Strike

would prefer a right back. that frees up ivanovic to give cover for CB's as well

Beautiful, mate

strange because all other entries seem fine

i wouldn't prefer PSG over staying at Spurs. As shit as Levy is i would stay at Spurs and help them elevate themselves and that way i still have a shot at joining a Chelsea, Real Madrid or Manchester United next season. If u join PSG now, you lose that option. Next season, if i dont get big offers, i would sign for PSG. Note - I am Luka Modric

yeah but i would prefer staying at spurs to joining PSG, Malaga or Anzhi.

yeah but who'll buy him though? real madrid dont seem like they'll pay 35 mil, united are after moura, chelsea have signed oscar and manc may sign rvp. i think modric will end up at spurs itself

yes but i would prefer a midfield of Oscar and Mikel simply because of the creativity he adds through midfield. what we lose in combativity(or combativeness?), we gain in creativity

while it must be noted that this is still pre-season, the lack of tactics is a genuine concern. di matteo has settled in with this 4-2-3-1 system but he has not kept a plan B in place. We may have powered our way around Seattle but a Plan B is absolutely necessary in a long season. We are just not creating enough penetration in the opposition half. Players are gettin isolated and eventually lose the ball and for that I blame the defensive double pivot. The double pivot is way too deep and that affects the whole dynamics of the game. We are 2 men short in attack and asking the double pivot to pick out the 3-4 men ahead of them with about 4 defenders and 2-3 defensive mids patrolling the midfield is preposterous. the 2 DM's should play further up the pitch giving us a dynamic edge to our attack - similar to ManCity where Yaya Toure goes forward and Gareth Barry/Nigel de Jong stay back. Many of our attacks withered away as we enter the PSG half i.e the transition to attack is just not happening consistently. and also at one point we had Essien and Mikel in midfield In previous years, we used to execute sweeping attacks and destroy opposition. Back then we used to play 1 Defensive mid - Essien or Mikel and Lampard at CAM giving us more players in attack and hence more options to seek.

it seems arsenal will sell and given that united can afford 20-25 mil, i think they Can get RVP. Not sure they really need him with welbeck and chicharito in the squad

Manchester United will become a formidable force if they manage to sign Lucas Moura and Robin van Persie. The attack of Valencia/Moura, Rooney, RVP, Young/Nani, Welbeck/Kagawa looks devastating

joined - The Avengers

not really. most of the mids we have play in a deeper position - Romeu, Meireles, Essien, Mikel If the board doesn't retain KDB, then Benayoun will be the second-choice CAM and to be fair, he was our best player LAST pre-season and it was stupid to loan him let alone to Arsenal. imo. He is still good enough to contribute but yeah, given the overall strength of the squad now, benayoun maybe surplus to requirements

Chelsea are training at weird places. yestrday it was the airstrip, today it's central Park

Bloody brilliant. gotta wake up by 5 am for this. i prefer midnight kick-offs

We have an Aussie admin as well Anyway welcome to the forum

yes (obviously)

make ONE official tc league please?

He plays CAM for Belgium.

