Some of the players that played tonight really aren't good enough, baring in mind that you need a squad and not just a starting 11 we seem to have far too many players that wouldn't get near the team sheet of the other three that will be battling it out for the PL (okay the scum will only ever win cups but I included them anyway).

Kalou - he should have produced something by now, he can't keep missing from 2 yards out, and failing to deliver a decent final ball - ever!

Pizzaro - He's more suited to someone like Boro.

Sheva - I stand by my first impression - the worst signing in the history of the premier league, he will not come good no matter how much we play him.

SWP - So much like Jesper Gronkjear(???spelling?), quick, thick and sh*t.

Ben Tal Haim - I kind of quite like him, but that doesn't make him nearly good enough.

I've deliberately not included Sidwell and Malouda because I don't think we've seen enough of them yet to judge.

Of the above, I think it's okay to have a couple that are around the fringes of the firrst team - you know if you have to play them they'll do a job but they will be a bit of a weak link. We're rellying on these players week in and week out.

Is anyone else a bit concerned?

It's hard to argue against any of your points there Barn, but I'm sure someone will come along.

Kalou, he's young and gets into great scoring positions I could wait till May to see if he can find his scoring boots.

Pizza, SWP,and Sheva agree 100%

Tel-boy I think is good back

I both agree and disagree.

Sheva will perhaps not reach the level he played at with AC Milan but I think he will be quite useful if we play him right.

Today we played attacking football with two strikers and Sheva was good. Too bad he only played one half. Put him alone with two wingers and he won't play well.

Pizarro hasn't played much so I think we have to wait to really judge him. Tonight he looked good, but his finishing was awful.

Kalou is still young and I think he can become really good. He gets into position but his main problem is hitting the net. I think he will learn to do that eventually. The question is: do we wait and perhaps get a world class striker in a few seasons (perhaps more) or do we sell him now and get an older striker who knows how to score?

I think Kalou will score more goals now that we play more attacking football. Just wait and see.

Ben Haim. Well, he was good at Bolton but he hasn't proved himself at Chelsea. We should perhaps give him more time to prove himself. Can't expect him to come in and be great immediately. Also, he's not really used to only play a few games every know and then.

Sweepy. Ah, little Sweepy. If he can learn how to cross the ball then I say we should keep him. That should be too hard to learn, right?

I'm amazed at the patience shown towards Kalou on this forum. My boys and I have decided that his first name isn't Saloman but Dussan Taffa.

I'm amazed at the patience shown towards Kalou on this forum. My boys and I have decided that his first name isn't Saloman but Dussan Taffa.

I remember feeling a tad guilty when I wrote him off quite early on as it is only fair to give him more of a chance to prove himself however so far I am still looking to be proved wrong. I see him as a Middlesbrough striker just now!

Sheva - I stand by my first impression - the worst signing in the history of the premier league, he will not come good no matter how much we play him.

Nonsense. He's not even the worst Chelsea-record-fee, striker-whose-name-begins-with-"S" signing in Prem history. Chris Sutton, anyone?

Mind you, when Chelsea-era Sheva is the second-best finisher in the squad, you've got some pretty serious depth problems up front.

£30m for a player that most clubs in the league wouldn't take on a free transfer makes him the worst ever signing in my opinion!

As for Kalou, he's not a 17 year old that looks promising, he's well into his 20's and been around for a few years, he should be offering us some sort of an end product by now. Same for SWP!

I agree with Barn, if Sheva does not pick up, which is unlikely now he has been a waste of money and time. What makes it more frustrating is when we signed him he was a world class striker but now he cant even control a ball, let alone finish. What chance do we have against Arsenal with Gallas and Toure marking him?!

Again i agree with Kalou comment, i was patient up until a few weeks back. He shows promise when he gets around people but then he will try and get through three or four rather than play it easy and as for his finishing - he is no striker that is going to keep us in title chase without Drogba.

I think Pizarro is ok. He has a nice touch and plays clever balls around the box, problem is he wont score enough. If we bought someone or when Drogba is back he could work with another.

Ben Haim i think is ok purely because he is really a sub, with JT and Riccy fit and probably even Alex i dont think we will see too much of him.

Wright-philips, there is something i like about him but it think the jury is still out. If we could buy a top right winger then he may have to go!

£30m for a player that most clubs in the league wouldn't take on a free transfer makes him the worst ever signing in my opinion!

They might not take him now, but when we signed him £30m wasn't that bad.

30 wasn't that bad???? Really???? I thought everyone agreed he was overpriced, but hopefully worth it when we bought him.

Sadly much as I like the guy, he is now looking like the worst signing in the history of the Prem. Sounds like an exaggeration, but is probably true.

Now I'm not Sheva'a biggest fan, I was, but not any more, but to label him the worst ever premiership signing is a bit harsh.

Ask Alex Ferguson what he thinks about Veron.

But they got a decent chunk of money back on Veron, I bet we don't for Sheva.

they got 13 million back for him, not a huge amount. Plus he produced zero for Man utd, where as at least Sheva has come up with the goods on a couple of occasions.

