Non-Chelsea Transfer Pub

[Heisenberg 1,824]

I just hope we sign someone with good stats on fifa....

J'aime !

We need a top defending midfielder, and a central defender, lets buy Tioté and Hummels.

[OneMoSalah 8,776]

I would of fancied us to try and sign Wilfred Zaha. Hes got good potential obviously, typical African forward player very pacey and strong despite having a large but skinny-ish frame. Still very raw but hes he looks to be quite talented. Can play left wing, right wing or through the middle and would be a bit more refreshing compared to Hazard, Marin and Mata trying to pass themselves through teams rather than look to beat players. Similar to Victor Moses, not as far on in his developement but still a good young player. Obviously Moses seems to have better technical qualities and better decision making but I wouldn't say Zaha is really much worse. £10 Million upfront with another £5 million on apperances could be very good for United if he plays well in the PL. Obviously Moses so far was cheaper and has performd in the PL but until we see Zaha in the PL it will be very hard to compare them.

[ChelseaKid10 35]

I bet we try and panic buy on the last couple of days.......

[Yeboii 1,844]

I would of fancied us to try and sign Wilfred Zaha. Hes got good potential obviously, typical African forward player very pacey and strong despite having a large but skinny-ish frame. Still very raw but hes he looks to be quite talented. Can play left wing, right wing or through the middle and would be a bit more refreshing compared to Hazard, Marin and Mata trying to pass themselves through teams rather than look to beat players. Similar to Victor Moses, not as far on in his developement but still a good young player. Obviously Moses seems to have better technical qualities and better decision making but I wouldn't say Zaha is really much worse. £10 Million upfront with another £5 million on apperances could be very good for United if he plays well in the PL. Obviously Moses so far was cheaper and has performd in the PL but until we see Zaha in the PL it will be very hard to compare them.

I am pretty sure Fergie will make a good player of him if Zaha allows him too.

[OneMoSalah 8,776]

I am pretty sure Fergie will make a good player of him if Zaha allows him too.

Zaha has all the right attributes to be a good player and the desire it seems. So any top manager would hopefully be able to mould him into a top player but surely Fergie would be best for it.

[Strike 7,217]

Back to talking about transfers...

Only 6 days left in the transfer window and no sign of us buying anyone to bolster this threadbare squad of ours!

Rafa moans about a small squad but doesn't have the sense of recalling Essien or maybe KDB?

Tbf, i don't think there's any good player available to sign for a good price. looks like we'd have to overpay to get any decent talent. hence only Ba has come in. but this is getting crazy. rafa knows about the squad depth problem and still hasn't done anything to rectify it

[teignman 441]

Rafa moans about a small squad but doesn't have the sense of recalling Essien or maybe KDB?

Tbf, i don't think there's any good player available to sign for a good price. looks like we'd have to overpay to get any decent talent. hence only Ba has come in. but this is getting crazy. rafa knows about the squad depth problem and still hasn't done anything to rectify it

Though I just got done writing a post on another topic deriding Benitez, I don't think we can put the transfer/squad situation squarely on him. The board, director, and ultimately Roman probably have a much larger hand in this matter than Benitez.

[Kojo 4,676]

I keep seeing these African and French kids who have the big names, sorry if i can't narrow it down a bit more. However we should start going for players like that, but instead we want to play like Barcelona.

We need physical players, offloading the players like Essien, Alex, Drogba and Anelka and not replacing them with similar players was a mistake. Especially Essien, we really lack an Essien, however i doubt we will ever get another one of them. It's a shame i think we where blessed to have Makalele and Essien, two of the best Defensive Midfielders i have ever seen in my life, gutted that they are gone.

Compare our current midfielders to the ones we used to have... It's quite sad thinking about it really. Though it seems we aren't even bothering about signing anyone, once again it's going to be a huge mistake.

[Strike 7,217]

I keep seeing these African and French kids who have the big names, sorry if i can't narrow it down a bit more. However we should start going for players like that, but instead we want to play like Barcelona.

We need physical players, offloading the players like Essien, Alex, Drogba and Anelka and not replacing them with similar players was a mistake. Especially Essien, we really lack an Essien, however i doubt we will ever get another one of them. It's a shame i think we where blessed to have Makalele and Essien, two of the best Defensive Midfielders i have ever seen in my life, gutted that they are gone.

Compare our current midfielders to the ones we used to have... It's quite sad thinking about it really. Though it seems we aren't even bothering about signing anyone, once again it's going to be a huge mistake.

true. no steel in the midfield nowadays. We used to have Makelele Essien Ballack Lampard once upon a time. now we have Ramires, Mikel, Lampard (aged 34) and Romeu. Gulf in class

Ramires runs but has pathetic technique for a central midfielder. Mikel - who, it should be said, is grossly overrated at Chelsea as he is nowhere near Makelele or Essien level. Romeu - another work in progress. Lampard with a drastic drop in mobility

Add to this our defensive problems and the fact that we have one Fernando Torres in attack. Pains me, really...

