TheWestwayWonder

That was a totally different situation IMO. Maniche never fit here. And look at his career trajectory after that loan. Athletico, then a short loan to Inter. Then Koln, and back to Sporting. He was clearly not performing at the highest level anymore, and was walking into a Chelsea midfield that was an efficient machine, probably the best in the world at that point. Point being, we could do alot worse than Tiago, even at this point, to have an expereienced hand off the bench. That said, even if we sell Ramires and somehow dont bring back Frank, I still would rather see this role of 5th/6th choice midfielder go to a young player. I think MvG coming back is going to settle the midfield question.

That summed up my first reaction. 40? 50? It doesn't matter. The front office probably had to pick their jaws up off the floor. The player: I genuinely like the guy, and while he cost us in many situations, his passion and commitment were never in doubt. He was a hell of a player, and as many people liked to say "pure box office". I will miss him for what he brought here, with no regrets. The deal: This is the best possible situation for the player and this club. Chelsea paid 21M for the player (22.5M if you throw in Matic's original value), and got to watch David Luiz from ages 24 to 27 (likely his athletic prime) while he helped us to three trophies, including the biggest in the club's history. All the while he was an advocate for the club, and a PR dream in terms of his like-ability. Now, he is being sold for roughly twice what he cost without greatly hurting the team's defensive quality. I always knew that Luiz would be moving on to another top team, but I always figured it would be Madrid/Barca, where his style of play would make him a universal hero, rather than object of derision. On this v. Mata: Not even close for me, and its not just because Mata was a hero in my eyes. Mata was every club's dream, and yet we sold him to rival and subsequently had problems scoring. Possibly costing us the title. DL4 brought us skill, tenacity, and passion, which we clearly still have all over this squad. He goes to Paris (whom we have played four times in 10 years), and we will likely never play against him competitively. We dont have to watch him elevate our rivals. We dont have to hope he fails. We dont have to feel sick watching him strut about in their shirt. We can genuinely say "best of luck" and hope he tears Ligue 1 apart. That is night-and-day compared to the mixed emotions of selling Mata. Most of all, it actually makes clear sense to shed a CB for big money in order to strengthen the team. Beyond Gary/JT, there is Bran, Kalas, Zouma, and (later) Chalobah still to come. This isnt a deal, this is a coup. Even for a guy that defined "fan favorite". That picture says it all. Best of luck to the Geezer!

Lets set aside the fact that this was a dour end of the season for Chelsea. If you told me weeks ago "Chelsea will be trophyless in may, and nothing will change that" then this is the best scenario I would've wanted to go down. Congratulations to Manchester City, fully deserved that trophy. Gives me pride knowing Chelsea beat them twice. Good for Pellegrini and good for their players. On the flipside, knowing that it was Chelsea and Jose's tic tacs that derailed Liverpool's season is just too f**king sweet. Playing spoiler to them, after all their arrogance, all their sentimental jounalists annointing them as champions-elect, all the premature celebrations, all their talk of destiny and divine right, its just too good. It will put a smile on my face all summer. By the way, anyone catch that lad on the field at City kissing the camera and yelling "Steevie G!" Brilliant brilliant say to salvage a season that went south.

Cmon City. See this out (but dont score anymore goals, please). Apologies to our resident Lewy, but this is going to be the best possible end to a trophyless season I can remember. Thankfully we cant (bar another 20 or so goals), or else this late season swoon would be even worse.

Cmon Chelsea. Cmon City.

Thats when you know you care a little too much. I say that as someone who could barely watch today too.

I cant believe it. I thought it was gonna be their coronation party, and instead its another day to remember. Cant give enough credit to our players and manager. Even knowing they probably cant win the title, they still went and put in a performance like their lives depended on it. When backs are against the wall, and nobody gives a chance, there is no better team in the world than Chelsea FC. Absolute heroes

If Liverpool do take home the title, I console myself with the fact that there are plenty of fans like yourself who support Liverpool and are very decent indeed that will be over the moon. As with any fanbase, the vast majority are good folks, and there are a few arseholes that run around sending death threats over twitter to make a name for themselves. Its an unfortunate part of modern sports.

I'm so torn between the blood-vessel-bursting visceral hatred of wanting to derail their season, and the apathy of knowing the title is out of reach. In a situation like this, where we can only play spoiler, I find it hard to believe the players are going to really dig deep, knowing its Madrid on wed. But god will I hope.

That goal was so perfect for that game in every way. The crowd were braying, the commentators were talking about a cricket score, and their team were about to deliver the final blow. And then Ramires delivers a whopping "f**k you" to all 98,000 of them, and does a little dance just for the hell of it. Like a prisoner on the gallows slapping the executioner in the face. The minutes following the final whistle I remember as surreal. Like the moments in life where you're completely swept up in something, emotionally, mentally, etc. Then its over and you snap back to reality, almost disconnected with the you from a few minutes before. Your hard work has not been in vain sir. Take a bow.

I've conditioned myself to expect the worst tomorrow (aka setting the table for their coronation party) but I dont think I could accurately measure how happy I would be with a win tomorrow.

Forgot to add this. Where once Oscar looked like his protoge in training, he now looks like a shadow of the old, creative self. Mata was no slouch. But in the games where tight pressing was absolutely a must, he could have been used sparingly. Against the likes of Palace, Sunderland, or Villa where the attack looked stale and lethargic, I was wishing for 5 minutes of the old Mata to come back and carve them up like a turkey. Without Hazard, that little bit of invention just isnt there.

