Styles

He's had some serious knee and groin injuries in the last few years. It's exactly like the Shevchenko transfer, we've bought a player that is losing it physically. He was never a technical footballer and always had a pretty bad first touch. But he was quick, sharp and very mobile and he just doesn't have that anymore. And I'm watching the Copa America final now and you should see how brilliantly Suarez is playing and he cost less than half of Torres!

He tried to dribble with the ball about 4 times and he just looked so stiff, slow and had absolutely no control of the ball and was easily tackled each time. He looks slow and lacks any sort of confidence. I hate to say it but he's looking like the biggest waste of money ever.

Torres still looks like an absolute disaster.

Don't be daft, just because you haven't seen it online somewhere doesn't mean it isn't true. It is in line with the Bojan transfer and is likely to be Barcelona's new policy on all youngsters leaving the club. You're smarter than this, thinking that we have essentially entered into an agreement were we have our hands tied behind our backs. The club has lawyers, advisers, negotitaters etc who would laugh off what you're suggesting.

Trust your instinct on this one. Why on earth would we develop a player for another team? We have a hard enough time developing our own as it is! If he is any good then we're keeping him, you can rest assured on that one. The Bojan deal is that he goes to Roma for 12m and there is an obligatory buy-back option for 13m. If Roma want to block this option then will have to pay an extra 28m. Now Oriol Romeu doesn't have the sort of experience and reputation as Bojan so any further money we might have to be pay for him will be significantly less, possibly 10m max in my opinion.

I doubt we negotitated that badly to end up with such a rubbish deal. Going by the Bojan transfer Roma can pay an agreed amount to block any buy-back option. So at worst we would have to pay some more to sign him. There is absolutely no way that he can come here for 2 years do well and then head back to Barcelona, we aren't that stupid.

Well done Chelsea for realising Drogba still has a lot more to offer. Exactly! Some people don't get this at all.

From what I've gathered it isn't a buy-back clause it's a first-refusal clause i.e. if we decide to sell Barcelona have to be his first option. Now this is just what I've read on a few sites so it might not be accurate but it makes far more sense.

There are plenty of players that are predominately one footed and it doesn’t hinder them in the slightest. Somebody like Xavi for instance almost always only uses his right foot and nobody would dare say he is a bad player because of it. The players have problems are the ones that lack dexterity and speed of thought. Sadly quite a few of our players seem to fall into this catergory.

I think our team is average for two reasons. The two reasons are: we don't have midfielders who feel comfortable passing between lines i.e. if there is a gap then play the f*cking ball instead of going for the safer option. none of our wide players/strikers can consistently drop into little pockets of space and recieve the ball on the half-turn which would give us momentum to go forward. Only Drogba does it sometimes and is capable of getting the ball and using his power to turn. Torres, Malouda, Kalou, Anelka cannot recieve the ball on the half turn quickly and move forward with the ball. We don't have a single player capable of dribbling with the ball in tight areas.

He does have a point to be fair. A sense of entitlement is never a good thing.

Just because you had a succesful playing career it doesn't mean you're going to be an excellenet manager. I'd rather Terry, Lampard or whoever wanted to be manager go and prove how serious they are rather than trying to get a club job based on their ties to Chelsea.

I watched the game and he started off slowly but had a good 20 minute spell in the firslt half when he got some nice touches and played some good passes. Second half was a bit more low-key as Bayern stepped up the pressure a bit and he was subbed around 56 but it was only a 30 minute half so he practically played the whole match. I would rate him a 7/10. The final is tomorrow against Dortmund who looked very, very good in their match. Gotze is quality.

I'd prefer Drogba personally.

Thanks for the update. Just wanted to add If he plays in the qualifying rounds of the Champions League and Genk qualify for the group stages he would be cup-tied. If he plays for Genk and they don't qualify he is eligible to play for another team like Chelsea for instance. Hope a deal can be made because he is a very interesting prospect with some excellent qualities.

Glad you two agree and are not part of the 'AVB can do no wrong' brigade lol. I just hope he let's go of Kalou, that would make my summer!

I wouldn't describe trying to buy Modric as settling. He is a very, very good player and better than any signing any of our rivals have made. Of course it makes sense to buy players early to give them as much time to adapt but it isn't that easy. Besides AVB did say he wanted to assess the squad completely and identify what areas he wants to add to.

Way to put pressure on him in what are essentially meaningless games. Bad man-managment from AVB there methinks.

Think you're going to have to be a bit more paitent. We didn't know anything about AVB coming to Chelsea until it was actually happening so maybe there are a few things going on behind the scenes. It's very clear we are interested in Modric for one and have made bids for him.

New deal and new teeth! McEachran

You would expect him to say that. If he said we were desperate then any listening chairman would add an extra few million to their transfer demands. Essien will be replaced because let's face it his career as a top level footballer is more or less over. Three serious knee injuries in 3 years is no joke. He looked half the player he use to be and will continue to deteriorate with every new set-back. We are looking and we will get new cover, you can be sure of that.

Well this is easy...Drogba. Torres has done absolutely nothing meaningful as a Chelsea player. Why on earth should he be trusted to lead the line? And the age thing is laughable because If you want my opinion Drogba looks like the 27 year old and Torres the 33 year old. Drogba is our best striker and he deserves a little bit more respect. You are willing to discard a player who for 8 years has brought us joy for a player who for 5 months has looked nothing short of being the biggest waste of money in football history. The results of that poll so far is absolutely shameful.

1. Manchester United 2. Manchester City 3. Chelsea 4. Arsanal 5. Liverpool 6. Tottenham FA Cup - Manchester City Carling Cup - Manchester United Champions League - Real Madrid

Football requires you to be mobile, agile and have dexterity to your play. You tend to find these qualities in shorter players that have a lower sense of gravity than taller, more robust footballers. But then you also have exceptions like Didier Drogba, Cristiano Ronaldo and Zlatan Ibrahimovic that have outstanding technical ability and balance despite being built like cruiserweights. I think the success of Barcelona and the Spanish national team has influenced a lot of people to believe that small is the way to go. But simply being small is no good. Xavi, Messi and Iniesta are some of the greatest players to have every played the game. Say we did decide to change our approach, where are we going to find smaller players as good as them? You're not going to emulate their success just by downsizing from a more athletic approach.

The new fitness trainer looks like one cool guy. The opposition scout looks like a 16 year old kid lol.