The Deep-Lying Playmaker Thread

[Ethan789blues]

I think it's clear that as a second signing after a world striker, Chelsea need somebody who can distribute the ball from deep in order to speed up attacks and to break down resolute defences.

All the top clubs have them. Kroos (Bayern), Gundogan (Dortmund), Alonso/Modric (Real Madrid), Xavi (Barca), Pirlo (Juve). Etc...

Ideally they would play alongside matic because clearly Ramires is of no use when trying to dictate play

So my question: who can we potentially sign

Kroos - ideal player, but unlikely. 25m

Gundogan - might be risky after the injury though he'd be cheaper. 15-20m

Rakitic - we could get him if we wanted, at his peak. 15m

Modric - very unlikely 40m

Koke - perhaps he could play deeper?? Not likely. 30m

Or we could look to play Oscar/ luiz/ or use van ginkel

What do you think????

I think rakitic is ideal and we would be a great set-piece taker which we need

Cech

Azpilicueta. Cahill. Terry. Shaw

? Matic

Willian. Oscar. Hazard

Costa

Edited April 14, 2014 by Ethan789blues

[big blue]

id take a punt on kovacic.

[mad_mac]

I'd like to see Van GInkel used, but I think we'll see someone else signed and then MVG either loaned or used as back up - if we sell Mikel

[Ballack & Blu]

Its a poser, but something i said in match Chat that we desperately need to address?, Pogba has all the tools??

[mad_mac]

Its a poser, but something i said in match Chat that we desperately need to address?, Pogba has all the tools??

 

He certainly does seem to, but Juve see him as one of their key players, and the money some of their fans are touting as the amount it'd take to get him is astronomical 

[blessomeie]

If JM doesn't give MVG a run this summer, pogba would be an ideal combo with matic...dreamy potential

[Lane]

If JM doesn't give MVG a run this summer, pogba would be an ideal combo with matic...dreamy potential

 

what about heung son min? he could be a revelation at CM

[CFCflynn]

id take rakitic. Marin swap and a few million and he could be ours

[jack_super_class]

None of those seem realistic to me apart from maybe Gundogan and hes a huge risk given his injury and Rakitic but not sure Mourinho would want him. I see us selling Mikel and buying Imbula and that will be it for the midfield.

Edited April 14, 2014 by jack_super_class

[CFCBlue12]

Ross Barkley? He can defs play in that position.

[DarkMata]

I think we have to give Van Ginkel a go.  I've not seen enough of the guy to make a judgement on how good he is, but theres no point buying the lad and then not using him we must have bought him for some reason, he must have talent and potential.  We are constantly looking at other players thinking that the grass is greener when we have talent under are noses (Matic, Sturridge).  I mean if Van Ginkel was playing for another team I bet loads of you would be putting him on your wanted list.   Some considered swapping Oscar for Lucas Moura as a good deal!

 

We have some young talent that we need to nurture to become top players, we just need to give them time.  Yes I know we need to regularly bring in new players for us to improve, but we need to be careful we don't stop the development of our youngsters.  We probably do need another DM mid but we have too many players in that position already (Luiz, Mikel, Van Ginkel, Matic Rameries and Chalobah) and probably need to sell 3 to allow the young players playing time.

 

Saying that does anyone know the kind of passing Van Ginkel is capable of? Is he the kind of player who can play the playmaking role?

[PloKoon13]

http://www1.skysports.com/football/news/11668/9266377/transfer-news-andrea-pirlo-reveals-he-almost-joined-chelsea

 

Pirlo reveals he almost joined Chelsea:

 

 

"It was August 2009 and I'd reached agreement with Chelsea, the club where Ancelotti had just come in as manager.

Carlo was like a father and a teacher for me, a kind, friendly man who knew how to make things fun.

I'd spent the best years of my career with him. If you're a player who wants to get on and give everything, you won't find anyone better than him.

Carlo Ancelotti was my motivation for agreeing to head to London. But, in the meantime, Berlusconi had pulled out a second piece of paper.

This time there were loads of names with ticks next to them, and one that had been circled. 'Stay. We've signed Huntelaar'. Klaas-Jan Huntelaar is an excellent player. He knows how to score goals, loads of goals and, at that point in time, he was playing for Real Madrid. But he's not the type of guy who's going to win the Ballon d'Or.

'Listen, Andrea, you just can't do this, damn it. You're the symbol of Milan, a standard bearer for this team, and we've already sold Kaka. You can't jump ship as well. It'd be a terrible blow, to our image as much as anything. We can't have everyone leaving.'

Ancelotti and I spoke a fair bit on the phone. He wanted to bring me to London at all costs, and cost was indeed the last hurdle still to be overcome. Insurmountable, as it transpired.

Milan wanted too much cash, and they were also pushing for Branislav Ivanovic to be included in the deal. Chelsea hadn't the slightest intention of letting the defender go.

