robsblubot

He needs to improve physically. He can and does try to avoid contact, with quick 1-2s as stated above, but that's not always possible. Players can get away with that in brazil because the refs will stop the game on every bump, but not in the PL. He needs to bulk up a bit and is young enough to work on that.

Fernando from Gremio would be a very good option for the CM/DM position; he's very strong and has excellent technique. He has started for Brazil in the last two matches and is expected to be in the brazil squad for the WC. Napoli are reportedly interested and the price tag would be in the 12m Euros, which makes it a very good deal in my book. BTW, I support Gremio in Brazil and been following this kid for a while, he's only 21.

I honestly think it'd be a mistake to sign Falcao at this point for the reasons you've stated. For the same reason, I'd go for Lewa, because he is already used to playing in a possession side. Cavani seems to be more reliant on pace and spaces, than Lewa.The arguments some make that Falcao will score more goals in a bigger club make no sense to me, as evidence shows otherwise. It is typically more difficult to play for bigger clubs (expectations, opponent's more defensive posture, less counter-attacking).

fair enough, though I tend to think mental traits are exaggerated instead. Especially concerning confidence, it is more of a consequence than a cause. Not long ago, Torres would go down on minimal contact, but recently he has been making runs with pace and power. His confidence will go up as he successfully makes these runs and is able to beat opponents regularly. I do agree, however, that a player who is mentally stronger would be able to cope with these a dip in form far more gracefully than Torres did. Though I still remember what Liverpool (and Benitez) did to him: overplaying him and making him play through a number of injuries.

He does look sharp and it is clear to me that he's regained some of his lost pace... very interesting and surprising. Cautiously optimistic.

Isn't this guy's problem just consistency? 3 games in a row he's been very good! He has had great games, even against strong opposition, so it is something he can do.

OK, so you are all saying he is ready right now?! And that rotating at WBA means he can rotate for Chelsea... wow! BTW, I've watched countless players come and go... you do need to watch them a lot to assess their development, but NOT current ability! I guess we will see next season. CFC_LUCAS: I did no such thing. Just not agreeing with the idea he can have an immediate impact next season for Chelsea.

fantastic give yourself a medal for that. I'll watch him when he is good enough to play with the big boys, not before. ALL I fucking wrote in the original post was that he wasn't ready... being youngster and all. And now you've come full cycle stating what I wrote in the first place. You know he is rotation for WBA! Sitting on the bench for Shane Long. Long who would never make the bench for us. forums... BTW, if you need that much watching to assess ***the current ability of a player*** I'm sorry for you ... for example much can be told by just how a player runs.

I've watched him a few times and just don't see this world beater ppl make him out to be here. I'm obviously wrong though... next season when Lukaku scores 20+ goals for us, then I will come back here and say I was wrong... He won't though.

Good game against Arsenal, though his finishing is nowhere near good enough for Chelsea. Typical of a youngster though as he still has to develop.

Many here are missing a very important point: unless Torres improves drastically, he is unsellable! Unless you consider receiving no money and having to pay over 50% of his ridiculous wages a "sale."

seriously, in all fairness he was absolutely class today. Not talking about those bit of class here and there that he does show, again here and there, without any consistency; today he was class, a threat, interested, active, from start to finish. Like I said before, I'd like to have all the answers like some here pretend to. Is his loss of form permanent? Can he recover some of the lost pace, and athleticism? Lpool rode him hard, but our fitness coaches might know something we don't... or they may know they can get him to some sort of form, just enough so he can be sold. I just don't have that information. So, cautiously optimistic, not necessarily about Torres, but rather that someone at Chelsea know what the fuck they are doing.

no mention to that fantastic assist to torres for the first goal?! That's called class. You know, the game was scoreless by then, so technically, we don't know what'd have happened had he not had that wonderful bit of class... In football all players are involved in the play at all times; so, when we have a defender as skillful as Luiz, that can really become an asset, especially when all other things are equal.

I watched only a few minutes of the match and to be fair, Torres was already playing very well then; he was linking up play superbly and his work rate far above the usual. If he could only regain some of his lost pace...

you clearly rate Falcao very highly (being a fan and all), but Falcao would be too much of a bet for that kind of money. I'd certainly be upset at signing Falcao for that amount of money because we need someone better than him. Because our rivals already DO have better strikers at their disposal: RVP and Aguero (Dzeko would go into personal preferences and characteristics).

