The Big Drog

If we sign him I hope we use him on the elft wing and then we can utilise Mata in an attacking midfield position and thus our two main problems (a lack of penetration on the flanks and a lack of creativity in the middle) are pretty much solved.

Any news on how much our bid is worth?

Ye good answers, he seemed logical and looked keen to play down his link with Barcelona.

Hopefully Oriol can play a part this season, I haven't seen much of him but he has drawn comparison with Sergio Busquets who I do rate very highly.

Thank you

Where is this press confrence being shown? any link?

I hate the suggestions of playing him at RB or DM, he is a centre back and an exceptional one at that. His speed, strenght, technical ability and reading of the game are top notch, he is a stunning young player and a potentially world class centre back.

Sturridges suspension hit us hard yesterday, we could really have done with him on the right particularly because his replacement was kale who managed to enter one of his all time crap performances. I'm optimistic though, we played well and Torres was excellent. For this game I think it could be cech bosingwa Alex Terry cole ramires lampard mceachran anelka Torres malouda and that should be good enough for a fairly comfortable victory.

I cant describe how impressed I was with that performance. This morning I expressed my disappointment with how bleak and ominous it was in missing out on pastore but I want to take that back. To win against quality opposition in that kind of style says everything you need to know about the quality of avb and Torres. The formation the style and the shape are spot on. Mceachran and sturridge were fantastic and both should be involved on a regular basis and fernando Torres was excellent the signs really look good and luiz, Ramires to return and oriol to join suddenly I feel very optimistic. Maybe avb is the only signing we need.

It's all quite bleak we haven't signed a single player who would automatically slot into the first team squad. I'm at a loss to understand how we can fail to succeed with a single target when other clubs (man utd, Liverpool and man city) make it look so easy. It's all a bit ominous for the coming season.

I'm not one for pessimism but it's bleak we haven't actually improved a squad that finished with the lowest point total since roman arrived and our rivals have significantly improved how can anybody be optimistic about that. Those are the facts

Crefit to the lads played well in tough conditions and turned on the style. Benayoun and sturridge in particular impressing.

Guys is this game on sky sports today?

What's the score who scored and who played well, I didn't se the game and I could do with some feedback

Ah ok, thanks I was a bit alarmed there when I saw the squad without him.

Where's kakuta?

Ye bit patchy but Jason Cundy said it best at half time, its a pre season game and thats exactly the way it was played, not at full tempo and a bit niggly. I thought Sturridge did very well first half and should definitely be starting in that spot wee in, week out. McEachran grew into the game as it went on and played a couple of fantastic passes, Benayoun did well second half, Anelka and Lampard was close to invisible, alou continues to find new ways to frustrate, Bosingwa did well and Terry and Chabolah(potential bad spelling) played well at the back, Malouda had a decent half, Torres also had a decent half but never really got the service, I thought he would have done better playing as part of the second half team than the first half one, Drogba was poor. Hilario was in full flow, giving away a stupid penalty, making a fantastic penalty save and then almost costing us 2 goals with some poor judgement and awful positioning, with Courtois incoming maybe we wont have to see him play for Chelsea agin? Wishful thinking, I know. Its difficult to say what we learned because it is a pre season and its difficult to judge it because of that however its pretyty clear the team need a playmaker, Luka Modric is that man, hopefully we can sign him because the problem of supplying Torres remains. If you were judge it on this one (and probably much of last season too) then its time for Nic Anelka to go.

He hasn't.

Im not sure about left wing forward but lets be realistic, Sturridge was never going to be the central striker this season. We knew AVB favours the 4-3-3/4-5-1 so that only allows for one central striker, Sturridge was never going to be picked in that position ahead of Torres or Drogba, however I think Sturridge could be a regular starter on the right wing, he has the pace, speed and trickery to offer a real potent threat down the flanks that we haven't had since Robben and Duff left.

Delighted that Sturridge starts right wing, I've continously said that he should start right wing this upcoming season so hopefully he puts a good performance in today and cements that spot in the team as his own. Bit disappointed that there is no McEachran but excited to see Kalas play first team football and just generally excited to see how we play for a full 90 minutes under AVB.

