BigIzz

If it's official, why post in rumours forum?

Eurosport say it's done, pending the medical http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/04082010/58/premier-league-chelsea-agree-18-2m-fee-ramires.html

Geez...just get this thing done already. Looks like a solid addition for now and the future.

I don't care much for him myself, nothing to do with today. I think we were being linked with David James because he would (I'm guessing haven't researched it) probably count as a him grown player. With Hilario we are wasting a pretty precious roster spot on a backup keeper, it would make more sense to bring in someone who counted as home grown even if not as good.

Hate or not, we need to see City finish outside the top 4. If they make the Champions League it is terrible news for Chelsea and the rest of the Primer League. Lack of Champions League football is the only thing preventing them from buying whatever player on the planet that they want. So even let Tottenham stay at four for another season, just keep City out. Once they make it they could turn into a world power and our fiercest rival. I should add that their location is a significant problem that even their money can't fix. Top players want to live in Madrid or Barcelona, not Manchester. We all saw how much Robhino hated it.

I like our squad, particularly with Ramires. That said, I wouldn't be too quick to write off Mikel. I do doubt that we'd see Ramires, Mikel, Lampard and Essien play together a whole lot but I'm sure Mikel will get a lot of playing time. (Zonal Marking just wrote a very good article about what Central Midfielders do and why they are under appreciated, Mikel is one of the focuses of the piece http://www.zonalmarking.net/2010/07/30/central-midfield-role/) I don't like Kalou at all as a reserve striker but if we are playing the same system as at the end of last year we only used one striker most of the time. Kalou is an excellent choice for the wing role though. I'd say he's probably first choice and is a more natural fit then Anelka. That said, Anelka has tenure and can be a difficult personality to manage so he needs his playing time. Either way, Anelka is the first choice as a backup striker and he will split time with Kalou on the right wing. The question of defense is interesting. We have the best Left Back situation on the planet and are going to have to figure out some creative ways to get Zhirkov on the field because when Cole is healthy he's on the team sheet every match. Terry holds down the one centerback spot obviously. The other options are interesting, you can play Alex there with Boswinga or Ivan at Right Back or Ivan in the middle with Boswinga at right back. I wouldn't be so quick to write off Carvalho either. I didn't love him last season but he played ahead of Alex when fit. He also had an excellent World Cup, actually he may have had the best tournament among all the Chelsea players. He would probably be my first choice still. This squad is very versatile. We have quality and quality depth at every position. Don't forget the impact of the new roster restrictions. Our lack of home grown players means we can't have more then 21 or 22 players anyway.

Agreed

It's green? I thought it was yellow. I just noticed the blue around the colar and going down the middle. It isn't helping.

It'll be good for my bike riding at night hobby?

In this case though wouldn't Chelsea, Benfica, Ramires and two different third party owners haw to agree on the transfer? That seems like a disaster

I can't say I understand how this works. Perhaps someone can offer me a brief explanation. Why would Benfica want to sell a 20 million player and only make 4? Wouldn't it make a lot more sense just to keep the player and have him play for your club? I guess the third party investors/agents have a way to force a sale or force a buyout from Benfica at some point? What if Benfica want him to play there for life or the player gets injured?

I was referring specifically to the race riots there in 1943 and 1967. Admittedly events of the past and maybe not relevant to anything Henry will have to deal with but to downplay racism in the United States is very naive.

Nope no racism here in the States... Just ignore treatment of Native Americans, slavery, the Civil War, Jim Crowe laws, the KKK, Reconstruction of the South, segregation, race riots in Newark, Detroit, LA, internment of Japanese Americans during WWII, OJ trail, widespread antisemitisim, current general dislike of Arabs, etc.

Just looking over City's roster they have so many players right now it's almost ridiculous. I'm all for depth but they're a little overboard. 4 goalkeepers, 13 defenders, 13 midfielders and 7 attackers. That isn't counting Balotelli and Robhino.

I don't like our chances much, I don't think our squad has enough depth. Unless we add more quality veteran players, I think our squad has too much youth. Not to say that is the wrong approach but it'll be though to win the CL with. I do expect to get out of the group and after that...who knows?

Can't say that any groin surgery would be minimally invasive though.

Winning the title the way they did, Chelsea showed a mental toughness that many other teams simply don't have. It would have been real easy for things to go seriously off track at many times but they were resilient and got the job done. Could those traits be a better indicator if future success then winning the league by 10-12 points and never really having to deal with a challenge?

Mikel is far from perfect but he was very important to our success last season. He started a lot of important games and we can't underestimate his contributions.

Watching the replay now. Not the most scientific analysis but god it's nice to see Essien in blue

I actually like it. Better than last seasons at least.Isn't the point of an away kit to be as ugly as possible anyway?

What is the first team called then? The mega elite?

Does anyone know if you can watch the recorded match later (in case I'm not around to watch live but want to later in the day)?

Was John Terry (the man) negatively impacted by the lead up to the World Cup, his play and actions at the tournament. Absolutely. Does this effect him as a Chelsea player and captain? I'm not particularly concerned.

I actually don't think Webb did a bad job. Obviously got the call about the Dutch corner right before the goal wrong but this was a very, very difficult match to officiate. The players and tactics made this match a choppy mess, not the referee.

Messi played very well this tournament. It's easy to bash him for not dominating but he was Argentina's best player and got a real lot of attention from opposing defenses. Not to make excuses for him but I don't think he was 100% against Germany either, if you remember he was I'll the day before. As for Inestia/Xavi, I guess I was wrong because Inestia did it when it counted.