The permanent di Matteo era got off to a good start on Wednesday as goals from new boys Hazard and Marin along with a brace from a striker looking to make a mark – Lukaku – took Chelsea past Seattle Sounders in a raucous atmosphere at Century Field. Now, a stiffer test awaits as Chelsea fly to New York’s Yankee Stadium to face Carlo Ancelotti’s Paris St Germain. The Venue While we played AC Milan in New Jersey in 2005, it has been nearly 60 years since Chelsea last played in New York. It was the summer of 1954, a year prior to our first league championship, when Roy Bentley led the Blues in a grueling post-season tour of North America playing eight games in four weeks, against German opposition, Fortuna Dusseldorf and Borussia Dortmund, and Scottish side Rangers. History will be made this Sunday as Chelsea face Paris St Germain in the first ever Football match to be played at Yankee Stadium. The new stadium, home to baseball’s most iconic franchise opened in 2009 at the cost of $1.5 billion and has a changeable capacity of up to 54,000. Similar to the old Yankee Stadium that was located across the street, it has hosted concerts by Eminem and Jay-Z but never a football match. The Opposition Paris St Germain lost out in the race for the French Ligue 1 title to Montpeiller but will be encouraged by their elevation to championship contenders. Coached by Ancelotti and another familiar face – Claude Makelele, Paris St Germain is a football club rising in stature. The recent signatures of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Thiago Silva, Ezequiel Lavezzi and Marco Verrati (yes, the Football Manager wonderkid) underline the club’s ambition to turn into a European powerhouse. Totally, the club spent $250 million in a little over 12 months on transfer fees alone as 15 new players joined the club. While it may not be ideal for a club in transition to face the current European Champions, PSG have enough talent to supplement its marquee players and effectively dampen Chelsea spirits. Jeremy Menez and Javier Pastore are talented attacking midfielders while winger Nene, with 21 goals last season, was the top-scorer in Ligue 1. Also, watch out for Chelsea fan favorite Alex and his thumping free kicks. Chelsea Chelsea vs Seattle – Analysis Chelsea head to New York on the back of a see-saw 4-2 win over Seattle Sounders. A vibrant attacking display by a youthful Chelsea team was undone partially by a lethargic defensive performance but the introduction of experienced names at half-time added stability to the team. Josh McEachran bagged 3 assists in the game (although one of them was for the Seattle goal) while new signings Eden Hazard and Marko Marin scored in their first game for the club. Romelu Lukaku(scorer of 2 goals) staked his claim for the back-up striker role with a powerful performance up front. The shift in Chelsea’s style of play was evident especially in the first half. The infusion of quick, silky technical players saw most attacks were being initiated at ground level using the pace of the attackers (Marin especially) with very few aerial balls. Even full-backs Chalobah and Fereira, in their rare forays forward, seemed to slide the ball in behind the Seattle defence rather than lift it into the area. The defensive vulnerabilities is hardly cause for concern and I fully expect the defence to stay compact as fitness levels improve and Ashley Cole returns to dislodge Fereira from left-back. The transition from defence to attack is something the players need to work on as John Obi Mikel had a poor game at CDM but overall, it was a good start to the pre-season rounded off by a great atmosphere at Seattle. Team News Di Matteo is expected to put out a stronger eleven meaning Ramires, Lampard and Cahill are all in line for a spot in the starting eleven. The defence will be bolstered by the returns of John Terry and Ashley Cole with Cole set to replace Paulo Fereira at Left-back. Cahill on the atmosphere in USA Players to Watch Paris St Germain – Ezequiel Lavezzi – Lavezzi moved to PSG in the off-season in a surprise 21 million deal and is eager to make a good impression on Ancelotti in the pre-season. Branislav Ivanovic may vaguely remember Lavezzi dancing around him and his defensive counterparts in a dreadful night in Naples. 2 well taken goals punctuated a devastating performance by the pacy Argentine as Napoli took a 3-1 first leg lead in the Round of 16 tie and a repeat performance is not out of question unless the Chelsea defence keeps him on a tight leash Chelsea – Romelu Lukaku – With Fernando Torres yet to join up with the squad and Daniel Sturridge away at the Olympics, Lukaku has a golden chance to continue his good form in the Centre Forward position. He was a handful for the Seattle defence as he constantly bullied them in his 2-goal performance. Footnotes Chelsea's record in and around New York 5/9/54 Chelsea 3 - Fortuna 2 (at Randalls Island, NY) 5/23/54 Chelsea 1 -Borussia 6 (at Randalls Island, NY) 5/30/54 Chelsea 2 -All-Stars 0 (at Harrison, NJ) 6/6/54 Chelsea 0 -Rangers 0 (at Randalls Island, NY) 31/7/05 Chelsea 1-1 AC Milan (New Jersey) - Part way through the tour of 1954, Chelsea lost its goalkeeper with a serious injury. Argyle, going home before Chelsea, allowed them to borrow club legend Bill Shortt who flew in from Chicago where Plymouth Argyle were having their post-season tour. - Although this is the first football game at the new Yankee Stadium, New York is no stranger to “soccer” as Pele faced Eusebio (Santos vs Benfica) at the old Yankee Stadium to a 3-3 draw in front of over 40,000 fans while it also hosted England’s first ever night game in the 50’s in a 6-3 win over USA. - Back to 2012, the venue has to temporarily lose its home plate and pitcher’s mound to lay a surface suitable for football sources: chelseafc.com(interview with cahill) and 1954 in american soccer by Dave Litterer (historical references) Click here to view the article

