Who would have thought that after splurging on flops like Schevcenko and Ballack, Chelsea's pre season response is free signings?

I have no doubt over Sidwell but i fear that he will become a bit player like SWP. Pizarro had also play a bit part in Bavaria, like Geremi.

So why do we show a lack of ambition so far? Now, Ben Taim is also a free signing if the deal is finalised.

These can be shrewd signings if and when they succeed. But is this the appropriate response to the newly crowned champion who had paid for Heagreaves, Nani

and Anderson ( whom i rate very highly) for 50 mil quids? I am not suggesting that signings will win us titles, but are we going to the extremes.

No wonder Lamps, Robben and Terry are holding back on contract extensions and Drogs speak off traitorous intention. Has the money from Roman dried up after losing more than 300 mil quids?

Ironically, this should be the way. Chelsea's flagrant past has skewed the transfer kitty scales. If Mittal buys Birmingham, another series of absurd price buying will start again. This will be very bad for teams such as Reading, Wigan and even Spurs to compete effectively in the long term.

Still, the romance of the game make me think of Torres, Villa, Riquelme, E'to, Kaka and Malouda like a little peasant boy who relishes his next Gelato but had nothing in his pocket.

another one of those $$$ Vs Ambition topics...

*sigh*

Why are you moaning about us signing 3 players on free transfers, would you like Chelsea to have spent ?50 mill on them.

Would that make you happier?

Remember we will lose a lot of player during the ANC, and Pizzaro will be used a lot more than you think he will.

Like the previous post, this could become tedious.

Just do one thing......Get behind Chelsea and Get behind the players.

I would like to welcome Sidwell, Pizzaro, Ben Haim and hopefully Alex to the Club, and wish them every success.

It's not the dog in the fight, it's the fight in the dog. Brian Clough won two European Cups with teams that included players like Bowyer and McGovern, who were far from household names when they joined the club.

Who's to say Sidwell hasn't got the ability to become a midfield great in a team like ours? And, at 25, Ben Haim has the opportunity to develop hugely alongside the more experienced Carvalho and Terry.

Give 'em a chance!

It's not the dog in the fight, it's the fight in the dog. Brian Clough won two European Cups with teams that included players like Bowyer and McGovern, who were far from household names when they joined the club.

Who's to say Sidwell hasn't got the ability to become a midfield great in a team like ours? And, at 25, Ben Haim has the opportunity to develop hugely alongside the more experienced Carvalho and Terry.

Give 'em a chance!

Technically that is just not correct mate. sorry.

Both came from the title winning Derby side that Clough built. Both had drifted a bit post Clough but they were certainly household names. Also despite how wonderful theForest story was Clough did break the transfer record quite a few times with people like Trevor Francis (first ?1m player), Justin Fashanu and Peter Shilton (record for a keeper).

The three signed so far are clearly backups, as long as they realise this and do not moan their collective arses off that will be fine.

I stand corrected but I was drawing on my memories of the time, and I don't recall either of those forest players being stars in the Francis/Shilton mould, even after their European success. Maybe it was their lack of star personality!

But the point I'm trying to make is that you don't have to have a team comprised entirely of expensive big names, in fact it can be counter-productive, as we all know. I'm quite content with our new faces but would be prepared to break the bank for a Riquelme-type playmaker to add to them.

I stand corrected but I was drawing on my memories of the time, and I don't recall either of those forest players being stars in the Francis/Shilton mould, even after their European success. Maybe it was their lack of star personality!

But the point I'm trying to make is that you don't have to have a team comprised entirely of expensive big names, in fact it can be counter-productive, as we all know. I'm quite content with our new faces but would be prepared to break the bank for a Riquelme-type playmaker to add to them.

Absolutely. Some players are just quiet. Look at Essien and Bridge, never make a peep, unlikely to be found in OK or Hello but stalwarts and respected by their fans and within the game.

I take your point entirely.

I was hoping we'd spend 50m on some unknowns.

We spent ?30 million on Sheva last season, he's been a flop and we lost the league and crashed out of the SF of the CL.

Now we've spent next to nothing on basically back up players and we have no idea how this will pan out.

But if these are the players we need to bolster our squad in the correct areas and the manager is happy then that's the important thing.

Jose took Porto a CL final and hardly any of his players were big names but they played as a team - talent with industry - and that's more important than having a galactico squad and spending ?50 million on signings who then moan like mad because they can't all start every week.

As Jose said recently you can only play 11 players at a time....

Just make sure they're your right ones.

The players signed so far are fine, but not enough. I would like us to have another classy goal scorer. Preferably a fast player. However its always seemed likely that we were not going to spend much this season.