Chelsea Team Talk/Gossip/Rumours Thread 2011/2012

Willie Stroker

Yup confirmed on the chelsea site, 6 months.

Sgt Pepper 64

gonzovision wrote: »

RT @OliverKayTimes: Ouch RT @MirrorDarren: Michael Essien out for six months. Chelsea will confirm...

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2011/jul/11/chelsea-michael-essien-stamford-bridge-ghana

Johner

http://www.chelseafc.com/page/LatestNews/0,,10268~2390624,00.html

ESSIEN UPDATE
Posted on: Mon 11 Jul 2011

Following injury to his right knee in training last week Michael Essien had surgery today to repair a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament and meniscus.

The surgery was successful and Michael's full recovery could take up to six months.

Andre Villas-Boas said: 'Everyone at Chelsea wishes Michael well for his recovery. His team-mates and all the staff and I look forward to helping him return to playing as soon as possible.'

MUSEIST

bollix :mad::(

Soby

Damm ..Coulda been worse i guess

superfrank

They say 6 months but ya never no, it could be the season !! Will John Obi Mikel or Ramires playing the CM instead of him?

Willie Stroker

Ramires for sure, seen a bit of him playing for Brazil, he played quite good. Hopefully we can some good news tonight regarding Modric.

Soby

superfrank wrote: »

They say 6 months but ya never no, it could be the season !! Will John Obi Mikel or Ramires playing the CM instead of him?

Ya also never know 6 months could be worse case scenario.
Hopefully we can look forward to more of this,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2QAZI-rtOQ8

in 2011/early 2012

The Davestator

Bit fed up of essien now. I know he doesn't want to be injured but even when he played last year he wasn't great. Should sell him as soon as he's fit imo

Crann na Beatha

This post has been deleted.

McDave

It's really awful. Especially for Essien, who must fear for his career now.

In truth, he's never been the same since his international duty injury. He's lost his mobility and fearless drive. Harsh as it is to say, Chelsea should have been looking to replace him anyway.

He must be so frustrated. He's always been ready to contribute, and in his prime he would have been at the core of CFC Mark II looking forward to a Champ's League medal.

McDave

gavredking wrote: »

That should be our last bid IMO. If £27 Million doesnt shift Spurs then going into the £30 + Million mark is crazy on our behalf, interesting to see what Spurs come back with.

It's a serious offer. It should prise open negotiations. And if they settle on a cash outcome, I can't see it not going to 30m.

Blatter

Spurs won't sell Modric for a penny less that £35M imo, they will possibly demand even more if they eventually agree to sell(which I suspect they will, as it appears Modric is willing to kick up a fuss).

Sgt Pepper 64

Blatter wrote: »

Spurs won't sell Modric for a penny less that £35M imo, they will possibly demand even more if they eventually agree to sell(which I suspect they will, as it appears Modric is willing to kick up a fuss).

They can demand what they like, whether we give it to them is another matter, then they will just be left with an unhappy player and we will move on to another target - this isnt January and Torres.
IMO it will be around 30 Million and the deal will done in the next couple of weeks so Harry can spend it

Blatter

Sgt Pepper 64 wrote: »

They can demand what they like, whether we give it to them is another matter, then they will just be left with an unhappy player and we will move on to another target - this isnt January and Torres.
IMO it will be around 30 Million and the deal will done in the next couple of weeks so Harry can spend it

I wouldn't be so sure.

They dragged the Berbatov deal to the last minute of the window in 08 and got for £31M for him.

I'd be really surprised if they let Modric go for £30M. Their stance on the situation so far has been absolutely emphatic and they will look very foolish if they let him go for anything less than £35M.

superfrank

I think £35m wouldn't be the worse considering the prices these days...


On a Ramires note..I watched some of the Brazil games & although he played a big part in 1 goal...thought he was pretty poor all round..Clumsy in possession & what not. Then again the whole team was fairly poor!

flahavaj

Sgt Pepper 64

Blatter wrote: »

I wouldn't be so sure.

They dragged the Berbatov deal to the last minute of the window in 08 and got for £31M for him.

I'd be really surprised if they let Modric go for £30M. Their stance on the situation so far has been absolutely emphatic and they will look very foolish if they let him go for anything less than £35M.

