Thibaut Courtois

[gr123 167]

Doesn't bode well for Courtois does it?

Can't say im even remotely surprised.

Don't get me wrong, Petr will go down as a Chelsea great (and rightly so) however the club just cannot let Courtios go next year. Make him #1 or he WILL leave.

[lionsden 4,689]

barely had anything to do all match. probably just one odd moment with the messi shot.

As per usual then. story of his time at AM.

[didierforever 7,349]

As per usual then. story of his time at AM.

to be honest, i have watched him only against the 2 big teams (barca and RM), and he has been phenomenol. i remember a couple of seasons ago when barca scored 5 against ATM, he was still fabulous in that match. another mind-blowing performance that he put in was last season's copa del ray final where i have to say that he should have been MOTM.

i dont know how his whole time in ATM has been, but i can say this, it was not as easy as it has been for him this season. ATM have been brilliant defensively this season. i watched the 2 super-copa, the match against RM and today's match, in all he has conceded 1 goal in those 4 matches and he has had to barely do anything.

on the other hand, i was watching the highlights of malaga vs ATM, and valencia vs ATM, and i have to say that some of the saves from thibaut were amazing.

[BlueLyon 9,359]

If the problem is that he is soo good because Atletico's defence, then buy their defence too , afterall we are in need of LB and CB (eventualy); Filipe Luis, Godin and Miranda are all quite superb defenders.

[blu35_army 551]

if he surely left,,than Costa / Koke must be include as a part of deal....

[BlueLyon 9,359]

You're right. We need to be loved and to that end we should give Cech a 15 year contract. He is a legend after all and I'd to be thought a terrible fan.

Also I suggest we donate Courtois to a needy team in order for us to be more loved by fans of teams I previously couldn't give a fuck about.

Look, passion is why we're all supporters of this club but at the same time there are economic realities, as well as plain old human realities associated with managing players and they can't always be beholden to sentimentality. We aren't talking about kicking Cech out for a young prospect who is rough around the edges. We're talking about replacing him with someone who is arguably better than him at the age of 21 - people seem to ignore what an amazing achievement that already is. It's not OTT to suggest Courtois could become one of the all-time greats when all is said and done. He certainly has the pedigree at this young age.

As soon as Courtois will put soo good performances here at Chelsea, I would think we might use him as our #1 GK, but as long he is someone who never played single game for us, I would stick to Cech. Courtois is one for future, but Cech is 31 (and we dont have such great defence as 5 years ago), he is still doing very well and puts his best in biggest games. Courtois is 21 and except for Casillas, there are realy few GKs who kept pressure at highest level at such young age. Best GKs are older ones and its not like Cech was terrible in last couple years. He is good and experienced GK, besides that a legend and I dont see point of just replacing him with Courtois who needs to show it HERE first. Lukaku is amazing at Everton too, but he wasnt here, Danny or Torres were good at Lpool, but not here etc.

I dont dislike Courtois, I realy realy like him and would never sell him, because he is most probably best young GK in the world. But Cech is still here and I dont want to replace him just yet. When Cech arrived to us, he already put WORLD CLASS performances on Euro 2004 when they reached semis. He was still brought as back up for Cudicini and proved himself to be better. Same should do Courtois. If he cant handle pressure here, he just isnt mentaly ready and I dont want him as our first choice GK that soon. He should be given a chance and thats it. If he makes it, he is #1, if he fails he goes on another loan. Dont just put him between sticks and get rid of Cech because Thibaut is doing well in Spain. Premier League and Chelsea is another level of pressure, and no GK is good if he cant handle it.

If we couldnt do it with Lukaku, who had great season in PL and we had terrible strikers, I dont see why would Jose put Courtois ahead of Cech who is still world class. Put them both in team (if possible) and see who does better (I doubt any will want to stick on bench, but solution could be the one who does better stays, while other can leave either sold or loaned in january).

If Courtois is truly loyal to Chelsea, he will accept another PL loan if that is required though. Im sure Jose will know best and do what is right with Cech and Courtois.

[bouletje 82]

I have said it before but Courtois defensive record is mighily overrated as he's benefitting from having arguably the most resilient unit protecting him which greatly limits his the amount of saves per game he has to make. the pressure he faced against valencia which led to the performance people are creaming themselves over is a rarity as he normally never as much to do at all unlike cech who has shown remarkable consistency and reliability over the years.

I'm not convinced I can rely on Courtois to consistently bail us out when Luiz has his trademark brainfarts, cahill stands off opposing players, giving them room to strike on goal, when Mikel is his slow to track his man, when ramires loses possession in a dangerous area and so on.

Great defense ok, but as you point out, the one save he had to make was close to the end whistle, and he did save it, combine that with his highly skilled saves over the last years, and the few mistakes he made in that period and you can say, "Well done chelsea scouting, you discovered a rare gem"

And let's think about that consistency you speak about, let's say he's never been tested in that way, how on earth can you say he wouldn't be consistent, he Has been on The one occasion against Valencia for example when it was needed for Madrid. I find your point pure speculation, as is mine maybe, but one thing is for sure, you absolutely can't say that he won't be consistent, ever...

