This season is the most important season in Premiership history and this will define Chelsea Fc.

[Krypt 241]

I think Buck has already said in an interview that they hope to keep him for long-term (in Chelsea terms that's at least 3 seasons).

I think all he has to do to keep his job is keep us in the top 4 , next season there will be more expectation.

[laura90 556]

I find it difficult to agree with people who are convinced in our CL spot. I doubt it ever since the transfer window. For me it's like this:

1. City - obvious reasons

2. United - obvious reasons

3. Tottenham - people underestimate them. They were good 2 years before, as I recall, but since then they've only improved. Their signings are spot on: VDV, and now Parker, Freidel, Adebayor. They also have Modric, Bale, Lenon, etc. I can't stand them, but if remain without major injury blow, this is the top three team.

4. Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Newcastle

Liverpool and Arsenal have issues, but we have too.

Right now we have:

- some players who play a system that they are not technically or tactically able to play.

- young and unexperienced manager who is world class in making, but needs time.

- defence that struggle to cope with high defensive line.

- midfield that struggle to carry this attractive attacking football we are supposed to play. They are good midfielders, no doubt, but question remains whether they are good enough for what is expected of them. ( Mata is an exception)

- attack - our strikers can't score for some reason. Is Sturridge ready to be the main striker for a team like Chelsea? It remains to be seen.

I agree this is decisive year for us. For many reasons. We are in the middle of some kind of a transition and rebuilding process. However we've spent around 125 mil this year and signed only one reliable starter( Mata). Maybe (Luiz or Romeu too). Players have been signed for the wrong reasons.

The top four place is not guaranteed. On the contrary, it will be very difficult to achieve, given the circumstances and competition. If AVB and the team succeed in it, it will be incredible achievement.

[LDN Blue 7,903]

We can get away with it, apart from Drogba 06/07 and 09/10 have we ever had a fully firiing forward in the Roman era? We have enough goals from everywhere on the pitch IMO.

Yeah true, but now where are the goals coming from?

This season it's all about goals. City, Arsenal & United are all recording some good wins, just look at the goal difference already. Defensively, this is a weak league now. United's, Our's & City's back 4 are quite rubbish & very exploitable. We have no-one to exploit them.

[Badboy 1,526]

We should never of sold Robben, what the hell did that 24 million do for us ? Absolutely nothing at all, i know he was injury prone but the form he showed for Bayern that season was so good that it could of propelled us, hindsight is a wonderful thing but you should never sell a premium Dutch attacker no matter what.

[Henrique 9,133]

We lack an in form striker that can carry us through the season. We were lucky to have Drogba for the past 5 years but right now no one is scoring our goals.

I thought this guys was Lukaku.

[francozola 2,040]

I thought this guys was Lukaku.

Oh stop going on and on about him. Nobody said that he was going to be scoring 20+ goals for us immediately. Nobody even expected him to be a starter in his first couple of seasons. He was bought for the future.

[Henrique 9,133]

I dont think this season will define the future of anything. Its just people who are watching too much Hollywood movies.

What is happening in this season is not worrying. This season is not a two horse race. There is only one club going for the title: its Manchester City. United, Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool, and perhaps Spurs, will fight for a CL place.

I would like to see the changes happening faster, but they are happening:

- Kalous is barely playing.

- Drogba lost his power and will leave in the end of the season.

- Malouda is not important anymore.

- We have a new world class player in Mata.

Soon or late other needed changes will happen:

- Lampard will not be as important as today, because we will find a good and younger player for his position.

- We will have a world class CB partnership again, because Terry will not be a untouchable anymore. The guy stopped playing his superb football years ago.

- We will finally have a real killer in the attack since Hasselbaink left. The kind of guy that scores more than 20 goals for 4 or 5 season, not the kind of strikers we had in recent years, that score 30 in one season, and 9 in next 2.

[Henrique 9,133]

Oh stop going on and on about him. Nobody said that he was going to be scoring 20+ goals for us immediately. Nobody even expected him to be a starter in his first couple of seasons. He was bought for the future.

since you dont know whats gonna happen in the future, I dont think its a good idea pay 18m for a player for the future.

[BlueLion. 21,491]

The thing is i don't see Drogba pulling up any tree's this season and Torres is just going from brilliant to shocking. When i seen that miss he did against Blackburn i was not shocked at all and that is worrying. Lampard is carrying the goal burden at the moment but we need to find a new dimension, a new attacking outlet because teams will find us out that Mata is our sole provider. We need someone who can find space and create in midfield in January, we really really need that.

Absolutely. We definitely need more creativity in the side, which is why many of us wanted Benayoun to stay, as he is another option off the bench. Josh also needs more game time as he has the eye for a nice reverse pass, like Ramsey.

It also scares me that Lampard is still our main source of goals despite him being past his best (that is not an attack on him, I think he's been brilliant so far this season, since the Valencia game, at least) and supposedly having Torres, Sturridge, Anelka, Mata, Drogba, Lukaku and Malouda as 'forwards.'

[francozola 2,040]

since you dont know whats gonna happen in the future, I dont think its a good idea pay 18m for a player for the future.

Okay I get your point but it was done to get him before other clubs are interested. And you can't suddenly complain about the fact that we overpaid. We've overpaid for every player we've bought since Roman took over. We shouldn't judge his quality right now. He will improve a lot over the course of this season. However, one worry I have is that I'm not sure if he fits into AVB's playing style...

[francozola 2,040]

supposedly having Torres, Sturridge, Anelka, Mata, Drogba, Lukaku and Malouda as 'forwards.'

