Chelsea Team Talk/Gossip/Rumours

DazMarz · 24-03-2010 11:04pm

Deadly result there tonight...

Before Cole/Gallas swap, in LB we had the aforementioned Bridge and Asier Del Horno and as far as I know another bloke by the name of Nuno Morais (tho I think he was mainly a CB).

Johner · 24-03-2010 11:19pm

pistolpetes11 wrote: »

Lads ,

If anyone that is a Chelsea member and is not going to the semi final of the FA cup in Wembley would they be able to pick me up a second ticket ?

My self and my mate are heading over for my birthday that weekend but members can only pick one ticket up at the moment . You will need to 20 loyalty points to get one . I would drop the money to you tomorrow ,
I picked one up this morning but I am not sure if they will any left for members to pick up a second.

Let me know either way , Cheers.

What flights you getting over mate? Really thinking of doing this now, won a bit of cash on the horses earlier!

DazMarz · 24-03-2010 11:29pm

Great blog post up on Chelsea website....

Stingray wrote:

WAKING UP

Posted on: Wed 24 Mar 2010

I made my predictions on the website's Title Predictor this evening - and guess what? We won the league! So that's alright then.

OK. Back to reality. The last week - well, in fact most of this year since the end of January - has been a wake-up call. And like most of us when we've just woken up, it's not a pretty sight.

There's been a nagging unease for some time that something, somewhere wasn't quite right. Perhaps the way we've been conceding goals after dominating the early part of games, failing to capitalise on our leads, and losing too many games from winning positions - it should have shown us that we were starting to run on empty.

The Inter games showed us the truth in all its naked ugliness. Mourinho, as you'd expect him to, had taken stock of us and knew exactly how to beat us. Yes, he out-thought Ancelotti - but it was more than that. There was nothing Ancelotti could do because he didn't have the quality of players he needed to beat Inter with.

Now that's a dreadful admission. We thought we had the best squad in Europe - or at least one of the best. We had a squad that only last year could, should and without the intervention of a certain Norwegian ref, probably would have won the Champions League. How can it have got so much worse so quickly?

The answer is, it hasn't. It's just got older. And that's the problem. Our players are no longer able to perform at the highest level for two games a week, week in, week out. It shows in the tired legs, the less than immaculate passing, the inability to hit teams on the break when we need to. We've been hit by injuries to crucial players like Essien and Ashley Cole, true - but in years past, we've coped with that, taken it in our stride. Now we can't.

The evidence is clear. We won every game in January. Why? Well, we didn't have a single week where we played two games. Since then we've suffered - almost always, when we've been trying to recover from a game a couple of days earlier.

So what to do? Something we really should have been doing over the last two summers. Rebuild the squad. Not completely, but we need to bring in fresh blood and cut out not just the deadwood, but those players who are beginning to go stale. I think we need to look at every part of the squad and see what needs doing.

Goalkeepers - Cech, despite his extremely vocal detractors, is top-class and can go on for years. Turnbull has surprised everyone by looking like a decent reserve. Hilario? Time to move on.

Defence - Ashley Cole is in my opinion, the best defender in the world - we must keep him. Ivanovic is young and has impressed. Alex has done well. JT - there is an argument that we should sell him for a big fee, as he's probably at or past his peak - but as far as I'm concerned we'll need him as a leader for the next few years. So keep. Carvalho - we should have moved him on last summer when we might have gone some money for him. He's still very good, but definitely past his peak and we need to bring in younger players. Thankfully, both Mancienne and Bruma are talented enough to fit the bill. As for the others - I'd keep Bosingwa unless we need to raise cash, but we must offload Belletti and Ferreira. It's not that they are bad players, it's just that they take squad places from younger players who will be needed for the club's future.

Midfield is where the main problem lies, in my view. Mikel and Essien can be the basis of the midfield for years. But there is a problem at the heart - and it lies with Lampard and Ballack, and (when he plays) Deco. Let's get the easy bit out of the way. Deco should never have been bought. He was past his best when we got him, and was only going to get worse (and he has). It's not his fault, he's just not what we need, and never was. Ballack was also bought too late - he had a couple of seasons left in him, and now contributes little. Time to go.

