Chelsea Team Talk/Gossip/Rumours Thread 2013/14

McDave

Good finish to Prem under way. Victory against Spurs actually makes 2nd a remote possibility.

This season's results against MU are proof positive that we need not fear them unduly next season. It's our ability to compete head-to-head with City that's more in question. We need real midfield steel to deal with their physicality which incidentally is reminiscent of Mourinho's Mk 1 Chelsea.

Fingers crossed for 3 points against Spurs. Throw the kitchen sink at them. That outcome will be sad for them, and for AVB who I'd like to see make his mark.

But for now wrap up the UCL, and keep up the hard core momentum and grit up to the final! And then see if we can get the icing on the cake with 2nd!

Garzorico

McDave wrote: »

Good finish to Prem under way. Victory against Spurs actually makes 2nd a remote possibility.

This season's results against MU are proof positive that we need not fear them unduly next season. It's our ability to compete head-to-head with City that's more in question. We need real midfield steel to deal with their physicality which incidentally is reminiscent of Mourinho's Mk 1 Chelsea.

Fingers crossed for 3 points against Spurs. Throw the kitchen sink at them. That outcome will be sad for them, and for AVB who I'd like to see make his mark.

But for now wrap up the UCL, and keep up the hard core momentum and grit up to the final! And then see if we can get the icing on the cake with 2nd!

We should have beaten Citeh in the semi final. We had plenty of chances in the second half (and they should have had 2 reds), we controlled the game in the last 30 mins. Citeh have had their big ass midfielders all season and struggled against all comers, not least in the UCL. Its the winning mentality/habit we need more-so than midfield steel. I love the way we are playing at present with a midfield of apparent lightweights. Rambo is a tough as teak and Oscar n Lampard are no windbags either.

If Mourinho gets his hands on this squad the only positive thing will be that he'll have Lukaku better than Drogba within a season.

Rafa in.

hots

Garzorico wrote: »

Rafa in.

^ Really? He's done okay but let's not forget we're in a fight for fourth for a reason...

Garzorico

hobbit of the shire wrote: »

^ Really? He's done okay but let's not forget we're in a fight for fourth for a reason...

I reckon give him a chance, I think we are seeing the fruits of his labour only now.

Crann na Beatha

This post has been deleted.

duploelabs

Garzorico wrote: »

I reckon give him a chance, I think we are seeing the fruits of his labour only now.

hows that real estate under that bridge working out?

justshane

I was thinking about the new 'Rafa in' in argument and must admit was starting to buy it, then I remembered he put Yossi on for Hazard against Liverpool in a game where 3 points were a must.

Chucky the tree

justshane wrote: »

I was thinking about the new 'Rafa in' in argument and must admit was starting to buy it, then I remembered he put Yossi on for Hazard against Liverpool in a game where 3 points were a must.

Clearly they weren't.

bullpost

Rafa was always a stopgap.

If he gets top 4 and wins a cup he will go with the blessing of a lot of fans, including this one, and it has increased his profile with other clubs judging by the weekend papers, so everyone wins

justshane

At the time they where, winning with less than 20 mins left, chasing a champions league place been keenly contested between at least 2 teams

Gbear

justshane wrote: »

I was thinking about the new 'Rafa in' in argument and must admit was starting to buy it, then I remembered he put Yossi on for Hazard against Liverpool in a game where 3 points were a must.

And yet ye would've won had a player that should've been sent off not scored (which would've suited both parties better due to the unique way in which the FA dispense justice) and a somewhat gratuitous amount of added on time not been given.

Iused2likebusts

hobbit of the shire wrote: »

^ Really? He's done okay but let's not forget we're in a fight for fourth for a reason...

Its hardly rafas fault your in a race for fourth. You did finish 6th last year and were third when he took over. The gap to city is pretty much the same as when he took over its just the fact that utd went on an unbelievable run that meant there was no title race. There was probably a fair few points dropped in home games due to the atmosphere in and around the ground in his first couple of months in charge. Since the crowd have settled down your form has been excellent.
For me the best thing about rafa is that hes the one manager that stands up to Fergie and says a few truths about him. Every other manager in the league is in awe of him and just wants to talk about what bottle of wine hes going to share with fergie after the match.
Rafa wont be staying but its very hard to argue that he hasnt at the very least steadied the ship and conducted himself with dignity.

hots

Iused2likebusts wrote: »

Rafa wont be staying but its very hard to argue that he hasnt at the very least steadied the ship and conducted himself with dignity.

