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Chelsea Team Talk/Gossip/Rumours Thread 2012/2013
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If Chelsea offered enough money I'm sure Liverpool would be open for business.
The wanting to be first choice bugs me. If a player thinks they are good enough to be first choice they should just go and prove it. I get what you are saying and that was aimed at players that think like that.
that really gets my goat as well, if your good enough you will play do you back yourself is the question.
As for Nando I have absolute faith the guy will score by the bucket given the right service. Selling him sould be the last thing on our mind's unless someone wants to give us really stupid money or Barca swap Messi for him.0 -
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what a day wrote: »I might be lucky enough to see one or two of our new signing s although il be happy to see the likes of Piazon Bertrand Feruz Lukaku McEachran Bamford Chalobha any one in Blue :pac:
I love watching the reserves and youth players so right up my alley.
I'm just jealous so go away ya smug git
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what a day wrote: »Got my Dundalk ticket suckers!!!!!!!!!!!
There's a very high chance Dundalk will be gone bust by the time that friendly comes around! They're in serious trouble!
Hope I'm wrong though.0 -
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Goal.comRaul Meireles and Florent Malouda failed to impress, but John Terry and Ashley Cole marshalled the England defence well while Fernando Torres' goals hinted at a revival
Like all top club managers, Roberto Di Matteo will have been keeping a close eye as Euro 2012 unfolded, but in reality Chelsea’s stake in the tournament was minimal.
Only seven Blues players took the field in Poland and Ukraine this summer, a paltry sum compared to the 11 men dispatched by Real Madrid or the 12 from Bayern Munich. Of those, only Raul Meireles, Fernando Torres and Juan Mata experienced life beyond the quarter-finals, the latter duo for a Spain team in which they were hardly key components.
Yet ultimately the impact of the tournament will be viewed at Stamford Bridge as a positive one – notably for providing, as it did, the latest step in Torres’ long road to recovery. The £50 million man has scarcely looked comfortably since his arrival in west London, and many have attempted to solve the enigma of his mysterious decline, without success.
Towards the end of last season it began to look as though the debate might become irrelevant. Against opponents as diverse as QPR and Barcelona, the touch, clarity of thought and speed of foot which made Torres such a force of nature at Liverpool appeared to be returning.
But despite this progress, he played only a supporting role as Chelsea claimed the FA Cup before finally realising their Champions League dream in Munich, and made his discontent clear to reporters in the bowels of the Allianz Arena after the match.
In truth, Euro 2012 was little more Torres’ triumph – he played just 189 minutes across his country’s six matches – yet, having clinched the Golden Boot with a goal in the final under the enthusiastic gaze of Roman Abramovich in Kiev’s Olympic Stadium, he can at least allow himself to think different.
A more confident striker should emerge and, if he does, Chelsea will be the beneficiaries.
By comparison, Mata’s level of involvement in Spain’s glorious campaign makes Torres look indispensable. Scoring his side’s fourth against Italy was probably as much as he could do in the six minutes afforded to him at Euro 2012.
But having made 54 appearances for Chelsea last season, Di Matteo may well be relieved his wing wizard had an enforced rest. In doing so, he got to contribute to his country’s moment of history while incurring none of the fatigue.
Looking beyond the tournament winners, Euro 2012 yielded plenty else for Blues fans to be encouraged by. John Terry and Ashley Cole were among the most consistent performers in an England side which garnered respect for its defensive organisation and commitment, if not admirers for what many perceived to be pragmatic, unambitious football.
Frank Lampard was forced to pull out of the trip to Poland and Ukraine with an untimely thigh injury, and his presence was sorely missed in a squad shorn of quality midfield options.
Recent weeks have given rise to rumours of a link-up with David Beckham at LA Galaxy, and Lampard knows that, whenever he leaves Stamford Bridge, he will do so with his legacy complete. If, however, he does decide to stay, Chelsea will hope three months away from a football field will have reinvigorated him.
Gary Cahill was denied the opportunity to appear at a first major international tournament by Dries Mertens’ nasty shove during England’s friendly with Belgium last month. He will be cursing his misfortune, and itching to earn himself another chance by building on a series of impressive performances in a blue shirt last term.
Petr Cech endured an underwhelming Euro 2012 with the Czech Republic, conceding four to Russia and making a horrible handling misjudgment against Greece. He was, however, impressive despite losing his personal duel with Cristiano Ronaldo in the quarter-finals, and Di Matteo will hope his talismanic goalkeeper has got the errors out of his system.
Chelsea’s two other representatives at the tournament – Meireles and Florent Malouda – did little to enhance their reputations in Poland and Ukraine.
The Portuguese was inconsistent and outshone by the more lavishly-gifted Joao Moutinho, while the Frenchman was anonymous as his compatriots were undermined by characteristic in-fighting before being outclassed by Spain. Both must improve if their long-term futures are not, as recent rumours suggest, to lie away from Stamford Bridge.
Such concerns will weigh on Di Matteo’s mind as he plans for his first full season as Chelsea boss – but, on the whole, he should take more positives from Euro 2012 than negatives.
Torres
Minutes played - 189
Rating - 3/5
JT
Minutes played -390
Rating - 3/5
Meireles
Minutes played -437
Rating - 3/5
Mata
Minutes played -6
Rating - N/A
Cole
Minutes played - 390
Rating - 3/5
Cech
Minutes played - 360
Rating - 2/5
starts by saying Meireles was poor, thought he was our best performer at the Euro's
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This could go either way i think. Spurs squad would suit AVB a lot more then our squad did but when you look at the players they have there is weakness all over the pitch IMO. Plus a lack of strength in dept and it could take a while for AVB to bed his methods into the spurs players.
