Welcome home serbian ballack / friendly neighbourhood spider-legs!!

All aboard the hype traaaiinnnn!

*chug* *chug *chug*

On a serious note,i can't wait to see how he's developed.a very,VERY belated signing in our weakest area of the field,and let's see if he solves the dreaded pivot problem which has been our bane for God knows how long!

Was hoping for nando but eto'o has shown some true killer instinct in and around the box!lovely assist from cahill btw.can't believe how bad utd's defense is looking though.only low point in the first 45 mins has been oscar.looks a bit lost to be honest

I feel u bro.miss mata too .after kdb's comments i'm getting a bit worried as to what jose has planned for him.

Exactly. It's been ages!

Ugly challenge from rafael.they should be down to 9.tsk tsk.

Hmm i hope nando's okay.eva was signaling for a sub to be made,only to realise we've used up all three.he's just not getting the rub of the green atm.wonder what's going on between mourinho and ba..he's gone m.i.a for some time now.we're going to need him,that's for sure.

anyone suggesting we try and secure januzaj must surely admit he'd be at vitesse by now, if he's in our squad

the lad's good but let's not get too far ahead of ourselves. he's not even fit to lace mata's boots yet, let alone hazard's. anyone who's not even close to 'messi' level gets shipped out on loan, that's our club's policy and it's still something we should be looking to change.

btw, forget rooney. he would've done squat with our disciplined marking and relentless tracking back. the real value is in chicarito imho. his runs in behind defences are a work of art. reminds me of a certain nistelrooy who used to do those with his eyes closed when he was at utd. would love for us to put in a sneaky bid for the little mexican, and turn his head a little.

torres out for a few weeks? hmm..that's not good.

I was going to write a summary on the utd game but the mata rumours have just killed my mood. Let it be known that I’m totally AGAINST this transfer and can’t seem to understand why we’re so willing to do business with one of our biggest rivals throughout these years in the EPL.

A classy professional on and off the pitch – our most intelligent player when he’s on the ball (yes, better than hazard and Oscar if anyone’s wondering), not the strongest but definitely with the most assured touch. Head and shoulders above everyone when it comes to setpieces (particularly on corner duty) and never ‘goes down’ easily in the box to try and win penalties.

Became a true blue fan since he arrived, taking in the sights and sounds around SW6, and as someone else pointed out he tweets and writes with PRIDE whenever we win, even when he’s NOT INVOLVED in a match. Has never complained about being excessively benched without good reason (I still stubbornly believe that ‘work rate’ thing is a myth, and could’ve been improved upon in due course, if it’s such a big deal).

Where do u even find players like him these days? The typical modern professional footballer would’ve mouthed off to the media weeks ago or kicked up some kind of tantrum behind the scenes but juan merely kept his head down, worked hard, and above all, supported the team.

Even that alleged show of ‘dissent’ after the Southampton match was disgustingly blown out of proportion by the media imo, and what’s more surprising to me is, if anyone remembers the post-match interview with jose right after the game, the gaffer claims he didn’t see the incident. But seeing how juan’s been left out in the cold since that encounter, it’s obvious he made his mind up based on something either he read, or heard about. Heck I’d be more concerned if players were NOT showing displeasure when they were taken off, as it can indicate a lack of passion and spirit for the team.

Looking at the bigger picture, I guess with the impending world cup this is a move he simply has to make, in order to have any hope of making that plane to brazil. What’s unfortunate is the fact that it was a decision he was forced into, and I’m 100% certain one that he didn’t envision he had to make when jose first stepped through that door.

Although I still trust jose as our manager, that doesn’t mean I have to agree with the decision. I still believe we’re one or two injuries away from looking like complete fools, in the event that we don’t sign a quality replacement in THIS transfer window. Lastly, I wish him well wherever he ends up, as he deserves so much better. If anyone’s wondering if he’ll come back to haunt us, wonder no more because I truly believe he will. 40mil pounds for our most creative player is a bargain, and I hope he finds joy in his new team.

p.s: Alternatively if he ends up staying and signing a new contract, I’d be ecstatic. Sigh.

I feel you man. It’s hard to take, because I don’t think there will be a shortage of bidders if we wait till the summer. Guess the best we can hope for is a surprise rival bid from the likes atletico, psg or even Monaco, to blow utd out of the water. Looking at how things are going though, it’s only a matter of time before we bid farewell to the club’s best (by a mile too, if I might add) player for the last couple of seasons.

