Luka Modric

[Slam Dunk 1,442]

So we buy Modric, which means Lampard will have to be benched for the majority of games (big games as well i'd assume), as it's unlikely they'll ever play together...

...What happened under AVB when Lampard was dropped? I seem to remember a fair bit of animosity towards Lampard from some members when the stories in the press came out about him being unhappy.

Are we going to get the same complaints from Frank again? Just a wondering of mine...

[Term-X 7,891]

So we buy Modric, which means Lampard will have to be benched for the majority of games (big games as well i'd assume), as it's unlikely they'll ever play together...

...What happened under AVB when Lampard was dropped? I seem to remember a fair bit of animosity towards Lampard from some members when the stories in the press came out about him being unhappy.

Are we going to get the same complaints from Frank again? Just a wondering of mine...

He said if he's going to be benched he wants to see the team winning. Replacing him with a world class player (Modric), rather than Meireles.. a squad player at best, would be a good start. AVB's subpar man-management skills are partly to blame, and the way he dealt with players (ala Alex & Anelka).

[nadavTKL 1,787]

He said if he's going to be benched he wants to see the team winning.

Do you have a source? havent read it.

[manpe 10,861]

Teams will kill us with a midfield of Mikel- Modric- Mata- Hazard- Hulk/Marin... this is too weak physically and defensively. that will be horrible to watch. We dont need him. So what if he's brilliant? that doesnt mean we need him in our team.

There's no evidence to support that claim. We would have more possession, thus we'd need to defend less than before.

[themightyblue 443]

Possession > Physicality

[Term-X 7,891]

Do you have a source? havent read it.

Direct quote..

"I’ve been here a long time, I’m 33, I’m realistic. It doesn’t mean I want to play every game but, if I sit on the bench, I want to see Chelsea win."

http://www.dailymail...illas-Boas.html

[Shane 2,275]

Direct quote..

"I’ve been here a long time, I’m 33, I’m realistic. It doesn’t mean I want to play every game but, if I sit on the bench, I want to see Chelsea win."

http://www.dailymail...illas-Boas.html

Can't ask for more then that for Frank, and when he scored twice at Newcastle I think it was last season, or Bolton, he was dropped again.

[Justin_3d 1,140]

Do you have a source? havent read it.

http://www.thesun.co...illas-Boas.html

Don't worry, it's all quoted.

[Tomo 21,751]

Do you have a source? havent read it.

Robbie benched Lampard as often as AVB did yet Lampard can't speak highly enough of him (Robbie), that should be enough evidence in itself.

[Slam Dunk 1,442]

Robbie benched Lampard as often as AVB did yet Lampard can't speak highly enough of him (Robbie), that should be enough evidence in itself.

Perhaps (i'm not aware of the specific statistics), but you got the sense that under RDM, Lampard was more trusted with responsibility than under AVB. Even if he was benched, there was the feeling that Frank was still 'the main man' in midfield. Obviously AVB's handling of him didn't help, as TX said, but you can imagine the stories of 'player power' etc. all rearing their heads if Modric were to replace Lampard at the beginning of the season.

Consider how he was playing at the end of the season, he was like a new player in his new role, does he deserve to become second choice behind Modric? And before you say they can share the workload because Lampard is 34, I don't see that happening - Meireles is a squad player, Essien is a squad player. At this moment in time, Lampard is not a squad player, and neither is a £30/40m signing such as Modric.

Frankly, i'm having a hard time seeing this deal as being possible. I'm not convinced we have room for him nor am I convinced we need him.

[Superblue 6,372]

The club is in an extremely difficult position. Given Lampard is just about to turn 34 his ability to play so many games as previous seasons could easily start to diminish and he could start struggling more with injuries where little niggles are no longer possible to play with and a 3 week injury starts to take 4-5 weeks to get over. Alternatively Lampard could also very possibly cope with another 2-3 seasons playing between 30-45 games a season.

[OneMoSalah 8,886]

Heard we will bid 36 million for him, then AVB will sign Joao Moutinho as a direct replacement along with Spurs completing a deal for Gylfi Sigurdson... How about we just sign Moutinho?

[NiclasCFC 2,582]

Heard we will bid 36 million for him, then AVB will sign Joao Moutinho as a direct replacement along with Spurs completing a deal for Gylfi Sigurdson... How about we just sign Moutinho?

Modric is a proven EPL Player is a big point i think

[OneMoSalah 8,886]

Modric is a proven EPL Player is a big point i think

But more effective in an attacking midfield position like he was in for Croatia. We need a slightly deeper playing midfielder, Moutinho = perfect choice. Plus he was unreal at the Euros, would be mad not to at least bid for him

[NiclasCFC 2,582]

But more effective in an attacking midfield position like he was in for Croatia. We need a slightly deeper playing midfielder, Moutinho = perfect choice. Plus he was unreal at the Euros, would be mad not to at least bid for him

Last season when Modric had Parker besides him he got a little more Freedom and with Mikel here i think it will be the same, they could make a great Midfield-partnership.

