Ballack's New Contract

[ducavis]

I am curious to find out why Chelsea will be discussing a new contract with him. Our Policy sucks! For one apart from a few games he has not justified his current pay cheque and we are in danger of becoming a New Milan. This guy Is over 30 and we have a few of them in the team.

Why don't we sell him in the current transfer window or release him in July. This is mind boggling.

[Virosh]

1. Ballack carried the team on his back about that time last year. He made some superb performances against many teams and it was exactly the sort of leadership we needed at the time. I agree he has not been up to the standard of late, but to say he has always been a dead weight is largely far fetched.

2. Nobody deserves the paycheck they are getting at the moment, but this is a problem of football in general and if you want to attract top talent, you have to pay them at least as much and in most cases more than most teams. Btw, I don't recall Milan giving ridiculous pay packages, you're probably thinking more of Real.

3. Nobody will buy Ballack in the winter. And we won't sell him.

4. I fail to grasp what is it you find mind boggling.

[evissy]

1. Ballack carried the team on his back about that time last year. He made some superb performances against many teams and it was exactly the sort of leadership we needed at the time. I agree he has not been up to the standard of late, but to say he has always been a dead weight is largely far fetched.

2. Nobody deserves the paycheck they are getting at the moment, but this is a problem of football in general and if you want to attract top talent, you have to pay them at least as much and in most cases more than most teams. Btw, I don't recall Milan giving ridiculous pay packages, you're probably thinking more of Real.

3. Nobody will buy Ballack in the winter. And we won't sell him.

4. I fail to grasp what is it you find mind boggling.

Agreed. Although Ballack has played below par in many games this season he is a leader and as the spring comes with the crucial cup matches and deciders he is the type of player we need and he will perform better.

His and many other Chelsea players' paycheck is astronomical including captain Terry but that is what Abramovic has done and decided.

[bjd]

Sorry guys im with the thread starter here.

Not once have i seen Ballack 'carring the team' - only once can he come close to deserving that accolade and that was when he scored a brace against Utd last year, when yes, he did have a decent 90 mins.

The majority of his time with us has either been on the physios bench or on the pitch as a coasting passenger that has upset the balance of our midfield. Yes he has scored a few goals and yes he can find a nice pass every fortnight but it was not unreasonable for us to expect a lot from him that what we have seen.

If the club are serious in their attempts to be more prudent then quite why we would ever think about discussing a new contract with Michael Ballack is beyond me.

We should let his contract run down then pat him on the back and usher him out the side door to a team in Italy happy to pay 100k+ a week for his 'services' and concentrate on finding a young hungry midfielder.

[ducavis]

Sorry guys im with the thread starter here.

Not once have i seen Ballack 'carring the team' - only once can he come close to deserving that accolade and that was when he scored a brace against Utd last year, when yes, he did have a decent 90 mins.

The majority of his time with us has either been on the physios bench or on the pitch as a coasting passenger that has upset the balance of our midfield. Yes he has scored a few goals and yes he can find a nice pass every fortnight but it was not unreasonable for us to expect a lot from him that what we have seen.

If the club are serious in their attempts to be more prudent then quite why we would ever think about discussing a new contract with Michael Ballack is beyond me.

We should let his contract run down then pat him on the back and usher him out the side door to a team in Italy happy to pay 100k+ a week for his 'services' and concentrate on finding a young hungry midfielder.

"He carried the team"; well he is paid 120k to do that and much more. When was the last time he dominated a game? well maybe last year.

If Ballack supporters ever take off their rose-tinted glasses; they will notice him just strolling through matches.

I for one am against giving any players over 30 2 year contracts. Why not rolling contracts like Fergie and Wenger do. The pace of the premiership requires vibrant and energetic players, something he would get a way with in Italy, Germany and to some extent Spain.

Lets face it given a choice between Ballack and Essien in the team, I know who most fans and pundits will have in the team.

BTW when was the last time you actually considered the age of some of our players; Ballack, Deco, Drogba,and Carvalho all have something in common & it is not the fact that they are all guaranteed starters.

My reason for this rant is that we are meant to have a youth policy and our team is in dire need of new players and not renewing contracts of players over-the-hill

[Maksimov]

If you look at last spring, I'd say he was one of the most important players in our squad. He didn't start his Chelsea career well and hasn't played well this season, but even if I'm not exactly his biggest fan(didn't want him at Chelsea) I have to admit he was very important to us in the second half of last season. And sometimes I think his style of play is a bit deceiving. He seems to be strolling around the pitch, but surprisingly often he covers more ground than any other player on the pitch even though he looks to be strolling around quite casually. But...with the amount of injuries Ballack has had and the fact that he isn't bossing the midfield in the manner you would expect him to, I think it would be wise to let him go.