Certainly wouldn't deny ^ that at all, but arguing that he's done well because he's done slightly worse than the person who was sacked before him isn't a good point imo. 4 points off the lead was hardly the worst position to be in.

Sure Utd had a good run but that's what every team needs and we weren't stringing results together when it mattered (if we wanted to contest for a title). In fact our results became so poor we are now delighted to be scraping a 4th spot.

He has done what was necessary for this year (providing we don't make a balls of the last few games) and for that I'm sure all Chelsea fans are grateful, he's not the one for the future though.

Johner

Phoenix wrote: »

http://www.dailystar.co.uk/football/view/313095/?

Nooooo. Falcao please.

hots

Johner wrote: »

Nooooo. Falcao please.

I'd much prefer Lewandowski over Falcao, he's had a great season, is much younger and I would imagine would cost less too... He seems like a solid fit for them prem. Saying that it's the Star and I'd be surprised if he didn't stay in Germany.

Johner

Falcao is probably the best striker in the world. Between him and Lewandowski it's not even a contest on who I'd want here.

kev1.3s

Johner wrote: »

Falcao is probably the best striker in the world. Between him and Lewandowski it's not even a contest on who I'd want here.

Are you mad? He's behind both messi and ronaldo in goals and they aren't even traditional strikers! I'm not disputing his obvious quality but best in the world is a little much. We have a terrible record in buying top strikers, we buy them too old and after there peak and in my opinion falco falls into the same category the time to buy him was when atletico bought him from porto.

Amirani

kev1.3s wrote: »

Are you mad? He's behind both messi and ronaldo in goals and they aren't even traditional strikers! I'm not disputing his obvious quality but best in the world is a little much.

Confusing post. Why would you bring up Messi and Ronaldo in a discussion about the best strikers when you then acknowledge that neither are strikers? Falcao is certainly in the top 3 strikers in the World, and a good argument can be made for him being number 1.

kev1.3s

NiallSparky wrote: »

Confusing post. Why would you bring up Messi and Ronaldo in a discussion about the best strikers when you then acknowledge that neither are strikers? Falcao is certainly in the top 3 strikers in the World, and a good argument can be made for him being number 1.

My point being that if he was really that quality he should have more goals than either of those. As I said his quality is obvious but I just can't see him as the best striker in the world.

Meglamonia

kev1.3s wrote: »

My point being that if he was really that quality he should have more goals than either of those. As I said his quality is obvious but I just can't see him as the best striker in the world.

Messi and Ronaldo are surrounded by better quality players in tho and are in the top 3-4 teams in the world.

hots

Meglamonia wrote: »

Messi and Ronaldo are surrounded by better quality players in tho and are in the top 3-4 teams in the world.

And tbf Falcao is hardly playing against much in the way of opposition, I would imagine that would balance itself out?

Btw I wasn't saying he's bad, he's unreal, but at 28 and costing a few arms and legs I think there's better value to be had. Our recent spending on youth seems to be serving us well so far and I would like to see it continue.

Meglamonia

hobbit of the shire wrote: »

And tbf Falcao is hardly playing against much in the way of opposition, I would imagine that would balance itself out?

Btw I wasn't saying he's bad, he's unreal, but at 28 and costing a few arms and legs I think there's better value to be had. Our recent spending on youth seems to be serving us well so far and I would like to see it continue.

Oh yeah you're certainly right about the fact we could spend the money more wisely.You just got the feeling with Chelsea that Falcao with a large transfer fee and his age might catch the strikers curse

The value for money is out there somewhere just have to find it.

McDave

Garzorico wrote: »

We should have beaten Citeh in the semi final. We had plenty of chances in the second half (and they should have had 2 reds), we controlled the game in the last 30 mins. Citeh have had their big ass midfielders all season and struggled against all comers, not least in the UCL. Its the winning mentality/habit we need more-so than midfield steel. I love the way we are playing at present with a midfield of apparent lightweights. Rambo is a tough as teak and Oscar n Lampard are no windbags either.

If Mourinho gets his hands on this squad the only positive thing will be that he'll have Lukaku better than Drogba within a season.