In theory, that should leave room for Joe Cole. But my patience with him has run dry - and so it seems has Ancelotti's. We keep waiting for him to put in the sort of performances he's occasionally hinted at. But all too often he disappoints. My feeling is that if he were going to become a truly great player, he'd have done so by now. It'll be hard to see him go, but maybe it is time to cut our losses - and find a player who really will unlock defences the way Joe was supposed to. Kakuta, anyone?

Now the difficult bit. Frank Lampard has been central to all that has been fantastic about Chelsea in the last 5 years. He is the fulcrum of the team, the cog it all works around. Except this season. For large parts of this season, he's looked out of sorts - and that's especially true right now, when we need him most. His faltering performances have been the single biggest cause of the midfield engine room failing to get us going. And yet - when he's on form, he's still our most important player. Should we keep him and hope he finds one or two more good seasons? My hunch is that we should - and that with younger midfielders around him to take the strain, he can still be that vital pump at the heart of the team.

Then there's the strikers. You'd be nuts to get rid of Drogba, wouldn't you? Well… maybe not. His performance level (not to mention his transfer value) will drop soon. He takes a lot of punishment from defenders and some day, it will take its toll. However, he is still the best in the world at what he does, so replacing him may well prove impossible. Then there's Anelka. On song, he's my favourite player to watch. Abundant skill, devastatingly intelligent movement, calm, selfless and prolific. But since January, he's been off the boil - and you have to wonder whether he'll recapture his form. Besides, do you really want both of your frontline strikers in their 30s? One, maybe. But both?

Assuming we do keep them, what about the second string? Kalou's the right age - but is anyone really convinced he's got the talent to dislodge either Drogba or Anelka as first-choice? The trouble is, he shows flashes of brilliance - but lots of carelessness and stupidity. I can't see that he's improving, and if it were up to me, we'd take the biggest offer we can get for him. Sturridge, I think, can and may well be the real deal. But he needs a season or two to reach the level we need. So in the meantime, we need to find a young-ish striker who can arguably be considered as good enough to be first-choice? There's this bloke at Atletico Madrid who's not too bad, apparently…

As for Ancelotti, there's a huge debate about whether he's got what it takes. My main worry with him is that he tends to be reactive rather than pro-active during games. That was highlighted in the Inter games, when Mourinho took them by the scruff of the neck, changed tactics and made substitutions to make the game go the way he wanted. Ancelotti waited until things were going wrong before he made changes. He did the same against Blackburn at the weekend. But in general, he's set the team out well, allowed them to play dominating, assured football - and if it's not always as fluid as we'd like to see, maybe that's more down to the players than the manager. But anyway, I'd argue we have to keep him. We cannot afford another summer of managerial upheaval. We need to focus on squad rebuilding - and we can't do that if we have yet another new manager trying to work out what he's got to work with, trying to convince the board about a whole load of new targets, and probably trying to learn English at the same time. It's why we've failed to rebuild when we should have - this may be our last chance to get it right.

So that's Ancelotti to stay. Hilario, Carvalho, Ferreira, Belletti, Deco, Ballack and Kalou out (I may have missed a couple). Bruma, Kakuta and possibly Stoch, Matic and Mancienne to move up into the squad. And some new multi-million pound players in their early 20s please, Roman. If it's not too much to ask.
Stingray

Fiskar · 24-03-2010 11:36pm

Got most of what we said last night in that thesis! Would still keep Kalou though.
Whats the thinking on Di Santo at Blackburn, is he still keen on a return to the bridge? Will it happen?

smuckers · 24-03-2010 11:44pm

Well done lads I have to say though we were quite poor in the first half but second half was much much better, Joey did very well when he came as did Van Anolt.
Being on the villa.
According to a chatter Aguero and Pato are done deals and have been since Christmas.

ShoulderChip · 24-03-2010 11:52pm

smuckers wrote: »

Well done lads I have to say though we were quite poor in the first half but second half was much much better, Joey did very well when he came as did Van Anolt.
Being on the villa.
According to a chatter Aguero and Pato are done deals and have been since Christmas.

what chatter?

smuckers · 24-03-2010 11:59pm

talkingballacks

DazMarz · 25-03-2010 12:00am

ShoulderChip wrote: »

what chatter?

