LDN Blue

To be honest, I'm resigned to such ridiculous decisions from the club now. Ruddy has to understand that this is basically career suicide in terms of his chances of being in the World Cup party come 2014. That's on him. As for the £10million+ we're spending, well it's stupid, but it's now expected.. The only silver lining is his wages won't be within the "top-earners" bracket by any means.

By far, the funniest rumour of the window

The Skipper.

I'm stealing this from you and posting it everywhere!

Are you Charlie Epps from Numb3rs?

It's a shame because pre-season 2012, he showed some real potential in his Chelsea career. Looked like a guy who was able to dribble down the flank and cross the ball. Unfortunately I think he just became disillusioned being behind the pecking order of Moses, Mata, Hazard and Oscar. Not to mention, the injury he picked up when he was on good form, it went downhill from there. Seville can give him more time & trust if he fills the void Navas has left. It remains to be seen if he gets that.

Brad Fridel would be great, if he wasn't with Tottenham. No way is Levy going to sell to us. As for Ruddy.. Well if he won't come either way. I mean it's Wold Cup year ffs, he's definitely going to be in contention to be one of the three Roy will take. The same reason we were rejected by Jack Butland. It's a shame, there's a lot of good keepers up for grabs this summer but none that are "back up" types.

..all because he's Nigerian, right? LMAO. I love how you think Rafa even had a say! Did Rafa have a say in singing Demba Ba? Of course not! Did Di Matteo have a say in the acquisition of Oscar?! Urgh, I can't be asked actually..

On the issue of Villas-Boas & Tottenham. Anyone think they've gotten a great asset in Franco Baldini?

LMAO the funniest comment against Emenalo I've ever heard is that: Mikel's only here because Emenalo's Nigerian too. :lol2: :lol2: :lol2:

meh, Porto are within their right to hold out for that. I mean come on, they're a selling club. but they're good at doing it because they reinvesting and bringing new guys like Mangala that they can then once again sell for astonishing prices. it's mutually beneficial. they get their rewards, the clubs they sell to get ready-made-talents.

Will be interesting to see where he's deployed and under what tactical instruction. An inside-forward in a 4-3-3 or perhaps and outright striker to compete with Torres & Ba? Pre-season should be a good indication. Good luck Andre!

LMAO. Bravo

VPN my friends. Be champions.

With respect to TOPTB, I don't fully grasp this "attitude" problem that you guys say Mikel has. I mean his role at Chelsea is so limited, it's not like he's given the chance to drive up the pitch, race his heart out and go for goal. Ramires is allowed to play that role, and that's why we love him.. He makes runs upon runs and can can produce the most composed of finishes. Last night, Mikel showed he can do that. He showed that passion people say he doesn't play with. Okay, I will admit that his performance against Rubin Kazan wasn't great and it wasn't nice. But I think you guys were also harsh on the Europa League comments.. He shouldn't have said it, because of the perception it gave off. But no-one does rate the Europa League. Sir Alex said, "that is our penalty for not qualifying" when he discussed United's drop into the EL last season.

Wasn't there talk that in 2012, Samsung were deciding as to whether they'd continue with us or not based on Champions League triumphs? You're right though, United & Arsenal have secured good commercial sponsorships in the last few seasons and we have to start maximizing on this increasingly lucrative market. -- As for Adidas, if the numbers are correct (between £200-300million) then that puts us on good money. Especially after Arsenal announced they've got a £30million/season contract with Puma for 5 years. But I think Arsenal have done better here, because their 5 year deal gives room for improved terms and a contract-auction almost in five years time. Hopefully this isn't a full 10 years, more like 5 with an option to extend.

Fabregas I understand... But no-one?! So you'd say no to Messi?

What's worse, is that they'll get him for like £15m.

If we'd signed him in 2011, then yeah sure. Now, there's no space. Can't believe he's 27 though, seems like he's been around forever

I guess the best thing about this move is that this thread will no longer be so controversial, as with what happened with Kalou

well look who finally crawled out from under a rock!

Lol come on guys. Roman Abramovich is openly in support of the FFP idea with Platini. Now if he's that happy to support it, it clearly means he's figured out a way to get past it. As for Gill, it doesn't matter what power he supposedly has, UEFA isn't going to sacrifice their financial income from the likes of City, Madrid, Barcelona and Chelsea because of this. No way.

Even funnier, Dalglish wanted Downing instead for £20million :lol2:

Lazy? I think that's a bit harsh on him. A lot gets said about Sturridge, because he has been vocal about his position preference (down the middle) and so people are under the impression he doesn't give as much effort when he's on the flanks. But I didn't see a lazy player. I saw someone who was frustrated by tried to let his football do the talking. He was at fault for trying to go for glory most of the time, however, he was too persistent with cutting inside and going for the shot. But you see the effect he's had at Liverpool playing where he wants to be played. He's not just a poacher, he's also someone you can use as a target man and bring others into the game. He's had a fantastic work-ethic when playing with Suarez, the two just compliment each other. As for Kakuta, in relation to Sturridge, it'll be hard to judge his path till we've actually seen more of him. From what's been said about him at Vitesse, he's actually taken himself down a notch and focused on letting football do the talking. Everyone knows the ability, skill and potential he has. The think about potential is when a player knows his potential, he can either let himself fall on that and just dilly-dally along or he can try to live up to that potential too early - Which I think Kakuta attempted. I think he let himself get carried away trying to be that player, but it was simply too early.