Chelsea Team Talk/Gossip/Rumours Thread 2016

peteeeed

plus points from last night , kenedy , drogba was at the game

grumpymunster

For me Kenedy and RLC should be starting Saturday we need to start building a team for next season. Pedro cant play again until he bulks up he was the worst player on the pitch by a country mile and considering Ivan, Obi and Oscar were on the team that is some achievement. A close second was TBo he was very very poor last night he needs to get back to normal PDQ.

Costa burst a gut last night, he almost snapped a few times but he was being kicked around the place with little protection but he held it together OK. He did pose a threat though and thats what you want must say I liked what I saw last night from him. Willian was excellent again him and Dave are the only positives from this season so far though Happy is making fine progress.

Our defence is shocking nothing else you can say about that.

As for the decision to sack Jose, well that worked well.

peteeeed

grumpymunster wrote: »

For me Kenedy and RLC should be starting Saturday we need to start building a team for next season. Pedro cant play again until he bulks up he was the worst player on the pitch by a country mile and considering Ivan, Obi and Oscar were on the team that is some achievement. A close second was TBo he was very very poor last night he needs to get back to normal PDQ.

Costa burst a gut last night, he almost snapped a few times but he was being kicked around the place with little protection but he held it together OK. He did pose a threat though and thats what you want must say I liked what I saw last night from him. Willian was excellent again him and Dave are the only positives from this season so far though Happy is making fine progress.

Our defence is shocking nothing else you can say about that.

As for the decision to sack Jose, well that worked well.

costa had a great game , how did yacob not get sent off , ref had a mare

grumpymunster

peteeeed wrote: »

costa had a great game , how did yacob not get sent off , ref had a mare

The ref was dreadful when Pulis admits one of his players should have been sent off there is something really wrong.

GavRedKing

Taylor bottled a few yellow cards alright and kind lost the game from the the extended highlights I seen.

Yacob should have been sent off for tripping Costa and was taken off pretty much straight away, WBA, as soon as it went to 1-1 went into time wasting mode and when Kenedy/O.G. struck I taught we'd see it out.

Theres a serious issue with our backline, theyre slow as f**k to engage the opposition, how many times have we seen them stand off or back away from a player to allow a shot on target or a goal to come from it? Well it happened last night with the goal, they took a quick free kick and we never got up to the edge of the box, the defence kept dropping deeper, they receycled the ball and it was played to the edge of the box and McClean tooka swing at it with no Chelsea player within probably 5 yards and it flew into the corner.

I bet you 90% of the time that ball, in that scenario finds the back of the stand or a block, especially on his weaker right leg, but not last night, not this season, of course it was going to go in but tis not just about luck, its about the defence not being quick or active enough to get out to the shot, which IMO, isnt good enough at this level of the game, they werent ready for the quick free kick and when they played 2 passes before the shot, we still werent ready, we had enough time to react but for some strange reason the whole team dropped to the penalty spot with I think 2 or 3 WBA players on the edge of the box, its madness.

kev1.3s

I was listening to talk sport this morning and Alan Brazil brought up the fact Costa didn't see red with no mention of Jacob, I'll admit Costa walked a fine line alright but Jacob should have got at least 4 yellow cards last night with 3 of them being beyond any question.
If Costa had been sent off and not jacob would have been a scandal but it goes to show you that when the media have you in the spot light things around you seem to go unnoticed. I'm sick and tired tho of making excuses for not winning games on poor calls by the referee, that's ok when we're playing psg or Arsenal but against lower sides we shouldn't be looking towards the reff for our own inadequses.

GavRedKing

Yacob should have been sent off but sometimes you need that bit of luck and those calls can be the difference between 3 pts gained or 2 pts dropped.

We're attacking a bit better but the issues at the back are still there and evident for all to see. Oscar has done his usual, played well against Sunderland and has been utter, utter sh* since including balloning a penalty to win the game against Watford and stinking the pace up against Scunthorpe and last night too he was poor, Pedro, well I think Utd dodged a bullet, hes undoubtedly a fine player but doesnt seem cut out for the league.

I'd be starting RLC and Kenedy on Saturday anyway although it will probably be MAtic for Oscar and Cesc at #10 and Kenedy on the wing for Pedro.

