Chelsea Legend 11

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.

Its why Drogba is back and why Ivanovic will still get loads of games at RB. He's not really a target man.

A rich mans Duff... I'm not kidding. He sort of looks like him too.

I think you're underestimating what Azpi did for the team last year. He was nothing short of incredible and it WILL take some doing to supplant him from his role in the squad. Its not just a matter of adjusting, he still has to beat Azpi for the shirt and you're right, on current form he hasn't been able to do it. I think everyone understands that the situation that is Cech/Courtois goes a lot deeper than pre season, we need Courtois to sign an extension and he won't do that playing second fiddle... Pretty simple stuff there. As for DeBruyne weren't Oscar and Mata busy playing with the national team? Was Luis busy this past summer? Had the whole summer to get fit. Anyways every situation is different, in this case I would say the competition for places is more fierce than many of you care to acknowledge. Jose doesn't hand over a jersey its always earned and right now Luis has some work to do... We will see how well Luis acclimatizes himself to a faster, more physical league. I have a sneaking suspicion that it may be a few weeks before he even gets a sniff and its not because he's a bad player but because we had an incredible back four last year and to break into it is extremely tough, especially when you examine how cavalier we want to be offensively. We will need a group that have an incredible understanding of one another. Luis will get in whether he stays there long term... Not as automatic as some may think.

If you want to get an accurate understanding of Oscar's role in the team I'd encourage you to look at this video that highlights Cesc Fabregas. Look at the positions Oscar took up when Fab was on the ball. Its about balance, most of you want 10 Hazard's on the field, a squad needs balance and guys like Ramires, Oscar and Willian are the types of guys who are willing to sacrifice their numbers for the betterment of the squad. http://vimeo.com/103800629

All I've said was that he didn't do enough to get the start at Burnley, I fully expect him to come into the team and perhaps lock down that position. His age and fee make no difference either, we bought Zhirkov for 18m when we had Cole as the best LB in the world. Mourinho likes competition for places, it keeps players sharp, Luis was perhaps brought to play LB for the season but he still has to win the position. Jose isn't the type of manager to give a player a job just because he's a new signing. He still has to show that he fits with the squad with his performances and as of right now his performance level has not surpassed that of Brana's or Azpi's. Do I expect that to change? Ideally yes, but its not a lock. The last part of your post just echoed what I've already been saying.