[g3.7]

along with carvalho he was our best player last season- both were head and shoulders ahead of the rest of the side.

he's been pretty poor since his return from injury this season, I'd like to see him stay though, there's no sign to me that he's started to decline physically- he can still get around the pitch as well as anyone in the league.

[Mr Chelsea]

i'm still undecided about him, he seems to put in good performances when it suits rather than on a week to week basis

his couple of goals against ipswich may give him the confidence booster he needed for the remainder of the season, so he may put in a good last half of the season like last year

[Chippy]

I still rate Ballack although he has been very ordinary most games this season, he has had an injury and I think he is just getting his fitness back,

If he gets a new contract, so long as it's performace related, I would think he's still a worthwhile member of the Squad who on his day can still be world class.

[geezer]

He certainly endeared himself to some people in the MHL during the warm-up. One of his shots hit someone smack in the face and they were obviously distressed so he broke off from the warm-up to check the person was okay then gave them his track top. Got a great round of applause as a result.

He has been off the pace however according to Wilkins he probably shouldn't have even been out there yesterday due to a knock he took in training. Thankfully for us he played through the pain barrier and came up trumps.

[Barn]

His contract running down seems like the perfect opportunity to get rid of a player who has proved for us to be over-rated, injury prone and too slow for the premier league (and Champions League). He had about 6-10 decent games last year.

I think part of the problem is that it takes him so long to regain fitness after an injury, and while he's trying to regain his fitness he plays - without risk of being subbed.

And to top it off he and Lampard cannot play together.

Edited January 26, 2009 by Barn

[ducavis]

His contract running down seems like the perfect opportunity to get rid of a player who has proved for us to be over-rated, injury prone and too slow for the premier league (and Champions League). He had about 6-10 decent games last year.

I think part of the problem is that it takes him so long to regain fitness after an injury, and while he's trying to regain his fitness he plays - without risk of being subbed.And to top it off he and Lampard cannot play together.

If you have a squad of 24 players and 9 are over 30yrs, you need to rethink your policy. Players like Drogba, Ballack, Deco and even Carvalho are too injury prone, take too much time to regain fitness and while trying to regain Fitness get injured again. I would think by now someone on the Board would have figured this out.

Compare this stats with other teams; (Players Over 30)

Arsenal-3

Liverpool-2

Man Utd-4

The scary stuff is out of this 9, Carvalho, Ballack, Lampard, Deco & Drogba are guaranteed starters all things been equal. I believe you need a blend of experience and youth in a squad capable of challenging for honors but not having 5 of your first 11. The mix is definitely not right and I seriously hope we address this as I think only one of the 5 above is worth keeping.

[sexelk]

Not once have i seen Ballack 'carring the team' - only once can he come close to deserving that accolade and that was when he scored a brace against Utd last year, when yes, he did have a decent 90 mins.

he was terrible in that game. he did well for the headed goal and the other was a penalty. other than that i spent my usual 90 mins screaming ffs ballack at the screen everytime he gave the ball away

get rid now and forget about a new contract. don't think we need a replacement in the summer. essien will be back and fit for the new season

it is his complete lack of ability to retain any sort of possession that gets me the most. he does his fair share of running around the pitch but i have never seen anyone get caught in possession as much as ballack. he needs too long to think about his pass which also ruins any sort of quick breaks we have on

i'm going a bit arsene on you here but i didn't see the ipswich game so can't comment on his 2 goals but i haven't heard anyone rave on about him so i guess he was as bad as ever?

anyone who believes he has in anyway or at any point carried the chelsea team has their head up their/his arse. do you close your eyes and pretend you don't seem him pass the ball out of play?

[Chippy]

I can't see a problem with Ballack staying if its on a performance related wage, Last season he was one of our better players and for a short while our most consitent.

the age of the squad could do with being reduced but we will no better by the end of this season who the players are that should be let go, Judging Ballack or Deco at this stage when both have had injuries and have maybe returned a bit too soon and are getting back to fitness is harsh.

Ballack was a lot of peoples MOM against Ipswich (checking sites on the web) and although I only listened on the Radio, he sounded like one of the better performers..

that might be a clue to him getting back to fitness and getting a bit of desire back.

a lot depends on if we are spending a decent ammount in the summer and with youngsters hopefully coming through players with the experience of Ballack can only be good for their learning process.

[ethicalstrategy]

If Ballack supporters ever take off their rose-tinted glasses; they will notice him just strolling through matches.

One of the world's great myths. He may give the appearance of "strolling" but he generally covers more ground than any other player on the pitch.