On the other side, AVB could end up holding on to Modric, he could sort out a deal for Adebyor. He could also pursuade Sturridge to Spurs as a central striker. AVB could also get one or two players into the spurs team to strenghten it with the sales of there dead wood players.
There is a lot of speed and a lot of tecnical ability in that squad while at Chelsea he had neither untill we signed Mata. Sturridge had to play wide because we had no Right winger and Torres was poop.
A lot of people writing AVB and Spurs off but im not so sure. If i had to bet id say he will be a success.
But not so much as DiMatteo 0 -
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what a day wrote: »This could go either way i think. Spurs squad would suit AVB a lot more then our squad did but when you look at the players they have there is weakness all over the pitch IMO. Plus a lack of strength in dept and it could take a while for AVB to bed his methods into the spurs players.
On the other side, AVB could end up holding on to Modric, he could sort out a deal for Adebyor. He could also pursuade Sturridge to Spurs as a central striker. AVB could also get one or two players into the spurs team to strenghten it with the sales of there dead wood players.
There is a lot of speed and a lot of tecnical ability in that squad while at Chelsea he had neither untill we signed Mata. Sturridge had to play wide because we had no Right winger and Torres was poop.
A lot of people writing AVB and Spurs off but im not so sure. If i had to bet id say he will be a success.
But not so much as DiMatteo
Good points - the key is can he hang onto Modric? I cant see the player wanting to stay on yet another promise - time is ticking for him.
If he does go, AVB will be in for Monty from Porto0 -
It will be a massive coupe if he manages to keep Modric. Only thing is i think Gav is right our chances of signing Modric now have gotten smaller.
At nearly 27 i would not pay much more than 30m for Modric and if we dont get him its time to move on.
Out of spyte id bid on every player Spurs go after to to inflate the price
In all serious tough we will need to get another deep lying playmaker on board if we cannot get Modric. Mata is much better in the hole behind Torres or working a free role behind the front line.
Any one have any ideas on who we could go for?
May be Witsel? Mountinho? Fellaini? Hamsik? or maybe just sign a defender and move Luiz into that role?0 -
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gavredking wrote: »Is that the one with the needle in the base of the spine?
:eek:
Yep, it's called a lumbar puncture
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See from the website the players are remembering their first day at Chelsea.
Look out for Sam Hutchinson one
PAULO FERREIRA
I was on my holidays after Euro' 2004, then I came to Harlington and met Jose [Mourinho], who I obviously already knew, and to have a look at the facilities. Then I went to Stamford Bridge to sign the contract before going back to my holiday.
ROMELU LUKAKU
I came in and spoke directly with Jose Bosingwa firstly because he's Congolese as well, so we speak the same language. The next person I met was Patrick van Aanholt. After that I met Didier Drogba and did some training; if I remember rightly we were working on our finishing.
I then went home with Bosingwa and stayed with him and his family for a couple of weeks. Now I'm very close to him because he looked after me when I first arrived which I really appreciated, as well as Florent Malouda and Didier Drogba, who were both also very helpful.
BRANISLAV IVANOVIC
On my first day I just remember being very confused, I can't recall too much about it actually. Avram Grant was the manager, I met him when I signed and I remember meeting all of the players for the first time which was really nice.
I can also remember my debut; it was a 4-0 win away at Portsmouth in the Carling Cup and I played the full 90 minutes. It was a memorable game for me, I felt a bit strange because I'd been at the club for a long time without playing, but it was still very nice to finally be a part of everything.
JUAN MATA
I came from Valencia and met Andre [Villas Boas] in his office where we had a little talk about everything. I then went to Stamford Bridge and completed all the relevant medical checks with the club doctors.
The next day, I flew back to Valencia so that I could say goodbye to everybody properly and then came straight back here. Petr Cech was the first player I met; the players had a day off but because he was injured, he was at Cobham receiving treatment, so we had a nice talk.
ORIOL ROMEU
The first time I came here, I was with Gary Staker [player liaison officer], who explained everything to me and tried to make me feel at ease.
I spoke with Fernando [Torres] and he told me various bits and pieces about the club, then I gradually met all the other players. John Terry went out of his way to welcome me and told me that if I needed anything just to ask him so I was grateful for that.
Obviously, it wasn't just moving clubs for me, it was moving to a new country as well, and to another team with very big players. I'd come from Barcelona, of course, but it was still quite daunting for me.
SAM HUTCHINSON
I was seven-years-old, I remember going down to Harlington, I joined at the same time as Liam Bridcutt, and Gianluca Vialli was the manager. I didn't really meet him properly but I remember getting a signed picture from him when I was injured. Nothing much changes, I was injured pretty much as soon as I joined the club and it's been the same ever since!
FERNANDO TORRES
I was staying at a hotel in central London, I remember the driver taking me down to Cobham and because of the heavy traffic, I thought there and then about living by the training ground. We played against Sunderland that night so I was training on my own, I trained inside because there were a lot of people around and the club didn't want them to see me. I met all the staff upstairs, the people in the kitchen, everybody in the building and it was a nice welcome, it was a special day. I went back to the hotel afterwards to watch the game and Carlo Ancelotti called me to say I would be training with my new teammates the following day.
FLORENT MALOUDA
The main thing I remember about my first day was the limousine. It was in LA in pre-season when I first joined up with the rest of the squad. Gary Staker [player liaison officer] was waiting for me in a limousine, and I was thinking to myself "welcome to my new world".
I knew Didier before I came here so we were in contact before I made the move, he was the one I spoke to who gave me little pieces of information and advice. I also knew Claude Makelele and Michael Essien as well, which was a big help. I was surprised to find so many French speakers when I joined.
I was then introduced to Jose Mourinho, who was the manager at the time, and we had a nice conversation in French, which was a shock as I didn't know he could speak French, that's why from the first day I felt very much at home.0 -
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