Casillas has had to sit on the Real Madrid bench for over a season now. If Cech feels strongly towards the club, then he will, at the very least, stay to compete with Courtois for the No1 spot without complaining.

Well said. Cech had no challenge since Carlo ar the club I hope he would stay and fight if the ultimatum was courtious being number one

Ok you win. Your point is more valid than my point.

Ain't about winning at all your entitled to your view I just think courtois is a player we can't lose out on. no matter what happens cech is a chelsea legend

I'm not sure if your right or wrong don't matter point is cech took he's chance and courois would do the same.

 

I have to disagree, it does matter. Cech at first earnt his place through being the understudy to the injured Cudicini (rather than through a conscious decision to drop Cudicini for being the lesser keeper), and then went on to break the record for longest streak without conceding a goal and also conceded fewer goals in a season than any goalkeeper in Premier League history. Clearly Cech is an exceptional case, a once-in-a-generation find, and even he only got his opportunity through the luck of Carlo's injury (who himself had been our player of the year not one season before), and we only ultimately saw who was the better player by having both of them in the squad at the same time.

 

Whether or not Courtois will perform as well as that remains to be seen, I just think it's entirely unfair to oust Cech without even a proper battle for his place in the team when his performances have shown nothing to suggest that he deserves to be moved on, especially when (in my opinion at least) if we did sell Cech he could prove to be as formidable a potential opponent as if we sold Courtois. If Courtois manages to displace him over the course of the season then fair enough, but if he cannot prove that he is the better player (and he has one hell of an opponent) then it seems ridiculous to think that we might let a goalkeeper as brilliant and professional, a dressing room presence as huge and a club icon as important as Cech go without even giving him a chance... when Cech has done nothing to make us think that he should be in the last-chance saloon in the first place!

I have to disagree, it does matter. Cech at first earnt his place through being the understudy to the injured Cudicini (rather than through a conscious decision to drop Cudicini for being the lesser keeper), and then went on to break the record for longest streak without conceding a goal and also conceded fewer goals in a season than any goalkeeper in Premier League history. Clearly Cech is an exceptional case, a once-in-a-generation find, and even he only got his opportunity through the luck of Carlo's injury (who himself had been our player of the year not one season before), and we only ultimately saw who was the better player by having both of them in the squad at the same time.

Whether or not Courtois will perform as well as that remains to be seen, I just think it's entirely unfair to oust Cech without even a proper battle for his place in the team when his performances have shown nothing to suggest that he deserves to be moved on, especially when (in my opinion at least) if we did sell Cech he could prove to be as formidable a potential opponent as if we sold Courtois. If Courtois manages to displace him over the course of the season then fair enough, but if he cannot prove that he is the better player (and he has one hell of an opponent) then it seems ridiculous to think that we might let a goalkeeper as brilliant and professional, a dressing room presence as huge and a club icon as important as Cech go without even giving him a chance... when Cech has done nothing to make us think that he should be in the last-chance saloon in the first place!

Under study to Carlo? Do you think one pre season is being an under study. As for thinking cech is in the last chance saloon nobody has said that I certainly didn't cech has still a lot to offer but courtois is to good to let go. Some day cech will be in the last chance saloon it happens to everyone it's life. When that time does come I hope we haven't let a top young keeper like courtois go. I think you think anyone posting about courtois being the way forward is being anti Petr cech but that's certainly not the case if cech is our number one for the next 10 years I won't complain but courtois is to good to sell. Why buy him in the first place.

I can't add anymore on the topic to be honest. Both top keepers let's wait and see

Both top keepers but one is 10 years younger than the other. No brainer in my opinion. Are we building a team for the next 10 years or a team for the next 2-3? Unfortunately the signs so far are that courtois will be allowed to leave and if that happens it will be a complete disaster. Please don't screw this one up jose!

Isn't this a really nice opportunity to cash in on Courtois ?

 

I know most of you at the Shed will be opposed to the idea especially that he's already world class and will keep improving over the next few years. BUT we need a striker more than anybody else. Cech will remain world class for another three-four years. Goalkeepers don't age so soon. Having them both on the bench is like having Casillas and Lopez at Madrid. Is it really worth it ? Asking both Cech and Courtois to fight it out makes no sense either. Cech is NOT going to improve one bit and one of the two will be wasted on the bench.

 

If acquiring Costa's services means a Courtois + cash deal with Atletico, I don't think that's a bad idea at all. Now that Luiz will be stuck with us  for at least one more year with the Barcelona situation, where's the cash ?  Or do we not care about FFP ? 

 

Having everybody back with us  - Thibaut Courtois, Romelu Lukaku, Marko Marin, Victor Moses, Ryan Bertrand, Gael Kakuta, Josh McEachran and 21 others has a feel good factor about it. But really ? Really ? 