I'm not saying he is always brilliant - he clearly isn't - but he isn't lazy.

he was terrible in that game. he did well for the headed goal and the other was a penalty. other than that i spent my usual 90 mins screaming ffs ballack at the screen everytime he gave the ball away

He was brilliant in that game - as were the rest of the team. You might want to try spending a bit of time actually supporting the team when you are there rather than screaming abuse :P

[loz]

Personally I think Ballack still has plenty to offer however I would let him go at the end of this season. Not because I think he is lazy (he isn't) and not because I think he doesn't merit a place in the squad (he does) but because I think our squad is beginning to age excessively and we need to start looking to the future. Keeping Ballack for another season or two will get in the way of the development of some younger players (be that players we already have or players Scolari might look to brig in in the summer)

Having 3-4 midfielders all the wrong side of 30 is not good news in my opinion. Lampard, Deco and Ballack already are and Malouda isn't far away from it. We also play Belletti in midfield sometime and he is also growing whiskers. Of those five only Lampard us a certain player, and rightly so as he us back to his best.

[ducavis]

Personally I think Ballack still has plenty to offer however I would let him go at the end of this season. Not because I think he is lazy (he isn't) and not because I think he doesn't merit a place in the squad (he does) but because I think our squad is beginning to age excessively and we need to start looking to the future. Keeping Ballack for another season or two will get in the way of the development of some younger players (be that players we already have or players Scolari might look to brig in in the summer)

Having 3-4 midfielders all the wrong side of 30 is not good news in my opinion. Lampard, Deco and Ballack already are and Malouda isn't far away from it. We also play Belletti in midfield sometime and he is also growing whiskers. Of those five only Lampard us a certain player, and rightly so as he us back to his best.

Thank You; BTW the 9 players are Cudicini, Hilario, Carvalho, Belletti, Drogba, Ballack, Deco, Lamaprd & Minerio. Add to this the fact that Terry, Anelka, Ferreira, Malouda & Ashley Cole are nearing the twilight of their careers, it would make perfect sense to sell off most of these players. Keeping Lampard, Terry, Ashley Cole & Anelka would provide all the experience needed to blend in new players and promote young ones

[sexelk]

He was brilliant in that game - as were the rest of the team. You might want to try spending a bit of time actually supporting the team when you are there rather than screaming abuse :P

he was far from brilliant - constantly gave the ball away as per usual

my abuse is specially reserved for ballack

and on occasions malouda. sometimes ashley cole. and a lot of the time deco :lol:

(though cole has been great in recent games)

[moi]

he was far from brilliant - constantly gave the ball away as per usual

my abuse is specially reserved for ballack

and on occasions malouda. sometimes ashley cole. and a lot of the time deco :P

(though cole has been great in recent games)

Ah, I've just noticed you're Irish. That might explain why you abuse your own team instead of the opposition. We over here have a quaint old-fashioned habit of cheering our own team and abusing the enemy!

[sexelk]

Ah, I've just noticed you're Irish. That might explain why you abuse your own team instead of the opposition. We over here have a quaint old-fashioned habit of cheering our own team and abusing the enemy!

ballack is the enemy of chelsea. 2 titles before his arrival and none since

i don't think i would hate him as much if people seen him for the limited player he is instead of the player he is reputed to be

i gladly support the team. singing my heart out (by myself) in amongst 200 utd fans on champions league night and then having to sit there after the game and endure the abuse isn't easy. so what if i have a go now and then

and i'm northern irish btw ;)

[g3.7]

i gladly support the team. singing my heart out (by myself) in amongst 200 utd fans on champions league night and then having to sit there after the game and endure the abuse isn't easy. so what if i have a go now and then

you appear to have some sort of obsession with ballack though. if you want to pass your address onto the admins I think we'll be able to send over a life size poster if you like.

[sexelk]

you appear to have some sort of obsession with ballack though. if you want to pass your address onto the admins I think we'll be able to send over a life size poster if you like.

send it to him, he could stand it up in the middle of the pitch and no-one would know he is missing :lol:

[moi]

and i'm northern irish btw :lol:

I know - it says Belfast under your name. I am reasonably acquainted with the geography of the UK and Eire. But, where Irish jokes are concerned, does that make a difference? Is it only the Irish from Eire who are alleged to do illogical things?

Edited January 26, 2009 by moi

[sexelk]

I know - it says Belfast under your name. I am reasonably acquainted with the geography of the UK and Eire. But, where Irish jokes are concerned, does that make a difference? Is it only the Irish from Eire who are alleged to do illogical things?

aye it's only those eejit paddies, we are an intelligent people up north :lol:

as you can tell from the big hat and the green wig in the background (of my avitar)

Edited January 26, 2009 by sexelk

[loz]

Sexelk

So far moi has insinuated you are a 'tick paddy' (and there is only room for one of them around here eh Liam) and suggested you might be a bit of a big girl.

Do you think she is playing hard to get?