THE OVERHAUL!

[KonohasOrangeFlash 2,607]

And for the record, my favourite style is winning football!

Which can be achieved through attacking football.....

[Superblue 6,372]

Essien, Malouda and Paulo? Great servents of the club but glad they're being shifted on. If all this is really happening than it is Magnificent. We seem to be truly overhauling the team, not just making a couple of changes here and there. This will also mean signings, Get In!

If SS is correct, its likely to mean at least a RB, CM and 2 attacking players we'll buy. Also think it will be quality over quantity.

[Superblue 6,372]

Which can be achieved through attacking football.....

Yes it can, just saying winning first, attacking style second.

[cujo101 75]

Gutted about Essien - Was a truly great player before the knee injuries took their toll. 'The Bison' will be missed.

[KonohasOrangeFlash 2,607]

If SS is correct, its likely to mean at least a RB, CM and 2 attacking players we'll buy. Also think it will be quality over quantity.

The players you mentioned is all we need really. I just hope the 2 attackers are wingers and not 1 winger and 1 Striker.

Gutted about Essien - Was a truly great player before the knee injuries took their toll. 'The Bison' will be missed.

Yea he will be, but it's obviously best to let him go. What a beast in midfield he was. Truly a Bison. Integral to us before the injuries.

[Superblue 6,372]

The players you mentioned is all we need really. I just hope the 2 attackers are wingers and not 1 winger and 1 striker.

Thats why i can see hulk over others, primarily a winger but can operate as a striker in case of injuries.

Wouldn't want to rely on sturridge and lukaku if torres gets crocked.

[KonohasOrangeFlash 2,607]

Thats why i can see hulk over others, primarily a winger but can operate as a striker in case of injuries.

Wouldn't want to rely on sturridge and lukaku if torres gets crocked.

Exactly, Hulk and Hazard would be perfect.

[Wavy Crockett 190]

I think he deserves a chance in the Preseason and the Mickey Mouse Cup.

definitely

I hope we go for two or three worldclass type players in the window and promote a few youngsters as well, rather than making 5-6 KDB like signings. Since defence is our strong point Todd Kane got be our alternative at RB and we won't have to spend as much.

[Blue-in-me-Veins 4,067]

hey do evryone here think kdb is going on loan? or studge is leaving? or marin?

buy 2 new wingers would give us 5! that OD, and drama waiting to happen as they complain for game time. if we buy hazard then that in my opinion is enough. what we'd need is a B2B mid who can do both things well.

[Tricky 301]

I think it' best if we have a mixture of both. Keep our defence the way it is. Don't play with a high line as we saw the disastrous results under AVB. So solid defence but, like someone mentioned earlier, let our attackers go wild. Give them full freedom with little defensive duties (for most games). We'd get the best of both worlds. Although to do this we need great CM's who can defend well but also transition the play quickly. This is how we'll play good attacking football while not compromising our defence. We'll never be just like Barcelona. I see us becoming more like Bayern Munich with better defence. Playing attractive football would be welcomed.

Don't see anything wrong with playing with a high line, problem was AVB lost / destroyed player moral. And if the team don't want to play for you you have a problem.

We use to press the ball all over the pitch under JM; difference between us and Barca was that once we one position we were very direct. Believe the philosophy was that this transition period between winning and losing the ball was vital. You could exploit this gap to create chances.

Let's not forget defence starts from the front, you can't have players going "wild" and expect to keep clean sheets at the other end. It's a team game.

[KonohasOrangeFlash 2,607]

Don't see anything wrong with playing with a high line, problem was AVB lost / destroyed player moral. And if the team don't want to play for you you have a problem.

......You're kidding right? We clearly don't have the pace in our defence to play a High line. How does player Morale have anything to do with that? What about the 5-3 Arsenal game? They exploited our high line. Player morale would have been relatively high as our season and results were fairly good before that game. Thus your argument makes no sense and holds no validity.

[Tricky 301]

......You're kidding right? We clearly don't have the pace in our defence to play a High line. How does player Morale have anything to do with that? What about the 5-3 Arsenal game? They exploited our high line. Player morale would have been relatively high as our season and results were fairly good before that game. Thus your argument makes no sense and holds no validity.

And Barca cb are lightening?

