Strike

Still wouldn't go into the season with Lukaku-Ba-Torres as the only strikers.

what? you're a year older! maybe because i got into football little later. when i was 10-11. Not 7-8. India - Sport=Cricket.

1. Squad rotation. Steve Clarke does it at WBA 2. Ronaldo has Nothing to do with our discussion about depth. Ronaldo was first choice and I'm not saying 1st choice players should be sold. That's daft. as for Tevez, why consider the club as a whole? there were many factors why they failed. Not just Tevez. Consider the position. Chicharito replaced Tevez. More than fair enough replacement 3. Where I'm naive, you're conservative. Meireles played the league game just before he left. Essien said nothing about wanting to leave. In fact he had acknowledged his poor form (in his blog i think) Not every backup player wants to leave. The good squads around Europe have much better backup than Chelsea do. Players who can come in and keep up to the same level as the first team. Chelsea lost to QPR and Soton when resting both Mata and Hazard. Depth players should be able to come in and do the job on the pitch.

They are not 4 strikers of same-quality, ability. Hypothetically, put New Signing as starter. Ba and Lukaku on the bench. Lukaku the clear 2nd choice to be rotated with New Signing. Torres will get the short straw in this but the club should evolve without him rather than stagnate by accomodating him. The successful clubs do this. btw, no doubt that core team can challenge. but where's the backup?

1.Theory about squad problems. I'm the one denying it. Yours is more of a theory because it implies some thing happening while mine implies nothing will happen 2. If Lukaku is injured, it will be back to the same shit this season. Also, i didn't mention form. Chelsea stuck with Fernando in spite of horrid form when obviously a break woulda done him good. 3. Yes but in the end who came out with the better deal in that? SAF. He sold Beckham, bought Ronaldo. Sold Tevez and got Chicharito - someone who is willing to sit on the bench and wait for his chance. The football club evolved in each case 5. Don't understand your point? Bad backup in all 3 cases because of conservative mentality. I'm not sure what you mean by Meireles and Essien wanted to go. The club sold them didn't they? There was no much reports about either of them wanting out. 6. Not someone who can lead the line at a top European side. Option to throw on when needed. Why are you afraid of putting Ba down as 3rd choice? The club will evolve whether or not Ba likes it. .

Why won't he get playing time as 2nd choice? He is definitely ahead of Torres and will prove to be ahead of Ba as well. As 2nd choice he will do well and get good game time Problem in this (like everything else) : Torres - We have moved past every possible excuse for that blonde crackpot. The club shouldn't be looking for ways to accomodate him anymore. Relegate him to 4th choice. What will he do? Nobody will buy him. He will be stuck here @didierforever Sometimes tough love is the way to go. We can't have shit piling up in the club's underbelly. Outside the core team, who performed well? The big clubs around Europe, the Uniteds, the Bayerns etc have great options on the bench. Likes of Shaqiri, Kagawa, Robben, Chicharito sit on their benches as prime attacking options while Moses sits on ours. - no offense to Moses or anything but you get what i meant

Nope. Sorry. I would sell Demba Ba and get in someone else. Ours maybe a 1 striker system but we, Chelsea fans are deluded after this season that adding 1 more striker will solve the problem in attack. Your theory is great but that is all it is. A theory. A simple injury problem will cripple that theory. This argument about squad problems is just stupid imo. Firstly, assuming Mourinho comes, the manager is bigger than any player. Secondly, Since when does competition hurt? Didn't we see this mentality last season with Meireles and Essien and then see the fans cry for Midfield depth? Isn't this the same as settling for Benayoun and Marin as backups for the midfield trio? the same as settling for Turnbull and Hilario as Backup GK ? edit: If Ba and Torres were great strikers, I would agree it would lead to problems but they are not.