Well I gues we will see, as he will have his chance to shine when Didier is at the ACN, but while I would love to be proved wrong, as you can't fault Sheva's effort, I doubt I will be.

30 mill for a striker who's lost it, and, as Barn pointed out, will get us sod all if we sell him, is a pretty dreadful outcome. Only ones that come close are Veron and perhaps Sutton, but neither were (quite) as high profile, or expensive, when they arrived.

Like I said, I hate to be right about it (I even bought a Sheva shirt when we signed him for Christ's sake) but I reckon I am.

they got 13 million back for him, not a huge amount. Plus he produced zero for Man utd, where as at least Sheva has come up with the goods on a couple of occasions.

Come up with the goods? Apart from decent 1 goal away to Spurs he has done not a great deal else.

Have a look a the sides he's scored against to see what I mean!

We will not get any money back for Sheva and we're still paying the bloke over £120k per week!! (almost £500k per month!!!) Worst deal ever, you bet!!

Regardless of what we paid for him, do you think anyone else would hire his services for over £120k per week?

And who were the mugs who paid 'that' money for Veron? - to do what? loan him out while paying his wages for a couple of years!!!!!-thats what!!!

If Veron would have played for us against the mighty Derby, Sunderland, Nottingham Forest and Wycombe he might have 'come up with the goods' like Sheva has.

Other chairman must see us come in for a player and start rubbing their hands together!

Sheva = An expensive mistake in more ways than one!!!!!

Those who think Roman is receiving good advise, and is an astute businessman need only look at the Veron and Sheva deals to question his judgement on all things Chelsea.

they got 13 million back for him, not a huge amount. Plus he produced zero for Man utd, where as at least Sheva has come up with the goods on a couple of occasions.

Come up with the goods? Apart from decent 1 goal away to Spurs he has done not a great deal else.

Equalizer away to Porto last year, equalizer away to Valencia last year . . . That's three major knockout ties that Sheva had a significant role in our winning. Plus he's also scored a few league goals. Sheva hasn't done nearly enough to come close to justifying his fee, but I don't think he's the worst signing in Premiership history. Again, how exactly has he been worse value than Sutton?

Sheva hasn't been playing well that is a fact, but who could have known that one of the best strikers in the world turn out to be misfiring old man in one night for us. In fact he isn't misfiring for his country where they play in formation suitable for Sheva.

I think Sheva is very sensitive guy and everything that has happened and said has effected his play. I think he is very sympathetic guy and I wish him all the best... He still could turn out one of the best strikers in the league, but not with the formation we are playing.

I really feel sorry that he is suffering..And don't start that "he's making 120k a week" talk. He isn't paying it for himself and he didn't negotiate that salary for himself.

I really feel sorry that he is suffering..And don't start that "he's making 120k a week" talk. He isn't paying it for himself and he didn't negotiate that salary for himself.

bu he did decide to come here, he could have easily stayed in Milan and won some trophies with them then retired in the MLS in his later thirties. If he were still playing in the serie A I do beleive he would be among the top scorers.

they got 13 million back for him, not a huge amount. Plus he produced zero for Man utd, where as at least Sheva has come up with the goods on a couple of occasions.

Come up with the goods? Apart from decent 1 goal away to Spurs he has done not a great deal else.

Have a look a the sides he's scored against to see what I mean!

We will not get any money back for Sheva and we're still paying the bloke over £120k per week!! (almost £500k per month!!!) Worst deal ever, you bet!!

Regardless of what we paid for him, do you think anyone else would hire his services for over £120k per week?

And who were the mugs who paid 'that' money for Veron? - to do what? loan him out while paying his wages for a couple of years!!!!!-thats what!!!

If Veron would have played for us against the mighty Derby, Sunderland, Nottingham Forest and Wycombe he might have 'come up with the goods' like Sheva has.

Other chairman must see us come in for a player and start rubbing their hands together!

Sheva = An expensive mistake in more ways than one!!!!!

Those who think Roman is receiving good advise, and is an astute businessman need only look at the Veron and Sheva deals to question his judgement on all things Chelsea.

Is the end of this directed at me Bluenut?

I wont bother replying to every paragraph as we have been through it all and I think we ought to just agree to disagree before people get sick of reading our debates and before we start competing in who's supported the club longest but if the last bit is aimed at me I will say that I do think Abromovich is a good and astute businessman,

we know Sheva has not set the league alight but that is something I for one would not have guessed and if the team had played to his strengths from the off we still dont know if he would have been better,

Veron again looked a great player until he went to UTD and although that was again a dissapointment Roman does back it up with his own money and try again,

I dont think he has done too bad by us for trying.

It wasn't aimed at you, but there are some that seems to think whatever Roman does is correct because he is a good businessman and has loads of money - so he must know what he's doing. Well apart from being a close friend of the Russian PM, I don't know much about his dealings, but alot of Putin's ex-school mates have wound up with alot of STATE resources, which they sold on for massive profits!

Anyway, not alot of the advice he's received has been top quality, the Sheva and Veron deal go somway to prove it. (do you think they were value for money deals?) There are to many costly errors to list to be quite honest.

