Official Chelsea FC Thread

[5DOM]

I don't think either Zouma or Ake is ready for first team football. Zouma just looks clumsy (and the way he moves reminds me of Sakho), and I don't rate Ake and his questionable positioning. I very much prefer Christensen to Ake tbh. That said, I'm guessing Zouma will stay to provide depth at the CB and RB positions, which is useful because Azpi and Ivanovic will play in different positions.

[treiz]

I don't think either Zouma or Ake is ready for first team football. Zouma just looks clumsy (and the way he moves reminds me of Sakho), and I don't rate Ake and his questionable positioning. I very much prefer Christensen to Ake tbh. That said, I'm guessing Zouma will stay to provide depth at the CB and RB positions, which is useful because Azpi and Ivanovic will play in different positions.

Christensen is in the same boat as Ake, they haven't even faced Championship level oppositions. Don't expect them to come up any time soon.

Safe to say Zouma will fulfil the Kalas role from last year

[treiz]

Match report from the game today

http://www.chelseafc.com/news/latest-ne ... elsea.html

Completely forgot about Chalobah as well, he could be a candidate to be the 4th CB going by the positions Jose has used him in so far. But he seems more likely to succeed at DM.

Zouma started today with Iva, JT, and Luis, so Jose testing him out further as the 4th CB. Boga, Bamford and Izzy Brown putting in decent pre seasons so far. Also good to see Van Ginkel back

[5DOM]

Chalobah's too advanced to be the 4th CB. He needs game time. Jose said he'll be incorporating 3-4 U21 players, and I imagine it will be the likes of Boga, Ake and Brown who will mostly play the U21/18 matches but can sit on the first team's bench from time to time. Baker's the most ready prospect, but he's already way too good for the U21-level, and needs to be loaned out IMO, similar to Kalas. If Zouma can secure a PL loan, I think he should go too. It sucks to see youngsters not play.

[treiz]

I'd rather loan out Chalobah than Zouma to be honest, preferably to a PL team. Same goes for Bamford, I like this kid.

It does suck but like you said Chalobah is too good to be a 4th CB and if Zouma is loaned out,we only have 3 CBs and with Jose insisting that Chelsea's transfer window closed on July 19 it seems unlikely we bring anybody else in barring unforeseen circumstances. Also, I like Zouma here for this year, give him the odd cup games and let him train with the first team gives him ample time to acclimatise to his new surroundings as well as giving him a taste of English football as opposed to throwing him in the deep end.

Well Baker hasn't really been exposed to any competition higher than U21 so I'd expect him to be incorporated like you suggested for Boga and Brown. I'd like to see Ake go out on loan, he's been playing the U21s and occasionally sitting on the bench for the last couple of years, he needs to go out and test himself.

[5DOM]

Baker's already one of the very best U21 players in the country. I hope to never see him in another U21 match again hehe.

Apparently everyone played with their expected shirt numbers today, and Ake got 6 which could mean he'll stay.

[treiz]

I'd like Baker to go to a low Championship/high League 1 team like Brentford but Jose wants to carry him this year and have him play the odd cup game and train with the first team.

I hope Ake staying is just as cover for LB, still don't have the biggest faith in him playing CB. Prefer him in midfield than CB

[fatlever]

looks like PVA is off to sunderland, most likely on a permanent move.

http://weaintgotnohistory.sbnation.com/ ... er-rumours

piazon to frankfurt on loan.

http://weaintgotnohistory.sbnation.com/ ... iazon-loan

i am really rooting for piazon. seems like a very likeable and talented dude.

[fatlever]

if you had to pick one to be the starting keeper next season, who would you pick? cech or courtois?

what do you think jose will do?

does cech deserve to be the keeper next season out of respect for what he has given the club? or is it as simple as courtois is at least as good as cech now (arguably better) and if he doesnt start next year, he might push his way out of the club.

where would you rank both cech and courtois in terms of best keepers in the world right now?

[MountainDrew]

looks like PVA is off to sunderland, most likely on a permanent move.

http://weaintgotnohistory.sbnation.com/ ... er-rumours

piazon to frankfurt on loan.

http://weaintgotnohistory.sbnation.com/ ... iazon-loan

i am really rooting for piazon. seems like a very likeable and talented dude.

I'm a fan of Vitesse, the team Piazon last played for. He was amazing the first half of the season, best player in the league. After the winter break, he didn't score/assist for over 1000 minutes of game time and the manager dropped him. He's been complaining ever since. Still rooting for him though, he was amazing for half a season and obviously has a lot of talent.

Btw, do you guys know anything interesting about Wallace, Joao Rodriguez and to a lesser extent Bertrand Traore that I wouldn't already know?

[lukekarts]

if you had to pick one to be the starting keeper next season, who would you pick? cech or courtois?

what do you think jose will do?

does cech deserve to be the keeper next season out of respect for what he has given the club? or is it as simple as courtois is at least as good as cech now (arguably better) and if he doesnt start next year, he might push his way out of the club.

where would you rank both cech and courtois in terms of best keepers in the world right now?

When Mourinho came to Chelsea he gave Cech the nod over the older, more experienced (and at the time, very much favoured Carlo Cudicini). I don't think he's worried about shaking things up in the GK spot in the same sense other managers are.... but he'll probably give the starting nod to whoever plays best in pre-season & training.