Under study to Carlo? Do you think one pre season is being an under study. As for thinking cech is in the last chance saloon nobody has said that I certainly didn't cech has still a lot to offer but courtois is to good to let go. Some day cech will be in the last chance saloon it happens to everyone it's life. When that time does come I hope we haven't let a top young keeper like courtois go.

 

Well that's exactly my point, that he was the understudy up to the point when Cudicini was unavailable to play, i.e. after he got injured (which happened to be in pre-season). It was only because he competed for the #1 shirt and then took the opportunity that he showed that he was good enough and better than Cudicini. What if, hypothetically, we had sold Cudicini, put Cech straight in, and he had failed to adapt and been another Taibi? What if we had sold him to Man Utd and he had turned out to be the final piece which kept them competitive during the interval before they signed van der Sar?

 

You are saying that Cech is in the last chance saloon if you are denying him a [last] chance to defend his place, that's my point. Cech is pretty much unquestionably the best goalkeeper in the league and we are behaving as if he's one bad back away from the scrap heap. I'm not defending him out of sentiment, it is out of my genuine conviction that Cech is still the better player and should be our starting goalkeeper until such a point that he is no longer the better player. I think that the most effective way of doing that would be to have them competing side-by-side, if only for one season, for the same position, with one of the best goalkeeping coaches in the world and one of the best managers in the world to make the decision.

 

 

I think you think anyone posting about courtois being the way forward is being anti Petr cech but that's certainly not the case if cech is our number one for the next 10 years I won't complain but courtois is to good to sell. Why buy him in the first place.

 

No one thinks that, I don't understand why you have to take a tribal mentality to this when the solution I'm proposing gives the opportunity to both keepers, and will allow them to compete with each other directly and prove to us once and for all who is the better goalkeeper and who Chelsea will benefit from having in their starting XI. I think Courtois is a fantastic goalkeeper, I just think Cech is better, and is far too good to be immediately written off as collateral damage just for the sake of pandering to Courtois' wishes immediately. If Courtois is not patient enough or confident enough in his own ability (and from the way he talks I would have thought that he is) to compete with Cech for just one season in an entirely new league then I'd be pretty disappointed in his attitude. If he is willing to do that then obviously I take it all back and would be satisfied that we had managed to broker the best immediate solution to the problem.

 

Incidentally, if he needs a role model in professionalism, maybe he could benefit from spending a season in the same team as Petr Cech...

Diego Simeone sat on the set at a TV studio, a huge mocked-up bag of cash on the desk in front of him representing the €38m (£31.5m) in Diego Costa's buy-out clause. Simeone is a pragmatist, a man who has talked often of Atlético Madrid's limited resources, and he had just admitted with a heavy heart that if a club met the striker's valuation he would have no choice but let him go, just as he had with Radamel Falcao the previous summer.

 

There is no money for big signings. He would find an alternative, a cheaper one. Now, Simeone was asked, would you use this big bag of money to sign Thibaut Courtois permanently? Atlético Madrid? €38m? On a goalkeeper? Were they mad? Simeone didn't hesitate. "Without doubt," he said. Better still, Simeone may get Courtois for free. For one more year at least. The question has been repeated often, not least by Courtois himself: where next?

 

After Atlético Madrid's 1-1 draw at the Camp Nou on Tuesday night the Belgian said that he hoped to be able to announce what his future will be "next week". He had already insisted that his immediate future would be either Chelsea or Atlético, no one else. The long-term plan was less clear, but that too is falling into place. When Courtois joined Chelsea he signed a five-year deal. Although he was loaned to Atlético, Chelsea kept a close eye on him, involved in his training regime, maintaining contact and occasionally bringing him back to London.

 

Courtois grew in Madrid and he was happy too. Chelsea wanted him to go on loan to an English club; the game there is different, after all. But Courtois insisted on staying. He has been a massive success: winner of the Europa League and the Copa del Rey, a contender for La Liga and the European Cup this season. "[Chelsea's goalkeeping coach] Christophe Lollichon watched me a lot, so he saw that it's a good league and that I am playing well," Courtois explained to the Guardian.

 

"They would rather have a happy goalkeeper playing in a good team in Spain than playing for a team fighting relegation in England. Ok, I would adapt to football in England if I went there on loan but you will let in two or four goals and that is not good for your confidence. For that reason I think it was easy for them to say: 'ok, yeah, you can stay there'."

 

But this is his third season at Atlético. The distance grows and so does Courtois; he does not truly feel like a Chelsea player. The uncertainty has become a problem and so has impatience, the sense that the club who own him may have doubts about him: he is only 21 but he expected to be at Chelsea by now. Playing, too. He is certainly good enough, but so is Petr Cech.

