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Posted

I think even the most optimistic of fans would have to be at least a little disheartened with the way things are going right now, so just assume you were Roman, what would you try and do with the direction of the club?

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I want to start to build for the future. A few seasons of mediocrity, maybe pushing for some of the domestic cups, but most importantly concentrating on building solid foundations with players like Cech, Essien and Mikel at the core of the team.

I want to keep the experienced players like Lampard and Carvalho, but also help nurture the many younger talents we have, in the form of Mancienne, Di Santo, Stoch and the many other young players we haven't seen nearly enough of.

I want a young, ambitious manager to be the man to take us forward. Someone with Chelsea connections (Di Matteo and Zola will make brilliant managers but not quite yet, I also still highly rate Hughes) but would be preferable but not at all essential. Someone with a lot of charisma, someone that the players really want to play for.

I do not want to see a huge cash injection, unless that cash is very carefully spent on buying players who meet the above description. Of course you need a mix of experience and youth, but at the moment we're sorely lacking in the latter and it's becoming ever more important that we rectify that before it's too late and over half of our squad starts to look past it. The transition period would be tough, but ultimately worth it, as opposed to constantly signing big players who will temporarily patch over the cracks and never help solve the root problem.

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... so there you have it. The beauty of it is, I think this vision is achievable, and for how much we've spent over the past 5 seasons we should of been prepared for this had we adopted a similar strategy, I'm absolutely amazed that we're finding ourselves in a position where we believe the manager has no money to spend on an ageing team, many of which are starting to look past it, and past caring.

So anyway, enough waffling from me, what direction would you like to see the club go in?



Posted

I just want to see the real Chelsea back. There's no spirit whenever we play from anyone but the English players. As long as we play well, I'll be happy. As long as we fight for everything, I'll be happy. Just as long we don't just get by, I'll be happy.

Posted

Well arguably RBJ, you ARE getting the real Chelsea back, in that we are becoming gloriously inconsistent again. Although saying that, the Chels of old would probably have lost to Southend, but actually beaten United.

Do you actually mean the 'real' Chelsea, or Jose's Chelsea?

(not having a go at all, just curious, as I think it's an interesting question)



Posted

i just want to see the team have some fight and some passion for the crest on their shirt on the pitch, i can handle losing when we go down with a fight

Posted

I'd keep the current squad but sack Scolari now and bring in Frank Rijkaard, so he has some time to see the team before starting the new season.

In the summer I'd offload all the big egos on high wages and getting old:

Deco, Ballack, Drogba, Malouda, Anelka and Alex

And bring in:

2 young, creative midfielders that are not world known and perhaps just breaking into their international squads (age 21-25) - £25m

Michael Owen - cheap, scores goals, good back up, English - Free

A pacey winger, there must be quite a few unknown talents who can run at defences with the ball, search for the next Robben and hope he stays fit - £15m

A world class striker, my first choice would be Aguero but Villa would also be doable and very worthwhile - £25-35m

Total cost = So that's £70m max, a lot of money, but I'm sure it's nothing a billionaire can't sort out.

My squad would be: (brackets are second choice):

Cech (Carlo/Hilario)

Bos (Paulo) Riccy (Mancienne) JT (Ivanovic) Cole (Belletti)

Essien (Mikel)

Lamps New midfielder (other new midfielder and not forgetting that Belletti can play here, as can Joe Cole and a few youth products)

Joe Cole (Kalou) New winger (Kakuta)

Aguero (Owen/Di Santo)

I'd be happy with that team and we'd restore our Englishness and regain the spine of Cech-JT-Lamps that was so evident in 04/05 to 06/07.

Posted
I'd keep the current squad but sack Scolari now and bring in Frank Rijkaard, so he has some time to see the team before starting the new season.

In the summer I'd offload all the big egos on high wages and getting old:

Deco, Ballack, Drogba, Malouda, Anelka and Alex

And bring in:

2 young, creative midfielders that are not world known and perhaps just breaking into their international squads (age 21-25) - £25m

Michael Owen - cheap, scores goals, good back up, English - Free

A pacey winger, there must be quite a few unknown talents who can run at defences with the ball, search for the next Robben and hope he stays fit - £15m

A world class striker, my first choice would be Aguero but Villa would also be doable and very worthwhile - £25-35m

Total cost = So that's £70m max, a lot of money, but I'm sure it's nothing a billionaire can't sort out.

