coolhead23

MY FIRST DAY: PART FIVE JOHN TERRY I was very nervous. I remember walking in and knowing the other guys having played on schoolboy forms with them already. We were delegated our duties for the year and mine were to clean three first-team dressing rooms at the training ground and I was on the kit as well for matchdays. I also had to clean three players' boots and I got Dennis Wise, Dave Lee and Eddie Newton. The first day's training wasn't much, a light jog and some tests. RYAN BERTRAND The first thing I remember was walking in here and meeting Jose Mourinho. It was a bit crazy and surreal, especially as I was only 15 years old. To go from being in awe of the players at Gillingham to coming here was unbelievable. Mourinho was fantastic to me as well, he welcomed me and treated me in exactly the same way as the first team regulars, he was a top man and that helped. ROSS TURNBULL I just remember meeting everybody, it was my first move as a player so it was quite a big deal and a completely new experience, plus I was moving down from Middlesbrough to London. John Terry was the first player I met; with him being the captain, he obviously explained that if there was anything I needed just to give him a call, but everybody was helpful and made me feel welcome which is always really nice. http://www.chelseafc...2792683,00.html I dont think the boot cleaning tradition is anymore there now with the new generation specially after the influx of money in modern day football. Those were the days when the juniors actually respected the seniors.

MY FIRST DAY: PART FOUR PETR CECH I arrived at Gatwick and was driven to the hotel at Chelsea Village. I was taken to Harlington, which I was amazed at, because I didn't expect it to be the way it was. I spoke briefly with Jose Mourinho and various members of the staff. Some of the players were away on international duty. I arrived, and then a few of the Portuguese boys like Paulo Ferreira arrived shortly after, there were also a lot of youth and reserve players around at the time. GARY CAHILL My first day was down here at Cobham. My abiding memory was having to go through a tunnel of players as they kicked and punched me; I think they call it the tunnel of beats, that was the first day. I remember going out to training and having a chat with all of the English boys who I knew before I joined. I thought it was just going to be a normal training session, and then they all told me I had to go through the tunnel, so that was a bit of a shock, but there wasn't much I could do about it. The tunnel of Beats! something new http://www.chelseafc.com/page/LatestNews/0,,10268~2792475,00.html

I dont think during AVB it had so much of momentum which is the case now specially after the Hazard signing. As much as i want Hulk to come to Chelsea i think 38m is too much for him and we should better move on rather than agree to the ridiculous price that Porto wants for him.

This has got the Modric saga written all over ... i hope we dont make the same mistake of dragging this way too long, Set a price and if they are not ready to sell, move on (because we cant do a Barca)

True! They have been coming up with some real decent stuff of late.

West Ham would be a good deal for Lukaku and i hope he get enough playtime to showcase his talent. I hope Lukaku reaches the same highs or even beyond like Struridge at Bolton on loan rather than the Josh at Swansea on loan.

Nice and interesting article which has been started on Chelseafc.com. Something which all of us can relate to "our first day" at work, school, college, etc. Enjoy! Part 1: Torres, Malouda http://www.chelseafc.com/page/LatestNews/0,,10268~2792558,00.html Part 2: Mata, Romeu, Hutchinson http://www.chelseafc.com/page/LatestNews/0,,10268~2792534,00.html I m sure there are more parts to follow .....

Nice Read http://www.weaintgotnohistory.com/2012/7/3/3133988/a-letter-from-roman-abramovich-to-daniel-levy

No, please! We are looking for footballers not sprinters!

Chelsea signs a deal with Delta Air Lines. Another piece of revenue generating deal being done. Impressive! Suddenly we want to sign everyone and vice versa ... Power of the Champions! http://www.chelseafc.com/page/LatestNews/0,,10268~2821603,00.html

Modric takes United's midfield to another level or for any good team for that matter, which is something we wouldnt want to see at this point of time. So either he stays at Spurs or goes to RM, i wouldnt be worried at all.

Well the others team aren't as stupid as us to buy someone for an inflated price (City was but looks like they are learning too quick). The rumor mills suggests that RM would table a 30M bid which i guess would be enough to scare off United (who are very smart in their dealings) and we are anyways too busy in tabling a ridiculous bid for Hulk. In my opinion after last season Modric saga (where we were the ones insulted) we shouldn't go for him at all rather let the player plead his club to come to us. If not then there are enough fishes in the sea.