Playing a high line means closing the space between midfield and defence compressing play (like JM employed, with practically the same players) from the midfield and preventing opponents from finding space. We played this way for three years under JM.

Difference this time around was that we never had the same personal. Maka, Essien and Lampard were an awesome combination.

Ps - your example has nothing to do with team morale. My point was that changing a system requires player buy in, often achieved by player harmony / morale. Telling them your flogging them at the end I the yer then asking them to do something different isn't great man management.

[KonohasOrangeFlash 2,607]

And Barca cb are lightening?

Playing a high line means closing the space between midfield and defence compressing play (like JM employed, with practically the same players) from the midfield and preventing opponents from finding space. We played this way for three years under JM.

Difference this time around was that we never had the same personal. Maka, Essien and Lampard were an awesome combination.

Ps - your example has nothing to do with team morale. My point was that changing a system requires player buy in, often achieved by player harmony / morale. Telling them your flogging them at the end I the yer then asking them to do something different isn't great man management.

We won't play a high line anymore simple as that. At least not to the extent of AVB's high line.

[Shane 2,275]

I take it i'm the only one who is in favour of giving the Bison another season to prove himself?

[Leif 6,006]

I hope we eventually start playing our football like Manchester City.

Although they also use a 4-2-3-1, it's much better than our own.

We use 2 defensive midfielders, 1 attacking midfielder, 2 wingers, 1 striker.

They use 1 defensive midfielder partnered with 1 box-to-box midfielder, 2 playmakers where the wingers would usually be (but they play closer to the centre and then drift out wide to put a cross in when needed), and then a trequartista who swaps roles with the striker up-top, who often also acts as a trequartista.

(A trequartista is a player who switches between being a striker and attacking midfielder throughout the game. Think Aguero, Messi, Rooney.)

This creates ultimate possession with the playmakers, striker and trequartista all wanting to pass, pass, pass, while the box-to-box midfielder will often go with a surprise run and put the ball into the net when those playmakers mentioned occasionally drift wide, opening up space in the middle.

Due to their playmaking-wingers playing a lot more central, their full backs always need to bomb forward.

I think we could play something like them if we lined up in the following way -

Cech

Kane, Cahill, Terry, Cole

Mikel, Ramires

De Bruyne, Mata, Hazard

Torres

This would give us an English back 4 which would be great for communication purposes, a possession-minded midfielder in Mikel deployed as the holding midfielder, Ramires with his surging runs and versatility,

De Bruyne whose fantastic with both feet and works well in any attacking position, Mata is obvious, and then hopefully we can snatch up Hazard who is MADE for this role.

With Lampard as a sub able to play where Mikel/Ramires are or where Mata is, Marin able to cover for any of the front/mid 3, Bertrand to rotate with Cole, Ivanovic to rotate with Kane, and Lukaku and Sturridge able to cover for Torres, I'm sure this would bring us effective, possession, attacking football.

No need to go crazy with the money and buy Hulk and Lucas Moura who wouldn't even fit into a 4-2-3-1.

We'd be much better off investing in back-ups and rotation options.

[Tricky 301]

We won't play a high line anymore simple as that. At least not to the extent of AVB's high line.

Dibt bet against it, of you want to play nice attacking football your first have to prevent the opposition from playing. You do this by pressing higher up the pitch and as a team (aka Barcelona an Chelseas under JM).

If we defend deep like we have been it means our midfield drops deeper or the gap between them and our defence gets exploited. And we end up counter attacking or launching long balls.

Pace at the back is not essential (though it helps), what's important is that you press as a team. Hence my comments about moral; it has a negative effect on team work.

[bababoom 4,478]

I hope we eventually start playing our football like Manchester City.

Although they also use a 4-2-3-1, it's much better than our own.

We use 2 defensive midfielders, 1 attacking midfielder, 2 wingers, 1 striker.

They use 1 defensive midfielder partnered with 1 box-to-box midfielder, 2 playmakers where the wingers would usually be (but they play closer to the centre and then drift out wide to put a cross in when needed), and then a trequartista who swaps roles with the striker up-top, who often also acts as a trequartista.

(A trequartista is a player who switches between being a striker and attacking midfielder throughout the game. Think Aguero, Messi, Rooney.)

This creates ultimate possession with the playmakers, striker and trequartista all wanting to pass, pass, pass, while the box-to-box midfielder will often go with a surprise run and put the ball into the net when those playmakers mentioned occasionally drift wide, opening up space in the middle.

