618 replies to this topic

[evissy]

footballoholic, on 12 December 2011 - 05:50 AM, said:

Torres has no business in a fast counter-attack based team? How does that work out?

Did you see Valencia game? We were at our own half most of the game and when we attacked it was mostly a long ball to Drogba's chest. That is something Torres can't do. Actually Drogba is probably the only player in the country who can do that IMO. Torres wouldn't have given anything in the City game either. He knows it himself even.

I hope he makes it as in the early stages of the season he was good but now we can see who is and has always been better. I'm a Torres fan and have always defended him but Drogba is unplayable monster when he wants to. Reality is we need Torres to come good as Drogs is already 33.

If we can find a left sided winger there would be him, Sturridge and Mata from midfield feeding the spaniard. I think it would be a killer combination.

What about that Ajax kid Eriksen. Looks like he could take the left side.

[Oblivion]

Hamsik is prolly a bridge to far for us, but what about that Fiorentina chap? Jovetic? He could take up a slot just behind the main forward and swap with Studge and Mata for a truly mobile frontlne. He's got quite a shot on him too.

[Spiller86]

Jovetic signed a new contract till 2016 about a month ago so probably not.

[Davey Baby]

Certainly, definitely and absolutely we will be signing a centre-back this winter, as we currently only have three, and one of those (Ivan) is our preferred right-back. Also, we mustn't forget Terry might get banned, which would be potentially disastrous.

Will it be Cahill? I would be very happy, as he is as good as we can hope for, bearing in mind he will only be cover for Luiz and Terry. He is English, proven in the Prem, plays alongside Terry for England, and will be cheap. It's a no-brainer. However Man Utd may want him now that Vidic is out, and there are strong rumours Spurs are in for him. If I were him I would want guaranteed first-team football, seeing as he is approaching his peak and has international ambitions. At Chelsea (or Utd) he would only ever be a squad player. He should go to Spurs, but money talks.

I also think we wlll go in for Pereira, a player AVB definitely wants. Ashley Cole is on the wane and I think AVB realises that and Pereira is a player he knows and clearly fancies, which is good enough for me. I trust AVB's judgement implicitly. I would not be surprised to see Ashley go next summer, and I think Pereira and Bertrand will be vying for that first-team spot next term. Porto will demand the earth. I expect us to back the manager and pay it.

Right-back? Let's look at that. Ferreira is finished, Bosingwa is adequate cover for me this season, I see no reason to strengthen this position this winter. In the summer we will need to find a replacement for Bosingwa, who is probably going. Ivan is the man at right-back and that will remain the case. No need to tinker this winter.

Midfield. Of course we would all love Modric but it's not going to happen. Not this winter. Maybe in the summer if Spurs don't make the CL and we do. However I suspect Utd may have a say in that. I have always liked Modric. He is pure class. So, if he's not coming, who is? Well, we have Romeu (with Mikel as cover), we have Ramires, and we have Mereiles or Lampard to fill that third slot. We are basically filling three places from five, and we need more. Josh should go out on loan, for his own sake. The key is Essien. If we're going to go for Modric or someone of that ilk it will be next summer, so whoever comes in should just be for the purposes of cover, as we've often done in previous winter windows. If it is deemed Essien can make it back, then there's no need to buy, and personally I'm hopeful. He will only be a squad player this term but an important one potentially. If not, or if we cannot rely upon him coming back, buy, but don't buy someone who will rock the apple cart or will expect to walk straight into the team. That could cause problems and is unneccessary, as we're just starting to find our feet. Leave that signing til the summer.

Wingers? We all want one. If the right one's out there, buy him as soon as possible. We are picking 2 from 3 at the moment, and one of them (Sturridge) could potentially play up top when Drogba goes to the ACN, as we will only have Torres as an option. A winger also potentially allows Mata to play midfield, in a creative role, thus could solve many problems. Pace, trickery, width. Bring it in.

If we get that winger we don't need to replace Drogba this winter, we can look at that next summer. Torres and Sturridge are good options to have in his absence, bearing in mind if we sign a top striker he will expect to play games, and that will cause problems, especially when Drogba returns. Drogba is just rediscovering his form, we would be mad to prioritise a striker over a winger this winter in my opinion.

Leave it for the winter. We can take stock, assess the squad, and bring the right guys in, the guys who will make the difference, strengthening our team.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, next season I fully expect Ashley Cole, Mereiles and Drogba to no longer feature in our strongest first team.

To summarise ..

This winter we need a centre-back; we could do with a left-back; depending on Essien's fitness we could do with cover in midfield (or settle for Malouda); and if a long-term solution on the flank is available, buy him.

That's four players max.

Players going out, if we find takers ..

Alex, Anelka, Kalou.

Josh and Lukaku go out on loan.

Voila.

