robsblubot

you are probably right, but I reckon we won't find a fit replacement without incurring into some risk. Ryan, to me, seems to be a bit more aggressive and dominant physically (than Cahill is), which is what JT is; of course Terry is also a better overall player, but that's the difficult part. Damn! This should've been on JT's thread.

Barring injuries, I see no reason not to renew with Terry. Defenders can go the distance, especially Terry who's not that mobile anyway. Finding a partner for Luiz should be easy in terms of characteristics: we just don't want another Luiz, a ball-playing defender. Since he's the oddball as defenders go, finding one like him would've been difficult. Actually we just need to find a younger John Terry - that doesn't sound very easy to me. Is Ryan Shawcross worth a look? Although he does not look world class to me I wonder whether he's reached his peak yet.

Couldn't disagree more. First I didn't say quickness of movement, but quickness of play: how long it takes between first touch and a pass, that's technique right there! A better player will be able to move the ball very quickly, because his better technique will allow him to control it more quickly Quickness of movement, pace, and quick passes IMO define great players and sides. I've played with a few professional players - just for fun - and the main difference between us, amateurs and them is speed. Speed of execution. Everything takes a bit longer for an amateur player, even if he has "good technique." No disagreement with the first part; as I always wish the betterment of the team. I also don't see this as a good start of the season for him and I reckon Mourinho doesn't think so either, based on recent team selection alone. Like someone else above wrote, he needs to be more assertive/aggressive in that role.

World Class performance against S. Korea (friendly). Absolutely dominant with great interceptions. Dante looked like a simple good defender next to Luiz. Nothing wrong with that, but the difference in quality is evident.

Did I say Mikel has no technical ability? I merely alluded to an obvious link between technique and quickness. Pirlo? Pirlo can/could speed up play a lot better than Mikel btw - I hope we can all agree with that... Just look at the most expensive players in the world and you will see players who have the quickness attached to their skills - being passing, dribbling, shooting/finishing, etc. Again, not saying it's necessary, just bonus and a very well-paid one as the numbers show. And I don't understand your reasoning. So, we have world class players in every position in the squad, but we should settle because Mikel is a nice guy?! So, we should be content with an OK player while our direct opponents have better options there?

This is actually a very interesting point. Does quickness count in technique? I do think so. Barcelona is the obvious example: they are so good at keeping the football not because of the short and easy passes, but because they are performed at a very high tempo. So when the opponents gets close to a barca player, the ball is no longer there.

obviously It's been the other around... I'm still waiting for that mythical other top club who don't have the same "bad reputation" (that you claim we have) for not utilizing youngsters. We consistently start matches with 2 young players (22). Great performance for Belgium btw!

To play Demba Ba....

thanks for the kid part, I'm flattered...

Sure, then stop posting if you don't want to discuss... Did you actually read teh post or just blindly quoted it while watching the match?! I did mention Oscar AND Hazard...

what a finish! he's like the perfect player for counter-attacking...

what are you afraid of? You keep posting about youngsters leaving and reputation... How many 21 year old players do you see starting for the very top clubs?! Especially the goalkeeper? Atletico can afford it Chelsea would never do it. Chelsea are starting Oscar and Hazard these days; both very young. that's pretty good as top clubs go. Chelsea don't play many youngsters at the same time for a reason. These kids won't play for Chelsea regularly, no matter what you believe. If they leave because of that then so be it. You just can't reach the later stages of CL regularly with a team filled with youngsters.

no! Chelsea refuses and don't let him go on loan... very common situation when a club wants to hurt a player. Money from goalkeeper sale isn't that big of a deal spec one with only 2-3 years left of contract. And it's not like Chelsea need money... You are missing the point that things don't happen in a vacuum. What they did with malouda for example sometimes is done to show other players that the club still have some power and can hurt someone's career. It's all part of negotiations, and sometimes the club needs to be tough or be walked over.