As it turned out, I moved to Juventus. That's Berlusconi all over, though. He's theatrical and knows exactly what he wants. It's what makes him such a fantastic president and lover of pure, beautiful football.

 

 

Absolutely gutting!

Edited April 15, 2014 by PloKoon13

[ForeverCarefree]

http://www1.skysports.com/football/news/11668/9266377/transfer-news-andrea-pirlo-reveals-he-almost-joined-chelsea

 

Pirlo reveals he almost joined Chelsea:

 

 

 

 

Absolutely gutting!

 

I remember when he was being linked and I was thinking to myself "yeah that's all we need, another 30 year old..."

 

But like a fine wine he's got better with age and looking back I'm gutted he wasn't allowed to join us, he would have been the answer to Makalele leaving. 

[Lane]

, he would have been the answer to Makalele leaving. 

 

how do you figure?

 

pirlos defensive game is non existant

[Jonty]

I don't know he would have been quite as successful here to be honest, the game is a lot quicker and more physical.

[jack_super_class]

I don't know he would have been quite as successful here to be honest, the game is a lot quicker and more physical.

 

Meh this is Pirlo we are talking about, people are praising Gerrard this season and all he's trying to do is copy what Pirlo does.

Edited April 15, 2014 by jack_super_class

[PloKoon13]

I remember when he was being linked and I was thinking to myself "yeah that's all we need, another 30 year old..."

 

But like a fine wine he's got better with age and looking back I'm gutted he wasn't allowed to join us, he would have been the answer to Makalele leaving. 

 

He would be great as a partner for Matic although if he needs Pogba and Vidal in front of him in Serie A I imagine we'd have to start Ramires too.

 

I don't care if he's too old or if it would have ruined the team, he is beautiful enough to be worth it. Even Torres would have started scoring with Pirlo on the other end of the ball!

[Uno]

I didnt want him at the time. Coming to our league at that age doesnt always work out for the best. Look at Deco. As great as he has been in Italy im not so sure he would have been as successful in England.

[PloKoon13]

I didnt want him at the time. Coming to our league at that age doesnt always work out for the best. Look at Deco. As great as he has been in Italy im not so sure he would have been as successful in England.

 

You're probably right, Veron didn't fit in at all well in the Premier League either but then as soon as he returned to South America he went back to being brilliant. Unlike Veron, I think Pirlo would have made up for it with the occasional masterclass though!

[ForeverCarefree]

how do you figure?

 

pirlos defensive game is non existant

 

He would have been a player who could receive the ball with confidence in deep areas and get moves started quickly and efficiently. 

 

Mikel's biggest fault (for me) is that he has always been too slow in starting attacking moves once in possession. 

 

He would be great as a partner for Matic although if he needs Pogba and Vidal in front of him in Serie A I imagine we'd have to start Ramires too.

 

I don't care if he's too old or if it would have ruined the team, he is beautiful enough to be worth it. Even Torres would have started scoring with Pirlo on the other end of the ball!

 

It's obviously a whole other debate as to whether he would have been a success for us in the fast past Premier League but he's been a phenomenal talent in recent years and it would have been great to get to see him play over here. 

[PolishFan]

I'd like to see Oscar next to Matić. Kroos is very good option but unreal. We need to technicial guy with good pass and who runs a lot of course so maybe Vidal,Pogba...both unreal.

[CFCBlue12]

LOL Oscar is too thin.

Edited April 15, 2014 by CFCBlue12

[jack_super_class]

LOL Oscar is too thin.

 

No thinner than Fabregas and Modric. Oscar is strong.

[ForeverCarefree]

LOL Oscar is too thin.

 

Yeah that Ramires fella is built like a brick sh*t house. 

[PloKoon13]

http://www.whoateallthepies.tv/lists/188302/i-think-therefore-i-play-top-10-exquisite-extracts-from-andrea-pirlos-autobiography.html

 

This article has some more extracts from Pirlo's autobiography, some of them are absolute corkers, I honestly wasn't expecting him to be quite as sharp-tongued.

 

1. “I don’t give a toss about pressure. I spent afternoon sleeping and playing Playstation. Then I went out and won the World Cup.â€

 

2. On Sir Alex deploying Park Ji-Sung to man-mark him during the 2010 Champions League last 16: “[sir Alex] is a man without blemish, but he ruined that purity just for a moment when it came to me. A fleeting shabbiness came over the legend that night. At Milan, he unleashed Park Ji-Sung to shadow me.

“[Park] rushed about at the speed of an electron. He’d fling himself at me, his hands all over my back, trying to intimidate me.