[Rami]

Out : Alex,Anelka,Kalou,Mikel (only if we get Modric),Mceachran (loan),Lukaku (loan)
In : Modric
Thats for january tho, for the summer its a whole different story.

[Spiller86]

Davey Baby, on 15 December 2011 - 12:33 AM, said:

Certainly, definitely and absolutely we will be signing a centre-back this winter, as we currently only have three, and one of those (Ivan) is our preferred right-back. Also, we mustn't forget Terry might get banned, which would be potentially disastrous.

Will it be Cahill? I would be very happy, as he is as good as we can hope for, bearing in mind he will only be cover for Luiz and Terry. He is English, proven in the Prem, plays alongside Terry for England, and will be cheap. It's a no-brainer. However Man Utd may want him now that Vidic is out, and there are strong rumours Spurs are in for him. If I were him I would want guaranteed first-team football, seeing as he is approaching his peak and has international ambitions. At Chelsea (or Utd) he would only ever be a squad player. He should go to Spurs, but money talks.

I also think we wlll go in for Pereira, a player AVB definitely wants. Ashley Cole is on the wane and I think AVB realises that and Pereira is a player he knows and clearly fancies, which is good enough for me. I trust AVB's judgement implicitly. I would not be surprised to see Ashley go next summer, and I think Pereira and Bertrand will be vying for that first-team spot next term. Porto will demand the earth. I expect us to back the manager and pay it.

Right-back? Let's look at that. Ferreira is finished, Bosingwa is adequate cover for me this season, I see no reason to strengthen this position this winter. In the summer we will need to find a replacement for Bosingwa, who is probably going. Ivan is the man at right-back and that will remain the case. No need to tinker this winter.

Midfield. Of course we would all love Modric but it's not going to happen. Not this winter. Maybe in the summer if Spurs don't make the CL and we do. However I suspect Utd may have a say in that. I have always liked Modric. He is pure class. So, if he's not coming, who is? Well, we have Romeu (with Mikel as cover), we have Ramires, and we have Mereiles or Lampard to fill that third slot. We are basically filling three places from five, and we need more. Josh should go out on loan, for his own sake. The key is Essien. If we're going to go for Modric or someone of that ilk it will be next summer, so whoever comes in should just be for the purposes of cover, as we've often done in previous winter windows. If it is deemed Essien can make it back, then there's no need to buy, and personally I'm hopeful. He will only be a squad player this term but an important one potentially. If not, or if we cannot rely upon him coming back, buy, but don't buy someone who will rock the apple cart or will expect to walk straight into the team. That could cause problems and is unneccessary, as we're just starting to find our feet. Leave that signing til the summer.

Wingers? We all want one. If the right one's out there, buy him as soon as possible. We are picking 2 from 3 at the moment, and one of them (Sturridge) could potentially play up top when Drogba goes to the ACN, as we will only have Torres as an option. A winger also potentially allows Mata to play midfield, in a creative role, thus could solve many problems. Pace, trickery, width. Bring it in.

If we get that winger we don't need to replace Drogba this winter, we can look at that next summer. Torres and Sturridge are good options to have in his absence, bearing in mind if we sign a top striker he will expect to play games, and that will cause problems, especially when Drogba returns. Drogba is just rediscovering his form, we would be mad to prioritise a striker over a winger this winter in my opinion.

Leave it for the winter. We can take stock, assess the squad, and bring the right guys in, the guys who will make the difference, strengthening our team.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, next season I fully expect Ashley Cole, Mereiles and Drogba to no longer feature in our strongest first team.

To summarise ..

This winter we need a centre-back; we could do with a left-back; depending on Essien's fitness we could do with cover in midfield (or settle for Malouda); and if a long-term solution on the flank is available, buy him.

That's four players max.

Players going out, if we find takers ..

Alex, Anelka, Kalou.

Josh and Lukaku go out on loan.

Voila.

Well thought out Davey.

I personally think our ins depend on who goes out. I think good offers would be accepted for any of Kalou, Bosingwa, Paulo (sadly), Mikel and Malouda. If they don't come in, then only the centre half replacement and a flexible forward would be required.

Cahill is the obvious choice for centre half for all the reasons you mentioned, but AVB's comments the other perhaps bring that into question. My other option would be a flexible player who can fill a number of roles across the backline or perhaps in defensive midfield (if we assume that Mikel and Essien aren't long term prospects) and that Romeu still has the return option floating about.

In that vein someone like Jack Rodwell might be an option. I think the guy is going to be a top class centre half in the long run, making the transition like Kompany. He also provides good young English cover in midfield. We've got to keep getting young English lads into the team because Father Time is catching up with Ash, JT and Frank who have always been our English core.

Edited by Spiller86, 15 December 2011 - 08:38 AM.

[evissy]

It is not easy finding players that are available to come in the January. Lot of terms need to be met to make that player a good target. 1. great player 2. playing in a team that is not doing so well 3. not cup tied...to mention some.

