I'd still try to go for him and see what happens. I guess the fact that Gerrard decided to stay convinced Essien he'd get a chance to play in Chelsea...
If United is truly interested in Essien, it makes sense to wait until Lyon receives a bid that they consider. Chelsea can outbid United but once the lowest acceptable bid is known, the player may choose United. That is, of course, if this new found love of Chelsea is a ploy.
this could maybe what we are doing, waiting till chelsea get essien before making our move on ballack or baptista, i hope so anyway, getting either of them will mean a very good summer.
I think some of you are underestimating Glazer's ability to borrow large sums of money in order to purchase things which he can't realistically afford. I think he's probably more skilled in risking huge debt to get what he wants than actual money that Roman has.
why would he want to goto chelsea, wtf? he won't start ahead of lamps or big mak, why would he risk fucking up his career?
Let's all say it together: flake. I mean, you want to play for Chelsea and make some cash...that's great and all. But who the hell believes you when you switch your preference so easily?
They can have the fool. Let us then get someone else. Anyone who wants to go to Chelsea (seeing as 50k a week from Us or any other big club as opposed to however they get at Chelsea is still more than any of us make, greedy bastards) can take a flying leap as far as I am conserned; they are not footballers they are greedy Mafia pigs.
Ok, I happen to think Essien's full of crap, but to be fair: I understand a player wanting to play with the best players in the world. Right now, such a player would choose Chelsea over Man Utd.
Does anyone still believe a player when he says it's "my dream to play for" and "i'm proud to sign for" and "I've always wanted to be a part of..."? I think that there's a misconception out there that somehow players still actually care who they play for and have loyalty for that club. There's about one of those players are every big club, but no more. Players want to make lots of ₤, $, € whatever, they want to get big sponsorship deals and want to win trophies. About 10-15 European clubs give players a realistic shot at all three. About half of those clubs are in nicer cities that the others, so there's an advantage there. And with agents getting a piece of the transfer fee, many players will be in motion throughout their careers.
Who can blame him....... With hundreds of millions being thrown around in the transfer market, who wouldn't want to play for a Russian thug and his greasy egomaniacal lackey...........
To be fair, most of us go where we get the most money. As fans, we want to hold players to a higher standard. We expect players to care about playing time and trophies and their legacy. But the truth is that trophies are hard to come by and legacies are talked about after you're gone. Money is for right now. Essien's value will probably never be higher than it is right now. (That is unless another gazillionaire buys a team and further inflates player values.) He wants the money and its within his grasp. As good as he may be, don't we already have enough players like this at United? (Paging Rio.)
The more I think about it, the more I'm beginning to realize how interesting this season will be - firstly, the trend of very young players with great potential being attracted to a team that only just won the league. We all know that the most difficult seasons for a team are those that follow winning the premiership....winning so easily only brings complacency. New, cocky young players going to Chelsea could really damage them in the long run. Or maybe this is just wishful thinking.
I actually know, fairly well, a couple of professional athletes who play at a fairly high level (not soccer). I do not think you are correct. Both of these guys, I think, are more likely to "take the money." That does not mean they do not care who they play for. They do care - it's just less important than the money. Neither of these guys is superstars, but both make very good livings. The way they look at it (and I've explicitly had a conversation about this with one of them), they've only got one shot to take care of themselves for the rest of their lives...and to succeed at the biggest stage they'll ever be on. Under those circumstances, I think you can understand loyalty being less important than (a) ambition and (b) money. It's not that it's gone, or that they're indifferent to where they're playing...it just gets trumped. So your statement is partly true, but not entirely - unless the two guys I know are unrepresentative.
I find it interesting that there are those that are shocked that a player would change his mind and go for more money. Given the option so would most of us. As far as Chelsea goes, they have a very good coach, bordering on being a great coach. I think he needs to be successful for a little longer to be called great, but he's on his way. The organizaton has money, lots of money. Go to any league and the best players always want to play for those types of teams. They have the best chance of winning. Period. Being Canadian I'm not really linked to anyone team but I favour several and ManU is one of them. Being totally honest, Chelsea is the better team, last year and by the looks of it, this year as well. More cash, better team, better chance of winning titles. No brainer.
Actually, if I had publicially stated that I loved Manchester United I would attempt to appeal to them more (or is that illegal?) instead of changing my mind for a few more euros (which I remind everyone that a moderate salary at Manchester United is still damn good
Go on, give us a laugh. in what positions precisely are Chelsea better than United. I'll give you goalkeeper by a bit. I'd take our strikers over theirs. I don't see much difference.
Oh grow up. This whole thread is fairly amusing in that all it does is bash Chelsea for........showing interest in a player. Essien once said he like Cantona. And apparently got nothing from Manchester United - no interest, no inqiuiries, nothing. So what's he supposed to do, pine for the fjords of ManUtd? If you're going to be this arrogant, no wonder you're not attracting the players yout think you should. Being "ManUtd" is one chip in on the barganing table, not the end all of all that players want. You actually have to follow up and make an effort rather than demand that players crawl on their hands and knees for the chance to kiss the hem of Fergie's skirts. Essien's being given a chance to play for a club that has reached the CL finals two years running and that has just won the EPL. A club interested in improving itself by being aggressive in the transfer market and one which will give him a large sum of money. Having though it over, yeah, why wouldn't he want to join us? Because he liked another club when he was young? Try again. You actually have a decent football head on your shoulders, despite being a royal ass, so this makes me wonder if you're posting stoned. Tiago started over 20 games for us last season. If a player like Essien doesn't think he can beat out Tiago for a starting spot, he has no business on any big club. Oh, and I suppose going to ManUtd where Keane is ensconced is a sure way to not "fvcing up his career", right? Look at how well that went for Veron! The table, two years running.