Eh... yeah...

If they were done deals at Christmas, surely they'd have been here and togged out in their royal blue in January...

But can see them both coming here alright, in the summer.

If not, Ribery might make a nice addition, tho a few too many years in the Bundesliga makes me a bit leery about taking him on, and the price tag would also be very hefty too.

pistolpetes11 · 25-03-2010 12:11am

Johner wrote: »

What flights you getting over mate? Really thinking of doing this now, won a bit of cash on the horses earlier!

Flying out at 9.10 pm on Friday night , but I am not coming back until monday !

Making a proper weekend of her !

flahavaj · 25-03-2010 12:14am

flahavaj wrote: »

Have Chelsea actually ever signed a bone fide Superstar in his prime? They've had a tonne of big names over the years but nearly all of them have had their best years behind them or were in the latter stage of their careers.

And why is this? Are they not viewed abroad as a big club?

Not on a wind-up, genuine question.

Anyone come up with an answer to this?

Panthro · 25-03-2010 12:15am

good to see Carlo take a cheeky punt on Sturridge...heh hemm!

pistolpetes11 · 25-03-2010 12:19am

@ Johner

You will pick a flight up for 90 quid return with Aer Lingus mate , I think the dep is at 8.50 am on the saturday but it leave at 6.40 on the sunday morning !

Ya can throw your head down in our Hotel for few hours if you want if ur stuck

Johner · 25-03-2010 12:20am

Cheers mate, I'll try sort something out anyway, thinking of doing the Spuds away the week after if money permits!

pistolpetes11 · 25-03-2010 12:23am

flahavaj wrote: »

Anyone come up with an answer to this?

We were never really a big enough club over the years and when we were we had a lot of money and the asking prices for players went through the roof !

Mutu is the only one I can think of .

homer simpson · 25-03-2010 12:38am

flahavaj wrote: »

Anyone come up with an answer to this?

Robben, untill he got injured.....every other week.

The Davestator · 25-03-2010 12:38am

Just watched highlights of tonights match and deco was a disgrace again, I'd take ballack any day of the week. Deco simply cannot pass. Grr

Fiskar · 25-03-2010 12:49am

flahavaj wrote: »

Anyone come up with an answer to this?

Crespo, but as with others he never got going until he went to Italy on loan! Then we wanted him back and same old ding dong and we had to send him back again. Still he got to his Champions league final a lot earlier than the Chelsea team he left behind but alas beaten by the scoucers in 2005 final where he scored twice.

homer simpson · 25-03-2010 12:55am

The Davestator wrote: »

Just watched highlights of tonights match and deco was a disgrace again, I'd take ballack any day of the week. Deco simply cannot pass. Grr

Dont forget it was deco who's accurate header straight at that divit in the turf in front of James that was the assist in our first goal tonight, lol!!!

DazMarz · 25-03-2010 1:20am

Deco was past it when we bought him and should be in the old age home at this stage. Was one of the best players ever back in the day, but now he's just not up to the Premiership. One decent header does not make for a good spell, in fairness. He's on €458,000 a month or so,.... he's happy. Fans aren't tho!!!

homer simpson · 25-03-2010 1:25am

DazMarz wrote: »

Deco was past it when we bought him and should be in the old age home at this stage. Was one of the best players ever back in the day, but now he's just not up to the Premiership. One decent header does not make for a good spell, in fairness. He's on €458,000 a month or so,.... he's happy. Fans aren't tho!!!

I aint disagreeing with you but i was implying is that without deco tonight we wouldnt have been one nil up! As the person stated that he was woofull, sure he wasnt very good but he still got an assist.

DazMarz · 25-03-2010 1:32am

homer_simpson wrote: »

I aint disagreeing with you but i was implying is that without deco tonight we wouldnt have been one nil up! As the person stated that he was woofull, sure he wasnt very good but he still got an assist.