We could probably get Pastore for 35/40 million.
This time we have other options, I think 35 is the top end and we wont go more than that.

Sgt Pepper 64

Modric's future - SSN update at 10pm tonight

flahavaj

Sgt Pepper 64 wrote: »

Modric's future - SSN update at 10pm tonight

Its never anything new when they do that. Thy always put the good stuff on the yellow ticker thingy as it breaks.

smuckers

Huge news to be precise.

MUSEIST

smuckers wrote: »

Huge news to be precise.

smuckers

SSN there first yet again. :rolleyes:

pistolpetes11

How is that huge news , same crap they have been spouting all day

If I had a cane Id love to clobber the SSN presenter one,

Harry does not sound as sure in his interview this time around

MUSEIST

They always do that just to keep people watching, gets me every time. Bastards

smuckers

I can see him being sold for 35 mil, this one could go on.

Soby

lol fack off SSN

Sgt Pepper 64

Well, there are rumours of him handing in a transfer request this afternoon, hence Harry's worried face

pistolpetes11

Kalou to Villa for £10million

HANG ON THERE NOW !

Let me grab that door for you so it doesnt hit you on the way out.

Id only be chuffed to see him gone , Have totally lost patience with him , misses way to many easy chances , scores one or two hard ones and looks like a dear in the headlights when running with the ball at his feet , rarely beats his man , and dear god the lad can neither pass a simple ball or swing in a cross.

On the lighter side of things , one of the boys posted this on his facebook :

Michael Essien is out for 6 months. Rumor is that Stoke are attempting to sign him to keep Jonathan Woodgate company

smuckers

Pistolpetes I see you're on Shed, I'm The 10th House on there.

pistolpetes11

smuckers wrote: »

Pistolpetes I see you're on Shed, I'm The 10th House on there.

You will catch the pistol all over Chelsea Town my friend ,

Actually I think its the aul username for everything , even FIFA !

Sgt Pepper 64

Guardian said that the bid's rejected which is what we all expected

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2011/jul/11/tottenham-reject-chelsea-offer-luka-modric

10 mill for Kalou - yes pls and 9 mill for Anelka - yes please also

10 Mill for Alex - add another 5 at least!

flahavaj

Sgt Pepper 64 wrote: »

Guardian said that the bid's rejected which is what we all expected

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2011/jul/11/tottenham-reject-chelsea-offer-luka-modric

10 mill for Kalou - yes pls and 9 mill for Anelka - yes please also

10 Mill for Alex - add another 5 at least!

Ye should offer £30m + Anelka and Spurs would buckle I think.

Lukker-

I wouldn't sell Kalou for 10m.

He is an important squad player, has a good goals/game ratio and is one of the few players with great pace on the team, he never fully utilized it but I'd like to see him given a chance under AVB. Great player to bring on for the last 20 minutes too.

Blatter

Lukker- wrote: »

I wouldn't sell Kalou for 10m.

He is an important squad player, has a good goals/game ratio and is one of the few players with great pace on the team, he never fully utilized it but I'd like to see him given a chance under AVB. Great player to bring on for the last 20 minutes too.

He is one of those players of very decent quality that seem happy to spend a lot of time on the bench and be a stop gap.

They are difficult to find and their value is highly underestimated.

TerryTibbs!

Kalou is an important member of the first team and should be at a club like Chelsea.

GavRedKing

So Essiens out for 6 months, new CM will be signed, if Spurs drag their feet over the bid, f**k um. We should look elsewhere, there is enough quality out there for £25-35 Million should we have to look at other options.

Ramires can easily fill the gap at the moment anyway.

If we get £19 Million for Anelka and Kalou I'd be delighted. Anelka is pushing on, 32 now is it? Hes been a great player for us but that offer could be too good too turn down.

Kalou see ya later also. Just because hes happy on the bench doesnt mean when the chance comes hes good enough to step up, I've lost faith in him, hes to one dimensional for my liking. Culling one, or both of these players will give Sturridge more chances.

Getting rid of alex would be a mistalke though, himself and JT have a decent partnership building so spliting them up would be bad, solid player who i wouldnt like to se leave.

