Official Chelsea FC Thread

cgf · Post #101 » by **cgf** » Sat Aug 11, 2012 2:15 am

May well come to pass, but with Mata's experience from last season I think he's got a head start for PT, one that'll be tough for Oscar and Hazard to close this season.

Post #102 » by **5DOM** » Sat Aug 11, 2012 11:19 am

Hazard will easily get his minutes because he can play on either wing or behind the striker. If Oscar adapts quickly, I expect all three of Mata, Oscar and Hazard to play with Mikel and Lamps doing the work behind them. Team's got a lot of games to play this season, so there will be minutes for everyone anyway

Post #103 » by **Double Helix** » Mon Aug 13, 2012 12:37 pm

I knew Hazard would look good early but Marin's actually surprised me a little. I think he has more promise than I expected. Looking forward to Oscar but he looks so young and tiny at the moment; I have a hard time imagining him not struggling with the physicality of the PL and not getting manhandled when competing for the ball in 2013. Mata had similar concerns heading in last year and adjusted brilliantly but he also had 3 years on Oscar. Neither La Liga nor Brazil Series A are known for much physicality, and the holding midfielder in PL seems to play a larger role in England than either league too so I think Oscar will have an up and down season this year and will obviously improve dramatically next season next year and the year following. That's not to say I expect him to struggle brutally. I wouldn't even be surprised if he took advantage of the fact that PL defenders won't care much about him off the start and look to take advantage just as Mata did. And then once word gets out and people start talking him up a little more in pre-game discussions I think defenders will start paying him the attention he'll deserve and look to body him where possible. Chelsea is basically rebuilding on the fly here a few pieces and seasons at a time and this new crop of Chelsea talent will really come into their own as a unit in another season or two.

All that said, the kid's got an amazing touch/talent for passing so I am expecting plenty of fun moments this year. One advantage he'll have is that he's going to be playing with 2 other creative, quick-thinking talents in Mata and Hazard throughout the year so teams won't be able to key in on him exclusively the way they did Mata at times last year (Mata in Champions league looked to be a focal point of opposition defence at times). It's really going to be interesting to see how this all plays out because the Blues have the potential to really terrify opposing defences with all these young creative forces playing together. Torres has to be happy. He's getting everything he needs to score a lot of goals and put all the doubts to rest.

I honestly can't wait.

EDITED: I wrote this originally from a phone while commuting so I cleaned it up a bit.

Post #104 » by **Double Helix** » Mon Aug 13, 2012 2:18 pm

I still can't quite figure out how/where Daniel Sturridge fits into the picture and that bothers me because I really like him as a player. Beyond the home grown quotas, I actually like when there's some quality British-born and raised talent on the team (makes it easier to defend criticism that Chelsea relies on Internationals too much) and Sturridge is one of the better young English talents in the game at the moment.

I really don't want the Blues to lose him. How can we keep him and what do you think the chances are that he stays with the Blues for another couple seasons?

Edit: Goal.com has an article on the subject and the idea of Sturridge occupying a wing spot again here:

http://www.goal.com/en-gb/news/2896/pre ... ack-after-

RDM said recently that he does expect big things from Sturridge and that Torres should expect competition but he wasn't too specific. I suppose we could play him at wing sometimes and also have him start for Torres throughout the year to give Torres rest. Is that enough to keep him happy in year 4 though? It feels like could be gone relatively soon based on him wanting to be a consistently starting striker.

What do you guys think?

Post #105 » by **5DOM** » Mon Aug 13, 2012 3:40 pm

It really depends on how much confidence the club has in Torres, but I think they might just go ahead with Torres/Sturridge CF rotation with the latter also being used as an option at RW. Not sure what the potential Moses signing would mean for Sturridge though.

lukekarts · Post #106 » by **lukekarts** » Mon Aug 13, 2012 3:43 pm

5DOM wrote:It really depends on how much confidence the club has in Torres, but I think they might just go ahead with Torres/Sturridge CF rotation with the latter also being used as an option at RW. Not sure what the potential Moses signing would mean for Sturridge though.

That's pretty much how I see it.

Torres will start the season and the big games. Sturridge will most likely start the season as a substitute but quickly play out on the flank in the case of injury/suspension, and start cup games. Given that - disasters aside - we're gonna be playing 60 games this season, I can see Sturridge starting at least 20, as Torres is never entirely healthy for a season.

Post #107 » by **Double Helix** » Mon Aug 13, 2012 4:10 pm

lukekarts wrote:
5DOM wrote:It really depends on how much confidence the club has in Torres, but I think they might just go ahead with Torres/Sturridge CF rotation with the latter also being used as an option at RW. Not sure what the potential Moses signing would mean for Sturridge though.

That's pretty much how I see it.

Torres will start the season and the big games. Sturridge will most likely start the season as a substitute but quickly play out on the flank in the case of injury/suspension, and start cup games. Given that - disasters aside - we're gonna be playing 60 games this season, I can see Sturridge starting at least 20, as Torres is never entirely healthy for a season.

I suppose being in legitimate contention for the title, amongst other cups titles, could sway him but will 20 starts be enough to keep Sturridge happy? Other teams in the premier league, and in other leagues, have expressed interest in him with the intention of making him a consistent starter.