Courtois
Ivan Zouma JT Azp
Mikel Matic
Willian Cesc Kenedy
Costa

GavRedKing

Anyone familiar with Paddy Crenard from MUTV and former United player?

Well was watching MUTV last night (dont know why either) and he was saying that the penalty Smalling gave away was never a penalty and that if they penalise that, there would be 3 or 4 penalties a game given.

We've got some terrible biased pundits on Chelsea TV, Pat Nevin being one, especially on his CTV stuff but christ, Crenard is gas, buddy told me about him before but had to see what the fuss was about, I had a good old LOL at him.

peteeeed

GavRedKing wrote: »

Well was watching MUTV .

get in the sea

GavRedKing

peteeeed wrote: »

get in the sea

Was testing out the new dodgy box and wanted to see if it was picking up the channels.

I swear

duploelabs

GavRedKing wrote: »

Was testing out the new dodgy box and wanted to see if it was picking up the channels.

I swear

Go and stand on the top of a mountain, bare chested, whipping your back, with celery

duploelabs

Real and Athletico are to apparently serve transfer bans, so Hazard is going nowhere

https://twitter.com/samuelmarsden/status/687610474972745729

kev1.3s

duploelabs wrote: »

Real and Athletico are to apparently serve transfer bans, so Hazard is going nowhere

https://twitter.com/samuelmarsden/status/687610474972745729

And either is bale.

GavRedKing

duploelabs wrote: »

Real and Athletico are to apparently serve transfer bans, so Hazard is going nowhere

https://twitter.com/samuelmarsden/status/687610474972745729

PSG?

kev1.3s wrote: »

And either is bale.

This is true, same goes for Griezmann.

GavRedKing

Ya gotta love how blunt LVG is with the media and Neil Curits the other night, calling him a fat man.

TBF its a bit insensitive but I'm surprised the knives arent out for him after it, I'd have love to seen the reaction had it been a Jose. :pac:

The faux outrage would have been delicious.

fair play to him though standing up for his players though.

peteeeed

a lot of pato rumours knocking around

GavRedKing

peteeeed wrote: »

a lot of pato rumours knocking around

That would be a huge gamble.

Injuries and the party lifestyle havent been kind to him but he has turned it around recently, still, a gamble.

Price depending, a could be genius or a disaster, although given how crocked Falcao and Remy have been, he cant be that bad an option.

GavRedKing

The Real/Atletico ban is meant to kick in from the nd of this current window, meaning they'll miss the summer and next Januarys transfer windows.

Theres no hope of any big players leaving either club in that time, unless they pull about 100m from their arse and buy Hazard this window, I cant see Real doing much business. I bet De Gea is kicking himself the Real fax machine acted the bo**ocks in the summer.

Any player they go for that a club doesnt want to sell can just tell pay a crazy premium or feck off.

GavRedKing

Another thing thats annoying about Hiddink 2.0, in the 4 league games hes been in charge for, 1 win I might add, hes only used 2 subs on both occasions and 1 of them was in the 993rd minute at Old Trafford.

When games are crying out for a change hes not making them, he has however made 2 subs at HT, Watford and WBA when hes whipped Cesc and Pedro.

Whats still baffling is Oscar is playing a full 90mins, hes probably the most inconsistent, yet brilliant in the briefest of glimpses players Ive ever seen at this club.

I'd play everyone of our other CMs/CAMs options over Oscar if I had the chance, players like Ivan get criticised and rightfully so, hes been woeful but Oscar has never got going for Chelsea, after the Olympics it was said he needed a rest, afte the WC, we'd see the best of him when he had a rest, hes been here for awhile now and has never put in a run of a dozen games where hes been very good.

TBH, if Juventus did come in for him in the summer I'd sell him, I wouldnt even both er with Pogba as long as we can make our money back on Oscar, hes been very underwhelming. Although in saying all the above, he'd probably be a standout player in a league where its more technical and less rough and tumble than the EPL.

grumpymunster

Cobblers/Dons FA cup match on TV

http://weaintgotnohistory.sbnation.com/2016/1/14/10766822/bbc-bt-sport-fa-cup-4th-round-televised-matches-chelsea-manchester-united-liverpool-tottenham

For the anti BT brigade the BBC have the good grace to show it at 16:00 on the Sunday.

grumpymunster

GavRedKing wrote: »

Ya gotta love how blunt LVG is with the media and Neil Curits the other night, calling him a fat man.

