Chelsea Thread

Reporter: Was it a hard decision to join City from Tottenham?

Modric: Not at all, since my childhood i looked at City as top club and my dream was always to wear the light blue shirt (light blue is it? - turns to his manager) So.... yeah!
 
missing of modric was the biggest mistake chelsea done in the summer..
although meireles is good but cant replace lam8 immediately
 
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Well Spurs did well to hold on and looking at the table if they can maintain that then I don't see why they can't sign him on a new contract
 
Modric could be bought in 2008 summer. However chelsea bought deco in stead of him that was very tragic ...it was only for his reputation not about a player's potential.
 
just joking mate, i think the fans who tonight went off the stadium or even judge AVB and want him to quit are just pathetic..this fans don´t deserve anything then.. without being patient...

personaly i think AVB is a very charismatic coach, but he needs to turn things around for longer than half season...Chelsea need to rebuild and start again from this... i see many transfers in-out for chelsea...they have great foundation in Courtious and other young players..

But as fan of rival club, i think Chelsea fans don´t even deserve to be where they wan´t to be.. one of worst fans in PL.. booing injured Lucas out of field... leaving stadium in 80th minute?.. not patient with any coach what so ever...they need to learn more patience i think.. otherwise there won´t be success...hope Abramovich learned this already...
 
in avb we trust... and also agree with pipa that chelsea need to rebuild
and our owner and fans really need to be patience .
now, the most important things is to past valencia..god bless chelsea!
 
Yeah I hope for chelsea's sake, they don't get stupid and let AvB go!!

Please Roman! Don't be dumb! Yes, I know, not ideal start! This is the beginning of something very good for Chelsea! IF AVB stays and is allowed to do his thing.

And yeah that Valencia match is gonna be legendary stuff now! Both teams putting it all on the line! I can see some controversy deciding the match, a bad ref call, etc. It's the CL game I'm most looking forward to! It'll be deadly stuff! Can't wait!
 
From what I've seen there are two types of Chelsea fans: those who back Villas-Boas no matter how and the ones who booed him in the stadium. Personally, I think the first category represents the majority of them. Consequently, Roman better think twice before pulls the trigger. Nevertheless, we all know Roman, when is tired and bored he just buys a new toy to play. The guy has little patience and is clueless about football. Moreover, 15M€ are peanuts for him... and yeah, he will hire is old friend Hiddink when gets the chance. As I said before, Rome wasn't built in a day. For me, the players are the problem. Sorry but guys like Drogba, Anelka, Bosingwa, Mikel and Kalou are no longer necessary at Stanford Bridge. Even Cech and Lampard, well well, don't know...

Talking about Guus Hiddink, he has expressed his desired in coming back to the Bridge. He is, undoubtedly, an extraordinary. I love him, imo he is one of the cleverest people in the world of football. If Chelsea picks him then the team will immediately improve but do you think he is the right man to rebuild the squad? I don't think so, he already said he would quit football rather sooner than later.

These are the fixtures after the City game:
Wigan (A)
Tottenham (A)
Fulham (H)
Villa (H)
Wolves (A)
Sunderland (H)
Norwich (A)
Swansea (A)

In Roman's perspective - If you want to keep your job dear André, then you have to win them all (Spurs are a tough one ok you can draw that).

As an avid NBA fan I will use an well-known expression in the game to define Chelsea nowadays: the blues are in a "rebuilding mode". City and United those are in "winning mode" not Chelsea. So, just have patience Roman!
 
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Great Post André. I agree with you on most points, but somehow i don't think AVB will get the time he needs. I hope he can finnish the season (i think so, but he will be fired if Chelsea don't have a good start next season).

I do not entirely agree with you on Hiddink. It's true that Hiddink has had fantastic results, but it seems he has lost his touch a litle bit lately.
 
