Official Chelsea FC Thread

[5DOM]

That would be my team except Cahill and Ramires to play instead of Luiz/Terry and Lamps. I honestly think Ramires injury was fake

[J-Mezzy]

I hope Mata starts playing. Oscar has been good, but our overall midfield play has dropped. Hazard's form seems to have fallen since Mata was taken out.

I would also like to see Ramires play instead of Lamps for this one.

[treiz]

Ramires needs to play, we need his energy to match Tottenham's midfield. I also expect Mata and Azpi to be on the bench again, just because I think Jose wants to put a bit more emphasis on defending

[fatlever]

That would be my team except Cahill and Ramires to play instead of Luiz/Terry and Lamps. I honestly think Ramires injury was fake

i was half paying attention to the cup game when i was watching, so i didnt see ram get hurt. when the 2nd half started and i saw terry come on with luiz shifting to midfield and essien still on the field, i was so confused. i'm thinking to myself - wow, i guess jose really didnt want ram playing more than a half to keep him fresh for the weekend.

anyway, if ram is healthy and ready to go, then yeah, start him over lamps, especially if mata gets the start.

[5DOM]

4 points behind the leaders (assuming Arsenal do their job) after trips to three of the best home teams in the league. Getting only 2 points out of those three games is disappointing, but I guess we aren't that far behind.

[treiz]

Draws at OT and White Hart Lane is always a decent result. We're still in and around the top and it's still early days. So far I'm pretty happy with the season

[MaliBrah]

http://www.chelseafc.com/news-article/a ... ury-update

torres out for 3 weeks , MCL injury

[treiz]

Feel so sorry for him, played really well against Tottenham and it looks like he could've put in a string of decent performances. Let's hope he retains it when he gets back

[5DOM]

FA wishes they banned him. Can't play either way

[fatlever]

was schurrle that good yesterday or was their right back that bad?

[5DOM]

Probably a bit of both so it's hard to say how good/bad the guys were

[treiz]

was schurrle that good yesterday or was their right back that bad?

Definitely both, but I'm hoping that this could be a stepping stone for him. Despite playing a decent number of games, he's done nothing to note so far aside from some terrible finishing

[treiz]

Heard that we are watching Marseille defensive midfielder Gianelli Imbula, possible £25 million bid for him. Anyone got anything on him? Don't really know much about him

http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/foot ... 64691.html

[5DOM]

Been linked with him for some time. Dunno much about him either but tall French CM/DM of African descent? Next Patrick Vieira!

btw Kompany now ruled out for 4 weeks. With him injured and Tevez gone, we might have a chance this time

[treiz]

That's what I keep seeing, the "new Patrick Vieira". I hope some more information on him comes out soon

As long as Tevez isn't playing, I think we can get a result. The guy literally loves scoring against us, let's hope Joe Hart continues his recent form too

[IronChef]

Think the new Vieira thing came about because he was linked to Arsenal last season. Everyone is the new Henry, Adams, Bergkamp, Fabregas, etc.

Have seen him play a few times, and hes definitely an inpressive athlete. Strong and quick, but good technically and passes well. I liked him a fair bit, but 25 mil seems a ton for him.

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[treiz]

That's why I was a bit skeptic, it was only this year where he moved to a decent club (Marseille) and even then it's still a bit too early to give them that type of money even if it is based on potential.

I thought we had that field covered when we bought Van Ginkel, albeit not as impressive an athlete if he's being compared to Vieira

[J-Mezzy]

We should ask about Gianelli Imbula in the Ligue 1 thread. There is a guy there who knows his French football.

[treiz]

Nice to see the Chelsea contingent performing well in their internationals

[J-Mezzy]

From the Ligue 1 thread

"Imbula is a nice talent and one of the nice surprises in Ligue 1 so far : rarely loses the ball and keeps it moving, good size and athleticism level, plays both ways, high activity level, keeps his calm and plays smooth, hard worker, and a good all-around skillset. Somewhat similar to Paul Pogba.

He's certainly worth more than the 7.5 mill euros Marseille spent this summer to acquire him from Ligue 2 side Guingamp, and has the potential to wind up being worth 25 mill, but there's no guarantees he'll wind up becoming a key player at Chelsea for sure as he's only only been playing in Ligue 1 for 2 and a half months so far.

An advantage Imbula would have moving to the Premier League is the adaptation ability. One of the main issues adapting to the EPL is the very high physical level of play there, and since Ligue 1 is a rather physical league as well (alltho not as much as EPL) many former Ligue 1 players manage to achieve success with their new team easier (Hazard, Cabaye, Giroud, Loic Remy, Drogba, Moussa Sissoko, Petr Cech, Sagna, Evra, Makelele, Gael Clichy, Henry, Anelka, Viera, Pires, Wiltord, Desailly, Deschamps, Petit, Ginola, Cantona...)

But for now, I'd rather go after Pogba, who has been playing at a high level for a longer time, won player of the U20 tournament, and has already been called up on senior national French team (with some good games there too). Actually, with PSG being able to use another central mid and the Juventus president saying they might not be able to hold onto Pogba, I hope they go after him this winter."