TBF its a bit insensitive but I'm surprised the knives arent out for him after it, I'd have love to seen the reaction had it been a Jose. :pac:

The faux outrage would have been delicious.

fair play to him though standing up for his players though.

Didnt see it but no issue in a manager backing his players in general.

I see the media has the mock outrage going over Costa again, no mind he was kicked all over the park and even Pulis admitted they were lucky to finish with 11 men. The guys in the press must be sick Jose is gone but Guus stuck up for Costa well.

GavRedKing

Whats annoying as well is last night and Tuesday, Utd, Pool, Everton and Spurs all dropped points, we decided to follow form and screw up any chance of catching those above us by failing to win ourselves.

Lukker-

I'm hoping we go all out for Texeira. We need a proper #10. Oscar just ain't that, playing so high up doesn't suit him, he hates playing with his back to goal and all his best play seems to come from deeper. I'd just rotate him and Fabregas for the rest of the season depending on the game.

GavRedKing

Lukker- wrote: »

I'm hoping we go all out for Texeira. We need a proper #10. Oscar just ain't that, playing so high up doesn't suit him, he hates playing with his back to goal and all his best play seems to come from deeper. I'd just rotate him and Fabregas for the rest of the season depending on the game.

He provides more of a goal scoring threat from the #10 role than Cesc alright but his assists ratio is terrible. Hes too lightweight for a proper CM but hes more robust than Cesc and hes much quicker and able to get around the park, hes also not as refined as Cesc and nowhere near as able to find a pass.

If Guus decides to keep Mikel in CM he might aswell partner him with Matic or Ramires for me and go for 2 more defensively sound CMs than Cesc and or Oscar because f**k knows RLC wont get a chance in CM and let Cesc, Willian, Pedro, RLC, Kenedy, Traore, Hazard all play for those 3 support roles.

GavRedKing

http://www.skysports.com/football/news/11668/10129645/west-brom-tried-to-provoke-chelsea-thibaut-courtois-claims

No point crying over it now Courtois, players couldnt get the job done against a side who were only out to play one way, a way that should have suited us better considering they werent playing with quick tricky wingers.

WBA deserve credit for the draw but equally, our own players have to look inward and realise nothing has improved drastically since sacking Jose.

Everton - h
Arsenal - a
Watford - a
Utd - h
Newcaste - h

Thats our next 5 league games, just when I taught yesterday we were turning the corner we have done what we do best this season, s**t the course and we're back to square 1. So no point saying we should get X pts from the 5 games the consistency or lack there of, is killing us. 2 or 3 decent results and then we f**k up and everyone is left scratching their heads how this near exact squad romped to the league title last year, only really slowing down once the title was won.

I try to go back and wonder whats changed, nothing really has changed though, apart now we dont have Jose, was he the issue? Given the results and performances he may have been but its not like we've been pulling up trees, the games since he left have seen 5 league games and 1 fa cup game.

Sunderland 3-1 was flattering, another day that game is much closer
Watford 2-2, again, a game we lead, f**ked away a lead and should have won, see pattern here, its what happened under Jose too.
Utd 0-0, both sides had serious chances to win it, draw probably the fair result.
Palace 0-3, good win, Palace were missing players but still a tough place to go, this was with Hazard going off too after a few mins.
Scunthorpe 2-0, predictable win, sketchy at times good to see RLC score other than that, a nothing game.
WBA 2-2, another homegame with ots dropped from winning positions, this time it was twice.

Guus was clearly brought into do a job of soathig over the issues Jose caused and to steady the ship, now we've not lost, but we've also not, IMO, performed anyway better and I'm not planting the blame with Guus, hes basically trying to guide the team to a somewhat respectable position after the farce we've found ourselves in defending this title.

The largest part of the blame is and will always be for this season, in my eyes, with the players. Yes Jose was no saint and he threw the players under the bus once after the Leicester game, he was sacked soon after but it was clear as day that at that stage players werent pulling their weight after some serious lacklusture performances in the weeks before that. The dressing room was divided, to what extent we'll probably never fully know or understand but Costa with the bib, Hazard walking off against Leicester and Mikels words since the sacking, its fair ti say its more than an individual who had an issue with Jose.

