Chelsea Team Talk/Gossip/Rumours Thread 2012/2013

Blue Shamrock

Bertrand starting ahead of Malouda and Benayoun hopefully means they are in talks to leave club

pistolpetes11

Jamie Redknap just wrote off our chances for the league without us even kicking a ball

At least Neville gave a bit of a more educated opinion ! but still only see's it as a two horse race between both sides of Manchester

geeky

So, before it all kicks off, what will you be happy with from this season?

For me its:

- 3rd in the league
- a more posession-based style of football
- a 'lesser' trophy such as the League or FA cup

This is pretty reasonable considering the quality we've brought in. If RDM delivers this, he should definitely get another league.

Crann na Beatha

This post has been deleted.

TheStook

C'mon Chelsea!

geeky

Happy daze.

cadaliac

1 up after 2 min Ivanovic!!

cadaliac

2 up - lamps penalty

Crackle

Good to start with a win. Not a spectacular performance but plenty to be positive about. Hazard & Oscar off to good starts.

LanceStorm

im still not decided on Moses after that game...

He showed in the 2nd half his pace and raw power, beating Cole and Ivan easily at times, his crossing and shooting was crap but if you keep beating your man then you'll get one away eventually.

Not sure he's ready for this level yet, but I am slightly intrigued by the possibility of Lukaku and Moses up front in the same team, BEAST MODE ENGAGED!!!

Crann na Beatha

This post has been deleted.

Sgt Pepper 64

LanceStorm wrote: »

im still not decided on Moses after that game...

He showed in the 2nd half his pace and raw power, beating Cole and Ivan easily at times, his crossing and shooting was crap but if you keep beating your man then you'll get one away eventually.

Not sure he's ready for this level yet, but I am slightly intrigued by the possibility of Lukaku and Moses up front in the same team, BEAST MODE ENGAGED!!!

He's kind of the opposite of Danny, gets in good positions, good pace, crossing is hit and miss, where as Danny his shooting is hit and miss

i like him though, wouldnt take much to make him top

yep based on one match - i'd take him!

MUSEIST

I still think hulk would be ideal for the system we play, I wonder if that deals still possible.

GavRedKing

Happy with Hazard anyway hopefully he can take to the league like Mata.

Eathrin

What's the story with Ramires?
Is he not going to play much this season after the new signings?

Lukker-

Eathrin wrote: »

What's the story with Ramires?
Is he not going to play much this season after the new signings?

He would have played today instead of Bertrand except he was sick.

He'll feature plenty this season he has established himself as one of our key players.

Techless

Sgt Pepper 64 wrote: »

He's kind of the opposite of Danny, gets in good positions, good pace, crossing is hit and miss, where as Danny his shooting is hit and miss

i like him though, wouldnt take much to make him top

yep based on one match - i'd take him!

Would definitely take him, a more natural fit for the right side. In fairness to him today, it was not an easy game for him with all the speculation but he was their most dangerous threat and woould improve probably improve playing with better players. Would rate him ahead of Lennon or Walcott anyway.

Sgt Pepper 64

Techless wrote: »

Would definitely take him, a more natural fit for the right side. In fairness to him today, it was not an easy game for him with all the speculation but he was their most dangerous threat and woould improve probably improve playing with better players. Would rate him ahead of Lennon or Walcott anyway.

did pretty well on the left as well

Techless

Sgt Pepper 64 wrote: »

did pretty well on the left as well

Very true, a proven premier league player and only 21.

RichT

Moses saw a lot of the ball today, and as said already didn't play too bad apart from the final ball. Maybe he didn't want to hurt his new team

Meglamonia

Really wouldn't mind signing Moses,he would develop into a great player at Chelsea IMO.

Strong and fast,he put it up to Cole and Ivanovic today even tho the final ball wasn't great it can be improved on.Looks like a lot less of a gamble than Hulk!

McDave

geeky wrote: »

- a more posession-based style of football

This is the important bit. If we can change our style and quickly build up consistency, that will guarantee us 3rd in the premiership, at least the last 16 in the Champs League and decent runs in the League and FA cups. A trophy would be a bonus. But we're looking to integrate new players into a new style, and fine tune for real challenges the following season.

Of course we could surprise ourselves, especially by retaining the UCL! :pac:

McDave

Just seen the Chelsea goals on the news. Hazard has made an immediate impression. 3 nice points in the bag.

Hopefully a couple more signings before the window closes and a good autumn to steady the Chelsea ship.

