FootballManics

I agree, though upgrading doesn't always come at such a steep cost and sometimes you do have to sell a prized asset for a good fee to move forward. Though Chelsea does seem to always get the right balance. There are players who have left for good fee's that haven't played as much or been considered a starter, whereby other clubs would struggle to command a fee (some tend to lower it to force the move). To a degree this is like Liverpool with Benteke, yet Chelsea's stock worth is considerably higher and I do feel teams know that bargains won't always be had from the club. Fresh blood does benefit, especially when they're of solid recruiting. I would like to see guys pushing to feature your own home grown talent, Liverpool/United and Everton have returned to doing quite well in this department but most Premier League teams fail to see the importance (no dig towards Chelsea). Teams like Stoke, Arsenal (most leave to join L1/Championship teams) etc. My points more about being flexible and able to avoid needless big signings, when you have a resource of talent that can progress - you can dip into that. Knowing when to sign a player for £30-60m is more a luxury IMO. Yet the depth is essential to a clubs natural progression and quality in terms of their squad.

Manchester United are still chasing him to my knowledge, the contract hasn't put them off - it's just added an higher price tag. Just last week news was filtering out that United would increase their off to £80m. Not sure I agree about Arsenal. Out of all the London based clubs, Chelsea and Arsenal actually compare quite closely in my opinion, you both avoid signing players for the sake of it - resulting in recruiting players who fit your play, at the right place and have potential to develop. There was once a time not that long ago where Chelsea had many upcoming academy players quite highly rated, I think Jose put an end to your fledging stars because he likes ready made, experienced first team players.

You may want to search Google. http://metro.co.uk/2017/01/17/tianjin-quanjian-owner-confirms-bids-for-diego-costa-karim-benzema-and-edinson-cavani-6385394/ I can pull many other stories which evidence genuine interest in your star striker.

You make a fair point about experienced keepers, chances are if he goes - you'll probably tempt one to make a move (winning the Premier League will do that) or you will develop an upcoming keeper into the role. Football is a fast paced game, there's plenty of cash flowing around but why worry about the 'rich list'? I know full well last season the majority of Chelsea fans didn't think you would be in this position (top of the league). City throw money down the drain, as does United but you've turned things around with smart transfers and a manager who works hard for it. You've gone off the track suggesting money and a home should be built, do you really need to bribe or convince players to stay? Jesus, I'd rather make do with my passionless lot. LOL.... Really? REALLY??? Harry Kane isn't being targeted? Deli Ali isn't? It's like Arsenal fans whining over Man City pinching their players (most of which are verging on being out of contract). Have players who care, want to play and are the best - yet isn't it important they understand the clubs values? No offence but your struggling yourself with that one. Best keeper in the world? You've got some blue tinted glasses on. Your reply also jumped the gun somewhat, I don't remotely like United. I prefer keepers who have a track record and perform well season after the season, something which the best keepers do just fine. How dare someone have an opinion other than yours? He does his job okay, yeah this season he is in fine form but what about last season? Why does he hold his international place? Despite doing nothing with Belgium? (a nation which has a label the golden generation but yet is vastly overrated). That said, he's 24 and there's time to improve further but if anyone suggests he's at his peak or the best he can. ....... I won't say it.

I'm hearing it's not just Real Madrid who are interested and I think some of the rumours may just be people playing around with the stories, yet allegedly two top European clubs have been watching Thibaut Courtois which is where the information about Madrid steams from. The bust up stories I don't always buy, it's the common way of sensationalizing reports. However, I think others clubs may come looking because he's in good form this year. Juventus for example have money to spend (considering their outgoings) and of course Buffon isn't getting any younger. That said I think Courtois is very overrated and if the right fee comes in for him, I believe you guys could find someone better.

Prior seasons Chelsea has invested quite heavily, I would say this naturally brings higher expectations but that was awhile back - plus not every team can break the bank like United have in recent years (quite odd for a club riddled in debt allegedly). Every club has gloryhunters and people with their own agendas, believe me I also run a L2 teams fan site and I've seen many. However, Chelsea in the last 2-3 seasons have spent wisely (although perhaps last season it should have been spent reinforcing the defence and finding a striker). For me this is a credit to what Conte is doing and he's not the type of manager to splash cash around. So I wouldn't worry about some people think, as each fan has different expectations and not all are real. I'm sure in recent weeks I've seen god knows who wanted at my club and we've ended up with Kevin Nolan. Some would have had you believe Big Sam would have returned also. Enjoy being successful for playing attractive football and having a team that pull their weight for you fans.

