Hey Roman - tell you what I want, what I really, really want

[Dorset]

Slim hope though it may be that Mr Abramovich or any of his cohorts actually view the Shed End forums, I believe that one topic more than any other deserves to be discussed by us and subsequently viewed in such high circles during this current crisis. Clearly, the much proclaimed ?Channel that Roman Abramovich watches? teaches us not to be too optimistic on this front, because Chelsea TV was never flooded with calls baying for Jose?s dismissal (let alone Avram?s ascendancy) and this suggests that Roman is either watching with the sound down or not watching at all. However, that said, this is first and foremost a crisis of confidence in the ownership and, as Kenyon, Buck, et al, vicariously bang on about Chelsea being the ?Number One Club in the World by 2014?, it is about time they had some idea of what Chelsea fans really wanted by the time that year clicks over on the calendar. So, somewhat long-windedly, here is my topic for discussion?

Given the oft quoted Mission Statement above, are the club?s intentions and the fans? expectations in sync when it comes to the progressive construction of Chelsea football teams over the next six years? By way of introduction to the topic, let me point out that six trophies in three years would appear to have been no more than a stepping stone along Roman?s intentions path, but for the majority of fans it was a journey in itself and, like many a memorable holiday, well worth further annual visits.

In stark contrast, the owner seems to want to ?move on? now to sunnier climes, where the grass, even the coaches, are greener, but in two or three years time what sort of holiday resort does he have in mind for himself and will the fans like what they see or be long gone on their budget trips elsewhere? Fast forward to the year 2011 for a moment and ask yourself what your preferred team in Chelsea colours would be. Here are a couple of examples at either end of the market for that three year spectrum?

Moneybags Madness X1

Cech

Alves Terry Richards Cole

Messi Fabregas Essien Ronaldinho

Kaka Shevchenko

Special Reserve X1

Cech

Ofori-Twunasi Mancienne Hutchinson van Aanholt

Woods Bridcutt Sawyer

Stoch Cummings Sinclair

Feel free to name your own team properly, as the above are merely constructed to emphasise extremes of viewpoint, in more than name alone, and then select your ideal manager for that particular moment in time. Naturally enough, and here?s where the honesty part comes in, you must also tell us how you think your team will be faring [in 2011] compared with the previous three years. Perhaps, purely out of interest or for Roman?s benefit, should this actually be the ?Website he watches?, you might like to say if you think your selection bears any resemblance to the one he is going to oversee in those three years?

I suppose it should be pointed out that there would still be a further three years to go before the ultimate target date for success is reached, but then again maybe you?ve long since given up on such lofty ambition, or never wanted to be associated with it in the first place. If so, please confirm the fact rather than spend the rest of your time on the thread replying to the mocking comments of other Shed Enders.

Oh, and yes I did realise that Sheva would be getting on a bit by 2011, but took into account the fact that Loz would want me to curry favour with important new visitors and potential future posters at every available opportunity.

[Mike O]

My dream CFC experience for 2011.....

Team

NB xxx = someone you've not heard of yet who's come from our youth acadamy and is preferentially British

.......................................Cech.....................................

.....

xxx.....................JT.......................xxx......................Bridge

SWP...................xxx......................xxx........................Cole

.........................xxx......................xxx...........................

....

Style

Dynamic / attacking / committed / fair / stylish / generous

The experience of going to a match

Genuinely exciting / not extortionate / non-stop singing / community feel back (no glory seekers) / fair prices for kids

Results

A domestic cup a year / winners of EPL every other year / semi-finalists of CL (at least) every year

In a nutshell

A financially viable concern (profitable) / every other fan's 'second team' / global star players clamouring to play for us / Kenyon gone / Roman invisible / basically the new Barca.

[BLUENUT]

Shevchenko in 2011?

[bonetti]

Shevchenko in 2011?

No way is that Shevchenko - hes far too close to the ball

[ethicalstrategy]

My dream CFC experience for 2011.....

Team

NB xxx = someone you've not heard of yet who's come from our youth acadamy and is preferentially British

.......................................Cech.....................................

.....

xxx.....................JT.......................xxx......................Bridge

SWP...................xxx......................xxx........................Cole

.........................xxx......................xxx...........................

....

Style

Dynamic / attacking / committed / fair / stylish / generous

The experience of going to a match

Genuinely exciting / not extortionate / non-stop singing / community feel back (no glory seekers) / fair prices for kids

Results

A domestic cup a year / winners of EPL every other year / semi-finalists of CL (at least) every year

In a nutshell

A financially viable concern (profitable) / every other fan's 'second team' / global star players clamouring to play for us / Kenyon gone / Roman invisible / basically the new Barca.

