The Rising Sun

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.

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.

Come on! We have been playing Torres as our No. 1. Lukaku is 5 times the player he is. He was leading the charge to get West brom European football and doing it with style. He has already terrorised top 6 teams and i cant see him choking playing with Hazard Mata Oscar etc with him. I personally only see it ending well, but if you think its a risk, then lets take it! It all depends what formation Jose plays,,,, a 442 will suit Lukaku perfectly and 433 as well. 4231 I hope we dont play at all ever again.

I love this club and its supporters, but this plastic surgery approach is something we need to get rid of.

We sent out Lukaku on loan to prove himself. He did that. Murdered top 6 teams, scored hattricks against united and so much more in a mid table team. He also became a good finisher, taking chance after chance. Now you dont want to give him a chance ? So what if we dont win the premier league this season. Y2K aint gonna happen if we come second. Ambition is one thing, but doing it at the cost of having no identity is not worth it. We can buy success no doubt, but do we have to?

i would rather he comes back to Chelsea, as atleast we can give him gametime in the cup competetions and some PL too. We need to actively monitor his progression and make big decisions in his training etc, rather than send him to another club where they only care about their result and not Josh's personal development. On the top of it, he needs to MAN UP, grow some muscle and become stronger. He is too much of a schoolboy ever since he showed up. He can only get better in Chelsea, even if he gets lesser time on the pitch. He kind of reminds me of Granero, a guy who was developing well at real madrid because he grew up with quality players around, but the moment he went to a club with inferior players, he could not influence the game. Josh's case is similar and he needs to build his game and potential here. I dont see ANY PL side giving him regular football. That is where he is at presently. We need to personally give him that extra bit he needs in order to take that next step.

Atleast 40. Torres scored 22 this season.

Well in my view, Mikel doesnt have the greatest first touch doesnt have a good through ball doesnt have a good long ball and doesnt have the pace to run at players, or behind players. Most importantly i think he doesnt have the vision to take us to the next level. I think its a real long shot expecting Mikel to transform to that extent. Every player has potential. 7 years is enough for me though. We are getting a different level of players now, which represents new talent and new energy for me. Mikel after 7 years is no longer new energy and his transformation can only happen at a different club with different players around him.

So if Mikel is given more freedom at Chelsea, are we saying he will start playing like Yaya Toure? If so, then lets keep this beast. If not, then i think it is time to move on.

Isnt pre season training supposed to begin today at most clubs?? I know Mourinho starts today and Moyes as well.... dont know about others.... Cant find anything official about when the first day of pre season training starts.... considering our first game is about 2 weeks away shouldnt training have started today?

Guys give the guy a break. Yes he hasnt lived up to what was expected of him at chelsea, but please lets not ridicule and trivialise his entire career. He was world class upto the season in which he signed for us and was murdering teams for a long time. Give credit where due and criticism where due. If he didnt score vs Tahiti, then people would have been on his case. He scored 4 and everyone is still on his case. When a player scores 4 in a game, he deserves a breather.... a few days without Torres-Bashing.

He isnt going to hang around for 2-3 years more being loaned out. He is simply too good I have personally never heard of any club buying a player, then loaning them out for 5-6 years in a row. If we have big plans for him, they are not showing . He wont be offered the no. 1 position till Cech is gone. he is already on his 3rd year being loaned at athletico.

In all probability, we will lose him to Barca/big club next season. As soon as victor valdes' one year on his contract is over after this season they will go all out for Curtois and he will definitely not say no to them. Chelsea needs to understand that any player needs stability. Being on loan year after year is not real stability, and by next season he will know he is top class and deserves to feel like a number one at the biggest clubs in the world. Next year will be the moment of truth for Chelsea, just like united had with De Gea( even though that was after VDS retired). If we dont get him as a No. 1 keeper for next season 2014-15, then in all probablility we will lose him.

Great concept. What would really be interesting is to have a comparison of exactly these stats, with the Premier League Winners and Champions League winners. That will put this exercise into perspective as well as allow us to see where we are in terms of players in the same position comparisons against winning teams. However, i dont see Mikel really "keeping possession". His style is more mechanical, and not that effective defensively or offensively. Clearly i dont rate him at all. So I am SORRY for putting this comment in a rather interesting topic!! Just had to mention.

Not sure, but they have to pay heavily inflated transfer fees and salaries to even get players.... They pretty much paid that sum to get a star name in so they can attract more players towards their project. We bought shaun wright phillips for 25 mill in 2004 or so and in todays value that must be like 30-35 mill. That wasnt his market value but the value we were willing to pay in order to get another player for our project. Cavani is certainly worth alot, but 60 million is simply not good business.

The Market clearly does not value Cavani at 60 mill. That is simply his buyout clause, usually inserted to prevent player poaching and safeguarding from losing your players on the cheap. The market values him differently.

He has to learn that he cant do this time and again, the constant wrestling matches he gets into, either when close to a corner flag or in the penalty box.... Its the type of reputation which referees pick up on and are quick to punish .

Mikel is definitely not poor, but he is not exactly a fit for what is required at Chelsea moving forward. Mikel's Situation IMO is the same as with Berbatov at United, Good players, but their playing style just is not intensive enough for their respective clubs, Both have skills, but intensity is lacking and for the top top clubs, intensity is THE most important aspect of the game. Berbatov and Mikel both look lazy. I say "look", not "are". Their playing styles are more suited to Italy than England.

Ron gourlay in the background at some club in brazil, right behind cavani