Hutcho

Originally i would have disagreed with you but with all the new signings, i too would rather have Lewandowski for sure... And with Lukaku looking more likely to be going on loan he is a quality striker who could be very useful for us, however i really wouldn't pay any more than 30 mil for him which i think is pushing it... If we are talking about at least 35 then i would rather Moses... for a lot less or has i have said in other threads Demba BA.

I know they are not wingers, but i am simply saying that the likes or ramires and still Lampard imo aswell can all move into the CAM position and one of the 3/4 can then move to the wing, so it is not a defniate 4 people and we need him for depth... Also i agree sturridge is a ST, but i would still rather have Danny at RW than Malouda at LW...

TBH, i don't think Malouda leaving would leave our attacking third sparse... We have the 4 obvious ones, Mata, Marin, Hazard, Oscar, then ramires who has been played wide, Raul Meireles who didn't do it well but played CAM in the last game, Sturridge has only really ever played RW for us, not to mention Kakuta still hasn't technically left yet and thorgan is still here, also adding to the fact that a player like lampard could move up to CAM and whoever is in the middle (i.e. Mata, Hazard, or Oscar) could move out wide... So if you assume gael and thorgan will go on loan, that leaves is with 7/8 players, which is plenty of depth imo... Still think he is useful but isn't a necessary player to keep.

My 1000th post on here... Haven't been on here long, but its definately the best chelsea Forum, and thought its time i contributed... Can only do a fiver right now, but i aim to do more in the coming months... Thanks for everyones hard work...

Bet they are kicking themselves now...

I like the lineup, but i think RDM will stick to his 4-2-3-1. With hazard in the middle ramires on the right and Lamps and Mikel holding... Hopefully Mata is back soon in time for community shield.

Don't think he will get used as much as last season, but can't see any harm in him seeing out his contract... Rather see someone like benayoun leave than malouda if i was picking one...

I think the 2 will be Apzi, for obvious reasons, as the deal appears to not have much standing in the way, and moses if Whelen realises that Moses isn't really worth more than 10 mil atm... If whelan remains stubborn then i think maybe it could be someone like schurrle in a deadline day deal where we are desperately trying to find a 3rd striker...

Think malouda could go to santos, i do agree though he can still do a job and i was actually fairly impressed when he came on in one of the pre-season games... Think it was the PSG one or MLS all stars... Though if he was to go then it would free up a space and allow another squad player to come through so i don't particularly mind...

I agree... Sturridge as things stand will have a big role this season as torres won't play 60 games this season and Sturridge will have a big part to play as an impact sub, and starting some games when resting torres.... Really hope he doesn't outscore Torres as that would be very bad for the club, as we wouldn't have scored many goals, though we should buy a backup striker as we surely can't just have 2, as that is ludicrous, especially in a potentially long season... Lukaku, has a lot to work on and perhaps hasn't improved as much as we would want him to over the last 2/3 years, though he desperately needs game time, and last year he was not helped at all by never really playing, a full season should be great for him and next year or in a couple of years time we may see his improvement.

It looks like a good article, just was pointing it out... CBA at the moment, but will read it all a little later on... thanks...

Thanks for the link. From a quick glance they seem to have gotten a few facts wrong but still, thanks anyway...

We are not looking for a world class keeper to be number 2 but one that can just do a job... Hilario used to be good, but for me he isn't good enough... I have never really been a big fan of ross turnbull, and he was better 4 years ago... Courtois is our best back up keeper atm, but at his age i don't think he wants to be waiting around for cech to retire, because as Cech is only just 30, he can have another 5 years at the top if he keeps fit and injury free. So he can be recalled, though i doubt he will be too happy to wait for cech... Blackman is someone who i really like and has a lot of potential, so i would put him ahead of Ross and Hilario, and give him a chance, knowing if its just a one game injury or suspnsion he can come in or if its long term we can recall him... Would love to see Sam walker do really well and given a chance but then i am slightly biased there... If we can get a cheap good quality 2nd choice keeper then that would be fine, but really don't think we need to be splashing out on a world class keeper to sit on the bench...

No problem, i definately agree with you, but for some reason i thought i was in the oscar thread, which was why i was confused...

I am YODA, but i think he is gonna leave at some point this transfer window, AVB and co, know he wants to be elsewhere so surely can't keep him now they know that... Also his value is only likely to go down from here, so they may as well sell him now whilst they can get a bit more for him, though if he went to man u then that would be really bad, as Man u's midfield for me has not been amazing in the last year or so, but they have made it work, and the addition of modric would be slightly worrying...

