Luke

We must remember his age, he wont be going straight into the first team, he is seen as Drogba's long term replacement, working together on the training ground can only be a good thing. Romelu will get 10 mins here, 15 there to begin with. Anelka is gone imo, which leaves the RF/RW position vacant for Sturridge perhaps??

Interesting, where did you get that info from? The net, or someone in the know?

After Swansea clinching promotion to the Premier League thanks to a Scott Sinclair hat trick, I got thinking about what happened to our former players over the years, mainly youngsters, how did their careers develop afer leaving Stamford Bridge, was it good for them to leave, or was it deemed a mistake, and where are they now: Going back 10/15 years or so and looking at some of our young talent, the likes of Jody Morris, Michael Duberry, Neil Clement, Jon Harley, Mark Nicholls, Courtney Pitt... Jody Morris and Jon Harley were two players that I really loved and really hoped that we had kept hold of, sadly though, them leaving was the start of their downfall so to speak, they didnt progress as I hoped they would, Morris had unsuccessful spells at Leeds and Millwall and is now playing for St Johnstone. Harley is now playing for Notts County after moving around a few Championship sides, namely, Watford, Burnley and West Ham. Duberry, likewise found life tough after leaving Chelsea, after having unsuccesful spells at Leeds and Stoke, he had a successful spell at Reading before joining up with Jody Morris again at St Johnstone, he has since been released and is without a club. Clement is one of our success stories, he spent 10 years with WBA, 2 of which were spent on the sidelines with a bad injury, he had a brief spell on load at Hull City but was forced to retire in 2010. Mark Nicholls is probably our most travelled former player EVER, after leaving CFC he has played for a staggering 19 different clubs in England and Scotland, he never reached the heights that his early promise showed, he is currently playing for Walton Casuals in the Ryman Division One at the age of 34. Courtney Pitt was one that I was very surprised to see leave, he had bags of potential and great pace, he turned down a new contract at Chelsea to join Portsmouth when Graham Rix was in charge, Rix again signed him for Oxford United, Pitt now plays for Telford. Moving on a few years and you think of the likes of Carlton Cole, Robert Huth, Alexis Nicolas, Mikael Forssell, Sam Dalla Bona. Cole was a great young player, who remembers his 35 goals for the reserves in 2002/2003? (I think thats the correct year?). He had bags of promise but he even admits himself that he didnt work hard enough to build upon his early promise, coupled with the takeover in 2003 which resulted in an influx of big name signings in his position, he was pushed out on loan which didnt really work out for him, he eventually signed for West Ham and he had knuckled down and improved alot IMO, he is a strong powerful forward with an eye for goal. Robert Huth was another player that didnt live up to his expectations during his time at Chelsea, he was seen as a big strong centre back with a rifle of a shot on him, he still has these attributes at Stoke, coupled with experience, he has turned out to be a decent defender and a danger in the oppositions box. Alexis Nicolas only played 1 first team game for Chelsea, at home to Charlton, and his performance didnt surprise me, he was a solid, clever midfield player that had shown great promise when playing in the reserves, sadly he left CFC in 2005 and signed for Brighton, before retiring to persue a career in business studies, he was last seen on a football pitch playing part time for St Albans in 2007. Forssell was once dubbed the hottest young striker in European football, we all know about his injuries so I wont bore you with that, since leaving Chelsea in 2005 he played under Steve Bruce at Birmingham and seemed to be back to his best before suffering yet another knee injury, he is now playing for German side Hannover 96. Sam Dalla Bona was a solid midfielder that performed well int he youth and reserve teams and broke into our first team, playing over 70 games for us before moving to AC Milan, he had 1 successful season with them winning the Champions League before he was loaned out to several Italian teams, he has had spells at Bologna, Lecce, Sampdoria and Napoli, in 2009 he was hoping to sign for West Ham while Zola was manager but he failed to secure a contract, he then trained with Fulham but again, didnt earn a contract, he is now playing to Italian side Atalanta. Feel free to discuss and add other young players that were once on our books and tell us where they are now etc... Luke.

Man Boobs = Moobs.

Theres no point even speculating until we have a new manager tbh.

