Thibaut Courtois

[mediator 2,026]

Thierry Courtois tells RTBF that his son will leave Atletico at end of season for Chelsea

Not really what he said.

here is the full interview (in french) http://www.rtbf.be/sport/football/dossier/les-joueurs-belges-a-l-etranger/detail_thierry-courtois-on-attend-de-discuter-avec-chelsea-pour-thibaut?id=8190844

So he said that:

"José wants him back, but Thibaut doesn't want to be number 2, Petr and Thibaut can't be at the same club and can't be rotated, they are both number 1"

"Thibaut has an important decision to take for his future and will speak with chelsea" (understand give him number 1 spot or sell him)

[duo11bluecl 207]

Actually with our defence so solid atm I don't think a world class GK gonna change much. Well they would be useful against teams like City, Barca...etc but then again most of the time in the league we shut up shop after going in front anyway. And if getting rid of him is a must to get Costa then it should be done. But I prefer us to pay money for Costa and keep Courtois, probably then sell Cech.

[pWneR 230]

Yes, he is a great keeper, but IMO he can't just come in and expect to overthrow one of the best keepers in the world and club legend who has been here for almost 10 years. If he wants to stay at Chelsea then next season he should fight for his place here. If not, then the door is wide open, there are tons of club that wants him.

Sent from my LT30p using Tapatalk

[mediator 2,026]

Tbf, José has his favorites (Ivan, Lampard, Cech, etc...) and he doesn't want to rot on bench due to that.

Look at Bertrand, Kalas, KDB and co, Thibaut is not dumb he is already one of the best and fair to him if he want to take the best decision for his future.

[duo11bluecl 207]

Tbf, José has his favorites (Ivan, Lampard, Cech, etc...) and he doesn't want to rot on bench due to that.

Look at Bertrand, Kalas, KDB and co, Thibaut is not dumb he is already one of the best and fair to him if he want to take the best solution for him.

Fav can always change though, at 1st Pepe was undroppable but then eventually it all fell apart. Same with Casillas. All it takes is 1 incident and the player is finished at Chelsea as a result like A Cole and his partying with Arsenal last Xmas. Now he probably won't get a new contract. Same could happen next season, maybe Courtois perform better than Cech in the 1st few rounds of rotation and Cech starts to moan. Jose would then sell him straight away in Jan if needed.

Before you start having a go at me, just making it up and imagining it. Can't see it happen as Cech is too nice, maybe if he had to he would accept his role like Terry and Lampard under Rafa and AVB. But I think Cortouis could be making a big mistake if he thinks he will walk in the team because he is good(which he is). Jose won't allow that to happen. He isn't afraid to do anything.

[The Skipper 20,593]

Tbf, José has his favorites (Ivan, Lampard, Cech, etc...) and he doesn't want to rot on bench due to that.

Look at Bertrand, Kalas, KDB and co, Thibaut is not dumb he is already one of the best and fair to him if he want to take the best decision for his future.

You can't put Cech in the same bracket as Lampard and Ivanovic because Cech is still world class and is still clearly one of the best in the world.

[yuvala 2,167]

Very easy isnt it. Getting rid of Cech who has a record number of clean sheets for us and replace him by someone who has never played in the premier league. Yeah lets do that.

Oh yea, lets let go of the future to hold on to the past

Cech has a year maybe two as a top GK IMO (and he's not really in his prime anymore).

Courtois is the future, already arguably on Cech's level (only thing cech has over him is experience).

I get that people want to see Cech here, I do aswell. But sometimes hard decisions need to be made for the future.

[mediator 2,026]

You can't put Cech in the same bracket as Lampard and Ivanovic because Cech is still world class and is still clearly one of the best in the world.

I didn't say the contrary.

Seeing that interview, i think that we will sell Thibaut after the world cup. That would give us more cash to splash on a new striker

[Stingray 9,441]

The interview is dad saying his thing, 'nough said. C will know better than to pronounce this. He has always been very, very carefull btw.

[Tomo 21,681]

No....my point was he is a legend and shouldnt be disregarded so easily. This isnt Cech FC and neither is it Courtois FC. We use the player who is the best for us. Whether that be Cech or Courtois.

If the change is made its because its what's best for the club.

Cech will still have his place in the history books at Chelsea just like Cudicini and De Goey do but if Jose feels Cech is close to decline we must make the change before it starts seriously showing, remember Malouda and Anelka in 10-11?

