Thibaut Courtois

[mediator 2,026]

You can't put Cech in the same bracket as Lampard and Ivanovic because Cech is still world class and is still clearly one of the best in the world.

I didn't say the contrary.

Seeing that interview, i think that we will sell Thibaut after the world cup. That would give us more cash to splash on a new striker

[Stingray 9,441]

The interview is dad saying his thing, 'nough said. C will know better than to pronounce this. He has always been very, very carefull btw.

[Tomo 21,733]

No....my point was he is a legend and shouldnt be disregarded so easily. This isnt Cech FC and neither is it Courtois FC. We use the player who is the best for us. Whether that be Cech or Courtois.

If the change is made its because its what's best for the club.

Cech will still have his place in the history books at Chelsea just like Cudicini and De Goey do but if Jose feels Cech is close to decline we must make the change before it starts seriously showing, remember Malouda and Anelka in 10-11?

[Stevenx131313 12]

Really hope he comes back this summer. I say we rotate him with Cech next year, get him used to the epl, gain some experience and build some chemistry with the defenders. Next summer sell Cech and have Courtois as our number 1.

I have no idea why we could sell him. In 2-3 years we will be in the market for a GK, and the fact we are going to sell a world class keeper just to keep a legend on the decline two more years.. makes no sense.

[CHOULO19 24,332]

Cech has a year maybe two as a top GK IMO

I'm not saying that we should let Thibaut go or anything and as I've previously said, I'm fine with whatever decision Jose and the club make, but how in the world would you Petr only has one or two years left? How can you predict that? Based on what exactly? Apart from a minor dip in his form at the start of this season, the past three years have arguably been his best and, for me, last season was his best season for us.

[Tomo 21,733]

I'm not saying that we should let Thibaut go or anything and as I've previously said, I'm fine with whatever decision Jose and the club make, but how in the world would you Petr only has one or two years left? How can you predict that? Based on what exactly? Apart from a minor dip in his form at the start of this season, the past three years have arguably been his best and, for me, last season was his best season for us.

Keepers usually decline in mid 30s, there are some freaks like Van Der Sar but for one off him there's 20 Shay Givens.

[CHOULO19 24,332]

Keepers usually decline in mid 30s, there are some freaks like Van Der Sar but for one off him there's 20 Shay Givens.

He's 31. Keepers are much more likely to keep going well into their late thirties than outfield players. It's not nearly as rare as you're saying: Brad Friedel, Tim Howard, our own Schwarzer, Jaaskelainen...etc recently from the EPL alone.

[yuvala 2,167]

I'm not saying that we should let Thibaut go or anything and as I've previously said, I'm fine with whatever decision Jose and the club make, but how in the world would you Petr only has one or two years left? How can you predict that? Based on what exactly? Apart from a minor dip in his form at the start of this season, the past three years have arguably been his best and, for me, last season was his best season for us.

Well ofc I can't know if for sure, it's just my prediction.

Cech is still amongst the best but Courtois needs to come back if we have to do it for him to stay.

If there was an option to keep loaning him out untill Cech is done I'd be glad to do so. Unfortunately seems like there isn't such an option on the table. A decision must be made.

[Belgiannutt 3,201]

He's 31. Keepers are much more likely to keep going well into their late thirties than outfield players. It's not nearly as rare as you're saying: Brad Friedel, Tim Howard, our own Schwarzer, Jaaskelainen...etc recently from the EPL alone.

How many of those goalkeepers had bad elbows and knees ?

IF it comes down to selling Cech or selling Courtois the choice is a pretty clear one.

[Tomo 21,733]

He's 31. Keepers are much more likely to keep going well into their late thirties than outfield players. It's not nearly as rare as you're saying: Brad Friedel, Tim Howard, our own Schwarzer, Jaaskelainen...etc recently from the EPL alone.

Howard is a fair shout but the others are a shadow of what they were.

Jaaskelinen has been rubbish for a while Coyle dropped him for Bogdan and Big Sam has done the same bringing in that little shit Adrian in his place. A prime Jussi in 2007 was argubly the best in the PL aside from Petr and VDS.

Friedel lost a lot off mobility in recent years, Spurs fans main complaint about him is he doesn't command his box and has slow reactions, neither off those was a problem in his Blackburn days and Mark is still good but a shadow off his Boro days imo.