Everyone is entitled to their opinion, different ones make it a forum, i do however disagree with you, in regards to him starting... if we were to sign someone like hulk then the competion for places would be emmence and three of, Hulk,Hazard,Mata, Marin, Ramires and Oscar would have to miss out, though as the squad stands at the moment i can't see him not starting with the alternative being Ramires on the right or someone like Raul merieles i think he should... Marin has looked good on the left and could slot in there if oscar isn't ready, but i am starting to think the Hulk thing won't happen and Oscar will play at CAM with Mata and Hazard either side of him... But we all will just have to wait and see..

But in all seriousness, I agree Modric is the better player, but witsel seems like the sort of player that real madrid could mold into a better one... Modric seems to be better where he can dictate the play himself, whereas as Real, he wouldn't be the "star" and would be amongst several players who are great, maybe not as good at the specific things he does, but perhaps he wouldn't stand out as much...

I sense that i sense what you sense if that makes sense...

Couldn't agree more... The time of making 7 changes to experiment with players has surely passed and now we need to step it up, and give torres, hazard, and marin as much time together as possible, as it looks extremely likely they could be the crucial 3 in attack in the community shield, dependant upon when mata comes back...

He is good, though as some of said he stands out in the "lesser" teams, and don't think he would be a great signing for us... He would be 3rd choice striker, and 10 mil is a bit much imo, when someone like demba ba is 7 mil, or papiss cisse is like 15 mil... So i think there are much better options out there.

Benayoun for me will be leaving, he hasn't played much for us and will not get much of a chance at all. At the moment we have so many people who are ahead of him in our midfield that if he wants to play some football it will probably be better for him if he leaves.

I'm not too worried about his defensive duties, providing he can track his man and has a hugh work rate which he does then its fine by me, he doesn't need to be a ball winner, but a ball retainer and our playmaker, especially if at CAM, which is where we should be... We saw it yesterday, he got passed one man, looked for a pass to put neymar away, it was just blocked then he immediately chased it down, blocked the ball and won it back...

I agree we shouldn't be going "over the top" about the guy just yet, however anyone who has seen him play at least one game of his can see he is an emmence talent, and would appear to be one of our best buys in a long time. The premier league is obviously much harder than the brazilian league, but the majority of his skill is his ability on the ball, and that shouldn't change whatever league we are in... Really can;'t wait to see him play for us... Definately the best of his type of player for his age that i can think off at the moment...

I totally agree with the: Torres Mata Oscar Hazard line up as i think when we have all our players back that has got to be the best 4 we have to fill those positions... The 2 DM's are harder roles to fill... Based on the pre-season so far i agree we haven't looked our best with Mikel and frankie in those roles, however, when we have that 4 at the top they will be able to do the vast majority of the attacking and oscar etc can be the ones to dictate play... In pre-season with the exception of Hazard and Marin we have looked pretty stale up the top, which has probably led lampard to go forward more to dictate play and make something happen, as Raul merieles, Lukaku and Ramires have been pretty ineffective in those more advanced roles. So simply put, our weakness in the centre of midfield could be a direct cause of our lack of options in attack, which when we loose the ball leaves spaces in behind, where lampard has made forward runs trying to dictate the play... Ramires in the double pivot is something we haven't seen so far in pre-season, so is definately something we should try out as Ramires' ability to run and his stamina should be suited, but i just don't think we should rule out the Lampard and Mikel partnership just yet... Definately think we should stick with mikel as we saw his talent and his age is still in his favour.. And my main reason is that Lampard for me has a much better range of passing and whilst doesn't have the speed or pure stamina, could mean that ramires may be more useful in a player to come on and boss the midfield in the latter half of the game with his pace etc... And finally i totally agree with the highlighted section, as this season could be one of our longest ever, and rotation will be extremely key, so just because they don't start the first game doesn't mean we don't need them, as the strength of squad is the only thing that will mean we can challenge for everything we enter...

I think oscar can play there, but i really don't think that is his best position at all and we would be missing out as he can do more at CAM imo... Obviously there is less competition for places in the DM spots, but Oscar, Hazard and mata, is an extremely good attacking 3... Also in the cam Role, Oscar could still drop back deeper if need be and boss the play, with mata and Hazard providing width and pace and provide outlets for him either side..