It's going to be very difficult for RDM to balance the egos of these guys. Torres nearly had enough with AVB after the way he was handled last year until Roman intervened and assured him that things would be different this year. Sturridge was upset last year with his role. No player, even on winning squads, likes to sit consistently and Sturridge seems really anxious to show fans across the league that he could be a legitimate starting striker.

I am starting to wonder if Moses is the contingency plan if Sturridge makes it clear during the next transfer window that he wants out and the right bid comes in.

bbms · Post #108 » by **bbms** » Mon Aug 13, 2012 5:25 pm

I believe Abramovich is giving Torres the benefit of the doubt, since he was great at Euro, but if he fails to impress as the season goes by, I believe they'll try to shop him for Cavani or Falcao, which are more resilient and phisically imposing than Torres.

Post #109 » by **Double Helix** » Wed Aug 15, 2012 1:28 am

Lukaku went off last night while talking about his new opportunity on loan at West Brom.

http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/339 ... at-Chelsea

Big difference from last year where it seemed like he was willing to stay patient because the Blues were his team and Drogba his favorite player. What was he really expecting? Drogba, Torres and Sturridge were all fighting him for minutes right out of the gate. You'd think he'd have been expecting this. Going out on loan is fine but don't be a punk about it.

He just looked like a bull out there when he was playing anyway. His speed and physicality were certainly Drogba-esque but his footwork and technical skill weren't even close. Going out on loan makes sense. It was great for Sturridge too but there are better ways to handle it and he didn't.

Post #110 » by **Double Helix** » Wed Aug 15, 2012 1:44 am

Ironically, I found this video posted only a couple weeks ago.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-aPzN-93vM&feature=youtube_gdata_player[/youtube]

All he had to do was say the right things again. Oh well. It's probably nothing in the grand scheme of things. Just disappointing. Wasn't expecting him to see so hurt and angry.

Post #111 » by **Slava** » Wed Aug 15, 2012 3:37 am

lol he had posters of Drogba in his bedroom as a kid no wonder he feels hurt over his career at Chelsea so far.

Post #112 » by **Double Helix** » Wed Aug 15, 2012 5:20 pm

Must watch clip of Oscar during the 2012 Olympics.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-MAQ4Fh0N-g[/youtube]

Very impressive ball movement and control for a player of his age. Can you imgine him with a little bit more strength and maturity at age 22-23?

Check out 01:10. Stops on a dime, switches to his left and puts it perfectly on his foot. The crazy thing is that I've seen him make that kind of assist (and others where he's able to lob it over the top) at least 10 times over the past couple years. Just incredible vision, accuracy and touch for a young guy. He really does have a feel for the game that belies his age. Check out 01:45. No look right on target. Who needs Modric? I think Oscar could be better someday.

Post #113 » by **5DOM** » Wed Aug 15, 2012 7:54 pm

His last two games (including tonight's against Sweden) have been rather mediocre, but I'm sure he's going to be a success. Only shame is all three of our playmakers prefer to play centrally or on the left wing rather than right.

Post #114 » by **fatlever** » Thu Aug 16, 2012 4:57 pm

are we really going to go into the season with only 2 strikers? piazon, bamford as 3rd and 4th choice? i guess of moses signs he'll be 3rd choice striker.

screw it, play luiz as a striker

just clone luiz and let him play all 10 spots.

Post #115 » by **Double Helix** » Thu Aug 16, 2012 8:29 pm

fatlever wrote:are we really going to go into the season with only 2 strikers? piazon, bamford as 3rd and 4th choice? i guess of moses signs he'll be 3rd choice striker.

screw it, play luiz as a striker just clone luiz and let him play all 10 spots.

On the plus side, having a more definitive pecking order should keep Sturridge happier. Last year was almost too much a time share for the strikers, IMO. Drogba was up and down to start the year. Torres just couldn't buy a goal until AVB was fired. They were obviously curious about Lukaku and trying to see how he might fit in long-term. So, with all that... Sturridge saw limited minutes at his preferred position and with Lukaku and Drogba both gone now Sturridge should see a lot more time there. And I'm cool with that. I'd like to keep him long-term if possible.

A solid, if not outright good, third choice striker is certainly needed though. You never know what will happen. Lawsuits, :laugh:

, suspensions, injuries, etc...

Post #116 » by **KF10** » Fri Aug 17, 2012 10:15 pm

Chelsea inquired about Hernandez but United basically said he's not for sale.

Post #117 » by **5DOM** » Sun Sep 2, 2012 11:04 pm

Jeremie Boga definitely a player to watch. Been very good for the talented U21 team and he's only 15

Massimo · Post #118 » by **Massimo** » Mon Sep 3, 2012 7:11 pm

Why did you guys sell Meireles to Fenerbahce after you lost Essien to Real Madrid?

Post #119 » by **5DOM** » Mon Sep 3, 2012 7:29 pm

Di Matteo must have huge confidence in Oscar and/or Romeu, or it was simply a business decision. 8M for Meireles is decent value considering his age and limited role. It's also possible that Meireles wasn't happy at Chelsea but who knows

J-Mezzy · Post #120 » by **J-Mezzy** » Thu Sep 20, 2012 1:55 pm

I like this kid Oscar. In my opinion, he is the best player out of this new Brazil generation.