Rafa in.

I'm not saying *replace* our midfield, but add to it. Mata & Co. are the way to go. But certain game will need a more robust approach, and we should have tough options to deploy as needs be.

Agree on the winning mentality. There's been too much chopping and changing which has undone our continuity and consistency. Hopefully we can complete our transition next season and concentrate on evolution and fine tuning over the next five or more.

Meglamonia

McDave wrote: »

I'm not saying *replace* our midfield, but add to it. Mata & Co. are the way to go. But certain game will need a more robust approach, and we should have tough options to deploy as needs be.

Agree on the winning mentality. There's been too much chopping and changing which has undone our continuity and consistency. Hopefully we can complete our transition next season and concentrate on evolution and fine tuning over the next five or more.

Talking about adding steel to the midfield,what about Cheik Tiote?Impressed me in his first season,haven't seen much of him this year though.

DazMarz

*snigger*

Meglamonia

As for the center back position I'd like one of Benatia,Howedes or Godin and In a perfect world Varane!But this isn't football manager unfortunately

MaroonAndGreen

Would also prefer Lewandowski to Falcao, simply because hes younger, and at the same time would probably be cheaper!!

peteeeed

From teamtalk

Bayer Leverkusen's general manager Wolfgang Holzhauser has revealed his suspicion that Andre Schurrle has already signed a deal with Chelsea.

Leverkusen have reportedly received an offer for the Germany international, but they are still busy hammering out the finer details of a deal.

Striker Schurrle, 22, has so far refused to comment on the speculation other than to express his disappointment that a move to the Blues failed to materialise last summer.

He may be satisfied this summer, though, as Holzhauser hinted that a deal could soon be struck.

"Andre Schurrle has probably signed a pre-contract deal with Chelsea," Holzhauser is quoted as saying by Kicker magazine.

"It all depends on whether we let him go. We have received a concrete offer for a fee which we are considering.

"But the price alone is not decisive. We must also have alternatives, which we don't have yet."

The one alternative Bayer are keen on is Chelsea midfielder Kevin de Bruyne, who has caught the eye while playing on loan in the Bundesliga for Werder Bremen this season.

However, dislodged Bundesliga champions Borussia Dortmund are also understood to be interested in the Belgian, who could be the key to Schurrle's move to the Premier League.

"He still has a few talks to hold with Chelsea," said Holzhauser.

"It looks like there is an offer from Dortmund to sign the player for a relatively high fee.

"According to our information, Chelsea don't want to sell him but just loan him out."

However, Leverkusen have not yet spoken with De Bruyne to "find out if he actually wants to come to us and, if so, on what conditions."

Crann na Beatha

This post has been deleted.

Amirani

kev1.3s wrote: »

My point being that if he was really that quality he should have more goals than either of those. As I said his quality is obvious but I just can't see him as the best striker in the world.

No strikers in the world have more goals than Messi. Thus no strikers in the World are the best strikers in the World?

GavRedKing

Cant wait for tomorrow night, win and we're guarnteed to finish 4th at the least, barring some miracle turn around in goal differences from Spurs in the last two games that we were to lose to both Villa and Everton that is.

GavRedKing

Spurs EPL record at The Bridge

P 19 W 0 D 6 L 13 For 12 Ag 37

Essien

GavRedKing wrote: »

Spurs EPL record at The Bridge

Well that's reassuring

GavRedKing

I'd love to add another win to that but I'd take a draw, but not to play for one from the start.

peteeeed

GavRedKing wrote: »

I'd love to add another win to that but I'd take a draw, but not to play for one from the start.

big mistake if we do that ,beat spurs and we can rest the players for the europa league final against villa
i'd like to see cahill and terry at the back, luiz in midfield with rameries and oscar, mata , hazard with torres up front

Azpilicueta is getting better and better as the season has gone on and ashley cole should be fresh enough .

GavRedKing

Oh ya if we go for the win it'll allow us to rest a few for the trip to Villa park.