It's early days, but what a turnaround from the depths of last season. CFC back from the brink and forging ahead.

Sgt Pepper 64

McDave wrote: »

Just seen the Chelsea goals on the news. Hazard has made an immediate impression. 3 nice points in the bag.

Hopefully a couple more signings before the window closes and a good autumn to steady the Chelsea ship.

It's early days, but what a turnaround from the depths of last season. CFC back from the brink and forging ahead.

Every time I have watched hazard, he is always very lively, very quick to look for a pass. Reminds me of Mata when he first joined.

Poor lad Mata looks knackered. He def dropped of in performances later on in last season. Played too many games and too much expected of him. Thankfully we now have the players to let bring back that early energy.

And Oscar - wow - real star in the making. SO tidy and good on the ball, and so young. Brilliant. Him and Hazard have made my summer already.

Just need a more depth in other areas and we can make top 3 or 4 easy.

No sucidal tactics from RDM, everyone playing a way they knew.

Dont like bertrand played out of position though.

good start anyway, unlike poor AVB - under pressure already

willmunny1990

Sgt Pepper 64 wrote: »

Every time I have watched hazard, he is always very lively, very quick to look for a pass. Reminds me of Mata when he first joined.

Poor lad Mata looks knackered. He def dropped of in performances later on in last season. Played too many games and too much expected of him. Thankfully we now have the players to let bring back that early energy.

And Oscar - wow - real star in the making. SO tidy and good on the ball, and so young. Brilliant. Him and Hazard have made my summer already.

Just need a more depth in other areas and we can make top 3 or 4 easy.

No sucidal tactics from RDM, everyone playing a way they knew.

Dont like bertrand played out of position though.

good start anyway, unlike poor AVB - under pressure already

Ah that's a bit unfair tbh. Newcastle away will be tough for most clubs and i didn't think Spurs deserved to loose the game, they hit the woodwork a couple of times and had a few other good chances.

RichT

The Chelsea RB saga part 647..........

From Tribal Football

Chelsea are the best option for Inter Milan's want-away defender Douglas Maicon.

Maicon was left out of Inter's UEFA squad for the Europa League, fueling talk that he will be sold in the next two weeks.

Sky Italia says Chelsea are his best option, with the trails to Real Madrid and PSG going cold. A shock move to Juventus has been dismissed by sources close to the player.

Chelsea are haggling over a price for Cesar Azpilicueta with Marseille - and if nothing can be agreed, will return to the negotiating table for Maicon.

GavRedKing

TBH, I'd rather we take Azpilicueta given his age and wages but Maicon would be a good addition, not to sure about Tribal football though.

GavRedKing

Good read from the Guardian about our formation and tactics.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/blog/2012/aug/19/chelsea-midfielders-fernando-torres?newsfeed=true

Eden Hazard and Juan Mata combined excellently for Chelsea towards the right of the pitch, so Fernando Torres angled his runs in behind the defence from the opposite side.

It's difficult to work out Roberto Di Matteo's preferred football style. When he was manager of West Bromwich Albion his side played an attack-minded 4-2-3-1 system, but he was sacked 18 months ago because the side conceded too many goals, among reports that little time was spent working on team shape in training. In stark contrast, Di Matteo won the Champions League last season by assembling an extremely defensive side that benefited from admirable organisation.


His first league game as coach since signing a two-year deal offered no definitive answer to the tactics he will employ in 2012-13. After Chelsea raced into a 2-0 lead in only seven minutes, the onus was on Wigan to make the running for the rest of the game.

The home side dominated possession, which says something about Di Matteo's approach. Other managers looking to shut down a match would have insisted upon ball retention to frustrate the opposition and slow the tempo, but Chelsea were more reactive, happy to drop deep towards their own goal. They attempted half as many passes in the final third as Wigan, and had only six shots.

In the first half, however, we glimpsed a new Chelsea, a side that offered intelligent movement and interchanging of positions. Juan Mata started the game on the right of a 4-2-3-1, with Eden Hazard in the central attacking role behind Fernando Torres, and Ryan Bertrand on the left. Whereas Bertrand stuck to his flank, Mata and Hazard constantly switched positions, and Chelsea's creative threat stemmed from this area – Wigan's left-sided centre-back Iván Ramis was at fault for both goals on his debut.

