Geordie questions

[DoesItMata 6]

Hello TalkChelsea. As you probably know by now , I'm a NUFC fan and on our forum we have a section for away fans.

Anyway , we are compiling a Q&A with oposing fans about their current season. If you have a spair moment, please don't hesitate to answer these questions we have made to ask Chelsea surpporters. Thanks

#1-Do you worry about having Torres as your main striker with little cover? Should Drogba have been offered the contact he wanted?

#2-What do you make of all the young, talented Attacking Midfielders you have all vying for 3 places in the team? Does it worry you that this may lead to some disharmony between those who miss out and the manager?

#3-If you were to have a joint NUFC / Chelsea team, which Newcastle players (if any) would you pick over your first teamers?

#4-Do you think Di Matteo has bought responsibly, or has he been focusing too much on 'attractive' players? In other words, would you rather have seen some of the £50+m spent on Oscar, Hazard etc. bring in some replacements/back-ups for John Terry or Bosingwa?

#5-Which Newcastle player are you most fearful of and why?

#6-Do you think Di Matteo will take Chelsea to the next level (I.e. challenging for the title with the Manchester clubs)?

[Liquidator 5,176]

Welcome to TC!

#1-Do you worry about having Torres as your main striker with little cover? Should Drogba have been offered the contact he wanted?

Yes very much so. He has looked poor like he did when he signed for us which is a shame because he was starting to improve towards the back end of last season. People moaned about the service he was getting but we have signed players that do give better service and he has still looked poor. Sturridge definitely has the potential to be a good striker but he seems to play for himself far too much. Apart from those two we don't have a recognised first team striker which is worrying considering that we could have a lot of games this season with the Club World Cup as well.

To be honest I think we let Drogba go at the right time and it was lovely for him to end his career with us the way he did in Munich. Last season he only seemed to produce something special in the bigger games and didn't really perform in the smaller ones.

#2-What do you make of all the young, talented Attacking Midfielders you have all vying for 3 places in the team? Does it worry you that this may lead to some disharmony between those who miss out and the manager?

Its great to have them because youth and creative midfielders have been something we have been missing for a while. Of course there will be competition for places but hopefully they will be professional enough to get on with it and accept if Di Matteo drops them for a game. They will hopefully all get a good amount of playing time through the season though and the older players seem to have more respect for Di Matteo than they did for Villas-Boas which will help the harmony of the squad.

#3-If you were to have a joint NUFC / Chelsea team, which Newcastle players (if any) would you pick over your first teamers?

There would be plenty because you had some outstanding players. Demba Ba and Papiss Cisse I would take any day over our Torres and Tiote would have to be in there as well. He has to be the best holding midfielder in the league at the moment. Ben Arfa and Cabaye would also have to be in the mix, perhaps with Hazard or Mata in midfield.

#4-Do you think Di Matteo has bought responsibly, or has he been focusing too much on 'attractive' players? In other words, would you rather have seen some of the £50+m spent on Oscar, Hazard etc. bring in some replacements/back-ups for John Terry or Bosingwa?

I don't know how much influence the manager really gets with regard to signings at Chelsea what with Abramovich being the owner. However, we have got a bit of both with our signings this Summer. Azpilicueta has replaced Bosingwa and Moses will hopefully be joining soon but we have also gone for some marquee signings which we needed in midfield really because last season we were over-reliant on Mata for any creativity. Apart from a striker I think we have decent cover for all positions now and some of that has been done by spending a lot of money and other times it hasn't.

#5-Which Newcastle player are you most fearful of and why?

Papiss Cisse- those goals still give me nightmares. Apart from him you have an excellent midfield that can create a lot of chances for Ba and Cisse so we will have to be very wary of the threat that Cabaye, Tiote, and Ben Arfa pose.

#6-Do you think Di Matteo will take Chelsea to the next level (I.e. challenging for the title with the Manchester clubs)?

He has the advantage of having the Terry's and Lampard's behind him as a former player but I think we may need another season before we can challenge the Manchester clubs. There are lots of new players who need time to gel. Of course there is always the threat that a poor run of results will see Abramovich get rid of him and he may not be given the chance next season should the club go after Guardiola.

[Tricky 301]

Hello TalkChelsea. As you probably know by now , I'm a NUFC fan and on our forum we have a section for away fans.

Anyway , we are compiling a Q&A with oposing fans about their current season. If you have a spair moment, please don't hesitate to answer these questions we have made to ask Chelsea surpporters. Thanks

#1-Do you worry about having Torres as your main striker with little cover? Should Drogba have been offered the contact he wanted?

#2-What do you make of all the young, talented Attacking Midfielders you have all vying for 3 places in the team? Does it worry you that this may lead to some disharmony between those who miss out and the manager?

#3-If you were to have a joint NUFC / Chelsea team, which Newcastle players (if any) would you pick over your first teamers?