[Stevenx131313 12]

Really hope he comes back this summer. I say we rotate him with Cech next year, get him used to the epl, gain some experience and build some chemistry with the defenders. Next summer sell Cech and have Courtois as our number 1.

I have no idea why we could sell him. In 2-3 years we will be in the market for a GK, and the fact we are going to sell a world class keeper just to keep a legend on the decline two more years.. makes no sense.

[CHOULO19 24,332]

Cech has a year maybe two as a top GK IMO

I'm not saying that we should let Thibaut go or anything and as I've previously said, I'm fine with whatever decision Jose and the club make, but how in the world would you Petr only has one or two years left? How can you predict that? Based on what exactly? Apart from a minor dip in his form at the start of this season, the past three years have arguably been his best and, for me, last season was his best season for us.

[Tomo 21,681]

I'm not saying that we should let Thibaut go or anything and as I've previously said, I'm fine with whatever decision Jose and the club make, but how in the world would you Petr only has one or two years left? How can you predict that? Based on what exactly? Apart from a minor dip in his form at the start of this season, the past three years have arguably been his best and, for me, last season was his best season for us.

Keepers usually decline in mid 30s, there are some freaks like Van Der Sar but for one off him there's 20 Shay Givens.

[CHOULO19 24,332]

Keepers usually decline in mid 30s, there are some freaks like Van Der Sar but for one off him there's 20 Shay Givens.

He's 31. Keepers are much more likely to keep going well into their late thirties than outfield players. It's not nearly as rare as you're saying: Brad Friedel, Tim Howard, our own Schwarzer, Jaaskelainen...etc recently from the EPL alone.

[yuvala 2,167]

I'm not saying that we should let Thibaut go or anything and as I've previously said, I'm fine with whatever decision Jose and the club make, but how in the world would you Petr only has one or two years left? How can you predict that? Based on what exactly? Apart from a minor dip in his form at the start of this season, the past three years have arguably been his best and, for me, last season was his best season for us.

Well ofc I can't know if for sure, it's just my prediction.

Cech is still amongst the best but Courtois needs to come back if we have to do it for him to stay.

If there was an option to keep loaning him out untill Cech is done I'd be glad to do so. Unfortunately seems like there isn't such an option on the table. A decision must be made.

[Belgiannutt 3,201]

He's 31. Keepers are much more likely to keep going well into their late thirties than outfield players. It's not nearly as rare as you're saying: Brad Friedel, Tim Howard, our own Schwarzer, Jaaskelainen...etc recently from the EPL alone.

How many of those goalkeepers had bad elbows and knees ?

IF it comes down to selling Cech or selling Courtois the choice is a pretty clear one.

[Tomo 21,681]

He's 31. Keepers are much more likely to keep going well into their late thirties than outfield players. It's not nearly as rare as you're saying: Brad Friedel, Tim Howard, our own Schwarzer, Jaaskelainen...etc recently from the EPL alone.

Howard is a fair shout but the others are a shadow of what they were.

Jaaskelinen has been rubbish for a while Coyle dropped him for Bogdan and Big Sam has done the same bringing in that little shit Adrian in his place. A prime Jussi in 2007 was argubly the best in the PL aside from Petr and VDS.

Friedel lost a lot off mobility in recent years, Spurs fans main complaint about him is he doesn't command his box and has slow reactions, neither off those was a problem in his Blackburn days and Mark is still good but a shadow off his Boro days imo.

[dee25 1,044]

He's really turning me off with the comments he's been making. I'm not saying that he doesn't have a right to demand the no. 1 spot here, but to me the way he and his father are going about it, it almost sounds like they're holding us to an ultimatum. If Courtois wants to come here and immediately be handed over the starting spot, then I say let the kid walk. This is one of the top clubs in the world and the way he and his father are acting, it's almost as if they think they're doing us a favor.

I understand that he's right up there among the best, but would he even be in that position if it weren't for Chelsea?

In any case, I think this is a different situation from Cudicini. For starters Cech has built rapport with Mourinho and I think Jose has too much respect for him to just drop him like that. Courtois will surely get his chance (if he comes) but it needs to be done in way that's respectful to Cech and that might mean him spending some time on the bench while Cech is gently phased out. If that's such an unbearable thought to Courtois, then let the kid go and collect a hefty fee for him. We can't miss something that we never had.