Chelsea Team Talk/Gossip/Rumours Thread 2013/14

peteeeed

do we need him?

Chelsea are in talks with Atletico Madrid over midfielder Arda Turan according to Galatasaray president Ünal Aysal.

"Chelsea are involved with Arda and we won't be able to match what they are offering," Asyal told Turkish newspaper Milliyet.

Aysal recently met with Atletico Madrid president Enrique Cerezo and enquired about the availability of Arda.

"I met with the head of Atletico Madrid, he told me that there were three players the club definitely do not want to sell; one of them being Arda Turan," Aysal said speaking to Turkish television station KanalTürk.

Atleti would have to listen to any offers which activate his €24 million minimum-fee release clause.

Arda has been heavily linked with a move to the Premier League following comments made by his agent Ahmet Bulut last year.

"Arda has played at Atletico Madrid for two seasons now," Bulut told Turkish state broadcasting service TRT.

"I have wanted to see him play for another team in another league and Arda wants the same.

"I can't say the league or you'll know exactly who I'm talking about but let's just put it like this, there are only 5-6 clubs which could afford Arda right now and he's going to join one of these five clubs."

Arda was signed by the Rojiblancos in 2011 for €12 million making him the most expensive transfer to leave the Turkish Super League.

The Turkish international has lifted three trophies since joining Atleti - the Europa League, Copa Del Rey and he was part of the team which defeated Chelsea 4-1 in European Super Cup.

http://www.turkish-football.com/news_read.php?id=4648

hots

peteeeed wrote: »

do we need him?

Is he not another #10 type player? Seems unnecessary imo... What are peoples opinions on moving Oscar back a position? With us Mourinho always played with 1 DM, 2 centre-mids and two further forward, could Oscar play in Centre-mid with Ramires with Luiz/Mikel sitting behind to clean up?

grumpymunster

Always thought that Oscar is far more effective in the centre of the park so I woudl say be a prefect position for him.

GavRedKing

peteeeed wrote: »

do we need him?

Short answer, no.

But he is a really good player, our problem is trying shoe horn these playmakers into 3 positions that Oscar,Mata & Hazard have locked down so far this season.

hobbit of the shire wrote: »

Is he not another #10 type player? Seems unnecessary imo... What are peoples opinions on moving Oscar back a position? With us Mourinho always played with 1 DM, 2 centre-mids and two further forward, could Oscar play in Centre-mid with Ramires with Luiz/Mikel sitting behind to clean up?

I cant see Jose going to his old 4-3-3 with us. The 4-2-3-1 allows much better balance and even for our squad gives us much more freedom.

If we go 4-3-3 with our current squad it will force Mata wide which isnt too bad but last year he played from wide and wasnt as effective, he has to be central and playing behind a striker.

I've no doubt Oscar could play a CM position in a 4-3-3 and it would be effective would probably see us go

Cech
Azp Ivan Cahill Cole
Oscar Luiz Ramires
Mata Torres Hazard

Now you can chop and change JT, Mikel or Ba into that side but I think if Oscar was paired with a guy willing to the dirty work, Romeu, Mikel or Luiz he could play their in a 4-2-3-1 now that frees up a slot on the wiong which at the moment I'd give to Moses but if we take KDB back I could see him slotting in their as well.

Cech
Azp Ivan Cahill Cole
Oscar Luiz
KDB Mata Hazard
Torres


I just think we should keep Mata central, hes key to any success and his best and most effective role is central.

hots

I'm not sure I could see Oscar as part of a 2 man partnership in the middle tbh, but definitely agree with Mata's best being in the middle... With the fluidity we've shown at times this year I guess the positions don't matter quite as much for our creative players anymore, quite often Mata and haz or Mata and Oscar drift past each other onto the wing or into the middle.

GavRedKing

I think IF Ocasr played in CM he'd ahve to be partnered by Luiz, the rest of CM's arent as physically engaging as Luiz is.

Although the main thing is just play Mata centrally and be doen with it, OScar has done a decent job from wide so far for us, hes not a natural out there and hes had some poor displays from wide this year, more then Hazard or Mata but hes still young and learning so next year should see him and Hazard improve, which is a scary prospect in Hazards case.

GavRedKing

The City game is on CTV tonight isnt it?

1.30 k/o

peteeeed

GavRedKing wrote: »

The City game is on CTV tonight isnt it?