 

After last season's Copa del Rey final, in which Courtois had made a miraculous save to help Atlético defeat Real at the Santiago Bernabéu, the full-back Filipe Luis walked past Courtois in the mixed-zone shouting: "What a save, madre mia, what a save! The best goalkeeper in the world!"

 

Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink agreed on Tuesday night, arguing on Sky that only Manuel Neuer is as good as him. Hasselbaink said that he thinks the Belgian should return to Stamford Bridge and be the No1 next season. José Mourinho, the manager defeated by Courtois's saves in that final, insisted rather pointedly that whatever happens depends entirely on Chelsea but there was something in the tone that did little to comfort the keeper.

 

And as the end of his contract draws nearer, so the possibilities seemed, at least momentarily, to widen. Certainly, interest from elsewhere strengthened Courtois's hand while the frustration of not knowing strengthened his resolve. Would Chelsea let him go? Could Courtois look to break free? Do they see in him a potential profit? Could he see out his Chelsea contract and then leave? Would he lay down an ultimatum, a road map to follow? Could he?

 

It is hard to believe that Chelsea would let a talent this big go, but continued faith in Cech was slowing his progression. Another possibility arose: Courtois as a bargaining chip in other signings. Diego Costa, for example. There had been reports about a move to Real Madrid, suspiciously-timed to coincide with the two teams from the capital meeting in the league and cup, and Barcelona's manager Tata Martino was asked on Tuesday night whether there was a chance of the Catalans moving for him.

 

"I'm can't talk about things that could be two years away," he said. Barcelona have implied that they doubt Courtois's ability with his feet; a key component at the Camp Nou, where the keeper is another player. Chelsea are also conscious that a sale, as with Kevin De Bruyne and perhaps in the future with Romelu Lukaku, could represent good business. Atlético, still, believe he will sign a new deal at Chelsea and be allowed to spend another season in Spain. That's their hope. The timings have played into their hands; Cech's longevity has given them one of the best goalkeepers there is, a loan player who has been at the club longer than many permanent signings.

 

At the end of this season, Courtois would have been an Atlético player for three years; they're hopeful that he will play at the Calderón for a fourth. The draw at the Camp Nou underlined how significant he is. He made three impressive saves from Sergio Busquets, Andrés Iniesta and Lionel Messi. "He's one of the best goalkeepers in the world, there's no doubt about that," Tata Martino said. Atlético are hopeful that they can enjoy him for another season. After that, Chelsea could enjoy him for a decade or more.

 

http://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2014/apr/02/thibaut-courtois-chelsea-atletico-madrid-future

And most people here seem to have the idea that having two world class keepers on the same team helps both them improve. 

I know that makes sense, but from what I've seen, Diego Lopez has gone from being 'perhaps' the finest keeper in Europe at the beginning of season to pretty 'average' by the end of it.

 

 

Courtois at Chelsea would be the ditto situation at Madrid. One legend and one upcoming hero. From what I gather, the unrest is real. 

Well that's exactly my point, that he was the understudy up to the point when Cudicini was unavailable to play, i.e. after he got injured (which happened to be in pre-season). It was only because he competed for the #1 shirt and then took the opportunity that he showed that he was good enough and better than Cudicini. What if, hypothetically, we had sold Cudicini, put Cech straight in, and he had failed to adapt and been another Taibi? What if we had sold him to Man Utd and he had turned out to be the final piece which kept them competitive during the interval before they signed van der Sar?

You are saying that Cech is in the last chance saloon if you are denying him a [last] chance to defend his place, that's my point. Cech is pretty much unquestionably the best goalkeeper in the league and we are behaving as if he's one bad back away from the scrap heap. I'm not defending him out of sentiment, it is out of my genuine conviction that Cech is still the better player and should be our starting goalkeeper until such a point that he is no longer the better player. I think that the most effective way of doing that would be to have them competing side-by-side, if only for one season, for the same position, with one of the best goalkeeping coaches in the world and one of the best managers in the world to make the decision.

No one thinks that, I don't understand why you have to take a tribal mentality to this when the solution I'm proposing gives the opportunity to both keepers, and will allow them to compete with each other directly and prove to us once and for all who is the better goalkeeper and who Chelsea will benefit from having in their starting XI. I think Courtois is a fantastic goalkeeper, I just think Cech is better, and is far too good to be immediately written off as collateral damage just for the sake of pandering to Courtois' wishes immediately. If Courtois is not patient enough or confident enough in his own ability (and from the way he talks I would have thought that he is) to compete with Cech for just one season in an entirely new league then I'd be pretty disappointed in his attitude. If he is willing to do that then obviously I take it all back and would be satisfied that we had managed to broker the best immediate solution to the problem.

Incidentally, if he needs a role model in professionalism, maybe he could benefit from spending a season in the same team as Petr Cech...

