Mixed feelings on this one.

 

 

Obviously his leadership would be invaluable in light of the departures of Lampard, Cole and maybe Cech, plus he has the experience of winning the lot. On top of that he worships Mourinho and will hopefully add to the cult of personality levels of belief that José likes his team to have in him. If this leads to him becoming a coach it may well be worth it, he is clearly loyal to Chelsea, clearly understands what it takes to win and was a key part of the most successful era the club has ever seen.

 

As a role model he is pretty much without parallel, his charity work is brilliant and he obviously cares a great deal about the welfare of his country, plus he might be able to help us attract top African talent in the future. Best of all, there is a mutual adoration between Drogba and the Chelsea fans, and John Terry seems to be missing his old mates...

 

 

 

On the other hand I don't know how much use he is going to be on the pitch. My primary concern is that he is simply not good enough for the top level any more. He still seems to be able to motivate himself to play well in big games, but I don't know for how long that will last and whether he can really be expected to have an impact as a starter. It would be horrible if this turned out to be one of those sad sack reunions with a player who is clearly not good enough any more. Imagine if he comes back and puts in a rubbish performance against Arsenal? It would be tragic if they got the last laugh on the Drogba front, after being broken into tiny pieces by him so often in the past. I would love it if he proved me wrong though - imagine if he came back and put in some vintage shifts against our title rivals. Samuel Eto'o scored a hat trick against Man Utd, maybe Didier can do the same!

 

As an ageing world star on his final break I can't imagine his wages will be inconsiderable (regardless of how much of it ultimately ends up with the Didier Drogba Foundation), and in the age of FFP and ostensible financial responsibility it doesn't seem worth it. I suppose there is an argument to be made that we have been paying stupid money every week for a glorified totem pole in Torres; at least with Drogba it will be a totem pole we all love.

 

In addition to that, he will be taking up one of the non-homegrown spots in the squad. We pulled off a coup in that respect with Fabregas, but we have replaced a homegrown regular (Cole) with a foreign player (Luis) - is it really worth wasting one of those increasingly valuable foreign player spots with someone who would essentially be a novelty?

 

 

Obviously I love Drogba, possibly more than any other striker I have ever seen play the game, and I think that is why it is important that we don't spoil his legacy by bringing him in and having him be crap for a season. We know Drogba, we know that he will always want to play and will always want to compete, and will definitely be able to make a persuasive case to Mourinho, who as we know likes to stick with his trusted soldiers when his team are backed into a corner, and Drogba is undoubtedly one of them.

We know that Mourinho has qualms about trusting Lukaku with a title challenge - are we honestly expecting José to turn Drogba down on the grounds that he is third-choice when we are 1-0 down to Arsenal, he and Lukaku are both sitting on the bench, and Drogba is whispering 'boss, bring me on, I want to win' into his ear?

 

I would love to have Drogba back at the club, but I think it would be for everybody's benefit if he came back purely as a coach or as a club ambassador or something. If he wants to keep on playing for a couple of seasons it might be better if he went elsewhere and came home when he is ready to retire.

People were saying the same about Eto'o last season and he was more than useful last season.

Actually the more I think about it, the less ridiculous it seems that José might be signing Drogba purely for his ability to defend corners...

Drogba as a help to Chelsea's Lukaku could be worth it. Otherwise, he is not needed. Costa knows what to do with the ball & Torres is irreparable.

First name on the team sheet for the two Le Arse games.

If Drogs does return then that surely means either Lukaku or Torres are on their way out.

Obviously we have the Torres to Atletico rumour but it just seems too good to be true.

Lukaku to Everton has been rumoured for a while but it would feel a bit short sighted letting a 21 year old go in favour of a 36 year old on a one year deal.

 

almost as short sighted as last season when we let him go in favour of a 32 / 33 year old player who was well past his best and had been plying his trade in russia for a couple of years.

almost as short sighted as last season when we let him go in favour of a 32 / 33 year old player who was well past his best and had been plying his trade in russia for a couple of years.

Yeah Eto'o hatrick against United really sucked!

Yeah Eto'o hatrick against United really sucked!

 

we would have f**ked united with me playing up front. they were beyond sh*te last season and we would have taken care of them regardless. A hat trick against a team that finished 7th in the league is a ridiculous metric. Overall, his contribution was average and not scoring away from home during the entire season is unacceptable. Comparatively, Lukaku's goal scoring record from last season eclipsed that of eto'o.

