Official - AVB confirmed as Chelsea boss

[ZanSnake 1,211]

The sooner the better. Hopefully Hiddink, or whoever, will come in by the end of the week, and then we can push on for transfers.

[lionsden 4,689]

If I'm right, this is the last summer clubs can spend money that comes from outside the club right? If so, they better refresh the squad now as the club is nowhere near making their own money.

Exactly. Lampard,Terry,Essien (29 soon to be 30),Drogba, malouda, anelka are all in their 30's yet we have no plan in place to replace them with younger and sufficient quality. What's worrisome is the fact that the Premiership is becoming increasingly physical and fast paced and most of our aging players are struggling to keep up. That was apparent last season.if we were playing in the serie A, i would be less worried

[Kojo 4,676]

I would rather just keep our current players if that is going to be the case.

There is no way those players will win us the league/CL... maybe Carling cup lol.

Are you joking me?, Johnson a very talented winger, and has a great shooting abillity in the good places. Lukaku and De Bruyne i don't want, because i doubt De Bruyne and i think Lukaku is overhyped, i used to like him but something about him doesn't quite fit. And Kyle Walker would be one of the best decisions we've made, he's an excellent player, and he has been the whole of last season, even in the England U-21, effective defensive and offensive, could do with someone like him. And Rodwell another great talent, i'll admit we don't quite need defensive midfielders at the moment, but he's someone who can win you games, and by winning games means winning the league. So yes pretty much these players can win you the games, however not just these players alone, we definitely need more midfield.

[Duppy Conqueror 1,533]

Essien is 28..will be 29 in december.

[Kojo 4,676]

Exactly. Lampard,Terry,Essien (29 soon to be 30),Drogba, malouda, anelka are all in their 30's yet we have no plan in place to replace them with younger and sufficient quality. What's worrisome is the fact that the Premiership is becoming increasingly physical and fast paced and most of our aging players are struggling to keep up. That was apparent last season.if we were playing in the serie A, i would be less worried

Lampards 33 in 6 days time... we wish he was 29

[lionsden 4,689]

Messi and Xavi were part of Barca even when Deco and Ronaldinho were there.

And so? Ronaldinho was 2x WPOTY and Deco was their main playmaker. Barca could have easily and conveniently held on to two their biggest stars. No? but they were smart to recognize the importance of reinvention. Now they are reaping the rewards of the seemingly absurd (according to some football pundit and fans) decision.

[Kostas 1,468]

I know it's boring but shouldn't this thread be about potential managers?

[lionsden 4,689]

Essien is 28..will be 29 in december.

Meaning? He will be 30 next year and has never been the same player since the knee injury he sustained. This is the best time to cash in on him while some clubs are still interested in his signature.next year may be too late.

[dodojojo 510]

And so? Ronaldinho was 2x WPOTY and Deco was their main playmaker. Barca could have easily and conveniently held on to two their biggest stars. No? but they were smart to recognize the importance of reinvention. Now they are reaping the rewards of the seemingly absurd (according to some football pundit and fans) decision.

Funny, I was going to use Ronaldinho and Barca as an example in my earlier post but deleted it. It's a good example clearly :champions:

Not only was Ronnie 2x WPOTY, he was younger than Lampard and Drogba are this summer. Chelsea tried to squeeze one or two major trophies out of the old core players this season and it didn't work. Why do they think it'll work next season? And please don't use the injuries and fatigue reasons. Lampard and Drogba will be one year older but somehow less inclined to injuries and fatigue? Sure, it could turn they stay injury free and have career seasons but let's talk about reasonable odds here.

[zolayes 14,489]

last season 4 of our key players had their worst Chelsea seasons .. Lampard , Essien ,Drogba Anelka ... cant think of any who had their best

season ever perhaps Bran and A lex were close

[Blue In Green 86]

Yes, foundation needs to be rebuilt and/or replaced every now and then, but it can't be done all at once. The house itself would collapse. In our case, replacing the spine too quickly would also inadvertently perform a lobotomy. The passing of the guard can happen over a couple of seasons, which would make the transition smoother.

[eldo 868]

And so? Ronaldinho was 2x WPOTY and Deco was their main playmaker. Barca could have easily and conveniently held on to two their biggest stars. No? but they were smart to recognize the importance of reinvention. Now they are reaping the rewards of the seemingly absurd (according to some football pundit and fans) decision.

The rewards of the core they had when they dumped Deco and Ronaldinho. What I want to say is that we should have signed some players 2-3 years before. Why haven't we signed David Silva in 2008? He was already a promising player then. Or someone else. Like Zolayes said we waited for too long with refreshing now we are paying the price. But this all is probably Ancelotti's fault.

