Chelsea Banter Archive July 20 2015

20 Jul 2015 23:00:36
Ed02 on European pages stating that 6 deals have been agreed by chelsea, all of these are incoming transfers, I would imagine most if these would depend on outgoings, but it's still good news for all of those that think we are completely inactive this window, I hope this cheers those grumpy people abusing eds up and we can get ed02 back

{Ed002's Note - They are unrelated to outgoings.}

21 Jul 2015 07:47:56
Cheers very much eds, could be exciting times ahead then

21 Jul 2015 08:01:51
I'm intrigued by the 6 incomings however would be surprised if they were over and above the players already signed or agreed to sign (Manea, Nathan, Kenedy, Falcao & Begovic).

{Ed001's Note - how many are to be loaned out rather than be at Chelsea?}

21 Jul 2015 08:19:49
Does this mean 6 incomings agreed?

20 Jul 2015 21:52:54
So I haven't been on in a little while (new job etc etc) but I thought I would give my opinion too.

I think everyone would like one of those blockbuster signings, like Varane, Pogba or Bale but I don't think they would be happening.

As for the squad, I do like the look of it. I think if we went into the season like it is we would have a good chance of winning but I wouldn't be surprised if we had a midseason slump, much like last year.

I would like to see us get Stones and Witsel.I believe that Stones would be the more necessary of the two as we are a bit short at the back. Witsel would be nice because, russian league or not, I think he would help the transition in the middle more than Mikel or Ramires does. Saying that, has anyone thought about Mikel at 10? it's where he plays for Nigeria and at times he looks a completely different player in green than blue. As for Pedro, I do think he would be a luxury addition, in that he would improve the squad but I don't think he is necessary.

if we don't get anyone in I would honestly be happy enough, as it would force some of our youth players to show their worth. any or all of Stones, Witsel and Pedro would be good (but part of that might just be wanting us to buy someone ha)

20 Jul 2015 22:02:45
Agreed, mate! Stones coming in (or preferably a guy like Otamendi who is a little older) with Witsel in for Ramires and Baba in for the departing Luis would be pretty good IMO. Especially with the recent comments from Remy in which he says that he wants to stay and fight to be the first option. That would leave us with some pretty strong depth all over the squad.

20 Jul 2015 22:23:29
Oh yeah, good luck and have fun with the new job! :-)

20 Jul 2015 16:57:59
Jackson are you Belgian or Danish?

20 Jul 2015 17:49:30
I'm Belgian, mate :-) where are you from?

20 Jul 2015 22:24:09
South Europe.

21 Jul 2015 00:16:34
Cool cool cool :-) the heat would probably kill me over there, I simply can't stand it hahaha

21 Jul 2015 19:39:49
It doesn't go above +45c ;-). But there's always AC.At least winter is warm.

20 Jul 2015 15:49:54
Is our main target a centre back and will we only sign another player if one is sold first?

20 Jul 2015 17:51:46
That's what Mourinho said, but the editors have repeatedly told us to not believe what is said in interviews etc. So I wouldn't pay much attention to it.

20 Jul 2015 12:57:00
With reports about the interest in Stones coming out I was wondering.
Who do you think is better right now and who will be better in 5 years time out of Zouma and Stones? For both of these questions I'd go with Zouma. Playing with Terry for a couple of seasons will help him tremendously with regards to positioning and anticipation. And his athleticism is already off the charts! So yeah, Zouma for me.
Who'd you say, guys? Eds 018 and 025, please share your opinion if you want to :-)

{Ed018's Note - I think they are on about the same level right now. Hard to say 5 years down the road. I do think they would be a good pairing together though in a few years}

20 Jul 2015 14:15:14
I agree with Ed018, i'd say they are at similar levels at the moment.
As for 5 years time, i'm not sure. i'm confident that Zouma will keep progressing because he seems to have a great attitude to go with is ability and physical tools.
Im not as familiar with Stones. He's obviously very talented though so if he has a good temperament he ought to go far.

20 Jul 2015 14:18:10
Haha maybe you're right, Ed. I'm probably a bit biased as Zouma could well be my favourite player right now. Every time I see him come on or tackle an opponent I can't help but smile and be happy. His performance against Fellaini was also thoroughly enjoyable, but I digress :-)
Cheers Ed.