Yes, this is scary indeed. You forgot Kalou lol. But yeah, it's scary that none of our front 3 players have scored virtually any goals at all for a year and a half. I know Malouda was our top scorer last year but that's a load of bollocks. he was shite for the whole season. The only decent goals/game record is held by Sturridge, and even he is missing at least 2-3 glorious chances every game.

It's not creativity that we're missing atm, it's the finishing. We're creating enough clear-cut chances to score 4-5 goals every game whereas compared to last season we were absolutely atrocious.

[BlueLion. 21,491]

since you dont know whats gonna happen in the future, I dont think its a good idea pay 18m for a player for the future.

But you'd rather spend £40 million on a player for the 'now' and let the likes of Sturridge and McEachran sink into nothingness?

Yes, this is scary indeed. You forgot Kalou lol. But yeah, it's scary that none of our front 3 players have scored virtually any goals at all for a year and a half. I know Malouda was our top scorer last year but that's a load of bollocks. he was shite for the whole season. The only decent goals/game record is held by Sturridge, and even he is missing at least 2-3 glorious chances every game.

It's not creativity that we're missing atm, it's the finishing. We're creating enough clear-cut chances to score 4-5 goals every game whereas compared to last season we were absolutely atrocious.

Purposefully We have goalkeepers, defenders, midfielders, wingers and strikers, and we also have liabilities, Kalou fits under the latter.

[Henrique 9,133]

But you'd rather spend £40 million on a player for the 'now' and let the likes of Sturridge and McEachran sink into nothingness?

Purposefully We have goalkeepers, defenders, midfielders, wingers and strikers, and we also have liabilities, Kalou fits under the latter.

If that player is Neymar, so yes. This guy is the next big thing hapenning in football in next decade, and its a shame that its not going to be here. Sturridge and Josh seems to have a great future, but nothing compared to the brazilian superstar, that would be a player for now, for future, and for history.

[BlueLion. 21,491]

If that player is Neymar, so yes. This guy is the next big thing hapenning in football in next decade, and its a shame that its not going to be here. Sturridge and Josh seems to have a great future, but nothing compared to the brazilian superstar, that would be a player for now, for future, and for history.

Why do I get the impression you are only saying this because he is Brazilian?

Neymar is no superstar. Cristiano Ronaldo and Messi are superstars. He would never reach their level. He will become a good player like Nani or Robinho, he will never be truly outstanding. Why do I think this? Because he is an egotistical and arrogant young man with the wrong mentality. Ronaldo and Messi are born winners, with an incredibly mindset, set on glory and personal performance and achievement. Neymar doesn't have the same sort of self-motivation to succeed, in bad games he sulks and does nothing. He will never be world class. Don't get me wrong I think the boy is a talent, I just think he is being overrated as the next big thing out of Brazil because of how poor the national team is, presently.

[Henrique 9,133]

Why do I get the impression you are only saying this because he is Brazilian?

Neymar is no superstar. Cristiano Ronaldo and Messi are superstars. He would never reach their level. He will become a good player like Nani or Robinho, he will never be truly outstanding. Why do I think this? Because he is an egotistical and arrogant young man with the wrong mentality. Ronaldo and Messi are born winners, with an incredibly mindset, set on glory and personal performance and achievement. Neymar doesn't have the same sort of self-motivation to succeed, in bad games he sulks and does nothing. He will never be world class. Don't get me wrong I think the boy is a talent, I just think he is being overrated as the next big thing out of Brazil because of how poor the national team is, presently.

Soon you will realize that you are wrong. I dont need to argue, time will do the job.

[BlueLion. 21,491]

I'll realise I'm right when Brazil flop at a world cup again.

[Badboy 1,526]

Why do I get the impression you are only saying this because he is Brazilian?

Neymar is no superstar. Cristiano Ronaldo and Messi are superstars. He would never reach their level. He will become a good player like Nani or Robinho, he will never be truly outstanding. Why do I think this? Because he is an egotistical and arrogant young man with the wrong mentality. Ronaldo and Messi are born winners, with an incredibly mindset, set on glory and personal performance and achievement. Neymar doesn't have the same sort of self-motivation to succeed, in bad games he sulks and does nothing. He will never be world class. Don't get me wrong I think the boy is a talent, I just think he is being overrated as the next big thing out of Brazil because of how poor the national team is, presently.

I agree with you, you have to have a certain level of drive and hunger to able to make a consistent difference in games like what Ronaldo and Messi do. Anelka and Micheal Owen were so much better then Theirry Henry when all three of them were breaking through in the late 90's it was not even debatable. By the end of all their careers Thierry Henry was the only one who became a footballing legend and who would of thought that in the late 90's. This was down to Henry having a certain level of drive and determination that Anelka certainly never had. The same thing with Gerrard and Lampard, if you told me in the early 00's that Lampard was going to be on the same level as Gerrard i would of laughed at you but Lamps is always the last person who leaves the training ground. I think by the end of their careers Sturridge will probably have a better career then Pato, Pato does not even seem interested anymore like Anelka ! Attitude is huge in football, you can have Anelka type quality at 17 but if you don't work on it then the others will catch up and surpass you.

[ZanSnake 1,211]

Let's sign Pele, Ronaldo, Cafu, Socrates, Ronaldinho, Roamrio and Rivaldo, just to please Henrique and the seeming pleasure he gets from seeing Brazilian players in a blue shirt.

Forget there ages, signing the world's most wanted youth players is such a bad idea!