The Big Drog

I didnt realise that to be the best you have to win every single game. In this case Federer can't be the best tennis player ever on account of him not winning every single tournament he has ever entered. Tiger Woods can't be the greatest golf player ever for the same reason. Anderson Silva can't be the greatest MMA fighter ever because he lost a few fights. Can you see how that point is a bit ridiculous? Guardiola has won everything there is to win during his time as head coach of Barcelona. Oh and by the way, even with this being his least successful season as head coach he still won the Copa Del Rey and reached the semi final of the Champions League. Im not trying to downgrade what Di Matteo did, it was remarkable and he delivered Chelsea's greatest ever season from the depths of despair. However the fact remains that a squad upheaval is underway with the old way of play going and a new attacking flair style imminent, yes I do think Guardiola is the best man to implement that and yes I do think that his success at Barcelona and the dar reaching effects his philosophies have left I the game (not least of all Spain dominating football) does make him the best candidate for, not just the Chelsea job, but any management position at any of the major clubs in Europe.

Like every other Chelsea fan I have huge respect for Di Matteo and would be more than happy were he to be appointed Chelsea manager. That being said, if Abramovich believes he isn't up to the task of implementing beautiful football, winning the league or whatever else then I'd rather he get the man he desperately wants, his first choice, Pep Guardiola. There is no point in wasting anymore time and money on other managers if they are always all second choice to Guardiola in Roman's mind. Tbf 2 games. Guardiola has done it for a number of years at Barcelona, won everything there is to win and done it in a style that took the world by storm, yes I am a Guardiola fan and yes I firmly believe that he is thr finest manager in the world. I for one would be honoured were Guardiola to choose our club.

Mourinho is debatable but I think that Guardiola hm created the most dominant team of its era and managed to keep it fresh. I think Guardiola is tactically better and more creative than Ferguson.

Why? Anyone can see what he brings to the team.

No, I will do the complete opposite. This is the greatest manager in Barcelona's history, one of the best managers in the world (IMO he is the best) and somebody who revolutionised football. I will definitely be happily thanking Abramovich if he can get Guardiola to the club.

I have no words, seriously wtf?

He scored goals but Barcelona fans weren't impressed, the consensus at the time was that he was something of a hindrance to the way Barcelona play, despite being a wonderful player.

In football terms he is a revolutionary in that he created a way of football that nobody had ever seen before and that was hugely successful, he has changed the whole way the game is played and viewed and has set the benchmark. No, of course they didn't play like Stoke City, however they also didn't play like Guardiola's Barcelona. Not only was Guardiola's brilliance felt on the Barcelona side but Spain too adopted Guardiola's approach with key Barcelona players as the core of their team and they went on to win both the European Championships and World Cup. They were many differences with Rijkaard's Barcelona focvused more on the individual than the team unit, that was the ultimate change in philosophy for the club to undertake, to go from the individual brilliance of Ronaldinho, Eto'o, Deco ect. to the team first approach of Guardiola.

Why would we have to automatically play a high line? I think Guardiola is clever enough to learn from the mistakes of AVB, a high line in the Premier League is less effective than it is in Spain because teams in England are more direct and thus can catch the high line defence out, their phases are often much quicker than those of mid tier sides in Spain or Italy. Why couldn't Guardiola's team play with a medium block? There could still be an emphasis on the press, it just wouldn;t be as aggressive as Barcelona's pressing game. In a medium block, Terry, Luiz and Cahill should all be fine given that that is what Chelsea generally play with (except against Barcelona and Bayern Munich). There might be faster players than Ramires in the Premier League but there isn't many of them. Anyway Im still not entirely sure what speed would have to do with the set up of the side, it only comes into play if you automatically assume that Guardiola would play with a high line.

Really? You missed the whole Barcelona domination thing? Cos the Barcelona team under Guardiola will go down as one of the greatest teams ever, not only because they won trophies (lots of them) but because of the brand of football they played, Guardiola created a style of football that revolutionised football, the way it is played and has set the standard for all clubs to match. No plan B? Well they more than often didn't need a plan B, also they did sign Ibrahimovic but he didn't work out as well as Barcelona had hoped he would. Guardiola was smart enough to keep changing it up, to keep the players on their toes with fresh tactics, new ideas, if you watch their first year under Guardiola, you will see in the second year it has been slightly modified to that of the first, in the third year it has again been slightly modified to the second, ect. Id love Guardiola at Chelsea, a football revolutionary with a beautiful football philosophy, a driven winner and, undoubtedly, one of, if not the very, best managers in the world.

Im not sure what spped has to do with it, Puyol and Busquets are hardly a threat to Usain Bolt.

Everyone likes Paulo. Fine right back in his prime, very loyal, well respected by everyone at the club, a good lad for the Portugese members of the squad to communicate with and through and still a worthwhile back up in case of emergency, as we saw this season.

Fingers crossed on this one. Good age, an incredible talent, a real star player and the prospect of Hilk, Mata, Hazard and Torres linking up is the stuff of dreams usually reserved for fans of Real Madrid or Barcelona. .

Yes, really.

Hulk would be an incredible signing, he is an awesome talent that would more than likely flourish with the talents of Hazard, Mata, Torres, Lampard ect around him. I agree though for certain games you could always use Ramires on the wing but it's not as of every player will be 100% fit throughout the season and there are always suspensions too. Man City play Silva and Nasri out wide in big games, why can't we play Hazard and Hulk?

He would almost certainly start right wing, Hulk is no backup plan.

Well that press conference pretty much rules out the small possibility that he was talking about Man Utd. Thanks the the translation.

This will all depend on what manager takes charge. Mikel was excellent under Di Matteo but perhaps a different manager won't rate him and might rather the box to box running power of Ramires with Lampard playing a sitting role, ala Gareth Barry at Man City. It's all just speculation and guess work until we hire a manager, though isn't it brilliant that we have such a strong squad as to be able to discuss leaving out a player as good as Ramires.

Didn't he say a while back that personal terms have been agreed already? I just think its a matter of him doing his medical and signing when he is in London with the rest of the squad. Let's give a bit of credit to the club surely they can't conspire to mess this up.

I love it when people say that and then you ask them why do they think that and they will say either "well he isn't spending money anymore" or "he looks miserable the whole time" The first comment is ridiculous considering how much he spends on bringing in and firing managers alone. Yes we would all like stability but you couldn;t accuse Roman of not caring, if he didn't care about the well being of the club then Scolari would still be manager. That and he has spent huge amounts of money on players even since Mourinho left. The reason there was a lull was simply because he felt the team was complete and that it was good enough to compete at the top level, now we are restructuring the club, thus he spends big money again, it has nothing to do with his interest. The second comment, he always looks like that, it's just his default expression but dammit we love him anyway.

I can't see how it can't happen now. I doubt the bbc and sky would be naming Chelsea as the destination if they weren't sure and I doubt Hazard would create such an awful reputation for himself as he would we're he to not join Chelsea now. Let's be happy that such an ultra talented player wants to join our great club.

YES! YES! YES! I was at an awards ceremony when he announced it having followed this thread religiously all day. This is the best news, I never thought this would happen, the excitement, style and attitude he brings to the club can only be compared with that of Ronaldo at Man Utd.

When or where did they say that?

Could someone post a link to the translated article that has caused all of the excitement?

Impressive display against Denmark, he has everything we need out wide. Pace, skill, a goal threat, a real direct player.