Chelsea Legend 11

Dude, there is no need for insults... If you wanna carry on like a little baby don't bother replying to my post. If you wanna have real dialogue and real debate please refrain from the kiddie comments. I like Shaw I think he has decent potential but its just potential right now... The reason why we're looking at Rodriguez is because he has matured into one of the best in the world right now. People develop at different rates, some show early potential and never realize it, others bloom later and never look back. It is a ridiculous debate to engage in when you say "look at what so and so did when he was 18 vs. this guy at the same age" everyone is different. That's more than fine for me, I've watched him a lot and he IS right up there as far as LB's go... Okay you rate him higher than Baines and Cole... gotcha, no need to carry on this conversation then. He is good!! we aren't debating the merits of how good Luke Shaw is! Its whether he's good enough to command over £20m at the age of 18... I don't think that's where his value lies and there are no guarantees on potential he could very well be playing the best football of his career right now. You have already been patronizing and haven't proven anything. LB and RB are important positions on the pitch just not AS important as other positions on the pitch... Put it this way Real Madrid, one of the top teams in the world played Michael Essien at RB last year... Fullbacks are used more like wingers now too. again, with your 'holier than thou' bullshit... How old are you anyway?

You could be right. I'm not saying spend 40+m on the two either, I think that number is inflated. Cole is pretty much gone and Azpi is playing out of position because he is good. That doesn't mean he stays there for the rest of his career, I would imagine we definitely buy one LB who is ready to start in Europe now and have another who has the potential to be great in a few years, while we use Azpi as a secondary bridge for our young LB. Also Brana can't play RB forever especially the way the game is being played now.

actual value? Shaw is definitely not close to as good as Azpilicueta but since he's English I'd say he's in and around £15M. His actual Value right now though... £10M He doesn't win a lot of tackles, doesn't disrupt the attack at all(with interceptions)... What he does do well is get by his man and has decent pace. I'm not against signing him but lets not get carried away, the things he does well are not elite and its hard to gauge what that will be like in a few years.

I fail to see where that actually impacts what I've said, most games are still won and lost in the middle of the pitch. What is the most a LB or RB was ever sold for? of course the position is vital but is it more valuable than a DM, CB, CF? History says no. Yes but that doesn't detract from what I've said either, I agree, it doesn't mean you spend upwards of 25m for a LB's potential though

Maybe I'm missing something, what is it that Shaw does at a world class level? how many games has he played in Europe? aren't those prerequisites for guys to command £20m at LB? I mean even Cesar was bought for £9m and had Spanish experience and European experience... I don't know how much Shaw will go for(if he goes) but anything over 18M(and that's high if you ask me) is a gross overpayment. You can make the argument that Rodriguez is one of the top 5 LB's in the world right now with room to grow he does just about everything better than Shaw(and yes I have seen him play A LOT) The age doesn't matter either England is not exactly producing the best talent around the world and furthermore its a midseason friendly... If he can hold down a regular spot with England that would be fantastic but at current its his first cap and its unlikely he will even play... We'll see. As far as him being English and a Chelsea supporter I've already said I love that, its not going to possess me to go above and beyond what he's actually worth though. He has good potential and could develop into one of the Premier leagues best but right now paying over £20m for him is nuts... Just my opinion though

I'm not saying Shaw wouldn't be well sought after but not for the ridiculous amounts of money I've seen him linked with. LB and RB are not positions that are traditionally big money positions mainly because the game is played in the middle of the pitch. If Shaw goes for more than £18M I would be astounded. I don't care how young he is you don't pay much more than that for a LB because he has potential... Not in a FFP world anyway.

Ryan Bertrand got called up... Luke Shaw is a newish, hot name but in terms of World football he only has potential.

£20m? to start? wow... I don't know man that is a lot of dough for just potential, English or not... And I'm sorry but Rodriguez is without a doubt better than Shaw in every aspect of his game. Going forward Ricardo is better and defending Ricardo is WAY better. Shaw is decent young English talent but not bordering on world class... As I said I like the fact he is English but I don't see Ashley-like skill there. just my opinion but £20M is where it ends for me not where it starts and I don't care what the journos say anything above that is ridiculously overpriced

We don't know how much it will cost. But given the fact that Cole is out of contract and Azpilicueta is playing out of position I'd say that is an area where investment is necessary. £45M sounds like a lot I'd £35m for the two sounds more realistic. No way Luke Shaw goes for stupid money, he has potential but it still needs to be realized. The numbers being thrown around for him are INSANE and I doubt its realistic.

