Tortilla9

Twitter is out of control today. Latest non-substantiated rumor is that Jesus Navas was at Heathrow and therefore headed to Chelsea. 4 hrs 15 mins of this nonsense left?

SEC fan here (Bama) and the football (pointy kind) in the South is something else. Saw a game at Bryant-Denny stadium and it blew my mind to have that many crazy fans in one stadium and outside tailgating. Also saw UT v Bama at the BCS title game at the Rose Bowl a few years ago. That was fun and expensive. The NCAA what a racket.

It's like a kid doing a 15 page paper the night before its due except on a larger/expensive scale.

Italy can't buy but they can still sell.

@JamesPearceEcho Raul Meireles is staying at LFC. Good news as decent squad player. 9 m ago

Welcome. Just came back from Houston last week and the weather was a kick in the pants. Previous trip to College Station it was snowing. Off Chelsea topic, what do you think of A&M (assuming that's your team since you're in College Station) possibly leaving the Big 12 and going to the SEC?

I think we all want to believe you but it seems too good to be true.

@landennisbbc (Ian Dennis, BBC Radio 5): That's Benayoun with 1 n!! Arsenal bound - 4 m ago I'm told Yossi Bennayoun is heading for Arsenal. #BBCfootball - 6 m ago

He's very well paid and then wouldn't that also increase Frank and JT's wages? Heard United was working with Nike to make a deal more plausible but it's gone quiet. Watch them get him.

Seems like Arsenal is closing in on that one. I like him a lot but he's a little injury prone too.

I want to be cautiously optimistic that those in charge at Chelsea have a Plan B but now I'm wondering if they even had a Plan A tbh. How long is the transfer window and Chelsea wait until the last minute. That makes complete sense. Some rumors say part of the problem is getting rid of players to get new players in.

I read through the whole thread and didn't see my problem: When I open the site and click on "New Posts" a box opens "Internet Explorer not responding", the window closes down, and then reopens in a few seconds. Is there something I can do on my end to fix it?

In: Pereira and a CM (PLEASE!!!!) Out: Yossi, Kalou, possibly Malouda and/or Alex

Wenger is going to have his hands full with Arshavin, Walcott, and Malouda (if he goes). Not exactly the sharpest tools in the shed.

Your post is too rational. We all have our personal favorites, those who we can't even believe lace up their boots, styles we prefer, and more importantly we're all experts. I'm waiting to see what happens in this next day and in September and hoping AVB has a plan to cure what ails us.

I would love to see Josh stay here and play for the first team but I wonder how much he'll get. I know it's only 3 games in.... If he can't get playing time here, Martinez plays an attacking style which I can see Josh doing well in. Martinez has a good track record with young players too, managing to get the best out of them. Not saying we mirror United, but Wellbeck, others went on loans, got significant playing time, and are now playing with the first team. Just a thought during this crazy time of the season.

I know most of us hope/pray/want Josh to play first team this season. Do you really think it's going to happen? I ask because Martinez at Wigan has inquired about Josh coming to Wigan on loan and basically guaranteeing 1st team. A few thoughts: 1. When will he get to play first team at Chelsea? I'd love to see it here but when? I know Emanalo said no Josh loan on CTV but.... 2. Martinez teams play attractive football and I can see Josh fitting into it quite easily and getting experience which wouldn't be a bad thing.

On the Modric thread somebody pointed out he'd (Modric) get a lot of abuse from Turkish fans so that move seems questionable. Basically, we don't have a clue.

According to LigTV, Galatasaray have agreed terms with Benayoun and the 31 yr old playmaker is on the verge of completing a move to the Instanbul club. Seems everybody is on the "verge" of doing something.

Norwich game - Torres wasn't great. Drogba wasn't great but it's generally and rightfully been overlooked because of his concussion. Midfield continues to be the Bermuda Triangle out there where attacks enter and never leave. I just want to see the transfer window closed with hopefully a few new faces that can actually move the ball FORWARD. Once the dust settles let's see what happens. Like most I agree these 3 games haven't been wonderful displays of football. BUT let's take a deep breath (note to self) and focus on the marathon that's the season.

Links all over the place saying Yossi has been given permission by the Israeli NT to fly to England for a Spurs medical. Does that mean he's part of the Modric deal? Can't see us selling him to freakin' Levy without getting something back after all this Modric drama. http://on-msn.com/nCuE6W

I don't think Meireles is as bad a player as some people. He's not a CM wizard but he's not sh*t on a stick either. He can play the ball quickly, he looks to distribute, he can shoot. I could actually see him linking up well with Mata and the forwards. He may not be first choice but I don't think he's the worst thing to happen either IF it happens.

While we're at it can we also drop Frank because he's been just as bad or worse.

I think Torres is a better striker than Dzeko yet Mancini has managed to fit him into a style of play that suits Dzeko's strengths and the squad's. I don't see that with Torres whether he's playing good or shit. The style still seems to be we're Chelsea of 2-3 years ago when we were in our prime and we're still going to play the same way no matter what. The Chelsea time machine has not changed. Torres at his best is playing with the ball QUICKER, not slower, not sideways, not backwards, forwards and quicker. For God's sake, Torres played at Kuyt at Liverpool who has the touch of a tree trunk. BUT Kuyt (and others) played quickly and played forward. Torres could create something out of nothing even at Liverpool. The difference he received the ball sooner and was able to attack quicker. Now, defenders everywhere know Chelsea will receive the ball in the middle of the park, pass it backwards, sideways, and maybe then go forward. It's too predictable and too stagnant.

Winning always masks inadequacies of a team. What is frustrating is this team is supposed to challenge for titles, trophies, etc. The team itself says that's their goal. Every team is going to go through stretches where they grind out wins - fair enough. But Chelsea is grinding out wins against Norwich and West Brom. Have you watched and felt a spark watching the team play except for a few minutes here and there? They are grinding out the offense and its painful to watch at times. The one thing the last three games has reinforced is the need for a creative force (or two or three) on this team and players who can play with a quicker tempo. The slow methodical tempo is mind-numbing, boring, and I don't see it winning titles, trophies.