Personally, I did not really think it was a fair go, no. I thought the whole saga was a little bizarre and that, even when he played and played well, it seemed like Mata was being put in the shop window. He impressed in patches, but the fact that the preferred XI bought in so quickly, and started playing the way Jose wanted meant he was vindicated and that was that. Personally, I never looked at Juan the last few years and thought "god, he is really lazy when it comes to tracking back and putting in a shift" but he clearly isnt as good as someone like Willian. When he was sold I was livid. I was livid because it was United, and because I had grown to love and adore Mata (and had been dazzled by his success) so the idea of giving him up after 4 months under Jose was just flabbergasting to me. The fact that he went from the main man to out with the trash that quickly absolutely broke my heart. I know it sounds dramatic but I was sick about it. The United thing was the real knife in the back. If he was sent to PSG or Milan or wherever, even for less money, I would've been much much better off with it. But he's gone now, and life and Chelsea have gone on. Losing him is something I deeply regret, but I've said that about alot of players from this club. It makes me sick to my stomach seeing him in that shirt, and probably always will. Pretty harsh in the first paragraph, mate. I think its pretty clear he loved this club, loved his life in London, and was probably not fibbing when he talked about his commitment. If he was offered the choice between Man Utd and another 6 months of waiting on the bench for an injury by a coach who clearly saw him as a reserve option, he cant be faulted for taking off. Especially in a world cup year. My point is that I never once doubted his workrate while at this club, and I think Jose told it to him straight. Despite the goals and creativity, you're going to have to outwork three outstanding attacking midfielders, all of whom defend better than you. I think the willingness to work was there, but knowing Jose, his mind was probably made up. That's not to excuse Mata going to Man Utd. That's to say his options were probably stay and wait (potentially for nothing) or go now and slot into a team where he was guaranteed to start. But you're spot on with the second paragraph IMO. What pissed me off most was that United refused to deal Rooney to Chelsea in the summer, and then 4 months later we did them a favor. Price aside, he is a brilliant little player, and was a loveable fella to boot. Club ambassador type material. The kind of player thats impossible to dislike. It felt like giftwrapping him for those scumbags was like a consolation prize for their lousy season. "Oh hey, I know you've had a string of brilliant players for years now, and trophies coming out your assholes, but here is one more AM for you we just had lying around, hopefully he becomes another legend." He's going to face us in the future and probably play his nuts off. And its going to drive me up the wall. My only hope at this point is that he does incredibly well at MUFC, while the club continues to go down in flames. And then Real or Barca swoop in to take him back home. Could actually happen, given the latter's piss poor season this year. Anyway, sorry for the longwinded reply. I havent posted in a long long time, and this was the major issue eating away at me this season.

Exactly the thought process that went into it, I bet. They're rich, people think Mata is a goner. More chum for the press. Still makes no sense when Ozil is going to move and they could try instead to pry him loose

Not to mention, what is this going to do to Ronaldo's game? Three games so far and Ronaldo has a single goal. I cant believe they are doing all this for Bale. There is gonna be some woeful disappointment within 3 months in the Spanish capital.

Exactly. And at this rate they may end up with Fellaini and Baines, who they dont even need. It's not as if they don't have money but maybe the Glazers are even greedier than Arsenal's board

If they are willing to sell Ozil after three years of brilliance I suppose they are dumb enough to flog anyone

12 hours later and I look like a fool. Just how on earth are Real selling a player as good as Ozil? And how are Arsenal offering this amount of money for him? And how the hell is everyone else standing pat when a player like that is moving? Madness He's undeniably one of the best in the world and now the most transfer-inept top team has a free* run at him, during the last 24 hours of the transfer window? *not free but you know

You can practically take that to the bank Adam. If one of those two are suddenly available in the next 24 hours, you can bet some of Monaco, PSG, Man Utd/City, whoever else will be in the running too, and Arsenal are never going to outbid them.

I may have been in an altered state this morning, but I read some headline about this when I first woke up, and it convinced me to give up on the day...and on life in general. In the sleep that followed the news burrowed its way into my subconscious, and I assumed it was definitely happeneing. If not maybe I can lay off my blood pressure meds and cancel that weekend yoga retreat I had planned

I cant speak for everyone, but in my case it was just disappointment. In a 120 minute game, there is value in throwing on a fresh creative player to have a go at the opposition, but once Ramires that prospect was totally out. Honestly, I just want him to come on in a deadlocked game, hammer in a 25 yarder, and then go over to Jose for a hug, followed by the two of them giving middle fingers to the camera as a special hello to marca and the rest of the english gutter press.

Oh, and lastly, if the reason is "nobody else could afford his wages" then there is still blame to be had. No way he should be making so much that a club like Newcastle, Sunderland or Villa couldnt afford to take him. That would be scandalous. And even if they couldnt, supplement the f**king wages. Does getting a 1m pounds fee for the loan actually mean anything in the long run? f**king desperate.

I guess someone at CFC thinks Operation Return-liverpool-to-glory must be preceding slower than expected (despite gifting them Sturridge who is now coming into his own). So I am glad we decided to give them a player for free, just to help them along. Seriously, this is f**king maddening. Gave them money for absolutely nothing (Benayoun) and a king's ransom for a player who was obviously busted. Is this some kind of campaign to become liked by the backward c**ts that run History FC? I hate them. I cant even imagine the recriminations if they actually win something and this club ends up trophyless.

That is what I was thinking at the time, and it came true. Scousers v. Mancs was laughably boring. Horrible, horrible game. As for Sturridge, seeing that goal and then reading about how we are sending then Moses on loan really made for a suicidal start to sunday.

CMon boys lets see this over the finish line