NJBlue31

Gonna keep the obvious part short...past 2 days were not good days for Chelsea FC. I do not have words to describe how torn I am that Roman tossed away RDM the same way as past managers such as AVB and Scolari. He deserved better than that, period. Carlo was allowed to see out that second season and I remember watching all the times we lost to United in big games and thinking hes gone the next day along with other facepalming games. But I am happy Carlo got to see out every possible avenue and I believe RDM should have at least been given the same opportunity. I have a true feeling of embarrassment for CFC to the rest of the football world because not only did we sack RDM, we hire Rafa and that is something hard to defend when I will talk to my buddies who support other clubs. But these are the dark moments in Chelsea's timeline and how we react as a whole will define us in years to come. I am 100% unhappy with the appointment, but I will not turn my back on Chelsea. Rafa is our new manager and he will get my backing until the end of the season or he slips up. I will not add to anything that could possibly distract the club further from completing the season on the highest note possible. We already have too many off field things weighing us down. Regardless if you agree with me or not, I will be fully behind Blue until the last game of the season and many more after that. ....you sometimes have to experience a low point to appreciate the highs.

Falcao has said and acted the way any professional footballer should and would act when they have so much attention on them. I would never expect to hear that Falcao said in an interview that he was looking forward to joining Chelsea. Saying something as simple as that would be devastating for multiple reasons. A player can only say one thing in multiple ways before transfer windows and that is to stay loyal to the club who signs your checks. Any talk of going anywhere regardless of how he actually feels will not come to light until after a move has been made..if made. I respect his current approach because that means hes not only great on the field, he knows what to say off the field. I have a feeling that something could happen in January because of how fantastic of a signing he would be...but in the end few will actually know what the board will do and plans to do in the window.

I am terribly conflicted on this topic for a few reasons. Torres has been on of my favorite players now for the better part of 5 years, even when he was with Liverpool. I have never stopped being a supporter of the man and will ignorantly be one of the last few who will ever admit he was a transfer flop (despite the drop is performance statistically). But that's me being an idealist in a realistic world and unfortunately even I cannot vision the Chelsea team 3 years from now lifting trophies because of Torres...it is just something I cannot picture. Something that I can picture though is trophies being won and lifted by Falcao. To me he seems like that last piece in the puzzle towards completing our transition from "Old Guard" Chelsea to New Chelsea. Falcao has impressed everywhere he has been: 40 goals in 90 games at River Plate between 05/06-08/09, 62 goals in 69 games for Porto between 09/10-10/11, and 50 goals in 57 games for Athletico since he's been there. That's 152 goals in 216 games as a professional footballer in 3 different countries and his goals per game ratio skyrocketed since coming to Europe. When I first started watching soccer when I was younger and didn't understand money as well as I do now, I was one of those "just buy him already, who cares if they want a few more million than we offered" but I have turned to more of a "please balance the books first!" kind of guy now-a-days. But there are always exceptions and Falcao is in my mind definitely one of them. There are times when you have no choice but to pay the money (even with the fact that we all know how much we just recently spent on Torres). Opportunities like Falcao don't come along often and this is something I want Chelsea to make happen very badly...much more than Neymar or any other striker we've been linked with in recent years, even more than Torres regrettably. I'm sure most of you have seen Falcao play and have witnessed the type of player that he is and it's hard to argue that he isn't one of the best in the world currently at a ripe age of 26. I get excited just sitting here thinking of him sprinting at the top of our young, flashy, quick and brilliant midfield (which has so much potential for years to come). Imagine Chelsea 1, 2, or 5 years from now that has Falcao, Hazard, Mata and Oscar attacking with seasons of playing together and learning each other...even if our defense falls of the map completely we will still be one of the most dangerous teams in Europe. Falcao still has speed, he obviously has skill with both feet and in the air and you can see how passionate he is when he scores. Like I said, I can't see any other striker in the world who would be better for Chelsea than Falcao. RVP is at the top of his game but I wouldn't want him, he reminds me a little of Anelka who had a poaching shot and RVP is little too slow for what Chelsea is trying to be. David Villa, old. Cavani doesn't have the spark Falcao does and we don't necessarily need a Drogba-esk striker anymore. Neymar could be argued for but he is still in Brazil and loves teasing all of Europe...and while he has done exceptionally well internationally and domestically, he still is unproven in Europe and that's a gamble as slight as his talent makes it. But a small gamble is worse than no gamble. Some are quick to point out that Falcao is not proven in England which is a factor to obviously consider. We can only look and compare his game with players who have made the transition successfully to get an idea. Personally I like to look at Aguero. A South American striker coming from Athletico Madrid just a few transfer windows back...very similar to Falcao currently. Aguero in his 5 seasons in Spain played 183 games for Athletico and scored 90 goals, which is considerably impressive for somebody who was a teenager when he moved to Spain. Aguero's transition to England has yielded 34 goals in 48 games for City and we can easily say he's one of the better striker's in the league now. You can see why I believe Falcao who has statistically done better than Aguero on the very same path Aguero took, will move over to English football with little problem. (Little side note: We saw what he did to our English defense in the Super Cup and we have let in only 11 goals in 11 games, only Stoke has currently allowed less.) I do not see this move as a bad one in any way, financially Chelsea are in the positive for the first time since 2003 partially because of winning the Champions League and the flood of financial opportunities that came in it's wake. This shouldn't be looked over either because Abramovich and the rest of the Chelsea board had little more than hopes and goals when they spent £50m for Torres to win the UCL and find success for the Club as a whole and if we hadn't won where would we be now? Most likely still in the hole. But success did come and just like any good investor who does not retire after one of their stocks yields a significant income, they go back and look for another stock that could do the same. No matter what Torres' future holds, he still played a major part in ensuring Chelsea are where they are now (That corner that Drogba scored the header on in the 88th minute in the final was won by Torres on the wing...) and that can't be ignored, but at the same time he has opened a new door for Chelsea by being part responsible for a large financial income to the Club and Falcao seems like a worthy avenue to explore for the success of Chelsea Football Club in years to come.

