The Rising Sun

He has been their best player in pre season, and frankly , i think he will be their go to guy in every attack..... He looked good in playoffs and looks really good in their pre season.... IMO he is their best player( i know that sounds stupid, but apart from RVP Rooney, i really believe so)

haha yeah, but now he is in city.... so maybe he does better,.... anyways, if coutinho goes. then i have 9 mill to play with, so will have a wealth of options to choose from....

Well you have a very good spread of players across different teams... IMO I wouldnt go with a Southampton goalie.....even if he saves you a million or so.... i was looking at the stats for last season, and in rank.... hart 6.5 mill had 18 CS, then cech 6.5 with 14 then Reina 5.5 with 14.... so while the picks of Monnone and Boruc are well spread in terms of choices, it is a bit of a risk.... but nothing you cant change if it doesnt work later.... so might be worth it. Beware of Giroud!! thats all i can tell you... he had a fantastic pre season last year as well and then i picked him. Somehow even when the entire arsenal team scores, he still manages not to. And he misses a lot. However, season 2 might be the turning point for him. Had to include sturridge and then cant miss out on Coutinho.... He is like their Hazard and does well for them.... Could get walcott , and that would add alot to my midfield and remove having 2 players from the same time as midfielder striker.... but not sure yet, might even take a punt on navas instead of coutinho..... but he is a sexy player and will shine this year, just like oscar will for us.

Well you have a very good spread of players across different teams... IMO I wouldnt go with a Southampton goalie.....even if he saves you a million or so.... i was looking at the stats for last season, and in rank.... hart 6.5 mill had 18 CS, then cech 6.5 with 14 then Reina 5.5 with 14.... so while the picks of Monnone and Boruc are well spread in terms of choices, it is a bit of a risk for saving a million.... but nothing you cant change if it doesnt work later.... so might be worth it. Beware of Giroud!! thats all i can tell you... he had a fantastic pre season last year as well and then i picked him. Somehow even when the entire arsenal team scores, he still manages not to. And he misses a lot. However, season 2 might be the turning point for him. I think Ben Arfa for week one against Man City will be tough, and that too at the Etihad. That was my critique, but i havent done better than 14th in the last 2 seasons so im no one to tell!! I, for my FPL and Chelsea hopes, really hope rvp has an injury hit season like he did at arse nal.

Hello All! Since everyone seems to be very tight lipped about their squads till now, i thought id share my sqauad..... It keeps changing, but what do y'all think? Please critique!! I had van persie till yesterday but that meant my midfield had only 2 strong guys, i medium(bellamy) and two average/crap players.... but then i looked at their fixtures and realised if i remove van persie i can get my midfield to be strong and still get good strikers.... the only problem that leaves me with is that if i want to get RVP back in a few weeks thats going to be tough....and expensive.... Anyhow.... check it out and please post yours as well!! Its early days so we can discuss squads atleast till 1 week is left...

Great Backup player. We should keep him as cover.

People havent mentioned Mikel yet. So.... Mikel. He is still here so nothing to stop him from justifying the hype in his younger days, not likely though. ZAKI - Forgotten Obafemi Martins - i thought he had great potential in his first season. Aquilani - Lol

Bottom line is that Schurrle in pre season, hasnt done even one memorable thing as yet, which is hugely disappointing. I have been more impressed by every other player coming to chelsea except him atm. He is here now, and i will support him as much as any other player, but atm im sceptical and hope he proves me wrong. Nothing would make me happier to be wrong.

Kevin De Bruyne what a player!! He is going to be the difference for us this season. Along with Mata they will demolish opponents week in week out. Now even if Mata is having an off day, we have this guy to do the business. So happy he has become such a deadly player. Schurrle on the other hand, i had seen all his youtube videos to see what the fuss was about, and didnt get it then. Having seen a little bit of him, albeit not full fitness, i still dont get it. Presently, based on his youtube videos of full fitness play and best highlight videos + what he has done in preseason, i dont think much of him. He hasnt given any signs regarding his movement, shooting, skills etc.... I hope he steps up bigtime over the next few weeks. We couldnt have paid 20 odd mill for another moses/marin level player..... Lukaku is a step above Ba IMO, and MVG is settling in quite quickly....expecting good things from him in the near future.... The second half of this game was probably the worst pre season game i have EVER seen in my life. Now looking forward to the return of Mata,Torres,Azpi,Luiz and Oscar. The depth in our squad is looking good .... finally. Its been a few years.