Where does that leave us in the future, well, its basically come full circle, the club derided for player power issues under a lot worse managers than Jose, namely AVB and Scolari, have got Jose the sack with apparent player power coming to the boil, again, Jose wasnt blameless, he hadnt helped himself with a number of issues throughout the season but IMO it was very short sighted to sack him.

Unless the board were fully confident of getting a manager of equal stature and ability, of which there is probably 2 stand out candidates, Pep and Ancelotti, one is going to Bayern while the other looks set for City, its set to be one of the biggest gambles of Romans era at the club. Other possibilities, Allegri, cant speak English and Juventus are likely to win another Serie A after a stunning set of 10wins on the trot, Simeone, cant sspeak English and is bat s**t crazy to boot, hes also adored in Madrid and the feeling is mutual so hes not moving. That leaves you fast running out of acceptable managers to hire. Pellegrini or Mancini, I'd prefer to keep Guus if they were the options, Rodgers or Moyes, well that would be great craic for the rest of the EPL. Hughes, hes not a big name but doing a good job at Stoke, ultimately, not good enough for this level.

Which brings me back to somewhere in the middle of this bloody rant, why sack Jose in the first place? Were relations that badly soured with some of the players and the board that the club decided to leave itself with no viable alternative? It seems so and the reaction after last nights game suggests the fans have had enough, Joses name being sung, showing the board and players that the people most important, or at least they should be at a club, the money paying fans, never lost support for Jose, the season was wrote off, there was a line drawn under it. Everyone was willing to accept that and go forward to August 2016 and start again, Now, the prospect of fighting for a title next year is all but absurd considering the list of available managers and the likely hood of any top quality player joining is slim with no UCL.

Remember, prior to Ancelotti winning the title we didnt look like winning it, since then and before Jose came back it was the exact same, I fear thats going to be the case for the very near future too.

Lukker-

GavRedKing wrote: »

He provides more of a goal scoring threat from the #10 role than Cesc alright but his assists ratio is terrible. Hes too lightweight for a proper CM but hes more robust than Cesc and hes much quicker and able to get around the park, hes also not as refined as Cesc and nowhere near as able to find a pass.

If Guus decides to keep Mikel in CM he might aswell partner him with Matic or Ramires for me and go for 2 more defensively sound CMs than Cesc and or Oscar because f**k knows RLC wont get a chance in CM and let Cesc, Willian, Pedro, RLC, Kenedy, Traore, Hazard all play for those 3 support roles.

I think Oscar's long passing is very under-rated. He's similar to Cesc in that he needs time and space to operate, neither are true #10's and Cesc actually dislikes playing the role.

RLC will probably get chances at #10 this season, I think he should have came on against WBA but I think Guus was reluctant to put two inexperienced players beside each other.

Lukker-

We've been fouled considerably more then any other team this season in the league (278). Case in point last night, WBA turned it into a wrestling match and we took the bait. We need to toughen up, everyone wants to come to the Bridge and rough us up, it's a blue print that has worked, the players need to stop letting it get under their skin and hopefully the refs do their jobs.

GavRedKing

Lukker- wrote: »

I think Oscar's long passing is very under-rated. He's similar to Cesc in that he needs time and space to operate, neither are true #10's and Cesc actually dislikes playing the role.

RLC will probably get chances at #10 this season, I think he should have came on against WBA but I think Guus was reluctant to put two inexperienced players beside each other.

I can see the reasoning behind not playing Kenedy and RLC together but Kenedy is a willing runner and much more likely to track back than RLC.

I dont get why Guus doesnt empty the bench though, we still had options on the bench after WBA scored, what was wrong with throwing on RLC and pushing KEnedy up top or even Remy, who probably wasnt 100% up to cause issues.

Hell, even Cahill on and throw Zouma upfront and launch a few long balls into the mix.

GavRedKing

Lukker- wrote: »

We've been fouled considerably more then any other team this season in the league (278). Case in point last night, WBA turned it into a wrestling match and we took the bait. We need to toughen up, everyone wants to come to the Bridge and rough us up, it's a blue print that has worked, the players need to stop letting it get under their skin and hopefully the refs do their jobs.