I remember a few years ago when we faced Athletico in the Champions League and a certain Sergio Aguero scored 2 goals in the away leg and had a similar performance to Falcao did in the Super Cup. Thought Falcao was more impressive and deadly than Aguero was but my point is that look how well Aguero adapted to the ELP and he looked half as good as Falcao does now. I think he would be a smart buy in January and could and should be the last "big-money" style signing before all the FFP rules come into play.

http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/transfer-news/wayne-rooney-fears-manchester-united-1284302 I'm not sure what are credible sources when it comes to soccer news or rumors but I saw this today in BBC's gossip section. Obviously this is pretty new news, if it's even true, so any speculation on the topic is exactly that...speculation. But as a thought if, and that's a BIG IF, Rooney is available in the market would it be considered a decent idea for Chelsea to buy a proven EPL striker in Rooney instead of other targets like Cavani or Hulk? Personally I'd probably enjoy my Fifa team more with Rooney in the line up to back up Torres or with with him in a years time. But take this as it is, a gossip story from BBC.com.

Don't hate me too much if I repeat what has already been said on previous pages in this thread, I have limited time because of work and just wanted to put my input on this young fella. I think Oscar would be a nice positive signing for Chelsea for a number of reasons though I have not personally watched him play and don't use Youtube videos to determine the quality of a player. I will be watching all of the Brazil matches during the Olympics so I can get an opinion of his actual quality. I know that by not having seen him my opinion can be taken with a grain of salt but I like to think of other factors and reactions if a deal for Oscar can be made in the coming days/weeks. For one, think about the Brazilians we already have on the team; David Luiz, Ramirez, and Piazon. Another South American can and should help team chemistry. It's always nice to have somebody to relate to and regardless of who starts, a happier team always performs better. The signing of one of the Brazilian "flavors of the summer" helps with club publicity and spreads the word to people around the world of what Chelsea is doing and can help grow our fan base. A larger fan base means a larger income from global merchandise sales which helps the club take another step in the positive direction financially. Sometimes in business purchases are made not for direct affect of the actual business, but to take away business from competitors. In other words, if Oscar is as good as people are claiming and we sign him, then there is no way for an Oscar in a Tottenham shirt to hurt us. Though as a fan of the game in general I am opposed to such tactics because I hate wasted potential. Lastly and most obviously, IF he is "the next Kaka"...well do I really need to get into what a world class addition can do for us? Regardless of what happens I am really excited for the new Chelsea this season and will be glued to the television for their first preseason game tonight against Seattle and look forward to the Olympics.