I think if Chelsea don't get through against Valencia and are eliminated from the CL before Christmas, then he will be gone. Scolari had arguably done better than AVB at this point in the season - dont forget Scolari's Chelsea had a better statistical record than Villas-Boas's team so far, yet the Brazilian was given the boot.

I don't know if Villas-Boas has a big enough personality to succeed at Chelsea. A lot of the Chelsea team is past it (definately Terry, Lampard, possibly Cech even Bosingwa), in shocking form (Anelka, Torres, David Luiz) or simply not good enough, none of these players should be starting yet it takes a manager with a lot of bravery to drop them. It needs someone with a huge personality, a person who is forcefull enough to get the board to sell the dead wood (esp Terry) and buy younger better replacements - I don't know if Villas-Boas is that strong a personality.

Chelsea's midfield is very lightweight, Ramires hasn't got anything like the build to be a ball winning midfielder yet he seems to play in that position. Lampard isn't a ball winner, even in his prime he wasn't. Mata is very skillfull but again won't win the ball. Mikel Obi is often the only ball winner in that team and frankly he isn't very good at all, his positional sense is shocking. Raul Mireles would offer more in midfield but for whatever reason he dosent seem to start every game. But for me the biggest weak link in that midfield is Ramieres, a player who is trying to play the ball-winning role but simply cannot do it. He doesnt seem to like the physical nature of the game (you can't really blame him given his so small) - last week Charlie Adam put a strong (but probably fair) tackle in on him very early in the game and Ramires just shrank and didn't do anything for the rest of the game. There is no height in the midfield either, none of those midfielders would be likely to win the majority of headers in the center of the pitch. The likes of Terry and Drogba might win headers from set pieces but the team is poor in the air around the center of the pitch.

The old Chelsea teams, ones with Ballack, Carvalho, Essien etc in were physically strong and could match anyone in the league, years ago Stamford Bridge was a fortress and teams feared going there. This current Chelsea team is a soft touch, they can be out muscled and dominated in the air by other teams. They really need to make wholesale changes at the club if they are to be in a position to challenge for the Premier League or CL again.
 
Makes ya wonder does Roman thinks there`s more managers than players? Good assessment cfdh_edmundo I think AVB should use this post for his case.
 
I don't agree at all with edmundo, well not entirely.
Scolari was a very high profile coach (World Cup winner, winner of the Coppa Libertadores), AVB is a new promising coach.
Scolari had a team that was more in it's prime (or better just past it's prime).
Terry, Bosingwa, Alex are going downhill. I'm not so sure about Lampard. Drogba will not stay. Torres is in bad form (is he?).
But look at the bright side: Mata is the transfer of the year, Ramirez is a very important player, Essien will come back, Sturridge is developing in a fine player and it can only get better with Luiz, Torres and others. Cech? I still think he's excellent and if not Chelsea have the best young Gk in the world even if he's playing for Atletico Madrid now (i'm not saying that, a certain Michel Preudhomme is saying that).
There is another transfer window coming: if Roman buys players then the squad will be stronger and if he doesn't he has no reason to sack AVB.
And i saw both the match against Man Utd and Liverpool. Do you really are sure that Chelsea was the weaker team in both those matches? IMO against Man Utd played fantastic, both Ramirez and Torres should have scored goals. In the match against Liverpool Chelsea was for long streches the better team, same goes for the match against Arsenal..but they have a defensive problem. They need a good CB or even a couple of good CB's.
 
