Jimmy_blue

Not sure how Irish Lawrenson was/is. Let's do this. Arteta for England, quality footballer.

sad news. But hopefully he has a blast at University, and Chelsea have stood him so he'll have a good crack at forging a new career as a physio at the club, or whatever he wants to do with his Sports Science degree.

Wigan will mysteriously look like a top 8 side. They are the epitome of fairweather. They are the ultimate southern softies despite being from the North West. For the reason it's going to be a really tough game and we'll nick it: 2-1.

Who is this guy to pick his club? Someone must have told him he was Ronaldo.

I'd rather take this kid than Neymar. He has the physicality. But again, too young. No point.

Now, I really like this guy because he's fun. But I really liked Gronkjaer for the same reasons. I'd love him as fun alternative to Kalou and Benayoun, but realistically from what I've seen from Serie A - he pretty much is Gronkjaer but with more skill but similar lack of end product. I think we underrate ourselves a bit sometimes. Is he a good player? yes. Is he good enough for Chelsea? not so sure.

Glad he didn't come. It didn't look right at all. Neymar is too young and at this stage has the physical presence of a Jack Russell. Pretty embarrassing that this thread has so many replies though, jesus.

Hehe. To be fair, I work with a few Brazilians and they were all wanting him to go into the squad. But when Pato wasn't included one of them suffered a minor mental breakdown. That said that Nilmar who we were actually linked with a few years ago is supremely average.

Not sure the value of any of those lads has dropped that much if at all. Not familiar with all the transfer fees. Benzema is the one you have a point on but he was never worth a vastly exhorbitant transfer fee; the premise of the transfer market at that point was: This guy is half as good a Ronaldo, give me £40 million please.

To be fair. If luck was evenly distributed between all the teams that have competed in the champions league over the past six seasons we would have won it at least twice, if Ranieri wasn't capable of mental tactical breakdowns; we would have won it three times. If we had a decent slice of luck, well, we would have won it five times. Even last year we would have beat Inter if Inter had their man rightfully sent-off in the first leg for fouling Kalou who was six yards out and we converted the spot-kick. The Champions League is a complete lottery. Unless you're Chelsea in which case they only let you select 5-balls to win the 6-ball jackpot bonus. Sorry, I've got a real persecution complex about the CL. Jesus Christ and all the orphans don't seem to want us to win it.

I'm pretty sure in three seasons he will be worth £24 million. That figure appears to be what he is 'potentially worth' or at least that ludicrous buy-out clause is I'm all for the purse-tightening at Chelsea, football has gone crazy. I can't judge Neymar regarding your second point but the consensus of humankind and their experience thus far is that if you make a young 18-year-old man travel thousands of miles to a foreign country to forge a new life - this is significantly challenging, and actually probably not advisable to most. A youth system exists to get players acclimatised to the club to breed familiarity and comfort, so if you get a young player from abroad and bring him through the system this is an infinitely easier path to travel, than to say to be plucked from a team you're doing well at, highly-rated, and brought into a settled European powerhouse of a team like say: Chelsea, where expectation on your performance is there from the get-go and where you are expected by people like me but mainly from people like you to have a big impact. There have been exceptions but it's risky. And what makes the risk not worth it is that the price is in excess of £24 million.

Would Neymar make us a better side? I personally don't see how he would, and if you're splashing out £24 million on potential you're having the wool pulled over your eyes. It's too early for Neymar. For him and for us. 18 is too young. If he was 21 or 22 I'd be more interested. He's a footballing foetus at this point and Chelsea are at the sharpest end of club football. I don't care if he has played for Brazil, his whole career is in its infancy. He simply isn't worth £24 million. No 18-year-old is or ever has been. You need to be big character to play for a club like Chelsea, you need to be a man, really.

Mutu could have been good but he hit the post about 3,234 times and it wrecked his confidence. Then he turned to coke to regain it. Mutu's appeal to being fired by Chelsea should have been to show the tribunal clips of him hitting the post again, and again, and again. 'I was at a low-ebb your honour!'

I can't believe people care that much if we sign this kid or not. What's more, this particular kid isn't particularly suited to Chelsea from what I've seen. He can't play up-top by himself and any thoughts of putting him in a starting eleven would require a system change. I had a vision of Christopher Samba just eating this kid whole and then spitting out the bones.

Shevchenko is an exception rather than the rule. He just became shot over night. He lost it all, everything. good night Vienna. I can't think of many players who suffered a more spectacular fall from grace. Kaka would rip it up at Chelsea. No question. But they won't get rid of one of the best players in the world because they bought Ozil, who the jury is still out on by the way! Nicky Butt was one of the stars of the 2002 World Cup.

hehe, To be fair from what little I've seen of him, he looks quick and has good feet and a good engine. Vieira is the most favourable comparison. Carlton Palmer the least.

nevermind. I really don't think we needed him.

good stuff. But yeah, I was thinking of mainly this season; what with the new rules in effect. I'm sure over the next three season a decent bulk of that cup winning youth team will have at least a chance of appearing for the full Chelsea team. However; with the contraints of a settled team and system, what players could break through? realistically it looks like Jeffrey Bruma could get games, and Van Aanholt appears to be Ashley Cole's understudy judging by the weekend. I regard Sturridge is being part of the Chelsea first-team set-up already. I know Kakuta is being floated as a potential for the right-side, but isn't he naturally a left-sided player?

I hate Mark Lawrenson's hair. Like a piece of weathered thatch on top of his head that loses more straw with every passing day.

I'm not sure we need this kid. Unless he can play wide-right. Sturridge is decent enough for a 3rd choice attacker. We need someone who can play on the right of a front three, well, I think anyway. But Carlo knows better, it's not like we struggle to score goals.

I think this kid is closer to Patrick Vieira than either Maka and certainly not Malouda. He looks quick to me which why he could play on the wing. Despite scoring a millon goals last season there were times when we needed legs in midfield - and now we have Ramires and Essien, good luck everybody else. Ramires is vital for the CL if we come up against Barca or a team like that, a team that just doesn't give the ball away easily. I can imagine Essien and Ramires just running right over Xavi 'give me that bloody ball, son.'

No chance. On the right? his right-foot isn't even a swinger: he never swings it. He may as well where a running shoe on his right-foot. Good player with talented. But you can't play him wide on the right; it would shut a whole side of the pitch down; like England did with Gerrard on the left.

I liked Ganzo for Brazil.

Hehe, Neil Sullivan. To be fair, what was he? 3,000 years old when he signed him. The problem I have with Hilario is this, you say he's good for a 3rd choice keeper, I say the man is on about £20,000 a week. Is he worth that? of course not. He's sh*te. It's like he wandered in off the street to Cobham one day and Mourinho gave him a job as a third choice goalkeeper. From any perspective you look at it, Hilario is not good enough. Not for Chelsea, and actually probably not for the Premiership. Good shot stopper? no Good at crosses? no Good distribution? no Does he inspire confidence? no

See ya Deco! He had an excellent 2008 Euro's and a good start to the season, then that was that. Not a shadow of himself.