chrismada9

So you do agree with me about Anelka and Kalou then. I said something very similar to this earlier, and suddenly you're suggesting we should sell the whole team because they were all just as bad as those two last season Falcao is a striker, so I'm not thinking about other players on the pitch other than the ones that will be the most affected by the possible signing. If Modric or Moutinho are strongly linked with a move, I'll be concerned about Lampard, Essien, Mikel etc.

At least we can say that Falcao is almost a decade younger than Drogba though.

There was another name Porto were close to signing as well right? An Argentine from Racing Club? That's what the previous report said?

We certainly will! If anything, Boas will give him the confidence he needs to get the goals!

This whole idea about benching Torres... it's Andriy Shevchenko all over again isn't it?

If Boas is in favour of keeping the 4-3-3 setup at Chelsea, then I think Falcao would be a pointless signing unless we let Drogba, Kalou and Anelka leave.

Is there a way of translating this?

That's harsh to say Essien should move on.... he does have the abilities to function well in the middle because of his immense strength, but last year, he had to contest with an injury that not only ruled him out of the world cup, but also the start of last season, so a lack of match fitness proved somewhat costly for him. It's then, that people say, "well, if he's too injury prone, then sell him!" ..... let Boas analyse him during pre-season and see what he decides. That would be my answer to that accusation.

That's a silly accusation to make. When I said that, I didn't mean straight out "sell the whole team" ... what I meant, was that Kalou and Anelka need to be replaced because they weren't good enough last season. Boas however has said that every player in the squad will have a chance to prove themselves during pre-season before deciding who to bring in, and who will leave.

Would you want to part with €100m to activate the release clause in his contract? That's the valuation I read of in "one" article....

Under the circumstances that we sign Falcao, I wouldn't mind seeing Drogba go, as long as he doesn't go to Sp*rs. As for Anelka and Kalou, I wouldn't mind seeing them go whatever happens. They just weren't good enough last season!

:goodpost:

If you're going by the ways of tactics, then I will remind you that Boas and Mourinho have two different styles of play. Mourinho likes to sit back and defend on a 1 goal lead, while Boas enjoys the attacking aspect!

it's a pity, because Carlo never used him enough, which is why he is in that state!

At the moment, we have Yuri Zhirkov competing for Malouda, which my view he should be winning because he is much younger of the two, and he packs so much speed into his runs down the left, we just haven't used at all because of how important Malouda seems to have been. As for the right side, Juan Mata should be the player to go for, assuming that he plays on the right, I might be mistaken for knowing that he plays on the left, but I have seen him play on the right before, and he is just as effective! Villas-Boas might prefer a 4-4-2 to a 4-3-3, we don't know that yet until we play our first pre-season match! Then after that, we will have a rough idea what his plans are!

It will make sense if you sell both Kalou and Anelka (and possibly Drogba), then if you bring in Falcao, he can be used in a rotation system with Torres and Sturridge, while Moutinho/Modric can be brought in as the playmaker, which, in my view would be a perfect balance.

Everything that comes out of Pele's mouth is wrong, so why should he be believed this time?

If Falcao does join Chelsea, then there is no doubt in my mind that Drogba will be off! The likes of Kalou and Malouda will make way as well I think.

Barcelona will probably use him as bait to get to Luiz. That's the only fear. Other than that, it's interesting.....

I agree! I think a good £24m bid would prize Eto'o away from Inter. But I'm not all for over 30 players, so I don't think this would be a legit signing!

Malouda for Iniesta

It's no wonder there were reports of Barca selling us David Villa... they want enough money for Fabregas and Luiz. Well, the Fabregas saga could be true in its own right, but if they're looking to sign Luiz, they can fuck off!!

I reckon Juan Mata should be a top priority name to go for! I think the likes of Alexis Sanchez is out of our reach now that Barcelona have a firm grip on him, and as I said earlier, Hulk has a monsterous buy out clause. Mata is young, is hugely quick, and he will be match-fit going into pre-season following the European Under 21 tournament. He would slot in perfectly. I just hope he can play on the right!

I think Hulk will be a top aquisition for us, but who would want to buy out his staggering €100m clause though! I'd like Sturridge to be given a chance as well though!

That looks like a real sexy lineup! The only hiccup I would endear, is the fact that Torres and Falcao work better when they're on their own up front. Do they work well together, we don't really know that!