Sgt Pepper 64

gavredking wrote: »

So Essiens out for 6 months, new CM will be signed, if Spurs drag their feet over the bid, f**k um. We should look elsewhere, there is enough quality out there for £25-35 Million should we have to look at other options.

Ramires can easily fill the gap at the moment anyway.

If we get £19 Million for Anelka and Kalou I'd be delighted. Anelka is pushing on, 32 now is it? Hes been a great player for us but that offer could be too good too turn down.

Kalou see ya later also. Just because hes happy on the bench doesnt mean when the chance comes hes good enough to step up, I've lost faith in him, hes to one dimensional for my liking. Culling one, or both of these players will give Sturridge more chances.

Getting rid of alex would be a mistalke though, himself and JT have a decent partnership building so spliting them up would be bad, solid player who i wouldnt like to se leave.

Pretty much agree with all that. Kalou is useful, but admitted himself he is not a "top" player and needs too many chances.
http://www.footballandtennis.com/2011/01/14/kalou-admits-he-ist-scoring-much-goals/

BUT we should only replace with better quality.
With Kalou, you need someone who is happy to sit on the bench, and take chances when off it. Very hard to find a ole solskjaer type player.
Alex - it will be hard to find someone of his quality for the same price.
Perhaps we are looking to get a homegrown in, so at least our squad wont be so stretched, gamble on Cahill and hope that our main CB's remain fit.
We will need a long term replacement for Terry and perhaps our current youngsters - Bruma etc arent developing fast enough.

IMO if Spurs dont sell Modric quickly we will look elsewhere so we can give the player a bit of pre-season. Spurs will hopefully cop on and cash in and give Harry the money so he can get players in and settled down before the seaon starts.
Rumour has it that they have already accepted him leaving and will just try and screw us on the price

Really looking forward to seeing Ramires next season as he should be nicely settled in now

GavRedKing

Sgt Pepper 64 wrote: »

Pretty much agree with all that. Kalou is useful, but admitted himself he is not a "top" player and needs too many chances.
http://www.footballandtennis.com/2011/01/14/kalou-admits-he-ist-scoring-much-goals/

BUT we should only replace with better quality.
With Kalou, you need someone who is happy to sit on the bench, and take chances when off it. Very hard to find a ole solskjaer type player.
Alex - it will be hard to find someone of his quality for the same price.
Perhaps we are looking to get a homegrown in, so at least our squad wont be so stretched, gamble on Cahill and hope that our main CB's remain fit.
We will need a long term replacement for Terry and perhaps our current youngsters - Bruma etc arent developing fast enough.

IMO if Spurs dont sell Modric quickly we will look elsewhere so we can give the player a bit of pre-season. Spurs will hopefully cop on and cash in and give Harry the money so he can get players in and settled down before the seaon starts.
Rumour has it that they have already accepted him leaving and will just try and screw us on the price

Really looking forward to seeing Ramires next season as he should be nicely settled in now

Well I think if we lose Kalou/Anelka that basically pushes Danny straight up the order, if hes getting games and getting realistic chances to impress I'd say he would be happy to stick around and play back up to Torres and Drogba.

With Alex, I think selling him would be foolish, if we take him out, that leaves us with Ivanovic and Luiz to play for CB along side JT, which would be grand if we got another RB to replace Paulo F. and back up or bench Bosingwa.

Id nearly bet Modric will line up for us next season, whcih should also see the end of Yossis term at the club but AVB could very well keep him as the back up creative player, if he stays fit he still can do an impressive job for ar least the next season or two.

Ramires should fill the gap, again pushing guys like MacEchran further up pecking others, one thing that annoyed me though was losing Matic as aprt of the Luiz deal, he would be perfect in our midfield, I feel we lost a good talent in that deal who could have helped us in CM last year.

Anyway, is it August 14th yet, please hurry up. :P

Essien

If we have been offered 10m for Kalou I think we should take it, hand n all!

He's just not clinical enough, I (and it seems most other Chelsea fans) am fed up watching him miss chance after chance. I wouldn't mind if he was decent in supporting the attackers but he isn't, he can't travel more than a few yards in possession without running into a dead end. I just don't think he's up to it at the top level.

It will be a shame to see Nico leave but realistically he can't offer much more at 32 and we really should be accepting reasonable offers to free up room for younger players.