As to the point courtois vs cech, let's say their skillset is equal, it Will become a youth vs legend/veteran battle, take your pick

[Tomo 21,733]

Football is about bussiness and shit, but its also about passion, loyalty and respect. Im not saying we should either sell or keep Cech (its up to Mourinho and not us), but there are some things bigger than money. Its hard to speak of that nowdays, when its all about money, but clubs who are run by money have little soul and respect. Chelsea is already hated club and called names like anti football, fake club etc. As a fan of Chelsea, I would like that we change some things, and that people will talk about us as a good club. Afterall, football was always people's entertainment and we seriously have no respect among non Cfc fans, a value that should be taken seriously.

Its not just about Cech situation, but about how clubs should be run nowdays. Cech is a legend, and legends should be given proper treatment. Sure the better player will play, but to say just sell Cech after all he has done, its just a statement of terrible fan. Call me sensitive, but reason why I like to watch football is because of passion, not because of winning trophies every year. If we win them, that just comes as extra gift for me.

So in this theory we should never have signed Cech and Cudicini should still be our keeper, infact while were at it lets resign Duff and give him 90 minutes every game, Hazard will never love Chelsea like Duff and he was great in 2004.

[Tomo 21,733]

[Tomo 21,733]

Lionsden

behind every defence is a great keeper , do you thinkLeti would have such a great record if Asenjo was number1 ?

[BlueLion. 21,491]

So in this theory we should never have signed Cech and Cudicini should still be our keeper, infact while were at it lets resign Duff and give him 90 minutes every game, Hazard will never love Chelsea like Duff and he was great in 2004.

No, that's you trying to negate someone's argument by simply jumping to extremes, which sadly doesn't always work. Lionsden is simply making a point that Cech deserves to be treated fairly and not just cast aside like a leper. It isn't a simple case of "yeah, let's just sell Cech". I see what you're saying in regards to sentiment.

This is a decision for José to make, and I don't envy him.

[didierforever 7,349]

No, that's you trying to negate someone's argument by simply jumping to extremes, which sadly doesn't always work. Lionsden is simply making a point that Cech deserves to be treated fairly and not just cast aside like a leper. It isn't a simple case of "yeah, let's just sell Cech". I see what you're saying in regards to sentiment.

This is a decision for José to make, and I don't envy him.

"leper"!!! No one is casting aside cech like a "leper". but it is one thing to give him a legendary status and another thing to take a decision simply out of sentimentality. courtious IS already a WC keeper and he is only 21 year old. Cech IS also a WC keeper but he is 31. ina heartless world, there would not even be a discussion of what the right decision would be. but sometimes such decisions have to be taken. DD was "let go" while FT was given the mantle of our no.1 striker, but that dint mean he was cast aside like a leper. sometimes tough decisions have to be made for the long term

[lionsden 4,689]

Lionsden

behind every defence is a great keeper , do you thinkLeti would have such a great record if Asenjo was number1 ?

yes they would. arsenal dominated teams defensively with jens lehman as their keeper because they had defensive beast like Viera,gilberto silva,Ashley cole,Sol Campbel and Toure in their prime and a solid defensive tactics to get the best out of those players which made them difficult to penetrate and covered lehmans flaws as a keeper making him look worldly. Once he no longer had that shield as a result of Viera and cole's departure and the dramatic decline of Sol Campbell, toure and Silva, his hidden flaws was laid bare for all to see and wasn't so special anymore.

You have to be the worst keeper of all time not to atleast have a decent clean sheet record in a team like leti.

[YouNameIt 1,511]

Taking away his skill and potential because of the defense AM has is just stuipid.

[zolayes 14,489]

So in this theory we should never have signed Cech and Cudicini should still be our keeper, infact while were at it lets resign Duff and give him 90 minutes every game, Hazard will never love Chelsea like Duff and he was great in 2004.

Interesting stat Carlo has a better clean sheet ratio than Petr.

[lionsden 4,689]

Taking away his skill and potential because of the defense AM has is just stuipid.

And rating him on equal level or ahead of one of the greatest and most consistent keepers around when he hasn't proven he could be relied upon in a relatively exposed defensive unit is equally stupid and illogical.

[YouNameIt 1,511]

And rating him on equal level or ahead of one of the greatest and most consistent keepers around when he hasn't proven he could be relied upon in a relatively exposed defensive unit is equally stupid and illogical.

You dont get it do you?

We have to take this step sooner or later. Bringing Thibaut in as 2nd keeper isnt an option. Just look at the times every great keeper has been sold and swapped for a new one. We have to think about the future.

And I dont really agree that our defense is exposed. No team is flawless, but look at our performance against United, Liverpool and City.

[didierforever 7,349]

And rating him on equal level or ahead of one of the greatest and most consistent keepers around when he hasn't proven he could be relied upon in a relatively exposed defensive unit is equally stupid and illogical.

so let me get this straight, we should loan out thibaut to fulham/sunderland to see how he performs and then take a decision if he is capable of playing for us!!!! i mean this has got to be the weirdest statement i have read in a long time. and also, your statement shows exactly how less u have seen of courtouis and ATM over the last 3 years.

also i found this very amusing, lukaku is not good enough for us cos he played in a "weaker" team like wba and scored 17 goals, hence he cant play with us cos we dont play the same style. and now courtious is not good enough for us cos he is playing for a strong team and has not proved himself in a weak team. hahahahaha... i doubt if neuer would be able to make it here.