SWP Verdict

[Alan D]

I was wondering what Chelsea fans think of Shaun Wright-Phillips since he moved in the summer from Man City. Even though Abramovich has loads of money to spend on players, do you think he was worth the £21m transfer? I was wondering what you guys thought because I hope he does well on the bigger stage but throughout the season he has only been on the bench and sometimes not even on that, but I have a slight feeling the same thing could happen with SWP to Scott Parker where he could end up leaving a couple of years down the line.

[okocha1]

I think that SWP will get his chance. He should keep his chin up and look to Joey Cole for inspiration. At his best he is one of the most dangerous players in the prem. He seems like he has spirit to keep fighting. I do think one of his trademark goals would do him a world of good.

[nicephoras]

Very good player but he's having trouble adjusting to being part of a team rather than its best player. Its harder than people think. He's certainly playing more for Mourinho than Parker was, and, really, he's been hurt by Cole's great form of late.

[Walter3000]

Patience, his chance will come.

[bluemen groupee]

Too early for any 'verdicts.' There's still half the season left. With the FA cup on the horizon, he'll get his chances to start and get 60+ minutes. The important thing for him right now is to learn from guys like Cole, Robben, and Crespo. He needs to learn to time his runs to get at the end of balls from Lampard and Eidur on the counters.

We really needed him in the 2nd half of last year when our lack of wing play arguably hurt us in the CL and FA Cup. Our wingers have been pretty healthy this year so we haven't needed him as much.

[special_k]

His time will come.

[Walter3000]

Is there an echo in here?

[BridgeMonkee]

Is there an echo in here?

In here?

[Clan]

Was he worth £21M?
No.

Take that with the same thought though, that Zidane wasn't worth his transfer fee either.

We won't see the best of SWP untill next season.Probably the player worst effected by going out of the league cup so early.

[special_k]

1.That was sarcasm, I actually respect the mods request on here, to avoid these childish encounters in which people like you will end up stalking my posts for too long.

2.Yes they have started together, more than once, information that is easily looked up.

Stalking your posts? THis is the first post of yours ive seen since your silly neg rep one. Lol thats silly.

anyways...How do Cole and SWP play together? For some reason he looks better to me when Duff is on the field.

[Walter3000]

For me, SWP and Cole don't play as well together because Cole likes to switch sides so often. SWP pretty much sticks to the right, whereas Cole and Robben both switch from side to side and confuse the fullbacks. I think SWP would play best with Duff, because he can be more effective staying on the left, whereas Robben and Cole like to switch sides and even pinch in a little from time to time.

Makes sense, although its tough to say with how little time SWP has played.
At first I would say he wouldnt work as well with COle, who unlike the other 2, plays best on the right, but with Cole, in the end, I dont think it matters where he plays.

I actually do not think Robben is that great switching to the right, and he and SWP's blazing speed and dribbling down the two flanks would be about impossible to stop. Hopefully when Essien is away, we will see a little more of Cole in the middle, but the interest in Maniche is making me doubt it.

[blackjack]

I actually prefer Cole on the left and Robben on the right. This is because our attack is not based on getting crosses into the box, it's more based on patient buildup and well-timed runs met with well-timed through balls. By playing the players on the opposite side of their strong foot, the manager encourages them to cut in and shoot or find a through ball rather than just running to the byline and crossing. This is especially useful when Crespo is the striker, as the inward runs by the wingers force the CBs out to stop them, leaving space for Crespo to run into. How many of his goals have come from great balls in by Cole? A fair number.

[nicephoras]

All the nonsense has been binned. Don't make me bin more posts.

[Forza Moskva]

:(

[yasik19]

i just wish he played more, but he must realize that Jose knows what is the best for Chelsea, so all we can hope is SWP has plenty of patience.

[special_k]

i just wish he played more, but he must realize that Jose knows what is the best for Chelsea, so all we can hope is SWP has plenty of patience.

I feel the same way. I think his chance will be coming soon, hes too good.

[ForzaGrifo]

Of course he's not worth 21 mil. But we have so much money to spend that it makes little difference.

He's a long term investment. His time will come.

[jjayg]

I was just thinking of SWP this weekend watching him play in short minutes. I firmly believe that SWP is a player of the future for Chelsea. He doesn't appear frustrated when he takes the pitch and he works very hard. This says a lot for his character and I'm sure Jose sees the same thing. He is not on a level with Robben, Duff and Cole yet. It may take another year or two but I can see him being a real star for Chelsea in the next, say, two years or so.

[bluemen groupee]

I was just thinking of SWP this weekend watching him play in short minutes. I firmly believe that SWP is a player of the future for Chelsea. He doesn't appear frustrated when he takes the pitch and he works very hard. This says a lot for his character and I'm sure Jose sees the same thing. He is not on a level with Robben, Duff and Cole yet. It may take another year or two but I can see him being a real star for Chelsea in the next, say, two years or so.What's scary is that guys like Essien and SWP will only get better and better. I can Robben and possibly Duff moving on after another year or so of trophies. As long as SWP is willing to wait to get his turn--unlike Scott Parker--I think he's got a future.

It's funny, Wenger talks about how their future is so bright with all the young guys they have and SAF says United is in rebuilding mode. Check out the age of our top 15 or so players:

23 Cech
25 Terry
28 Gallas
27 Carvalho
24 Del Horno
26 Ferreira
21 Huth

32 Makalele
27 Lampard
23 Essien
27 Guddy
26 Duff
24 SWP
24 Cole

27 Drogba
30 Crespo
21 Robben

Three guys over 27. Four under 24. Ten in the 24-27 range. Average age of
25.6. We should dominate the next five years without adding one player. Of course, guys like Adriano and Kompany will bring down that average.

[ZiZouTrini]

I see you guys think that SWP is one of the future guys for Chelsea which is true cause he is an excellent talent. But I heard that he was fustrated cause he wants to play first team so he can hopefully get a spot on the English NT for WC2006. I just heard that Muriniho(sorry cant spell, lol) said that he will let any unhappy players go. I used to watch SWP with man city all year last season but he doesnt get the run he did there obviously. Do you think he will be one of those players to voice something for a transfer or do you guys think he will stay? I think chelsea is a club that eventually he will get a run next year or so, but I think that will put somewhat of a hault on his career. I mean he literally disappeared when he went to chelsea. I thought it was the worst thing he could do for his career cause chelsea is just full of players that unless he was a definite first team player, he wasnt going to play that much except in like the FA cup or league cup or games before the knock out phase mathces in the CL. Has there been word that he is going to go or is he just sitting put?