Had a feeling you'd have been in this thread! I agree they're blessed in midfield, but I don't rate their defence one bit. Ashley Cole aside, they're weaker than both City and United at the back. John Terry is an injury prone bag of nerves nowadays. I still think they need a new Carvalho type player in to boss the back four and keep them calm, Ivanovic isn't that guy, Carvalho just oozed class it was effortless reading of the game, it's just a big panic in there now. All this would be ok if they had a tank in front of the back four but they haven't. Unless Jose can get Ramires back to his best? Jury is out on Essien for me, the pace will play a big role in his season and if he handles being back in the Prem, he looked good enough in La Liga. I reckon there's one player in Chelsea's midfield on borrowed time, Victor Moses. Don't envy his task, hope the poor kid isn't relying on appearance fees to pay his bills. I've got Chelsea down for 3rd again, because Chelsea need Drogba to win the big ones. They need a big player to win their big games, not predictions about Lukaku or Torres maybe finding form, they need Rooney and if I can see that, I'm sure Moyes can too. They're practically begging him via the media to go there. The only way I'd let him leave for Chelsea is if Ronaldo or Bale were replacing him, if not, he can go anywhere else.
Some more than fair points in there mate, I agree there defence isn't great, but I argue that was more about the way it was set up. Ivanovic is an outstanding CB, one of the best in Europe in my eyes, but not a great RB, if they binned Terry, and bought a quality RB then they have a strong defence. Maybe even Luiz would work as a RWB. Luis - Cahill - Ivanovic - Cole is not a weak defence at all mate, and then Bertrand, Terry etc, pretty strong back up. Essien looked back to form at Real, and to have him sat in front of that back 4 (or one with a new RB) looks rock solid to me. Rooney would be an incredible addition. Luis - Cahill - Ivanovic - Cole ----------Essien------------ Hazard----Oscar--------Mata -------Roo--Torres--------- That is a ****ing tasty team mate.
I dunno, not sure Ivanovic has the composure and reads the game as well as he should if he were to be the no 1 CB. Maybe we'll see a resurgent JT under Jose anyhow, who knows? I do remember a lot of smoke about Chelsea last season though, after their signings and I'll be the first to admit I was on that particular bandwagon myself but for whatever reason they've not clicked as well as expected. I think their midfield will include Lampard, I think he'll be the first name on the team sheet under Mourinho and rightly so, he's their match winner in big games. I think he'll be partnered by Hazard, Mata, Schurrle and Ramires in midfield with Mata in the no 10 role. If they signed Rooney I think it would be curtains for Torres, Mata and Rooney would be devastating technically for me. I hope Essien is back to his old self in this league as well, he was one of my favourite players when he was at the top.
You not rate cahill though Terry? I think he is outstanding. I think Ivanovic is as well, I've not seen much evidence of a lack of composure. Swap Torres/Rooney for Lamps and that is still a ****ing incredibly talented side mate, Mourinho does get teams playing so they will be a major , major threat for me.
Don't get me wrong, I reckon they'll be much closer. I think if Moyes and Pellegrini don't hit the ground running it could be anybody from the top 3 and I'm not discounting Arsenal until September 3rd, then I will obviously, when they sign another bunch of clowns. I rate Cahill, in the way that I think he can have good games, outstanding games in fact, but he's only good by today's standards. If you just look at the 05/06 side, Del Horno aside because they had no Ashley Cole then, none of the Chelsea current defenders would displace Gallas, Terry or Carvalho in their respective positions - that was a rude defence, today they have nothing like that. I just think in comparison, they're not as strong as they've been historically, in 05/06 they conceded just 22 goals in the league, last season nearly double that with 39. Statto. I reckon the 05/06 Chelsea team would absolutely destroy the 13/14 team as it looks today as well. I really rate their current midfield as you do by the way, that Schurrle is a top drawer addition.
See, with Schurrle, seen him a fair few times for Bayer last season, and he does look a very good player, but I'm not convinced the Premier League will suit him. I reckon de Bryne will have a much greater impact, he's more of a natural talent IMO, the kind that naturally makes things happen. Schrrle & Draxler the lad at Schalke, for me they seem a wee bit more orthodox, in that they are run and give players rather than head up and make something happen, if that makes sense, I think de Bryne will see a lot of game time as the season develops.
Another top Beligian prospect, must be a pleasure to have an abundance of talent in a national side. Kills me that even if we had something like that in England we'd only go ahead and give the manager role to a dinosaur or a foreign ball sack. They've also just signed Van Ginkel as well. They've got about 30 midfielders, I'm fairly sure Josh McEchran is still there, although I doubt they'd notice if he didn't turn up for work. Got to be mystic meg to figure out who Jose would pick from that lot. Be interesting nonetheless.
Yeah, gotta be some reserve team they have this season mate, haha. There'll likely be rich pickings for some loans, can see Wigan benefiting as they seem to have a decent relationship with Chelsea. Was a shame to see Marin go out, I'd have liked to see him given some game time withing England, playing in Spain won''t prepare him, and as such I think the league has lost a potential eye catching player.
You think it's a good bet? I put it on today because QPR is 6/1 now but it will change when Gary Hooper signs for them.
I think it's such a good bet. that I'm having £20 on it myself, Guess it's QPR & Chelsea giving 18/1, evens Barca, odds on bayen, maybe 8/10. So maybe 4/1 on Wolves, yeah that's around 200's. Great bet that mate, I'm getting involved, we will discuss at seasons end (if we win...)
I put £10 on Chelsea at 9/4, QPR at 6/1, Wolves 7/2, Barcelona 8/11 & Bayern Munich 1/6 that returns £2063. put the bet on in my Coral account like.
It concerns me how close to that I was mate, only out on Barca, haha. Yeah i'll look at that, I'd expect a wee bit more on Barca, I think they'll win it, as I think Ancelotti is a poor fit for Madrid, but to be odds on when it's that tight, I reckon I can get a touch better. When your up around 200/1, that point 2 can be a couple hundred quid mate!
Surely you'd need to drop one striker for another defensive minded midfielder if you are playing Hazard, Oscar and Mata?
You was close to it like LOL I think my bet will get close because in my eyes Barcelona & Bayern will defo win there leagues & the other 3 will get close to theres. plus I think you will get better odds than mine. least the bet will last all season.
Defo can. I've just done it on BET365. From the home page, go to soccer, then ante post betting, then to be promoted. I've stuck a tenna on: Championship - QPR 15/8 League 1 - Sheff Utd 10/3 League 2 - Chesterfield 6/4 Pays - 311.45