The hover card needs some CSS work, the links within the blue bar aren't visible until you hover over them (then they're grey).

He's a good player, though he shines best when he stands out. When I first read about Vidal being linked with Chelsea, I felt he would be quite ideal but the more thought that goes into the potential move - the more I think the money could be better spent. It depends on if you want a player for more than a few seasons, he won't be at the highest standard forever and really the 40m could be used to sign a defender or a few players with potential. He would probably give 3-4 seasons where he was in his prime, and this for the price tag seems steep. Certainly I think he's the right style of player who would be massive for the club, its just the price and his. You've been linked with a few Real Madrid players, the likes of James Rodriguez (which is supposed to be off now) and of course West Ham's Dimitri Payet. These would be quite costly, though Payet may be the cheaper option (though I think he's no way near Vidal in terms of class).

Well, as expected my club has really nose dived as of late and its now to the point where by we are desperately on the verge of Non League football. Disappointingly we didn't use the potential cup tie to lift the spirit of our camp, ultimately leading to a very uninspiring F.A Cup exit to a team we should have beaten and would have surely if we didn't give them a two goal advantage when we first played. In an ideal world we would be playing you guys (as previously mentioned my son supports you guys - he's Hazard mad. My question: Do you have any good youngsters that are: A. Good enough for L2 (I'm sure most are, I did enjoyed watching Connor Clifford when we had him) B. Would be up for signing for a very poor and inconsistent L2 (which makes Mike Bassett's fictional Wirral County look Premier League and well ran in comparison). If all fails, are any of you good enough to play? I'm sure there's some who are good enough to go straight into our squad (and do well). Jesus things are so desperate now, silver lining is the fact the club should be taken over officially shortly.

Wow, I had tweeted earlier about how I had promised to take my son to see you guys play. Yet we are presented the chance to actually play you in the cup, provided my team can actually get into the next round. First Premier League team he has seen was Liverpool in the League Cup sometime ago, where Adam Coombes scored the only notable goal during his time with us. My lad loved it and even though you'll stuff us, this is quite magical in terms of football because you have earned yourself a very loyal follower in my son (so much so he wants to join this place). I can't even get him to post on my fan site or FM. LOL

Training session in football are tedious, however if you focus on 'fun' clearly your not learning. I'm afraid it just sounds like a journalist spinning out a 'non story' and making a molehill out of it. I'd be surprised if any footballer over 32 found training to be fun at all, most will naturally get to the point whereby they are rested instead and therefore annoyed that they're not pushing themselves. With regards to John Terry as a player, honestly I can't really make a call and would always bow down to the experts that see him perform more regularly than I do. Sounds like he's at the stage Alan Smith is at Notts mind!! Oh why did John Sheridan play him as a striker against Blackpool.

I have only see 2-3 full games, so I'm mostly judging you guys based on highlights but I don't rate Branislav Ivanovic - he always looks prone to making mistakes and he just has this slowness about him. Last season, I honestly he let Chelsea down quite a bit and if I was Conte I would replace him. I've said similar about Cahill here, I don't rate him either and he's certainly no John Terry. However, he's stable enough if you could sign a solid partner to go alongside him. Personally with regards to John Terry, I would offer him a one year rolling contract. Get him involved in coaching, use him as backup/rotation. Clubs seem to get rid of these types of leaders that can make important people to the development of players - especially youngsters. Steven Gerrard at Liverpool for example - a true leader and someone youngsters will look upto, likewise, I felt the same when Chesea allowed Frank Lampard go. This mistake shouldn't be repeated with John Terry, you've got a great academy, if the wages don't become an issue - I don't see why he couldn't remain as a figure head/coach.

Allegedly its all down to Mata's height and a rumour of them falling out whilst together at Stamford Bridge. Its insane though, Mata is a very good player and one who would be far more consistent regularly playing but I think it highlights what kind of manager Jose is. United will probably be reshaped (if he manages to keep the job) and perhaps other players will rejoin him. He should allow Juan to move on if he won't feature, as I would like to see him back at Chelsea. Would anyone else have him back if you had the chance?