I dont remember the Porto goal, but the Valencia goal was a tap in from inside the 6 yard box. The goal the weekend against the mighty Sunderland was a free header from the 6 yard line into a vertual open goal. If this is the 'service' he needs then god help us.

Spending that money on a player of his age was always going to be a mistake, our only hope was that he hit the ground running and we managed to get a couple of good years out of him early in his CFC career. Sadly for all this has'nt happend.

When you take into consideration the amount we have paid him in wages as well as the transfer fee, it will go down as probably the worst signing of all time in any league anywhere let alone at Chelsea.

Bluenut

I know what your saying and if he were a manager here spending the Chairmans hard earned and then asking for more I would be more upset,

the fact that the players we are talking about were both great players (be it before they came to us for one reason or another) and he used his own money to buy them means unless he suddenly pulled out and left us with expensive flops and huge wage bills then it has been his experiment that has gone wrong but he is standing firm to sort it out.

was veron a abromovich signing as most of us feel sheva was?

most clubs would be happy to have players like these and most managers would (imo) think that they could have got a decent return out of sheva (not a return on his cost and wages maybe).

If these signings had have slotted in and played three quarters as good as they were at their best, we would all be fairly happy with Roman for funding their signings/wages (my opinion)

As someone who watched Sheva play "in the flesh", both for his club and country, when he was young and in his prime, the overriding feeling I get watching him struggle so badly for us, is one of real sadness.

Sadness that a geniune great of the game, (and he was exactly that), is still trying so hard to be what he once was and looking clueless as to why he isn't.

I first saw him live when he was 22/23 and he was the fastest white player I had ever seen. He was unbelievably quick. He was a stunning forward in most other respects, heading, touch, agression etc. But the asset that really stood out was his speed. That pace allowed him to play anywhere along the line, give a defender 5 yards, and still be first to every ball put in behind the defence. Defenders didn't know how to cope. If they pushed him out to the flanks he would pick the ball up, knock it into space, and, woosh, he was gone. Sadly that electric speed that was such a vital part of his armoury is gone, never to return. Indeed, as some of us on here pointed out before his purchase, the signs were there in his last season or so at Milan that Sheva was past his peak.

And yes, I was one of those who was against the signing of Sheva when it finally happened. Because, having followed his career closely and having noted that loss of pace and sharpness, I felt it would probably turn out this way. And as he is a personal footballing hero of mine, I didn't want to watch that happen. All the talk of money doesn't matter to me. Just as I imagine it doesn't matter to Abromovich. Roman loved him and wanted him and he can afford it. End of story. I'm more concerned with the talk of radically changing formations and tactics to accomodate Shev, because IMO it is wrong. Totally wrong. It won't make much difference. OK, he might score a couple more goals, but he is never going to be the Andriy Shevchenko that I first watched nearly a decade ago. A player that was, IMO, rightly hailed as one of the finest forwards the world has ever seen. A player who could tear a defence apart on his own.

Sheva was a fantastic signing for Chelsea. It simply came about too late. Both for him and for us.

Sheva was a fantastic signing for Chelsea. It simply came about too late. Both for him and for us.

Most of us knew that though at the time. It was never gonna work out. Never. All the bollox about us not playing to his strengths - what strengths?

For however much longer he remains with us, he would have to do something of huge significance (score the winner in the CL final for instance) to avoid being the worst premiership signing of all time (in terms of cost / return). Others have mentioned Chris Sutton and Veron, but for me they don't come close.

As someone who watched Sheva play "in the flesh", both for his club and country, when he was young and in his prime, the overriding feeling I get watching him struggle so badly for us, is one of real sadness.

Sadness that a geniune great of the game, (and he was exactly that), is still trying so hard to be what he once was and looking clueless as to why he isn't.

I first saw him live when he was 22/23 and he was the fastest white player I had ever seen. He was unbelievably quick. He was a stunning forward in most other respects, heading, touch, agression etc. But the asset that really stood out was his speed. That pace allowed him to play anywhere along the line, give a defender 5 yards, and still be first to every ball put in behind the defence. Defenders didn't know how to cope. If they pushed him out to the flanks he would pick the ball up, knock it into space, and, woosh, he was gone. Sadly that electric speed that was such a vital part of his armoury is gone, never to return. Indeed, as some of us on here pointed out before his purchase, the signs were there in his last season or so at Milan that Sheva was past his peak.

And yes, I was one of those who was against the signing of Sheva when it finally happened. Because, having followed his career closely and having noted that loss of pace and sharpness, I felt it would probably turn out this way. And as he is a personal footballing hero of mine, I didn't want to watch that happen. All the talk of money doesn't matter to me. Just as I imagine it doesn't matter to Abromovich. Roman loved him and wanted him and he can afford it. End of story. I'm more concerned with the talk of radically changing formations and tactics to accomodate Shev, because IMO it is wrong. Totally wrong. It won't make much difference. OK, he might score a couple more goals, but he is never going to be the Andriy Shevchenko that I first watched nearly a decade ago. A player that was, IMO, rightly hailed as one of the finest forwards the world has ever seen. A player who could tear a defence apart on his own.

Sheva was a fantastic signing for Chelsea. It simply came about too late. Both for him and for us.

Nice post Just.