Pep wouldnt leave Barca I wouldnt have thought. I think Hiddink then in a few years AvB.

Most Exciting: Gullit Vialli Hughes Torres Sheva Crespo Robben Least Exciting: Ben Haim Sidwell Turnbull Jarosik Jokanovic Hilario Sullivan The list could go on and on lol.

Hiddink and Van Basten or Villas Boas then? Does Zola fit into this at all?

Would Guus be willing to do both the Turkey and Chelsea job for the time being then take on the Chelsea job full time in October?? In an ideal world, yes. I'd welcome Guus back with open arms, he was a breathe of fresh air in 2009, he had the team playing great football, the players loved him, the fans loved him, he had respect, dignity, and was a true gent. I really hope we get the next appointment right, exciting times ahead for CFC.

Demand to choose not only your own assistant, but the WHOLE of the backroom staff. Demand to pick your own transfer targets, tactics, starting line ups. Have a plan A B C D E F..... Play sexy, attacking football. Pick players on current form, dont be afraid to drop a player if he is playing shite. We need 2 top quality players for each position, a blend of promising youth and experienced world class winners.

Gonna watch MOTD, then I think I might pop on our DOUBLE SEASON dvd and remember the good times with Carlo. Tomorrow morning we can all look onwards and upwards, CHELSEA FOOTBALL CLUB is whats important, lets remember that. KTBFFH

I really hope he is wearing blue next season!!

When the dust settles this could be a very big turning point for CFC. The board say that they want to look at the long term vision for the club, well, first things first, how many players do we have over the age of 30 now?? I can see a lot of changes over the summer now, depending on who the manager is, and what views he has with regards to the first team playing squad.

I voted Villas-Boas as he seems the logical and more likely option. Although I think we would all LOVE to see Jose return and finish the job he started, the same with Guus, he was a breathe of fresh air for the club during his 5 month stay. Redknaap isnt an option in my book. Please please PLEASE dont hire someone like Benitez, or Avram lol.

Why would Pep leave Barcelona? Jose or Guss depends on if they even want to the job again. (god, imagine if Jose came back lol). Villas-Boas would be a great appointment, perhaps with Franco in a coaching or assistant role??

What I want to see now is a young, hungry manager, that can choose his OWN assistant, back room staff, formation, summer signings and which players he wants to get rid of, TOTAL control of first team affairs... I wont hold my breathe..........

I really hoped that the board would show a bit of common sense and keep Carlo until the end of his contract, bidded farewell to him and got in a young manager like Villas-Boas for the season after next, but no, they've jumper the gun again, Carlo is a GOOD manager, the ONLY manager to have won the double for us, in his first season too. It wasnt Carlo's decision to let players leave last summer it was the board who were looking to cut the wage bill, these players werent replaced and when we hit a bad run of form, coupled with injuries, we didnt have the cover to pull us out of our bad patch, is that Carlo's fault, partly, yes, but the board have to take a long hard look at themselves, who is there available that is better for the club than Carlo right now? Guus Hiddink is the only man that'll spring to mind, but will he come back? Yes, we havent had the best of seasons, but I think its really sad that its always the manager that takes the blame, yeah its his job to send the team out with the right tactics, but what happens on the pitch isnt always in his hands. The club have yet again made the wrong decision in my eyes, we are becoming that club to avoid for managers, who wants to manage a club wherre the board will sack you at the drop of a hat. Bad decision for me.

Just popped into my head, how about Van Der Vaart now that the Spuds arent in the CL next season? No doubt we would ebd up paying a lot more than the 8m they brought him for, but worth a shot??

Scholes can pick out a good pass, and going back 10 years he used to be a great striker of a ball from the edge of the area, he lets himself down by constantly fouling, his tackling is awful and as a midfield player thats played in the PL for 20 years, its really bad that he still constantly... can not tackle. Agre with Theo Walcott, just a 1 trick pony, he will go the same way as Michael Owen when he lost his pace.