1.30 k/o

mmmmmmmmm working at 8 am , ive yet to break it to the girlfriend about the leinster v ulster rugby, champions league, Chelsea match , UFC marathon on saturday/sunday morning yet

GavRedKing

I'm not going to bother watching it, I'll get highlights tomorrow.

It is a busy weekend of it though, Saturday should be a good match.

Hoping for a Bayern win, they've one of the best squads in Europe and they're recent record in UCL finals, despite being piss poor, they've still got to 3 of the last 4 finals, hope they can at least win this one.

:pac:

ahnowbrowncow

Hope Bayern win too, I've a soft spot for Arjen Robben, was very disappointed when he left for Madrid.

Think we miss having an out and out winger, too many playmakers.

GavRedKing

He doesnt play as a out and out winger for Bayern though, he oftens play on the Right cutting inside, same with Ribery on the opposite wing.

Out and out wingers dont really exist in the game as much as they used to.

That being said, I'd love him ont he right flank cutting in and Hazard on the left cutting in, defenders nightmare.

ahnowbrowncow

GavRedKing wrote: »

He doesnt play as a out and out winger for Bayern though, he oftens play on the Right cutting inside, same with Ribery on the opposite wing.

Out and out wingers dont really exist in the game as much as they used to.

That being said, I'd love him ont he right flank cutting in and Hazard on the left cutting in, defenders nightmare.

Yeah you're right but I think of out and out wingers as someone who stays close to the sideline and runs at players with the ball down that wing rather than someone getting to the byline and crossing.

Are there any quality wingers that Chelsea could or might go after this summer?

GavRedKing

ahnowbrowncow wrote: »

Yeah you're right but I think of out and out wingers as someone who stays close to the sideline and runs at players with the ball down that wing rather than someone getting to the byline and crossing.

Are there any quality wingers that Chelsea could or might go after this summer?

Di Maria? Although I'd say Jose ahs burned most of his Real Madrid bridges.

I'd love to see your man Yermalenko from Dynamo Kiev join but I'm not sure if it would happen.

GavRedKing

Couple of Twitter people saying the Leverkusen chairman, wants KDB on a 2 year loan for a Schurrle deal.

grumpymunster

ahnowbrowncow wrote: »

Yeah you're right but I think of out and out wingers as someone who stays close to the sideline and runs at players with the ball down that wing rather than someone getting to the byline and crossing.

Are there any quality wingers that Chelsea could or might go after this summer?

We could go after KdB

GavRedKing

Yup, I'd be all for KDB coming back, the guy, by all accounts has got good reviews from Germany.

Hes more then ready for the EPL.

But......this being Chelsea we'll sign a few players and leave KDB, Courtois, Lukaku on loan for another while. :rolleyes:

GavRedKing

http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/chelsea-wizard-juan-mata-hoping-1906654

McDave

dfx- wrote: »

Schuster did fine, winning the league as did Capello before him, Pellegrini did excellently given the chairman didn't want him and he was ditched for Mourinho and he had none of the player problems that Mourinho brought with him.

Madrid were beginning to get away from that era with Capello, Schuster and Pellegrini, then Mourinho waded in. I'd expect that a wise old head like Ancelotti will repair some of the damage.

In the 10 years since Perez unceremoniously dumped Del Bosque for not being sexy enough to manage RM, of the 30 major trophies the club participated in (UCL, Liga, Copa), Madrid won only four.

Of those four, Mourinho won two. So, by the standards you have identified, Mourinho did more than fine.

Why have Madrid done so poorly over the last decade? One of the reasons is player power. Jose tried to address this. But I'm afraid it'll take more than three years to break that culture, if that's indeed what Perez wants. Which I doubt if he's bringing in Carlo to 'repair some of the damage'.

Duck Soup

Managing RM is like herding cats. What I'm wondering at Chelsea is - if José rolls back up - how much emphasis he puts on the old guard. JT is now a squad player, Ashley looks fine for another season, Lamps will do well in rotation. The other thing that fascinates me is how he gets the defense/defensive midfield to link up properly with the three amigos and striker. Luiz is fine as a DM, but we don't seem to have cracked that trick of retaining possession from the back and moving it forward.