Yeah Eto'o hatrick against United really sucked!

 

A goal is a goal for sure, but the first one was a massive, massive deflection, the second a tap in (though good positioning), and for the third Antonio Valencia physically turned him round into the best position to smash it in from 2 feet. While any hatrick against United is good, Eto'o didn't stand out in that game for me.

NO NO NO

A goal is a goal for sure, but the first one was a massive, massive deflection, the second a tap in (though good positioning), and for the third Antonio Valencia physically turned him round into the best position to smash it in from 2 feet. While any hatrick against United is good, Eto'o didn't stand out in that game for me.

 

Completely agree with this, and believe that we would have beaten united that day regardless of which of our options had played up front. Good to get the hat trick yes, and not taking the goals away from him, but to use that game as a measure of his success over the course of the full season is just ludicrous.

 

Not suggesting for a second suggest that eto'o was sh*te for us, he did a job.

 

This season I want to see Costa, Lukaku, Drogba as our three options up front.

we would have f**ked united with me playing up front. they were beyond sh*te last season and we would have taken care of them regardless. A hat trick against a team that finished 7th in the league is a ridiculous metric. Overall, his contribution was average and not scoring away from home during the entire season is unacceptable. Comparatively, Lukaku's goal scoring record from last season eclipsed that of eto'o.

Lukaku played for a team with no expectation. Teams didnt turn up to park the bus. In fact teams would go to Everton and have a go because most teams would hope to pick up some points. Playing for Chelsea is totally different. Lukaku will struggle when teams like West ham turn up and stick 11 players behind the ball. At times for Everton Lukaku was worse than Torres, demanding the ball at his feet and if it didnt arrive he just wouldnt move.

It sounds so wrong but it feels so right, the head tells me no but me heart tells my yes.

 

Do it.

I suppose after Costa has been on the pitch for 70 mins, bullying defenses to exhaustion, the last thing they'd want is to see Drogs coming on! He may be 36 now but i'm sure he could do the business when needed.

Just show me a striker who wasn't better than Torres? If Lukaku struggled against teams that parked the bus, then I would like to know someone else who was successful against 9 players in the box.

Regardless of what happens this season if Drogba comes he will a) be better than Torres and b) always be remembered for what he's done in previous seasons rather than this one alone.

Ryan Giggs wasn't the same player at 40 as he was at 28 but it won't change his iconic status at Old Trafford.

If Jose wants him, and Drogba wants to come then it's perfect. The only thing I fear is that Lukaku may make way for Drogba leaving us with Costa, Drogba and Torres which I don't feel is enough. If Lukaku is staying then this is a fantastic signing.

Premier League: Costa

Champions League: Torres

League/FA Cup: Lukaku

Arsenal home/away: Drogba

 

Done.

Well that's the bottom line. Certainly, no one here wants to prevent Drogba to help the team. What about Lukaku or any young players waiting for a chance? That's worrying. Out on loan, comes back to play & 36 year old man is taking his chance? I don't think it's the way to go.

Id honestly love to see Costa, Lukaku, Bamford and Drogba.

 

Surely Bamford and Lukaku can only learn from Costa / Drogba?

If those young players were ready to step up then the club wouldnt be contacting Drogba. Simple as that!

Premier League: Costa

Champions League: Torres

League/FA Cup: Lukaku

Arsenal home/away: Drogba

 

Done.

 

I suppose if we were planning an early CL exit to focus on our league campaign.

Just show me a striker who wasn't better than Torres? If Lukaku struggled against teams that parked the bus, then I would like to know someone else who was successful against 9 players in the box.

Ricky Van Wolfsvinkel, Papiss Cisse, Johan Elmander, Jozy Altidore, Marouane Chamakh, Luuk De Jong, Cameron Jerome.....

89,

Together those strikers cost less than Ferda. Some say, they are not even considered strikers anymore.

89,

Together those strikers cost less than Ferda. Some say, they are not even considered strikers anymore.

so really its a case of Fernando underperforming due to his price tag (which I agree with) rather than no strikers being worse than him.

89,

It's a case of sarcasm than anything else.

Torres is shut. His price has nothing to do with his underperformed play. If he's sold for 14m as reported, he won't be any better.