20 Jul 2015 14:21:15
I agree they are of similar level now although different types of player. In five years I see Zouma as the Centre Back; his heading ability alone both in defence and going up for corners, once he gets his timing right, will be invaluable and as you say, extremely athletic. At present I feel he gets caught dwelling on the ball and caught in possession. Stones I see in any of the other defensive positions. With Zouma and him at 6'2"+, they will be an excellent combination five years down the line. At the moment I think he gets dragged out of position too easily BUT that is where working with Terry will improve them both as he is the master of position and managing a defence.

20 Jul 2015 14:47:25
I think they are different types of players. however could easily compliment each other further down the line.

Zouma is athletic, improving positionally but still raw when it comes to decision making & anticipation, though he has got a great recovery tackle to his game.

Stones is composed on the ball, seems to communicate well along the back line and under the right guidance will improve his all round game.

I get the feeling being tutored by Terry/Cahill will be beneficial to both players and as defenders they can only improve under the guidance of Mourinho.

20 Jul 2015 15:44:55
Just as an aside, Steve Holland will be well aware of John Stones and his potential from working with the England U21's.

20 Jul 2015 16:54:31
In five years from now both of them will be be world class players.

20 Jul 2015 01:48:09
I've got to say I'm surprised by the uproar in regards to our interest in witsel. This season it was very clear that we lacked a top quality player that was capable of holding when matic was out and we also lacked a midfielder with enough quality to truly challenge for a starting spot that was capable of playing a deeper role. This is made evident with zouma being pushed into playing in this position multiple times and the second half declines of both fabregas and Oscar. By bringing in witsel or a comparable player we would then have 4 high quality midfielders competing for 3 spots. Matic and Oscar are primarily confined to their roles however fabregas can play in the #8 or #10 and witsel can play in the #6 or #8. We would also have another top quality centremid that is capable of holding his own physically (this hole was made apparent in the manu game with zouma marking fellaini). With the current guys there, rami simply isn't capable of distributing the ball at a high enough level, and Mikel wasn't trusted to the point that mourinho would rather field a 20 year old centrehalf with no experience in the position to him. While witsel may not be the sexy pick he certainly fills some holes we currently have in the squad.

20 Jul 2015 06:56:20
To I see your point but he never done much for me to warrant a move to Chelsea he always disappointed me in big tournaments euros World Cup etc I never saw what the fuss was about same as I did with lukaku I think der middle table players or top 8

20 Jul 2015 08:45:45
Belgium as a whole disappointed in the World Cup, mate. I'd say Witsel was one of the better players though in the team. He also didn't play a 'sexy' position. He was the holding midfielder and was probably restricted in his play by Wilmost who is tactically not up to standard (but that's a discussion for another day).
Before his move to Russia he was playing very very well in Portugal with Benfica. He was then linked with a lot of big clubs and chose Russia.

20 Jul 2015 10:39:32
I definitely agree with the fact we need a more defensive midfielder to partner Matic in the big games. This would allow Fabregas to push forward into the number 10 role and compete directly with Oscar. If Witsel is capable of putting in a solid defensive performance against world class opposition as well as distributing the ball and attacking then this potential signing makes a lot of sense. I've seen very little of Witsel so I don't know if he is capable of this or not

20 Jul 2015 12:22:15
I'm actually still a fan of Mikel. And I think offensively he can provide more than we've seen so far. Maybe if Mourinho gives him some more freedom to play with we can see a more offensive Mikel. I'd really like the club to keep him and then try to sell Ramires.
Midfield options of Matic, Fabregas, Mikel, RLC and Witsel/Aranguiz/new CM doesn't sound too bad if you ask me. No player is what you'd call old but there's still a lot of experience with Fab, Matic and Mikel. And it wouldn't require a huge cost if Ramires could go for a decent price.

20 Jul 2015 14:54:25
I guess I wasn't attempting to argue for witsel but more so acknowledge the holes in the midfield that he happens to fit. Personally I think schweinsteiger would've been a better fit although I understand we have no interest making it irrelevant.