Suppose, but still. One assist out of how many games that he has done SFA doesnt make me feel anything, tbh. CA should seriously consider subbing on Matic for Ballack/Deco at some point, IMO. He couldn't do any worse!!!

Gonzovision · 25-03-2010 1:52am

homer_simpson wrote: »

I aint disagreeing with you but i was implying is that without deco tonight we wouldnt have been one nil up! As the person stated that he was woofull, sure he wasnt very good but he still got an assist.

We need hungry players, not old have beens who don't pull their weight.

kryogen · 25-03-2010 1:56am

Just saw Drogba limping on ssn

whats that about?

DazMarz · 25-03-2010 2:02am

kryogen wrote: »

Just saw Drogba limping on ssn

whats that about?

The Pompey centre half probably sneezed at him

kryogen · 25-03-2010 2:03am

plenty of elbows from Chelsea players tonight eh? just seeing the highlights now on ssn

deco is seriously getting credit for an assist in the first goal? bit of a joke

DazMarz · 25-03-2010 2:06am

Good few elbows alright... Not something to be proud of really. But still, 5-0 cannot be argued with...

I know, bit of a joke that he gets an assist for that. Fratton Park should get it... The divot and all that. haha

kryogen · 25-03-2010 2:07am

lol Calamity James strikes again

DazMarz · 25-03-2010 2:09am

kryogen wrote: »

lol Calamity James strikes again

Big time... I laughed my bollix off at that. And a mate of mine (not even watching the game) was trying to defend him! Eh, you can't really, ffs. England's "#1" should be stopping them every single time.

Bubs101 · 25-03-2010 2:35am

flahavaj wrote: »

Have Chelsea actually ever signed a bone fide Superstar in his prime? They've had a tonne of big names over the years but nearly all of them have had their best years behind them or were in the latter stage of their careers.

And why is this? Are they not viewed abroad as a big club?

Not on a wind-up, genuine question.

Well Sheva was a bone fide Superstar who was in his prime right up until the day he signed. Jose is a bonefide Superstar who we signed after his finest hour. Cashley is as big as a left back is ever going to be and we signed him after a phenomenal run at Arsenal. Carvalho was named best defender in the Champions' League but didn't have a big profile.

Best answer to your question is probably Ballack though. He captained Germany to a 3rd place finish in the World Cup and had been the best player in the Bundesliga for years and had just come from captaining Bayern to another title. He could have walked into any other top club's team that season and while he has declined as a player he still captained Germany to second place in the Euro's

pistolpetes11 · 25-03-2010 3:25am

kryogen wrote: »

Just saw Drogba limping on ssn

whats that about?

Nothing unusual about that when Drogba is involved :pac::pac::pac:

DazMarz · 25-03-2010 4:35am

pistolpetes11 wrote: »

Nothing unusual about that when Drogba is involved :pac::pac::pac:

Big time. Could be anything from a sneeze to a broken leg. You never can tell.

CHD · 25-03-2010 8:45am

kryogen wrote: »

plenty of elbows from Chelsea players tonight eh? just seeing the highlights now on ssn

deco is seriously getting credit for an assist in the first goal? bit of a joke

:pac:

Love you babe

Essien · 25-03-2010 12:05pm

Johner wrote: »

Drogs only 2 behind Rooney now aswell in the PL scoring charts, I wonder how many of Rooney's are peno's actually?

SShhh...Rooney is the bestest striker in the wurld zomg!!1 Havn't you been watching Sky? :P

Anyway, say what you want about the opposition, a 5-0 away win is a 5-0 away win imo, brilliant result. A win against Villa is just what we need heading into the United match.

This is gonna be an epic title race!

kryogen · 25-03-2010 12:19pm

Drogba goal scoring this season has been amazing when you consider he missed the month in January

cant believe he is only 2 behind now!

could be a good thing for us, i bet Rooney will want that golden boot to erase the shadow of Ronaldo on him so it could make him work even harder

Essien · 25-03-2010 12:31pm

kryogen wrote: »

Drogba goal scoring this season has been amazing when you consider he missed the month in January

cant believe he is only 2 behind now!

could be a good thing for us, i bet Rooney will want that golden boot to erase the shadow of Ronaldo on him so it could make him work even harder

Both have been phenomenal this season.