The refs have been consistently bad this season across the league, we've suffered a serious amount of bad calls or 50/50 calls that we didnt get. It was the same last year but we were still winning games and when the calls cost us win or draws, we still won the league so youre not as bitter, this season though, f**k me. :rolleyes:

Yacob was a walking red card after his 1st yello and should have been booked at least twice more if Taylor was anyway consistent.

redman85

Lukker- wrote: »

I think he should have came on against WBA but I think Guus was reluctant to put two inexperienced players beside each other.

I think I heard the commentators say RLC was warming up to come on just before we scored the second goal, Guus obviously wanted to see out the win and thought Matic would protect the defence more. We know how that went :mad:

Lukker-

So many weak refs in the league, most of them seem to have no authority. It's a bad sign when Mark Clattenburg is probably the best in the league.

GavRedKing

Lukker- wrote: »

So many weak refs in the league, most of them seem to have no authority. It's a bad sign when Mark Clattenburg is probably the best in the league.

Jon Moss is still the very absolute bottom of the barrel though followed by your man Neil Swarbrick I think his name is.

Useless.

kev1.3s

Us see I think gus has started to improve things, there's no doubt in my mind that although our point haul isn't what's expected we are moving in the right direction and I believe if Jose was in charge we possibly would have lost the Watford and WBA games.
not many teams would have came to Stamford bridge in the last decade and expected to get anything and that is a major advantage any top team enjoys whatever way you look at it but Nobody fears us anymore and when they come to Stamford bridge they all believe they can get something and give us a Damn good go. If we can first of all stop loosing and secondly start to reaffirm our presence at home we can build on that.

phobia2011

Sad thing is, this is the first time ever, that I've been more optimistic of our national team than chelsea, lol.

duploelabs

Lot of talk about Cavani, thoughts?

tombliboo83

duploelabs wrote: »

Lot of talk about Cavani, thoughts?

I like Cavani. He has a good goals per game ratio, he's more mobile and less temperamental than Costa. I'd love Morata but Cavani is a realistic prospect. I see lavezzi linked also..
All we need then is a cm, an outside left and CB.

GavRedKing

duploelabs wrote: »

Lot of talk about Cavani, thoughts?

Thats if he wants out. He needs to be played through the middle coz psg have fu*ked him about on the wings.

Theyed probably get 40-50m for him still too.

tombliboo83

Hazard for cavani and lavezzi? Would never happen but he's the type of cf we should be looking for. Costa isn't a long term prospect or a drogba replacement.

Garzorico

Just saw the 2 West Brom goals from last night - Tbo asleep for both.

Wrongway1985

Garzorico wrote: »

Just saw the 2 West Brom goals from last night - Tbo asleep for both.

First goal was criminal stuff from Pedro though to be easy pickings like that he would get away with that in Spain.

Lukker-

Garzorico wrote: »

Just saw the 2 West Brom goals from last night - Tbo asleep for both.

I don't think TBO can be blamed for either. Pedro was at fault for the first and it was well placed. The second was just kamikaze defending, way too deep, no one on the edge of the box, TBO had about 8 players or more in his line of sight.

GavRedKing

Lukker- wrote: »

I don't think TBO can be blamed for either. Pedro was at fault for the first and it was well placed. The second was just kamikaze defending, way too deep, no one on the edge of the box, TBO had about 8 players or more in his line of sight.

That and I'm willing to bet McClean couldnt repeat that feat on his right leg if he had too, anytime soon. The bas*ard.

Although someone on Tiwtter gave him abuse for costing him £250 and McClean tweeted him asking him did he want a loan? :pac:

GavRedKing

Somethings over night I seen, PAto being linked, would be a big gamble with his previous injuries and party lifestyle, both seem to have been avoided since his move to Brazil though.

Even more laughable, we're after Toni Kroos, yes, the team that will soon be banned from registering players will sell one of their key men.

GavRedKing

On Pato, his agent is the snake, Kia Joorabshian (sp)? has apparently a "healthy relationship" with Chelsea and Roman so Pato could be possible.

I remain very skeptical anyway, I think Pool are after him anyway.

