Chelsea Banter Archive July 31 2014

31 Jul 2014 17:33:27
First team squad currently includes 18 overseas players over the age of 21 who are not counted as homegrown. (Fabregas is homegrown due to his time at Arsenal Academy). I've excluded fringe players like Moses and Marin but included regulars from last Season like Mikel.
Realistically looking at the squad either Cech or Coutouis will leave (sold or loaned) unless Jose can shift Mikel. This has to happen to meet Premier league/Champions league rules. We would then have to offload ANOTHER overseas player in order to bring in one more overseas player. So realistically we will HAVE to sell Torres to bring in another overseas striker and I think that may prove difficult.
I can't see us selling or loaning the other players.
I hope this helps clarify the situation.
interesting though that Pogba would quality as a homegrown due to his time at Manchester United Academy!

We could always leave Schwarzer out just as they did last season with Hilario

31 Jul 2014 15:40:39
Happy with the way our transfers have gone this window but without sounding greedy I still think one or two should come in with 2-3 going out. My choices would be Torres, mikel and Ramires to be sold. If we could sell them, surely that would generate another £40m. My choice for signings would be cavani or aubameyang and varane. Formation that would then suit would be a 4-1-3-2. I just hate seeing use play two holding midfielders. At the end of the day we are a top, top side with attack minded players so if we want to get the best out of our players then utilize their qualities instead of everyone behind the ball all the time. I know different games you need different tactics but at home against the so called lesser teams do we really need two holding players. Just a thought on what everyone thinks on team selection for first game with the addition of the players I've mentioned.
Courtois
Azipilcueta. Cahill. Terry. Luis
Matic
Oscar. Fabregas. Hazard
Costa. Cavani

That team would be something else, cavani is a workhorse so would press as much as costa,, plus wil salah Willian Ramires shurrle Torres drogba we would be able to switch things around and
Offer lots of the bench., I do like the 352 that van gaal is trying, seen cavani's stats from last 3/4 seasons,, really impressed as gone off him due
To few times I've seen him.

31 Jul 2014 12:10:54
Far too many fans of other clubs are giving Jose stick for letting Lukaku go- basically having a dig because they don't like him for non-footballing reasons/ jealousy. What they don't understand is that Chelsea have been trying to get rid of Torres for almost 3 years now but simply cannot because no one will pay his wage demands so he's happy to stay and run down his contract. If Torres had been sold, lukaku may have had his chance. But why would any 19/20/21 year old think he has the right to be the main man at a club which challenges on all fronts year in year out?! It's simply unreasonable, and if he had a pair of balls he would have stayed last season and fought for his place against Eto'o, Torres and Ba (and probably would have become our no.9)! No doubt he will become one of the best strikers in the world, but I'd put good money on him leaving Everton within a few years saying "it was always my dream to play for Real Madrid" or something along those lines. He's arrogant and no where near as good as he thinks he is. Also, getting £28 million for a player on the fringes, not to mention £40+ million for Luiz, making profits on both Mata and De Bruyne whilst getting Cole, Lampard and Eto'o off the wage bill suggests that Jose knows what he's doing and that Chelsea are a very very well run club.

31 Jul 2014 14:18:48
Very well said. I'am very happy with our business so far. Turning profits on players we do not need, whilst adding depth and quality for great value.
Lukaku needs a lot of help with his attitude, for a so called life long Chelsea fan he has issues.
Who knows maybe in a few years when he has grown up and improved he could return.

31 Jul 2014 15:44:11
Spot on Saim. I always thought the Belgian boys are too big for their boots. I am afraid Courtois and Hazard are similar. I hope they show sense. Lukaku will go nowhere with the attitute he has and mark my word. It will ruin his carrer.

31 Jul 2014 05:45:01
Eds: Are Chelsea going to push for Aubameyang now that Lukaku is gone? I know we have the foreign player quota to deal with, but if Torres were to leave would Aubameyang be top choice?

{Ed018's Note - they are still interested in Aubameyang not much more to add to that right now}

31 Jul 2014 05:58:13
Lukaku.

Does Not Fit Into Jose Type Striker Criterion.
He Is Outspoken.
He Is Not Ready To Wait.

Good To Sell Him For Profit,

He will say in a year he wants Champions league and its everybodies dream to play at Real Madrid or Juventus.

Bet my house on it that he is gone within 3 years and makes that clear in the press.

Are we going to sign another striker or we will be ok as we are ATM?

31 Jul 2014 01:13:42
I haven't posted for a while as this site is almost pointless now without ed002's input (no disrespect to other eds), but I feel the need to do so tonight.

Firstly, I'm delighted with the clubs business so far this summer. We have addressed all the areas we needed to with real quality players. We now need to unload a few players before buying anymore. In an ideal world the players offloaded would be: Torres, Mikel, Moses, McEachran, Marin and Kakuta. They simply aren't going to get enough game time and for all parties involved probably best to move on.

Economically this would be hugely beneficial as we would receive around £30m in transfer fees, but more beneficially, save approximately £350,000 a week on wages. The club clearly has a strong interest in bringing in Pogba, Varane and a striker. In my opinion the club is simply waiting to offload players before looking to strike deals for those players - it will be feasible with FFP as long as we sell. It is also necessary to sell to comply with the squad criteria rules. We have already received good money for players being sold long may it continue!

Personally, I'm delighted we have managed to get £28m for Lukaku! His attitude is not cut-out to be at a top club, plus he is only effective with space in behind and when defences sit deep (a regular occurrence at the bridge), he is pretty much useless. Technically he is average at best and his development has slowed in recent years due the fact that when he was younger he was double the size of everyone, but now others have caught up with him

{Ed008's Note - Myself and Ed018 are deeply offended :(

Ed008 and Ed018, please don't be offended. We're all very thankful that you still answer questions on this site.

With the sale of Lukaku, I believe there should be no problem in putting in a big offer for Varane or Pogba. With one of them, or in the absolute godly case both of them, our team would be set! I'd love to see the club put in a lot of effort to get them. Sadly, I can't see it happening.

Would love to see the sales of Lukaku and the players you (MB1) feel should be sold (and I agree with) to fund bids for Varane, Pogba and another striker, maybe Aubemeyang.

Having those three players, which to some extent I would deem as fairly realistic, I think would make us the most strong, and balanced team in England and potentially Europe, aswell as then having Mourinho on top.

No offense intended ed008 and 018, you are doing the best job you can. Ed002 simply has some great contacts (especially at chelsea) and has been extremely reliable for the 3 years I have been on here - I hope he comes back soon!

30 Jul 2014 23:04:29
Letting lukaku go is the best thing we've done this season. Any one remember the lies he said about going on loan. And thenourinho having to take a press conference and tell him to tell the truth. If he willing to pick fights with Jose, he already thinks he's better and higher than everybody else. Bye bye is all I can say and good riddance. 10 million profit. Suppose to be a chelsea fan aswell.