EskWeston

It's only this game that is at a reasonable time. The rest will be early hours of the morning jobs

Lol, was cracking up when i saw that the other day. Billy Knott seems a right little nutter! There is a lot about him that reminds me of JT a bit!! And interestingly Frank Nouble is in there with the rest of the lads!

Cork hasn't gone on the tour! Formation will be something to look out for thats for sure. Although at this stage it isn't much of an indication of how we will line up this season. At this point it is all about fitness and game practice. Everyone will get on the pitch at some point and there won't be many (if any) playing a full 90...

lol, choice!!! Everyone knows that Robinho had no choice and had he been given the option he would have came to us like he was wanting to do all summer long.

Obviously had an English premiership team wanted him and if we could have been sure he would get the games needed then we would have done it. The thing we would have wanted was another situation like what happened to Sahar at Pompey! If he can do the business at Twente then he will get his chances with us.

Was hoping selling bridge would have been the perfect oppertunity for Ryan. But i guess they want to see him play more games away from Chelsea first. Would have been better had we managed to get him a premiership club, but at least Reading will be challengers.

Going on the tour doesn't mean that certain players will 100% be staying. It is just that our pre season training is continuing in America. I would be suprised to see either Pizarro or Shevchenko still here when the transfer window closes.

And don't forget Deco is still here too.....

Definately a cracking player and i certainly would be upset if we did end up spending £25m to buy him. One thing i would say though is that with us supposedly still after a big name player, i couldn't see us signing Young and big star player. Not because of the money but because i would think they would be playing in the same position.

Stoch is a very talented player, he will do well there. And the regular first team football will be a huge benefit to him, and to us hopefully in the long run. It will be a shame not being able to see him play this season.....

We should be going for whoever AC Milan think is the "younger replacement". Nothing against Pirlo but i think the days of us signing 30 year olds should be long gone.

Would still like to sign Ashley Young thats for sure. The money being talked about is very high though.

No-one has left yet. It isn't very likely that we will keep everyone, players will leave! Zhirkov won't be playing the first game either by the looks of it, he is joining up with the tour at a later date, presumably to get himself sorted moving over from Russia. Take away the africans and Mancienne who will not play the first game and this is what we have to pick from for the Seattle game. Petr Cech Hilario Ross Turnbull Branislav Ivanovic Ashley Cole Ricardo Carvalho Andriy Shevchenko Frank Lampard Franco Di Santo Michael Ballack Claudio Pizarro Florent Malouda Scott Sinclair Jose Bosingwa Deco Daniel Sturridge John Terry Alex Juliano Belletti Nicolas Anelka Sam Hutchinson

So only Sam Hutchinson really going on the tour as a youngster! Mancienne and Sinclair were expected to go really. Bit of a blow for Ryan Bertrand and Jack Cork though, they need a loan at as big of a club as possible. Not good news for Joe Cole either.....

Joe Cole underwent minor surgery yesterday (Wednesday) to correct a small tear in his meniscus. In light of his previous surgery, excellent rehab and recent return to full training, this is only a minor setback and we expect Joe to return to full training in approximately one month. As a result, Joe has not joined the party for the tour of America, which is listed below. Petr Cech Hilario Ross Turnbull Branislav Ivanovic Ashley Cole Michael Essien Ricardo Carvalho Andriy Shevchenko Frank Lampard Franco Di Santo Didier Drogba John Mikel Obi Michael Ballack Claudio Pizarro Florent Malouda Scott Sinclair Jose Bosingwa Deco Salomon Kalou Daniel Sturridge John Terry Alex Juliano Belletti Nicolas Anelka Michael Mancienne Sam Hutchinson New signing Yuri Zhirkov will be joining the tour in progress. source: Chelsea FC

If we are talking marquee signings then the only semi realistic options are Villa, Ribery, Pato and Aguero. All going to be VERY VERY hard to sign for different reasons. Aguero seems to be the most realistic option considering he has a release fee in his contract, but time will tell on this one.

Hooray! Pre Season games start. I do love the pre season games. Will be interesting to see who has gone on the tour. We have a big squad of players at the moment considering we are yet to let anyone go. Players like Pizarro and Shevchenko still around. Ancelotti said a couple of youngsters may go on the tour. Considering Stoch looks to have gone on loan i would guess Sinclair, Cork and Bertrand would go as they are the ones who should be looking to get the chance now. Aparently the african lads will not take part in the first game either. All in all i am very much looking forward to it.

