It’s that time of the season again! Top Chelsea story of the day is Wayne Bridge’s move to Man City. When rumours surfaced in summer that Liverpool were looking to sign Bridge, I wanted him to stay. This time around, I think it’s win-win for all, especially because of the sum involved. If the rumours are to be believed it’s in the region of £12m. For a 28-year old perpetually second choice left back, £12m is a very handsome sum. This is an offer Chelsea FC cannot refuse, given the current market conditions.
If they have a good deal, no problem for me. I think it’s better you ask Peter [Kenyon], because Peter knows everything that has happened. I don’t know what has happened yesterday, today, and I have a meeting after training with Peter when I will ask about what has happened, if we have a deal or not. If any club wants to buy some players from Chelsea, offer big money because if you play in Chelsea you are very good and we need to receive a big offer. After we will discuss internally and if the player agrees, it is no more my job. I am a coach. Money is not my business, it is a business for the board and owner, not for me.
Though he almost sounds that transfers happen without his knowledge, I think all he is trying to say is that if too good an offer is received, it becomes more of a board decision than a manager’s decision. Interestingly, he does not refer to his role as that of a manager. He calls himself a ‘coach’ which sounds inferior to a ‘manager’. He comes from the continent and he seems to stick those principles and practices. Looks like he has no problem in Wayne Bridge leaving for Man City. That means the cover for Ashley Cole would be Ivanovic or Paulo Ferreira. Or it could be someone who might come in. While I was thinking in those lines, Scolari surprises us with this:
Now is the time for transfers, for speculation, everything. Now is the time, every day in the newspaper 10 players come, 10 players out, we expect [this] and we say something when we receive offers, or we offer for some players to come to Chelsea. Until now, nothing. If I want players, I never say to the press before I say to Peter. Any name in the newspaper is speculation, managers that want to sell players. With my mouth, nothing. I am happy with my players here, I don’t want other players.
Only a few weeks back, he said this:
We lack an organiser who can get hold of the ball, get forward and energise our front line. I just have players who work on the ball. Deco, Ballack and Lampard can all shoot but I don’t have a player who can dribble. There is no point in me weeping or moaning or seeking blame. I have to find a solution – and that is what I will do.
He had openly said that he wanted a ‘dribbling playmaker’. Now with the sale of Wayne Bridge, he’d have about £12m to spend. But today he clearly says that ‘he is happy with his players and he doesn’t want other players’. I’m not sure if he really means it. I think he would sign a player or two from the sale proceeds. Who else is up for sale? Not Paulo Ferreira, because Wayne Bridge is going. Ferreira has played as full back on either sides and even occasionally played as a centre back.
So Scolari retains his countryman. I don’t say this with my tongue-in-cheek. Between Wayne Bridge and Paulo Ferreira, it makes sense to transfer list Wayne because Paulo would never fetch something like £12m. As money is a matter of big concern, Wayne is on his way out. But, it’s also a gamble from Scolari. If, God forbid, Ashley Cole is not available for something like a champions league semi final, would you feel confident about Ferreira taking the field against the one of the best players in the world? As I said, that’s a gamble, unless Scolari has other ideas.
I would love to see Scolari rotate his players. If he’s going to wait for injuries and suspensions to bring on second choice players, some more would show impatience and would like to move elsewhere for first team opportunities. With Bridge out, our set of second choice players are Alex, Ivanovic and Ferreira. Alex is a want-away player. Ivanovic was want-away player. Ferriera does not add too much value now. There is a strong case for Scolari to keep rotating his players to keep them happy and engaged.
One bright spot is that Scolari has talked about using the youth players. He says Mancienne, Bruma and Sawyer are all training with him. That’s good news. If I had seen the names Sinclair, Fabio Paim and Di Santo, I’d have been happier. Capello picking Mancienne must have been a bit embarrassing for Chelsea FC. We should have considered players like Mancienne for matches against league one and league two opponents. Even with 4-0 up in 70 minutes, Scolari brings on only Ferreira, while he should have handed a start to Ferreira and subbed him with someone like Mancienne. If we haven’t used these youngsters in the first half of the season, I doubt if we would use them in the busy business end of the season!
