Just wondering if any of you lot know if the fee has been agreed yet or have you paid for him?

On the subject of the next Pele, how is he doing now? Last I heard was that Terry and co have had to have words with his ego on more than one occasion. Did alright yesterday from the brief highlights I saw.

He did well enough against Birmingham and Fulham I think. He could do with a goal for confidence but hopefully the assist yesterday will help. The next month will be big for him I think. If he takes the opportunity I think he will go a long way towards establishing his future at Chelsea. If he fails to impress he may have to wait a while before getting another chance like this. With Borini also eager to show what he can do they are really competing with each other for the 3rd choice striker spot at this point. Right now I'd say Sturridge has edged ahead on the strength of hits 2 most recent performances.

Last I heard was that Terry and co have had to have words with his ego on more than one occasion.

:D and where did you hear that? That very on-the-fence forum you guys vacate?

:D and where did you hear that? That very on-the-fence forum you guys vacate?

No actually, I heard it from one of the guys at work who is a Chelsea supporter.

Ah sh*t I apologise, obviously true then :D

bloody hell, have city won a game then. must have, bluemoons back. no doubt to tell us city are signing terry, essien, drogba, dixon, osgood, zola and charlie cooke.

bloody hell, have city won a game then. must have, bluemoons back. no doubt to tell us city are signing terry, essien, drogba, dixon, osgood, zola and charlie cooke.

Don't forget Greaves!

bloody hell, have city won a game then. must have, bluemoons back. no doubt to tell us city are signing terry, essien, drogba, dixon, osgood, zola and charlie cooke.

Sorry DKW, remind me who you are signing over the next few transfer windows? No? Nevermind then... Maybe someone who knows can answer my original question.

Sorry DKW, remind me who you are signing over the next few transfer windows? No? Nevermind then... Maybe someone who knows can answer my original question.

well who knows who we will sign in this transfer window.

well who knows who we will sign in this transfer window.

So can you answer my original question regarding Sturridge?

Just wondering if any of you lot know if the fee has been agreed yet or have you paid for him?

On the subject of the next Pele, how is he doing now? Last I heard was that Terry and co have had to have words with his ego on more than one occasion. Did alright yesterday from the brief highlights I saw.

I thought we got him on a free 'cos he was out of contract?

Still haven't seen enough of him to form an opinion. Injuries are a worry. But if he takes his chance - which is NOW with Drogba and Kalou away - then he could become a regular. Certainly seems enough about him to make me think he could turn out to be decent as long as he has the right attitude.

And what are your hopes for this season? Where do you honestly think you'll finish? I guess you'd be happy with top 4 and a Carling Cup win?

So can you answer my original question regarding Sturridge?

nope, no idea if a price has been set. and not heard anything of him needing brought into line by terry etc either.

im guessing you were trying a wind up over the transfer window, but it kinda went wrong. ah well.

Edited December 29, 200916 yr by dkw

Nibs

A tribunal was to set the fee. Not sure what stage that is currently at.

I never heard any more about the tribunal. So either it was settled for an undisclosed amount or they still have to hear the case.

I thought we got him on a free 'cos he was out of contract?

Still haven't seen enough of him to form an opinion. Injuries are a worry. But if he takes his chance - which is NOW with Drogba and Kalou away - then he could become a regular. Certainly seems enough about him to make me think he could turn out to be decent as long as he has the right attitude.

And what are your hopes for this season? Where do you honestly think you'll finish? I guess you'd be happy with top 4 and a Carling Cup win?

Yeh, he certainly has some talent, as long as he keeps his attitude in check, or channels it in the right way then im sure he can achieve highly.