[dee25 1,044]

He's really turning me off with the comments he's been making. I'm not saying that he doesn't have a right to demand the no. 1 spot here, but to me the way he and his father are going about it, it almost sounds like they're holding us to an ultimatum. If Courtois wants to come here and immediately be handed over the starting spot, then I say let the kid walk. This is one of the top clubs in the world and the way he and his father are acting, it's almost as if they think they're doing us a favor.

I understand that he's right up there among the best, but would he even be in that position if it weren't for Chelsea?

In any case, I think this is a different situation from Cudicini. For starters Cech has built rapport with Mourinho and I think Jose has too much respect for him to just drop him like that. Courtois will surely get his chance (if he comes) but it needs to be done in way that's respectful to Cech and that might mean him spending some time on the bench while Cech is gently phased out. If that's such an unbearable thought to Courtois, then let the kid go and collect a hefty fee for him. We can't miss something that we never had.

[iseah100 5,612]

He's really turning me off with the comments he's been making. I'm not saying that he doesn't have a right to demand the no. 1 spot here, but to me the way he and his father are going about it, it almost sounds like they're holding us to an ultimatum. If Courtois wants to come here and immediately be handed over the starting spot, then I say let the kid walk. This is one of the top clubs in the world and the way he and his father are acting, it's almost as if they think they're doing us a favour.

I understand that he's right up there among the best, but would he even be in that position if it weren't for Chelsea?

In any case, I think this is a different situation from Cudicini. For starters Cech has built rapport with Mourinho and I think Jose has too much respect for him to just drop him like that. Courtois will surely get his chance but it needs to be done in way that's respectful to Cech and that might mean him spending some time on the bench while Cech is gently phased out. If that's such an unbearable thought to Courtois, then let the kid go and collect a hefty fee for him. We can't miss something that we never had.

I agree with some of what you're saying. He shouldn't be giving anyone an ultimatum, because when it's comes down to it he is a Chelsea FC employee.

Then again, Athletico Madrid is an elite club as well, they're in the final 16 of UEFA, 1st in La Liga, and won the Euro Cup/Copa Del Rey last year. Cortouis been there for all of that. If he comes to Chelsea, Cech needs to go, or accept playing only in FA Cup/Capital One Cup games. It's hard to get a top notch keeper and one so young is almost unheard of.

I love Cech and understand he's still ome of the top 5 best GK's in the world, but Cortouis is younger and comparable but not near his prime. It's a tough decision but plenty if teams would pay giid money for Cech. I'm glad I'm not Mourinho.

[BlueLyon 9,359]

He is no doubt world class striker, but if we sell Cech and this guy doesnt work out in PL like we wanted, we are screwed...on other hand, if it works out, we have goalkeeper for next 10 years...

[CHOULO19 24,332]

How many of those goalkeepers had bad elbows and knees ?

IF it comes down to selling Cech or selling Courtois the choice is a pretty clear one.

Nothing to do with Courtois, I'm just asking how a lot of people seem sure that Petr will only play at the top level till he is 32 or 33 and not till he's 38 for example.

Another thing that people say that perplexes me is that the choice is pretty clear. We've had pages and pages of debate about the matter this season. It's obviously not an easy or clear choice.

Howard is a fair shout but the others are a shadow of what they were.

Jaaskelinen has been rubbish for a while Coyle dropped him for Bogdan and Big Sam has done the same bringing in that little shit Adrian in his place. A prime Jussi in 2007 was argubly the best in the PL aside from Petr and VDS.

Friedel lost a lot off mobility in recent years, Spurs fans main complaint about him is he doesn't command his box and has slow reactions, neither off those was a problem in his Blackburn days and Mark is still good but a shadow off his Boro days imo.

For me, Friedel played some of his best football at the start of last season and end of the previous one. Mark is 41 and is practically playing at the same level he has always played. Fair enough about Jaaskelainen, but even if we agree that his peak was in 2007, he was 32 back then.

And that's not to mention great keepers outside the EPL like Weidenfeller and Buffon. Even Kahn, for me the best keeper of all time, played till he was 39 IIRC.