There are also some other interesting Chelsea rumours. Here are the big ones:
Cash from Wayne Bridge sale to fund the purchase of Luiz Fabiano: Why Luiz Fabiano is my question! When Scolari has Drogba and Anelka, he is unwilling to play them together and he’s even gone on record with this admission. That would mean he’s not going to play a two-striker formation. With Drogba not leaving (surprisingly no transfer rumours surrounding Drogba), why would we need another striker of Fabiano’s calibre? I would dismiss this rumour.
Ben Arfa to be bought from Wayne Bridge sales: Ben Arfa is young and he is a left winger. He is quick and fiery. Known to be a troublemaker. Is it Ben Arfa that Scolari needs? I’m not too positive about Ben Arfa. I don’t think he can bring anything better than what Malouda or Kalou can. I’d say, let’s stay away from him.
Alex to be sold to fund the purchase of Kleber: Alex was rumoured to have handed the transfer request. After that, Roman was supposed to have had a talk with Alex to iron out things. I hope that must have happened already. With Bridge going out, Alex is in fact, very crucial. For that matter, all the defenders that we have now will have to be retained because of Wayne’s move. And to sell Alex to AC Milan for Kleber? 28-year old left back from Santos. I’ve never heard of him. If anyone of you know, let us all know.
Malouda to be swapped for Cicinho: Yet another Brazilian finding his name in the rumours concerning Chelsea. As far as I know Cicinho is a right back, a brazilian type I mean. Why another right back, that too of Cicinho’s quality? If Scolari thinks that Cicinho can also play as a winger, I’m not sure if it would work.
Roman keen to sign Yuri Zhirkov: With his own business connections, Roman can land Zhirkov in London if he really wishes but 25-year old Yuri is quite an important player for CSKA too. As a versatile left sided player, he could fit as a replacement for Wayne Bridge as well as Malouda. I would take Yuri ahead of a Fabiano or a Ben Arfa considering who we exactly need now. Only rumour that excited me today. I’d check how this one progresses.
Funnily, there is no ‘dribbling playmaker’ in any of these rumours. May be some of our playmakers learnt to dribble since Phil made that comment! Also I see that four out of five rumours involve a Brazilian or a Portuguese. One thing I want to say is that these are rumours. It’s not that I believe in all these. Some come true, some don’t. I just have given my tuppence on the rumours. That’s it.
And finally, we’ve got a match to win tomorrow. One good thing about tomorrow’s opponent is that they are not Bromley. After Barnsley and Burnley, a game against Bromley would have psyched me out. I remember Southend United eliminating a full-strength Man Utd from league cup few seasons back. Even without this anecdote, Chelsea won’t take Southend lightly because we’ve been ‘upsetted’ twice by lowly opponents in the last 12 months. Scolari can say whatever, but he needs to win this match, win this rather comfortably. I’d have been more comfortable with a premier league opponent than this league one team. I think the Chelsea team are becoming a bit complacent quite easily or even plain lethargic at times. Against a league one opponent, at Stamford Bridge, I feel jittery. I know it’s a shameful thing to say, but that’s how I feel.
Some players would not play the game tomorrow due to injury, suspension or rest. Cech, Terry, Ballack and Bosingwa may not be playing. Some youngsters could be played. Drogba would surely play. No matter who plays, we gotta win. Scolari wins no brownie points by winning this match but if he loses this one, it would be another black mark on his short Chelsea career. It wouldn’t be a disaster though if we drop out of the FA Cup. The crowd at Stamford Bridge would demand a performance to offset the disappointment against Burnley. Kick off is at 15:00 UK. Doubt if it’s televised. Knock them over, Phil! Chelsea to win 3-0.
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Yuri IS that dribbling playmaker that we should be considering who also happens to have the stamina of a horse, a wicked left foot (as well as a right boot), has massive amounts of creativity, and can also dub as a left-back and is adept at doing just that as he is naturally an attacking midfielder yet for Russia in 2008 Euros made the team of the tournament at left-back with his dazzling run and crunching tackles! He is absolutely ideal for our current predicament
we should beat southend 10-0. in the league up we went out to burnley at STAMFORD BRIDGE!! we can’t take another upset. even if we play our reserve team we must be winning this match. i feel sad that bridgey is leaving us. he’s been asuperb player for us. that leaves only a few more pre-abram players – terry, lamps, joey, carlo and who else?
no way yuri is a playmaker. he is a dribbler i agree but surely not a playmaker. he does not possess the vision for a playmaker. it is a tougher job than running along the flanks all day. it requires a lot of maturity and understanding of the game. no way he is a playmaker. not the one i know.