I have no idea if Cahill is good enough for this team but he meets most of the terms and he in English and we really need a cover for Alex.

I'd also go after left sided winger. Malouda is clearly not in AVB's good book as he doesn't play that much and I'm not sure. I would like the idea that we use Cole and Bertrand as the left backs and get a pure attacking winger and use Mata somewhere in the middle. We can always throw Mata back in the left side but he is so good that I think we would be considerably stronger as a team with him in the middle. Who that winger would be is the big question. Eriksen from Ajax, Hazard??

[Andreas]

Hazard and Cahill!

[evissy]

http://www.dailymail...ecember-15.html

Gonzalo Higuain is on our shopping list apparently. That would be a huge mistake. He has the same qualities as Torres but Nando is better IMO. We don't need another player of that type. We need a striker who can create for himself like Drogba and Sturridge.

[evissy]

We are actually in a tight spot if we don't get reinforcements in January window.

We are short of central defenders so we need to buy a player for that position.

Anelka is out but so will be Drogba and Kalou when African nations start. We'd only have Torres and Lukaku for the central role as we need Danny in the right flank. That is a huge problem IMO.

Midfield looks better with Romeu being so good and Essien coming back. Not sure if Essien is in Ghana squad or if Ghana is in the ACN...And Essien is a big question mark anyway. Not sure if he'll ever reach his great level.

[Zeta Orionis]

What about Coleman from Everton as competition at RB for Ivanovic? Assuming Ferreria is to leave soon, and people not being too enamoured with Bosingwa.

[Arq]

This news should scratch David Villa's name off of any January transfer list. He has broken his leg.

http://espn.go.com/s...g-barcelona-win

[sizzler85]

I would like chelsea to identify players who are playing in the top division for small clubs and who can be quite handy as a squad player. Any suggestions ?

[mrjhay]

BlueSkies, on 15 December 2011 - 01:31 PM, said:

What about Coleman from Everton as competition at RB for Ivanovic? Assuming Ferreria is to leave soon, and people not being too enamoured with Bosingwa.

Wouldn't be the worst idea ever - he's actually quite good. Along with Walker at Spurs probably one of the better young RBs in the league..

[footballoholic]

mrjhay, on 15 December 2011 - 04:45 PM, said:

Wouldn't be the worst idea ever - he's actually quite good. Along with Walker at Spurs probably one of the better young RBs in the league..

Not sure how you can say that when he hasn't played right back in over a year(I think). Correct me if I am wrong.

[shedpensioner]

Cahill, thats all for January, get it done early!

Get Josh out on loan.

No silly panic buys on the last day!

Oh and not sure I agree about the LB slot, I hink we have 2 quality replacements for Ashley and don't need to spend out £20-£30m which could be better spent elsewhere in the summer!

I expect major surgery in the summer!

[rahul]

The positive results should not cloud our judgement of the season. This is and always was a transitional season. There is no need to go panic buying in January with a view to mounting a title challenge or hunt for the CL. We'd only end up paying over the odds for someone who we'd most probably regret buying same time next year. There is a need to carefully analyze who we need and what the vision for the next few years is before delving in any transfer business. We also need to analyze the impact any acquisition will have on the youngsters trying to break into the first and the long term impact on the academy thereafter. I'm afraid this is very difficult in January therefore we should keep our business to a minimum and trust what we have. A cover or two are fine though, given a couple of players are leaving but nothing major.

[Sheva]

Can Lukaku even go out on loan?

[evissy]

I don't think there is a question about panic buys. Reality is Anelka and Alex are gone which came as surprise to the club and ACN is behind the corner.

We are short of quality players. From what I've seen from Lukaku he is not ready to set the prem alight. Maybe we could loan someone good.

CB cover is needed. We have 3 and all are very prone to cards.

[ozboy]

evissy, on 15 December 2011 - 09:10 PM, said:

I don't think there is a question about panic buys. Reality is Anelka and Alex are gone which came as surprise to the club and ACN is behind the corner.

We are short of quality players. From what I've seen from Lukaku he is not ready to set the prem alight. Maybe we could loan someone good.

CB cover is needed. We have 3 and all are very prone to cards.

that's the thing. We are in the CL but also look we still have  a lot of work to do to stay in the top 4 this season.

The starting 11 looks competitive against anyone based on the last few games but a couple of injuries and things start to deteriorate pretty quickly. If we want to stay in both comps you need depth.

Torres aside I think our buys over the last two years have been very good. Mata and Romeu and Mereiles are all starting, and their cost was low. AVB gets massive credit for that. Ramires starts and Luiz will be a fantastic CB in a year or so.

I just think we need a couple more players to fill things out. Over time (not much time) it will become much more AVB's team.

I just hope AVB turns out to be as good tactically (ie lets forget the high line) as he is at buying players.

How good is Hazzard?