Chelsea squad 12/13

With Turnbull, Malouda and any youth player needed making up our squad.

Decent, I am sure people our going to complain about our CMs but realisticly who could we have signed? Perhaps Moutinho and M'vila but that is it.

A very good summer for us and I expect us to continue doing well in the EPL.

Whowould have you guys signed on deadline day?

Note: deadline day is yet to close in some countries so Malouda can still be loaned.

Wouldve got Banega in the pivot

Banega is too inconsistant for me.

I would have considered getting someone in the pivot and selling Ess and Meireles to Turkey though.

Well, I made no secret of the fact that I thought another striker should be brought in before the window closed, and although I still feel we may regret not doing so purely for lack of numbers, in a way, I'm kind of happy we didn't. It'll instill confidence in both of the strikers we do have, (both of whom desperately need it), and hopefully they'll thrive on it, particularly Torres. Imagine how good he must have been feeling when the window shut and it slowly became evident there were no new center-forwards being brought in.

Additionally, on the flipside, it'll deliver the true and final verdict on him. There are NO more excuses now. The entire summer has been spent taking the steps to make the entire setup one optimal for him to succeed in. He now has an army of creative players in the squad supplying him with world-class service, the massive shadow of Drogba has been ousted from the club and lifted from his shoulders, and the club has now shown as much confidence in him as is humanly possible by not bringing in any strikers whatsoever when the options were clearly there. This is the ideal structure with the ideal conditions for him now. It's make or break from now until most likely January, and if he doesn't deliver after all these steps have been taken to accommodate his every delicacy, sensitivity, and necessity, we'll finally know without any doubt whatsoever that he's well and truly finished.

Happily, he does seem to be getting back to some decent form judging by his League performances of late, particularly the one last weekend of course, so here's to hoping he continues on this apparent upward trend and becomes what we all believe he can

A solid holding mid that has decent passing range. Mikel and MRLSH did fantastic against Newcastle but they simply weren't awfully good either. All they would need to do is break up play and distribute to Hazard/Mata/Oscar/etc. You say Banega is inconsistent but so too are most of our CM/DM's, they can easily put in a match winning performance against Barca and then constantly turning over possession in the next match.

Everything else i'm fairly happy with, my opinion is that if Torres is struggling around Janurary then we may delve into the market for another striking option up front.

money + Torres for Falcao

Banega would be good addition. But i rather see Romeu and Mikel in the pivot. You guys might say it is too defensive, but i don't see it that way, If we start Hazard, Mata, and Oscar ahead of them. Oscar game is based on dropping deep and then pushing ahead on starting attack, he style makes up for having two true defensive midfielders.

RDM needs to stop playing Ramires or Bertrand on the wing, it serves little purpose and it does not add a defensive balance. Playing Mikel and Romeu in the pivot would bring so much more balance to the team.

Blue wrote:Banega would be good addition. But i rather see Romeu and Mikel in the pivot. You guys might say it is too defensive, but i don't see it that way, If we start Hazard, Mata, and Oscar ahead of them. Oscar game is based on dropping deep and then pushing ahead on starting attack, he style makes up for having two true defensive midfielders.

RDM needs to stop playing Ramires or Bertrand on the wing, it serves little purpose and it does not add a defensive balance. Playing Mikel and Romeu in the pivot would bring so much more balance to the team.

It depends who we are playing against I think, having Bertrand on the wing against a team with a class winger isn't the worst idea imo.

I agree Romeu/Mikel would be cool to see but I'm doubtful we'd see it because Romeu doesn't seem to be able to get any time at all

lszanto wrote:

Blue wrote:Banega would be good addition. But i rather see Romeu and Mikel in the pivot. You guys might say it is too defensive, but i don't see it that way, If we start Hazard, Mata, and Oscar ahead of them. Oscar game is based on dropping deep and then pushing ahead on starting attack, he style makes up for having two true defensive midfielders.

RDM needs to stop playing Ramires or Bertrand on the wing, it serves little purpose and it does not add a defensive balance. Playing Mikel and Romeu in the pivot would bring so much more balance to the team.

It depends who we are playing against I think, having Bertrand on the wing against a team with a class winger isn't the worst idea imo.

I agree Romeu/Mikel would be cool to see but I'm doubtful we'd see it because Romeu doesn't seem to be able to get any time at all

Meh, there isn't really any class winger that concern me, and Cole is very sold but ivanoic does concern me.

Sure there is wingers like Ben Arfa, he is very good but it doesn't justify playing two LBs. I am just not a fan of defensive wingers, because i don't believe in it.

Lampard and Mehreles are too attacking, makes us extremely vulnerable on the counter. Mehreles is less attacking, but poor ball winner and tackler.

So come January, you guys would be bidding for the likes of Cabaye or Banega?

Blue wrote:

lszanto wrote:

Blue wrote:Banega would be good addition. But i rather see Romeu and Mikel in the pivot. You guys might say it is too defensive, but i don't see it that way, If we start Hazard, Mata, and Oscar ahead of them. Oscar game is based on dropping deep and then pushing ahead on starting attack, he style makes up for having two true defensive midfielders.

RDM needs to stop playing Ramires or Bertrand on the wing, it serves little purpose and it does not add a defensive balance. Playing Mikel and Romeu in the pivot would bring so much more balance to the team.

It depends who we are playing against I think, having Bertrand on the wing against a team with a class winger isn't the worst idea imo.