Turning out fine for both City and United. They sold Balotelli but have Guidetti coming through. Now they will sell Dzeko and get in Cavani (?) They are constantly evolving. Options in attack are different from options in midfield or defence. Options in attack can influence games, especially games in which the team is struggling. Dzeko and Chicharito - classic examples Our bench this season was built up with the likes of Bertrand, Ake etc. Only real backups in attack was 1 of Torres/Ba depending on who started, the other is on the bench. That is Very very thin, especially if there's an injury problem, in which case, there's no backup at all. Chelsea were very lucky this season as the strikers did not suffer any injuries but Ba has a well-documented knee problem and Torres has crocked up hamstrings. 4 strikers something like this will be ideal New Signing - Lukaku - Ba - Torres Torres has no option than to stay put. Lukaku as 2nd choice and with some smart rotation, it is easily managable.

Is that an excuse for not having adequate depth now? A good number of striker-options won't hurt and if Ba is unhappy, sell him and buy someone else next season

Yeah. No telecast I think. 6 am in the morning anyway <yawn>

^Agree. How many times during the season did we look at our bench and think, it's filled with defense-minded players? A normal Chelsea bench this season had Turnbull Cahill Ivanovic Bertrand Ake Moses Torres Where is the depth in attack then? A strike-force of Lukaku, Ba and Torres is very thin and no, Schurrle and Moses are NOT striker-options. Even if Lukaku turns out to be the beast he was at West Brom, that strike-force lacks depth.

Another new member. Great Welcome! and get posting!

Everyone talks about the beautiful game, great dribbling ability, using tricks to get past defenders. Ronaldinho played the game the beautiful way. And I'm surprised this man hasn't been mentioned yet

Players linked with so far : Schurrle, Falcao, Cavani, Alonso, Khedira, di Maria, Lewandowski, Rooney......... Players I think we will sign : Schurrle

Time to update this

Hang on a minute. I think we arguing parallels here. You say that Lukaku isn't dependable enough to lead the line and I agree with that. But I also think that he should be kept at Chelsea. He is ahead of Ba and Torres, so even if we sign or do not sign a new striker, he should be retained

A proven striker will hide a lot of the team's problems. Chelsea score their fair share of goals from midfield but against highly organised opposition, who are difficult to break down - a good striker makes a big difference.

Is the Champions League a real yard-stick now? What are you suggesting? Keep loaning him out till he's 24? Very few are banking on Lukaku to lead the front-line. The general consensus is that he will be a better option than Ba or Torres

In fairness, the Napoli guy came out and confirmed contact with City. Falcao to Monaco too seems imminent. Rooney to Chelsea was unrealistic anyway Only Lewandowski left probably from the elite striker options and Bayern fans think he's coming to Munich. This could mean one of the 3 things 1. Board has decided Lukaku will lead the attack and there is no need for a striker Or 2. Board is waiting for manager. this has caused delay/confusion Or 3. Board has no clue whatsoever - A betting man would bet on #3

Next person to quote the Daily Mail

City are in a similar transition as well. New manager, new system etc. Jose is better equipped than Moyes or Pellegrini(?) to perform in the league next season.

But Bertrand will edge because there is some rule about 4 club-developed players or 8 English-developed players. edit: Does van Aanholt count as HG?

Oh yeah. Piazon. Kinda slipped my mind. He was decent. Obviously a backup but an injury to Eliseu saw him get a role in the first team. Did not set the La Liga on fire but he has made good progress. I wouldn't loan him to a club like Malaga. Would love to see him get more game-time at a mid-table club

I wanted to put up a poll of who should be retained with multiple options but then there were too many options. since, this question pertains to the past, there is a group of 4-5 players who have been a cut above the rest. if someone would change the topic title, i wouldn't mind. it is basically about this season anyway

Why not keep him around even if we sign a striker? Chelsea have a very thin strike-force and as United have repeatedly proven over the years, a good strike-force will hide a lot of problems in the team. Lukaku will get good game-time even if we sign a top striker, whether it be as an impact substitute or backup striker. To me, he is ahead of Ba and Torres in the pecking order Ideal attack options next season - Lewandowski - Lukaku - Ba - Torres Schurrle