Chelsea dragged Wigan's three defenders out of position expertly in the first half, and last weekend's Community Shield match, against a Manchester City side who also played a back three, was good preparation for this test. It was intriguing that Mata and Hazard were positioned towards the right of the pitch in the first place. Bertrand was only playing because Ramires was ill, otherwise it would have been the same side that started the Community Shield. That alteration necessitated others changing roles – Ramires would have played on the right, whereas Bertrand is left-sided, but Hazard and Mata had no problems adapting.

That is a key feature of the new Chelsea – versatile attackers. Hazard, Mata and new signing Marko Marin can all play on the left, the right or through the middle. The substitute Oscar can play on the right or in a central role, while rumoured target Victor Moses, an opponent in this match, offers similar flexibility.

In addition to making Chelsea's line-ups difficult to predict, it will consistently offer greater lateral movement, as showcased by Mata and Hazard here. Rarely have Chelsea offered that quality – since José Mourinho's reign, they've attacked directly, battering the opposition directly through sheer force. Just as Didier Drogba was suited to that strategy, Torres should be more at home with technically gifted team-mates.

His own movement will depend on the location of Chelsea's creative talents. In this game, he started runs from the left of the pitch, so Hazard and Mata, from centre-right positions, could angle through-balls to meet his darts towards goal. He did not score, but he did receive service, which is promising considering Chelsea played the majority of the game cautiously.

Despite significant summer signings, Torres remains Chelsea's most expensive asset, and with Daniel Sturridge the only competition for his place in the starting line-up, his role is crucial. As a player who thrives on space and through-balls, he will continue to appreciate the movement and invention of Mata and Hazard – whichever positions they're playing in.

Meglamonia

Chelsea have re-opened talks to sign Napoli striker Edinson Cavani who is rated at £39m by the Italian club, according to The Times.
by skysportspeteo 7:21 AM

what a day

Really happy with our start to the season, we played brilliant in the first 10 mins and some spells mostly second half. Played really nice football and retained the ball, passed and moved. Hazard and Oscar starting brilliant and hopfully they can continue to grow with us and develope even further.

Torres played brilliant too and was unluck not to score. Mata done a good job on the right hand side and sould grow into the role better with more games under his belt. Was great to see the movement in our midfield especially Mata and Hazard switching roles. Also loved the runs from Ivan and Luiz.

I just hope Di Matteo let us take our foot off the gas after we scored two goals. We totally let Wigan take control of the ball for the remainder of the game. Im just hoping that this was DiMatteo tactics. If we can continue to play we did in the first ten mins of the game for the rest of the season we will be winning some trophys

Sgt Pepper 64

Meglamonia wrote: »

Chelsea have re-opened talks to sign Napoli striker Edinson Cavani who is rated at £39m by the Italian club, according to The Times.
by skysportspeteo 7:21 AM

I'll take that rumour and raise ya!

Chelsea and Fiorentina officials had a meeting last week over the transfer of Stevan Jovetic [Calcio I-am-spamming-please-ban-me]. #CFC

CHELSEA League Fiorentina Jovetić Benayoun / FLORENCE - Between Chelsea and Fiorentina could love blossom transfers. As reported in 'Il Corriere dello Sport', now purple, through an intermediary, would have met the 'Blues' to verify the feasibility of an operation. What is this deal is not yet certain, but the names in dance could be many: Stevan Jovetic are the main suspects, Juan Manuel Vargas and Adem Ljajic, players who have long interested Chelsea. But it could also be an input for viola: the hot name is Yossi Benayoun, the Israeli playmaker with a Spanish passport, have already approached the Tuscan summer. Complement an already well-enriched midfield in recent weeks

GavRedKing

Mikel wasnt great yesterday, Lampard was fairly quiet, Moses in parts got down our flanks too easily and that was on both sides, he burned Ivanovic for pace a few times but he out muscled Cole when he went to the left.

Luiz and JT were not really tested apart from a few crosses that found their mark but Cech was rarely called into action which was good as his kicking was atricious, sure he rolled the ball to nobody at one stage but we got away with it, I think hes reluctant to lump balls up to Torres as he isnt the target man Drogba was, its all good rolling the ball to the CM or the FB but nobody came short for him to do it and his kicks were aimless as a result.

Hopefully another 3 points against Reading and an improvement on performance and we'll be setup for our first real test against Newcastle who looked decent against Spurs.

GavRedKing

Sgt Pepper 64 wrote: »

I'll take that rumour and raise ya!