Honestly he's not receiving as much criticism as he deserves. Tostao still calls him "supercraque." It's a matter of expectations: is he a good player or a Messi? The media says he's a Messi, and we watch him play, especially against tougher opposition, and he's just a good player. Personally, I think he is more than just a good player; he's got the potential anyway. His dribbling, ball control, all during a full sprint isn't something very common. However, he looks VERY comfortable atm... He's getting the money he'd get in Europe without the effort he'd have to put in were he in Europe. Hopefully the investors behind him will begin to freak out since his contract will run out only in 2 years and his development is pretty much stagnant.

Siem de Jong Looked more like the final product to me, but only watched him a couple of times.

Great post, but it'd still be an expensive gamble. It's 25M minus Torres; I mean, because from a Chelsea's standpoint it would be not having to pay % of Torres wages. Realistically, Chelsea will be paying part of his wages until his contract runs out. Torres was never a very aggressive player, but he had a lot of pace before. Just think 25-30M is just way too much money for only a good player. Perhaps it's time to bet on younger/cheaper players? For ex, with that amount of money you could get 2 22-23 yo highly-rated players. If we are going to go for a 30M player, that's Cavani, not Falcao.

We need a coach who is unflushable (Jeff...), or at the very least difficult to flush. Otherwise, it may take a few more years for Roman to learn the trade and finally realize football is not kind to knee-jerk, short-term decisions. A second-term Mourinho might just do the trick; his wages and contractual fees would make firing him simply a very bad deal.

Not sure I'd qualify Stoke, Wigan, Reading, and many others as difficult. Perhaps under certain circumstances, Stoke can pose physical problems esp away, but certainly not what I'd consider quality--most of their players are so poor on the ball. Champions League record is a much fairer way to assess league quality IMO. However, BPL is, obviously, one of the top leagues in the world and the fact that Hazard has been playing so well and in his first season in England is really incredible. Now, potential is a funny thing; we have no clue what Neymar is going to do once he moves to Europe. Will he become more of a Messi or a Robinho?! At this point, I'd go for something in between, but it's just way too soon. Same goes for Hazard: is this it?! He's a great attacking player right now, but just imagine what he'd be capable of if he develops further... Neymar showed some glimpses of quality against italy (friendly), but his development is certainly behind because of his very comfortable situation in Brazil.

Isn't Fellaini too slow to play box-to-box? I'm a big fan of B2B players, and these types need to be always running, making quick transitions from defense to attack; Fellaini does not strike me as capable of doing that. Interesting player and young enough to develop/adapt to a new position. Yaya is a fantastic player, but he's 29, turning 30 in may. I wonder whether City have gotten the best of him already.

I just cannot imagine Mourinho playing with 3 CAM plus a striker.... regardless of how good markers the CMs/DMs are. In fact I can't imagine winning anything playing the way we've been playing ^^. Certainly entertaining, for bystanders, but not supporters. I even think some players like (for me) Gary need to reassessed once we get a proper manager with tactics that don't expose our defenders to 1x1 disputes every other minute. I honestly think that all good things of Champions League winner Chelsea are gone.

granted on Giroud. Disagree with everything else you wrote though. Dzeko is twice the player in my book and there are at least 20 strikers better than Ba. IMO strikers need more than just tap in goals, which Ba can certainly do. Especially when we are talking world class and I just don't see enough skill there to even consider him close to being world class. Good tap in striker, nothing more for me. BTW, not talking about last match alone... and a lot of championship players have a lot of passion too, and yet I don't see them playing for Chelsea. Can we all agree that Ba is, at this time, a lot better than Torres? But Is being better than Torres the only requirement to play for Chelsea these days?

We are making life for Ba way too easy by comparing him to Torres. So let's forget Torres for a second here. Honestly, I think Ba is very far from the world class striker Chelsea need to compete at the highest level. Can you really compare Ba to RVP, Dzeko, Aguero, Suzrez, even Giroud (consider potential there as he is very young). I like having a towering striker like Ba as an option, but I'd rather not have him start against Real Madrid next year when we play for the CL... straight from my crystal ball.

I don't deny the occasional mistakes--all players make them. It's just so strange to hear our defense this, or our defense that... when Luiz is carrying the ball and makes a good pass, was that defense or build up? When we keep possession we are not attacked... Did he make a good pass because he has the quality or because other players moved enough to receive the pass--perhaps both? When he loses possession, is it entirely his fault then? Was it an easy pass he missed, or no such option was available? It's difficult to know without knowing what they are told by their managers and coaches. Have you guys seen him playing for Brazil? Never seen him lose possession... even against England when Brazil were mostly dominated. We don't have defense and offense; we have a defensive system which involves all players. And when we win a game, all players on the pitch were successful, because their collective contribution was enough to win the match. It may sound cheesy, but unlike Tennis or any other individual sport, that's really the only way to see football.