Socrates

Drogba inevitably goes off. Torres now playing upfront. How is this even possible?

Juan Cuadrado in the frame according to this random piece... http://www.express.co.uk/sport/football/497764/Chelsea-planning-AUDACIOUS-move-for-Man-Utd-s-36m-target-Juan-Cuadrado

AS reporting that Torres is worried he's not going to get much game time this season....(seriously!) http://futbol.as.com/futbol/2014/08/10/primera/1407633318_071000.html?u=m6nm

Okay, latest rumour. Ignoring the dubious idea that we have told Atletico Madrid that Torres is not for sale and a reference to Torres' ‘speed’... “Diego Simeone has told Atletico Madrid that Fernando Torres and Jose Callejon would be his ideal signings this summer. “AS claims that Cholo said at a meeting the team could achieve something this season if the Chelsea forward and the Napoli attacker were part of the squad. “But Chelsea have insisted Torres isn’t for sale and Napoli have already rejected an offer of €20m for Callejon, holding out for €30m. “Atletico can’t go that high for Callejon after spending big on Mario Mandzukic, Antoine Griezmann, Jan Oblak and Guilherme Siqueira. “Simeone has asked the club to try, however, and sees Torres’ speed as the ideal complement to Mandzukic, AS say.†http://www.football-espana.net/44685/simeone-‘wants-torres-and-callejon’

Next season will hopefully be long enough for us to accommodate two top class strikers. Whether that's Costa and Cavani or Costa and Bony, I really don't care. Just as long as we get a better option to what we have now. We can't rely on Drogba for anything other than the odd 20 min cameo. And Torres is a waste of space. I can't help feel that we got rid of Lukaku for a good reason. Not just the decent profit but because it frees up a striking berth.

Hmmm. We dominate possession but don't score. They get a set piece. Cech caught in no-man's land. Simple goal. Template for last season. On the plus side, our new signings look good. Just think one more top quality striker would round us off nicely.

I think that was the plan. But I seriously doubt we'd get anywhere near that for either three now. Moses and Marin in particular are worth a lot less than what we paid for them. That's why we'd have been better off buying one top winger who is likely to get games (like Griezmann) than investing in three mediocre players we're now lumbered with for 26m and whose values we have seen quickly plummet.

You never know... Fernando Torres - Chelsea to Wolfsburg “Chelsea have publically been saying that Torres is staying put, but talks with Wolfsburg took place this week. He has an offer from the German club and it's now up to him to decide. A decision will be made soon. (Chances of it happening: 8/10).†http://talksport.com/football/transfer-insider-chelsea-star-exit-and-arsenal-confident-over-midfielder-deal-140806106063#x8sygP0KMSLLZa4K.99

Well I thought Marin was crap. Salah is not much better. And Moses not much better than Salah. What is it with us and buying crappy wingers recently? We could’ve bought Griezmann for 24m rather than waste 30m+ on Moses/Marin/Salah. Who sanctions these dodgy purchases?

Well Costa is an upgrade as our main striker but to me we're weaker overall. Personally I don't know what the Board are thinking. Costa looks excellent but won't be able to play every game of the season, Drogba is only fit for cameos and Torres is in a pit of despair. If this is the outcome of a whole summer's attempt to address our striking deficiencies, then someone isn't doing their job.

Hang on. Bring in Cavani 40m, Di Maria 35m and Khedira 25m. I make that 100m. So if we sell Salah, Mikel, Torres, Marin, Cech and Romeu. I make that at least 50-60m for that lot. So we just need to find an extra 40-50m from non-player sales from this year’s transfer budget. I think that's manageable. You see how easy this buying and selling lark is if you focus on quality rather than quantity. ;)

Sell Marin, Cech, Romeu and Torres. Send Salah on loan. Bring in Di Maria, Khedira and Cavani. Sorted.

Blimey! That was like last season all over again. Torres and Salah shouldn't be anywhere near our first team. Sadly, neither should Drogba. Hope this really isn't the end of our spending this Summer.

Have we had an effort on target all game?

I think the problem is not that we don't have enough strikers, but that one of our three strikers is Torres. Would it be so bad if our strike force were Costa, Cavani and Drogba? Or Costa, Bony and Drogba? Or Costa, Drogba and anyone but Torres?

Oops, my mistake. I meant Kalou.

They've not seen Torres play recently then?

Jose made some ambiguous comment about Schwarzer being our no. 2 keeper next season.... http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/transfer-news/chelsea-transfers-petr-cech-exit-3944501

At Inter Milan Jose frequently used a 4312 formation with Eto'o and Milito upfront. Also think he used two strikers upfront in his days as Porto manager. Also Drogba paired with Anelka/Shevchenko at Chelsea!

Well Costa is a big upgrade on anything we had last season. But Torres is depressingly still here. And Drogba is not the player he was. So another top striker would definitely be welcome. But knowing our Board we'll do nothing and hope for the best.

One thing that might put us off, apart from the cost and wages, is that his form has been poor this year. Whether that's down to playing out wide or injury, is debatable. But when he was given the opportunity to play in his preferred centre-forward position, he wasn't great neither for PSG or in the World Cup. Please God if we buy him we don't buy another over-the-hill dud!

Why can't we play two strikers up front? Especially at home? Jose did it at Inter Milan where he often played a 4312 formation with Eto'o and Milito upfront. Now one can argue that if we're going to play two upfront then we can get by playing Costa upfront with Torres/Drogba/Schurrle. But arguably Cavani is better suited and would be formidable in that role alongside Costa. Question is can we juggle the FFP and foreign player rules to accommodate Cavani?

Well he said he wants to stay as long as the Club want to keep him. Which is what you'd expect him to say. So it proves nothing either way.

Actually in the full quote he said that it's up to PSG whether he stays or goes:“But as I already said, that does not depend only on me. There are other things that can happen in the club.â€

According to ESPN, Cavani is available for 40m... “Sources told ESPN FC that Chelsea have been quoted a price of 40 million pounds by PSG for Cavani, and that the player is eager to move to Stamford Bridge -- despite a public declaration that he would prefer to stay in France. There has already been preliminary contact between the London club and the player's camp, although Chelsea are still assessing the best course of action.†http://www.espnfc.co.uk/story/1967244/chelsea-consider-edinson-cavani-move?