(sorry lads, another transfer related article. But hey, it's January!) The cheek of the lad! I have been reading he's after 100k a week! He really isn't worth the hassle if he's going to try and be greedy. AVB should lay down a firm offer and tell him to carry on fighting relegation if he wants any more. I know a few of us have been over who we'd like to get rid of and buy in January but he's my catch 22: Sell: - Drogba - Mikel - Bosingwa - Malouda (Alex and Anelka already going/gone) Buy/Replace with: - Keep Lukaku as back up to Torres - Essien to replace Mikel - Replace Bosingwa with Hutchinson as understudy to Ivan, giving him a good amount of gametime - Malouda to be replaced by someone quick, skillful and who has a good delivery, can't think of a suggestion that isn't going to cost us a lot but I'd hate us to keep Malouda until the summer. In regards to spending in Jan I'm not sure we need to blow shed loads, we still have a brilliant squad. AVB needs to change his tactics a bit as the current one is dangerously inconsistant. I'd try and seal Cahill as we are going to get his best years, I'd also be tempted to sign another CB as we'll only have 3 in contention, someone young with pace, maybe even do what's been suggested and bump Luiz down to midfield for a trial which I can see happening if we get Cahill to be honest. Now like I've said previously, we'll need to have a change of tactic. I am praying we start putting Mata through the middle because it's where his heart is and where he could provide Torres with chances (it's been mentioned a lot before). If this happens then I wouldn't mind spending a bit of money on a new left winger who is going to play regular football. One thing's for sure though, January will be an interesting month for us!
Excellent piece - on the question of the centre backs I'd go along with getting adequate cover. Whilst I pray that Terry will be cleared of his charge it would be prudent not to take anything for granted especially if the FA decide to put their sixpence worth in. On the question of the January Sales I would urge caution; traditionally its a sellers market and if they sense your desperation they will put their mark up accordingly (Torres was a classic example of that) - by all means make a purchase but the emphasis must on "value for money".
Well said, I think we need to be leaving the 'big' money signings for the summer to allow them to get a pre-season under their belts. January is a stupid time to splash £50m! More Romeu's this month please AVB!
In my opinion in January or end of season all of the following have to go : Bosingwa,Terry,Cole,Lampard,Mikel,Malouda,Kalou,Drogba,Essien and we need to bring in players like the following - Hulk,Hazard,Gotze,Cavani,Modric,Moutinho,Pereira,Van der wiel, Godin and Rolando. Unfortunately i don't reckon Lamps or Terry will go but if we need to move on to a new era and change the whole mentality of the team and dressing room we need to cut the old out and bring the new in
over £300m!? No way! We need one of those players and and to sort out tactics out. We have a brilliant squad who just aren't suited to the tactics yet. Players like Luiz, Cole, Meireles, Ramires, Mata, Sturridge and Torres are the kind of players AVB needs. Change of formation is all we need. I would love to beat the goons to Gotze!
TBF I'd rather by-pass Cahill if all he wants, is to screw us for a fat pay check! Those days are over! Lets just focus on players who are proud to wear our shirt! We'll end up with another Winston Bogarde otherwise !!
What about Chalobah? He looks like a class act for centre back. Hutchinson, Bosingwa, Ivanovic, David Luiz, Terry, Chalobah, Cole, Bertrand. That's enough defenders.
I think you're right - recent headlines over the Anelka incident on their own were usually scoffed at as "tabloid fiction" however, coupled that with the inconsistent lame displays on the paddock and you begin to see a disturbing picture emerging. It's quite possible that certain senior players have contempt for AVB and this is a reflection of their attitude on the park - this makes it awkward to make an honest assessment of the manager's progress which is why a clearout could help create the necessary spirit for the team & manager to move forward.
Don't see anyone else breaking their balls for Cahill. I'm with Bluemoon, make him a fair offer , and give him exactly 1 week to decide, then close the gate. No more overpaid, uncommittted players required. For next year I'd lose Malouda, Drogba, Essien ( unless he comes back on seriously top form, which I doubt he can ) and if someone will pay a decent fee, Lampard. All have given their best to Chelsea, but their best is now behind them. In each case we already have a player better than them in their position.( Except for Malouda ) So new purchases can be players with potential like Romeu, and not £30mill transfers. Boswinga showed he can play centre back at a pinch, and never whinges or makes demands. One more year would not hurt us. Ashley Cole , same thing, one more year then goodbye. He's becoming more of a liability every month, but still occasionally does something great. So not yet, but soon. Ditto John Terry. In his case, his ever slowing pace and lack of great creative skills, means he can't play another position, and he's unlikely to be an automatic choice for more than the rest of this season and the next. Thats all I'd do for the moment. The Kalous, Mikels etc are quite decent squad players, still young with time to improve if we play with more passion and speed, as I believe is the aim, and with the brick wall of the "untouchables " gone.
The problem we have is that our 'go to' players (mainly Drogba, Lamps and Terry) are on the wane or will be leaving and them sort of players are the hardest to replace. Yes you can stick in say Meireles instead of Lampard for instance and it wont dramatically effect the team now but someone like Meireles would probably never have got a game during the Jose days (see Scott Parker etc) and that's perhaps the biggest issue. We have a good squad but are lacking the 2-3 really top class players that turn you from a good to a great side. Mata aside, who would get in that Jose team on current form and ability? Luiz looks a long way off Ricky Carvalho atm, no one can replace Maka (though Romeu does look class), Robben and Duff on the wings, Cech, Cole, Lampard, Terry and Drogba at the top of their games and performing consistently....a fit Essien. Who is going to step up and replace those big names???
Further...if you take say Spurs, they have managed to turn Gareth Bale (a decent full back) into one of the best wide men around and have bought very well in Modric, VDV, Parker, Sandro etc and these players are performing well above their price tags. Those 5 players cost Spurs less than Torres.
We have the potential to replace our big players but the question is will they fulfill their potential, Lukaku has the potential to fulfill Drogbas boots, Josh the same with Lampard and Hutch the same with Terry, i still think we should buy 2 world-class players though ( two of Gotze/Hazard/Modric/Moutinho/Hulk/Higuain/Pato/Cavani )
Let's get this straight, Kalou is not good enough to be a squad player. Same with Mikel. They're both ****e and have been for a while, when Mikel comes on as a sub I want to leave the room! Lcoop think you may be right, I would love to get Moutinho but only if we get rid of Mikel.
Why do you want to spend big again?! That'll cost us 70 odd million. Or more if it's hulk! We need to find more Romeu's, FFP isn't going to be lenient on us. We also have brilliant youth prospects and they get ignored year after year for big names. Bring them through and let's keep our patience.
Because we still need some proven world-class players in the meantime, and i don't like the idea of more Romeus with buy back clauses as they can be world-class and then we can lose them in the blink of an eye. Forget neymar though, poor league with poor defending makes him look better than he is, too weak for the PL aswell
On the bbc gossip column it said Cahill was after £120k per week £50,000 more than Chelsea's evaluation of him. I think he's only worth £85-90,000 per week.
I see. So how many proven world class players did we have that we paid stupid money for that won us the league in 05? Or 06? or in fact that contributed to the double? The answer is none....I may concede to Makalele as we paid £16m for him and he was over 30. We bought them at decent prices and they all merged together to form a brilliant TEAM, and stamped their names on the football world with their success with us. Uniteds success is about the squad...Tottenham have two class players and a really good squad. The above teams also pull together in the same direction, unlike our pri-madonnas who run to Roman if they don't like the way things are with the manager. Too many chiefs...more indians required.
