Superblue

This thread definitely needs revising after last season. I agree Kepa is very easily pushing towards, if not, the worst player and worst buy. I fear he'll be a noose around this club's neck for the next 3-4 years just like Torres was, unless we can find a good goalkeeper on the cheap.

I just assumed this was the norm? I build up such a hatred for a number of players on the roster at the likes of Spurs, Liverpool, United, etc that I find it impossible to cheer England on anyway and for me that has been the case since a young age. I want the Chelsea players to do well for their countries (as long as they don't get injured) but that's pretty much it. In current times, am I seriously expected to cheer a team on captained by Harry Kane?! On a side note, shortening the season (due to a lack of international breaks) and having a mini international season at the end of a season sounds a good idea. The summers that don't fall into major international tournaments they could have 2 or 3 friendlies and a training camp before the summer break, and then similarly in summers with international tournaments the countries could get the squads together a little earlier if the domestic seasons finish earlier for friendlies and training which I would assume could be much more beneficial for them.

If this is true then why were all the reports when we signed Thiago Silva suggesting that he would quarantine before joining up with the squad?

I can't say I know what the current set up is at Roma very well but I'm pretty sure Kolarov has been first choice there so I assume they will be in for a left back and Emerson is an Italian international and one that they know so perhaps there will be interest there.

I agree, from what I've seen he has the discipline and all round game to be able to play in a deeper role and moving forward this may end up being the best opportunity for him to break through here.

Do you think we may benefit from Roma selling Schick and raising funds? There was talk at one point they were interested in Jorginho. Or maybe they'd take Emerson back after selling Kolarov?

Lampard and Petit were both central midfielders in a 4-4-2. The idea was they were being brought in to play together but Lampard was coming into a far more competitive and ruthless environment than he witnessed at West Ham. People forget that the Lampard that joined Chelsea wasn't even a shadow of what he came to be. Most Chelsea fans at the time felt it was a massive reach paying what we did for him and that Petit was the big signing that summer. Lampard actually improved as the quality of player was added. He raised his game consistently. Dennis Wise was another great example of this. As the club pushed on in the late 90's we added the likes of Di Matteo, Poyet, Deschamps, etc but Wise kept elevating himself to remain a key player in the squad. Lampard will take that experience in his own career and view it as an opportunity for these young players to raise their game. Lampard has also proven that he's prepared to drop players if they play poorly (Kepa, Jorginho, the whole defence) regardless of the price tag and there were also alternatives last season when the likes of Mount, Abraham, Tomori and James were getting game time. If the new signings are struggling for form, I'm very confident that Lampard would have no hesitation to drop them. I want young Chelsea players amongst the squad but I also want the club to be winning. Ideally we'll see both but Lampard's priority has to be the latter.

The difference between CHO and Sancho is that CHO is part of the first team squad, getting game time and now is arguably next in line on either flank behind Pulisic and Ziyech. He'll get opportunities throughout the season and he has to step up and take them. He isn't going to be simply handed them because he has a good reputation at youth level. The top clubs just won't do that. It's difficult to come in and out and try to make an impression but that is what he has to do, and then either gets the fortune of a run of games due to injuries or forces his way into the team. Sancho wasn't even getting a sniff at City, and was well out of the picture.

Not really concerned about the second half. Happens regularly in friendlies once multiple changes start to be made. We have 8 players quarantined and some new signings to be added to this group.

Everything Ziyech does looks so crisp. That left foot looks like it should be illegal. Werner looks so sharp as well. So much pace and very intelligent in his movement. Promising signs so far with the both...

Realistic expectations in my opinion are 10-15 point improvement on last season (say 75-82 points) would be seen as good progression. Should keep us comfortably in top 4 next season and closer to Liverpool and City. And tighten up defensively. We've probably been spoilt in recent times with some of the very best defensive units seen in English football and I don't expect us to get back to there anytime soon but if we can shave 10-15 goals off last season's conceded column we'll be definitely moving in the right direction. And I would just love all the new signings to be solid contributors this season, whilst the academy players also kick on and don't stagnate. The last thing we need is to be sitting here next summer thinking we've got a couple of expensive flops on our hands (I'm quietly confident that won't be the case however).

If Declan Rice is a real possibility this window then I could see Kante being the one sold to fund it. There's been some rumours recently that Conte wants him at Inter, and I could also see PSG possibly looking at him if they know we're willing to sell this window. As good as Kante has been at Chelsea, Rice is far more suited to play that holding role in midfield that we're lacking. Perhaps a year playing that role, whilst Thiago Silva is here and then next summer the club can re-assess the situation (whether a new holding midfielder is brought and Rice moves to centre back, or we buy a new centre back and continue Rice in midfield).

I don't think anybody expects us to suddenly turn into 90's Milan. However, realistically if the attacking players brought in help our goals scored column to go up by say about 10 goals, and our defence column to go down by say about 10 goals then I would expect such shifts to result in a pretty good improvement in our points total too.