#4-Do you think Di Matteo has bought responsibly, or has he been focusing too much on 'attractive' players? In other words, would you rather have seen some of the £50+m spent on Oscar, Hazard etc. bring in some replacements/back-ups for John Terry or Bosingwa?

#5-Which Newcastle player are you most fearful of and why?

#6-Do you think Di Matteo will take Chelsea to the next level (I.e. challenging for the title with the Manchester clubs)?

Waya man...

1 - No I'm not concerned, as a team we needed to change our style of play and that was never going to happen whilst he remained at the club. His form has been declining (look at his PL goal return) and bar the European games last year he was poor. I believe Sturridge is more than capable of covering, we only play one up front so we don't need three strikers in the squad.

2 - No, chances are we are going to play 50-60 games this year. Players shall be rotated with each getting more than enough playing time. Believe the only guaranteed starters within those three are Mara and Hazard.

3 - I'd take your CM pairing, offer both creativity, and defensive cover with a good engine. I like Ben Arfa and your front two but I don't think they would start for us.

4 - We wee always buying a RB, deal was struck today but we have been aware of the negotiation all summer. We have three world class center halves and Ivanovic can tuck in there if needed, so we never required replacements. One area where would could have improved is in the DM position.

5 - Ben Arfa, as he can turn a game. Your midfield is actually very good and your strikers offer up the unpredictable... Your a good team, definitely a top 6 finish for you guys this year.

6 - we are a team in transition. Our squad is now incredible young, so I see the season ahead as a learning curve. If you look at our squad compared to City one things stands out... we have built for the future they have a squad for the now. Which is sensible given FFP coming into effect this year. I'm very excited about what this group of players can do over the next decade. I'd be happy with top 4, maybe a cup final and knock out in CL.

[We Hate Scouse 10,286]

#1-Do you worry about having Torres as your main striker with little cover? Should Drogba have been offered the contact he wanted?

Yes, he still looks far from his best. If he gets injured, we have very little cover. It's an area that worries me. I don't think Drogba should've stayed it was time for him to move on. He was a great servant to the club and will always be regarded as a legend.

#2-What do you make of all the young, talented Attacking Midfielders you have all vying for 3 places in the team? Does it worry you that this may lead to some disharmony between those who miss out and the manager?

It's incredibly exciting to be a Chelsea fan at the moment. We are signing young and very talented players who already look good enough to compete for the league. It's scary to think what they could mould in to.

#3-If you were to have a joint NUFC / Chelsea team, which Newcastle players (if any) would you pick over your first teamers?

Ba, Ben Afra, Cisse and Cabaye would be nice

#4-Do you think Di Matteo has bought responsibly, or has he been focusing too much on 'attractive' players? In other words, would you rather have seen some of the £50+m spent on Oscar, Hazard etc. bring in some replacements/back-ups for John Terry or Bosingwa?

I don't think RDM has bought at all. This is all the boards work. Our managers don't seem to deal with our transfers. The signings we have made are very promising.

#5-Which Newcastle player are you most fearful of and why?

The 4 I said I'd like at Chelsea all are fantastic talents.

#6-Do you think Di Matteo will take Chelsea to the next level (I.e. challenging for the title with the Manchester clubs)?

Yes.

[OneMoSalah 8,778]

#1-Do you worry about having Torres as your main striker with little cover? Should Drogba have been offered the contact he wanted?

I am extremely worried with the lack of cover for Torres compared to previous years when we had like say 4 strikers. I'm not worried as much with Torres being our main striker as his movement is better and hes scoring goals. Maybe Drogba should of been offered that 2 year deal but if we want to get to the place we want to get with a new philosophy I think he was sacrificed for it. Sturridge looks like he could be a good enough, able cover upfront but the question is will he be used there on or on the wings? Or will he even stay? Only time will tell but I'm hoping he stays tbh.

#2-What do you make of all the young, talented Attacking Midfielders you have all vying for 3 places in the team? Does it worry you that this may lead to some disharmony between those who miss out and the manager?

No I think all the attacking midfielders we have is good, good competition, different options, different potential combinations and the fact Oscar, Marin, Hazard, Sturridge, Mata etc are all in their younger 20s is good for the clubs future more than the present. Also Moses is potentially coming in who is a good player who adds to the options we already have. I don't think the young players will take it to heart as much if the team is constantly changing due to injuries and suspensions but maybe there could be a rift between certain players who aren't playing enough and the manager but I think Robbie's man management of the squad last season was brilliant so I hope he can continue that with the same effectiveness.

#3-If you were to have a joint NUFC / Chelsea team, which Newcastle players (if any) would you pick over your first teamers?

Cabaye, Ben Arfa, Krul and Santon (at RB) possibly. I think Cisse and Ba are also good players but I'm unsure whether they can do as well again this year.