[eldo 868]

Funny, I was going to use Ronaldinho and Barca as an example in my earlier post but deleted it. It's a good example clearly :champions:

Not only was Ronnie 2x WPOTY, he was younger than Lampard and Drogba are this summer. Chelsea tried to squeeze one or two major trophies out of the old core players this season and it didn't work. Why do they think it'll work next season? And please don't use the injuries and fatigue reasons. Lampard and Drogba will be one year older but somehow less inclined to injuries and fatigue? Sure, it could turn they stay injury free and have career seasons but let's talk about reasonable odds here.

But Barca already had Messi in 2008. Who do we have now?

[lionsden 4,689]

Funny, I was going to use Ronaldinho and Barca as an example in my earlier post but deleted it. It's a good example clearly :champions:

Not only was Ronnie 2x WPOTY, he was younger than Lampard and Drogba are this summer. Chelsea tried to squeeze one or two major trophies out of the old core players this season and it didn't work. Why do they think it'll work next season? And please don't use the injuries and fatigue reasons. Lampard and Drogba will be one year older but somehow less inclined to injuries and fatigue? Sure, it could turn they stay injury free and have career seasons but let's talk about reasonable odds here.

Excellent points. I challenge anyone to counter the highlighted statements without looking like a fool in the process

[Duppy Conqueror 1,533]

Meaning? He will be 30 next year and has never been the same player since the knee injury he sustained. This is the best time to cash in on him while some clubs are still interested in his signature.next year may be too late.

meaning you were wrong when you said he`s 29 soon to be 30. he`s not even soon to be 29 really.it`s 6 months away.

it usually takes 2 years to fully recover from a serious knee injury..the way Bison has recovered in the past was not the norm. a little patience for one of the best players we have ever had and is only 28 shouldn`t be too much to ask for...never mind the cash. there`s a lot of players that should be sold ahead of Essien.

[dodojojo 510]

No one has Messi except for Barca. Chelsea though has invested lots of money in Luiz and Torres. And there are candidates out there to sign and they are better than Lampard and Drogba at this stage of their careers (please don't pounce on me about their overall careers, I'm comparing today's Modric to today's Lampard for example). There's always a risk of failure but I can't see how holding onto aging superstars is a better policy.

[lionsden 4,689]

The rewards of the core they had when they dumped Deco and Ronaldinho. What I want to say is that we should have signed some players 2-3 years before. Why haven't we signed David Silva in 2008? He was already a promising player then. Or someone else. Like Zolayes said we waited for too long with refreshing now we are paying the price. But this all is probably Ancelotti's fault.

Yes we missed the window of opportunity to rebuild the squad but why would it be disastrous to rectify the mistake and rebuild now. with the aging players we have as core, our chances of winning a major trophy next season is slim but it's certainly more productive and sustainable in the long run to replace the aging core with new and younger ones now, Prolonging the process will add absolutely no value to the team but make things even worse imho.

we can certainly sacrifice not winning any title next season and rebuild the team now or stick with the same players and aggravate the problem even further. which outcome would you prefer?

[eldo 868]

Of course Modric would be grat signing and I would welcome him. I don't see why we couldn't sign him and keep Lampard. What if he injures? What midfield are we then going to play? Essien-Mikel-Ramires?

We had a fucked up policy from 2006. Instead of signing Deco and Ballack(<- aging superstars) we could have signed Modric.

Lampard isn't superstar, he is family.

[lionsden 4,689]

Of course Modric would be grat signing and I would welcome him. I don't see why we couldn't sign him and keep Lampard. What if he injures? What midfield are we then going to play? Essien-Mikel-Ramires?

We had a fucked up policy from 2006. Instead of signing Deco and Ballack(<- aging superstars) we could have signed Modric.

Lampard isn't superstar, he is family.

Josh,Ramires,Mikel,Kevin De bruyne (if he signs). btw we don't need Essien as well. we have Ramires who is a similar player and younger

[eldo 868]

Yes we missed the window of opportunity to rebuild the squad but why would it be disastrous to rectify the mistake and rebuild now. with the aging players we have as core, our chances of winning a major trophy next season is slim but it's certainly more productive and sustainable in the long run to replace the aging core with new and younger ones now, Prolonging the process will add absolutely no value to the team but make things even worse imho.

we can certainly sacrifice not winning any title next season and rebuild the team now or stick with the same players and aggravate the problem even further. which outcome would you prefer?

Cech

Ivanovic Luiz Terry Cole

Rami Mikel

Sanchez Pastore Mata

Torres

And others.

3 signings. That 11 and other players(rotation ...) can win the PL.