Madmax

I know he's having a good season. Tbh I'm surprised we haven't signed him already. The Russian connection, the fact that we lack someone like him and his admission that Chelsea is his favourite club should have seen him here long ago.

I like Dzagoev but he needs to be more consistent, will never make that step up from 'promising' to 'proven' otherwise.

It's been 5 months ffs.

Not much better than Bosingwa Not much better than Bosingwa.

I don't think I'll be able to support Chelsea under Roman if AvB gets sacked anytime soon. We're turning into a joke with the way things have been handled in the managerial sense, sacking AvB would just about do it for me. I do remain hopeful that all the "pressure on AvB" theories in the media are nothing more than their usual club-in-crisis headlines

Overreactions again, I see.

We've made things difficult for ourselves but there's no "massive blow" as you call it. A win against Valencia is all it takes.

Cech : Good - Leader, good form; Bad - not great on crosses, only viable GK option Ivanovic : Good - Leader, set pieces; Bad - pace, uncomfortable at CB Luiz : Good - Confidence, potential; Bad - marks opponent too tightly, challenges for impossible balls Terry : Good - Influence, passion; Bad - pace, influence Cole : Good - stamina, link up play; Bad - petulance, crossing Alex : Good - reads game well, freekicks ( ); Bad - concentration lapses, injury prone Bosingwa : Good - pace; Bad - crossing, gets sucked infield too often, bit of a donkey Mikel : Good - ball retention, knows his role well; Bad - pace, lapses of concentration Ramires : Good - stamina, work rate; Bad - touch, finishing Lampard : Good - professionalism, intelligence; Bad - pace Meireles : Good - utility man, punk rock bastard; Bad - jack of all trades but master of none Malouda : Good - plays several positions, works hard; Bad - selfishness, groupism Mata : Good - intelligence, vision; Bad - size Drogba : Good - strength, selfless; Bad - moaner, pace Torres : Good - movement Bad - confidence Sturridge : Good - confidence, pace, footwork, Bad - one footed Only named those who'll play often this season.

Sad thing is, it's not an exaggeration. Roman's lent his yacht multiple times to several players for occasions like holidays, receptions, etc.

Notice CFC's fail in the description below the youtube video - calling him Romelu 'Lukaka'

Of course job security comes into it, you're not likely to take chances on unproven talent when it's your head on the chopping block.

Will probably end up at Hamburg

Agreed

Not on those wage packets.

A big mistake was to renew long term the already staggering contracts of Lampard and Terry back when Inter and City showed interest. Essentially we now have two players who shouldn't be playing every game of every week, yet who're getting upwards of 150k each. That's close to £30 million a year!

Yes we do. Finishing second in the group will open the possibility of coming up against the likes of Bayern, Real or Barca at the pre Q/F stage.

lmfao haha Barton, you mean?

Bundesliga is arguably the most competitive league in Europe atm, in the sense that anyone can beat anyone else. Not so in England (eg Wigan - United) or Spain (lol). The Bayern game didn't show you the best of Gotze, not by a long shot. He was rather quiet, apart from the goal itself.

The real reason younger players are preferred with UFFP around the corner is that they require lesser wages than a been there-done that superstar. With the ruling that player wages cannot exceed 70% of our income under UFFP, and our revenue sources limited in comparison to other big clubs, looking towards young all-to-prove talent is a natural consequence. The tranfer prices don't come into it at all, they are amortized over the length of the contract anyway.

The CL spot would have been sealed even with a draw, Desailly's leveller was the million or billion or whatever pound goal in effect.

Neymar. I wish I could do that him.

Breaking up player power is the biggest challenge Andre faces. Unless and until the French speaking group and other 'strong characters' are told to fit in or fuck off, we'll never rise above petty temper tantrums.

Hah point out the part where I said he was solely interested in money. If you'd read my original post you'd know I alluded to the days of unquestionable commitment, days of playing matches after taking painkillers and all that. But fact remains, at this moment, his wages are entirely disproportional to what he brings to the table, as are those of most others.

Those stats are irrelevant. Scolari took over a team that had come within an inch of being European champions. AVB has a bunch of misfits.

And give up the 150k odd he picks up each week? Sure ...