If Modric is going and not coming to Chelsea then i hope he moves to RM rather than moving to United which would be very devastating.

Wouldnt mind anyone other than Mikel!

I guess there comes a time when we stop going to daddy for each and every thing, we need to get independent. Roman has been shelling out money ever since he has taken over and honestly it is time that we become self sufficent. I know it is not a big deal for him to shell out some extra pounds but it has to stop somewhere. 38m is way too much for a player who is not proven plus we arent in a bidding war as well, just being held to ransom by the club. I agree with some of people here that we can buy some one cheap and utilise the remaining money for better use. It time for the club to start being smart and also for all us fans to stop creating fantasy squads.

You just dont shell out £38m on an unproven player in the English league. We have already taken that gamble with Hazard. Besides why should we be held to random by other clubs, if the player wishes to play for the European Champions then let him force his exit (like Alexis Sanchez who was quoted at 35m+ by the club and he ended up at Barcalona for 23m something). There are plenty of them out there, if only our club would look for them.

http://www1.skysports.com/football/news/11661/7797338/Ivanovic-denies-agent-claims "Reports on Tuesday suggested that the Serbia defender had no intention of quitting west London following comments to the media by Vlado Borozan." Hope this clears the air.

I believe before we start talking of getting the youth introduced to the big bad world of football, the priority should be who would be the manager and stability along with it. because the futures of these young guns in waiting would be solely on who is on the hot seat and his philosophies. If he is a risk taker than the youth have a real good shot at their careers within Chelsea but if he someone who plays it safe then the chances would go down considerably for them. Other than that it has been a mixed bag so far, so being good on their loan tenures and some not so good. It would be too early to say where would these guys land up.

I think what is important is to get specialist in each position, that is the mark of a strong team. For us the right side has been always a hole ever since Joe Cole's decline in form and then he moving out. We have tried to gamble to Struddige and Ramires last season with mixed luck and if i m not wrong i dont think we have anyone in the youth ranks as well to fit into the RW position. I know we would say Marin is the one who would come in that position because he a versatile player who can play across the line but he wouldnt be drafted into the first team right away (I really have my doubts). So what are the options for us, get back Danny boy in that position and hamper his progress as a striker or get in Ramires and create a void in the middle. Makeshift plans wouldnt work in the long term, so we need a young and established RW who can be backed up by Marin. Not saying we should get Hulk (he is really costing the club hell lot of money) only but a RW who can do the tirelessly running and crossing on the flanks eg: someone like Valencia

I m not saying get Hulk, i m saying get in a RW because that is the need of the hour. Again Ramires and Lampard/Mikel/Essien/Romeu r the ones who would bridge the gap between the offense and defense. because of Ramires pace and energy is why he is more needed at the center. Last season we played Sturridge in the wings and by the latter half of the season he just vanished. We cant take the same risk again. And if it is about investing in a player than would prefer a RW rather than CM at this point of time.

Come on, mate. Ramiers is better at the center and has really done well in there making it his own. He wasnt much of an impact when he was playing in the wings for the few games which he was there so why push him there unless there is no other option. We need to utilize his pace and energy in the middle and not at the side. Again by pushing him into the right we would then need to look out for a CM to fill in the void. Better get a RW with Marin as the backup and we dont have to worry abt it for few years.

Luiz is such a character. Great to have him.

U just cant go ahead and sign a striker when u have 3 in waiting. Signing a right winger makes more sense at this point of time because 1.we dont have a specialist RW. I know Marin can play because he is more of a versatile player but again i believe he would be used more of backup still we need a cover of him if he starts in that position. 2. I dont think we have a RW coming from our youth rank as well (correct me if i wrong here) 3. Let's not have a makeshift plan like last year which just didnt work for us. We can strengthen the entire midfield this window and provide the platform for the strikers to perform because then there shouldnt be any complaints.

Yes the hype around Josh is a little over but then the guy has talent/potential. The unfortunate part in his case is that he has not been able to showcase but then again he is just 19. He would surely get his chance under the sun to perform, so right now it is too early to be worried about Josh. He needs to have more game time whether here or somewhere else on loan and i believe he should come out good. Until last year, Danny boy was not even getting starts in the team and look what those 4 months did to him. So let's be patience and stop jumping the gun.

I would say better than 1 in 10 weeks or 0 in 10 weeks. It is a good sign he is among the goals and let not judge him with his the price tag, because of it the expectation automatically go up 10 times.