Celery1989

Bridge was decent at the time but there was no debate whatsoever as to who was better. Ashley Cole was already pretty much the best LB in Europe and cemented that reputation with us. I hated the deal too because I felt that Gallas was a vital player for us. He did a great job at LB for two years and even filled in at RB at certain points, all the while being a world class CB. I rated him so highly and genuinely thought that Arsenal should have paid us the £5 million! Ashley Cole seemed like a c*ck at the time but I recognised how good he was. Ultimately, the deal turned out terrifically for us. Cole gave us excellent service for 8 years whilst Gallas became a cancer in Arsenal's dressing room.

Nice kit. I used to love the yellow and blue that we had in the late 90's. I won't be buying this one though, haven't bought a kit for about 5 years and don't really intend to. I was tempted to to get the home shirt of 2 seasons ago with Champions of Europe printed on the back but chose not to in the end.

Anyone see Channel 4 News tonight? They were interviewing Jose because he's recently become an ambassador for the UN's World Food Programme. At the end of the interview Jon Snow asked him about Van Gaal and then Wenger as well: JS: 'Jose, do you have something to say to Arsene Wenger, who you called a 'specialist in failure'? JM: 'In the last 9 years, Arsenal won one FA Cup. That's…nice for them'.

Not sure what AFC’s own ticket arrangements are but you might be able to get a one through them too.

Yes, you can use the Friends and Family Scheme for away games, and for those which we have done we've had seats next to each other every time.

"Mourinho has Mourinho’d Chelsea so much, that they’ve become the best team in the world at stopping other teams from winning, to the point that it’s even extended to stopping themselves from winning." This made me chuckle.

Been there for a couple of AFC games, it's not bad at all for its size. I've only been in the terrace behind the goal which in some ways I really like; as someone born in the 1989 I never had the chance to experience a proper terrace, although I guess the away games these days aren't much different. Should be an enjoyable Saturday afternoon to watch some of our youngsters and those from the first team squad who aren't going to Brazil. Also I'd expect several of this season's loanees will be involved.

Given that I live a couple of trains stops away am really looking forward to the AFC Wimbledon game!

Lots of the papers are reporting that we're set to offer Lukaku a new deal, with a view to then being able to loan him out for another year and to ensure that his transfer value doesn't decrease substantially if he has an under-par season. I'd rather just bring him back as the number 2 but I don't think he'd want that. Sure he'd get his games, just like all our forwards have this year, but ultimately Jose wants to build the team around Costa. I think Lukaku has to be realistic here and either be prepared to fight or go on loan again for a guaranteed starting berth.

I have to say that I'm not overly excited by this signing. Costa didn't really impress me much when he we played them, though in fairness not many strikers do too well against JT and Cahill. I guess I need to watch more of his clips from the last few seasons to get a better idea of his abilities. It would seem that he's the best striker that is available - Falcao and Cavani apparently aren't - but all this excess baggage leaves me a little skeptical. To put it into relative terms, I was MUCH more excited when I heard we were in for both Falcao and Cavani last year.

@spudulike: Happy about Sherwood leaving? Who next?

Don't forget that this is also the same guy who's formation of a choice is a flat 4-4-2, something which hadn't been seen for about 12 years.

Doesn't portray the FA in the most positive light, but let's face it, that's exactly what we were all thinking when the draw was made.

He's a natural fit for them and Bayern Munich as well in terms of what they demand from their CB's. Puyol, Pique, Dante etc all basically play as auxiliary holding players pressed high up the pitch, a role in which Luiz would thrive IMO.

You might be right. Would be great if he could act in some kind of ambassadorial role for the club in the future.

