Official Chelsea FC Thread

[5DOM]

Isn't Romeu still on contract for you guys?

Loaned out to Valencia to basically continue his rehab. I believe they also have the option to buy if he impresses.

[treiz]

Just signed 18 year old Chilean midfielder Cristian Cuevas

[5DOM]

Signed 18 year old Croatian striker Stipe Perica

[5DOM]

Chalobah apparently a victim of a horror tackle during a friendly against Scotland. PL loan seemed likely....

update: Thought to be not too serious

Wallace to Inter on a season-long loan finally confirmed btw

[treiz]

Nice, more exposure for Wallace. Looks a talent

The Chalobah incident looked horrific but glad there is some good news on that front

[fatlever]

the depth on the team this year is insane. i imagine there well be a few times this season where completely healthy players are upset they not only didnt start, didnt play as sub, but didnt even make the bench and perhaps for weeks at a time, even as the team is rotated during busy fixture schedule.

keeper: cech, schwarzer
defense: ivan, luiz, cole, terry, cahill, azpi, bertand --> at least one will not make the bench
midfield: mvg, ramires, essien, lampard, mikel --> probably two each game that wont make the bench
attmid/wing: hazard, mata, oscar, de bruyne, moses, schurrle --> at least one will not make the bench
striker: lukaku, ba, torres --> probably one each game wont make the bench

any given week you could see something like - cahill, mikel, lampard, schurrle and torres not even on the bench.

jose definitely has his work cut out in terms of keeping everyone happy and in form

[5DOM]

It's certainly an upgrade over having Ferreira sit on the bench every game

[5DOM]

btw, this is pretty good for £1: http://plainsofalmeria.co.uk/2013/08/12 ... nload-now/

[treiz]

Delighted with the depth for this year, even though it will be difficult to keep every happy we are competing on four fronts this year. So that should make it easier, with injuries guaranteed to happen as well. I think it's a problem Mourinho or heck any manager would like to have

[fatlever]

It's certainly an upgrade over having Ferreira sit on the bench every game

true, but paulo was happy to sit on the bench every game and basically be a coach/interpreter. who out of that current group will be content not making the bench for weeks at a time if healthy? its not like i am complaining. its great to have depth, but i do expect a few feathers to be ruffled this season as a result of our depth.

[treiz]

btw, this is pretty good for £1: http://plainsofalmeria.co.uk/2013/08/12 ... nload-now/

Neat, just saw one of mates name as one of the guest bloggers

[J-Mezzy]

I don't think players will be upset. We have a lot of games to play and we will need the depth. We almost ran the players to the ground last year, this depth should come in handy if we try to make deep runs like we did last year. This is a very exciting year to be a Chelsea fan

[suckfish]

JOSE MOURINHO! JOSE MOURINHO! JOSE MOURINHO!

[fatlever]

http://www.weaintgotnohistory.com/2013/ ... geria-duty

victor moses is MIA after international duty. he wont play sunday. luiz is out. azpi is probably out and mata is a maybe. schurrle still recovering from sickness 1 game in and the depth is already paying off.

best guess at starters?

best guess at formation? do we really need 2 defensive/holding mids vs hull city at home? with mata doubtful, i wouldnt be surprised to see us go with a 4-3-3 for this one with ram playing more box to box than he would if we were in 4-2-3-1 and oscar playing a little deeper than usual.

this is who i would start

cech
ivan, cahill, jt, cole
ram, mvg, oscar
kdb, lukaku, hazard

bench: schwarzer, bertrand, essien, lamps, schurrle, torres (or mata), ba

mikel, mata (instead of torres if he is fit), luiz, moses and azpi not on the bench

[5DOM]

I think that XI is likely, but with that lineup I reckon it will be 4-2-3-1 with Oscar starting at #10 (but constantly switching).

If we are playing 4-3-3, I think Lamps will start instead of De Bruyne although he probably won't last the full 90. He's still our best CM in terms of distribution and dictating tempo.

[treiz]

Definitely expect Lampard to start, unless he gets injured from now until kick-off.

Barring the worst case scenario, I'd say that line-up is very decent

I'd probably go for:

Cech
Ivan Cahill JT Cole
Lampard Ramires
KdB Oscar Hazard
Lukaku

Don't think MvG will be given his first game just yet, I think he will start against Villa though

[5DOM]

Sounds like Torres might get the start. Don't really have a problem with that. He's gotten some of pace back.

[fatlever]

if lamps is now fit enough to go, then he should start. he has earned that right to start opening day at home. would prefer not to see him paired with ramires in the pivot though. im not really a big fan of those two together.

[J-Mezzy]

I also don't have a problem with Torres getting the start at the start of the season, but I hope that he doesn't get a long leash again if he is not performing. I will give him a couple of games and bench him if is not playing well.

[suckfish]

He's back!