If Liverpool fans say they aren't gutted about Salah joining us, they are clearly in de-Nile

Maybe we could revert to the Christmas tree and play him at the top of the pyramid?

Happy to have him.  Aside from our matches against him where he was a handful, his videos seem to suggest he's more than a speed merchant.  He makes some good decisions on the counter at pace, has some tricks in his locker and seems to have an eye for goal.  Great balance too.  He seemed comfortable working a packed defence as well as springing on a counter attack.  Can't wait to see what he can do.

He will win a ton of free kicks as well because people will just hack him down

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uue6sK-Unck&feature=youtu.be

 

Mohamed salah last interview with basel site about joinning chelsea

mohamed salah wins best player in switzerland

 

http://www.blick.ch/sport/fussball/superleague/wen-macht-melanie-zum-gewinner-id2640786.html

The pocket rocket and the spider what a pair of signings ...

according to Chelsea Website , Salah has alredy got work permit.. Can he be  in stamford bridge tomarrow just for the match..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uue6sK-Unck

 

Goodbye interview, seems like a nice guy.

Seems a happy bloke.

English is superb too so that's no barrier.

Hopefully not too long before we see him flying down the wing

If Liverpool fans say they aren't gutted about Salah joining us, they are clearly in de-Nile

HAHA

If Liverpool fans say they aren't gutted about Salah joining us, they are clearly in de-Nile

 

I laughed.

I hope he sticks around till he's an old Giza

I hope the religion-stuff won't get in his way. The handshake-stuff and all that. Was he against Jewism? I think half of our board are Jewish. Religions....

I actually think the club has the sensibilty to handle this stuff but it is always worrying.

Anyway he seems a happy bloke and I can't wait to see him play for us. Matic looked solid in his first full game so I have high hopes for this lad being our second transfer in this window.

Watched some more footage of him and yep, he's definitely the new Walcott.

 

I rate Walcott a little higher than most on this board, I assume. Walcott's raw speed offers a seriously dangerous threat even when we are defending deep and Salah seems to have that ability to turn a desperate clearance into a counter-attacking chance. It's always been my feeling that speed is a more important weapon than strength in the EPL and Salah's got it in spades. Pair him with Ramires behind him in central midfield and we have the ability to turn a opposition attack into a 2 v 2 at their end literally in seconds. With ball players like Terry and Matic in support, many teams will learn to think twice about trying to flood forward against us and he'd be the ideal release valve when the score is 1-0 or 2-0.

 

The two main concerns I have about him are his first touch and finishing. Finishing is something that improves with time and confidence. However, we all saw how Moses (and to a lesser extent Schurrle) 'struggled' when the team was in slow possession, after coming from a smaller team where his natural counter-attacking abilities were largely negated. You need a good touch and passing ability to play the ball around quickly when trying to break down a packed defense and I wonder if that will affect Salah as it will be the scenario he faces in 90% of his games in the league.

Watched some more footage of him and yep, he's definitely the new Walcott.

 

I rate Walcott a little higher than most on this board, I assume. Walcott's raw speed offers a seriously dangerous threat even when we are defending deep and Salah seems to have that ability to turn a desperate clearance into a counter-attacking chance. It's always been my feeling that speed is a more important weapon than strength in the EPL and Salah's got it in spades. Pair him with Ramires behind him in central midfield and we have the ability to turn a opposition attack into a 2 v 2 at their end literally in seconds. With ball players like Terry and Matic in support, many teams will learn to think twice about trying to flood forward against us and he'd be the ideal release valve when the score is 1-0 or 2-0.

 

The two main concerns I have about him are his first touch and finishing. Finishing is something that improves with time and confidence. However, we all saw how Moses (and to a lesser extent Schurrle) 'struggled' when the team was in slow possession, after coming from a smaller team where his natural counter-attacking abilities were largely negated. You need a good touch and passing ability to play the ball around quickly when trying to break down a packed defense and I wonder if that will affect Salah as it will be the scenario he faces in 90% of his games in the league.

 

Basel are the giants of the Swiss league so he should hopefully have experience with teams defending deep and compactly against him.

http://weaintgotnohistory.sbnation.com/2014/1/26/5342388/mohamed-salah-an-egyptian-perspective

A good read in WAGNH today about Salah, written by an Egyptian.

Basel are a far more organised attacking side than Chelsea though. They flood forward in possession, whereas we tend to hit it forward and hope that Hazard, Oscar and A.N Other work out something amongst themselves.

Basel are a far more organised attacking side than Chelsea though. They flood forward in possession, whereas we tend to hit it forward and hope that Hazard, Oscar and A.N Other work out something amongst themselves.

 

We give the ball to our attacking players and expect them to attack?

Well, what else would we do?

We give the ball to our attacking players and expect them to attack?

Well, what else would we do?

 

 

Involve the rest of the team, like properly organised teams do.

Involve the rest of the team, like properly organised teams do.

So I`m dreaming that our full backs constantly compliment the attack, and Ramires/Lampard get into attacking positions very often, even Luiz and Terry bring the ball out of defence. 

I wouldnt say speed is more important than power, look at lennon, valencia etc. Unbelievably fast but rarely contribute anything significant in a regular basis. Power is what holds people off, gives you a little more time. That combined is deadly. Salah will bomb down the right wing and will seek to cut it back for people coming into the box, or those already there. We saw against us that finishing is not a concern if he is given the opportunity. With a top coach lile Mourinho he should only get better.

I hope the religion-stuff won't get in his way. The handshake-stuff and all that. Was he against Jewism? I think half of our board are Jewish. Religions....

I actually think the club has the sensibilty to handle this stuff but it is always worrying.

Anyway he seems a happy bloke and I can't wait to see him play for us. Matic looked solid in his first full game so I have high hopes for this lad being our second transfer in this window.

 

The prospect of being drawn to play an Israeli team is fairly remote.

Edited January 28, 201412 yr by Charles Ryder

The prospect of being drawn to play an Israeli team is fairly remote.

 

In this day and age it shouldn't even be a concern.

I think the club would be savvy enough to ensure that he partook in the pre-match formalities if we ever did play an Israeli team.