Moutinho Also played a more offensive role in the Euros compared to Modric in Spurs

[warnie_666 1,081]

Get Moutinho FFS or Cabaye

[Joker10 946]

And the article says he is worth 50 mill.

Well if that flop of Torres is worth 50 mill, then they are right!

Brilliant logic. So because Torres time at Chelsea has been a disaster, every decent player should go for crazy money. By your logic Falcao and Cavani should go for 60? 80? maybe more.

i really dont get why people cant see that we desperately need a Modric type midfielder more than any other position!!! The reason why we have to park the bus against top teams is because we dont have a midfielder who can sit in front of the back 4, get the ball from the defenders then pick out passes to the front four and basically control games from midfield! we are crying out for a Modric in our team! Lamps and Mikel can always do a job when it comes to parking the bus but when it comes to playing attacking football we would get ripped open on counter attacks with those two their because we wouldn't have that control in midfield that Modric will bring.

we would keep so much possession with him and it will benifit the likes of Mata and Hazard so much as Modric is the type of player who can give them the ball nice and early and in space so they can do their thing! Modric is a must in our team! and if you cant see that then i dont know what to say.

I guess having Ramires and Kalou on the wings had nothing to do with our tactics and parking the bus, because they are so good keeping the ball and as a passer. Btw beside the Bayern and Barca game what other game did we park the bus? Not many teams will have success against them in midfield, in fact they are 1&2 in possession in Europe. We didn't do that bad against Bayern at all, we had 45% possession. Not bad when you consider our players and especially Cech hoofed the ball back to them. It was their intention for Drogba to come down with it.

We hoofed the ball a lot late in the season under RDM but we clearly did not park the bus, and that has nothing to do with Mikel and Lampard retention abilities. It was a effective strategy because of Drogba ability to fight for the ball in the air and make something out of nothing.

The lack of forward quality was the reason for our conservative style, and it is more necessary in the future if we want to play more free flowing football.

A RW like Hulk is what we need.

Pretty much that's it.

We can't play sexy with Meireles or Lampard.

Reason why AVB had such a hart time with these lot!

Modric being the age he is, won't interfere with Josh. Josh might need two or three seasons before he is worthy to even start in our team like Ryan!

AVB problem was a few, first he idiotically tried to play highline without pressing and we have never been a good pressing team. Second i would argue forwards were more important then midfield for his system. I find his system flawed because it relies too much on forwards play.

Moutinho and Guarin were big part of AVB Porto, but they were detached from attack. It relied too much on Hulk ability to play the final ball and score goals, while with Falcao's amazing goal counts. Without those two he won't have made history.

Those were two of the tactical problems, not going to bother with his players management issues.

Unfortunately, Sturridge has the football brain of Emile Heskey..

We should bite their hand off for £25m plus Sturridge.

Sturridge has shown smart instinctive play in the box and good poaching ability through out his career, surely he is not brainless as Heskey.

He is very selfish though.

Part of me want to see him somewhere else because i am confident he will prove his doubters wrong. I hope he does succeed here but people need to be patent, because after all this was his first full season as a starter at Chelsea.

I also remember Lampard early days, there were so much criticism and doubters.

Modric would be the perfect signing for Chelsea, i would happily see us splash £50m for him he is that good.

He is a good player but the EPL is probably one of the least technical league in Europe, just like your national team. So whenever a player flashes good technical skills they get extremely overrated. I feel any midfielder with quality technical skills would do decent and get quickly over hyped.

[Blue Armour 4,439]

Unfortunately, Sturridge has the football brain of Emile Heskey..

We should bite their hand off for £25m plus Sturridge.

I don't understand how that comparison works...Sturridge has the technique and ability but looks to shoot first and pass second. Heskey is not exactly 'dumb'. He just doesn't have the ability, but he still works for the team.

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

jesus, u guys we survived with kalou now studge is made to be bigger villain! FFS! scores goals and thats prob.

back on topic: we have likes of mierles,mikel,lamps,ramires.

ramires right now who everyone praises has lost starting spot in squad and buying another cm which is needed IMO, only makes the RW only option left for him.

if we buy modric, he commands starting spot with him playin 30+ games minimum which means we need to sell prob mierles. which nobody seems to notice or loan out romeu which hampers his growth.

st

lw-----cam-------rw

modric---mikel

subs: lamps ramires romeu.

[1dubrovnik 4]

People who say that Modric is not needed at Chelsea are either clueless about football or never seen him play. The guy has better technique and creativity than any other Chelsea player (by miles) and contrary to what some people have said he plays great in big games and most recently he was brilliant at the euros againts Italy and Spain (little clip below)

If Chelsea signed him he would take them to another level, there are not many players like him around thats for sure