If we managed the top 4 and a carling cup I would be ecstatic. I honestly think we will finish 5th though. I have a horrid feeling Spurs will get 4th. Im not at this moment concerned about Villa, they have to be the luckiest team in the world with injuries and i can see that running out shortly and Dunne will revert to type soon. As for the dippers, hoping that them and Villa draw tonight. We should no doubt be higher in the league but we arent badly placed considering we have a game in hand on most. Only 2 points off Spurs so win that and we are in the top 4. I just hope Mancini continues how he started and he can boot Robinho into line. If not then I hope robbie goes.

Yeh, he certainly has some talent, as long as he keeps his attitude in check, or channels it in the right way then im sure he can achieve highly.

If we managed the top 4 and a carling cup I would be ecstatic. I honestly think we will finish 5th though. I have a horrid feeling Spurs will get 4th. Im not at this moment concerned about Villa, they have to be the luckiest team in the world with injuries and i can see that running out shortly and Dunne will revert to type soon. As for the dippers, hoping that them and Villa draw tonight. We should no doubt be higher in the league but we arent badly placed considering we have a game in hand on most. Only 2 points off Spurs so win that and we are in the top 4. I just hope Mancini continues how he started and he can boot Robinho into line. If not then I hope robbie goes.

i cant honestly see how robinho can play for you anymore. bellamy has been one of your best players and plays wide left frm what i can see, and if hes been pissing about so much these last few months then i wouldnt be surprised to see mancini want rid of him.

Yeh, he certainly has some talent, as long as he keeps his attitude in check, or channels it in the right way then im sure he can achieve highly.

If we managed the top 4 and a carling cup I would be ecstatic. I honestly think we will finish 5th though. I have a horrid feeling Spurs will get 4th. Im not at this moment concerned about Villa, they have to be the luckiest team in the world with injuries and i can see that running out shortly and Dunne will revert to type soon. As for the dippers, hoping that them and Villa draw tonight. We should no doubt be higher in the league but we arent badly placed considering we have a game in hand on most. Only 2 points off Spurs so win that and we are in the top 4. I just hope Mancini continues how he started and he can boot Robinho into line. If not then I hope robbie goes.

Aw, comum, don't be a bitter Blue, admit Dunne has been superb for Villa whereas your centre back pairing have been, well, less good?!!

But this is a strange old season. I am always pessimistic where Chelsea are concerned but leaving us out of it, I am literally changing from week to week as to who the strongest challengers are. You have a great chance this season of finishing top 4, possibly higher than 4th. Rooney apart, utd look sh*te. Spurs areway too inconsistent. Arsenal look the strongest but now have no Van Persie and rely too heavily on Fabregas. And Villa, as you say, don't have enough cover for injuries and also looked very poor against Arsenal.

If Mancini can sort out your defence, I think you're nailed on top 4.

Whatever happened to those teams from Merseyside....................?

Dunne will revert to type soon.

which one is that i wonder. the downs of last season or the 4 man city player of the year awards in a row before that what i believe is a club record? so far he's proving that it's the latter.

I thought it was around 5 million. Thought I read that back when the saga was at it's heights....but then again, I may not have read that, and it could just be a random figure plucked from my head.

Studge is doing okay. He's had some minor injury problems which haven't helped his progress but he seems to be getting better as his fitness improves and he gets used to the system.

As for the comment about senior players 'having a word' with him let me give you the reality. Yes the senior players have been talking to him a lot but then they do this with all the youngsters - Kakuta, Hutchinson, Borini, Bruma etc why? Because they take them under their wing and nurture them along. It is the same for more senior players who may be going through a rough patch.

This is something driven by JT himself after he was treated much the same by the likes of Desailly, Lebeouf and Zola. If people want to read something else into that then that's their problem. Simple fact is this is the Chelsea way - nothing else. It is however up to those very same youngsters to embrace what they are being told and learn day by day, hour by hour, minute by minute, second by second and to put practice into reality. Some manage this, some don't. Only time will tell whether Studge will cut it at the very top but the current signs are encouraging.

