Taking the Muscles out of Brussels- The Chelsea Transfer Thread

Wouldn't surprise me. Still a good player on relatively low wages, I imagine, though his last two clubs were Liverpool and Chelsea. He could go the Turkey route or maybe make a killing in the Middle East.

 

Don't thinks thats on the cards from a geo-political standpoint, but he could always go home.

 

i'd pay good money to see yossi play in the UAE

 

fern, with Yossi likely leaving, and Drogs, Kalou, Bos all gone, and likely a couple more gone and others on loan (KDB, Lukaku), how many more do you think we bring in (with Hazard, Marin) and at what positions?

 

Wow, thanks. Do you think Piazon is better than KDB? Great response, gracias.

 

Great post, Fern, as usual, but I will offer a slightly different take on our current situation in defense.

With JT, Luiz, and Cahill we may have the best group of three CBs of any team in the league. With Ivan for cover, yes, we would be set in that area if not for the possibility of a lengthy ban for JT and the injury tendencies of both JT and Luiz. We've seen time and again that we end up scrambling for cover in central defense in January when the fixtures come fast and players are out injured; my sense is that if JT is suspended and Luiz plays in the Olympics, we may find ourselves in a similar situation early in this season. There's a reasonably good chance that we'll have to play with Cahill and Ivan in the middle fairly regularly this year, unless, that is, we add at CB.

Now, Ivan has played wonderfully at RB, which was a surprise when he arrived, but that really is his position now, and he hasn't really looked that good when moved back to the center recently. A decent run of games in that position would probably bring him around, but do we want to take such a stellar RB and move him out of position for a long period? I say no.

To me this means that both RB and CB need to be addressed in one way or another. It could be by holding on to Bruma or Kalas, but that seems unlikely, since both will want to play regularly and both should do for their development. A better option would be to bring in a young, hungry RB who can compete with Ivan and allow him rest (which he's going to need if we don't buy at CB) and also an older, experienced CB who would be happy to fill in at times for an injured or suspended JT or Luiz. Such a purchase could certainly wait until after the results of JTs trial and the FA's intentions become known.

 

We don't need any more defensive midfielders even if Essien moves on. Under RDM's system Lampard has basically been playing as a quasi-defensive midfielder anyway, almost like an analog to Pirlo. With more wide players coming in and the fulcrum turning higher up the pitch, that's likely to continue and will almost certainly prolong Frank's career, not unlike what has United have done with Scholes. That leaves us Romeu, Mikel, Frank and Meireles as the 2 CMs, with Ramires more than capable playing there in games where we don't need two CMs. The only way we'd buy a CM is it was more of a deep-lying playmaker, such as in the Xabi Alonso mold, but I don't think that's happening - we certainly haven't been linked with one.
We're also clearly going to buy one more forward, since we still have no one to play on the right. However, I suspect it'll be more of a winger than a forward, because wingers who play very high up the flank don't seem to fit RDM's formation, which is why Sturridge saw his playing time decrease. Sturridge was passable on the right in a 4-3-3 because he played up the pitch closer to the goal, but he was basically awful in a 4-2-3-1 when he had to actually defend and play further from the right. He's ultimately a 4-4-2 player, most likely, but he'll get his shot as the only player up top. Therefore we need someone who fits more into a 4-2-3-1, and I still think Hulk is a very reasonable option there, though obviously we're now being linked with Jovetic. Getting someone will certainly help though.
RB is an obvious need, though it's not clear whom we'd get. I actually thought VdW was one of the few Dutch players not to embarrass himself at the Euros, but he rarely goes forward because Robben doesn't passing to fullbacks anyway. He certainly neutralized Podolski, although that's not hard - he's completely miscast on the wing. I don't think I've ever actually seen Azilpicueta, so can't comment on him, though Debuchy did look pretty decent against England, even if AOC shouldn't have started. Then again, while RB is an area of need, it's not a drastic one, unless Ivan decides to punch more people during the season.
As for Dzagoev, I honestly don't see us buying him. He's not a Lampard like player - he makes great runs and is energetic, but he doesn't control play the way Frank does. He, along with most of Russia's attacking players like long runs and playing on the counter, which isn't the same. He's a good player, but I don't think we have a place for him.

 

Arsenal is already linked with DZag, with some mentioning they have made a bid also. That's last thing I wanted to hear.

 

Maicon, Messi, Falcao. Boom.

 

Indeed, to be fair Arshavin was quite good in his first half season, and pretty good in his first full season. He looked to have lost a lot of his explosiveness and confidence at Arsenal. I hardly think it's a fair comparison to make.

 

Given how little Wenger likes to spend on "big" names, that's unlikely. I don't understand that club at all right now - why buy Podolski and sniff around Giroud? Are they going back to a 4-4-2??

Yes, although Arshavin's problem is that he's fundamentally lazy. The second half of the Poland game he stopped tracking back and passing. I doubt Dzagoev has those qualities just yet.

I'm not at all arguing that Dzagoev is a bad player or doesn't pass, I just don't think he remotely does the same thing that Lampard does. While as I said, I don't see Arsenal signing him, he would be a good fit for their system in my opinion. If we did buy Dzagoev, it would be for the right side of a 4-2-3-1........but I'm not sure that's where his best position ultimately is. I don't see him here, but I wouldn't really complain if we bought him.

 

Has there been any discussion about Javi Martinez? He's young, talented, and could cover both defensive mid and center-back if need be.

 

I just hope we wrap up the Hulk deal.

 

Dzagoev is a self-professed Chelsea fan. It'd be a bummer to see him go and excell at one of our rivals. Plus, I think if you're a fan of a team, and have been for many years, you tend to give that extra 10% effort.

 

Piszceck or Azpilicueta, Jovetic or Hulk or Dzagoev, Cavani or Falcao. Boom

 

I'd say it's around 14%.

 

True. Now for Lukaku, I am not sure if it was lack of talent or effort ......

 

i think his case is more timing then anything. A bit slow for his age and size but looks to be a player that will excel once in his 20s. Problem is what to do with him till he finds himself?