No doubt Modric showed class against Spain and has Premier League experience. Players obviously acquire a name for themselves through how they perform and he is well deserved to be sought after by all the big clubs but I think the price for Modric is a little too high and buying him would help the immediate future, but not long term. I don't exactly feel pursuing another "flavor of the summer" is the best idea financially. Don't get me wrong, Hazard is probably one of the best pick ups we've had in years. If we look else where for a less popular name than Modric's we could turn out better in the long run. I personally am a fan of Moutinho, he's younger and I assume cheaper than Modric and has performed very well so far in the Euros. If not him, why not develop one of our youngsters? Give Josh or Piazon a chance to thrive around a now very create midfield. And the reason for the quote is because if we don't get Modric, I'd much prefer Madrid get him over United. It would do wonders for United to pair Kawanga and Modric in a rather weak midfield and I would like for that weaker midfield to keep United from winning some games next EPL season. At Madrid he would be only upgrading what is already solid and we might not face Madrid at all next year. If we can't have him, I want him in a position on a team that can hurt us least.

Not really sure what sources are good for information but this is an article in response to what the Mirror claimed. http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1224296-chelsea-transfer-rumours-mathieu-debuchy-is-perfect-right-back-for-london-club I personally don't feel Van Der Wiel would be the best fit for Chelsea, he reminds me of a younger Bosingwa with his gambling on the interception and desire to go forward more than he should. I also can't say I know much about Debuchy outside that he plays for the same team Hazard just came from, Lille. I just want a solid RB that plays like Ivanovic but ISN'T Ivanovic because mid to long term (3-5 years) I see him as our best CB with either Cahill or Luiz fighting to be his partner.

I didn't create the meme, I just thought it was humorous and thought I would share it with you guys.

I think you are looking at Roman's ambitions for the club in a little bit of a negative light. Roman comes off as a demanding owner who will bring out the axe if things aren't going "his way." But I see an owner who wants to win with the club that he loves. Now I am not a parent and therefore don't fully know the desire to want a child to do well, but I feel Roman see Chelsea as his child and wants only the best. Last season Roman fired AVB...at a glance, oh there goes Roman firing another coach again...in reality, AVB threw away a 3-1 HOME lead to ManU, lost 2-0 to Everton, tied Birmingham in the FA cup, lost to Napoli with BOSINGWA in left back, managed to beat Bolton and then lost to West Brom...Do you as a fan remember how torrid a time that was going game to game? I was literally embarrassed when I talked football with my friends. Ancelotti had a rather poor run of form and was losing a grip on keeping a "Chelsea" style of football at the end of his tenure. The last game of the season we lost 3-0 and I don't recall seeing anything creative or innovative. Roman sees faults and cuts ties with them...if a babysitter wasn't doing their job you wouldn't continue to give them work. The problem most football fans see is that we don't have a long term coach like Fergie at United or Wenger at Arsenal...while I wanted AVB to be our 'Fergie,' if they simply don't get our players or system I can wait. Roman wants everything just as any owner does, I feel he will see how good his new bought players do and how much depth our youth allows us to go in all competitions. Then once an initial assessment has been made, realistic objectives can be made.

I've been thinking this for a few weeks now, ever since it was announced Hulk and Hazard were targets of ours. Hazard could thrive in the middle while Mata has the ability to draw defenders to the left and if we start Ramirez somewhere behind Hulk either one of those two could be even more deadly on the right while Torres and Hazard eat up the middle with Frank providing the deep play that he's good at.

