3sphinx

What’s your view on him as a player?
I’ve been a lurker for the most part on this forum but I find myself agreeing with most of your takes on players.

I went back and corrected it all and acknowledged that the article (and that was the only time I ever got into his pay before) incorrectly framed it as his net pay. His gross pay is 20.8m euros per year. That breaks down to £363m PW. I think that destroys our wage structure, but if Roman and the board can make it work (and avoid player mutinies), more power to them. I also think that Oblak (who already once flat-out turned us down, in summer 2018) is going to be very hard to convince.
I am sorry for all the misunderstanding that came from it. I never should have tried to extrapolate off that one article. I simply went off the history of Spanish salaries being quoted in net pay terms (Like the AS article itself did). I do not understand why they do that so often, as the gross pay is far more important to transfers and club underlying financials.

3rd times the charm for me posting this.
Gaya is off the table.
€100m release clause in new contract and Valencia will not budge.
http://www.beinsports.com/au/laliga/news/gaya-pens-new-five-year-valencia-deal/881329
They told RM to sod off, and that is when RM switched to Alonso.
Shame, as Gaya is a beast. He was insane v Croatia when Spain crushed them to dust 6 nil. Just ran riot all game.
We are down to only 4 great options.
1. Ryan Sessegnon (IF we would use him as a left back, he is by far the best option, albeit will be crazy expensive)
2. Júnior Firpo - Real Betis (new addition, been watching him for 2 years, he is ready to play EPL ball, Shitty want him badly) If we won't spend Sessegnon money (Fulham will want £80m or more, not joking) Firpo is now my pick.
3. Alejandro Grimaldo - Benfica (so many big clubs want him, our odds are poor)
4. Wendell - Bayer Leverkusen  (was a beast last night in the EL) BTW, it fucking sucks that Bayer has SO many players I drool over! Bailey, Havertz, Henrichs (gone now), Wendell, Tah, Retsos, 18yo Paulinho, (a probable superstar LW), Lucas Alario (striker option not discussed a lot), and Brandt.
The drop-off after those 4 is pretty steep, in terms of who is actually available. Wendell presents problems as well, as he is on Bayer Leverkusen and there are others players from there we need more. Bailey being the big one.
Ferland Mendy from Lyon might be a 5th option, need to watch him more.
Let's hope Emerson can finally recover to Roma, pre injury, form. I am starting to have some doubts.
 
Or we may have to go the full stop youth route:
Theo Hernández  20yo (on loan at Real Sociedad from Real Madrid, good luck prying him away, and I think RM is insane loaning him out, as they have shit for LB backups, so if Marcelo goes down, they will have to scramble)
Marcelo Saracchi 20yo RB Leipzig, they just bought him from River Plate for £11m
Borna Sosa 20yo VfB Stuttgart  just bought from Dinamo Zagreb for £6m tall (1.84m) pacey, huge upside
Aarón Martín 21yo  on loan to Mainz from RCD Espanyol 
Hamza Mendyl  20yo  Schalke just bought from Lille for £7m
Toni Lato 20yo Valencia CF
Jorge 22yo on loan to Porto from Monaco
 

Enjoy Isco!
Regards to ALL.

http://www.footballdirectnews.com/premier-league-news/46610-chelsea-target-will-cost-22million.php#.U06Lz1c5os4
http://www.caughtoffside.com/2014/04/16/chelsea-linked-with-move-to-sign-22m-inter-milan-youngster/

Fuck, I didn't realize my post was so long, lol. 4:35 am were I'm at, but still typing on my phone about summer transfers. It's all out of love for the Chels. Freakin' love this football club.

Great that its announced before the world cup starts.


Cesc Fabregas apparently looks exactly like david luiz.