The problem is that dribbling playmakers are a rarity – some people think Messis, Ronaldos, and Kakas grow on trees, and maybe in Brazil, Argentina, and parts of Europe they do. However, we have yet to find these trees….
A lot of supporters I hear from say that we lack a true winger that can break down opposing defenses. I think we lack more than that – we lack a player that can break them down at all, regardless of where he plays on the pitch! Deco was our shot to do that early this year, and for several games it worked – until teams figured out that we would rather play 3 short passes around the pitch rather than one gamebreaking one. Our attack has slowed, and teams have been picking up the points on us, particularly at the Bridge, ever since.
I don’t know if Yuri or Ben Arfa, or even a home product like Stoch or Sinclair is the answer. I don’t kno wif we will find that answer this year, but if we don’t, expect big changes this summer as Scolari ships out a lot of players that don’t fit in his system as he looks to bring in more reliable samba style players.
That’s right. Yuri is not a play maker. He is just side man. He is never successful in the centre zone. He is just a winger and a wing back. He is not even an attacking midfielder so he can’t be a play maker. He is an out andout winger. He is very very good winger though.
by dribbling and opening up defenses he is a playmaker… having passing ability isn’t the only criteria it takes to be a playmaker… watch Yuri in the Euro’s and you’d understand what I am saying! He is a gem worth the time and the money that we could get him for… and a true playmaker in my eyes who also has the heart to hustle/ patrol up and down the left flank, helping A. Cole defend as well as combining to go on the attack.
and Yuri is an attacking midfielder… it’s even written in his descriptions…
So wayne is gone.I wish good luck for him in eastlands.Now is time for Malouda to leave chelsea.With this money scolari can bring what he wants.
BlueChampions=Ben arfa is far better than malouda and kalou.He is 21 years old and his dribbling ability is great and his speed fit EPL.
In my opinion we must buy Yuri and ben arfa.
Well I don’t follow French Ligue so much. I haven’t seen him play 90 minutes too often. I have pre-conception on the player because of his behaviour may be. He has too many bad stories about him for a 21-year old. Ben Arfa was left out of the 23-man squad for Euro 2008 and we think he could start for Chelsea? I don’t know. I need to see to believe. Lot of us are unhappy with Kalou, even after his 20 goals and 20 assists in 63 starts. Ben Arfa is no way near that. I guess he would be another SWP. At least SWP was a pure gentleman all along.
Anyone following the French ligue here can throw some light on this lad . . .
BC I doubt we will be getting Yuri Zhirkov because when at the press conference today with Scolari when he was asked about Zhirkov he said “Who?”, hes probably heard of him but if he were to be considering it at all he would atleast know who he was at first question, I presume Scolari is the one controlling who he wants so he wouldn’t ask “Who?” when questioned about a player he is considering.
Quoting Joe
Managers usually use tactics like this in order to keep their opponents from knowing who their next purchase is, possibly trying to prevent other clubs from “cock-blocking” the move. For a coach who was at the Euros, I highly doubt that Scolari has never heard of a man who was named in the Euro Team of the Tournament squad, is one of the most notable talents out of Eastern Europe as well as is a Ballon D’Or candidate! I wouldn’t be surprised if he makes the move to a big club this winter break as I’m surprised that he didn’t make a move in the summer, so hopefully the Russian makes his move towards the Bridge cause I would surely love to see the man done a Chelsea jersey and provide us with some of those streaking runs that we saw during the Euros and that cracking goal he scored against Hamburg when he dribbled past 3 or 4 defenders before megging the keeper. Yuri has the talent and is a full international so I don’t think that he would buckle under any pressure in terms of performing for Chelsea. Of course there will be a learning curve, but as I stated before, with his experience already having international caps, CL play and winning the UEFA Cup previously, the man seems to be a perfect fit in terms of what Chelsea need to have a new dimension of play.
