I don't know what you're getting at regarding Chelsea's midfield. They have Essien and Obi Mikel who are both defensive midfielders. They don't need another. And they simply don't have trouble in that area. I've never seen a Chelsea game where they have struggled in the DM region. Their defenders are that high quality that they don't really have to worry about it. I mean, we have no DM's at United, and we won the title last season with that setup. Chelsea doesn't lack defence, Chelsea lacks creativity. Lampard was effective but has not been creative for some time.

Malouda was very much out of favour on occasions last season and Ramires is crap. Ramires was not played as a DM, he was played as a wide right midfielder. And I have never seen Kalou playing as a DM - he is a wing/forward. He's always been one. Did they really play him as a DM? And Obi Mikel and Essien are DMs. Essien is, when fit and in form, arguably the best DM in the world. I would love it if we had signed Essien instead of Chelsea. Obi Mikel is a DM, too, because he isn't good going forward. He's like a poor man's Fletcher - not good enough going forward so he plays in the DM position instead. Only, Obi Mikel isn't amazing there, either. Fletcher has more commitment and drive than Obi Mikel, which is why Fletcher is regarded higher.
My point is that Raul IS NOT a DM and in order for him to crack the lineup, they'd have to replace either their starting DM or someone like a Malouda for him and frankly, Malouda is a better player when he's on form. What Raul could bring is creativity, but isn't that why they brought in Mata? If they didn't have Mata, I could see playing Meireles there. But otherwise, I don't see where he cracks the starting lineup.

If we assume their starting lineup looks like this and I think AVB likes a 4-1-2-3:

Cech
Cole Terry Luiz (Ivanovic) Bosingwa
Obi Mikel
Lampard Malouda
Mata Drogba Torres

I could see Meireles coming in as a sub for Lampard or Mata to keep things moving creatively but I think he just moved to a more expensive bench.

As for Tevez, you know, Mancini has just as big an ego and I don't know if he'd just gladly plug Tevez back in. He's shown he has no problem buying expensive players and not playing them consistently: Milner, Balotelli, and frankly, with the way they've looked, why mess with their rotation? Tevez has proven that he'll play hard for a few years then want to leave, which has always bugged me because I do like him as a player. I kind of want a manager to rein him in and make him see that it can't always be about his wants but that THE team is more important.

Finally, for Man Utd, I definitely think there is a pecking order there. Otherwise, where the heck is Berbatov? I think it's Rooney and then either Hernandez or Welbeck then Berbatov or maybe even Owen when fit above him? Talk about an abundance of riches if Berbatov can't get a game.

Take care all.