#4-Do you think Di Matteo has bought responsibly, or has he been focusing too much on 'attractive' players? In other words, would you rather have seen some of the £50+m spent on Oscar, Hazard etc. bring in some replacements/back-ups for John Terry or Bosingwa?

I think the players we've bought are good buys. Roman wants this kind of slick passing football and I believe Robbie wants to change from last year also. I would say now that Cesar Azpilicueta has also signed we have a sufficient replacement for Bosingwa and we already have a wealth of options at center half too in case JT picks up an injury or suspension. It will take the team time to gel and find the right balance but I honestly believe the personnel who Robbie's brought in are more than capable to play for the club and adapt to the tactics, the likes of Hazard, Oscar and Mata will have to drop back to defend a lot more etc.

#5-Which Newcastle player are you most fearful of and why?

Ben Arfa when hes playing good due to his speed and trickery. When hes not having the best of days hes not very effective so I hope he won't be in too good a mood on Saturday

#6-Do you think Di Matteo will take Chelsea to the next level (I.e. challenging for the title with the Manchester clubs)?

Honestly no but I will support him and if he proves me wrong then I will be delighted. I think hes only going to be there until the end of this season before Roman offers Pep like a £30 million a year salary to turn us into Barcelona. I think we will be able to compete with the Manchester clubs tbh, we always will be, just the fact that we were so poor last year it made us look worse than we actually are. With the players we had last year we would of been lucky to scrape top 4, so the investment made in the squad should help bring us back into top 4 quite reasonably. If we can challenge the Manc clubs and finish 3rd say 2 or 3 points off one of them I think we will be doing alright.

[The Rising Sun 710]

#1-Do you worry about having Torres as your main striker with little cover? Should Drogba have been offered the contact he wanted?

Not at all worried about Torres, his movement was superb last season, but couldnt finish to save his life.... Now with our new bunch of talented players, he will have more chances.

His movement has not been as good as last season, but has managed to get the goals. As long as he scores the goals demanded from a CF, no worries. In any case, Drogba scored 13 goals last season and Torres scored 11. This season Torres has already got 2 goals in 3 games, and unlike last season, i can only see that statistic getting better.

Drogba had to go for our playing style to change, and it is for the greater good that he left. He is a Legend none the less.

#2-What do you make of all the young, talented Attacking Midfielders you have all vying for 3 places in the team? Does it worry you that this may lead to some disharmony between those who miss out and the manager?

Again, nothing to be worried about, as we have alot of games this season, and apart from our top 6 of oscar hazard mata marin sturridge and now moses, all the other players are not in contention IMO, such as malouda benayoun etc.

So rotation will be key, and all 6 will have enough oppurtunities to make their claim to the available places. Hazard already has.

Lampard will not play every game this season, so Oscar/Essien can fit into that role.

#3-If you were to have a joint NUFC / Chelsea team, which Newcastle players (if any) would you pick over your first teamers?

Tiote/cabaye over mikel anyday. Would have picked Cisse, but our formation does not allow 2 CF's. I believe in Torres, unlike the hate club we have on here.

Ben Arfa as well, he is your prized possession and i really think next summer you will have alot of european clubs bidding for him. I actually cant believe Newcastle has managed to hold on to ALL of its players.... good management by your club.

#4-Do you think Di Matteo has bought responsibly, or has he been focusing too much on 'attractive' players? In other words, would you rather have seen some of the £50+m spent on Oscar, Hazard etc. bring in some replacements/back-ups for John Terry or Bosingwa?

Well we have brought in a replacement for bosingwa in azpicueleta. As for Terry, we have Luiz Cahill and Ivanovic who are natural to that position.

Its very easy to nitpick and say we have bought attractive players, but we needed a change in club philosophy after the last decade, and we really needed such flair players, to avoid a repeat of last season, and to challenge for the title again.

#5-Which Newcastle player are you most fearful of and why?

Ben Arfa. I know Cisse can finish really well and is capable of some spectacular strikes, but Ben arfa is the guy the cuts through the opposition midfield and atleast takes 3 players out of the game by his pace and trickery and skill. He is by far your best player.

#6-Do you think Di Matteo will take Chelsea to the next level (I.e. challenging for the title with the Manchester clubs)?

Sure. He has Man management skills and has a Chelsea heart. He has great motivational skills, and as much as being tactically brilliant is supposed to be the most important thing for a manager, i dont think so. He is tactically good, not genius, but he has balls and guts to make the important decisions at the right time.

He has made every Chelsea player better, Torres confidence higher, and has reinvigorated Bertrands career. Now when Bertrand is picked, us supporters are not worried. RDM showed faith in him and allowed him to flourish, as he does with all players in my opinion.

He is smart.

Would be great at Poker.

Cheers.

[DoesItMata 6]

Not a good result for us lads up north.

All the best with the season and I hope you cause problems for the two Manchester teams

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