Best time to tweak the squad is when at the top, and definitely some improvements could be made without risking the teams success. Tbh not much to do but think salah needs a run of games or a loan, and ditto schurrle - or perhaps sell/swap one of them for reus. Maybe Jose will give schurrle a run after the break to play himself into some form

Also maybe some cover for an extra full back as we only have 3 and better with 4. Christiansen did ok at Shrewsbury but not sure he is ready yet, nor is he a genuine fullback

That's about it.......expect Jose to give his first pick more of a rotation up to Xmas too so maybe less cesc and more mikel

Can't remember a squad as we'll balanced as this one

Hopefully Salah will be sold sooner rather than later, to free up a space and opportunities for someone else.

 

Other than that, I can't really see any changes we need, apart from obviously selling Mikel if anyone ever bids for him.

Definitely need to strengthen, but i don't know our financial situation and how much we could realistically spend in Jan, or even next summer. It would be nice to add a couple midfielders, maybe a winger and a playmaker and/or another holding midfielder to cover for matic and fabregas, but they're the main positions i'm concerned about. We have a strong strike force and our defence is solid enough, so neither of those areas need fixing in my opinion. 

Is the constant disdain shown towards Mikel really necessary? The man has been a blue for nearly 9 years, and has put in some great performances over the years.

Hopefully Salah will be sold sooner rather than later, to free up a space and opportunities for someone else.

Other than that, I can't really see any changes we need, apart from obviously selling Mikel if anyone ever bids for him.

Edited November 11, 201411 yr by JoeyBlue25

Salah out and Thorgan in (though this could wait until summer), maybe a back up for Fabregas. That would be sufficient for me.

I like the recent policy of going for fewer signings, but the best

So Cavani in please, with maybe mikel out and some youth team players given a chance

People really think there is a holding midfielder out there as good as Mikel that will also be willing to play second fiddle to Matic?

 

I hope we never sell Mikel, a solid player who doesn't mind being a squaddie and does pretty fine when he's called upon

 

as for the rest of the squad, would sod Salah off...maybe add a versatile midfielder or defender..both if possible. Rest is fine as is.

People really think there is a holding midfielder out there as good as Mikel that will also be willing to play second fiddle to Matic?

 

I hope we never sell Mikel, a solid player who doesn't mind being a squaddie and does pretty fine when he's called upon

 

as for the rest of the squad, would sod Salah off...maybe add a versatile midfielder or defender..both if possible. Rest is fine as is.

 

I can't remember the last time Mikel had a good game for us. When he comes on as a sub it doesn't work anymore and when he starts you barely notice him. Look at the game against Shrewsbury, he was out played by a guy who is nearly 10 years behind him in experience. I think we could quite easily find many players that would play second fiddle to Matic and i think it would be quite easy to find one better than Mikel. Sorry, but it's clear to see now that Mikel is no longer needed. Mourinho could easily have bought on Mikel when we were playing Liverpool but seeing how it turned out against the 2 Manchester teams i think he is now starting to give up on bringing Mikel on. Personally i am at the point where any game time Mikel is getting i would rather see Ake get it, i think Ake is already a better player than Mikel, i can't think of one thing Mikel does better than Ake.

 

Back to the main point of the thread. I don't think we necessarily need to strengthen in January, i think the squad is decent enough as it is. In recent weeks we have had Diego Costa, Remy and Ramires injured. Azpilicueta and Ivanovic have each had a suspension too and we managed to get through it.

 

If we can stengthen 1 or 2 areas without spending too much i am all for it, but i don't think we need to go nuts. I think our squad is very balanced and versatile right now, it's in good enough shape as it is.

Pipe dream but swapping Schurrle for Reus would be fab. FIFA 15 talk tho.

‘I can't remember the last time Mikel had a good game for us’, really? Were you asleep when he came on and set up Costa to kill off Everton at the start of the season? I mean, it doesn't take much brain power to realise that Mikel is capable of putting in a good performance, I'm sick and tired of seeing stick given for a player whose been at Chelsea for a long time, and who was fantastic in the Champions League Final....but let's judge him on the Strawberry game. You have a point regarding Ake though, he looks like a very handy player to me.

I can't remember the last time Mikel had a good game for us. When he comes on as a sub it doesn't work anymore and when he starts you barely notice him. Look at the game against Shrewsbury, he was out played by a guy who is nearly 10 years behind him in experience. I think we could quite easily find many players that would play second fiddle to Matic and i think it would be quite easy to find one better than Mikel. Sorry, but it's clear to see now that Mikel is no longer needed. Mourinho could easily have bought on Mikel when we were playing Liverpool but seeing how it turned out against the 2 Manchester teams i think he is now starting to give up on bringing Mikel on. Personally i am at the point where any game time Mikel is getting i would rather see Ake get it, i think Ake is already a better player than Mikel, i can't think of one thing Mikel does better than Ake.

Back to the main point of the thread. I don't think we necessarily need to strengthen in January, i think the squad is decent enough as it is. In recent weeks we have had Diego Costa, Remy and Ramires injured. Azpilicueta and Ivanovic have each had a suspension too and we managed to get through it.

If we can stengthen 1 or 2 areas without spending too much i am all for it, but i don't think we need to go nuts. I think our squad is very balanced and versatile right now, it's in good enough shape as it is.

Edited November 12, 201411 yr by JoeyBlue25

A backup for fab would be good. I feel lampard would've been good but yeah that's obviously not an option anymore. I guess ramires could do fine though; he's done well when he's been called upon.

 

Wanted a right winger before the window started this summer; still want one if it's possible. Not 100% necessary though.

 

I don't think it's compulsory that we do but if we're thinking about it I'd like those two options to be explored 

Jose said hes going to integrate academy players hopefully that will happen this season. 

