Captain Haribo

Okay, having looked at United results from last season, I have to take back the bit about Tevez adding to existing leads. Confusing him with somebody else there as he actually has a very good record of "scoring when it matters". On the other hand, so does Dirk Kuyt. :D

What ability to score important goals? He's really not a very good finisher and fluffs a lot of opportunities, as I'm sure a large number of United fans would agree. Yes, he scores some wonderful goals, but then so do Giovanni, or Obafemi Martins. I don't like to put too much emphasis on stats, but Tevez was weaker than United's four main forwards in almost every area last season. I'll have a closer look later but I'm fairly sure a large number of his goals have added to strong leads, rather than being the "winning goals". The number one reason I don't want him, however, is that he showed himself up as another petulant little arse towards the end of the season, complaining about SAF not playing him despite him clearly being the weakest of their four attacking options.

Looking at Terry purely as a player, he's replaceable. Looking at him as an integral part of the team and a club "talisman", he's maybe not. He's not the best defender going. Despite what some of our fans like to think, he never was. I have little respect for his off field antics and think fans of other clubs are justified in disliking him. However, he's an excellent leader and I'm not sure we have anybody else who could step up to captain if he left. Saying that, for £40mil or whatever silly money City are offering, I'd be tempted to let him move on.

Sadly, Carvalho seems very keen to move so if there is actually interest in Bruno Alves it'll be as a potential replacement for him. Shame, as he was our best defender before all of his injuries last year. Maybe a loan for Mancienne wouldn't be the worst idea. He'd get first team football every week at Wolves which would be invaluable experience for him. Then again, don't want him getting a knock in confidence if they start shipping four goals every week!

Tevez has a poor first touch and isn't a natural finisher. You can get a headless chicken for a lot cheaper than £25 million and United didn't let him go without good reason. Didn't show a good attitude when his future in Manchester seemed in doubt, either. I'd be really annoyed if we signed him.

Tevez would add nothing to the team. Not a fan, at all.

Essien should be the first name on the teamsheet. No Ballack, please.

Whenever the talk of popular football chants comes up, modern day Chelsea fans seem to get a lot of stick. With good reason, too, in my view. Gone seem to be the days of brilliance like, "You're French and you know you are" or "You only sing when it's snowing!", replaced by the droll, Americanised "Chelsea! Chelsea!". Is this a problem caused by the "Abramovich era"? Too many "plastic fans"? Or am I overreacting and there isn't a problem at all? Let's all group together and come up with something fresh!

You're forgetting that goal against Spurs. Otherwise, I largely agree. The only real similarity to Makelele is that he's generally the deepest lying midfielder. I don't think Jon Obi plays the game in the same style at all and I though Diarra was a closer match to Mak. Mikel for Nigeria plays a lot higher up the park and I think he's got a lot more to the attacking side of his game. What made Makelele so great was his vision and general awareness: always being in the right position to break up play. That's not something many young players have and as Mikel gains some experience I'm confident he'll become excellent at it. Ancelotti will hopefully teach him a thing or two, at the very least.

I remember it just fine. The entire game was played to an awful standard and whilst Liverpool may have dominated possession, they weren't running the show freely and generally had just as bad a game as our lot. Mikel and Lampard admittedly both had off days: what I was contending was the implication that Mikel had been walked over because he wasn't god enough to deal with players of Gerrard's standard. The lad's class and has shoen on a number of occassions that he has the potential to be great for Chelsea. Obviously we've missed Makelele this season - with the Mak of '06 in the squad against Barcelona I reckon we'd have won with ease, Ovrebo or not. Let's face it, the league games against Liverpool were under Scolari, who was hardly the greatest manager for a young, defensively-minded player. Anyway, sorry for dragging this on.

Very happy to hear that Southampton have been bought. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/t...ton/8136389.stm Wouldn't want to see any club fold, especially not one as likeable as the Saints. Sounds like the 10 point penalty will stand, though. Best of luck to them.

The 1-0 game you mean? The entire match was dross, nobody made mincemeat of anybody.

Young's crossing is possibly the best part of his game. I'm not keen on him signing either, but you can't say he's a bad striker of the ball.

Coming from Russia is a big culture change - there's always a good chance he won't settle and either want to leave or not play to his ability. 3 year contract is probably safest for both parties. Still, I'm confident he'll be an excellent player for us.

Which game did Gerrard "make mincemeat of him"?

Despite no names immediatly springing to mind for who they should by, there are a few I know I wouldn't want: David Silva Carlos Tevez Ashley Young Looking at jordan's list, Gourcuff is an outstanding talent and could possibly be swayed by Ancelotti's Milan connection. Ozil, too, though I'm not sure he's got much more than sheer pace.

We're still very strong centrally and Lampard at hisbest is as creative as anybody. I think what we've lacked recently is the pacy/skillful wingers that were so effective in Mourinho's first two seasons. Zhirkov should strengthen the team significantly on the left, so the right wing seems the position to strengthen. Perhaps Ribery could come in and play there, though I'm not sure it's his ideal position. Thinking about it, we should have given Quaresma more of a chance. ;)

Signed for another 4 years, is it? Very pleased if so. He's got a lot of undeserved stick from some corners but Mikel-Essien-Lampard is easily our best central midfield setup. He's still not as discplined as he could be but he does the holding role well and looks like he's maturing well.

Very happy with the additions so far. Sturridge is the young, "sparky" player we've lacked recently - he coule make a very god sub when we're chasing a game. Turnbull is certainly good enough to cover for Cech when necessary - I'd have more faith in him than Hilario. Zhirkov should be looking at a first team place, or at least encouraging Malouda to continue the form he showed under Hiddink. Offers a bit of coverfor Ashley as well, which was a bit of dodgy position after Bridge leaving. Can he play on the right? Perhaps he'll take Bosingwa's place during the Portuguese's ban. Glad to hear Joe Cole is still part of the plans. Was a little worried he had become something of a forgotten man due to his injury and he's a player I'd love to keep to keep at the club. Plays the game with the right attitude and is incredibly entertaining.

I always considered Jody Morris' goal the killer blow. I'm a little younger than some here at 19; my favourite season was probably 1999/2000. Won the FA Cup and had a relatively strong, if inconsistent, league performance. The 5-0 against United is the stand out result, though.

Some bizarre opinions in this thread: Cech, Zola, Bosignwa unknown players?! Not a chance. There haven't been that many in recent years, as we've mostly gone in for big names since Roman's arrival. Think a ot of people forget that Alex was bought directly from Brazil in 2004 - Chelsea then loaned him to PSV due to work permit complications. Hadn't heard much of him, but then I didn't know much about South American football back then. Cudicini is certainly the best call from recent memory. Taken from Serie C to become one of the best goalkeepers in the Premiership. Outstanding buy.