I didn't notice Barca having many homegrown players in their team. In fact they barely have any Spanish players. (off the top of my head, Valdes, Puyol, Xavi)

I can't honestly see us having 6 homegrown youth players ever. It is an unrealistic situation to expect to be able to find that many people at such a young age who will go on to be world class (which is what they need to be to get in to our side)

I notice that you would like all of the side apart from Cech to be British. Why not just English? Is there some special factor about being Irish, Scottish or Welsh that makes a player more valuable, in a footballing sense, than say a Spaniard or an Italian or an African?

[Mike O]

I didn't notice Barca having many homegrown players in their team. In fact they barely have any Spanish players. (off the top of my head, Valdes, Puyol, Xavi)

I can't honestly see us having 6 homegrown youth players ever. It is an unrealistic situation to expect to be able to find that many people at such a young age who will go on to be world class (which is what they need to be to get in to our side)

I notice that you would like all of the side apart from Cech to be British. Why not just English? Is there some special factor about being Irish, Scottish or Welsh that makes a player more valuable, in a footballing sense, than say a Spaniard or an Italian or an African?

Blimey, I must be a nazi.....or.......

1. I don't believe Essien / Carvalho / Ferreira / Belletti / Alex / Lampard / Mikel Drogba / Sheva etc etc will still be with us in a JM-less 2011 team,

2. I can see the 4 outfieders sticking around because they are all London boys and all play for England, therefore it's convenient.

3. I really want Cech to stay (this is a dream, right?)

5. My point about being a strong community side prompted the hope that we had good British talent coming through the ranks. I know this is hopelessly naive and out of date but I'd hate to ever be a Gooner supporting a team almost entirely comprised of London visitors rather than London natives.

Your point is a good one re. Barca but the point of this thread is about dream scenarios.

[Pauly]

Basically I think what fans want can be summarised fairly simply: A dominant, self-supporting club playing the best complete football it can: Balanced football: not a destructively attacking board-directed joke as Madrid became after the establishment unbelievably signed strikers year after year when it was obvious a Makelele was needed, and not the other extreme which we were beginning to have under JM- a defensive-rock intended team.

I'd love to see us keep 12 or 14 of our "star players" but there was no need to let go the likes of Tiago, Johnson, Eidur, and many others that could have easily served as Squad Players and possibly one day, more. They represent a degree of dignity for the club though admittedly nothing like the old days, and I would certainly like to see young agressive players with a chance rather than a situation where we will have someone like Ballack or Alex in the stands.

Let me take a different approach: The squad/decisions I would have liked to see at Chelsea

...................Cech...................

Ferreira....Terry...Gallas....Bridge

..................Maka....................

xxxxxx.........Lampard..........Robben

..............xxxxxx....xxxxx................

Eidur

Duff

Tiago

Joe Cole

Glen Johnson

Mikael Forsell

Hilario

A few signings yes but I wouldn't have had (and please note, nobody should take the prices we played for these players seriously) Essien, Drogba, Carvalho, Ballack, Sheva. Basically our 5 most expensive signings excluding Ballack.

My basic conclusion is that I would have a world class manager, a world class 11, but i would try to avoid making the club a joke by having a world class bench/stand.

[ethicalstrategy]

I didn't notice Barca having many homegrown players in their team. In fact they barely have any Spanish players. (off the top of my head, Valdes, Puyol, Xavi)

I can't honestly see us having 6 homegrown youth players ever. It is an unrealistic situation to expect to be able to find that many people at such a young age who will go on to be world class (which is what they need to be to get in to our side)

I notice that you would like all of the side apart from Cech to be British. Why not just English? Is there some special factor about being Irish, Scottish or Welsh that makes a player more valuable, in a footballing sense, than say a Spaniard or an Italian or an African?

Blimey, I must be a nazi.....or.......

1. I don't believe Essien / Carvalho / Ferreira / Belletti / Alex / Lampard / Mikel Drogba / Sheva etc etc will still be with us in a JM-less 2011 team,

2. I can see the 4 outfieders sticking around because they are all London boys and all play for England, therefore it's convenient.

3. I really want Cech to stay (this is a dream, right?)

5. My point about being a strong community side prompted the hope that we had good British talent coming through the ranks. I know this is hopelessly naive and out of date but I'd hate to ever be a Gooner supporting a team almost entirely comprised of London visitors rather than London natives.

Your point is a good one re. Barca but the point of this thread is about dream scenarios.

and my point was that your dream was to be like Barca but that Barca didn't represent what you were dreaming about! (if that makes sense!)

of course the names u mentioned will mostly be gone in 4 years and I agree a team which has a strong English (not British) spine is desireable. but personally I quite like to see other top international players at the club too.