Learnt a harsh lesson by not getting on the Van Persie + Gareth Bale bandwagon last season, and later on couldn't get them in as they were too expensive and i would have to change too much of my team = lose too many points and players to get them in. Not this time. Also learnt the value of having a squad which is well spread out through the teams, top to bottom. Having only the top team players never works. Hoping to get the formula right this season from the get go and to unleash !! Best of luck to you all.

i thought he had signed for PSV..... read it on SS a few days ago.....

Young Chelsea fans seem to like to buy Torres chelsea shirts for some reason, so in terms of marketing he's still the top dog i guess.

Robinho - good player but never became great, or stuck to a team long enough.

good squad player , has his strengths but doesnt really have the intelligence required to manage his strengths. He has the shot, the speed, ability to dribble and turn.but cant use them all at the same time for some odd reason.

He seems to lack cheerfulness to me. Whenever he has spoken to the camera there hasnt been one smile, joke or anything. Its like he doesnt have ANY expressions. Dont know about you guys but ive seen his interview on CTV yesterday a few times now and it bothers me a bit....... whats up de bruyne? cheer up man.

Just came across some interesting imagesof Pre season training in the early 50's ---- thought i would share. Training surely has changed tremendously from then to now, atleast in application and focus.

Haha too late with the image. Eva is back too.

By 'chance', i mean - not giving someone else the undisputed No. 1 role That is specifically why i did not want a Cavani to come in, as that pretty much makes him the undisputed no. 1 , while Lukaku gets 20 mins here and there in the PL and starts some cup games. Even if he does splendidly, Cavani will still be No. 1. I want us to sign someone who is a top striker, but at the level where he will accept having to fight for a starting spot with the rest of our striking pool week in week out. That in my view is giving Lukaku a fair chance and for us to make fair judgements.

I agree about his experience, but i dont see him getting too much gametime this season. For a player of his age and progressing fast, it might be good for him to continue getting as much competitive football week in week out in the PL to make him a star. If we keep him and are not able to give him much gametime, which does happen sometimes, then that will hamper his development. It will be the worst case scenario as he will move to a new league with higher standards and then only get gametime every once in a while, and without any momentum it can all go wrong. I dont know really. Both sides of the coin exist. He looks quite good from what i have seen, so would like for him to be at Chelsea, but he needs to continue his momentum , which might not be available to him by us. Catch 22.

Glad this soap opera is nearing an end. I am very proud of our board and club for learning from their mistakes and for atleast trying to make decisions based on what we value a player, rather than some exorbitant valuations/clauses by the owning clubs He would have improved us no doubt, but there are plenty of fish in the sea who will improve us as well.

Van Ginkel needs a PL loan like Lukaku, in a team which really needs a midfielder. I dont see the point in loaning him out abroad.

that persons comments reflect ignorance and misguided flamboyance towards the situation, which should be a cause of concern for any govt. Torture i.e., not that person being MP or not. Anyways! those were just my views!! Moving on!!

I never said he was an MP in my post.

Dont see anything wrong with Torturing a Terrorist for Information. The problem comes when an innocent person is tortured based on the suspicion of terrorist links etc. A terrorist doesnt see a pregnant woman and decide not to attack, so electrocuting his balls is equal treatment. But he MUST 100% be a terrorist. However, that persons comments reflect ignorance and misguided flamboyance towards the situation, which should be a cause of concern for any govt.

Even though they play in different positions, if could keep only one player in Chelsea, then between Cavani and Mata, i would choose Mata every single time. That is how important he is to us. Mata is Class, on and off the pitch. I will smack Yaya Toures balls if i ever see him in public. That is how much Mata should mean to every Chelsea fan.