I think Conte is starting to settle in his position, he knows which players he can rely on and he's got the best out of players like Hazard and Costa. A couple of weeks back, I watched you guys destroy Leicester City with my lad (increasingly becoming a huge Chelsea fan), Hazard and Costa bossed the match, I think the majority of chances came through them and Hazard seems to have been revived to his best (perhaps even beyond that). There was rumours going around the media that Conte may have been on the verge of being sacked (before your run), with the treadmill linking Hazard with a move elsewhere - if I recall correctly I think one team was Bayern. Once you can get a central partnership formed at the back, perhaps even replacing Terry (he still has a role to play) but what I mean is you need to find another player like him. I've mentioned in the past, I'm not convinced Cahill is of the same mould but with the reports linking certain players to Stamford Bridge, it would seem Conte has a good grip on what is needed and what can drive the club forward.

Blocking ads really does impact independent sites, its not like Facebook or your local newspapers - they use ads to top themselves up further. Jim have you considered trying to work around membership fees? Offer extras? TalkChelsea is big enough and I am sure members will see that its vital continue, a reasonable yearly fee and I am sure dedicated regulars would opt into it.

That could be the issues, or it may be related to the errors (like this). Fatal error: Out of memory (allocated 9961472) (tried to allocate 4728 bytes) in /home/jimcfc/public_html/forum/system/Db/Select.php on line 384

Is anyone else getting errors about allocated memory? It seems on my first visit, fairly regularly that I get an error about the site running out of allocated memory and then providing the amount of data which it suppresses. Also, the site is a little sluggish until I've visited a few sites (only after getting the error). Otherwise it's lightening fast.

Personally, I think Chelsea lacked a lot of structure and organization at the back last term. I don't think your CB pairing is a bad choice, IMO it's all about how they were setup and I don't think Guus Hiddink helped. Attacking wise, you played with a lot of precision from the games I watched on TV, easily breaking down sides and looking lethal. Cesc Fabregas didn't look like his usual self, majority of games I saw I felt he was the only weak link in your play (at least from an offensive point of view). Your full/wing backs looked more than capable to do their jobs. It's just for some reasons there was a lot of panic, I mean, going back to the Spurs game - they really outclassed you in the first half. Mostly due to the issues you had at the back, plus nobody was really marking but I've seen enough of that with the team I support - so I know it comes with difficult seasons and a lack of structure. When Costa and others stretched Spurs, your defence looked different and less likely to buckle. In the second half, your defence didn't seem the same as the one that started the game. It was quite weird to watch, as in recent years I would say you've been fairly solid in this department. Then again, I don't think Cahill is really a replacement for Terry.

Very exciting game in terms of openers. Two London clubs with points to prove, both of which have spent and invested wisely within their players - I do think West Ham may struggle to gain their momentum which was built last term but I am more interested to see Chelsea forge a strong defence. I watched the game between you and Spurs, the one which clinched the league title for Leicester City and I felt that your defence just added too many problems. Under Conte this shouldn't be the same case, as people wrote off Italy in the Euro's for having a weak side and I feel this can be applied to Chelsea in the Premier League. The media seem to forgetting that you have made some cracking signings and the focus as per usual seems to be on both Manchester Clubs. Chelsea will be fighting between Arsenal and Tottenham in my opinion. Good luck with this season lads!

There are some noticeable bugs which I am experiencing, I thought I would pass these on. Facebook connect doesn't work Cover pictures cannot be re-positioned (Not in Firefox, Chrome or Edge) Instagram counter doesn't like to TalkChelsea's account. Adverts are throwing script errors, I have GoogleAds set to show so not sure why this happening. Within your community the advertising URL hasn't been updated http://talkchelsea.net/advertising

Hello Folks, My names Chris, but often enough people refer to me as either my alias which isn't even anywhere near to my real name - I also on occasions posted here using that but I can't connect via FB anymore and the TC site can't find my e-mail. I'm a huge football fan, of a league two team - my son is also a converted Chelsea fan (heartbreak moment haha). I look forward to interacting here from time to time.