I hope we start with Torres tomorrow night, we probably will anyway going by Rafas rotation policy but Ba a part from the odd glimpse of brilliance every few games isnt exactly the option I'd hope he'd be.

pistolpetes11

Anyone looking for tickets for the final there is two up here now

Keep an eye on this twitter account too


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duploelabs

Reckon Rafa will put Rambo in Cm to sit on bale for the whole match, nullify him and it's game over

GavRedKing

duploelabs wrote: »

Reckon Rafa will put Rambo in Cm to sit on bale for the whole match, nullify him and it's game over

Ya I can see Luiz and Ramires doing a hatchet job on Bale in the centre, if he moves to the wing Azp has to be very careful and get support from either, hopefully Ramires.

Although it should be Spurs who fear us more, if they go gung ho against us they'll be picked off, if we have Hazard back we'll be laughing.

Here Precious2

GavRedKing wrote: »

Ya I can see Luiz and Ramires doing a hatchet job on Bale in the centre, if he moves to the wing Azp has to be very careful and get support from either, hopefully Ramires.

Although it should be Spurs who fear us more, if they go gung ho against us they'll be picked off, if we have Hazard back we'll be laughing.

The key to us giving ye any kind of game is whether Dembele Lennon and Parker make it. Touch and go with all three.

Any one know who is reffing it?

GavRedKing

Here Precious2 wrote: »

The key to us giving ye any kind of game is whether Dembele Lennon and Parker make it. Touch and go with all three.

Any one know who is reffing it?

Referee: Mike Dean. Assistants: J Collin, J Brooks. Fourth Official: J Moss

duploelabs

GavRedKing wrote: »

Ya I can see Luiz and Ramires doing a hatchet job on Bale in the centre, if he moves to the wing Azp has to be very careful and get support from either, hopefully Ramires.

Although it should be Spurs who fear us more, if they go gung ho against us they'll be picked off, if we have Hazard back we'll be laughing.

Not Luiz! With his tackling, he'll be giving away free kicks in dangerous positions for Bale to do his CR7esque up and downers

GavRedKing

duploelabs wrote: »

Not Luiz! With his tackling, he'll be giving away free kicks in dangerous positions for Bale to do his CR7esque up and downers

He didnt give away anything when we played Basle, he can be disciplined when he needs to be.

TBH his free kicks arent as dangerous as people make out, he's got a good technique but Cech is a very good G.K. who shouldnt be beaten from distance, and he rarely is.

duploelabs

Luiz explains 'that smirk' http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/premier-league/david-luiz-says-smirk-followed-manchester-united-fans-sideshow-bob-jibe-8605311.html

the_monkey

duploelabs wrote: »

Luiz explains 'that smirk' http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/premier-league/david-luiz-says-smirk-followed-manchester-united-fans-sideshow-bob-jibe-8605311.html

Sounds perfectly reasonable - the lad has a good sense of humour !!

Meglamonia

Benitez said in his press conference that Romeu is back in full training and Hazard trained and could be available tomorrow.

Also,when asked about the managerial position he replied "I think we all know who will be here next season"

Hope this injury doesn't affect Romeu,I'd love to see him reach his potential with us.

Crann na Beatha

This post has been deleted.

GavRedKing

Meglamonia wrote: »

Benitez said in his press conference that Romeu is back in full training and Hazard trained and could be available tomorrow.

Also,when asked about the managerial position he replied "I think we all know who will be here next season"

Hope this injury doesn't affect Romeu,I'd love to see him reach his potential with us.

I'll get linched for saying it but if for some reason Jose goes somewhere else I'd actually like to see how Rafa would do given a full season.

I'm willing to bet it wont be 3rd/4th.

It wont happen, ever but we could do a hell of lot worse.

Looking at Harry Redknapp.

Meglamonia

Phoenix wrote: »

did he really?

CarloFan ‏@CarloFan 17m
Previous 3 tweets from Benitez's press conference via http://chelseafc.com
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CarloFan ‏@CarloFan 19m
Benitez also confirms Romeu is back in full training. #CFC
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CarloFan ‏@CarloFan 21m
Benitez confirms Hazard was training & could be available for tomorrow. Bertrand & Mikel are out. #CFC
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CarloFan ‏@CarloFan 24m
Benitez on the managerial situation at Chelsea: "I think everybody knows who will be here next season." #CFC

GavRedKing

Romeu back in training is brilliant news too.

Although with Luiz emergence in CM I much prefer Luiz in there then anyone.

Luiz Ramires is a good partnership for energy and drive and bite.