Chelsea and Fiorentina officials had a meeting last week over the transfer of Stevan Jovetic [Calcio I-am-spamming-please-ban-me]. #CFC

CHELSEA League Fiorentina Jovetić Benayoun / FLORENCE - Between Chelsea and Fiorentina could love blossom transfers. As reported in 'Il Corriere dello Sport', now purple, through an intermediary, would have met the 'Blues' to verify the feasibility of an operation. What is this deal is not yet certain, but the names in dance could be many: Stevan Jovetic are the main suspects, Juan Manuel Vargas and Adem Ljajic, players who have long interested Chelsea. But it could also be an input for viola: the hot name is Yossi Benayoun, the Israeli playmaker with a Spanish passport, have already approached the Tuscan summer. Complement an already well-enriched midfield in recent weeks

Yossi and €20 Million for Jovetic would be brillant, although we've been linked with everyone again this summer and we've signed some of the hottest properties in football in Oscar and Hazard, excellent summer so far.

what a day

GavRedKing wrote: »

Mikel wasnt great yesterday, Lampard was fairly quiet, Moses in parts got down our flanks too easily and that was on both sides, he burned Ivanovic for pace a few times but he out muscled Cole when he went to the left.

Luiz and JT were not really tested apart from a few crosses that found their mark but Cech was rarely called into action which was good as his kicking was atricious, sure he rolled the ball to nobody at one stage but we got away with it, I think hes reluctant to lump balls up to Torres as he isnt the target man Drogba was, its all good rolling the ball to the CM or the FB but nobody came short for him to do it and his kicks were aimless as a result.

Hopefully another 3 points against Reading and an improvement on performance and we'll be setup for our first real test against Newcastle who looked decent against Spurs.

Gav its the worst thing we do IMO and we do it ALL the time, Cech hoofs the ball back to out opponants. We have to play from the back. Id love to see Ramires play instead of Mikel but i suppose we will stick with Mikel for the time being. Mikel played some nice passes at time and inteceped some ball, taught he done a decent job but he did make a few mistakes and was out of position at times yet he does not move from his deep role.

Mikel has to move around and get into a position to receive a pass, same goes for Lampard. Could be decent to see more runs from Luiz and Ivan and have Mikel drop back to cover if Mikel wont go past the half way line.

Hoof ball has to stop!

GavRedKing

what a day wrote: »

Gav its the worst thing we do IMO and we do it ALL the time, Cech hoofs the ball back to out opponants. We have to play from the back. Id love to see Ramires play instead of Mikel but i suppose we will stick with Mikel for the time being. Mikel played some nice passes at time and inteceped some ball, taught he done a decent job but he did make a few mistakes and was out of position at times yet he does not move from his deep role.

Mikel has to move around and get into a position to receive a pass, same goes for Lampard. Could be decent to see more runs from Luiz and Ivan and have Mikel drop back to cover if Mikel wont go past the half way line.

Hoof ball has to stop!

In the current squad, Mikel is probably our best DM, he reads the game well enough but lacks overall quality and rarely starts attacks, hes just to slow to play a pass he has to be quicker but given the last few seasons that wont change.

Meireles/Essien/Romeu can all play there but I think RDM wants the insurance of a proper DM in there that wont go off been adventurous and leaving the back 4 exposed, hence why Mikel well get loads of games there, maybe Romeu will grow into the position if hes given time but at the moment Mikel is a banker to play there unfrotunatly.

Hoof ball worked with Drogba but Torres wont win haf as many battles against CB that Drogba would have with ease, its all about changing style and play but that may come if RDM can encourage the FB's and CM's to look for the ball from deep and build up instead of launching balls into the corners or upto Torres/Sturridge.

what a day

BTW what happened to Oriol, was disapointed he was not on the bench yesterday instead of Meirles or Ferraira. He was brilliant when he played but does not seem to get a look in under Di Matteo.

Agree about Mikel he is probably our safest option in DM but he is just that, if only we held on to Diarra instead of Mikel that time. I hope there is a genuine reason for Oriol not at least on the bench and not just because Robbie does not fancy playing him.

We have to play from the back and with a new players signed with the technical players already in the squad we can play much more football, more expansive and technical.