[Kojo 4,676]

true. no steel in the midfield nowadays. We used to have Makelele Essien Ballack Lampard once upon a time. now we have Ramires, Mikel, Lampard (aged 34) and Romeu. Gulf in class

Ramires runs but has pathetic technique for a central midfielder. Mikel - who, it should be said, is grossly overrated at Chelsea as he is nowhere near Makelele or Essien level. Romeu - another work in progress. Lampard with a drastic drop in mobility

Add to this our defensive problems and the fact that we have one Fernando Torres in attack. Pains me, really...

Spot on, that will always be Ramires's problem, as not been good enough to actually establish himself as a key player. However we need him in our team, because i admire his passion and desire, all those vital goals he has scored and wonders he has produced now and then. He's also been excellent in big games in the past.

Mikel, we all know my opinion on him, in ways i admire the support the Chelsea fans on here give him regardless of them being to delusional at times when he makes mistakes. But the fact is and you summed it up perfectly, he will never be as good as Makalele or Essien, look at his age, he's hardly going to improve, he's never shown signs of being world class either for me as he's never flourished or took his position and actually made it his. The bottom line is, we need better, we can't settle for 2nd best if we are to compete with the top teams. However people can't accept that or let it go, they keep the faith, which i admire but they are also blinded at times, when he makes mistakes they try to pin it on other players, or when we have losses he is never at fault.

Romeu, I still have faith in this one, not now but i think he's the one in 5 year time will end up being excellent, unfortunately not at this club, or Barca either. He seems to be dropping constantly, but he's a good player and he will pick himself up in the future, however it's a lot harder for him to pick himself up here or at Barca, so maybe he will have to move to fulfill his potential. He's having so many injuries, especially when it's his time when he will get played, as Benitez loves Spaniards and shown that he wanted to play him.

[Spike 12,049]

Mikel, we all know my opinion on him, in ways i admire the support the Chelsea fans on here give him regardless of them being to delusional at times when he makes mistakes. But the fact is and you summed it up perfectly, he will never be as good as Makalele or Essien, look at his age, he's hardly going to improve, he's never shown signs of being world class either for me as he's never flourished or took his position and actually made it his. The bottom line is, we need better, we can't settle for 2nd best if we are to compete with the top teams. However people can't accept that or let it go, they keep the faith, which i admire but they are also blinded at times, when he makes mistakes they try to pin it on other players, or when we have losses he is never at fault.

Just appreciate that Makelele was 30 when he joined Chelsea! Age means a bit less for defensive minded players, I reckon, fowards hit their prime at 26-29 but I think defenders peak at 29-33. I'm just holding onto hope that Mikel will peak at 30 rather than 25.

I think his style would be more suited to a 4-3-3. A midfield trio of players like Ramires/Tiote (ball winner), Mikel/Capoue (anchor) and Cabaye/Moutinho (playmaker/box to box) would be perfect.

[Jase 43,479]

Rafa moans about a small squad but doesn't have the sense of recalling Essien or maybe KDB?

Tbf, i don't think there's any good player available to sign for a good price. looks like we'd have to overpay to get any decent talent. hence only Ba has come in. but this is getting crazy. rafa knows about the squad depth problem and still hasn't done anything to rectify it

TBF to him a bit, don't think he has any say regarding transfers at all. It's the board who decides all of this. He might have asked for Essien or De Bruyne etc to return but club rejected it. Who knows? He could and should probably try playing 1-2 youngsters from the academy but don't think he has much authority in regards to the in and out transfers.

[mediator 2,026]

I don't know how reliable this source is, so take it as it :

Chelsea FC lead race to sign Marouane Fellaini before transfer deadline day

They announce "according to l equipe..."

http://www.crunchsports.com/category/Soccer/Chelsea-FC-favourites-to-sign-Marouane-Fellaini-before-the-transfer-deadline-201301240006/

I couldn't not find this on l'Equipe's website btw

[Strike 7,217]

TBF to him a bit, don't think he has any say regarding transfers at all. It's the board who decides all of this. He might have asked for Essien or De Bruyne etc to return but club rejected it. Who knows? He could and should probably try playing 1-2 youngsters from the academy but don't think he has much authority in regards to the in and out transfers.

who is there in the academy now? george saville? feruz? ake? bamford? don't think any of them are ready yet. all our young prospects are out on loan and that is problematic considering our busy schedule

[The only place to be 11,313]

Another Phill Jones...

Huh? Phil Jones is a good player and has the potential to be a great one, once Fergie settles on one position for him and sticks to it. At the moment he's been shifted around the back four and midfield, but he's one of the players I wish we'd got. He has the ability to be a world-class DM in my opinion and could be a future England captain.

But I agree about Zaha. He's got potential but he's a little sloppy at times.

[bushman 2,043]

To say, Rafa has any say in to recall Essien is just plain clueless. Rafa was hired to see the squad through until the end of this season. The board is there to see what the team needs.

Are they so blind & not see that the current team lacks players ?

[Mufassir08 2,400]

Especially Essien, we really lack an Essien, however i doubt we will ever get another one of them.

Wanyama is similar to essien.Obviously not as good but he is young and has very good potential,he could be the beast we need in our midfield.

[Severinb 309]

We really need a winger, striker and midfielder ad maybe a defender! I am really starting to get a little scared hope we can wrap up some deals or recall players!

I would go for benat/fellaini,david villa and ince/ or lens from psv or ola john from benfica!