35m seems like a lot to pay for Modric and Spurs seem more than willing to let it drag on as long as possible. I think we should look elsewhere, for that price there has to be a few alternatives, plus I'd rather avoid another 11th hour marquee signing, get it done early in the window and focus on your football then.

Also, the injury news to Essien sucks big time, could his career be in trouble? Such a shame if it is.

GavRedKing

Essien wrote: »

If we have been offered 10m for Kalou I think we should take it, hand n all!

He's just not clinical enough, I (and it seems most other Chelsea fans) am fed up watching him miss chance after chance. I wouldn't mind if he was decent in supporting the attackers but he isn't, he can't travel more than a few yards in possession without running into a dead end. I just don't think he's up to it at the top level.

It will be a shame to see Nico leave but realistically he can't offer much more at 32 and we really should be accepting reasonable offers to free up room for younger players.

35m seems like a lot to pay for Modric and Spurs seem more than willing to let it drag on as long as possible. I think we should look elsewhere, for that price there has to be a few alternatives, plus I'd rather avoid another 11th hour marquee signing, get it done early in the window and focus on your football then.

Also, the injury news to Essien sucks big time, could his career be in trouble? Such a shame if it is.

The one thing though about Modric he woudl blend relatively trouble free into the squad given his time at Spurs.

On Essiens injury, any serious injury, especialy with the knee can be a disaster and leave players a shadow of their former self. To really judge we should watch Torres this year very closely, he ahs ahd a proper summer holiday with plenty of rest and hopefully should be abck to full fitness for the 1st time in about a year when he starts next season so that could be a guage of how Essien come backs, although each player and injury is different.

On a side note, ive a cheeky 50 Euro bet with my buddy that Torres will get more EPLgoals then Suarez, im very confident of been 50 quid up by May.

GavRedKing

Bit of news from the site if no one has seen it.

ChelseaFC.com : First match today, behind closed doors friendly.

With a week of pre-season training now behind him, John Mikel Obi reports pleasing progress on the fitness front.

The 24-year-old midfielder has been enjoying life under the guidance of Andre Villas-Boas and his staff over the past few days, and is now looking forward to a first taste of competitive action when Wycombe Wanderers visit Cobham in a behind-closed-doors friendly later today.

'We have a game on Tuesday against Wycombe, and it will be nice to be in a match situation,' said the Nigerian, who spent the end of last season on the bench. 'Hopefully we do well in our first game under the new manager. We know it is a practice game but everyone has to work hard because we know it is important to show what we can do.

'Training sessions have been going well; everyone is in a good mood. We're obviously all just back from our holidays but people are feeling fit and seem happy with the training and the systems we have here so now we have to transfer it into a game.

'The new manager has worked really hard on our sharpness and it is going very well. There has been lots of ball work and not so much running, which is really good. You get used to the ball again quickly and you feel fitter quickly.

'The double sessions are hard but working with the ball makes it so much easier than running all the time, and it is enjoyable as well.'
Mikel will be looking to learn from Roberto Di Matteo, Villas-Boas's new assistant coach, who himself was an international-standard midfielder, and the player believes the Italian has resettled into Chelsea life quickly after nine years away.

'The other coaches are also playing their part in supporting the manager and adding their own ideas,' he said. 'Everything so far has been great, we're all enjoying their training and everything is going well so hopefully we can have a good season and for me it will be good to pick up information because I still want to improve.'

There has been a downside to the last week however, with the knee injury sustained by Michael Essien, though the Ghanaian's team-mates remain upbeat.

'Unfortunately Michael Essien has been injured, and we all feel sorry for him and wish him well and hopefully he can come back very soon,' Mikel said.

LanceStorm

bit of talk about Scott Parker being brought in as a short term replacement for Essien?

I think he could do a job for us, but not long term and to be honest, considering how he got on the last time he played for us I dont think he'd want to come back to us, especially if we are only going to kick him back out the door when Essien is fit again!

Sgt Pepper 64

On Modric
A shed source says the following:

"Arry is furious with all this apparently and said to Levy let him go now. Arry has also told Levy he doesn't want him on their tour in fear of upsetting the apple cart.

That is what I have been told as of last night."