I have far more doubts over Martinez than some seem to on here. There has to be question marks that three managers at Arsenal have now considered him nothing better than a backup, and it's hardly like he's gone out on loan and been successful either. He's just about to turn 28 and he's barely played 50 games in his career. In a top flight that number drops to about 20. We're talking about a seriously untested player here. He had a good end of season at Arsenal, but any player can hit a purple patch. Even Kepa looked half decent for stretches in his first season. For me though he has to play more games to be considered.

Agreed, it'll offer far more balance to our attack.

Giroud still presents the "plan B" option of a target man and aerial threat in the box. I think the full backs though will be looking more regularly for cut backs or crosses driven across goal which will obviously suit the movement and size of Werner but also should benefit the midfielders expected to make the runs into the box for support (a la Lampard). To be honest though the more dangerous option is giving Ziyech, Pulisic, CHO, etc time and space to cut inside on to their stronger foot. It can't happen all the time otherwise it becomes predictable but two energetic, athletic full backs that are capable of consistently overlapping should help to create that space for it to be a regular option because somebody has to track them. I also think the tactical flexibility and versatility of our forward players creates so many options that can be exploited mid game without the need for subs. It's something that Lampard seems to want from his attacking players. Werner can drift to the left, and Pulisic can exploit the space centrally. Havertz and Ziyech can switch roles. Havertz can push up higher alongside Werner. Lots of interesting options.

He's not going to be challenging and winning headers against the centre backs but I see no reason why he can't be a success playing centrally. His movement is excellent, pace is frightening and from what I've seen he's pretty robust and a tireless worker. I think the key will be to get players in and around him so he's not left isolated. Full backs will be key here to give the width so the likes of Pulisic, Ziyech and CHO can all be used as inverted wingers with the option and threat to cut inside and the likes of Havertz and Mount will need to get up and down to support him too. Having said this, if Pulisic continues to be hindered with niggling injuries then Werner may find himself playing from the left quite frequently anyway, with Giroud or Tammy as the central striker.

It's more important for us to sort as many incomings as possible first with the short turnaround for the new season. I think over the next couple of weeks will be when we see some players move on, and there may also be a bit more panic and desperation for some clubs to do business as the season starts which may flip the current market from a buyers one to a sellers one, of course to our benefit.

Would Roma take Emerson back?

"I'm here to challenge for honours" Serial winner, standards will be raised in that back line because he'll make sure they are.

A few weeks back I wasn't sure about this due to his age and he'd had a couple of injuries in recent times. However watching him in PSG's Champions League run since, I've no doubts and in the short term this could be the key signing of the lot. He's still world class and whilst he might not be as quick as he once was, he still has more than enough pace to contend in the Premier League (what is it with Brazilian defenders, they seem to go on forever!). Not the tallest or most physical of defenders but his anticipation, positional awareness and determination leave him very rarely exposed in any situations. And a genuine ball player at the back. I mentioned on a previous post that a large group of our first team squad will have grown up in their teens or younger watching Thiago Silva as one of the elite centre backs of his generation. It'll be huge for the squad to share a dressing room and train with him. The experience will be critical too with the loss of Pedro and Willian and Lampard gets a player of such high respect and experience that he'll pretty much be an on field coach for the defence too, much like Desailly and Gullit were when they came to Chelsea. I honestly wouldn't be surprised if he settles and all things work out if he remains the second season too and Lampard then tries to transition him into his coaching group if that's the route he'd like to take.

His pace and athleticism I think will be seen as a big difference this coming season. We attacked far too much down the right hand side last season and not only left us lop sided and predictable but on the right hand side we also had two right footed players in Willian and either Azpi or James both looking to get into the same crossing position. I believe that Lampard's recruitment has revolved around arming ourselves with players that can attack all the different attacking channels and positions, making us much more difficult to defend against. The left hand side I would expect to see Chilwell and then Pulisic or CHO and the right hand side James/Azpi and Ziyech or Havertz. So the two attacking players playing on the opposite flank to their strong foot, with the opportunities to cut or drift inside for a shot or cross from a different angle and two full backs prepared to overlap and provide the width.

If the rumours are true, I wouldn't be at all surprised if we showed interest in him. He's still for me, the best player in the world and it's not really that close.

If you look past the fact that Merson is a pretty terrible football pundit and spouts a lot of rubbish, at least he's pretty funny and entertaining in doing so, including being the butt of the joke many times. There are a lot of pundits out there that aren't just rubbish but are also plain boring to boot. I've actually read Merson's autobiography and it's actually a pretty good, interesting and entertaining read. At the very least he is incredibly honest which is more than can be said about most.

Another thing to note is that we are looking at a centre back to come in and be the lynchpin of our side. A number of the most attractive options are young and long term signings such as Rice and Upamecano, but even then they come with risks (Rice doesn't play centre back very often at present, and Upamecano can still be very rash and inconsistent at times which is expected with his age). I wouldn't say at present there is one outstanding candidate for this role currently. Another year of players such as these playing outside the spotlight and pressure at Chelsea could actually be good for their development, and put them in better stead for such a move.