gerd said:
I don't agree at all with edmundo, well not entirely.
Scolari was a very high profile coach (World Cup winner, winner of the Coppa Libertadores), AVB is a new promising coach.
Scolari had a team that was more in it's prime (or better just past it's prime).
Terry, Bosingwa, Alex are going downhill. I'm not so sure about Lampard. Drogba will not stay. Torres is in bad form (is he?).
But look at the bright side: Mata is the transfer of the year, Ramirez is a very important player, Essien will come back, Sturridge is developing in a fine player and it can only get better with Luiz, Torres and others. Cech? I still think he's excellent and if not Chelsea have the best young Gk in the world even if he's playing for Atletico Madrid now (i'm not saying that, a certain Michel Preudhomme is saying that).
There is another transfer window coming: if Roman buys players then the squad will be stronger and if he doesn't he has no reason to sack AVB.
And i saw both the match against Man Utd and Liverpool. Do you really are sure that Chelsea was the weaker team in both those matches? IMO against Man Utd played fantastic, both Ramirez and Torres should have scored goals. In the match against Liverpool Chelsea was for long streches the better team, same goes for the match against Arsenal..but they have a defensive problem. They need a good CB or even a couple of good CB's.
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Yes Scolari had a better team than what he has now, and yes he was far more experienced than Villas Boas. But I dont think either issue will save Villas Boas, I don't think Abramovich will be thinking, "Oh he's a young guy I'll give him a chance". I think if Chelsea don't get out of their group stage (vs Valencia) he will definatley get the sack. It would be the worst performance by Chelsea in Europe for almost 10 years, and while both Leverkusen and Valencia are competent sides, Chelsea would have expected to come at least second in that group even with their aging team. More worryingly for them there is a real risk they might not finish in the top 4 this year, that would be disasterous for them in terms of attracting new players and also income (which could be important in terms of spending money on players if this fair play thing happens). Under these circumstances, given Abramovich's record I would expect Villas Boas to go if they slip out of the CL.

I think at times during the Man Utd match Chelsea match, Chelsea were in a real mess. Dont forget Man Utd missed a penalty (Rooney pretty early in 2nd half), so I dont think the 3-1 score was unrepresentative. I don't know if you saw Chelsea v Norwich but they looked very very shakey in that game. They ended up winning 3-1 but only after scoring two when Ruddy (Norwich keeper was sent off). They looked blunt at QPR, just about scraped to a win at Blackburn and were in my opinion totally overrun by Arsenal's midfield. Walcott fell over for his goal but there was so little pressure on him, he could simply just stand back up and score. Liverpool (league match) was more of a balanced game, but even then Liverpool were able to move the ball around the midfield and switch from defence to attack much quicker. Look at Glenn Johnson's goal, I think Johnson's a good defender, but I wouldnt say he was noted for being a fine dribbler of the ball, yet Chelsea's midfield and defenders put no pressure on him at all, he had all the freedom of the pitch and could advance unopposed for his goal. Liverpool's midfielders (esp Lucas) never gave Chelsea anything like that kind of freedom.

I really don't think Mata is transfer of the year. I think he is a good player, but for the cost of almost £24 million I think he has performed on par, neither above nor below expectations. Looking at all the attacking midfielders in the league, would you say he's better than Silva, Bale, Modric, I'd say at the moment he's a bit below that, maybe he'll grow to that level but not this season I think. I also don't think he's the sort of player they should have signed, positionally they might have fared a bit better if they had signed someone like Tioté, Parker, Rolfes or Holtby - someone who could breakup the oppositions play. I also have to say I really don't think Ramieres is suited to either their system or the nature of the premier league either. You're right about Essien, they are very much missing him, but with his injury record it's shades of Redondo - they cannot rely on him playing regularly and with the sheer volume of injuries he's had he might only be a shadow of the player he was 3-4 years ago. It's a shame because in his prime he was one of the best midfielders in the world and is exactly what they are missing most now.
 
I'm with Edmundo on most points but definitely disagree regarding Mata and Ramires and side with Gerd on this.

Mata is a SUPERB player and was that even in Valencia before joining Chelsea and I'd say he's performed very well since coming to Premier League and like Silva will soon be setting the league alight. The boy's just a natural talent and very gifted. Has taken very little time to adapt and no he's not better than Silva or Modric but so what? Those 2 are probably the best 2 in the league and both older than him. He's right up there, one of the very best and still very young.