(no idea if you're a nazi ) )

[g3.7]

homegrown players in barcelona's squad- like mike and pauly, my dream would be something like that- 11 world class players (hopefully including a couple of youth products) and a squad made up of (at least) competent youth players (for example oleguer) and good players (like eidur). I like having brits in the squad and with say 7 youth players you'd expect some of those to be brits, and maybe one or two of the world class first 11 to be... but as long as we have a few that's great. our recent squads have been good in that respect.

in any case, barcelona currently have the following in ther first team quad that they have developed:

puyol

oleguer

valdes

xavi

iniesta

messi

giovanni dos santos

bojan krkic

and there will be one or two joining that, possibly gai assulin for example.

and also, don't forget cesc fabregas at arsenal and gerard pique at united, both barcelona developed.

[german-blue]

my team for 2011:

------------------------Cech--------------------------

-----Alves-------Terry----Sergio Ramos------Cash-

------------------------Mikel---------------------------

-------Messi-----------Kaka--------Robben-----------

----------------Adriano---Ibrahimovic----------------

Subs: Akinfeev, Heitinga, Essien, R.Oliviera, Joey

[Nibs]

Basically I think what fans want can be summarised fairly simply: A dominant, self-supporting club playing the best complete football it can: Balanced football: not a destructively attacking board-directed joke as Madrid became after the establishment unbelievably signed strikers year after year when it was obvious a Makelele was needed, and not the other extreme which we were beginning to have under JM- a defensive-rock intended team.

I'd love to see us keep 12 or 14 of our "star players" but there was no need to let go the likes of Tiago, Johnson, Eidur, and many others that could have easily served as Squad Players and possibly one day, more. They represent a degree of dignity for the club though admittedly nothing like the old days, and I would certainly like to see young agressive players with a chance rather than a situation where we will have someone like Ballack or Alex in the stands.

Let me take a different approach: The squad/decisions I would have liked to see at Chelsea

...................Cech...................

Ferreira....Terry...Gallas....Bridge

..................Maka....................

xxxxxx.........Lampard..........Robben

..............xxxxxx....xxxxx................

Eidur

Duff

Tiago

Joe Cole

Glen Johnson

Mikael Forsell

Hilario

A few signings yes but I wouldn't have had (and please note, nobody should take the prices we played for these players seriously) Essien, Drogba, Carvalho, Ballack, Sheva. Basically our 5 most expensive signings excluding Ballack.

My basic conclusion is that I would have a world class manager, a world class 11, but i would try to avoid making the club a joke by having a world class bench/stand.

Great Post Pauly. I find myself agreeing with more & more of your posts of late - you must be learning from your past mistakes!!!

Maybe overall it's a bit too idealistic, but I like the names you have listed - players I'd wished we'd hung onto and those I wish we'd never signed. What a great back 5 we had - there was never any need for Cole or Carvalho and now Alex.

Essien and Drogba are now great favourites with many, but I long for the type of football we played before they arrived.

And I don't even need to go into the Ballack & Sheva signings as I've done them to death in the past.

Of course you have to take into account players loss of form - Duff & Eidur. The fact that Crespo never realy settled, Forsell's injury nightmare and the fact that Johnno didn't develop how we hoped. But I would love a more balanced squad and by balanced I mean in both terms of ability and youth and experience - international "stars" and up and coming hungry players - hopefully stars of tomorrow.

[Mike O]

How about a team of players we've let go....

I give you....Prodigal Chelsea

..........................................Hilario...............................

...................

Johnson..................Huth.....................Gallas........................

..Diarra

..........................................Parker................................

.................

Duff....................................Eidur...................................

.......Robben

..............................Crespo..................Forsell...................

...............

Subs: Geremi / C. Cole / Yves long-name / Smertin / Tiago / Maniche

Bugger me, that's a good team (give or take a keeper)

[Gem]

Duffa, Eidur, Robben...

[Liam]

I notice that you would like all of the side apart from Cech to be British. Why not just English? Is there some special factor about being Scottish or Welsh that makes a player more valuable, in a footballing sense, than say a Spaniard or an Italian or an African?

or Irish.

[Tim W]

Sorry Mike Hilario is still at the club, well in body

[ethicalstrategy]

I notice that you would like all of the side apart from Cech to be British. Why not just English? Is there some special factor about being Scottish or Welsh that makes a player more valuable, in a footballing sense, than say a Spaniard or an Italian or an African?

or Irish.

we know that the Irish are special!