Cole has a solid reputation with the club. While he isn't the greatest of players to ever wear a blue jersey, he had legitimate passion for the club and that is all I need to count somebody as a legend. He also was a prime factor in Eden Hazard making his decision to come to Chelsea over those Manchester clubs. That there is enough for me to say legend...vouching for his old club a few years removed.

No. Chelsea should never sell Luiz. Especially to Barcelona. 35 million is almost a fair assessment of his value as a young and talented player. But Luiz bring so much more to Chelsea than being a good defender. If Barcelona want to give us 35 for the defender, I could only agree as long as Barcelona agrees to never think about Romeu again AND agrees to give any sort of revenue that Luiz generates because of how easily he is loved by the fans. Obviously UEFAlona won't agree to those terms so I'm content with keeping the overjoyed Brazilian here with us. I love his passion.

+2010/2011 RDM's WBA in the EPL (August-February 5th): 25 games played - 7 wins - 5 draws - 13 losses - - 31 Goals Scored - 48 Goals Allowed 26pts. RDM didn't have much to work with but after looking at all 25 games he managed I could see the style he wanted his team to play while also being smart as to who his opposition was. Over the course of his 25 game EPL tenure he used 6 different starting formations and I'll list them below followed by their effectiveness(record): 4-3-3 used once, 0-0-1 4-4-1-1 used twice, 0-0-2 4-4-2 used twice, 1-1-0 4-1-4-1 used three times, 1-0-2 4-2-3-1 used three times, 2-0-1 4-5-1 used 14 times 3-3-8 His tactics allowed for WBA to average 49.8% of possession in all games and his team had 412 shots with 107 being on target. 8 games were played against the teams that finished in the top 6 when this 10/11 season finished. ManU, Chelsea, Man City, Arsenal, Spurs, and Liverpool. -RDM's West Brom went 1-2-5 against these top 6 between August 14th and February 5th. -WBA only managed an average of 43% possession in those 8 games. -They were nearly on par with shot attempts with 112 but only 26 being on target versus their 128(50). -WBA scored 7 total in the 8 games while allowing 19. Not very promising numbers there but they still beat Arsenal at Emirates and had a smart game plan to draw United and Spurs at Old Trafford and WHL respectively. Shot attempting wasn't their problem nor was possession necessarily, they lacked finishing. Robbie did have an above average showing in his 17 other games, going 6-3-8 while hold the ball on average 53% of the time. They shot the ball 300 times, 81 were on target while 24 were goals. The non-top6 teams managed 47% average pos. obviously with only 206 shots (66 on target) and letting in 19. Ultimately Robbie's system and offensive efforts didn't fit well with WBA and he was axed in February after a 3-0 defeat to City. ***NOW after doing 2-3 hours of research on RDM's natural approach to the game I would feel very confident in his ability to manage Chelsea next season to greater success and ultimately getting the spot full time. He seems to know a system that wants to control the ball and feed it to a single striker. He also has experience with changing his original game plan, which is already flexible pending how he wants to face next week's team. What really opened my eyes is the fact that he took Chelsea through the Champions League and FA Cup using tactics that he knows would be most effective and avoided using tactics he's actually experienced with. I can see he's a man who knows how to manage a club, he sees his team's strengths and his opponent's weaknesses and plays to it perfectly and has done so over the past 3 seasons as a manager. Granted coming in as interim manager is in theory a "no pressure" gig but when you find yourself in the positions RDM found himself in this past season...there is pressure regardless of title. Roberto Di Matteo will in my mind impress everybody next season and blend old and new in a way that works. He's a proven tactician who is managing a club he is clearly very passionate about and he's got the ideal motivation from talented weapons that fits a style of football he is actually knowledgeable in and good at. If RDM is named manager for even one year, I don't know about you, but I'll be crossing off the days until next season because it will surely be an exciting one.