Chelsea Legend 11

Was just thinking that very same thing. Could be true, he's better than Oscar. And that leaves the door open for my man Pogba!

I don't know if Oscar is a lock to be our starting no.10...

I agree! But if he takes Lampard's spot he won't need to be a speed demon, just sit deep and dictate tempo.

Does anyone believe this new Cadena Ser bullshit? why are they the only ones running this?

@Fernando please translate!

I want to hear it translated before I believe that.

Can you translate the interview?

So what's the argument? My point is when the few opportunities do fall to you, you have to take them, we didn't have that last year. The biggest signing Chelsea will make this summer will be for a clinical striker not another midfielder and there is a reason for that.

yes but you can't expect every game to produce scintillating football. The consistent problem I saw was finishing opportunities not creating them.

Hardly! What I want is a solid squad.... The main problem we had was at striker.

Exactly! Wenger does not demand the same sort of defense and work rate as Jose does... If Cesc comes I hope we're not done in that position.

I'm left to assume he's the only player of that ilk that is available. I'm not convinced he's the best option but for 30m I'm not mad. We still need one more player to realistically meet the homegrown status.... Blackman, Terry, Cahill, Ake, Lukaku, Cesc, Moses,

Pogba is homegrown too. I would rather him but we could definitely afford to pay more. Whatever, I don't make the decisions... If it were me Cesc wouldn't be high on my want list.

Seems accurate, but why Cesc? Unless we plan on going big elsewhere I don't see why Fabregas is the guy who we've highlighted to replace Frank. 30m sounds good but we could easily go bigger.

http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/football/27673942?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

You can't replace Lampard...... with Fabregas.

Actually they often get this sort of thing wrong. Cavani, Falcao, Hulk, Pastore, Hazard. They rely on the rumour mill just as much as we do.

Graham Hunter @BumperGraham · 29mWhat he doesn't say is what #Cesc feels about joining #Chelsea.

Okay this has gathered more steam than I ever imagined it would so now its time to give my two cents worth. Firstly, I really think Cesc is nice player, came through the ranks of two teams who love to knock it around the pitch. He is in the prime of his career and Assoc. trained so it ticks another box for CFC. Will he provide us with versatility? absolutely he has played auxiliary striker, the wing and CM. Do I like this guy? no, but I am a believer in Jose Mourinho so if he deems Cesc as a player we need to achieve our objectives then I'm gonna back it. I was pretty adamant Jose wouldn't change his philosophy but it appears he may be doing just that. Perhaps its 4-1-4-1 next year? Or maybe a healthy dose of 4-3-3? Either way for fans of attacking football this is a dream come true. Finally someone who can dictate the tempo in behind the attacking three, teams will be forced to come out a bit to account for him... We'll see how this transpires, never a dull moment at the bridge.

Cesc wants champions league. Its either us, Liverpool, Arsenal...

We don't need a lot. We have loads of creation and no end product. Between Oscar, Willian, Hazard, Salah, Schurrle we should have enough to create scoring if you have a striker capable of finishing. Were we not 4pts off the title and a game from the finals in Europe with no striker and a banged up Hazard?

No you don't get my sentiment. Drogba initially said no until he met with Jose, he had no idea what we were trying to build here.

I don't think I'm overestimating it at all. We created a lot of goalscoring opportunities that never quite got finished. We had the capability to be a very good team even with the same philosophy that has been implemented. A striker is the number one need after that a deeper CM who can play in the pivot next to Matic. Do you think Jose changed his style because we didn't attack well or because the way we were playing left us exposed at the back? I think it was because we were leaking too many goals to shit teams. I think what's happening here is you think I don't want a player like Modric, Rakitic, Kroos or Oscar to play in the deep mid, I do! I just don't see any of those players as viable options in Jose's system. I know what you think but never before has Jose played a traditional 10 in the holding role. Beyond that the tweak I've seen in Jose's tactics from years past is the pace. When we're at our best we are winning the ball high up the pitch with pressure from every member of the team. With Cesc in that system we lose pace and also ball winning ability. Jose needs people who work hard on both sides of the ball to get it back and to keep it. Ramires is the closest thing we have to the type of player Jose needs in the centre of the pitch next to Matic. He is fast, wins the ball, breaks up counters and is capable to run down attackers should we lose the ball, what he can't do is recycle possession and pick a pass. And no I'm not saying Jose wants more power than finesse, what I'm saying is we need a guy capable of providing both. Versatility. Someone like Michael Ballack is a Jose Mourinho type player, Essien in his prime. I can't see Jose switching this need because he knows when he gets it his sides are nearly unbeatable. Jose is a very rigid manager and having someone like Cesc who likes to get forward and doesn't really possess defensive awareness or is capable to snuff out danger would drive him mad. I'm only going on what I've seen, if you think Jose is ready to change you're more than entitled to your opinion I just won't be endorsing it. Oscar would make more sense in the pivot if we were looking to go that route because he can win balls and can pick a pass. Jose won't play him there because he's lightweight.

Dude I would LOVE to see more attacking football from Chelsea, I just don't think Jose will change to deliver that. When I said someone understands football I meant understands what type of set up works best for a Mourinho team to function at its full capacity.

Oh my word, you actually believe this thing has legs? Dude Cesc has never been considered any sort of defender, the teams he's played for have never required he play any sort of defense, and definitely not the type of defense Jose would demand of someone in that position. You keep ignoring one key factor... 4-3-3 is COMPLETELY different to 4-2-3-1!! what you ask of a CM in 4-3-3 is not the same as what is required in 4-2-3-1. When Cesc played in England, Arsenal mainly played 4-3-3 and 4-4-1-1 with Cesc in a free role behind the striker. If he went to Utd? Dude you're dutch you should know Van Gaal, what formation does he prefer? You can't see Cesc in a midfield three under Van Gaal? You can't see Cesc replacing Nasri and moving Silva to the left flank? Its obvious to me even Arsenal provide more of a role for Cesc than we can the way they used Arteta who was a 10 in the holding role is perfectly consistent with how Arsene would use Cesc... The difference is how the manager views the role, not what we think would be best for Chelsea. The way Jose sets up is different to that of any other team, much more rigid. You mention Frank in the deeper position, did you see Frank get forward at all this year? he stayed home a HELLUVA lot, same can be said for Ramires! Frank is/was a box to box midfielder, capable of getting forward and holding his own defensively, that's why he was more suited to Jose's 4-2-3-1 than say someone like Mikel. Ramires best represents the type of player Jose would like next to Matic but his technique is subpar. Face it guys what you want Chelsea to play like is in contrast to the way Jose sets his team out to do. We press high up the pitch and try to win the ball in advanced areas, or we sit deep and wait to hit the team on the counter. You think Cesc is the type of player capable of playing with the defensive discipline needed to feature regularly for Jose in the pivot??? Dude... In all of the big games he played Luiz, a CB by trade in the holding role. With Jose, good defense leads to good offense, not the other way around. Again, you are talking about different footballing philosophies!!! You say Jupp Heynekes and I say JOSE MOURINHO! They do not read from the same playbook and have different ways of achieving what it is they want accomplished!! Why is that so hard for you guy to understand? It has nothing to do with whether or we think Cesc will accept that role(he wouldn't)or even whether or not that role would even work! It has everything to do with how Jose sets up a team and what types of players he wants in those roles. As I've said many times what you guys want from Chelsea and what Jose wants may be similar in terms of the end product which is trophies but how a team gets there is in stark contrast. Jose won't abandon the football that has made him so successful at this stage in his career and putting someone like Cesc in that holding role is a complete 180 turn from what I've know of Jose since 2004.