robsblubot

Even though I agree a 40m bid would be difficult to turn down, reckon that alone would automagically make him world class in every way and form... At some point we have to respect the market; yes, it can be a bit irrational at times, but not for too long. OT: one of my fav sayings in economy goes like this, "the market can remain irrational longer than you can remain solvent"

agree to disagree. Benzema does produce very rare moments of magic, while Higuain is more like Soldado to me. Even today against Chievo, despite his poor finishing, he was was trying hard. Benzema does not give a fuck. He misses a pass and he stops... never chases or moves the way a striker should. It's quite remarkable he's still at RM.

indeed. While Higuain has the work rate, but lacks talent, Benzema seems to have talent but lacks everything else - goes missing all the time.

Just watching Higuain miss on an empty net against Chievo.... really not a fan - overrated player who will never be anywhere near the level of Aguero.

It's not a matter of understanding, but information; sources report he's got a release clause. In my experience, players don't think like that at all. If Chelsea made an offer that is high enough to literally make his life, he'd leave in a heartbeat. Professional players have to think about their career first, because they never know about the feature (form, fitness...). What if an opportunity like this never happens again in his career?! However, I do understand Chelsea and Atletico seem to have a good relationship, so you might have a point.

at this point I'm not sure Mata staying would be good for him or Chelsea.

Only realistic striker target ATM is Costa. Would he be a bet? Sure thing, as top strikers are not for sale ATM. I'd go for him though esp if losing Courtois cannot be avoided.

well, I see that Andre won't be playing much then... Thought the whole point was that he could cover as a striker too - prob better than Ba at that.

Well that really depends on his ambition as a player. I reckon he will play even less now with another option in midfield, and that may or may not be OK with him. He's reportedly on a 75K a week, which could make him accept whatever role Chelsea will have for him. We will find out soon enough.

Nah... mid table United?! Would everton be a big match then? You are probably talking about the away game I suppose - that (draw) was a bad result as small sides have won there. Yes, Jose was playing Mikel some start of the season, so he got a run of games, but he hasn't had many *starts* lately. I thought he only had 8 starts in how many matches? I'm confused though. Do you really think Mikel is going to play more now that we've got Matic?! Reckon we'd not have gotten Matic if Jose and Chelsea had confidence in Mikel as a starter.

Yeah I too think that people who proclaim "facts" like his pass accuracy, or how many "appearances" he's got, know absolutely nothing of football; but I normally keep that to myself, and focus on specific points. If the fact Chelsea signed Matic, and before that have employed Luiz in midfield a number of times (esp in big matches), does not tell you what role Mikel has in the squad, I really think nothing else will.

This deal shows how much faith Chelsea and Jose have in Victor Moses... none whatsoever apparently.

very good read: http://www.goal.com/en-sg/news/3883/features/2014/01/17/4548754/does-matic-signing-spell-the-end-of-mikels-chelsea-stay couldn't agree more with this bit: Finally his passing is put in perspective. I personally believe he will never be able to reproduce what he does for Nigeria - which wouldn't be good enough for chelsea anyway. Matic and Mikel in the Pivot would make it a very slow "pivot" indeed.

my apologies then... thought it was chelsea-related. just thought that very long post on Ki a bit out of place. BTW, whether he becomes a player worth of notice at the very top level is really up to him.

And how exactly does that make him a transfer target? At the very least way off-topic.@kir no I won't as I haven't - just this one as is clearly just promoting a Swansea player for no reason remotely related to chelsea. Ok maybe my understanding of this thread is wrong... Is this a completely open transfer talk then? Honest question.

So, what does this have to do with Chelsea?! I had to stop reading after Ki was mentioned for the 13th time...

Who?!? Poor man's Lennon for 15m? Must be inflation.

yup Some young players (and apparently Anelka) seem to have this ridiculous notion that they can say and do whatever they want while representing, not to mention being paid by, their clubs; when people demand professionalism, that's essentially it. No irony here as players are nothing more than contracted employees. Regardless of merit on the action itself, Anelka was wrong in using the popularity of his club, without their knowledge or consent, to send a personal message. The fact that the message was controversial was just the icing on the cake. WBA is reportedly having some trouble with their sponsors over Anelka's action.

He has developed as a good/great player in a different, presumably weaker, league. We may have to show the same patience with him as we do with any other acquisition from a different league/country. The fact he was once a Chelsea player may or may not help his adaptation to the current squad and system, not to mention the Premiere League - has he even played much in the PL?

not sure about that. He seems to be 100% professional in every sense of the word. Regardless whether you rate him a top CAM or not, his professionalism can't be questioned. For this reason, the fact he missed training suggests the deal is imminent.

I've never been a big fan of Mata's. I thought he had great seasons for us, certainly an important player, but I look around and the other top CAMs are better than him. I do think he's bit on the slow side for that position. He's a very good player, but really don't rate him as a top 10 CAM. I understand why Jose, along with Chelsea, are betting on Oscar: he is younger and more rounded than Mata. They reckon Oscar has a higher ceiling while Mata is already at his peak. However, let's just forget Oscar for a moment. Mata's problem and the reason he'd want to leave isn't because he is behind Oscar, or because he is a rotation player. He just doesn't play under Jose. Jose is not liking what Mata has been producing and that's the reason Mata's (presumably) unhappy and would want to leave. Now, I'd not have a problem if we sold him for say 40m... that's the beauty selling in the January window as it is a sellers market.

So, i guess we are going to stop complaining about the CM position now?! We've now got the Brazilian Kenyan and the Giant Serbian.

the bolded part goes against all the evidence we've got, not to mention your own argument. Forward runs and long balls have been either allowed/encouraged or he would've been yanked out midway through matches - perhaps even before. He lost his place when he made concentration and judgmental errors, not when he made forward runs or attempted long passes (in those instances he played the 90 mins) as he has always done. Or are you saying Jose Mourinho would leave a player on the pitch who completely ignores his instructions?! And how about every manager before him who had Luiz as a starter? Concerning Barcelona, I think if they can play 5'11 Mascherano as a CB, Luiz will do just fine.

deleted my post was garbage compared to the one above.

I think Moses is a limited player and won't get much better than this, unfortunately - hope he proves me wrong! However, I completely agree with you - we just can't expect to have players like Mata sitting on the bench (if that much). Gotta have the wildcards here and there and they should not be the 40m ones.