My squad would be: (brackets are second choice):

Cech (Carlo/Hilario)

Bos (Paulo) Riccy (Mancienne) JT (Ivanovic) Cole (Belletti)

Essien (Mikel)

Lamps New midfielder (other new midfielder and not forgetting that Belletti can play here, as can Joe Cole and a few youth products)

Joe Cole (Kalou) New winger (Kakuta)

Aguero (Owen/Di Santo)

I'd be happy with that team and we'd restore our Englishness and regain the spine of Cech-JT-Lamps that was so evident in 04/05 to 06/07.

We would be better off sticking with Scolari than bringing in that muppet. I think you are way way over estimating how much money will be available to spend as well.

The days of us spunking money left right and centre during the summer are over my friend.



Posted

But that's kinda the point of this thread, just say what you want to see happen, but I agree about the money being available to spend thing though. But that's depressing. £70m given to the right person could really revolutionise the club, and compared to what we've spent in the past it really isn't that much.

Posted
But that's kinda the point of this thread, just say what you want to see happen, but I agree about the money being available to spend thing though. But that's depressing. £70m given to the right person could really revolutionise the club, and compared to what we've spent in the past it really isn't that much.

oh , yeah i guess you are right. well, in that case i would like 100 million to spend and drogba, ballack and deco out.

i would also like a night with monica belluci, and the bird from 'king of queens' but beggars cant be choosers.



Posted
Drogba, Ballack and Deco out are good shouts. What would you spend yer £100m on? :D

What would i spend 100 million on? Easy. Drugs, filthy women and cds. If I had any change come the next transfer window id buy a tricky winger.

Posted
We would be better off sticking with Scolari than bringing in that muppet. I think you are way way over estimating how much money will be available to spend as well.

The days of us spunking money left right and centre during the summer are over my friend.

It's depressing if that's the case, being left with these big egos like the ones I mentioned.

The thing is, I wouldn't be surprised if Malouda, Drogba, Ballack and Deco did all leave in the summer - it's certainly not unthinkable and if they do go we'll have to bring in some kind of replacement - two options: 1) Spend big and stay in with a shout of winning things or 2) Spend small and lose our chances of winning trophies.

I don't see how a billionaire can't afford £70m anyway.

Chelsea Megastore Away Shirt
Chelsea Megastore Away Shirt

Chelsea Megastore Away Shirt

Posted

I have seen quite a few people mention Alex in the same breath as Drogba, Malouda, Ballack and Deco and I, for one, have no idea why.

He has never let us down when called upon, he has never moaned to the press about not being a regular, he has never shown any signs of having an inflated ego and over the past 18 months he has been a more reliable centre half than Terry.

If the argument for selling him is to raise funds to be invested in other areas of the team and also allow Mancienne to move up the pecking order then that I understand however if the argument is to do with him as a person or his ability as a player I think it is way off the mark.

Posted

I think Alex and Ivanovic are both decent players and both try their best every game which is great, but I don't think either are quite up to the standards of what we need to actually challenge for the top trophies.

However! I'd like to keep Ivanovic in particular as he's very versatile, and if Alex wants to stay too then that's great, however if we get a good offer for him, and he wants to leave, I wouldn't have a problem with that, especially as it would help with Mancienne's development.



Posted

I guess the only argument for keeping Ivanovic instead of Alex, is that he too has performed well when called upon (admittedly for a far fewer number of games), is more versatile, and crucially, has more pace. JT and Alex at the back is f**king solid, but does show the opposition an obvious way to play against us - stick someone with real pace up front, and that should cause them some trouble.

Still, I completely agree that Alex has been a rock for us, and certainly doesn't deserve to be put in the 'ship em out' column. I'd be perfectly happy if he stays.

Posted

I think the key thing I would like to see is players who really, really want to play for the club, the manager and their teammates....not forgetting the fans of course!!

One of our major strengths under Mourinho and, to some extent up to our current 'problems', was the never say die attitude which ensured I would always be confident of getting the right result in every game. We need this attitude back.

At the moment I am going to games wondering not if we will win, but if we have a chance. This is a massive mental change and I am sure our opponents will now have a similar mind set which means they now feel they can beat us. Indeed, I am not even confident about the Southend game at the mo!!!