It has to be Torres. If it isn't Torres next season then lets just sell him now and give Drogba a lifetime playing contract. Im a huge Drogba fan (as you can probably tell from my sig and avatar) he is my all time favourite player and easily the best lone striker I've ever seen play the game. When Torres was starting ahead of him or when he was ill last season we saw just how important a fully fit Drogba is to Chelsea, he isn;t just a goal scorer but he is also a creator, he is the focal point of our attack and he gives us the option of playing a high ball to the front and Didier can hold it up to give his teammates a chance to join the attack, he is a terrific all rounder and he has been the main man at Chelsea for a very long time. Nobody is doubting the talent of Didier Drogba. What we are doubting though is the age of Didier Drogba, he is 33, he will be 34 next season and we haven't got him signed to a 5 year contract or anything like that, there is a decent chance that next season will be his last at Chelsea and when he leaves we can all applaud what he has done for our club. But we are looking long term, Fernando Torres wasn't bought for 50 million to sit on a bench. Just from reading this forum generally, opinions on Torres seem to have soured after the dreadful start he made to his Chelsea career and thats understandable but he must be given the chance to succeed and I have complete sympathy with Torres on this one. He wasn't fit, he said so himself, he was rushed back far too soon to make the World Cup and then he picked up another injury at the World Cup. He might not be the outstanding all rounder that Didier Drogba is but we recognise that and I think our pursuit of Modric has a lot to do with trying to get the best out of Torres, for the most part Torres wont create his own chances, he needs a creator whereas Drogba didn't need one as much. Torres is a world class striker, he is a lethal finisher, he has great pace, incredible movement and he has a bit of vision too. Personally I think that this pre season will do him all of the good in the world (lets not forget, he hasn't had a pre season in ages) and I think we will see a world class Fernando Torres next season but to see that he must be given the opportunity, he must be given the chance to thrive, he must be the first choice. Thats not a slight against Drogba, thats simply looking at it long term.

Ye Id like Cheik Tiote, young, very energetic, good on the ball, again not sure Id rather him start over Ramires but he would be a good option to have.

Yes maybe we could do with another midfielder but I dont think we need one specifically to replace Essien simply because we already have someone who can play that role and play it at a very high level, that being Ramires.

Mikel is marmite, you either love him or you hate him. He is good at what he does, he is a passive holding midfielder, similar to Busquets in the way he plays, he has a good passing range, the majority of the time he keeps it simple, he keeps the team ticking over and he gets the ball to the more attack minded players in the team. Something he has improved in recent years is that he takes less time on the ball than he used to, he moves it faster and thats important because of the amount of the ball he gets, he is one of the main players in the team whose job it is to set the tempo of the play. He is a big guy and that helps him defensively, he has gotten much better at not diving into a tackle and thats cut down the silly fouls and yellow cards and he is comfortable dropping deep and playing almost as a third centre back to allow the wing backs to push on. The negatives with Mikel are that he hasn't got the mobility of an Essien or a Ramires. Thats a huge problem, especially in a 3 man midfield, when Essien or Ramires is in the team its masked because they are able to do the running and destroying that Mikel can't do, when they are not its a bit of a shambles, the Lampard, Ballack and Mikel midfield we saw for a good portion of the season before last was dreadful because none of them had the legs to destroy in the midfield area and with Mikel being the holding midfielder he was the one who gott he flack for it. You might argue that Barcelona's 3 man midfield doesn't have a destroy either and that Busquets gets by ok and that is absolutely true but then Barcelona have the ball for 65% of the game, we dont and the way they defend off the ball (the high pressing game) means that their back four (and as a result the midfields ability to track runners ect.) is called into question a lot less than Chelsea's are. The other problem is that there is still a question mark hanging over his head in regards concentration, too often you see midfield runners go past him and burst into the box with Mikel not even close to them and there is no doubt that he is not the same quality man marker as Essien or Ramires. On the ball too, some people find him too safe and perhaps would like the holding midfielder to drive their team forward a bit more on the ball. Anyway to wrap it up, I think Mikel has a role in the squad, Im not sure he has a role as a regular in the start 11 and if he is to step into Essien's shoes during his injury absense then lets hope Ramires doesn't pick up an injury too. Given the choice, Id rather Ramires starting in holding midfield over Mikel.

Are vids available? Its great news, Im really hoping that Kakuta and McEachran feature more prominently this season, both could definitely play a role. Delighted that Torres scored, you might say it was only Wycombe in a friendly but the way Torres played for us last season we could have been playing Wycombe every week and he still would have struggled, its a great start for him under Villas Boas and maybe a full pre season is exactly what he has needed to fire him back into life because he is a special player.