Anyone remember the centreback crisis we had under..carlo if I’m not mistaken? We showed the door to alex and riccy, failed to bring in quality replacements, and before you know it we had Ferreira in the middle of defence and malouda at LB. Shortsightedness seems to be a trademark of Chelsea fc, and I sincerely hope we’ve learnt our lessons.
Getting in someone with the quality of mata to challenge jose’s favourite attacking trio will be no mean feat, but if the management and board put their heads together I believe we can secure a top signing ourselves, in this transfer window.

Some murmurs about salah and barkley are certainly interesting, but they’re both long shots to be honest. The former apparently is close to joining pool, and barkley’s currently out injured. One tabloid has us linked to sociedad’s Antoine griezmann, and he’s dispatched 14 goals in 25 games for them already this season. Not bad at all, but still nothing concrete in the papers has appeared. For the club’s sake, I hope they don’t take too long.

p. s: I commend ichi and the rest who are trying to keep things calm and rational, while explaining to the furious posters as to the possible reasons why
mata is being let go. Good job guys. I can’t remember the last player who’s been able to split fans’ opinion straight down the middle, as to why he should or shouldn’t be allowed to stay at our club. Its easy to see juan mata is one in a million, and that’s why there’s so much furore surrounding his exit. We’re not just losing a brilliant player; we’re losing a great ambassador for the club.

have to admit, kucing's point about man management is a painful truth that can't just be ignored. like jose mentioned, two quality players in each position and now suddenly we're the only top team in europe who are actively 'weakening' their squad. matic was a good capture, but bear in mind we were strengthening a position that was already weak, instead of getting a direct 'replacement' for kdb.

if it all points to the swift and immediate utilisation of our youngsters then it probably won't hurt as bad, but come on now..when was the last time that happened? lewis baker in the last 5 mins vs derby doesn't count.

if adherence to FFP really was the main objective, again this is a highly debatable point. shouldn't sky high earners such as lampard (legend status not withstanding) and essien be moved on first? aren't we preparing for the future here? i'm pretty sure mata's modest wage of about 70k pounds a week blends in nicely with our accounts. the same definitely can't be said of the bison and lamps.

having said that, let's just wait what the club does to address our fast 'thinning' squad. a bench of mikel,schwarzer,lampard,cole,torres,matic, and ba certainly doesn't strike fear into the opposition, in terms of who can be brought in to change the course of a game. let's just give it some time and see how things pan out. all the best to juan. would love to hear his side of the story one day..

wow. still debates going on, late into the night! just shows what a brilliant player he is, and like i said, splitting fans' opinions straight down the middle

well..we can only wait and watch. sportinglife is already peddling the 'Salah Switch' headline, claiming he's destined for the bridge. perhaps his original destination was liverpool, but he took a cab and the driver took a wrong turn?

Salah : wait..where is this....salah dah ni woi!!!! ehh hellooo joseeee~~~

Jose : i was the one that brought u here. jangan salah faham. ok?

mata leaving salah siapa??!!!

welcome mistake..i mean..salah. hope you enjoy your stay here, first and foremost learn to track back matey. u should be fine after that.

jangan salahkan diri sendiri bro. lagipun betul jugak decision ko makan nasi kukus. eating is important man~

if salah doesn't perform, he can only salahkan diri sendiri. one thing's for sure, he has a fight on his hands. at the very least, he provides schurrle with some company on the bench. those two can share a kebab on matchdays while clapping their hands really slowly when hazard and co. scores.

didn't basel have that other wonderkid shaqiri? he seems permanently glued on the bench at bayern. have my doubts on salah...hope he gets minutes really soon, so we can see if we made a mistake.

damn its hard to stop doing this.

hope he turns out even better! shaqiri rarely gets on the pitch at bayern right?

mata's innocent. salah salah!

hmmm whole new market opening in the middle east? have to say this signing makes a lot of commercial sense! errr..the only other famous egyptian i remember playing in the EPL...is Mido from spurs..wow. anyone else?

ehh good spot! yep yep remember that zaki dude..scored some amazing goals for wigan when he was on a hot streak!

oii fellas. its almost 1am. don't forget..clocking in late for work adalah satu kesalahan. (had to leave that one there..hell yes!)

okay that's enough for me. night guys. what a weird day its been. dreading the mata headlines tomorrow. oh well..that's life aye.

Paging monaco to come in with a 50m pound bid!

or psg...

or..atletico? anyone..? hmm..salah isn't exactly a replacement. have to admit he's going to take time to adapt and stuff so we're actually weaker now. looks quite athletic though this salah.

reluctantly accepting the loss of mata now..let's just say i'm prepared for it. ichi, do u really think we'll bring in a few more players? somehow i believe perhaps just another player will be becoming in, and that's it.

forget di maria mate. remember how scintillating robben was during his 'fairly' injury free debut season? fuhh. they don't make wingers like him anymore. loved his directness and confidence