You are right that nowadays players have the power, but not so much the younger ones. Because there are too many unknowns about them. Imagine a problem like Fletcher had, which absolutely destroyed his career. Or not so drastic, something like what happened to Essien, the so common knee injuries. These type of things could really lower the ceiling of any young player since they really can't afford to lose years of development time, not to mention the long-term physical and mental consequences of such injuries/problems. Again, not to mention that some of these youngster are pretty much playing at their peak, so what you see is as good as it's going to get. I believe Courtois still has 3 years left (until 2016) on his contract, so Chelsea could really hurt his development if he does not play nice. Malouda is a good example, at the other end of the (age) spectrum: he was unflushable, and Chelsea said fine, we don't care, but we won't waste time with you. The best case scenario is that he returns to the club come next season and play rotation with Cech, learning as much as possible from Cech. Then, in the following season, Chelsea should - amicably - allow Cech to move and make his retirement money (bonuses and all). This is still a very possible outcome. BTW, goalkeeper aren't valued that highly, even the very promising ones. The deals just involve a lot less money.

This deal only makes sense as a part-exchange with Ba, in order to improve upon Ba. Honestly this is the wrong kind of bet. Top clubs don't sell their top strikers, especially not to us. So instead of betting on 27/28 year old players, who have already reached their peak, we need to bet on younger strikers who have the potential to become world class. Yes, it is difficult, but the returns will be better than getting these average stop-gap players who we all know won't be good enough. Sturridge's personality and perhaps demands, may have made it difficult for the club to stick with him. However, betting on players like him is the correct approach IMO. The same works for CMs too. Unfortunately Barcelona won't sell Iniesta, the same way City won't sell Toure.

heh that's the root of our disagreement. I don't like Suarez; I don't know him and don't care about him. As a footballer though, as a striker, I think few are better.

did you just pull a suarez there?!

As bad as these rumors go, this one is messed up. They are either missing a digit there or a part-exchange.

You believe it an accidental touch. I believe it was not. I think Ba is a terrible player; you don't. You think Suarez being a cunt makes him a bad player, or a lesser player; I don't.

Please stop putting words in my mouth! When did I say he should have stopped the play?!? The same way I understand an aggressive player would play aggressively, in his natural way and not stop the play when he or some else thinks he's been too aggressive. That's up to the officials. How about not using your hand to being with?!? Concerning Suarez, that's exactly the attitude that can weaken a team: our players are always better than the opposition. If you think Ba is better than Suarez, then I rest my case.

Do you think that (guilty at the same level)? Because I certainly did not say it. What I asked for is some consistency... don't treat our players like saints they are not. The fact Terry (one of my fav players BTW) is not a good guy is a good thing for Chelsea because you cannot win anything with only good guys in the quad. You need some meanness to win. Completely agree on Ba and Suarez on the human level. So, I reckon Ba should leave football and employ his good heart in some good cause. While Suarez, who is a gifted footballer, should remain in the game since knowing how to play football is really all that matters.

I was just answering your so what? I'm clearly saying his performance on that game was not good. Because the only real contribution he made was by cheating. And he missed clear opportunities to score which could've cost us the game. Yeah Terry never racially abused anyone... did not lose England's captaincy over it... And without the cultural/language barrier that people here tend to forget. PK you mean one the of the many of Ba dives?! Yeah that's what I meant about going to the ground all the time. Sorry for bring up Suarez; I don't think one can put Suarez and Ba in the same sentence; one of them knows how to play football. It was a bad first touch and he used his arm to correct it. If you think otherwise, I can offer you this little bit of land on the moon for a very reasonable price...

my point was that without the cheating there wouldn't have been an assist to begin with. We can't have it both ways: bash the likes of Suarez and then praise when our players get away with it.

well agree to disagree. BTW, blatant handball by Ba before the assist. His first touch looked fantastic at first, but he actually used his arm to control the football. Without the first touch, the assist was not that great.

The game had not become very open, Jose made the game very open with the changes. I stand with my opinion the strategy did not work in the first half. in Yes, if we are playing like Stoke a year from now Jose will be replaced as he should.