And also Ramires, this guy's a horse! He can run miles and miles without tiring and I actually think he's a lot stronger than he 'looks'. He's a skinny kid but very athletic and aggressive and determined! That makes him a machine and probably a lot better than Essien is these days because of the injuries. I think he's an important player and he's done well since joining EPL and will continue to grow and get better and better.

I also think AVB does have a strong enough personality. We'll see... but yeah I agree that if they don't reach CL knockout rounds, he's GONE! Definitely! I don't think he should be still but he will be if that happens!
 
IMO Mata is definitely better than Bale (and i'm a Spurs fan and love Bale).
Besides that Silva, Modric and Bale were already in the EPL, i was talking about transfers.
I see possibilities as transfer of the season so far: Mata, Parker and Aguero. For me Aguero is definitely a notch below both others...
I agree with you on Essien, in fact the analogy with Redondo is an excellent one. But IMO Redondo was much better than Essien. I'm not objective about him because together with Giuseppe Giannini and Cantona he is my all-time favourite player...
 
Edmundo has hit the nail on the head. Chelsea needs Essien so badly, he is a top hold midfielder and is stronger, tougher and smarter than any other Chelsea midfielder. Ramires is quality but his nowhere near Essien in terms of toughness although I agree with Sina when he says he is stronger than what he looks like. A horse, again like Sina said, is the word that describes him better. He's an outstanding athlete with loads of stamina, basically a non-stop runner. For some reason his nickname is "The Kenyan".

Back to AVB, I not so sure about his charisma. I mean, he is such a personality in football nowadays but, has he what his needed to lead a team full of big egos? Basically, is he a charismatic coach or not? Honestly, I can't answer that question because I've already seen two different versions of André Villas-Boas. At Porto, AVB was the centre piece. His ego was bigger enough to run the show. Somehow the guy was able to commit an entire team and entire club into his own. Meanwhile, at Stamford Bridge, players seems to be the dominant force. Don't ask me why but I have a slight impression that some players simply don't respect the coach at 100%. My guess? The players who AVB is working with are the same who worked with him when he was member of the scouting staff. In other words, I think players still see André as the guy who does the reports. Respect, commitment and leadership are the key factors in this equation.

Anyway, those are just my own impressions. What is sure and obvious is that this teams needs some fresh blood as we all seem to agree. Let me just disagree in one thing regarding to CBs, Edmundo and Gerd. IMO, Terry isn't done, I think he still has some gasoline left in the tank (although his prime is past) and Luiz could easily be one of the best defenders in the World. He just has to settle down and be more calm. The whole Chelsea nation already saw how great he was last season just some weeks after his arrival. The quality is there, quality was never a question as matter of fact, the issue is in his head.

In a nutshell, all comes down to the players. Are they committed with André and the club? Are they capable to bounce back? Or are they done? Personally I think Chelsea needs an overhaul, both in terms of new players and mentality. But again, in AVB we trust...

Oh and about Mata, he is an extraordinary player but he's still a tier below the likes of Silva and Modric.
 
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Just heard the Football Weekly podcast. One of the pundits has a good relation with a Chelsea insider and he claims that if Chelsea can't win against Newcastle (tough team by the way), then AVB will be gone because Chelsea consider the match against Valencia as the most important of the season.

In that same podcast Jonathan Wilson (someone i rate high) said he still had is doubts about AVB. In the EPL Chelsea has lost all the matches against big clubs. According to Wilson AVB hardly played big clubs with Porto last season. He claims both Benfica and Sporting had a very bad season and underachieved. In the Euro League Wilson says Porto only had two difficult adversaries on paper: Sevilla and Villareal.
At the time Porto played Sevilla, Sevilla were in the middle of a bad streak and Villareal wasn't strong against them too...according to him Villareal were at that moment already going downhill...So according to him AVB never was serious tested before joining Chelsea.