I was so excited byt the way we played the first ten mins yesterday, i hope we can build on that slowly but surely, maybe play like that for 20 mins in the next game Robbie :rolleyes:

GavRedKing

If we play 20 minutes like the first 10 minutes of the Wigan game and are 4-0 I'll be delighted, we can take Mata off then ASAP

RichT

what a day wrote: »

Agree about Mikel he is probably our safest option in DM but he is just that, if only we held on to Diarra instead of Mikel that time. I hope there is a genuine reason for Oriol not at least on the bench and not just because Robbie does not fancy playing him.

Alternately.........

Chelsea are being linked with Newcastle midfielder Cheick Tiote and Magpies boss Alan Pardew is fearing a late bid.


Roberto Di Matteo has already bolstered his midfield options this summer when drafting in the likes of Oscar, Eden Hazard and Marko Marin but it is thought he still wants to add to that area.

Rumours claimed a late move for Luka Modric could be on the cards but with the Tottenham midfielder heading for Real Madrid, Chelsea are ready to turn to Ti

SOURCE

Now HE IS a ball winner!

Crann na Beatha

This post has been deleted.

GavRedKing

Tiote coming in would have to force out a few guys down the pecking order, he plays the game like Essien used to a few years ago, he isnt as good as Essien but hes young and could certainly improve, could be worht a ount at the right miney but Newcastle wont want to sell a player like him when their trying to push for UCL football.

Caveman1

Josh has been loaned to Middlesbrough for the season, hopefully he actually plays

http://www.chelseafc.com/news-article/article/2893140/title/mceachran-loan-to-middlesbrough

what a day

Yeah i have to agree at Tiote is a quality player and could do a perfect job in our DM position. He would cost around 20 - 20m i reckon simular to Fellaini. Bothe quality players but im not sure we will spend that kind of money untill we can offload the rest of our dead wood.

If we were to sign Tiote id be delighted but we would have to move on Essien, Meireles, Yossi and Malouda. If we could sell them on and Loan out McEachran id be delighted. That would leave us with Tiote Lampard Mikel Oriol and Ramires in DM. Maybe move on Lampard then next summer and bring in McEachran.

GavRedKing

If Josh can help M'boro and play 25-30 games it would be excllent for the lad and his development what he needs now is games and he definetly has the ability but he needs games under his bed, hopefully like Bertrand, he can play a few games at this lvel and come back better for it.

RichT

Tiote would be an excellent replacement for the now 'broken' Essien IMO (I'd happily have The Bison make a come back to prove me totally wrong though.)

But as Gav said, The Toon would certainly be looking to keep such an asset, and to add to the rumor mill apparently Citeh are sniffing round him as well.

Caveman1

GavRedKing wrote: »

If Josh can help M'boro and play 25-30 games it would be excllent for the lad and his development what he needs now is games and he definetly has the ability but he needs games under his bed, hopefully like Bertrand, he can play a few games at this lvel and come back better for it.

He goes straight into the squad to play Burnley tomorrow night so hopefully we might see him get a few mins at least

GavRedKing

RichT wrote: »

Tiote would be an excellent replacement for the now 'broken' Essien IMO (I'd happily have The Bison make a come back to prove me totally wrong though.)

But as Gav said, The Toon would certainly be looking to keep such an asset, and to add to the rumor mill apparently Citeh are sniffing round him as well.

If City are in I'd have no problem taking De Jong from them, another fine DM.

what a day

Yep id go with that too Gav, De Jong is a quality player, just the type of player we need in front of our back four. Can bring the ball forward and pick a pass, quality hard man but seems a bit of a tart if you ask me.......dont tell him i said that!

For me Fellaini or Tiote would be class. Im sure there are one or two players abroad but im not sure of any other than the obvious players like Keita Diarra Vidal etc

Aslo well done Lukaku, he seemed quality when he came on the weekend and hopefully he can start games now and come back a monster we know he can be

Caveman1

I was looking for the full video of the Youth team dance off on Youtube and stumbled across this video, Billy Knott does a crazy flip, defo worth a watch

what a day

saw that before Caveman, some brilliant stuff out off them, couldn beleive the flip!!

Are all our youth games on CTV now does any one know?
Im gonna watch as many as i can but missed last weeks games.

Caveman1

what a day wrote: »

saw that before Caveman, some brilliant stuff out off them, couldn beleive the flip!!

Are all our youth games on CTV now does any one know?
Im gonna watch as many as i can but missed last weeks games.

Im not sure how many games you'll see live I think its usually around half of the games they show, im open to correction though

with us being in the NextGen series I read somewhere that they would make a deal with certain station for the rights to that so you wont get any of those games live on CTV