baffled as to how people want to see Mikel in the side ahead of Matic. The problem regarding Matic is not Matic, it is the players around him. He is effectively doing the defensive job of 2 midfield players as Fabregas has been found out in the deeper role which means against any half decent opposition we will get exposed. Putting Ramires next to Matic would cure the problem of us being constantly outrun in midfield and would also mean Ivanovic actually gets some protection. This is the side I would put out on Tuesday: Begovic Ivanovic Zouma Terry (simply has to play) Azpilicueta Ramires Matic Willian Oscar/Cesc Hazard Costa People seem to forget that this is by far our toughest game of the group stage and there is no way Jose will change the side too much.

Agree 100%. People seem to forget this is the same manager that won us 3 league titles in his 5 seasons here. We are very much still in the title race despite our poor start and our CL campaign has barely begun, anyone who thinks he should be sacked should go and support City.