Deanocfc

Fuck being conservative about it. We have a great team already, possibly the world's best man manager returning, and I'm sure he'll make his stamp on the team to give us more balance. City and United have new managers but will obviously be strong still. But there's no reason why we can't win the league next year. It's very early for predictions but we can win the Premier League next year lads.

Chelsea are obviously now a top side and have been consistently since 2003 and the start of the Roman empire if we're honest. We've won league titles, European cups, domestic cups, beaten all our biggest rivals now countless times and have a fantastic squad. But are these the best days of being a Chelsea fan? I'm 22, from South London and supporting Chelsea since I was 5/6 and am in love with the club as my dad is. We have, and have had, some legends in the last decade due to our money. Players and managers, including one very special returning man, that I'll never forget. However, I still feel like I miss the days of Gianfranco, Di Matteo, Mark Hughes, Petrescu, Gullit, Vialli, etc. The shocks and jubilation when we ACTUALLY beat United, or possibly Arsenal however rare that was. Is this just because I was a young kid and these were my idols? Or is being more of an underdog and out of the spotlight a bit more appealing for fans following THEIR club? What do you all think? Are these the best days? If not, when were they for you? p.s. Probably a post that has cropped up before, but I'm fairly new and would love to know! Cheers Dean

Cavani looks awesome, I'd have preferred Falcao overall but not much between them. And I think it may be easier to score in Spain when I've watched both Spanish and Italian football. Blimey, how times have changed, mulling over the best strikers on the planet to come to Chelsea! Bloody tough being a Chelsea fan nowadays in that sense

This is a narrow view and doesn't acknowledge youth development. You do get 'wonderkids' who can fit into the first team straight away but they are rare. You need to give the youngsters real experience for them to become top players. Loaning players out is great but they need a space in the team to come into where they will grow even further. Take Wilshere and Dan Sturridge as examples. Bringing through players in little groups is great too, they would have been playing together for years and understand each other better. It's a model being adopted in Germany and Spain and it works. Instant success is great but I know that I'd prefer a few more local boys at least given a chance.

I personally can't see why we've 'signed' this guy. The positions behind the striker are quite over loaded as it is and I'd much rather see some young players given chance - KDB, piazon, Marin is still a youngster, and even some of our under 21s. He looks a decent player but quite one dimensional. I'm sure he'd do a good job for us but it's frustrating seeing these players we don't necessarily need block the chance for our talented youth, as per usual.

Haha I'm sorry guys. It's not me no, it's a friend. I filmed it and was just trying to embarrass my mate by putting the video on forums to get more views. Completely pointless and a junk post. Never again.

I've stumbled upon a bit of a Youtube gem here. Tiny amount of views but very funny!

We should be strong enough to not lose either game and win this over two legs. The trip to Russia, playing in tough conditions against a decent side will give our new young players some added metal and experience to their game. This season is a learning process I think for our team to become a unit for next year. It's these big European nights which bind players together. I'm confident we will make the semi finals and then who knows!

This is such a must win game as everyone is saying. But last time Ba played against his former club it didn't go too well for him or Chelsea! Torres showed some fight in the last 20 minutes last night, maybe it's worth keeping this momentum and starting him over Ba. I think consistency and momentum is lacking from Chelsea at the moment. Cech Ivanovic Cahill Terry Cole Ramires Mikel Mata Oscar Eden Torres

Hahahaha

There have been so many days when Chelsea have made my day but: 1. Drogba's penalty - Just incredible 2. Lampard's goals v Bolton in 2005 - Felt like I was dreaming 3. Torres v Barcelona - The goal was like something out of a film and it devastated Barcelona putting us firmly in the final. Fuck me that was just an unreal feeling thinking back. 4. JT header v Barcelona 5. Going 3-0 up against Barca in 2005 - They didn't know what hit them (without Robben and Drogba too) 6. Wayne Bridge v Arsenal 7. The comeback against Vincenza. 8. The comeback against Liverpool in 1997 FA cup. 9. Di Matteo v Boro in 1997 - 43 seconds! 10. zola v Stuttgart 11. Drogba's goal to make it 3-1 v Liverpool in 2009 UCL 12. Ramires v Barcelona - The fight was on, going into half time felt so different to what I was prepared for. 13. Ivanovic v Napoli - Only the 2nd round but a brilliant fightback 14. Lifting the Premier League in 2005 after beating Charlton, even Maka scored! I was there and it was the best day of my life overall.

1. Moscow - Still don't even want to think about it. 2. Iniesta goal 2009 - The most ridiculous game of football I've ever seen. 3. Mourinho sacked - Actually cried as a 16 year old on the way to school. 4. RDM sacked - Lost faith with the club that In love so much. 5. Kanu hatrick in 1999, when we were 2-0 up and I thought we were actually going to beat Arsenal. 6. Losing our fantastic home record to Liverpool in 2008. 7. Losing to Liverpool in champions league semi finals 2005 and 2007 - we didn't deserve to. 8. Iniesta's goal in 2012 - We looked dead and buried and I was fearing a rout - though this goal could be the best turning point of any match in Chelsea's history.