I was hoping to see Miroslav have some cracks at the first team again this season. At least get the chance in the pre season games to see if he can have a chance. Suprised also to see him go out to Europe on loan. Obviously there are benefits to doing that, Twente are a good club. Hope Miroslav does very well out there and will be abe to show what he is all about and make Ancelotti sit up and take notice.

Intersting, would be good for us to sing a young midfielder for us to nurture!

By "nuts" i mean spending what ever it takes in transfer fees and wages to get the players they want. Arsenal fans can't believe their luck at getting shot of Adebayor for £20m+..... We have a squad more than capable of winning the league and the Champions league. We will be massively competitive this season... The cloud currently over JT is the only problem we have at the moment..

There was more risk with Scolari even if we didn't see it properly at the time. Long time away frm club management and zero experience in club management in Europe. Until the transfer window is shut you cannot judge us in the market this summer. The club have already said that we want to sign a big name player and are doing all we can to make that happen! Enough ambition? It isn't easy to sign these type of players, Man City certainly can't manage it! There was no choice with Robinho, we were the only ones in for him, then at the last minute City came in and then could laugh at us and Robinho and say to him, City or nothing, and he took City! The Jose situation is in the past, plus it was a parting of the ways which at the time was best for both parties. Torres would solve all our (limited) problems? Playing youngsters is a completely different subject and we have no idea how Ancelotti will do that!!!! A lack of ambtion? Not from where i am standing! Just because City and Real Madrid are going nuts (to varying degrees - Barry, Santa Cruz, Tevez, Adebayor / Kaka, Ronaldo, Benzema) and we are not does not mean we lack ambition. Man U have gone backwards, replacing Ronaldo and Tevez with Owen, Valencia and Obertan. Liverpool look set to lose possibly Macherano and Alonso and have signed no-one. Arsenal have are not signing anyone either........

It is ridiculous to think that in a couple of months JT would go from die hard Chelsea loving the club and wanting to stay forever to being off to Man City because they wave a pound notes his way!!! It's just not going to happen! Man City's ambtion for this season is to break into the top 4! And they will be lucky if they manage that!! And the players they have chosen to help them do that are Barry, Santa Cuz, Adebayor and Tevez!! Despite all their bluster about wanting to sign Kaka, Villa, Terry and any other big name player they are just not going to attract them, even with the money being chucked about! IF JT does leave it will be for 1 reason and 1 reason only - cash! Despite what the papers write about lack of ambition and all the rest it is clearly rubbish! It will also show that JT is not the person we have all thought he was

Yes, Drogba and Anelka are in their 30's. Which is why we have Di Santo and Sturridge in the squad and why we are looking to sign someone like Aguero or Pato! Ancelotti as a safe choice? Ancelotti isn't exactly old for a manager and is a massively respected manager. We have done very well to appoint such a high profile manager. Signing Ancelotti as manager shows a lot of ambition if you ask me. When Scolari left the club everyone thought the season was over with and we would do well to secure a CL spot! We ended up having an excelant run, doing well to finish where we did in the league. Shafted out of the CL final and winning the FA cup. Taking everything into consideration the way last season ended was a massive success. If you honestly believe that JT is worried about Chelsea's ambition and feels Man City has more ambition then you are mad! Who would have been happy for us to sign Barry, Santa Cruz and Adebayor???? Tevez was always going to go where the money is!!! IF (and thats a massive if, because i don't believe a word of it) JT leaves to go to city it will be for 1 reason and 1 reason only, and that is money!!!! Man City are offering ridiculous wages and their time will come when they are unable to sustain what they are doing. Chelsea FC have all the ambiotion in the world. We want to be the best team in the world, win the PL, CL, FA Cup and Carling cup. Just because we have yet to spend £50m+ on a player and there are roumers that JT may leave to go to Man City does NOT mean the club lack ambition. Let me ask you a question Terminator X, what would YOU do to rectify this problem that you see at Chelsea?????

Kenyon should stick to what he does best! And that is doing the sponsorship deals and the marketing of the club, when it comes to any footballing side of the business he should leave well alone. I think he has done well for the club in marketing terms but has cocked up on the footballing side a number of times.

I am not even sure if the reports about him not signing a contract are accurate. CTV reported he had signed a new deal! Also there is no chance that he would be any competition for a first team place yet. He only broke into the reserves last season. This season would be to be a regular at reserve level and impress and then the following season would be a loan. He has all the attributes to be a very special player. And i hope these reports are wrong and that he is staying with us.