what if van persie trolls us all and joins

that's flattering although i am writing only match previews now

PARIS ST GERMAIN VS CHELSEA - YANKEE STADIUM, NY - PREVIEW The permanent di Matteo era got off to a good start on Wednesday as goals from new boys Hazard and Marin along with a brace from a striker looking to make a mark – Lukaku – took Chelsea past Seattle Sounders in a raucous atmosphere at Century Field. Now, a stiffer test awaits as Chelsea fly to New York’s Yankee Stadium to face Carlo Ancelotti’s Paris St Germain. The Venue While we played AC Milan in New Jersey in 2005, it has been nearly 60 years since Chelsea last played in New York. It was the summer of 1954, a year prior to our first league championship, when Roy Bentley led the Blues in a grueling post-season tour of North America playing eight games in four weeks, against German opposition, Fortuna Dusseldorf and Borussia Dortmund, and Scottish side Rangers. History will be made this Sunday as Chelsea face Paris St Germain in the first ever Football match to be played at Yankee Stadium. The new stadium, home to baseball’s most iconic franchise opened in 2009 at the cost of $1.5 billion and has a changeable capacity of up to 54,000. Similar to the old Yankee Stadium that was located across the street, it has hosted concerts by Eminem and Jay-Z but never a football match. The Opposition Paris St Germain lost out in the race for the French Ligue 1 title to Montpeiller but will be encouraged by their elevation to championship contenders. Coached by Ancelotti and another familiar face – Claude Makelele, Paris St Germain is a football club rising in stature. The recent signatures of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Thiago Silva, Ezequiel Lavezzi and Marco Verrati (yes, the Football Manager wonderkid) underline the club’s ambition to turn into a European powerhouse. Totally, the club spent $250 million in a little over 12 months on transfer fees alone as 15 new players joined the club. While it may not be ideal for a club in transition to face the current European Champions, PSG have enough talent to supplement its marquee players and effectively dampen Chelsea spirits. Jeremy Menez and Javier Pastore are talented attacking midfielders while winger Nene, with 21 goals last season, was the top-scorer in Ligue 1. Also, watch out for Chelsea fan favorite Alex and his thumping free kicks. Chelsea Chelsea vs Seattle – Analysis Chelsea head to New York on the back of a see-saw 4-2 win over Seattle Sounders. A vibrant attacking display by a youthful Chelsea team was undone partially by a lethargic defensive performance but the introduction of experienced names at half-time added stability to the team. Josh McEachran bagged 3 assists in the game (although one of them was for the Seattle goal) while new signings Eden Hazard and Marko Marin scored in their first game for the club. Romelu Lukaku(scorer of 2 goals) staked his claim for the back-up striker role with a powerful performance up front. The shift in Chelsea’s style of play was evident especially in the first half. The infusion of quick, silky technical players saw most attacks were being initiated at ground level using the pace of the attackers (Marin especially) with very few aerial balls. Even full-backs Chalobah and Fereira, in their rare forays forward, seemed to slide the ball in behind the Seattle defence rather than lift it into the area. The defensive vulnerabilities is hardly cause for concern and I fully expect the defence to stay compact as fitness levels improve and Ashley Cole returns to dislodge Fereira from left-back. The transition from defence to attack is something the players need to work on as John Obi Mikel had a poor game at CDM but overall, it was a good start to the pre-season rounded off by a great atmosphere at Seattle. Team News di Matteo is expected to put out a stronger eleven meaning Ramires, Lampard and Cahill are all in line for a spot in the starting eleven. The defence will be bolstered by the returns of John Terry and Ashley Cole with Cole set to replace Paulo Fereira at Left-back. Cahill on the atmosphere in USA Players to Watch Paris St Germain – Ezequiel Lavezzi – Lavezzi moved to PSG in the off-season in a surprise 21 million deal and is eager to make a good impression on Ancelotti in the pre-season. Branislav Ivanovic may vaguely remember Lavezzi dancing around him and his defensive counterparts in a dreadful night in Naples. 2 well taken goals punctuated a devastating performance by the pacy Argentine as Napoli took a 3-1 first leg lead in the Round of 16 tie and a repeat performance is not out of question unless the Chelsea defence keeps him on a tight leash Chelsea – Romelu Lukaku – With Fernando Torres yet to join up with the squad and Daniel Sturridge away at the Olympics, Lukaku has a golden chance to continue his good form in the Centre Forward position. He was a handful for the Seattle defence as he constantly bullied them in his 2-goal performance. Footnotes Chelsea's record in and around New York 5/9/54 Chelsea 3 - Fortuna 2 (at Randalls Island, NY) 5/23/54 Chelsea 1 -Borussia 6 (at Randalls Island, NY) 5/30/54 Chelsea 2 -All-Stars 0 (at Harrison, NJ) 6/6/54 Chelsea 0 -Rangers 0 (at Randalls Island, NY) 31/7/05 Chelsea 1-1 AC Milan (New Jersey) - Part way through the tour of 1954, Chelsea lost its goalkeeper with a serious injury. Argyle, going home before Chelsea, allowed them to borrow club legend Bill Shortt who flew in from Chicago where Plymouth Argyle were having their post-season tour. - Although this is the first football game at the new Yankee Stadium, New York is no stranger to “soccer” as Pele faced Eusebio (Santos vs Benfica) at the old Yankee Stadium to a 3-3 draw in front of over 40,000 fans while it also hosted England’s first ever night game in the 50’s in a 6-3 win over USA. - Back to 2012, the venue has to temporarily lose its home plate and pitcher’s mound to lay a surface suitable for football sources: chelseafc.com(interview with cahill) and 1954 in american soccer by Dave Litterer (historical references)

yep. that's true. hopefully the management gives him a rest until after the International break

Diagree Mata barely played in the Euros apart from the last 5 minutes of the final and the Olympics will just be like a "competitive" pre-season training for him. It will be a bit more gruelling than the other players but i think mata will be alright at the start of the season. signs of tiredness may come up later in the season but we have enough options in - hazard, oscar, de bruyne, benayoun, lampard, meireles, mceachran - in that order to rotate him with..

yes he can play but his preferred position is CAM and secondary position is Left Wing. He played Left Wing/ CAM for Lille/ Belgium but its not like he doesn't know to play right wing. Yet, Ramires maybe the only player in the squad whose primary position is right mid