And you keep throwing your opinion around like it's absolute fact in nigh on every thread. This is a transfer window where people will post up links, stories, Tweets and articles based on the said player. What may, or may not be rubbish, is anyone's guess, unless you of course know the tea-lady or the bloke who irons Jose's suits but I doubt it very much. People will post and talk about things but that obviously annoys you, so my suggestion to you would be to either not read the topic or stay logged out.
It's as if forums and transfer windows are new to you

Let's do a Wenger and bid £1 over 33m so they can get 50p for us acquiring their 'legend'.

I thought this is the reliable account.

h

I'm not saying he won't have to do dirty work, but the majority of the dirty work will be done by Matic. And as I've said before, watching him at Arsenal when he did play in that deeper CM role he isn't as bad defensively as some are trying to make out. He was competent enough then, and that was next to a certain Alex Song who bombed forward a lot. Cesc can do an adequate job just like Modric does for example.
PS: why do you sound so angry?

Okay this has gathered more steam than I ever imagined it would so now its time to give my two cents worth. Firstly, I really think Cesc is nice player, came through the ranks of two teams who love to knock it around the pitch. He is in the prime of his career and Assoc. trained so it ticks another box for CFC. Will he provide us with versatility? absolutely he has played auxiliary striker, the wing and CM.
Do I like this guy? no, but I am a believer in Jose Mourinho so if he deems Cesc as a player we need to achieve our objectives then I'm gonna back it. I was pretty adamant Jose wouldn't change his philosophy but it appears he may be doing just that. Perhaps its 4-1-4-1 next year? Or maybe a healthy dose of 4-3-3?
Either way for fans of attacking football this is a dream come true. Finally someone who can dictate the tempo in behind the attacking three, teams will be forced to come out a bit to account for him...
We'll see how this transpires, never a dull moment at the bridge.

I find it bizarre that you have to impose what you think football is about upon other people. I do enjoy this sense of community that comes from supporting a team of my choosing, but to say that it is ALL about emotional stuff completely discounts the fact that sport also is a display of technical skill and athletic prowess.
Other people might value that more than in the team they support.

I find it bizarre that you have to impose what you think football is about upon other people. I do enjoy this sense of community that comes from supporting a team of my choosing, but to say that it is ALL about emotional stuff completely discounts the fact that sport also is a display of technical skill and athletic prowess.
Other people might value that more than in the team they support.

I find it bizarre that you have to impose what you think football is about upon other people. I do enjoy this sense of community that comes from supporting a team of my choosing, but to say that it is ALL about emotional stuff completely discounts the fact that sport also is a display of technical skill and athletic prowess.
Other people might value that more than in the team they support.

I'd love for you to provide me evidence that Cesc can't defend... Cesc really isn't that bad defensively. He can hold his own, just like someone like Modric does.
Why would he not accept playing the deeper role for Chelsea, or any club? If he went to United or City he'd play behind a number 10 too. Cesc played his best football in that deeper CM role, it really isn't that hard to fathom whether he would accept that role here. I completely disagree with you on that. What is Cesc's desired role? Where else is he going to play number 10? At United (Mata, Januzaj, Kagawa, Rooney)? No. At City (Silva or even Yaya)? No. At Arsenal (Ozil)... no.
Cesc has never been a number 10. Always naturally been a number 8 that can be shoved in to various roles because of his talent.
I completely disagree with you also on the fact that you think Mourinho would have to completely change his philosophy or tactics if Cesc came here to play in the pivot. How many times did Mourinho play Lampard there over Mikel last season? If Mou was so rigid with his 4-2-3-1 that he required great defensive work from both of his midfielders in that pivot, why did Lampard play so many games over JOM? That alone should tell you that Jose is not adverse to putting someone who isn't a pure DM or B2B in the pivot.
Of course a midfielder's role in a 4-3-3 is different to a midfielders role in a 4-2-3-1, that goes without saying, but have you never seen a counter attacking 4-2-3-1 featuring a number 8 in the pivot before? Again, I gave you the Dortmund and Real example, or even Bayern under Jupp.
In fact, an inverted midfield tandem of Oscar, Fabregas and Matic in the 4-2-3-1 would work very well in my opinion, it's nicely balanced, especially against teams that sit deep - which was our main problem last season. Against these sort of setups where we don't really require a pure B2B midfielder in the pivot a player like Cesc can be very effective.
Again, putting Cesc in the 2 man midfield doesn't mean Mou would completely alter the system I think Jose wants to develop here at all. Adding Cesc actually gives him a lot of variety in midfield to change it up to how he wants it to be. For example, in the bigger games Jose usually employs a 3 man midfield anyway in the 4-3-3. Here Cesc can also be effective alongside someone like Ramires and Matic.
I actually think that's quite narrow minded view... Football can be played in many different ways and as we all know Jose knows that very well. I would love to sign Pogba, you know that, but just because I would like the Cesc signing as well doesn't mean I don't understand football, that's a ridiculous thing to say.
Anyway. We don't even know if Pogba is attainable, but we do know that Cesc is transferrable for a very affordable fee of £30m. £30m for a world class midfielder who is very versatile and home grown too would be a great deal in my opinion.
Courtois
Azpi - Cahill - JT - Luis
Fabregas - Matic
Willian - Oscar - Hazard
Costa