I think all the key highs and lows of the season have been covered, but here's my personal take. Highs 1) Jose's Back - Being there for Mourinho's return was awesome. Hearing his name bellowed out around the ground again as our manager prior to kickoff was just fantastic and. His return brought back a sense of confidence and unity to the Bridge which had been completely lost amid the anxieties of the 2012/2013 season. 2) First European Away - Atletico Madrid 0-0 Chelsea - The game wasn't the greatest but me and my best mate had a terrific 2 and a half days in Madrid, fuelled by a steady stream of beer, tapas, laughter and shamelessly vocal support. 3) Chelsea 10-0 North London - Nuff Said. Had a cracking night after Spurs as well. 4) Liverpool 0-2 Chelsea - The amount of pro-Liverpool hype that was developing in the media was becoming quite insufferable, so being able to burst the bubble by proudly parking our bus is something we should look back on with sheer delight. Lows: 1) I generally hate losing out on the chance to win silverware of any kind, so losing to Bayern in the manner that we did in the Super Cup was frustrating. Sunderland too in the COC was poor. 2) We've suffered many ignominious defeats against inferior opposition in the league, but the worst of these for me was Crystal Palace away, made worse by the fact that I was there. This was the day that I became resigned to the fact that we wouldn't be winning the league. Even though there were several points left to play for, I knew that our limp performance on that day would repeat itself against opposition of a similar ilk.

Hazard doesn't look at the ball at any point, but rather keep his eyes fixed on the goalie. That way he waits for the goalie to move and then in a split second decides which way to put the ball. It's a risky method but one that a lot the very best players are beginning to use because, if you're good enough at it, you should be able to score more than if you take a pen in the traditional way.

Agreed completely. Schurrle us something quite different to Hazard, Oscar and Willian whereas KDB is effectively a poor man's Hazard at the moment, so in terms of the relative utility of each player I'd say that Schurrle maybe has more value in the current squad than KDB would. Ultimately, I'd much rather have someone like Schurrle who is clinical in front of goal and willing to work hard for the team than a player like KDB with bags of talent but seemingly no real drive.

Can't argue with the business, we made a nice profit there. That's true but Schurrle's naturally more of a goalscorer whereas De Bruyne has more to offer in terms of creative ability. KDB might not have the physical tools that Schurrle has (height, speed) but he's got a far better range of passing and in terms of natural footballing instinct and talent - being able to spot the correct pass etc - KDB has much more. As a result, he can play in pretty much any of the AM positions and perhaps even in midfield in the future. I've watched the Bundesliga highlights show every Monday for the last 18 months and have seen plenty of clips to support this. I know that you'll all be thinking 'where was all this then at CFC?', and rightfully so. KDB didn't produce in the limited opportunities that he was given. But as I said before, the difference betwee KDB and the other AM's (except for Mata, apparently) was that they were prepared to knuckle down and fight for their place, whilst KDB seemingly didn't get 'it'. A lack of maturity was what cost KDB his chance, not a lack of talent.

Am I right in thinking that Barkley plays more as a number 10 for Everton, with McCarthy and Barry sitting behind? Just wondering whether Barkley could fit in the 'pivot' alongside Matic. IMO, I think he has all the tools to succeed in that position for us and could complement Matic really well.

Great post. Agreed 100%. Drogba would be a brilliant ambassador for this club for the reasons you've highlighted. He's considered to be one of the most influential people in all of Sub-Saharan Africa, not just the Ivory Cost, and having someone like that representing CFC would be invaluable IMO.

Martinez is undoubtedly a top class player but he seems to me to be too similar to Matic. I'd rather we signed someone in the mould of Kroos or Vidal to play alongside Matic ie. someone who's game is more about playing incisive passes forward and scoring goals from distance.

I'm sure the rumours don't mean anything, but I would absolutely love Götze as our number 10. I think he's a better footballer than Oscar overall and if there was a chance I'd have Götze over him.

I've followed both De Bruyne and Schurrle closely for the last 2 seasons and, believe me, De Bruyne is a much more gifted footballer than Schurrle. I'd say he's got more to offer than Salah as well. I know that all of these players have different skillsets but KDB is more talented than them for sure. The reason he left was because he didn't grasp how much hard graft he needed to put in to force himself into Jose's team. From what I could see on social media he seemed to spend too much time in the clubs as well. Clearly he was too immature to apply himself properly. Jose himself hinted at this during one of his press conferences and, IIRC, stated that it was never a question of talent.

Therein lies my point. I think Dave can do much more in the attacking third with the ball