I agree Romeu/Mikel would be cool to see but I'm doubtful we'd see it because Romeu doesn't seem to be able to get any time at all

Meh, there isn't really any class winger that concern me, and Cole is very sold but ivanoic does concern me.

Sure there is wingers like Ben Arfa, he is very good but it doesn't justify playing two LBs. I am just not a fan of defensive wingers, because i don't believe in it.

Lampard and Mehreles are too attacking, makes us extremely vulnerable on the counter. Mehreles is less attacking, but poor winner and tackler.

Yeah fair enough.

Ivanovic has been really weird, he was very solid last season but this season he's been out of position constantly, and for the more "defensive" fullback he's been pushing way up the pitch. His goals overshadowed his poor performances imo. Maybe we'll see Azpilicueta come in against QPR.

Kick wrote:So come January, you guys would be bidding for the likes of Cabaye or Banega?

If we want to improve our team then yes.

All other areas we have good quality.

lszanto wrote:

Kick wrote:So come January, you guys would be bidding for the likes of Cabaye or Banega?

If we want to improve our team then yes.

All other areas we have good quality.

Fair enough. Lets hope Josh does a Sturridge and we can play him.

If only he bulked up and learned to defend he would be a starter.

Kick wrote:So come January, you guys would be bidding for the likes of Cabaye or Banega?

According to an interview Oscar gave that appeared on ESPN in Brazil (that Ganso guy posted it in the Oscar thread), he says the club see him as the eventual replacement to Lampard where he's playing now in that deep-lying creative role next to the DM. If that is the case, I wouldn't expect to see someone like Cabaye brought in. Getting him to play there will take time, though, and the supporters will have to be patient with it.

Yes, there's a serious lack of aptitude and quality in the pivot, especially in the creativity sense, but it's going to take time to get everyone playing where and how we want them to. We've won everything there is to win, now it's likely time to sit back, deal with a season or two of not having everything just perfect, and let the team and the individuals in it grow. I'm more than happy to wait as Oscar is groomed into that role instead of going out and dropping £25m+ on an immediate quick-fix like Cabaye.

ShedEnd1905 wrote:

Kick wrote:So come January, you guys would be bidding for the likes of Cabaye or Banega?

According to an interview Oscar gave that appeared on ESPN in Brazil (that Ganso guy posted it in the Oscar thread), he says the club see him as the eventual replacement to Lampard where he's playing now in that deep-lying creative role next to the DM. If that is the case, I wouldn't expect to see someone like Cabaye brought in. Getting him to play there will take time, though, and the supporters will have to be patient with it.

Yes, there's a serious lack of aptitude and quality in the pivot, especially in the creativity sense, but it's going to take time to get everyone playing where and how we want them to. We've won everything there is to win, now it's likely time to sit back, deal with a season or two of not having everything just perfect, and let the team and the individuals in it grow. I'm more than happy to wait as Oscar is groomed into that role instead of going out and dropping £25m+ on an immediate quick-fix like Cabaye.

Was it specifically said that he would play in the double pivot? or was it vaguely mentioned that he would be Lampard successor?

Blue wrote:Was it specifically said that he would play in the double pivot? or was it vaguely mentioned that he would be Lampard successor?

http://espn.estadao.com.br/noticia/276775_confiante-oscar-diz-que-espera-ser-titular-do-chelsea-em-um-mes-e-que-pode-jogar-na-posicao-de-lampard

The midfielder revealed he can win a chance at Chelsea in a different position than he was used to operate in Brazil

"I will play in Lampard's role according to Di Matteo. He told me one my stronger points is being able to play there. But I can also play in Mata'a role or wide, he knows that. He's a smart coach"

^ That's that Brazilian guy's exact translation of what he said in the article. So yea, I think he made it pretty clear he'll be playing where Lamps is now eventually.

ShedEnd1905 wrote:

Blue wrote:Was it specifically said that he would play in the double pivot? or was it vaguely mentioned that he would be Lampard successor?

http://espn.estadao.com.br/noticia/276775_confiante-oscar-diz-que-espera-ser-titular-do-chelsea-em-um-mes-e-que-pode-jogar-na-posicao-de-lampard

The midfielder revealed he can win a chance at Chelsea in a different position than he was used to operate in Brazil

"I will play in Lampard's role according to Di Matteo. He told me one my stronger points is being able to play there. But I can also play in Mata'a role or wide, he knows that. He's a smart coach"

^ That's that Brazilian guy's exact translation of what he said in the article. So yea, I think he made it pretty clear he'll be playing where Lamps is now eventually.

Thanks, but it is still kinda vague if he will play in the pivot or Lampard CM role in 4-3-3.

Ok so a revised team for the season:


Turnbull and Piazon will no doubt be there too. Perhaps Piazon over Malouda in the second XI?

there is absolutley no insentive to play Malouda imo, hes no better then the like of Piazon and KDB and unlike those two he hasnt got a long term future at the club

Good thing is in terms of FFP his wages mean nothing. He can have a free ride for 6 months to a year and then he is out of contract.

I doubt we will need to play him but he is there anyway.

Florent Malouda could move to Lyon tonight

one of the top 10 transfers for Chelsea this summer lol

Please be true!

why is he training with your youth??? i feel sorry for him

he posted a piq of himself on the youth training ground on twitter with the text, "This is where i will train in my last season with this club" poor sod

No idea why we are giving him this treatment, it's sad.