Now if only we could do the same with Joe Hart before City ruin his career................ :)

Edited December 30, 200916 yr by geezer

which one is that i wonder. the downs of last season or the 4 man city player of the year awards in a row before that what i believe is a club record? so far he's proving that it's the latter.

It was creeping in last night. Tackle over the top of the ball that was a stone wall penalty and then slipped at a vital moment to allow Torres in. Dont get me wrong I adored Dunnie but he had gone stale at City. I imagine a large part of that was down to Hughes as he seemed to have a knack of training the talent out of our players. Robinho, Adebayor, Richards, Dunne etc...

Blaming Hughes for Robinho is plain wrong. The attitude he has and effort he puts in for you is no different than it has been for periods throughout his career. Adebayor also showed at Arsenal that he has periods where he can be bothered and periods where he would rather be shopping for ugly clothes with big price tags than playing football.

What Hughes can maybe blamed for is investing heavily in players with a track record for inconsistency and poor attitudes.

Blaming Hughes for Robinho is plain wrong. The attitude he has and effort he puts in for you is no different than it has been for periods throughout his career. Adebayor also showed at Arsenal that he has periods where he can be bothered and periods where he would rather be shopping for ugly clothes with big price tags than playing football.

What Hughes can maybe blamed for is investing heavily in players with a track record for inconsistency and poor attitudes.

Well we will have to agree to disagree. Players have gone backwards under him in the main part.

Robinho's attitude has been plain disgusting, I don't think he will cut it in this league, he started off life here brilliantly though, so something has gone wrong over the last 12 months or so. Injuries and nightclubs have played their part as well.

Bellamy seems to love playing for him, however Bellers seems hell bent on enjoying the last stint of his career. (On the subject of bellamy, I thought it was excellent of Wenger to admit that he would not be buying him, thanks Arsene, glad its down to you.)

Man City fan here, coming in peace.

On Sturridge, we found that he usually refuses to play or train unless he is 100% fit, we have people on our forum who go and watch training, and he would walk off the field fairly regularly for very lame reasons.

The attitude is a huge problem, and while he is still young he can get away with it, but the time is now for him to sort it out, and really make a statement while you have Anelka injured and Drogba away.

I think most City fans were abit (secretly) gutted when he decided to leave, theres no doubt he can be a huge talent, he was a MASSIVE part of our youth team that won almost everything, including beating you guys in the youth cup final.

I've seen him play on many occassions and I was impressed, however it always looked like he was playing for himself, he is trigger happy and needs to be constantly moaned at to pass to players in better positions.

I reckon Terry might be a good role model for him, Sturridge does need someone to sort him out, someone who has been there and done it all before him.

I think 5 million would be a fair fee. If he blows his chance with you lot, he will end up at a Bolton or Westham, maybe Fulham, but I dont think another top 4 club would take a chance on him until he proves himself.

Good luck.

As for players going backwards under Hughes, your quite right. Too much time as spent on graphs and tables of physical performance in training and in games.

More time needed to be spent man managing and looking at tactics and formations.

Mancini has already shown he has a plan B and is not afraid to change things after 10 mins, if he can tell its not working, not unlike Mourinho eh??

The honeymoon period is well under way and we have 7 or 8 "easier" league games, which we would have drawn under Hughes, but so far we are looking like being capable of beating the battler teams. You know that success comes from beating all the w**key teams, and drawing or getting to the odd win against the big teams. This is what we have struggled to do, but hopefully Mancini has sorted this out.

Adebayor was a monster of a player in our first 4 games, then he fell apart and was obviously not happy with something. Robinho is coming back from a bad injury, and agreed, he isnt interested in away games, but home games, you see flickers of the robinho who owned for the first few months of last season.

Sometimes he isnt effective, but he draws the attention of a couple of opposition players, creating space for others.

I think we have the real deal with Mancini, very early days, but I already have faith that he knows what he is doing and quickly spots where its going wrong. Your probably getting bored now, so i'll leave it at that.