The team need to take the lead but i feel we also need more from ourselves, the supporters. Let's keep our heads up and keep the faith.....if you look through our squad we remain more than capable of capturing something his season. Yes, of course we would love some additions but you cant get away from the fact that we have some real quality here.

Come on you blues!!

Mike ::ChElSeaFLag::

Posted
I agree Loz. From what I have seen of the two to date I would be more inclined to let Ivanovich go than Alex.

You could even argue that an option may be keeping both Alex and Ivanovic and selling Carvalho whilst we can still get a decent fee for him.

Again this is not a reflection on Ricky's form as he has probably been our best defender for three seasons now however he is now over 30 whereas Ivanovich is only 24 and Alex 26. If money really is a big issue then maybe this would allow us to get some money in whilst still having four centre halves (Terry, Alex, Ivanovic and Mancienne) who would be around for many years and would also allow us to lose a right back (my choice being Belletti) as we have plenty of cover from Bosingwa, Ferreira, Ivanovic and even Essien.

I think Ivanovic is quality and you have to remember he has only played 10 or 11 games in the Premiership for us. He has a lot more developing to do and will only get better with more experience and more regular first team exposure. I would see selling him as a big mistake.



Posted
I'd keep the current squad but sack Scolari now and bring in Frank Rijkaard, so he has some time to see the team before starting the new season.

I'm not saying we should sack Scolari, but should we do that Rijkaard wouldn't be anywhere near the list of managers I'd like to see at Chelsea. He benfitted from having a very expensive squad of players at Barca and as we currently seem to be operating on a more modest budget, I'd much rather see someone like Michael Laudrup at the club. Someone who has got results with limited resources. Guus Hiddink would still be my first choice, but I don't think we will be able to get him now that he is doing well with the Russian national team.

A more realistic plan might be to give Scolari another season and if it still goes horribly wrong and we want to change the manager, we might do worse than ask if Slaven Bilic would be interested. His contract with the Croatian national team ends after the next World Cup. He's a young and energetic manager who seems to get his players playing for eachother and "fighting for the cause". His English should be pretty decent as he has played in England. I do realise that he hasn't managed a club team, but as he's played in England he should know something about what club football is like in England. I know playing a few years in England doesn't make you an expert on the subject, but at least he has some basic knowledge about the way English club football works.

Posted
You could even argue that an option may be keeping both Alex and Ivanovic and selling Carvalho whilst we can still get a decent fee for him.

Riccy has been awesome for us, but you may be right that maybe selling him now wouldn't be such a disaster. With Terry, and Alex we would have two big physical defenders and with Ivanovic and Mancienne we would have two more mobile players to pair up with our "big boys". As has been said, playing Terry with Alex leaves us a bit vulnerable against teams that have lots of pace upfront.

Posted

What I really, really want...

1. To see us build a predominantly British team with 60% of our talent being home-grown at Cobham

2. To see a set of training staff who are predominantly British, preferably Scottish actually.

3. To see Kenyon go

4. To see a set-up wherein management and players get the majority of their pay accordng to results

5. To see the price of attending a match to be £25 / adult, £10 / kid (with no limits on the amount of kids who can attend).

6. For the fans to own the club as per the Barcelona model

7. For loyalty across the years to be truly rewarded.

8. For the Premiership to be a 20 horse race

9. For seating in lower tiers to be abolished across the land

10. For English football to be seen as the passionate, exciting and skilful across the world


Posted
I think Ivanovic is quality and you have to remember he has only played 10 or 11 games in the Premiership for us. He has a lot more developing to do and will only get better with more experience and more regular first team exposure. I would see selling him as a big mistake.

Agree 100 %.

Ideally I'd love to keep both Ivanovic and Alex but if I had to make a choice between the two I'd go for a young Serb. That is not a knock on Alex and his performances because he has done well when called upon but I feel he gets caught out of position due to his penchant for getting forward and lacks speed to make up for it.

Ivanovic is a gem, with playing time he'll develop into a top class defender and he's got the right attitude and physical attributes to do so, all he needs is to be given a chance.

Posted
would selling Riccy improve our team? squad? chance of winning?

then why do it?

It might not be an instant improvement, but it could well turn out to be the right decision in the long run.



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