[MetsajCFC 1,255]

Oh yea, lets let go of the future to hold on to the past

Cech has a year maybe two as a top GK IMO (and he's not really in his prime anymore).

Courtois is the future, already arguably on Cech's level (only thing cech has over him is experience).

I get that people want to see Cech here, I do aswell. But sometimes hard decisions need to be made for the future.

Only thing over Cech is experience? That's the absolute number one thing for goalkeepers. Courtois isn't on Cech's level, be realistic. Goalkeepers also have longer top-level careers, Cech is far from finished, good 4-5 years at the very top level left atleast. What makes Courtois better - just because he has played 3 seasons at Atletico and has had 2 good seasons in his whole career? Cech's been at it for over 10 years and is surely one of the top keepers in this game. Show more respect, just think of the Champions League campaign few years back.

I swear people go along with media hype sometimes. Headline says "Courtois world class" (he's a great goalkeeper, don't misunderstand me) and some people automatically see him as the actual world number one and discard anyone else who has been constantly performing thus not making it to the front pages for one or two brilliant matches. By your logic Courtois is better than Buffon aswell? Christ... Like a kid in toy shop where new "generation" of that toy comes out in a new and exciting flashy package - it's automatically better than the "old" one.

You got one thing right - Courtois is the FUTURE.

[Jype 6,398]

He's 31. Keepers are much more likely to keep going well into their late thirties than outfield players. It's not nearly as rare as you're saying: Brad Friedel, Tim Howard, our own Schwarzer, Jaaskelainen...etc recently from the EPL alone.

Cech will be 32 before next season. While he could without a doubt go on for at least another three or four years, maybe even a couple more if he's lucky, he's still not one for the long term and when players near the 35 year mark their decline can be fast. Courtois is ten years younger and already one of the best goalies in the world so why take a significant risk on something Cech might be able to do for around 6-7 years maximum when we already have Courtois who will definitely be able to do the same, if not even more, for around 15 years?

It's not even a question of money either. Some argue that Courtois should be sold because he will command a massive fee which could then be spent elsewhere but that's a shortsighted way of looking at it. Sure we could sell Courtois now for £20m and stick with Cech for another few years but what then, spend the same Courtois money on some up-and-comer who might not even be anywhere near the level of Thibaut? Selling Cech for around £8-10m sounds a much better option to me. I'm sure I speak for everyone around here when I say we all love Cech but if we threw sentimentality out the window it's a no-brainer really.

[Belgiannutt 3,201]

He's really turning me off with the comments he's been making. I'm not saying that he doesn't have a right to demand the no. 1 spot here, but to me the way he and his father are going about it, it almost sounds like they're holding us to an ultimatum. If Courtois wants to come here and immediately be handed over the starting spot, then I say let the kid walk. This is one of the top clubs in the world and the way he and his father are acting, it's almost as if they think they're doing us a favour.

I understand that he's right up there among the best, but would he even be in that position if it weren't for Chelsea?

In any case, I think this is a different situation from Cudicini. For starters Cech has built rapport with Mourinho and I think Jose has too much respect for him to just drop him like that. Courtois will surely get his chance (if he comes) but it needs to be done in way that's respectful to Cech and that might mean him spending some time on the bench while Cech is gently phased out. If that's such an unbearable thought to Courtois, then let the kid go and collect a hefty fee for him. We can't miss something that we never had.

The thing is you're only looking out for the interest of Chelsea and Cech and completely ignoring Courtois his interest. Courtois and his father just want what's best for his career. That means playing.

You basically want him to come here and play second fiddle to Cech while we slowly faze him out ? And your upset that he's not taking that deal out of some sense of gratitude for loaning him out to Atletico ?

What you want simply isn't possible you've got 2 Goalkeepers who are good enough to be our nr1. We need to choose one and let the other one go. I'd prefer choosing the one with the most years left to give.

[Jype 6,398]

I understand that he's right up there among the best, but would he even be in that position if it weren't for Chelsea?

Why wouldn't he be? Atletico were intereted in buying him on a permanent transfer from Genk but we beat them to it. Had they gotten him first, he'd be exactly where he is now or alternatively he'd already have been bought by Barcelona.

He's never spent a day in his life training at Cobham with the Chelsea staff, let alone playing a game for the club, so how on earth can Chelsea take credit for his development?