He also thinks AVB should adjust to his players. Just like our Andre Wilson thinks Terry still is a good CB but he lacks speed (something he always lacked, but it is obvious now because he doesn't play with another speedy defender). So according to Wilson, Chelsea's defense should play deeper because of Terry's lack of speed. He also said that Luiz is a talented player, but a very stupid one (in the sense that he lacks football intelligence).
 
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gerd said:
I don't agree at all with edmundo, well not entirely.
Scolari was a very high profile coach (World Cup winner, winner of the Coppa Libertadores), AVB is a new promising coach.
Scolari had a team that was more in it's prime (or better just past it's prime).
Terry, Bosingwa, Alex are going downhill. I'm not so sure about Lampard. Drogba will not stay. Torres is in bad form (is he?).
But look at the bright side: Mata is the transfer of the year, Ramirez is a very important player, Essien will come back, Sturridge is developing in a fine player and it can only get better with Luiz, Torres and others. Cech? I still think he's excellent and if not Chelsea have the best young Gk in the world even if he's playing for Atletico Madrid now (i'm not saying that, a certain Michel Preudhomme is saying that).
There is another transfer window coming: if Roman buys players then the squad will be stronger and if he doesn't he has no reason to sack AVB.
And i saw both the match against Man Utd and Liverpool. Do you really are sure that Chelsea was the weaker team in both those matches? IMO against Man Utd played fantastic, both Ramirez and Torres should have scored goals. In the match against Liverpool Chelsea was for long streches the better team, same goes for the match against Arsenal..but they have a defensive problem. They need a good CB or even a couple of good CB's.
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Courtious is fantastic from what i seen of him. Cech realy won´t be at Chelsea for very long if he continues developing so fast..
 
Unbeliveable luck for Chelsea against Newcastle today... Luiz imho should have got red card at the start..

Nevermind, Chelsea used their most important weapon, Drogba.

but i´m impressed by Mata and Torres...this match did maybe saved Villas Boas, but...for how long?

As for Newcastle, Krul and Cabaye will not be there for long, they are TOP club material.
 
PIPA23 said:
Unbeliveable luck for Chelsea against Newcastle today... Luiz imho should have got red card at the start..

Nevermind, Chelsea used their most important weapon, Drogba.

but i´m impressed by Mata and Torres...this match did maybe saved Villas Boas, but...for how long?

As for Newcastle, Krul and Cabaye will not be there for long, they are TOP club material.
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I would have added Ba to the list. The guy is a beast.

Well, yes Chelsea were the luckiest side this afternoon but don't you think they deserved it? As far as I remember, the luck you are talking about was missed against Liverpool and Man Utd, games in where Chelsea surely deserved a different result, maybe a win considering they've completely outplayed L'pool in the 2nd half.

I'm very confident about Villas-Boas. This result is a boost of confidence for him and for the team. So Valencia next Tuesday and I'm confident in a victory.
 
Chelsea won 0-3, but it could have been 3-1 too...i don't say the win is not deserved, but 0-3 is very harsh for a good Newcastle team.
With a good Ben Harfa, Marveaux maybe Santon and a replacement for Obertan (not good enough) i don't see why Krul, Ba and Cabaye good not stay. Don't forget they are still missing their most important player (Tioté) and Gutierrez was also missing...i also like the younger Ameobi (today less).
 
Krul should be the Dutch #1 , anyhow Alex n Nic off I guess they were waiting for the transfer request. Alex to Arsenal good squad players :)) Nic will get another massive bonus his agent is licking his chops :))
 
teams that menage Mourinho get one virus , only way to be good is change ALL players , Chelsea get this virus , same as Inter now its time for Real after mourinho they will be same as 2 ex teams , only way its build completly new team and sell every single player that have been with Mourinho :SMUG:
 
My cunning new plan is to give Vidic a sideshow bob wig, and then hope officials treat him like they treat Luiz.

Got to be the luckiest CB in the premier league. He could have been sent off in virtually every match I've seen him play for Chelsea, and yet never, ever does.
 
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