Chelsea Rumours Archive December 30 2014

29 Dec 2014 17:53:04
Hey ed and fellow posters, do you expect any players to be sold this January? Would love to see us make a bid for Isco, a trio of him, Oscar and Hazzard would be epic. Enjoy the rest of your holidays guys!

I don't expect any to be sold, loaned however is certainly possible. And I don't think we'll see many new faces arriving either.

Salah will probably leave. Or on loan

Salah and possibly Cech will leave. Kramaric the only likely signing imo.

I can't remember who said it yesterday, maybe mn, but the more I think about it the more I think we do need something else on the right wing. Like I think CB and CM are positions we should be looking at, with regards to anything coming up but RW is something we should be actively seeking to fix. We are stocked with a number of options but these seem to prefer the centre or left. You could see it the other night, we were dangerous down the left but when it got shifted to the right, ivanovic would have no choice but to send it back (this could be in part due to tactics focusing down that wing) but even when we tried to switch it there was not joy.

So I don't know really, do we target someone like Reus, Draxler or any other names you can think of or do we really take a chance with youth. I just know we need to do something. I think with Reus there are concerns with his fitness, and a lot of the reports I read suggest he wants to go to Spain. But if we can convince him to come to Chelsea we would be getting a world class player at a fraction of his true value.

He would obviously have to work hard but you can see that with chelsea, the RW spot is up for grabs to a certain extent. If he went to Real, he would be competing with the 1st and 2nd most expensive players in the world, the star of the world cup and Isco who has looked a lot better plus Jese etc etc. At Barcelona he would be competing with Messi and Neymar etc etc.

It would just be the thing seeing him go to one of those teams then not get a game.

Not really a question in there, more just sharing thoughts

30 Dec 2014 14:31:38
I still want to see Traore get a shot as a right winger/attacking midfielder. He could end up being a terrific player for us.
Isco will probably leave Madrid though. Not saying Chelsea should buy him, but my god I love Isco. His touch is sensational and I can't understand why Madrid bought James when they have him. He'd be an upgrade to almost any team and I don't want to see him join our rivals. Maybe this time City will get Isco to reunite (?) with Pelegrinni.
Sorry for the rambling but Isco is amazing.

Think I agree with Jackson on this one. I could imagine Isco in the centre and Oscar on the right, or youth as mentioned.

Not that it will happen, but it will be interesting to see what happens over the next month

When there were rumours about PSG after Oscar, Isco would have been my first choice to replace him. he seems to have been given more opportunities at Real Madrid so can't see him going anywhere soon. Traore or Boga could easily replace Salah in our squad however with Traore not having a WP, it makes it really difficult to see him playing for us for the foreseeable future. Boga it is then!

Is Isco more of a central attacking mid though? He's a great great player in any case no denying that! My issue with bringing in boga is that he's progress will be stunted sitting on the bench playing the odd cup game and ten minute sub appearance! He would be better served going on loan. Same goes for traore! I still have to disagree I really like Willian don't think he's giving enough credit on this site! All be it he don't score enough but the rest of his game is excellent imo! With Marin and shurrle not getting game time at the bridge I can image that would put of reus as I'm sure he's talked to them about it! Replacing JT should be the main aim as he has one maybe 2 season at best hummles is my ideal candidate or varane! And with mikel and possible Ramires going we need to bring in a cm! Pogba being the obvious choice of many I'd imagine including myself! Or even drop fabregas or Oscar back there then the Isco signing would be ideal, although highly unlikely ever to happen! Remy was a good signing as for a third striker I really don't know on that one it's hard to call

30 Dec 2014 23:24:39
We all credit Willian, but don't think he's good enough.

Last game, our two best chances came, on the right, but none were Willian, it was Hazard and fabregas.

It's rather buy a right winger, or buy another quality Midfeild player and play a narrow 433 with width coming from fullbacks, I'll post one on the teams page.

Hazard is at his best cutting on from the wing. azpiliqueta and Ivan are great defenders but not out and out wing backs

Sorry if this comes across wrong. it's meant with good intentions. :)

When was the last time we played with proper wingers?! I see all this talk of RW however our team is not set up (in any of the formations Mourinho tends to use) for a traditional winger. Over the last 2-3 years we have seen a change in the overall profile of players signed. namely those who can interchange positions in a match or those who can play several different positions, therefore adding versatility and choice. When Shakhtar beat us in the CL, Willian played more of a central role, interchanging between midfield and attacking midfield positions. From all I've seen, he's never pretended to be a traditional RW. I see Willian's role as someone who adds energy, tenacity and is effectively a ball carrier. I understand the frustration as he's excellent up until the final third and then it's a lottery as to what he does next. IMO we are worse off without him though. The way we tend to set up with Ivanovic giving width, I'd suggest we need to looking at that position rather than the often discussed "RW" position. Coleman would be an excellent choice and is someone who would offer a better end product than what we currently have.

Getting rid of Ivan would be unthinkable he's an unsung hero. He is a brilliant defender we would be lost without him. We have enuf up front that we don't need to rely on wing backs! Azpili and Ivan are vital! They seriously never get beat! Coleman able it is a very good player but not in the class of what we already have! I never rated Bertrand to much but he's done so well at Southampton that I wouldn't mind bringing him into the 1st team next year! I have to say I don't rate Filip Luiz at all! He's not on the level of azpili

I agree. from a defensive standpoint, Ivanovic is so hard to beat. Our game is based on many components, and he is one of them (GKs out to the right, the way the midfield shifts to the left leaving space for him to exploit) however he isn't getting any younger and, compared to the start of the season, his performances have declined and he is being caught out quite a bit. Bertrand is a shame, it seems like he is almost definitely on his way out (maybe he didn't want to be a squad player?).

The only other thing I'd add about Willian is that I think it's a shame he signed when he did as he missed out on the 13/14 pre-season (and due to the Russian league, was not fit when he joined) and because of the World Cup he missed the 14/15 pre-season too. I think he'd really benefit from a proper pre-season tbh.

{Ed002's Note - Willian is doing very well and there is no intention for him to go anywhere. If you all wish to discuss a replacement for a player, then Schurrle would be a better bet.}

I agree that Willian is very important to our play. The first half on Sunday showed that we kind of missed him IMO. He's got things to improve upon, and I'm sure he will :)
I can't even think of replacements for Schurrle (or Willian) that would be upgrades and are realistic targets as well.

{Ed002's Note - Don't get too wrapped up in the concept of immediate "upgrades". Players are simply transient employees of the club - they come and they go. Sometimes it is simply a case that time has come - as it will do with John Terry and, to be honest, has done with Drogba already.}

Hi Ed002, maybe my post came across the wrong way - I didn't mean it was a shame he signed for us (I like him as a player). just the timing of his signing as it was post pre-season; had he a little earlier it could have been beneficial to him from a transition & fitness perspective. :)

I'll keep it in mind, Ed :)