Why can't we have both? Luke Shaw is young and Rodriguez is nearing his prime years. Also lets not forget Shaw isn't tested at a very high level, he is looking good for Southampton but is he good enough for Europe? Rodriguez is without a doubt the better LB but I like the fact that Shaw is homegrown and a Chelsea supporter... I say grab both and allow them to duke it out for minutes

I just think he's tired. would love for him to play but he hasn't been the 'legs in the middle of the pitch' for quite some time now. I think we can counter Paulinho by packing the midfield which is why I have Lamps, Luiz and Matic

its like people have forgotten we have VanGinkel

I think this is a game we should play 4-3-3 Ivanovic -Cahill - Terry - Azpilicueta Luiz - Matic - Lampard Schurrle - Eto'o - Hazard Change it late on if we're not getting the result and bring on Hehatestottenham, Ramires and Oscar.

Honestly, I have no idea what you're talking about... When you win at this point in the season it will buoy you! Winning is contagious and also great for morale. You don't remember when Chelsea won the title with Jose? How all the players took the Carling cup seriously and used it to spur them onto the title? Its about motivation and finding ways to win which is exactly what they did against Sunderland. Not sure why you keep mentioning Barca, it was never gonna be an easy run in and without Aguero you can say they were even more underdogs. Europe you need to be lucky, in the EPL you need to be good... I'm not talking about anything other than City using the cup run to spur them on... It is a good thing for them not a negative.

Winning a cup will buoy them for sure. Its just whether or not they can ride the emotional high for long enough to see them across the finish line. Any motivation you can draw from at this point in the season is a positive no matter how "mickey mouse" you consider it to be... If we finish above City we will be champions of that I have no doubt. We have to win our games but more importantly than that is we need City to slip up and coming from behind to win a cup final is more a positive than a negative. All we can really hope for is fixture congestion and mental fatigue become major factors from here till the end...

How many attainable top top strikers are there?

Keep in mind we don't need a 30 goal a year striker, it would be nice but not necessary with the team we've already built. Costa is a very good striker, not elite but just below that. I like the fact he is strong, quick and can score with either foot. Costa with Hazard, Oscar, Schurrle and Willian would give us a formidable attack. Of this is bearing in mind we're pretty good right now with Eto'o, Torres and Ba. If we can find a few more goals up top we'll be deadly! I like a strike force of Lukaku, Costa and Torres.

How does Torres miss that? Honestly he's got to be the most unlucky striker ever to wear the Chelsea blue... Its bordering on divine intervention.

Definitely weren't a lot of major talking points in the game for me. The first half, as well all can attest, was dreadful! We had nothing going forward and the decision making in crucial areas on the pitch were woeful... Throughout the first half I just kept thinking we were tired and its gonna take something lucky for us to nick it, I was wrong. the 2nd half the team played with more endeavour and for some strange reason Fulham started to defend with a highline! lol... With the team having not had the chance to practice and work on Fulham tactics Magath handed us 2 goals by basically playing Mancini like tactics at the beginning of the second half. It allowed us to run in behind them and play the ball into open space, similar to what we did against Galatasaray. Eden Hazard is just fucking incredible! If you give him space he'll hurt you, if you play him tight he'll blow by you and hurt you. Watching him play this season has been some of the most enjoyable football I've witnessed as a Chelsea supporter. I was screaming at my computer for Schurrle to be subbed at the half, glad he wasn't that was a man of the match performance in the second. He finally timed his runs properly and was clinical. We will need him BIG TIME throughout the rest of the season, he can finish and has fresh legs. Cahill is emerging as our most crucial defender. JT still is but the gap is narrowing I thought he had another inch perfect game and made some timely interceptions and tackles. Keep saying it but these are the types of performances that win titles... Derby game away after a tough midweek and we do enough to get the win. Jose will be proud the boys found a way to navigate that.

Truly, all we can hope for is fatigue becomes a factor for City. They will have more games to navigate but the opposition isn't exactly stellar. The London derbies we have coming up will be the key if you ask me. If we go 9pts clear of City (albeit with 3 games in hand) the pressure will start to mount and then all we can do is hope mental fatigue and physical fatigue take their toll.

Awwww how cute you even put happy faces in your post.

Just make sure you come back here after the two legs... Don't be as cowardly as the other Gala supporters please.

Some things are bigger than the game itself. Just my opinion...

If we had Sturridge instead of Eto'o(similar players in my opinion) we'd be out of sight right now... Sturridge with Hazard, Willian and Oscar would be a VERY dangerous front 4... No doubt.

You must've bumped your head.