Madmax

I hope it's a good playmaker that he's talking about. That's the one position that needs attention if Carlo wants to continue with the 4-diamond-2.

We're still talking about Torres. zzzzzz ....

Guess Kalou saw Josh do a stepover which ended in him NOT falling face first on the ground Seriously though, I can see where he's coming from about the interaction with the senior established stars and what a confidence boost it would be for him. Hope it only motivates him to push on even harder because the ability is there for everyone to see, but only a grounded, hard-working attitude will determine if he makes it or not.

Good news that. Desperately need bodies in midfield. If we could get a really good creative player, we'd be set.

Great stuff from everyone .... KTBFFH!

Explains why he didn't make the travelling party for Germany. Can only be good for him to have regular first team footie. Hope he does well for himself and gives Carlo a selection headache come next season

WOOT!

This is all bollocks for the simple reason that Ashley doesn't do anything face-to-face. We all know he's a text guy

All the same, it's not as bad as you make it sound

So Drogba is just average then? After all he always scores against Arsenal. Mikel is not the best defensive midfielder in the world, but the kid's got potential to be one. To say he's nowhere near good enough to start for Chelsea is ignorant and atrocious. Give the guy some credit, it isn't even his natural position. And I prefer to judge him by how he performs in 40+ games, rather than just two in which the entire team was below-par.

No Rhys Taylor? Is he injured? Good to see Mancienne in there. Hope he gets a chance to impress. Cork and Franco don't make the trip, and guess they're getting closer to the exit door.

Read this.

Really? You considered Sheva to be a superstar when he joined us? Great player no doubt, but he was bought by Roman, not Mourinho, maybe because Roman wanted a fellow Russian speaker around Cobham. Anyway, signings go wrong, just as some go right. If nothing else, a big-name atleast sells shirts.

Good call. Too many players at over-inflated prices today. Breaking the bank is feasible only if we have eyes on a truly outstanding superstar.

Should be a great workout for the WC returned players and ones returning from injury like Bena and Yuri. Good news about the Drog travelling with the team, doesn't look like he'll play but good for him to be doing some light training work with the others I suppose. On the surface of it, the result doesn't matter, but it can only be good for the team psychologically to win games ahead of the season's start. Hope to catch some of the action online

A good read, as all of Zonal Marking's articles are. The key with Mikel is that his ball control and touch has improved dramatically. This is really great news for the others in front of him, because with a good first touch and good ball control he can set attacks on their way quickly if his passing is accurate. Also by playing in that position for 3 years now his vision has improved a great deal and last season I saw him deliver telling killer passes, be they through-balls or lofted ones. The best example is the FA Cup game against Cardiff where his wonderful pass lead to Drogba's opener :

Didn't watch the game, so no comments on that. A good experience for the youngsters methinks. Would have wanted Franco to make more of an impact though. Guess he isn't meant to make it here.

I'm happy with everything tbh, credit to the mods, admins and every member It's all top stuff and doesn't need any chopping-changing in the most part, though it would be great if we avoid threads going off-topic and full of back-and-forth arguments. Maybe a card system for warnings can be trialled. Though as I said, it's all good and there's nothing that I think is really pressing.

All that is okay, and to answer your question, no I haven't watched him play, but by calling him the best in his position in the world, you rate him above proven performers like Terry, Vidic, Puyol, Lucio and the likes, and that is too premature. I don't doubt the qualities you see in him, but calling him that is very premature.

Seriously?

Haha I'm 6 foot 4, but not the most mobile, though I would jump right in even if Uncle Carlo asked me to be Rhys Taylor's understudy Oh but I turn 21 in December, so he better call me quick otherwise I won't be able to join the squad under the 'unlimited under-21 players rule'.

oopsie-daisy. totally forgot kalouless.

Yes he is! Captain of the FA Youth Cup winning side. How can we let him go?

One point agenda : Keep Ess fit. It's unreal how much he's missed when he's injured.

It'll be a shame if he goes without having a chance to prove himself for a full season in the first team squad.