Mourinho does seem to have had a thing for Atletico players this summer, though...

I think you could comfortably state both are in the top 5 in the world currently. Going more specific than that may be tricky, although I think most feel Neuer is #1

[treiz]

That's quite disappointing if it's permanent, really hope the PVA to Sunderland thing is just a loan.

Regarding Cech/Courtois, personally I'd still go for Cech since he can clearly still perform at a high level. But they both are world class keepers so we can't go wrong with either one. If anybody can make this decision it's Jose, just hope that if he decides to go with Courtois we sell Cech to a team outside the PL

[MountainDrew]

PvA is going to be a permanent transfer according to Dutch media.

[5DOM]

Btw, do you guys know anything interesting about Wallace, Joao Rodriguez and to a lesser extent Bertrand Traore that I wouldn't already know?

Close to none because I'm pretty sure none of them played for Chelsea at any level in an official game for different reasons I watched Wallace in U17 WC and both him and Traore in preseason a year ago, and they both looked great and seemed to have mature games for youth players. I thought Wallace was more impressive than Piazon in all the matches I saw, but that's probably because I prefer a dynamic RB to a rather unspectacular AM.

PvA is going to be a permanent transfer according to Dutch media.

Makes sense. He only has a year left on his contract.



Cech vs Courtois is difficult, but I hope Jose is not serious about keeping both. As tough as it will be, I think one of them has to go by January. I don't want to us to lose Cech this early but at the same time I'm afraid that Courtois's contract will run out and we'll let a WC keeper who probably has 15 years in him leave for free.

[MountainDrew]

van Aanholt signed 4 year deal with Sunderland. Good for him, he needs playing time and some stability in his career, Sunderland is a good club for him.

[fatlever]

its official. the legend has returned

[Double Helix]

It has to be Courtois at this point. I honestly don't understand why it's even a debate beyond loyalty. Courtois has so much more football ahead of him and enough talent to be the best keeper in all of the world. He has already shown maturity beyond his years this past season. It would be more painful to watch him for 15+ years elsewhere while Cech is retired or on a steep decline. I'm sure there are plenty of Managers in Germany and Russia who would love to have Cech right now. Get a little money back for FFP so that Roman can spend more later.

I'm hoping some fellow Chelsea fans can get me more psyched for Diego Costa though. I know how many goals he scored for Atletico. I know he challenged Messi and Ronaldo for the Golden Boot. I realize his physicality should allow him to transition better to the EPL better than some. However, when I watch him play, and when I watch all his goals this past year, I'm not super impressed. I don't know. Maybe I'm just being picky from an aesthetic point of view but he received some amazing service and often just snuck them past guys. His first touch looks solid and he seems to finish well from either foot (including crosses) but his power doesn't seem elite, nor does his foot speed, nor does his ability to shake guys. He kinda reminds me of South American version of Rooney actually. Maybe that's the point given the quality of our midfield and the fact that Mourinho wanted Rooney badly last year? I suppose a clinical finisher is nothing to complain about, especially after watching Torres and past-their-prime strikers for years ruin opportunity after opportunity set up for them by our midfield. It's really a first world problem. Don't get me wrong but I'm finding it hard to get pumped about Diego Costa for whatever reason. Anybody else finding it hard to warm to him so far?

I reserve the right to quickly change my mind if he's amazing right away.

[5DOM]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/chelseafc/status/493405100539666432[/tweet]

Now this is an exciting preseason lineup

[5DOM]

It has to be Courtois at this point. I honestly don't understand why it's even a debate beyond loyalty. Courtois has so much more football ahead of him and enough talent to be the best keeper in all of the world. He has already shown maturity beyond his years this past season. It would be more painful to watch him for 15+ years elsewhere while Cech is retired or on a steep decline. I'm sure there are plenty of Managers in Germany and Russia who would love to have Cech right now. Get a little money back for FFP so that Roman can spend more later.

I'm hoping some fellow Chelsea fans can get me more psyched for Diego Costa though. I know how many goals he scored for Atletico. I know he challenged Messi and Ronaldo for the Golden Boot. I realize his physicality should allow him to transition better to the EPL better than some. However, when I watch him play, and when I watch all his goals this past year, I'm not super impressed. I don't know. Maybe I'm just being picky from an aesthetic point of view but he received some amazing service and often just snuck them past guys. His first touch looks solid and he seems to finish well from either foot (including crosses) but his power doesn't seem elite, nor does his foot speed, nor does his ability to shake guys. He kinda reminds me of South American version of Rooney actually. Maybe that's the point given the quality of our midfield and the fact that Mourinho wanted Rooney badly last year? I suppose a clinical finisher is nothing to complain about, especially after watching Torres and past-their-prime strikers for years ruin opportunity after opportunity set up for them by our midfield. It's really a first world problem. Don't get me wrong but I'm finding it hard to get pumped about Diego Costa for whatever reason. Anybody else finding it hard to warm to him so far?

I reserve the right to quickly change my mind if he's amazing right away.

He's versatile, but he's nothing like Rooney who's a superior footballer. Costa's all about causing havoc in defence with his athleticism, movement and determination. Sometimes that's more effective than skills.

[5DOM]

Fabregas assist, Costa scores. Yay

Looking better after switching to 4-3-3