bogey77

I hope no one seriously answers Benayoun! Last season I would get very frustrated when Benayoun came into the match. It will be nice to see a talented sub brought into the match.

I will be glad to have some depth on the squad. Now we can have quality players come on a subs during the match when our starters are tired. Also adds a nice change of style when he is on the pitch. Nice to have options as the matches go on.

Here are the Cavani odds for a bunch of teams: Edinson Cavani to sign for before 1st September 2013 Transfer Specials | Saturday 31st August 2013 | 23:00 Specials Sign For Before 1st September Loan deals do count, if player does not move clubs all bets are settled as losers Chelsea 4/11 Manchester City 7/2 Real Madrid 4/1 Bayern Munich 33/1 PSG 33/1 Arsenal 40/1 Juventus 40/1 AC Milan 50/1 Atletico Madrid 50/1 Barcelona 50/1 Inter Milan 50/1 Manchester Utd 50/1 Anzhi Makhachkala 80/1 Liverpool 80/1 Tottenham 80/1 Zenit St. Petersburg 80/1

You are exactly correct. There are other sites that list all the different odds of a player going to each team. Below is an example of Wayne Rooney odds to sign with different teams. The odds are driven strickly by where bets have already been placed. Example: Cavani to Chelsea starts at 8 to 1. Betters think that is a profitable bet with a good chance of happening so lots of bets are placed saying Cavani to Chelsea. As more a more bets are placed, the odds change from 8 to 1 then 4 to1 then 2 to1 and so on. At some point the betting house decides they don't want anymore bets and they move to a bet that no one wants to place such as 1 to 33. Hope that helps. Wayne Rooney to sign for before 1st September 2013 Sign For Before 1st September Loan deals do count, if player does not move clubs all bets are settled as losers Chelsea 6/4 Arsenal 4/1 PSG 4/1 Bayern Munich 5/1 Real Madrid 25/1 AS Monaco 33/1 Borussia Dortmund 40/1 Manchester City 40/1 Barcelona 50/1 Everton 66/1 Juventus 66/1 Tottenham 80/1 AC Milan 100/1 Anzhi Makhachkala 100/1 Galatasaray 100/1 Inter Milan 100/1 Newcastle 100/1 Liverpool 150/1

I thought this was a Schurrle to Chelsea thread?? There is an awful lot of talk about fullbacks.....at least talk about players that play the same position as Schurrle.

We really don't care who finishes anywhere but 1st in any league. They just wanted every team to play 3 games and it gives them a reason to charge more for the tickets. A 2 day pass for the final 4 games costs between $100 USD and $1200 USD.

I like seeing signings like this one rather than a big money buy for an overpriced superstar.

I think we all know that when he's 1 on 1 he isn't going to score!

If you can build a new stadium and still include reasonable pricing that would be great. Allow younger fans into the stadium and hopefully as those fans earn more they can move up to the better seating as they make more money in life. As long as that supports the clubs long term goal.

It looks like the Torres, Luiz and Mata comment were thrown it at the bottom as speculation. That Luiz number is the same that was reported weeks ago before Jose was interviewed. The Mata comment has no substance other than rumors. Everybody knows that we want to sell Torres but he does not want to leave.

I would be more comfortable with Lewandowski because he wouldn't cost as much as Cavani and they are similar in quality. It doesn't sound like Lewandowski wants to go anywhere but Bayern and will wait a year to do it for free if that's the only way to get it done.

I read somewhere recently that Ba may not be able to be sold until January. Something about only allowed to play for 2 teams in one year. Has anybody else heard anything similar? I would sell Moses if we made a little profit on him. Not sure if I would do it for the same money we paid.

If Cavani has a high success rate on his penalties then I can't see why he wouldn't take some of them. Don't some teams decide who will be taking penalties during the most recent training session?

They are advertising it as teams that have won many championships in general. The International Champions Cup is an 8-team tournament pitting some of the world's best and most prestigious football clubs against each other in a series of elimination matches to be played July 27 - August 7. The tournament, which will be played in six U.S. cities and one European city, will culminate with a championship match at Miami's Sun Life Stadium on August 7. The International Champions Cup will offer fans a chance to see the world's most successful clubs live as they compete for a coveted trophy. "Coveted trophy" by who? The LA Galaxy maybe!

I will be at that match!

Simply speaking the exposure to the fans in the states is the key. Over here we have very limited exposure to international football. For a large number of fans the only teams they know are who they see locally. In this case Man city and Chelsea. Chelsea seems to be in the states every year. That almost forces them onto the international football fans in the states as a favorite team. It is just like an advertisement that runs over and over that everybody has seen many times. It is what is remembered. In the case of Chelsea in the states, it means they become the most well known and likely watched team over here. They are doing a pretty good job but are still lacking behind Real Madrid and Manchester United. That probably has a lot to do with length of successful history. As long as they are seen and talked about in the states it really doesn't matter if they win or lose a couple of friendlies. If they can win this new tournament thing and beat a team like Real Madrid in the final, then that will pick up a huge amount of fans. It may mean nothing to current Chelsea fans but it will attract new fans over here in the states.

I read earlier today that Napoli wants all cash and no extra players in the deal. They would then buy whoever they wanted.

How about: Chelsea Athletico Galatasaray Napoli That would be a few interesting games. Would Courtois play or would he not be allowed if he is on loan? Drogba and Benitez for the other games.

Those skybet odds are pretty good if you think he is going to City.

Nice group for Man United!!

I don't think it is possible for Man City, PSG and Juventus to be in the same group. 2 of the 3 but not all of them.

Once the team was bought by a billionaire, it has been changed forever. Unfortunately, the club will no longer provide the longtime fans with the same experiences of the past (good and bad). I would be disheartened too if I had supported the club for all those years. The trade off, whether you like it or not, is the quality of the team on the pitch. If the club continues to use the money properly, it is unlikely that there will ever be a downturn in the performance of the club. At least to the extent where they would lose supporters. The longer the run of success the larger the fanbase becomes and the less the worry about loss of support. We have a great example in American football with the New England Patriots. Billionaire owner bought an average team and has built it into a giant with one of the biggest and best stadium that sells out every week with a team that is top level every year. "And I hate the notion that cause they've coughed up 70 quid for their ticket and spent 200 in the club shop on full kit, John Terry trophy presentation socks and shin pads, mugs, pencils, rulers and sharpeners bearing the club's crest that they're "just as much of a fan as someone who has been going for 30 years." " I believe I refereed to them as a "supporter" rather than a fan but maybe I am wrong. When I call them just as much of a "supporter" of the team, I would be referring to the financial support given by the purchasing of merchandise and such. If you have a longtime supporter who goes to every match and spends 20 on food and drinks each match and you have the seat next to them with a different person every match that pays the same for the ticket but spends 200 a match, you can see which seat produces the better return across the season. The club would rather have the "tourist". That unfortunately puts the longtime fan at the back of the line. Wish there was a way around it but I have never seen it work out for the longtime fan. The longtime fans definitely don't have to like it, but I have followed many different sports and the result is always the same. It is kinda of like the club has gone over to the dark side. The is no easy way back from the dark side.

That would be fun to watch.

That is almost a month from now. Is that so if he is wrong we have all forgotten about what he said?

The most interesting part of that story is that Cavani says that he doesn't want the transfer to take an overly longtime. According to Google translator. If only that part is accurate maybe we will only have to wait a month instead of all summer!