This is a lot of money being thrown around. I mean, even by our standards. 30 million for Falcao, a player who doesn't even address any of our needs. 13+ for a manager. I can't see how we don't sell some players already on the books. We have to.
My 2 cents... At least Anelka and Kalou are gone prior to the opening match. I would prefer Hulk, not Falcao but they're both excellent players.
I've seen/heard multiple reports that the release values are: All in Euros: Falcao - 30 million Moutinho - 40 million Hulk - 100 million
Mikel more than perhaps any other player in the team has suffered from the managerial turnover, IMO. Jose moving him back to the holding position put his career as a player on a completely different arc than I think just about anybody had anticipated, and for better or for worse, Jose's vision for him as a player never came fully to fruition. I thought he was good under Scolari and Grant, but Carlo didn't seem to rate him particularly highly and he's stagnated somewhat in the past few seasons. He's still young enough (it's easy to forget he's only 24) and certainly talented enough to develop into a calibre of player that could be a mainstay in the Chelsea team for years, and hopefully AVB is able to bring the best out of him. I can understand the Kalou comparison, but for me it's slightly different in Mikel's case because I think he has most of the tools (save for his shooting) to be a fantastic player, it's just a manner of harnessing them all and seeing if he's able to adjust to the increased responsibility he'll be handed. With Kalou, he's always had too many limitations (fewer 'tools', if you will), and as a result a much lower ceiling as a player in comparison to the more naturally gifted Mikel, IMO.
The portuguese article also states that Roman is willing to help AVB in most of the transfers he wants. Not sure how reliable the article is, but still interesting nonetheless.
agree with a lot of that but think he has been terribly under appreciated due to the nature of the position and other problems ahead of him on the field and he already is one of the best holding players to be found anywhere, and certainly far better there than Ess or Ram, when played consistently and a very solid more staying back box to box 4-4-2 cm on the rare occasions he played there. Part of that under appreciation I think arises in part because we all see the potential he even yet has to be even a better player all around and take on bigger and other roles and that takes away from how good he already is. He very arguably already is one of the Top 5 (easily for me) to top 10 holding dms in football.
This is what I recall. That's crazy, no matter how elite he is. 100 mil takes Hulk off the market, imo. Insane money. I hear Neymar was involved in a brawl in the match yesterday. Probably undestandable with the heated rivalry and all. Ian McGarry is making an argument that Neymar is the opposite of what Jose likes in a player, that he's too undisciplined, not a team player, just a bad fit for Jose's squad, etc. Don't know if that is good news or bad for Chelsea, but interesting.
Not sure. Supposedly our guy Zahavi(sp?) is over there now with a big offer. We'll see if that's fact or fiction. Supposedly AVB wants him and so does Roman...supposedly. A playmaker like Aguero or a winger like Neymar, or both? Ahhh, decisions, decisions. Such a hard life.
From what I remember in the article that I read, Porto almost already knows they won't get that in a transfer fee for him so most likely if he makes a big fuss he could be had for considerably cheaper. Also to the Neymar comment here, I'm not sure he fits into AVB's ideal character either. He seems to like attacking players but ones who play within a team mentality. IE: Several of the formation differences I believe our friend from the Porto threads talked about.
How is Neymar a head case? Is he changing his name to "World Peace" like Ron Artest or something? He's a 19 year old kid who occasionally acts like......a 19 year old kid.
I don't get why people are slamming him based on his time on the pitch, its as if they haven't seen him play. The kid does everything right except for falling over, which isn't exactly a rarity amongst the top cream of attacking player, furthermore hes only 19 years old so that can be managed.
It's not semantics, because words mean things. Is Neymar immature? Sure - but he's 19 years old, he's immature by definition. But has he shown any signs of being an unusually screwed up 19 year old, like, say, Joey Barton, or Lee Bowyer or Jody Morris? No. So he's not a headcase at all.
Re: Neymar, the kid has the worlds top clubs and agents drooling over him and plenty of money rolling in his direction. He's been a golden child during his formative years and as a result of all of this it takes a mentally tough person not have an ego / inflated sense of self. Neymar doesn't have that toughness, clearly. But I'm not looking to him for leadership or to be a shining example to youth across the world, but to have his mercurial skills at our disposal would be nice for sure. Also, his fluidity on the pitch ties in well with AVBs approach of less rigid tactics and be that x factor we could badly use. And cockiness can also translate to fearlessness and after watching Anelka and Torres imitate a shrinking violet, this could be no bad thing. Sure he's a cock, but at least he would be our cock. I mean we have Ashley Cole don't forget and I pretty much hate the twat but still cheer him in the blue.
I don't know...crying and making a fuss over not being able to take a penalty? A few of the other "stories" too, can't recall. Balotelli is a 19 year old that acts like a 19 year old too...hmmm, he must not be a head-case then.
I teach 12 year olds more mature than their parents. You are overrating age, and acting like being 19 is some excuse. He dives constantly, has been involved in fights, looks like a complete twat. That said, he is unselfish on the pitch, plays hard, and seems like a professional. So yeah, he is a bit (<---see that sneak word, it also means things) of a headcase. Maybe your expectations of humanity are just lower than mine so headcase from me means something different than for you. Oh crap! That's exactly what I mean by arguing symantics. Funny how that worked...The simple fact is you could have just let it slide, but you always have to argue. Let me be more precise so you don't go digging through your post history and come back with "I have 38 posts in the last 2 months where I didn't argue." You often post in arguments with many of the posters, and it is often in completely trivial manners. I'm sure he really appreciates you sticking up for him though. (That was not serious, just want us to be clear on that.)
I'm not sure anyone can be in Neymar's position and stay humble, really. Still, you're right - we just care if he plays football. And, let's be honest, we have a lot more dicks at our club than just Ashley Cole. If Terry didn't play for us........
I just dont get excusing behavior by saying he is 19, he is an adult, not a 12 year old, and there have been a laundry list of incidents, which include the penalty sulk(which lasted the rest of the game) and lost his coach his job in the aftermath.
Yeah, that's the only reason Balotelli is labeled a headcase. Not the fighting with teammates, throwing shit at youth players, wearing Milan shirts while playing for Inter, attempting to kung-fu kick opponents in European matches, arguing with fans in the streets......and that's just part of the legend that is Super Mario.