Duck Soup

It might get asked, so here's the rest of the Chelsea summer tour:

Saturday 25th May New York Chelsea vs Manchester City, 22:30 (Irish time)

Wednesday 17th July Bangkok Chelsea vs Singha All-Stars, 14:00 (Irish time)

Sunday 21st July Kuala Lumpur Chelsea vs Malaysia XI, 14:45 (Irish time)

Thursday 25th July Jakarta Chelsea vs BNI Indonesia All-Stars, 14:00 (Irish time)

Soby

1-0 Ba

blue-army

17 year old Christiensen doesn't look out of place at all.
Hopefully he gets a loan move next year.

Duck Soup

10,000 people turned out to see Chelsea train yesterday in the Busch Stadium, St. Louis. You ever get the feeling that Luiz is an American marketing person's dream?

blue-army

Duck Soup wrote: »

10,000 people turned out to see Chelsea train yesterday in the Busch Stadium, St. Louis. You ever get the feeling that Luiz is an American marketing person's dream?

10,000 people paid $20 to see Chelsea train yesterday! :eek:

Duck Soup

He's kind of the forgotten man due to his injury, but I think that Romeu could be a significant player for us next season.

Andersonisgod

Duck Soup wrote: »

He's kind of the forgotten man due to his injury, but I think that Romeu could be a significant player for us next season.

I agree 100% for me he is the most complete holding midfielder in our squad and a potentially world class player. It's a shame he picked up the injury when he did, Rafa had confidence in him, his form was good, he was playing regularly. He has so much to his game.

Is he on this US Tour?

Duck Soup

Andersonisgod wrote: »

I agree 100% for me he is the most complete holding midfielder in our squad and a potentially world class player. It's a shame he picked up the injury when he did, Rafa had confidence in him, his form was good, he was playing regularly. He has so much to his game.

Is he on this US Tour?

No Romeu or Terry, but Hazard travels. The full US squad from the official club site itself:

Petr Cech
Hilario
Jamal Blackman
Paulo Ferreira
Cesar Azpilicueta
Branislav Ivanovic
Ashley Cole
Gary Cahill
David Luiz
Andreas Christensen
John Mikel Obi
Nathan Ake
Ramires
Frank Lampard
Ruben Loftus-Cheek
Eden Hazard
Juan Mata
Yossi Benayoun
Marko Marin
Victor Moses
Oscar
Fernando Torres
Demba Ba

http://www.chelseafc.com/news-article/article/3185406/title/blues-bound-for-america

GavRedKing

Glad I didnt stay up now. :pac:

Well check the highlights later on, good to see Andersen started, anyone see how he done?

peteeeed

GavRedKing wrote: »

Glad I didnt stay up now. :pac:

Well check the highlights later on, good to see Andersen started, anyone see how he done?

3-0 up and losing , glad the yanks got value for money

GavRedKing

Didnt matter a jot to either squad TBH.

Both sets of squads had their minds on the tan and beach I imagine, its a waste of time IMO, the Americans are getting 2 good games out of it but it isnt productive for us after playing 69 competitive games this season.

duploelabs

Wtf is Yossi doing in that squad?

Duck Soup wrote: »

No Romeu or Terry, but Hazard travels. The full US squad from the official club site itself:

Petr Cech
Hilario
Jamal Blackman
Paulo Ferreira
Cesar Azpilicueta
Branislav Ivanovic
Ashley Cole
Gary Cahill
David Luiz
Andreas Christensen
John Mikel Obi
Nathan Ake
Ramires
Frank Lampard
Ruben Loftus-Cheek
Eden Hazard
Juan Mata
Yossi Benayoun
Marko Marin
Victor Moses
Oscar
Fernando Torres
Demba Ba

http://www.chelseafc.com/news-article/article/3185406/title/blues-bound-for-america

grumpymunster

Yea there is little point in going all the way to the States after a really hard season and serving up a boring 0-0 draw. If the players have any sense the beach and the tan is exactly where their mind is.

GavRedKing

duploelabs wrote: »

Wtf is Yossi doing in that squad?

His contract isnt up until June 30th, might as well drag him along.

grumpymunster

GavRedKing wrote: »

His contract isnt up until June 30th, might as well drag him along.

Sure if he is getting 90 grand a week he may as well carry some baggage, expensive bell boy mind you.

GavRedKing

We probably would have got better use out of Malodua this year then Yossi TBH.

Duck Soup

duploelabs wrote: »

Wtf is Yossi doing in that squad?