It's a big ask to assume Rooney, or anybody else for that matter, could "work even harder" than Rooney has the past few months. Both players are hungry, even though Drogba can have a sulk every now and again, both have been at the top of their game for the best part of the season.

smuckers · 25-03-2010 1:51pm

We played with so much freedom in the second half, and we scored 5 goals without Anelka playing, this is not a dig at him he was very good in January but we seemed to play better without him.

jrar · 25-03-2010 5:18pm

CHD wrote: »

Chelsea 8-3 Pompey

Well done, you got the goal diff. right, but you should've known Petr would add to his clean sheet collection

DazMarz · 25-03-2010 5:20pm

jrar wrote: »

Well done, you got the goal diff. right, but you should've known Petr would add to his clean sheet collection

Haha! Great stuff! Yeah, CHD... Get with the programme!!!:D

jrar · 25-03-2010 5:22pm

flahavaj wrote: »

Anyone come up with an answer to this?

Eh, the one and only GFZ was hardly past his prime when he came to the Bridge - one of the top 3 players ever to pull on a Chelsea shirt.......in my humble opinion of course

pistolpetes11 · 25-03-2010 5:40pm

jrar wrote: »

Eh, the one and only GFZ was hardly past his prime when he came to the Bridge - one of the top 3 players ever to pull on a Chelsea shirt.......in my humble opinion of course

Was GFZ not 30 when we picked him up ?

DazMarz · 25-03-2010 5:53pm

pistolpetes11 wrote: »

Was GFZ not 30 when we picked him up ?

Yep, Gianfranco Zola was 30 years old when he joined Chelsea in 1996, and stayed there until 2003, leaving for Cagliari aged 36 and was probably the best player to pull on a blue shirt...

Even at 30, he was arguably in his prime at Chelsea... I personally think he was, he was deadly. As Sir Alex put it: "A clever little so and so".

redout · 25-03-2010 6:04pm

SSN: Carvalho out for a month with ankle ligament damage.

homer simpson · 25-03-2010 6:06pm

redout wrote: »

SSN: Carvalho out for a month with ankle ligament damage.

Yup, alex is the better player anyways but still.....

Bubs101 · 25-03-2010 6:54pm

jrar wrote: »

Eh, the one and only GFZ was hardly past his prime when he came to the Bridge - one of the top 3 players ever to pull on a Chelsea shirt.......in my humble opinion of course

Zola was never really a superstar to be fair. Desailly on the other hand

Johner · 25-03-2010 7:57pm

pistolpetes11 wrote: »

@ Johner

You will pick a flight up for 90 quid return with Aer Lingus mate , I think the dep is at 8.50 am on the saturday but it leave at 6.40 on the sunday morning !

Ya can throw your head down in our Hotel for few hours if you want if ur stuck

Shite still haven't sorted my passport so that's flying with Aer Lingus out of the question.

I'll look up the Eurolines route and hopefully get someone to come along!

Arsenal1986 · 25-03-2010 8:29pm

You dont need a passport to fly to UK with Aer Lingus...

Johner · 25-03-2010 9:35pm

Ah yes was thinking about Ryanair.

redout · 25-03-2010 9:38pm

you dont actually need any ID to travel to the Uk or Uk to Ireland.

All you need to do is satisfy a customs officer that you are Irish or British.

Some fools like O'Leary make things difficult but legally you are not required to have any ID.

Ush1 · 25-03-2010 9:42pm

redout wrote: »

you dont actually need any ID to travel to the Uk or Uk to Ireland.

All you need to do is satisfy a customs officer that you are Irish or British.

Some fools like O'Leary make things difficult but legally you are not required to have any ID.

Yes but Ryanair won't let you on the flight. It's not about legality AFAIK, it's the discretion of the airline.

smuckers · 26-03-2010 12:08am

Carvalho out for a month with ankle ligament damage, we've been cursed with injuries, Essien unsure when he's back.

Chelsea Team Talk/Gossip/Rumours

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