Due to their playmaking-wingers playing a lot more central, their full backs always need to bomb forward.

I think we could play something like them if we lined up in the following way -

Cech

Kane, Cahill, Terry, Cole

Mikel, Ramires

De Bruyne, Mata, Hazard

Torres

This would give us an English back 4 which would be great for communication purposes, a possession-minded midfielder in Mikel deployed as the holding midfielder, Ramires with his surging runs and versatility,

De Bruyne whose fantastic with both feet and works well in any attacking position, Mata is obvious, and then hopefully we can snatch up Hazard who is MADE for this role.

With Lampard as a sub able to play where Mikel/Ramires are or where Mata is, Marin able to cover for any of the front/mid 3, Bertrand to rotate with Cole, Ivanovic to rotate with Kane, and Lukaku and Sturridge able to cover for Torres, I'm sure this would bring us effective, possession, attacking football.

No need to go crazy with the money and buy Hulk and Lucas Moura who wouldn't even fit into a 4-2-3-1.

We'd be much better off investing in back-ups and rotation options.

Good post, but i dont think Ramires should be playing in that postition, he's miles better playing a bit forward.

[Joshyboy 36]

I think the defence is fine myself

Cole - JT - Luiz - Brana

Proved they can withstand the likes of Barcelona and Bayern Munich, they've played together all season and their a pretty solid defensive unit overall.

Midfield needs to be freshened up, I'd like to see us playing at a quicker tempo, myself and John Obi (who in fairness has shone since RDM took the reins) tends to really slow the game down for me, which is fine when your playing in a defensive midfield position, but he never tries anything adventurous, he passes backward and sideways.

So a new pairing in the deeper midfield roles would be on the cards for me;

Lampard - Ramires ?

Romeu (yeah he's still alive) - Lampard?

The front four is where we build the attacking game that Roman, and I'm sure a number of the fans wants to see at the bridge this season, they players need to be able to pick a pass, get past a defender and move with some purpose, our tempos always been a bit too slow for me, too many sideways and backward passes, we need someone who can take the initiative and start trying to thread those balls onto the strikers toes or use their twinkle toes to duck past a defender and make an opening for themselves.

They need to be intelligent off the ball and deadly on it, something we're lacking when you look at Malouda & Kalou, the players capable of playing that trequistra role or even playing out wide.

(In an ideal world)

Hulk - Mata - Hazard

Upfront, our biggest issue, Nando? Can he still do It? I think any confidence he'd build up over the past few months was probably dashed when he was dropped for the Champs League Final (for good reason) so I think he'd be back to square one, but I, like most other Chelsea fans want to see him back on song and firing on all cylinders, problem is out game has always been too slower tempo'd for his playstyle, look at his an Stevie G's partnership, he'd have balls over the top, or balls to run onto he'd make the most of his pace and finishing playing like that, whereas with us he's playing with his back to goal and having to fashion his own chances, which he's obviously not great at.

SO I'd say if we sign someone capable to putting the balls onto his toe when he's playing off the shoulder, keep him, give him 6 months worst case scenario.

Torres

Sorry about the essay, really quiet day at work!

[gary gordon 1,777]

With word that Kalou, Bosingwa, Paulo, Malouda and Essien are on there way out, i would like to see at least 2 high profile signings and 3 premier league based players bought in. Junior Hoilett or Nathan Dyer would be a good signing in my opinion. Also players like Ben Arfa and Fellaini would be very good acquisitions. I think we could build a very strong team without having to pay over's. Would hate to see us put all our eggs in one basket and sign Hulk for 50 million. We need more then a striker, our attack was abysmal this season.

[KonohasOrangeFlash 2,607]

With word that Kalou, Bosingwa, Paulo, Malouda and Essien are on there way out, i would like to see at least 2 high profile signings and 3 premier league based players bought in. Junior Hoilett or Nathan Dyer would be a good signing in my opinion. Also players like Ben Arfa and Fellaini would be very good acquisitions. I think we could build a very strong team without having to pay over's. Would hate to see us put all our eggs in one basket and sign Hulk for 50 million. We need more then a striker, our attack was abysmal this season.

Hulk is a winger who can play as a Striker. How many times are people going to call him a striker? Ignorance.