He started the game and was as woeful as you'd expect. Bit of a baptism of fire for Jamal Blackman in goal in the 2nd half (Cech was between the sticks in the 1st), especially seeing as the defense was effectively half speed.

It's a tricky one to get the balance. You want to promote the game in the US, but the number one priority has to be not picking up any injuries. So lots of shots on goal, defenses on both sides not over-exerting themselves and no tackles with any bite.

But it was a decent spectacle and I'll try to catch the New York 'return' leg against City tomorrow (kick off 10.30pm Irish time).

Andersonisgod

Duck Soup wrote: »

He started the game and was as woeful as you'd expect. Bit of a baptism of fire for Jamal Blackman in goal in the 2nd half (Cech was between the sticks in the 1st), especially seeing as the defense was effectively half speed.

It's a tricky one to get the balance. You want to promote the game in the US, but the number one priority has to be not picking up any injuries. So lots of shots on goal, defenses on both sides not over-exerting themselves and no tackles with any bite.

But it was a decent spectacle and I'll try to catch the New York 'return' leg against City tomorrow (kick off 10.30pm Irish time).

There were a couple of tackles which were a bit borderline from both sides. Luiz came on in the second half and snapped into each challenge.

I think it's a bit of a shame that we couldn't bring any of the players we had out on loan whose season is finished. If we had Lukaku or McEachran the tour might have been more interesting for non-American Chelsea fans to see how they do in the side.

GavRedKing

Agreed, but they've the pre-season tour of Malaysia ( I think) to impress the new manager.

I assume they'll go on it and be given a chance, well I hope they do and that any decision isnt reached until we see the whole squad together.

So give them all a chance, Josh, Chalobah, KDB, Lukaku, Bruma, Kalas, Piazon, before sending them off on loan again.

GavRedKing

Daily Star saying we're in for Ibrahimovic. :rolleyes:

I know himself and Jose are very good friends but I think about 4 years ago it would have been an excellent deal, now I'm not so sure.

Any deal for Ibra would mean no re-sale value what so ever but his talent is undoubted.

missingtime

Some transfer gossip saying that Liverpool are in for Lucas Piazon, most likely nonsense, but what's the story with him? Is he any good?

GavRedKing

Highly regarded and good youth player, needs some games though to prove it.

Can see him getting loaned out before he gets a chance with us, cant see us selling him this summer though.

Gringo180

Just seen the highlights there on Sky Sports News. Who's the goalkeeper, his positioning left a lot to be desired for all of Man City's goals looked way out of his depth :eek:

GavRedKing

Gringo180 wrote: »

Just seen the highlights there on Sky Sports News. Who's the goalkeeper, his positioning left a lot to be desired for all of Man City's goals looked way out of his depth :eek:

Tall black lad?

J.Blackman, decent prospect, nowhere near Courtois standard but hes still young.

He'll be our 3rd choice next season behind Turnbull and Cech.

Duck Soup

Gringo180 wrote: »

Just seen the highlights there on Sky Sports News. Who's the goalkeeper, his positioning left a lot to be desired for all of Man City's goals looked way out of his depth :eek:

That's Jamal Blackman. He's 19, plays for Chelsea reserves and youth teams. Has represented England all the way up to U21s. Yes, he looked all at sea, but he has to be thrown in at some point to see if he sinks or swims.

Personally, I'd like to see him start the game in New York tomorrow. He's not going to make amends for his previous shortcomings sitting on the bench. These are well-attended games, but there's nothing at stake.

GavRedKing

Yup start him see whats hes like from the start of a game.

It's a nothing game and we know what the other keepers in the squad are like.

Gringo180

Oh right so he's only a pup, wasn't dissing the lad was just wondering was he a new signing that was all. I would agree about starting him in your next game it will give him some much needed experience in a big crowd environment and should do him the world of good.

GavRedKing

Gringo180 wrote: »

Oh right so he's only a pup, wasn't dissing the lad was just wondering was he a new signing that was all. I would agree about starting him in your next game it will give him some much needed experience in a big crowd environment and should do him the world of good.

When ya think Courtois is only about 18 months older then him it shows the gulf in ability.

Blackman may go onto to have a good career with another team but as long as we keep Courtois he wont get near the number jersey in the next few years.

Crann na Beatha

This post has been deleted.

GavRedKing

Rafa signed with Napoli 2 year deal.

RichT

GavRedKing wrote: »

Rafa signed with Napoli 2 year deal.

Any linkage to that?