GavRedKing

Ya just doing some digging on Kia Jorabchian and hes been behind the Ramires deal too, reportedly pocketing 50% of the transfer for himself sa he owned 50% of the econmic rights of the player, Benfica would have had to pay him off before the transfer to England after the issue with other Joorabchian players like Mascherano and Tevez for West Ham.

what a day

I actually think Guus is doing a good job considering how terrible we were playing. Its not an amazing change but we are more of a treath on the attack now with Costa back to his best we are just missing Hazard now to stretch defenses.
Our defense has been a shamble but it will take another couple of wins to get the squad pulling in the same direction.

As for Lavezzi no thanks id rather Kenedy been given the chance, every chance Kenedy has been give he has grabbed with both hands IMO.
Cavani i would have loved him 3 seasons ago but no thanks Edi you chose PSG instead of us way back when, il stick with Costa and invest in a younger model thanks.
Pato.........ha ha get the boat id rather Liverpool or Spurs take him.

Iv said before if we want to be the best we have to buy the best not used to be the best.
The price of players has taken a huge jump in the past two windows so we have to spend the money the buy the best players like Griezman Stones and Pogba.

If it means cashing in on some players we have i say do it, Hazard seems to have gotten bored at chelsea and Oscar is to inconsistent. Cash in and spend the money on Stones and Greizmann. Move Willian to the left and rotate with Kenedy and put Griezman on the right.

GavRedKing

what a day wrote: »

I actually think Guus is doing a good job considering how terrible we were playing. Its not an amazing change but we are more of a treath on the attack now with Costa back to his best we are just missing Hazard now to stretch defenses.
Our defense has been a shamble but it will take another couple of wins to get the squad pulling in the same direction.

As for Lavezzi no thanks id rather Kenedy been given the chance, every chance Kenedy has been give he has grabbed with both hands IMO.
Cavani i would have loved him 3 seasons ago but no thanks Edi you chose PSG instead of us way back when, il stick with Costa and invest in a younger model thanks.
Pato.........ha ha get the boat id rather Liverpool or Spurs take him.

Iv said before if we want to be the best we have to buy the best not used to be the best.
The price of players has taken a huge jump in the past two windows so we have to spend the money the buy the best players like Griezman Stones and Pogba.

If it means cashing in on some players we have i say do it, Hazard seems to have gotten bored at chelsea and Oscar is to inconsistent. Cash in and spend the money on Stones and Greizmann. Move Willian to the left and rotate with Kenedy and put Griezman on the right.

Griezmann is a no go with the transfer ban unfortunately, Pogba will be a no go because we've no UCL this year so the one year he may consider leaving Juventus, we wont stand a chance if Barca, City or PSG throw mental money at him.

Stones is very gettable but would cost an insane amount of money considering their value of him, if he really wants out this summer to chelsea, he has to push for the move. Baines never did when Utd apparently wanted him but he was born not far from Liverpool so probably holds the club in high regard.

If Stones has any ambition and no disrespect to Everton, hes not going to fulfill it with them, theyre merely a stepping stone club at the moment and I reckon Stones and Lukaku wont be long there anyway, maybe Barkley too.

Although the way we're going, we'll be plodding around fighting mid table obscurity with them for the foreseeable future if we dont sort our s**t out.

what a day

apparently Kroos was one of the players that wanted out under Rafa and that is why he has been linked with moves away. Any way i dont see why we would be in for him with his sort of asking price when we have Fab.

GavRedKing

what a day wrote: »

apparently Kroos was one of the players that wanted out under Rafa and that is why he has been linked with moves away. Any way i dont see why we would be in for him with his sort of asking price when we have Fab.

Ya, with their transfer ban too, its unlikely they'll sell any of their really good players.

Being honest, of all the Real players I'd take it has to be Isco, followed closely by Varane.

Isco as our new #10 would be brilliant.

what a day

I think all players a gettable TBH. Fair enough if Barca come along chances are the player is gonna wana play along side Messi etc. But if the money is right most clubs will sell. After all the clubs have come out and gave a crazy price like 70m for Griezman and Pogba 80m.
Im saying we sould spend that money but thats more thna likely what it will cost to get them when you look at Utd buying and unproven 18 year old for 60m Pogba and Griezman etc are worth the gamble.

We have a lot of players on our books that need to be moved on and free up some cash to bolster our squad. Its plain to see parts ouf out squad is paper thin and other parts are full of not good enoughs.