That is the look of a very well balanced, talented team IMO.

I completely disagree with this... In a pivot you don't necessarily have two pure DMs i.e. two pure number 6s... You can easily have a number 8 in there like Fabregas. Dortmund do it with Gundogan. Real do it with Modric. Both are known for their strong counter attacking styles.
Even at Barcelona when he does play in midfield he doesn't always play as the most forward CM in that 4-3-3, that's usually Iniesta when Andres does play through the middle.
Nadav makes a very valid point regarding Pogba - Pogba always plays in a three man midfield, doesn't mean he can't play in a 2 man midfield. Same can be said about Cesc who used to play in a 2 man midfield extensively at Arsenal.

?? Bizarre statement. No one blames Terry when we lose.

?? Bizarre statement. No one blames Terry when we lose.

Positional awareness and also lacking and also the instincts of knowing when to go in and make a tackle and when to shield.

You hope, the Spurs will finish in the top four???
I hope they burn in Hell!

Wrong, if you face a big fish like Bayern or Juventus, youd probably get R@PED with a line up like that.
Specially if you face A
Martinez-Schweinsteiger
Kroos
Or Dortmund's pressing....
People shouldnt just jump to conclusions that De Bruyne at the moment has any where near the mastery to be able to play in such a position with enough class to be relevant, and him and david luiz would probably get pressed and submitted into oblivion specially with the doubtful maneuverability and passing of luiz at midfield which is not good when pressed by such midfields.
The team would fall under a great threat to be disjointed and put into submission just like madrid was against dortmund in the 4-1.
In any case, chelsea wouldnt be favorites to win, far less capable of burying any big fish at that.
Plus with bayern you face people like dante, lahm and alaba in the backline, and the most fearsome midfield in the world imo.
Marchisio, Pirlo, Pogba, Vidal...
Chelsea needs a real midfield not auxillary luiz, or untested, de bruyne.

lol... Home only for 2 days...

Agree wholeheartedly.
Just want to say this once and get it off my chest, but it truly makes me laugh whenever people say things like "thanks Fernando for winning that corner in Munich". I mean... are we being serious here? I understand that it was the corner that led to the equaliser, but come on! If we're "thanking" players for little things like that then we should erect statues for what the likes Cole, Cech, Drogba, Lamps and loadsa other players did, even Kalou Malouda and co. All those goal-line clearances by Cole? The last-ditch tackles by Cahill? The unbelievable saves by Cech?
Now I'm not saying he played no part in our CL win. And I think he did ok this past season considering how absolutely awful he was when he first arrived and taking into account the pace he has lost and whatever. But seriously the abuse we have given players like Kalou, Mikel, etc and even Drogba over the past few years is shameful considering how we've put up with this guy.
Anyway since this is the Cavani thread... hope we get him lol