At work, bored, thought i'd make up a fun thread. These are my top signings since Roman purchased Chelsea in 2003. (some info nicked from Wikipedia) In Ascending order: 5) Ricardo Carvalho Signed from FC Porto £20m Approx, 2004 Carvalho joined his former manager José Mourinho and former teammate Paulo Ferreira[16] on a three-year contract. He signed for a fee of â¬30 million (£20 million at the time) and performed extremely well in his first season with Chelsea, helping them win the Premier League title, their first top-flight domestic title in 50 years, and the League Cup. He scored his first goal for Chelsea in a 3â1 victory over Norwich City. His partnership with captain John Terry in central defence was hailed as a major factor behind Chelsea's two Premier League titles in a row. 4) Petr Cech Signed from Rennes, £7m 2004 When Cech arrived at Chelsea, Carlo Cudicini was established as Chelsea's first choice goalkeeper. However, Cudicini suffered a pre-season elbow injury that allowed Mourinho to promote Cech into the starting spot. Cech became the first-choice goalkeeper in his first season. He kept a clean sheet in his Premier League debut in a 1â0 victory over Manchester United. On 5 March 2005, Cech set a new Premier League record of 1,025 minutes without letting in a goal. Having conceded only 15 league goals in the entire season, he also set a new record for least goals conceded by a keeper in a single season. 3) Ashley Cole Signed from Arsenal, £5m + Gallas, 2006 Often spoken of as the best left back in the world. Ashley Cole has given some immense performances since joining the club in 2007, notably in Champions' League ties against Barcelona and in the 2012 Champions League final against Bayern Munich. 2) Claude Makalele Signed from Real Madrid £16.8m, 2003 Dubbed the best Defensive Midfielder in the world, Makalele was instrumental as part of Chelsea's double title winning spine. His immense performances in the middle of the park were invaluable, especially during Chelsea's record setting title victory in 2005 1) Didier Drogba Signed from FC Marseille, £24m 2004 What else can be said? His all round game made him one of the most complete strikers on the planet during his peak. Power, strength, composure, combined with a lethal finish, Drogba scored 157 goals in 341 appearances for Chelsea. Definately a big game player, Drogba scored a record 7 goals in 7 Wembley finals, not to mention an important goal for the Blues in the 2012 Champions League final. A Pure chelsea legend
https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/...n3IGJZ0S8PlUqSRic1QVW3RJsT_DmkRBsKRJQhmCOdYtA Has to be the physio (Eva)
Special mentions, imo, should go to Joe Cole, Michael Essien and Juan Mata. People sometimes forget how awesome Joe Cole was around 2006 time.
Or a top starting 11 Cech Ivan Luiz Carvalho Cole Makalele Essien Ballack Hazard Mata Robben Drogba That team wins the P.L every year!!
Thats the point! Dont want to make it too easy, those are the 5 I think have made the biggest contribution to our successes.
No Lampard!!! Sacrilege! Mine 11 would be Cech Ivan Carvalho Terry Cole Makalele Essien Lampard Mata Robben Drogba Subs: Cudicini, Luiz, Azpo, Hazard, Ballack, J.Cole
Agreed, I really liked Duff. He was awesome in 05 against Barca at the Bridge, nearly scored a superb solo goal.
My memory may have failed me, but did Roman buy Lampard? If so, obviously he goes in and should easily be in the top 5 (top 1 actually!!)