Oh definately, I think David Luiz is an excellent player with great potential, is he really a CB though? Sure, he can grow into a solid one, but with his attributes he can play anywhere across the back 4 or in midfield, I think we should capitalise on that and use him wisely, not just chuck him in at CB straight away, let him learn his trade, get used to the EPL and see where he plays best after a full season perhaps?? Like you say, Ramires has trown himself into silly challenges and broken our rhythm, likewise Luiz can do this too, the difference is, he has done it in and around our own penalty area, he will learn though, he will be a great player for CFC dont get me wrong!! (I know im going to get lambasted for even suggesting Luiz isnt the best thing since sliced bread on this forum lol).

Carlo to stay for one more season then bring in Villa-Boas on a 10 year contract and HONOUR it.

This seasons for me.

I too have been thinking about Essien this season, and quite frankly he has been average it best, when the rumours about AC Milan coming in for him began, I for one wouldnt be disappionted at seeing him sold. Bosingwa isnt good enough as a defender imo, he should be sold. Zhirkov isnt going to get a chance under Carlo, I think we know that, if Carlo stays, Yuri will be sold. Anelka hasnt really got a look in during the last few games of this season, I can see him moving to the MLS. Out: Bosingwa Essien Zhirkov Anelka In: Kaka Possibly a winger A return of Sturridge will be like a new signing Next seasons squad: I can see us using 442 at times as well as a 451/433 formation. Cech will always be No1, Turnbull should remain as his No2, Whats happening with Hilario?? Ash @ left back with Bertrand/Van Aanholt as his understudy, with the other going out on loan to a PL side. Terry as captain, and as his first choice partner at CB... imo should be Alex for the time being simply because he is a solid defender and has more pace than Ivanovic. What about Luiz I hear you ask? Well I think the game against Man Utd showed that he can have momentary lapses of concentration, he is still learning his trade in the EPL, he puts his foot in sometimes when he shouldnt (Fulham penalty), I think he should, for the time being, learn his trade from right full back, here he can use his pace, skill on the ball etc to get forward, he has great stamina to get up and down the touchline and is more suited to playing full back than Ivanovic. Luiz could also be used as a holding midfielder in the absense of Mikel in a 451, he would need to be slightly more disciplined for this role though. Okay, now the tricky bit, Midfield... In a 451 I can see Mikel being our first choice holding midfielder, playing neat passes, tracking runs, doing the dirty work, Ramires and Lampard can play in the 2 more advanced central roles, taking it in turns to play deeper or bomb forward, we all know Lampard is world class at finding space and arriving into the box at the right time, Ramires showed vs MCFC at the Bridge that he has the skill to bomb forward at the right time, they both have the vision to pass from deep also. The great thing is, Benayoun can play either of these roles also, and Josh will, I hope, get more game time next season. In a 442 I can see Mikel or Ramires being sacrificed for a more attacking formation, Benayoun can play from the right if needed, and Malouda from the left, with Lampard in the middle with either Mikel or Ramires sitting behind him. If we were to sign someone like Kaka, he could be used in a more advanced role instead of Lampard, or with Lampard being player sitting a little deeper. Wingers: In a 451 I think Malouda will always occupy the left hand side, with a new signing, either Kaka or a young tricky winger playing from the right, with them swapping positions during the game like Duff and Robben used to. The ONLY time I see Kalou getting a game is when we are using this 451/433 formation, in a 442 its always going to be Drogba and Torres up front, which incidently I think should be given a chance, let them work on this formation during pre season and see how things go. If Drogba is used as the lone striker, he will drop deep occasionally and look to play others in. If its Torres, I can see a midfielder pushing up to play off him, much like Gerrard used to do at Liverpool, draw defenders out so Torres can make runs in behind to recieve through balls, we would need a midfielder with good vision and passing abilities, is Lampard up to this? Or do we need a Kaka etc?? Line ups: Cech Luiz Alex Terry Cole Mikel Ramires Lampard Kaka Drogba Torres Or something like: Cech Ivan Luiz Terry Cole Ramires Mikel Benayoun Malouda Lampard Torres Or in a 433/451: Cech Luiz Alex Terry Cole Mikel Ramires Lampard Benayoun Malouda Drogba And just a quick Carling Cup line up: Turnbull Ferreira Luiz Bruma Bertrand McEachran Benayoun Ramires Kakuta Sturridge Torres

Carrick Scholes Gerrard Barry Joe Cole