I've read a few detailed reports on what people think needs to be changed but I think 3 key things will improve the team: 1. If we aren't going to change the formation then play Lampard or Oscar in the double pivot with Mikel. Ramires is fantastic but the link between the defence and deep midfield to attack isn't working because of the lack of vision/passing ability that Rami and Mikel have. They move it on to the front three and it's like "you open up the defence", there's too much pressure on them. David Luiz looked good in this position as he threaded some balls to get behind the defenders, using the clever runs of the front three. 2. If we are going to change the formation, then I think a 4-3-3 has to happen again. I think this formation will loosen us up and we would lose the rigid, predictable look of our side in the last couple of months. Oscar/Lampard and Ramires playing off Mikel in the middle with Hazard and Mata playing off of STURRIDGE (when fit), sounds more appealing to me. 3. Sign a striker who can score goals. It's the most key thing we are missing. With Torres we are toothless and it's like playing with 10 men. You can see the lack of confidence that our attacking midfielders have in him as Mata and Hazard prefer to pass to each other than look for Torres. When Sturridge is fit I'd play him over Torres every day - he's quicker, more technical, confident and has a 'ready' attitude and body language. But we do need another striker. And right now I'd be happy with literally any other premier league striker who's playing every week. I'd rather have a consistently good/run of the mill prem striker than a striker who shows flashes of excellence followed by hours of hopeless, infuriating crap. I think we should seriously look at Fletcher at Sunderland, but to be honest I'd be more happy having fucking Grant Holt or Rickie Lambert wearing our number 9 shirt right now.

I think this guy is something special. I hadn't heard of him before this season and can't believe he's only 21. I really think a big club should snap him up asap. He's so strong, can shoot from long range as well as more controlled finishes, and as some pace. But see how he goes until May.

Anyone know why Marko Marin is not playing right now? I saw him come on against Wolves but hasn't even been on the bench in the last few games. I thought he was over the injury, anyone know?

I think RDM is trying to not make the same mistakes AVB did, rushing into the changes/changing too much too soon, and upsetting the team balance. However, today needed more creative players to open up a stern QPR on a small pitch. I would never choose Ramires on RW, unless we are playing a counter attacking game. And Bertrand is just not a player to really open up a defence. Torres was woeful and needs to be dropped for Stoke at home. Sturridge deserves a chance and Torres needs to stop sulking about everything. I love RDM, let him gradually implement the wealth of attacking talent we now have, he will eventually take more risks with his team selection.

I can't pretend to know a lot about Oscar but I've seen him play about 5/6 times now and he plays deep. He doesn't look the player to play in the 3 behind Torres.

That doesn't make sense to me. Of course we need to get our tactics right, especially with all the new recruits. But that takes time to happen. The transfer window shuts on August 31st so if we aren't playing well it might be too late. The fact is that we have lost our best striker in Drogba, and another frustrating, but handy, striker in Kalou. All the top clubs have at least 3 strikers capable of playing every week against the other top sides. With a shaky Torres, unproven centre forward in Sturridge and a young but very raw Lukaku (who may be going out on loan), we don't look the most well equipped in the striker department. Having one added striker would provide a more complete squad and then hopefully, after a few months of playing together, our team will start to gel and we will be seeing some good attacking football.

We need a goalscorer. Our biggest problem will be scoring enough goals if we don't sign someone who will score goals! Drogba will obviously will be hugely missed, but even Kalou could be brought on and pop up with a goal. We need another striker before August 31st.

I'm so excited to see Oscar. I'm quite surprised we've managed to sign such a huge talent. He is my perfect type of player. A clever, quick footed, central midfielder with good physical ability. I know he is versatile and has said he'd play anywhere, but we should look to build the team around Oscar and Mata.

I do rate Fletcher but do you think he'd be good enough against the top sides in the premiership or in Europe. I don't know if it's because he's not the most 'fashionable' striker around (a rough looking Scotsman playing for Wolves), but seeing Steven Fletcher leading the line on the team sheet against AC Milan or Atletico Madrid, etc wouldn't fill me with confidence.

This an obvious topic I think but I'm new here and just want to know what other fans think. Since Drogba has left it is time for Torres to fully step up and become the lead, 20+ goals a season striker that we need. I have faith that this will be a good season for Torres but it is still risky in relying on him to consistently deliver week in week out. If he was to drop out of form or get injured then, as much as a love Sturridge, I can't see him being very good at leading the line if we are going to play with one up top. Watching Sturridge do this for team GB has just bolstered my view on this even more. And Lukaku is just not ready yet. Therefore, I think it is vital that we bring in another striker. Not some £30m superstar who will put too much pressure on Torres but someone who is a general goal poacher, with the physical capabilities to lead the line and give another angle to our attack - as we are now fairly lightweight with the two African forwards gone. From what I've seen I like the look of Seydou Doumbia from CSKA Moscow. He looks fast, strong (although quite short) and definitely has a good finish. I haven't seen this Andrea Schuurle but I've heard he's more of a winger? Salamon Rondon - just another Huge Rodallega? Victor Moses - can he play effectively as a lone striker? Do you all want another striker for the season? And who do you think would be the best addition to fit to our changing squad?

Exactly what I think. People are moaning about our midfield but Oscar is the man/boy to fill this gap. I casn't believe I'm saying it but Ballack linked the middle third to the attacking third really well. Like you say, Oscar seems to like to receive the ball deep and then play one-two's, through balls or switch the play. I think Oscar will link up really well with Mata/Hazard through the centre.

I think our midfield is covered. I used to be Mikel's biggest critic but I think he is really coming good now. Oscar can play that deep lying playmaker role. From what I've seen of him he has an engine and his link up play is excellent. I know it is now time to build a new team but people are rarely including Lampard in their starting 11's. He is still the most complete midfielder we have and was our best player today against Brighton I'd say - though the others didn't give him much competition for that. We need better link up between the deeper midfield positions and the 3 behind the striker. I've got full faith that Oscar will do this and a lot more.