Chelsea Legend 11

I would agree with this portion however, Pogba is much closer to Yaya than Ilkay is to Xavi... He's nowhere near world class. As a guy who watches a lot of Pogba I would say he is the much more versatile a midfielder than Gundogan. If you wanna talk about overrated look no further than Gundogan.

Whoa... slow down. I never said Gundogan wouldn't be good for Chelsea anywhere, I simply said you'd have to be watching football with your eyes closed to want Gundogan over Pogba.

I like how you think.

If there truly is nothing more to play for this season, we really need to figure out what these youth products have. Ruben's physique and technical ability make for a mouthwatering combination especially when matched with his pace. The only thing lacking in his game is a natural feel for it, he doesn't really know where he should be and what to do when we're not in possession... In a lot of ways he looks like Pogba right before he went to Juve. We need to find a way to cultivate his football and not with a loan to Bournemouth.

You would have to be watching football with your eyes closed to make a decision like that.

Ruben Loftus Cheek has more goals this season than Eden Hazard...

Well, he's not. Anderlecht "grew" him. ;-) Am I missing something here? [emoji19]

By my count the window opened a week ago. Why are some posters complaining about not signing anyone? You guys need to relax, we've been linked with a number of players and I have every confidence we will sign one or two players but you have to remember we don't have a full compliment of homegrown players so bringing someone in may mean someone must go out. And on one hand you guys are all crying about giving the youth a chance and then as soon as the window opens you're banging on about signing someone. Make up your mind.

He needed to stay with the club in order to classify as a homegrown player.

I stand corrected... I thought for sure this guy would bang them in. I guess I really know don't all there is to know about football........ yet

Yes Michael Hector will be a prospect for Vittesse Arnhem and we have even less chance of getting Stones now then we had in the Summer Have you even seen Michael Hector play? He's good! I've seen live twice and both times he was a standout player. We weren't the only teams in for him either. Sound investment if you ask me and he's a Chelsea fan. People cry about Chelsea not paying over the odds and finding players like Van Djik on the cheap but when we do certain sections of the supporters slag said player off before they even see him play. Lame. Stones wasn't available.

Wow... Give me a break please. Michael hector is a prospect. Djilobodji was bought to make up numbers on the cheap. We couldn't get stones and didn't want to spend big on secondary targets. Why is that so hard for people to comprehend?

Wow... Give me a break please. Michael hector is a prospect. Djilobodji was bought to make up numbers on the cheap. We couldn't get stones and didn't want to spend big on secondary targets. Why is that so hard for people to comprehend?

I don't think the deficit for missing European football is as great as it once was, the tv deal kicks in and that alone will help alleviate some of the financial burden. What we need to be worried about is does a year out of the champions league mean we can't attract the right players? I don't think it will, we may have to pay more wages but I doubt anyone who knows anything about Chelsea will turn down the club because they aren't in the Champs league for a year. 100m is a lot of money and I would definitely sell and re-invest it into two 50m players or a 70m and a 30m/60m and a 40m. Any combination of that would be deadly imo.

We don't really need the money, we need interest from high end talented players. If we can't attract the players to play here the money means nothing

One year out of the champions league isn't that big of a deal when you look at the immense wages and the allure of London. We may have to pay a little more in wages but I don't think one year out of the competition will impact us greatly

You have your opinion and others have there's... Like I said many people believe he is lazy (Coach Wilmots) and doesn't work hard enough to reach his potential. Wages are important, you give the biggest wages to those who work the hardest and possess the best skill. You don't reward those who are lazy and not working to their full potential; with the wage demand comes a greater responsibility. Of course as a professional there is a level of commitment that must be met but as a talisman and the highest wage earner the weight is greater, even if only in public opinion. I want everyone to work hard but I don't want my best player and highest earner to be one of the worst in terms of commitment. Maybe that's me but if I pay someone 1M to do a job and I pay someone $5.00 to do the same job, I expect the guy I pay 1M to, to work his ass off. Definitely not the Torres levels but it is extremely alarming, especially right after winning player of the year.

It is though to pay big money. What would the fee be on Bale?

Its not though. Hazard has developed a reputation for being a lazy player without the ambition to reach his potential... Many say that about him. I think you're missing what I am saying about wages and skills. When John Terry and Frank Lampard were our highest paid players there was a responsibility that came with that, not only as leaders for the club but also as our best player to work hard and justify the salary. You don't get paid those sorts of monies strictly for your potential, your work ethic and commitment to the team is also taken into account(unless you're Torres) Hazard has gone longer than Torres and Shevy in terms of minutes between goals. That is the startling realization that most of you have to wake up to... This is woefully as bad as where we are in the table and I think there is a correlation there as well.

Didier was our talisman from 09 onward for sure.

Huh? Are best and highest paid players have to be our hardest working! It has a negative affect on the dressing room when your best players don't set the standard.

Again, the difference is Hazard is supposed to be our Talisman I hold him to a higher standard. Oscar has been hit and miss his entire career, Fab just looks lazy... Hazard is our highest paid player we can't afford to have a passenger earning 200k a week

He's a one contract player who will cost a fortune. just doesn't seem like the type of player to re-invest a hazard sum for.

Bale is gonna be 27 this year I don't think he's a worthy investment anymore.

If he is truly looking for a project and the opportunity to build a club in his image then the choice is obvious. I for one think he's toying with us and Utd, he will ultimately go work for the people he knows and trusts in Txiki and Ferran. The only thing that may swing the pendulum in our favour is London and whether or not his wife has any say in where they want to live. Outside of that we are pretty much never gonna get him... He almost joined in 2013 but the appointment of Rafa salted him on our business practices(who can blame him?) City don't have a lot of movable pieces so for him to build his own team would require a complete overhaul. Kompany is injury prone and 30 this year, Yaya is 33, Silva 29 but still highly effective. Their main pieces going forward are Sterling, De Bruyne, Aguero, Bony(?) On paper we look the more appetizing proposition Terry is done. Ivanovic, Cahill, Remy and Falcao don't look to be part of the long term outlook. Our main pieces are Costa, Willian, Hazard, Zouma, Courtois, Azpilicueta and maybe Matic... are those pieces along with serviceable pieces he's worked with in the past like Pedro and Fab enough to attract him to London? We do have movable pieces as well like Oscar, Ramires, Mikel... I'm not sure, at this point my money is on the favourite in Man City but we do make for a compelling option even without Europe next year.