plamf

There's 14 midfielders in the current Chelsea squad, many of which are attacking ones. Just how much cover is needed? The dead wood needs shifted.

Meireles has been very poor compared to Liverpool but I'm not sure we can afford to get rid of him. We will basically have no central midfield left. I don't understand why RDM has spent all his money on attacking midfielders/wingers. They won't even fit in the same team.

The answer is quite simple. He isn't good enough.

Is Ramires that good in the middle of the park? I've never seen him take control of games or anything. He seems to be best bombing forward in the final third.

He's exactly what is needed but wouldn't be attainable.

Is any of this surprising though? We have spent all our money on players who are basically all very similar. We needed to overhaul the whole squad.

Bar Ramires those are all attacking midfielders or even forward players. Hazard and Mata particularly can't really be called midfielders considering they will likely be deployed wide in an attacking trio. Ramires also does his best work in the final third. For me there is a complete lack of 'proper midfielders'. Essien is finished, Lampard isn't half the player he was, Meireles has been a lacklustre signing, Mikel and Romeu are half decent holding players and not much else. There was many games last season where the midfield battle was lost. We have plenty creative players now for the final third but that's pointless without a solid defence, midfield and a 30 goal a season striker to finish the chances!! Last season we were terrible in the league. I don't see how packing the team with attacking midfielders is going to suddenly change things. We still need players in the middle of the park bossing the game. A world class central midfielder like Sneijder or De Rossi is sorely, sorely lacking. And we really could do with a couple. If you think about it, not long ago we had a world class Lampard, Ballack and Essien all regularly featuring. These roles haven't been replaced and neither Lampard nor Essien will control matches week in week out anymore. RDM has basically just addressed one of many problems in the transfer window. The whole squad has been requiring an overhaul for a couple of years now.

bump. Do they need to become a member or will I be entitled to purchase two tickets with my membership?

I'm planning on going with someone else, do they need to become a member too?

Should I become a member? What are the costs?

Would I be able to get tickets for the Newcastle game? Also, can you get packages that includes hotel and flights? I would rather not take an 8 hour train journey!

Great start, I think I should have put this in the general section. Sorry !!

Hi guys I'm a Rangers fan up in Scotland and Chelsea have always been my '2nd team'. I've never been to the Bridge though and would like to go to a game. What is the best way for me to go about this? What will the cost likely be? My plan is to stay a couple of nights in a hotel as well. Any advice is welcome. Cheers.

I don't think professional footballers should drink at all. There's a lot of clubs and managers that just won't tolerate at all, let alone a few days before a crucial match.

I'm in two minds about RDM at the moment. He has done great in the cups but his league record is something like 4 out 9 wins which is worrying. To lose 4-1 to a mid table team in a must win game is just not acceptable. I also find it frustrating that the likes of Essien, Kalou and Malouda get game time. It's like playing with less than 11 players. He will probably stand or fall by the CL final.