bombayblue™

Put it as mildly as you like, Cahill was at fault for the first goal, let his man get away from him. He did make up for it with a fantastic strike though. Ivanovic was sloppy at times, ofcoure he did score the goal, but he is there primarily to be solid defensively. Torres when close to the action got well involved, when he drifted away, he seemed like a lost soul. 5 of our 6 goals have been either penalties or scored by defenders in open play, sixth one being offside. That is a worrying sign about what we're doing in the final third after all this possession and attacking play. This may seem like a doom & gloom post, but what I'm trying to say is let's not get over excited. Hazard is a class act took to the PL like a fish to water, Oscar shows signs of brilliance but isn't ready yet, needs to adapt to the pace and physical nature of the league. I'll still say we look destined for making the CL next year and anything above that is bonus for me.

Luiz says on twitter, he won't be playing tonight due to a knock on his knee.

Super Cup Club World Cup Top 4 with being back to best team in London! Exit in CL only to a powerhouse

Marin is so talented yet so selfish, once inside the box he always looks to shoot. May be I'm being harsh and he is just trying to impress.

You may be asked to provide proof that it is made out of Fire Retardent material.

Yes, he has. http://www.chelseafc.com/page/LatestNews/0,,10268~2849259,00.html

Firstly he hasn't signed yet. Robinho? Secondly, if he does arrive, we will have players leaving so other numbers open up like 15 of Malouda.

Look where Moneyball got Liverpool. On a serious note, I agree with what you say to a certain extent, but where does it end? If you intend to judge players from all perspectives over all the concerned factors, surely you'd want to account for the team they played for as well. Would Desailly have done better in this team, or would Carvalho and Terry push him to the bench without the armband. Again, if the question is who is of more worth Terry would be ahead of Carvalho. But I doubt that's the question, for me it was about ability.

Alas, your arguments against others' judgments of 'assuming things' lead you to make the same for mine. I have followed him over the years and trust me, 3 years back I would be the person most excited at his signing. My verdict isn't based on he is not a big name, neither having Kalou's 21 and nor because we didn't spend a lot of money I have seen him, much like I've followed the Bundesliga, he was reduced to a bit part role at Werder Bremen last season THAT forms the major reason of my assessment apart from the fact that we have Hazard, Mata, Sturridge(Adapted to the league and more physical), Ramires and the impending arrival of Hulk as his main competitors for the 3 positions he can play viz. RW, LW AM(hole).

The topic seems to be about best defenders in Chelsea history, which at face value would suggest judging on abilities rather than longevity. Surely, if we were to go by your logic, Ron Harris would be the best defender we've ever had and also make Eddie Mcreadie with 410 appearances a better Left Back than Ashley Cole at 261.

Desailly only played 156 in the PL and was an automatic choices as captain, quite like JT. Carvalho on the other hand had to break Gallas' partnership with JT and has had to compete with top defenders like Alex and Ivanovic for the chance to partner JT. JT over the time Carvalho was here played 195 games in the PL, that's just 10 more games every season after being an automatic choice. So I don't agree that judging the player on his number of games makes sense,

Carvalho and Desailly for me Carvalho and Desailly are both better defenders than John Terry but Terry alongwith his leadership qualities makes for a better pick in a team.

I can only see him being a Super Sub kind of role

Cech has to contend with a high number of 1 on 1's thanks to our high defensive line and we aren't talking abt the 1 on 1's which start with the striker getting free inside the box. Won't swap him with anyone else in the world atm, Casillas is suspect at free kicks and crosses

AVB said that when the players score and turn round, they will see the bench celebrating as much as them.

Greatest defender of the time that I've seen would have to be Maldini

Wholesale changes are possible to a certain degree as if we lose top buck earners like Anelka, Malouda, Kalou etc. Anelka is supposedly making 95-100k a week, by losing him you could get a player for 12MP on 60k a week with a 6 year contract. If we lose 4-5 such players, we have an automatic budget of 50-60MP. Put in 15-20 MP and you could get 3-4 quality players of 21-24 age.

Thanks for posting mate.

It would be difficult to judge how well an established striker from the Italian league past his formative years would adapt to the Premier League.

Ashley still has a a couple of seasons in him. I doubt he'd want to come, considering many top teams are looking for a left back. Besides I'd like to give PVA and Bertrand a chance before buying a Left Back.

Had gone to attend the Indian Formula 1 Grand Prix and ended up missing the first half. Had British Arsenal fans around me and let's just say things got fiesty.

He is more of a winger, wide forward sorts. I wouldn't put him down as a striker who leads the line.

Oh well Barcelona don't either. Neither did they with their earlier starting front 3 of Ronaldinho Eto'o and Messi.

It is just to increase his price when we do sell him.

Oh, I shall wait for a call too then assuming I'll be one of the 20 friends you make 10k richer.