dodojojo

Success! Thanks to IrishBlue. Looking forward to following the games here if I can't watch.

GuillemBalague Guillem Balague I guess Chelsea fans dont care and Lpool fans dont either but Torres didnt say what was published today TonyBarretTimes Tony Barrett Torres' people bemused by quotes attributed to him. Apparently he's given no interviews to anyone of late. Pity Balague and Barrett have to do this because LFC fans are bitter and really gullible. Won't bore you with the details but as usual the bitter ones claim Torres slagged them off in an 'exclusive' interview with a Swedish paper. Cue lots of crap about Torres. Complete silence after confirmation that Torres didn't do the interview. Will they ever learn? Keep preaching to us about the Sun though. Btw, Balague and Barrett are both Reds before anyone accuses them of covering for Torres. Balague though is close to Torres camp.

Okay, can't do it now but will try it later tonight! Thanks. Now I can follow the matches while I'm away from a TV or computer.

I read the forum in mobile formatting on my phone but otherwise do not post or worst, am unable to follow match day commentary. In order to log in, I have to choose the 'full forum' option. But that makes the forum very difficult, almost impossible to read on my phone. Is there a way for me to log in in the mobile format? If not, log in with the full forum and then revert it to the mobile look? Thanks.

Too bad I was hoping for a tough match to see where Chelsea really stand. Let's face it, none of the teams in Asia were very tough. And AV were a few days behind in training and travel to the east.

Ok, thanks for all the info. This helps. Seriously, I wouldn't mind paying for games but in this day and age, why hasn't there be an affordable way for fans to pay for games live, replays on demand etc. I would totally pay for that. But it seems like they funnel you into cable/satellite dish deals. I don't cable and am certainly not going to pay $150 monthly especially when there's no guarantee the game I want is being broadcast.

Are they on demand? Or more likely, on a fixed schedule? That's an issue too as being the US, the time difference could be a hassle.

Question. Is this true for all Chelsea games? Due to TV rights, I know once the season starts, the games will not be live on CTV. But does the site replay games on the same day? I may be tempted to pay for membership if that is true. I'm a bit of sick of stop and go streams. And I can't afford the ridiculous pay structure that my local cable company requires me to pay in order to get the soccer channels. Not sure yet if I'll be okay with watching the games on delay though. But willing to see how it goes. I won't be able to watch Saturday's game due to a weekend trip so it would be nice to catch a replay on CTV. Oh, are replays frequent? Or on demand? Just realized I won't be able to catch the 5:15 replay either.

I agree with the reasoning that if you have a player who has hit a certain ceiling and isn't good enough, then you let them go. It's like a law firm, they bring in law school grads at 140K a year and give them 5 years or so to get on the partner track. It's ruthless, the law firm will let the associates go even if they're doing their job but it's clear they won't crack the partner level. They just bring in younger grads. Now will the younger grads be better than the 5 year associate? Maybe, maybe not. But the law firm already knows the 5 year guy won't ever make partner while there's still hope for success for the new grad. This happens every single year for law firms. Most burn out or are let go before hitting the jackpot of making partner at a large firm. Kalou at 25 is at awkward stage of his career. He's not veteran enough to provide solid play and leadership as a good dressing room guy/sub. But at 25, he's no longer a youth and he's unlikely to get better. This is it folks. I don't feel strongly either way about Kalou staying but I can understand a club policy to have a 21 year old get a chance over a 25 year old for a valuable squad place/playing time. And not to mention the possible cost savings. We're not talking about replacing a superstar. And for those who point out Torres' performances compared to Kalou's...Torres is a different type of investment of course. His ceiling is being one of the 3-5 top strikers in the world. Admittedly, he has failed to hit that high, but we know the potential is there and we have of course seen it in full bloom in the past. Can anyone say the same for Kalou?

I think this is logical. Mancini will simply settle for too many draws and will 2/3 into the season realize the one pointers won't be enough...except Mancini won scudetti with Inter and failed in the CL. Isn't that why he was replaced by Mourinho, who finally got them over the top? Most logically then is that Mancini will fall short in the PL and CL :eyebrows:

Explain it by saying Barcelona and Real Madrid. I'd be overjoyed with the CL. And would gladly take 3rd for it.

By what criteria? Opinion? Give Ancelotti his due, his accomplishments so far are better than AVB's. Let's compare in 10-15 years. But give Ancelotti some credit.

Look who's baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack... Why are all three of them walking like old men?

Malouda would be okay if he'd just stay wide and stop thinking he's some scoring extraordinaire. Why must he always end up in the middle of the pitch and letting fly 30 yard shots? He would make the team so much better by providing the much needed width.

They're doling it out by alphabetical order on a daily basis. They picked Arsenal 5th so many readers are thinking it's going to be Man U, City, Chelsea, Liverpool. I think it's pretty obvious it'll be the two Man clubs for 1-2. Though I hope the Guardian comes up with another whopper and pick LFC first.

I agree. Just hypothetical banter. Speaking of good for the eye, I watched Liverpool for the first time this summer as I read that they were starting many of their regulars. The whole swing the ball into Carroll and hope it takes a lucky bounce may well prove brutally effective but by god, I wouldn't want to watch that for 10 months.

If Torres was good for one ordinary goal per start, would you take that? I would. But throughout his career, he hasn't been that way. He's streaky and when he's good, they come like buses. When he's not...well...you know.

I think 3rd is about right with the current squad. Drogba/Torres firing would push for 1st/2nd. Add in a playmaker and someone on the right, then Chelsea are favorites.

No. They picked Liverpool to win in 2009-10 and Chelsea in 2010-11. So yes, I hope they're about as right as they have been the last 2 years. Get it?

Hopefully they'll be as right as they have been the last two years... Discuss. Chelsea Preview

Meh. Call it for the Rangers game and then I'll be impressed.

Okay, I just realized the 10th is a Wednesday instead of Friday. So Torres and anyone else should be back at Cobham Thursday or Friday. I thought they would miss 5 days of practice. In any case, still a stupid schedule. It's bad enough Euro qualifiers are the first week of September. They make it worse by sticking a friendly date in August.

What the hell? I read that Del Bosque is going to announce the Spanish team that will play a friendly with Italy on August 10th. What is wrong with FIFA? Why would they schedule an international date that is right about the time big European leagues are preparing for the first game of the season? Clubs are just settling in players and getting them fit. I don't even want to even think about injuries.. Barring a shock, Torres will be called. Will that affect AVB's decision to start him or Drogba against Stoke on the 14th? .It's so stupid, it won't just be the injury/fitness worry but it will cut into practice time too. Torres if he's called and all the other players who will be recalled for national team duty, will leave after the Rangers game and be away for the rest of the week.

Don't have a problem with bringing in AA if Modric, Sneijder, etc. are ruled out. AA isn't world class but he could do the job with Benayoun and Josh for the season. Chelsea could look for a better deal next year. Could be worthwhile if the loan is a bargain. Again, not first choice or ideal but I'd rather have AA in as a loan rather than not signing any creative MF at all.

Well, maybe they don't hate each other after all.