Chelsea Legend 11

JT didn't look great but Cahill was equally poor. Awful clearances and panicky defending.

Calm down... Why are you going off the rails over nothing? I already acknowledged he had a fantastic year in the system we played last year, do you think he's the type of CB that can lead a line if JT breaks down? I don't and judging by your 'rock' comment neither do you. So where are we then? We need a JT replacement because the pieces we've assembled at the club don't really fit the mould. (rock in the back, anchor, stopper type) I think this is an important year for JT and the club and its shaping up like Cahill in the next in line to be our JT figure, I don't feel comfortable with him in that light. He's great when we play a low block and is well supported with the two holding mids but pretty poor at holding a line let alone a high line like it looks like we're doing. I watched every game we played last year twice at the very least, I don't need anymore Cahill footage to know what type of player he is. Pogba, on the other hand, is a guy I really enjoy watching youtube clips of because he's an exciting player.

I don't deem it harsh at all. He was good last year for sure but lets not ignore the fact that the way we set up last year aided our defense immensely. If we are moving towards a more attacking/possession game I really think Terry and Cahill will be exposed. God forbid it but if Terry has a serious injury do you really trust Gary Cahill to be our no.1 CB with Brana and Zouma fighting for no.2? Really? What if Terry starts to play to his age? Are you comfortable with a backline of Cahill, Brana and Zouma? Lets be real here, put aside your personal bias of him being British, he's just not that good.

Brana is looking like our auxiliary defender. We need a real rock back there...

This may be the return of AVB's defense, high line and horribly exposed... I really don't trust Cahill as our no.1 defender should Terry's decline be rapid this year, hell I don't even trust him as our no.2 defender. JT isn't gonna be Terry forever, we need to get a big figure next to him pronto and Cahill isn't it for me at least.

I know exactly who Viera is and Pogba, in my estimation and Viera's himself, has the potential to be better because he has better technique and more goals in him. And I'm not advocating we do, I'm saying I wouldn't be pissed if we did. He's a special player.

Nope. But I sure as hell wouldn't be crying if we decided to. No denying his talent and under the tutelage of Jose we could be looking at the next Yaya Toure or a rich mans Patrick Viera. 60m is steep, I doubt he goes for that at this stage in with no negotiations scheduled

I will guarantee you that if Khedira goes in this window it won't be for 8-12m! That number is absurd even for a guy in the last year of his contract. 15-20m sounds more likely and having said that Khedira is nowhere near the type of player Pogba is becoming... Not to mention he's injury prone. Pogba is a young thoroughbred ready to take the world by storm! I have no problem being called a Pogba fanboy, he's a fantastic player.

I will never forget that. Not only was he shit but he stopped carrying about the badge and only stuck around because no one else will pay him those wages... Torres can go fuck himself.

I've already done my part... Walked up many hundreds of steps at Sacre Coeur to pray for Pogba.

It was more the wage demands I'm concerned with though I doubt he goes for 8-12m

lol. In what world is Khedira 8-12m? Also do you have any clue what his wage demands are?

As I said a few months ago if this gets to the close of the window with no deal in place it gets really interesting...

If the deal doesn't include Torres going the other way.... Meh. I'd rather someone like Remy to be honest

Seems like a lot of dough but the prospects of getting this clown out of the team and someone else paying his wages is not something I can't ignore. I don't expect it to happen, if it does this will go down as the greatest summer window in club history... Landslide. I don't know anything about this Destro kid, youtube footage doesn't show what type of player he is with ball to feet. He looks like a poacher type close comparison being Chicharito. So long as he can play a bit of football and recycle possession I'm fine with it... Whatever it takes to get rid of Nando really.

Just please be true.

Yes all true but what's wrong with having the safety net of Petr Cech? Unless of course you're sentimental to what he's achieved at the club and want to do whats best for him... Having said all that I'm still kind of weary of giving the media something to latch onto like they did the Mata story last year... If it will in any way be a bit of a distraction then its not worth it.

I can only offer up DeGea as an example. Its a rare chance afforded to a club to integrate the heir apparent slowly rather than thrust him right into the title races. A lot of pressure replacing and legend and at current, I don't know enough about Courtois to suggest he's well suited to handle that pressure and the scrutiny that will come with failing. Its a safety net is all...

I agree he's too good to be on the bench, it's precisely why I said from a 'Chelsea perspective' it's best he stays till January. If the club want to do right by Cech than they should sell. From a strictly Chelsea point of view the best move is a January move.

I don't... the preseason was enough for me to draw my conclusions

Its hard to draw decisive tactical analysis from screenshots and one move, one thing that these stills did illustrate is the amount of attention being paid to Diego Costa, particularly in the box. When was the last time we saw 3-4 defenders all huddled around our CF in an effort to shut off his servicing? The attention he garners is what is providing the space for Schurrle to run into. The Only Place to Be mentioned when we first signed Costa that he will provide space for our AM's to exploit, I at first questioned that, but having seen how poorly Burnley defended this I may reconsider. There is SO MUCH room for Schurrle to attack and with Cesc you only need a split second to exploit it.

I disagree for a couple reasons. First we still have no clue where the negotiations are headed with Courtois, I have every belief he will sign but I doubt it will be before August 31st. Also, Cech's isn't going to fetch us a huge kitty anyway, I would rather have him cup tied than have him go to a club and burn us in the knockouts. If we lose a few quid in the assurance that Courtois is indeed gonna be our man for the next 5-10 yrs so be it... The money isn't my concern just that he adjusts and settles in well.

Unfortunately for Big Pete the best time to sell him from a Chelsea perspective is in the January window. It makes no sense to sell him now, give Courtois four months to get up to speed with being Chelsea's no.1 and then allow Cech to sign elsewhere once Courtois has proven he's settled.

I like what I saw Burnley away... No need to change what was a class performance against another newly promoted side. Courtois Brana - Cahill - Terry - Azpi Fab - Matic Schurrle - Oscar - Hazard Costa Leicester played well against Everton I just think we are a cut above the competition and Jose won't allow our players to get complacent or take the opposition for granted. I expect the squad to come out with purpose and take the game to them early... 2-0 seems like a safe prediction.

I don't. We're at home... The potential to come out firing is great. if we don't score within the first 25mins it'll start to get a bit worrisome.