GavRedKing

LanceStorm wrote: »

bit of talk about Scott Parker being brought in as a short term replacement for Essien?

I think he could do a job for us, but not long term and to be honest, considering how he got on the last time he played for us I dont think he'd want to come back to us, especially if we are only going to kick him back out the door when Essien is fit again!

Seen this on Twitter on last night and assumed there was no truth in it.

If im honest I dont know what to make of it, Parker has matured as a player and is no more focused then when he was with us, at West Ham and for England he has turned into a good DM player that he never looked like turning into when he was with us, his game has changed though and he could do a job but I'd rather try players within the squad rather then spending needless money on a guy for one season while someone comes back.

On that note maybe AVB realises he may need a real DM, given we lost J.Cole last year and Yossi picked up his injury we lost any real creative spark we had from the centre of the park.

Be interesting to monitor.

Johner

No thanks to Scott Parker and if we are even looking at him I will be disappointed, he's not good enough.

GavRedKing

Sgt Pepper 64 wrote: »

On Modric
A shed source says the following:

"Arry is furious with all this apparently and said to Levy let him go now. Arry has also told Levy he doesn't want him on their tour in fear of upsetting the apple cart.

That is what I have been told as of last night."

I can see where Harry is coming from, but TBF to Modric he doesnt seem like the type to moan and complain and upset people. Hes handled this affair fairly well, hes been diplomatic, hes not thrown a hissy fit and hes not demanded a transfer.....yet. IMO Levy and Spurs have handled it wrong and it makes Modric out to be a bit of a mercenary but if a bigger more succeful club comes in with a decent offer Modric will want to go even if Spurs dont want to lose him and stand firm.

Spurs will try milk it and fair play to them, they will end up getting every penny they want from the deal, but upsettign the squad seems harsh on him. He doesnt come across as a trouble maker or s**t stirrer.

Johner wrote: »

No thanks to Scott Parker and if we are even looking at him I will be disappointed, he's not good enough.

Agreed really, as a stop gap he could work but he would just be very similar to Mikel and we already have a Mikel in our squad.

Sgt Pepper 64

Johner wrote: »

No thanks to Scott Parker and if we are even looking at him I will be disappointed, he's not good enough.

he probably wouldnt come anyway. He needs to go somewhere he is guaranteed first team football

GavRedKing

Sgt Pepper 64 wrote: »

he probably wouldnt come anyway. He needs to go somewhere he is guaranteed first team football

Whats interestign is we have no clue what type of formation AVB ill play so we might not even deploy a DM so Parker or even Mikel would be surpurlus to requirements. But poor Mikel when he joined us was a playmaker/AM with an eye for a forward pass and a fairly decent level of technique, it was Mourihno who decidd he should be a DM and link the play from the back four to the rest of the team, a bit like Makelele, that was the plan anyway.

I wonder what AVB will do with him, Mikel if given the license might even manage a goal if we push him on. :pac:

I thnik it was West Ham away last season he cracked the bar from about 25 yards out. :pac:

I can see a midfield 3 of Ramires/Lamps/Mikel/Modric (maybe ) / MacEchran getting chances next season, maybe throw in options of Yossi/Zhirkov/Malouda and we should be sorted.

Maybe add Pastore/Kaka/Sneijder and we would be well and truly sorted. :cool:

Sgt Pepper 64

gavredking wrote: »

Whats interestign is we have no clue what type of formation AVB ill play so we might not even deploy a DM so Parker or even Mikel would be surpurlus to requirements. But poor Mikel when he joined us was a playmaker/AM with an eye for a forward pass and a fairly decent level of technique, it was Mourihno who decidd he should be a DM and link the play from the back four to the rest of the team, a bit like Makelele, that was the plan anyway.

I wonder what AVB will do with him, Mikel if given the license might even manage a goal if we push him on. :pac:

I thnik it was West Ham away last season he cracked the bar from about 25 yards out. :pac:

I can see a midfield 3 of Ramires/Lamps/Mikel/Modric (maybe ) / MacEchran getting chances next season, maybe throw in options of Yossi/Zhirkov/Malouda and we should be sorted.

Maybe add Pastore/Kaka/Sneijder and we would be well and truly sorted. :cool:

Yep roll on the Portsmouth game. I dont have Chelsea TV though :eek: