Well, I would say give some time to Moyes. The team is generally inherited from SAF with only 1 signing which is Fellaini. Moyes will need time to impose his strategy, style and philosophy into the team. For us Chelsea fans, dear Moyes, take ur sweet time ok?

Now no Drogba dy. Our core players left are Lamps, Terry, Cech, Cole. With Mou, we will gain new identity. When our core players play, it gives a spirited display to our side. With time, Cahill, Hazard, Iva and Lukaku will be our new batch of core players.

If Terry retires, I think our new core in defence is definitely Iva. He has been with us through all the managers changing. CB or RB, no prob for him.

If Lamps retires, core for midfield will be Ram/Mikel. Mikel is the most experienced amongst our young stars.

Striker department. Still looking for a new core afta King Drog's departure.

Another defender worth mentioning is Cahill. His last ditch tackles, it's so Terry-like. He is moulding himself into a Terry.

Hull game is tricky, especially at the KC stadium. We need to be alert. Best is to score 2 goals in the first half, then park the bus.

Man Utd at Stamford Bridge. I'll say we have an upper hand based on our recent form. Should not have complacency on Utd based on their current weak run of form. A wounded animal fights back harder. Better to be take precaution, play to our full strength.

Interesting read.

Liverpool have shown an interest in signing left-back Ryan Bertrand on loan or permanently this month, but Chelsea will attempt to resist either deal. Bertrand is likely to be advised to look at the struggles Moses has faced if Liverpool make a firm move for him. Chelsea believe there are better options than moving to Anfield available to the 24-year-old.

Rodgers has used his Chelsea links throughout his management career to sign players. He took Bertrand on loan at Reading, signed striker Fabio Borini on loan from Chelsea for Swansea City and snapped up Scott Sinclair on a permanent transfer.

Those deals were all successful, but Rodgers also took Josh McEachran on loan to Swansea in 2012 and the young midfielder played only 215 minutes for the Welsh club.

But in an interview while on loan at Middlesbrough last January, McEachran was asked what he learned at Swansea and replied: “Nothing.” When asked for an opinion on Rodgers, he said: “I’ll pass on that.”

Chelsea have a scientific approach to allowing their players out on loan, based on how often they are likely to play and how they can develop at a club and under another manager. It was felt there were better options available to Moses than Liverpool, but Rodgers persuaded the player that he could make a similar impact on his career as he made with Sturridge.

Having pushed for Liverpool over Everton and Southampton, Moses has started just eight games this season and has largely been restricted to late substitute appearances over recent months.

The Nigeria international was hauled off at half-time in the FA Cup victory over League One Oldham, with the match still goalless at that point.

Chelsea are now fearful that Moses will spend the second half of the season stuck on the sidelines or only making cameo appearances at the end of games. He has fallen behind the rejuvenated Raheem Sterling in the Anfield pecking order and is seen very much as a squad player.

sos

I don't see Bertrand moving on loan or Shaw coming in this month. Maybe in the summer it'll happen. If Fulham offer big money deal to buy Bertrand, then it's a different story. Mou might accept it and use the fund to buy Shaw.

Really pity Moses wei....not in starting 11. Started very little match for Liverpool. If he had gone to Everton, I think it'll benefit him even more.

According to the source, seems like Chelsea is not gonna bring Moses back in the middle of his loan. So I think it's up to Moses to fight for his place. If he is given the chance, Moses is a good player. I remember last season he did put in some nice performance in Europa League, scoring a few goals too.

Meireles was superb under AVB and RDM imho. But due to his midfield position, he was up against Lamps. And also bcoz of Lamps, Meireles needs to play deeper which is not his best position. Still remember his screamer goal against Benfica to put us through to the Semi Final last season.

He should have been Lamps' perfect replacement. But too bad or Mr Chelsea is not going down without a fight. His transfer to Fenerbahce was really a facepalm moment for me.

He fit into our pivot quite nicely I would say. He was a favourite under AVB, started quite some game. AVB even dropped Lamps in favour of Meireles. Hence the old guard (Lamps) make noise to Roman iinm. But since AVB sacked, Meireles lost his starting 11 place. And then with RDM, he is not always the first choice in pivot. If given the chance, he played well. Many rate his performance in the pivot along with Mikel against Barca in our Champions League winning season as 1 of his best performance for us.

At the end of the season, he complained that he was not given enough playing time. Hence his departure. He is really underrated imo. Altho not first choice, but when he puts on the number 16 shirt, he performed like a pro.

Especially in Champions League matches. He scored vital goals iinm.

Possible to resign Meireles? In the mean time can resign Drogba too.

Better start dreaming now.

For me, I think it's time for Cech to move on, no disrespect to him, Cech has been superb with us. The most clean sheet and least goals conceded Premier League winning season, the penalty shoot out in Allianz Arena. Cech has given his all to the club and have won virtually everything with Chelsea. Carling Cup, FA Cup, Champions League, Europa League, Premier League. It's time for him to find a new challenge imho. Now get back Courtois and make him our number 1.

But still, if Cech wants to remain a true blues, I welcome him to retire at our club.

The Torres goal. I still remember I was clenching my fist and celebrating like a mad man so late in the night. Just me watching the match alone at home. haha.

As for Mata, I can only feel pity for him. Due to Mou's strategy, the best of Mata could not be shown. But imo, give him some time. Mata can still develop his game. Even if he cant, he will make a superb impact sub with his vision and passing. He is always a superb plan B for Mou. The problem is just whether Mata is satisfied with his bit part role. As all of us know, World Cup is looming around the corner. And Spain's national team is filled with superstars.

This post has been edited by briantwj: Jan 10 2014, 09:57 AM

Totally agree with the bolded part. Finally, we beat Barca. Not with some away goal rule (like the 1 scored by Iniesta a few seasons ago), but we beat them!

Anyway, plans to sign Lewandowski is now all but gone. Seems like Bayern has already pre-signed him last summer.

And the Bavarian giants (Bayern Munich) confirmed they had reached an agreement with the Poland striker, who has put pen to paper on a five-year deal from July 1, 2014.

A statement on Bayern's Twitter feed said: '#FCBayern have signed Robert Lewandowski (25)! The striker has signed a 5-year contract until 2019.'

sos

Kevin De Bruyne to Wolfsburg should be announced tomorrow, according to several sources.

There has been no official announcement involving Chelsea's kevin De Bruyne, but it appears that his deal to Wolfsburg is nearly complete. A pair of credible journalists that have reliable connections to either De Bruyne or Wolfsburg are now tweeting that we can expect an announcement in the very near future:

Neither of the pair could confirm any details of the deal, though Harmeling seems to believe it is a loan. Whether that's a loan with some sort of option to buy is uncertain, but it wouldn't surprise me if that's the case.

It sounds like we'll need to be watching for some sort of announcement tomorrow, while crossing our fingers that the Blues didn't do anything foolish. Here's hoping...

sos

Matic seeking Premier League move, according to Portuguese media.

Inter Milan have supposedly set a deadline for teams interested in signing Fredy Guarin and Xabi Alonso just extended his Real Madrid contract, but there now appears to be a little movement on Chelsea's other rumored midfield target. According Goncalo Lopes of Diário de Notícias, Nemanja Matic has his heart set on a move to the Premier League.

With the financial prob Benfica have, I think Matic might just be sold. Maybe back to us?

sos

Cech is just 31, Courtois is 21.

If we hang on to Cech, we can mostly be guaranteed that Cech will remain loyal to us and maybe will end his career with us. A goalkeeper can play all the way until he is 40. Tbh, Cech has been in and around the top 5 goalkeeper in the world through out his days in Chelsea. It's better to keep 1 of the top 5 goalkeeper in the world with us right?

Courtois, if we recall him and give him the no. 1 spot. The question is, can he remain loyal to us and provide his master class goal keeping skills to us until he is 40? Nowadays, money is everything. Courtois might just give us 5 years and say 'Look, I wan to challenge myself in a different league' or 'I wan to play for Barca/Madrid/Milan'. Courtois is really the next big thing imho. It is vital that we hold on to him, but he is also pushing very hard to be our number 1.

Maybe this is the dilemma faced by Mou and Roman. To let go 1 of the old guards who has been performing year after year and also being very loyal to us, OR, recall Courtois, a young rising star which might just leave us after 5 or maybe 10 years?

Just my 2 cents.

This post has been edited by briantwj: Jan 10 2014, 02:14 PM

Interesting read.

Cech has been an unbelievable servant for the Blues, with 10 years of near-flawless work between the sticks. But he must be allowed to go out on a high, with Blues fans remembering him for his brilliance, not calling for his head when his joints start creaking in a couple of years’ time.

Chelsea cannot be allowed to lose the star of the next decade to squeeze another few seasons out of Cech. Mourinho must look at the bigger picture – sometimes there’s just no room for sentiment in football.

For any Chelsea fan, it will be difficult to see an undisputed legend in Cech – who has just equalled Peter Bonetti’s club record of 208 clean sheets – relegated to the sidelines or even moved on to pastures new.

The Blues have enjoyed the most successful spell in their 109-year history with Cech at the heart of it, along with John Terry, Frank Lampard, Didier Drogba and Ashley Cole.

One of those stalwarts has already waved goodbye to west London (and is sure to receive an incredible reception when he returns with Galatasaray in March), while two are likely to move on come the end of the season.

There’s no doubting it’s the end of an era at Stamford Bridge, but the club must look to the future – and that future is Courtois.

sos

Very big decision for Mou to make. Let's see if he can get Courtois future sorted out.

For me, I hope Courtois is loaned out to a PL club next 2 season. Just to get some exposure to games in PL 1st. La Liga and PL is different imo. Just look at De Gea, he came from La Liga too. It took him some time to adapt to the PL.

What powderful weed is that? Hazard leave? x9999

You have reached your limit of 10 free articles a month.

Can't read the article by telegraph.co

But I dare say Hazard is playing very well at the moment. And he did improve compared to last season under Benitez. This kid will be our next talisman, our creator in the team. He has all the potential to reach new highs and to be as good as Ronaldo imho. He can score goals, he can assist, his technique on the ball is good, dribbling is fantastic.

I think what he is saying is dat IF Ramsey and Wilshere is playing for us, they are only benchwarmer.

Well, IF Ramsey and Wilshere is in our team. I can't see Wilshere dethroning Oscar as the AM in our starting 11, Oscar is a better all rounder player. Ramsey, maybe can be our starter in the pivot position.

Anyway, any news from BR whether he really dislike Moses that much? Sterling has been missing goal chances, I wonder why Moses are not given chance to play on the wings. Moses need some run of games lik Sturridge.

This post has been edited by briantwj: Jan 11 2014, 04:58 PM