“He’d look at the ball and not know what it was for. They’d programmed him to stop me. His devotion to the task was almost touching. Even though he was a famous player, he consented to being used as a guard dog.â€

 

3. “Being part of a team that belongs to everyone makes me feel good. A lot of the time, it’s better than sex: it lasts longer and if it falls flat, it can’t just be your fault…Much better to be a soldier on the pitch than in the bedroom.â€

 

4. “After the wheel, the PlayStation is the best invention of all time. And ever since it’s existed, I’ve been Barcelona, apart from a brief spell way back at the start when I’d go Milan.

“I can’t say with any certainty how many virtual matches I’ve played over the last few years but, roughly speaking, it must be at least four times the number of real ones.

“Pirlo vs Nesta was a classic duel back in our Milanello days. We’d get in early, have breakfast at 9am and then shut ourselves in our room and hit the PlayStation until 11. Training would follow, then we’d be back on the computer games until four in the afternoon. Truly a life of sacrifice.â€

 

5. On Pep Guardiola asking him to sign for Barcelona: “He was elegant in the extreme, much like his conversation.

“Thank you for agreeing to meet me.â€

“Thank you for inviting me.â€

“We need you here, Andrea.â€

“You could tell he wasn’t a man to beat about the bush. After a couple of minutes, he’d cut straight to the chase. As a player, his job had been to conduct the play and as a manager he’d learned to attack, always with impeccable style.

“‘We’re already very strong, I really couldn’t ask for better, but you’d be the icing on the cake. We’re looking for a midfielder to alternate with Xavi, Iniesta and Busquets, and that midfielder is you. You’ve got all the attributes to play for Barcelona, and one in particular – you’re world class.’

“During that half hour I largely kept quiet and let him speak. I listened and, at most, nodded my head. I was so taken aback by the summons that my reflexes had slowed. I was more dazed than excited: shaken by the situation, but in a really positive way.

“‘You know what, Andrea: we’ve made this approach because that’s how we do things round here. We don’t waste time. We want to buy you right now, and we’ve already spoken to Milan. They’ve said ‘no’, but we’ll not give up: we’re Barcelona. We’re used to hearing certain answers but, in the end, things pretty much always change. We’ll try again with Milan. In the meantime, start making a few moves with them as well.’â€

 

6. And Pirlo’s reaction after the conversation: “I would never have expected it. Perhaps I’d spent so much time on the PlayStation that I’d ended up inside it, sucked into a parallel universe by my favourite hobby and now at the mercy of a puppeteer with some kind of enchanted hand.â€

 

7. On Gennaro Gattuso: “You could see the red mist coming down and he just wasn’t able to hide it. We could tell what was coming and so we’d commandeer all the knives. Gattuso would grab a fork and try to stick it in us.

“Some of us ended up missing games because of one of Rino’s fork attacks, even if the official explanation from the club was one of muscle fatigue.â€

 

8. On Zlatan Ibrahimovic: “A ticking timebomb of a madman.â€

 

9. On former Inter Milan manager Roy Hodgson: “Hodgson mispronounced my name. He called me “Pirla†(a term used in Milan dialect which roughly translates as “dickheadâ€), perhaps understanding my true nature more than the other managers.â€

 

10. On that Champions League Final in Istanbul against Liverpool: “It’s an enemy that I can’t allow to wound me a second time. It’s already done enough damage: most of it hidden far from the surface.

“I’ll never watch that match again. I’ve already played it once in person and many other times in my head, searching for an explanation that perhaps doesn’t even exist.

“It was suggested we hang a black funeral pall as a permanent reminder on the walls of Milanello, right next to the images of triumph. A message to future generations that feeling invincible is the first step on the path to the point of no return.

“Personally, I’d add that horrendous result to the club’s honours board. I’d write it slap bang in the middle of the list of leagues and cups they’ve won, in a different coloured ink and perhaps a special font, just to underline its jarring presence.’

“I thought about quitting because, after Istanbul, nothing made sense any more. The 2005 Champions League final simply suffocated me.

“To most people’s minds, the reason we lost on penalties was Jerzy Dudek – that jackass of a dancer who took the mickey out of us by swaying about on his line and then rubbed salt into the wound by saving our spot kicks.

“I could hardly sleep and even when I did drop off, I awoke to a grim thought: I’m disgusting. I can’t play any more. I went to bed with Dudek and all his Liverpool team-mates.’

“I’ll never fully shake that sense of absolute impotence when destiny is at work. The feeling will cling to my feet forever, trying to pull me down…

“There are always lessons to be found in the darkest moments. It’s a moral obligation to dig deep and find that little glimmer of hope or pearl of wisdom.

“You might hit upon an elegant phrase that stays with you and makes the journey that little bit less bitter. I’ve tried with Istanbul and haven’t managed to get beyond these words: for f**k’s sake.

 

And a little bonus quote-let, pertaining to his disdain for pre-match warm-ups: “It’s nothing but masturbation for conditioning coaches.â€