My god where did I say cech is in the last chance saloon. I said some day he will be like everyone he can't play for ever. Petr was signed to be chelsea number one he was even given the number one jersey. I'm not sure if I'm posting correctly but your taking me up wrong again and again. Like I said I can't add anymore to what I've said already you have your view I have mine..

"Isn't this a really nice opportunity to cash in on Courtois ?"

No.

He is only 21 and his value will keep going up as he's not even close to peaking yet.

I think basically courtois has told chelsea I'm the number one and if he's not he will want a transfer. I heard that awhile back if my memory serves me right

 

(lost in translation)

 

He didn't say he's nr. 1. He meant CFC has to decide who 'll be their  nr. 1 next season.

He, as everybody else, knows it is as good as impossible to keep both...

 

Spanish papers + English tabloids + Dutch speaking goalkeeper = reliable information. 

I heard him speak in an interview yesterday after the match.

What he basically said was that he will have talks with Chelsea next week and that the decision will me made next week or the week after. 

It was either going to be another loan to Atletico, or he is coming back to Chelsea to battle it out with Cech.

Win - win situation in my opinion, personally i'd rather see Courtois take over. But Cech can handle another season with ease. 

I heard him speak in an interview yesterday after the match.

What he basically said was that he will have talks with Chelsea next week and that the decision will me made next week or the week after. 

It was either going to be another loan to Atletico, or he is coming back to Chelsea to battle it out with Cech.

Win - win situation in my opinion, personally i'd rather see Courtois take over. But Cech can handle another season with ease. 

 

I think another loan to AM is not possible (La Liga rule)

Edited April 2, 201412 yr by trigger

I think another loan to AM is not possible (La Liga rules)

If he extends his contract he can

Oh dear god what am I about to say.....

 

Go with bringing Courtois in and look to establish him as our number 1.

 

Its like being a regular in a pub for years that has a pool table and a 32" telly on wheels, and a new spot opens up down the road only this one gives out cocktail sausages and hot wings at half time during the Chelsea match which they screen on their 84" televison.

 

Decisions, decisions.

Edited April 2, 201412 yr by Carloseyebrow

Carlo wasn't injured when Cech started the first game under Jose, he was on the bench I'm 99% sure of it.

Looks like we cant sell him to Barca for a while anyway

Thibaut speaks Flemish, Trigger!

Flemish!

 

This is what everyone was raving about last night ? i'm sorry but all of these were routine saves, if he wasn't making those saves then you would be very disappointed. The best save was the freekick and i don't even think it was going in. The saved that worried me was the one in the second half where it was hit straight at him and he just pushes it back into play. He does this often and it's not something i am a fan of. The best keepers push it away from the danger zone, not towards it.

 

And i still stand by what i said last night, he should have got a stronger hand to Neymar's shot. Neymar hit it ok, but it wasn't a really powerful shot. A stronger hand stops that from going in.

 

He is going to be a great goalkeeper there is no doubt in my mind but i think people are over exaggerating his saves.

 

Edit: On second viewing the save from Iniesta's shot was good, but i stand by what i said before, it's saves he should be making.

Edited April 2, 201412 yr by Scott Harris

This is what everyone was raving about last night ? i'm sorry but all of these were routine saves, if he wasn't making those saves then you would be very disappointed. The best save was the freekick and i don't even think it was going in. The saved that worried me was the one in the second half where it was hit straight at him and he just pushes it back into play. He does this often and it's not something i am a fan of. The best keepers push it away from the danger zone, not towards it.

 

And i still stand by what i said last night, he should have got a stronger hand to Neymar's shot. Neymar hit it ok, but it wasn't a really powerful shot. A stronger hand stops that from going in.

 

He is going to be a great goalkeeper there is no doubt in my mind but i think people are over exaggerating his saves.

 

Edit: On second viewing the save from Iniesta's shot was good, but i stand by what i said before, it's saves he should be making.

 

I think its great we can have a gk whos making the saves he should be making, for the next 15 years

I think its great we can have a gk whos making the saves he should be making, for the next 15 years

 

The thing is, all keepers make these saves. It's not so much the fancy stuff i am interested in. It's the command he has of his area, how he deals with corners when defenders are charging into him, what he does with the ball when he makes a save. 9 times out of 10 Cech is pushing saves over the bar, around the corner, or away from the danger zone. Courtois seems to push the ball straight back into the danger area fairly often.

 

Everytime i hear about Courtois or watch him play i hear people always talking about the fancy stuff and never about anything else.

Thibaut speaks Flemish, Trigger!

Flemish!

 

"The Kingdom of Belgium has three official languages: Dutch, French, and German"

 

He is Flemish, speaks Dutch. Flemish is as much a language as Flanders is a country, or do you think Courtois is a typical Flemish name?

Back to the Flemish (Genkse) classroom