‘I can't remember the last time Mikel had a good game for us’, really? Were you asleep when he came on and set up Costa to kill off Everton at the start of the season? I mean, it doesn't take much brain power to realise that Mikel is capable of putting in a good performance, I'm sick and tired of seeing stick given for a player whose been at Chelsea for a long time, and who was fantastic in the Champions League Final....but let's judge him on the Strawberry game. You have a point regarding Ake though, he looks like a very handy player to me.

 

 

You may be sick of Mikel getting so much stick, but maybe you should be blaming the player, not the people that watch him. And i didn't judge him on one performance against Shrewsbury, i used it as an example.

I feel like a parrot repeating myself on this matter, as well as starting to become slightly obsessed to see him play minutes for us, but baker needs to start getting serious first team game time, whether it be in cup games or otherwise.

Jose said hes going to integrate academy players hopefully that will happen this season.

that's my hope, when the squad is needed during december/january I would like to see ake, zouma, baker etc get time rather than hunt for a player good enough and happy enough to be a backup.

There is no need to panic. Why are we talking about signing players in Jan when we are walking the league already. It is very very rare that you can buy a player that will really improve your squad in January. Its usually panic buying. Last year we did it with Matic.

This season though, unless we pick up some major injuries then why waste the money?! Wait till the summer and move some players on and bring in the ones that can really improve this already great squad.

Relax guys, we are top of the league!

Do we have the the Africa Cup of Nationa to consider? Mikel will be off and is Drogba still playing? That does leave us a little short.

Pipe dream but swapping Schurrle for Reus would be fab. FIFA 15 talk tho.

 

Swapping a player who has featured in half of our CL games so far for a player who would be cup-tied just doesn't seem like a good idea if you have aspirations to win that competition. Plus swap deals very rarely actually happen.

 

So why do people keep suggesting this?

 

 

People really think there is a holding midfielder out there as good as Mikel that will also be willing to play second fiddle to Matic?

 

I hope we never sell Mikel, a solid player who doesn't mind being a squaddie and does pretty fine when he's called upon

 

 

But that's the problem - he's a back-up to Mikel in name only.

 

What should a back-up do? Two things. Provide a comparable alternative to the first-choice in case of injury or unavailability and also add pressure so that the first-choice is always looking over his shoulder and pushing himself to be better. Mikel does neither of these.

 

This club should only have top players in it. Top players aren't happy just being a 'squaddie' because they want to play football. Cech isn't happy right now because he's a top player and Courtois knows that if he makes mistakes he could be dropped (Cech has played more minutes than Mikel by the way). Remy won't be happy being a squad player (more minutes despite being bought late and being injured).

 

So if a bid did come in for him then it would have to be considered because I'd personally trust Ramires and Ake to be better players for us than Mikel.

Uno I think you're being too confident regarding our league position. Yes, sure we are top and looking strong, but it's so easy for us to slip up, lose a few points and next thing you know, there's someone right up our ass. I think we need to bring in at least one more midfielder and start integrating the youth.

I do worry that it only takes matic to get injured and/or suspended and we then all of a sudden lose our midfield strength. He is such a key player that losing him for just a couple games will be incredibly noticeable.

Do we have the the Africa Cup of Nationa to consider? Mikel will be off and is Drogba still playing? That does leave us a little short.

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/30004279

 

I think Drogba has retired from international football. Nigeria have a bit of a fight on their hands to qualify but Mikel has featured for them so probably will f**k off for a few weeks and play in it.

 

If that's the case then he'll almost certainly miss Swansea away, City at home and Villa away. I also wouldn't be surprised to see him miss the matches against Newcastle at home (the weekend before it starts) and possibly even Everton at home.

 

So he could conceivably not be available when we play 3 teams in the top 10, our closest rivals for the title and a match away to a team who beat us last season.     

Uno I think you're being too confident regarding our league position. Yes, sure we are top and looking strong, but it's so easy for us to slip up, lose a few points and next thing you know, there's someone right up our ass. I think we need to bring in at least one more midfielder and start integrating the youth.

 

I do worry that it only takes matic to get injured and/or suspended and we then all of a sudden lose our midfield strength. He is such a key player that losing him for just a couple games will be incredibly noticeable.

 

Taking both of these points together I think you're right. Matic is up there with Costa as our most important player. If Costa gets injured then Remy can slot in if he's fit and we don't change too much, but if Matic is missing then we're pretty f**ked. Ramires could come in and play that holding role but you'd be asking a lot of him and Oscar. Personally I'd like to see Ake given more minutes, especially in the upcoming CL matches. He has a nice balance of defensive strength, athleticism and composure on the ball that we need to start developing fully.

 

Ideally we'd see Chalobah stepping it up at Burnley and regaining the form he showed at Watford but I fear that his time may well have past at this club.

I honestly think if we had matic last season from the start, we would have won the league. I think using luiz in midfield was good, but he is no matic. Having no matic at the beginning of last season and during CL really made a big difference. 

Salah out and Thorgan Hazard in would be great.

 

Schurrle out for Reus would also be amazing but that's likely a pipe dream.

No buisness needs to be done in january. I think the group we have now are string enough to win the title, and there isn't a player available that isn't cup tied, that would dramatically increase our chances in Europe.

I do agree we shouldn't rest on laurels though, if rues is available we should do our upmost to sign him, even if it means losing schurrle in the process.

I'd also think salah neels to go on loan and give boga, piazon, or thorgan a chance.

I'm pretty happy with rest of squad, there will probably be speculation about mikel and Ramires as they are no longer regular starters, but I think both have places as squad players.

I've also heard some people wanting a centre back, but I'd keep faith with zouma and christiensen.

All of this is best done in the summer of course. It will be nice to leave the January scrambling, and extortionate prices, to the chasing pack.