Hopefully we are not serious about obtaining Fabiano though. Don’t get me wrong, he’s a great player but I’m just not sold on paying 20 MM on a 28 year old who hasn’t proven himself outside of Spain or in a major tournament to the extent that we need him. I would much rather someone with some type of relative youth so that we can squeeze four or five world class years out of them! I hear there is unrest with Rafael van der Vaart at Madrid, and although it is highly unlikely that he will make a move this winter… I have been dreaming of him in a Chelsea jersey since his days at Hamburg and I was sorely disappointed that we never made acquisitions about him when Hamburg let him go for 13 MM! That is a steal if I ever seen one for a player of his dynamics… talk about skillful, visionary and a future Ballon D’Or winner. That guy is a joy to watch so maybe we can swipe him from Spain as I always thought we should have considered him from when he made it clear he wanted to move to a CL team.
thats what i was thinking, id never heard of him, zhirkov to me just seems life bosingwa, i dont want anyone coming to chelsea who is of bad moral fibre, our players need to be respectable, for that reason i was angry with ashley cole but we do need both a left back and left winger
Ben Sahar goes in loan.. So day 2 saw two people going out of chelsea
we can have two in one (left back and left winger) with Yuri Zhirkov.. problem solved lol
Funny pic made me laugh a bit:
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2008/12/30/article-0-02EAD7ED000005DC-827_468x330.jpg
Scolari and DD finally seeing eye to eye?
we should get Yuri Zhirkov, Ben Arfa, Podolski/Zaki hopfully both
outs: Bridge, Malouda, Ferreira
well mikel should also be rested and try out mineiro scolari should play mancienne today
Ben arfa played well vs liverpool in the champions league.Scolari only need 2 winger that can dribble and cross the ball well.
Ben arfa is dribbler and Zhirkov crosses are great.Where is sinclair ?Is he going to play tonight.If scolari give him a chance he could be our Theo Walcot. Chelsea doctors said that Di santo will back in December ,but now we are in Jan and i never saw him even in the bench in the last game.
If Bridge indeed is leaving us, then I’d like to wish him well for all that he’s done for the blue flag. I personally remember that great goal he scored against the gunners at Highbury that not only knocked them out of the Champions League, it was also the only game they lost in their ‘invincible’ year. All the best Bridge, say hi to Ben Haim and Wright-Phillips for us!
Quoting Brian W
Well, I kinda agree with you Brian. We lack players that can break the defence of the opposition. With the same team last season or seasons before that we were able to notch up the wins. Scoring was never this difficult. I think the key was that Grant and Mourinho understood the players strengths and weaknesses and devised a plan or a tactic that suited the strengths of our players. Scolari has a certain way of playing and he wants the players to play to his plan irrespective of whether they are capable or equipped to do that. They are all top players so it could even be only a matter of practice for some.
First up, great theme BC. This one absolutely rocks. It is stylish, gentle and very professional looking. Great job man!
I always liked Wayne Bridge. Given a choice I would keep him. Scolari wants money now. Roman is not sanctioning anything. The only way Scolari can get money is through player sales. He can sell one of the second choice players. Who can he sell? Ferreira, Bridge, Alex, Ivanovic. He won’t sell Ferreira or Alex because they are Portuguese and Brazilian respectively. He won’t sell Ivanovic because he is more versatile. That leaves Wayne Bridge and Man City comes calling for him with 12 million pounds. It’s an easy choice for Scolari. It’s easy to see why he says ‘he won’t stand in the way’ for this transfer.
If Scolari does not trust Malouda or Kalou or Ballack, this is the time to sell them. If Scolari does not sell them, he should utilise them and make use of them fully. If he doesn’t sell them and then sound like they’ve been thrust on him, I won’t like that.
Quoting Vinton Lindo
Not all attacking midfielders are playmakers. I’m very certain that Zhirkov cannot be termed as a playmaker. He is a very good winger. Being a playmaker means much much more. Yuri is not even an attacking midfielder. I don’t care what his description (where?) says. He is not an attacking midfielder and certainly not a play maker.
zhirkov isnt a playmaker but he is able to get around his man which is what chelsea needed on the left wing. If anything malouda has better vision just not the speed/dribbling. Zhirkov reminds me of a brazilian wingers, ones that dont really cross but cut in, because he can also cross the ball he is more complete. His ability to play as LB is important in that it gives chelsea options.
Ben Arfa is probably one of the best wingers in france but his biggest problem is attitude, he has problems with benzema, nasri and some other french players and thats why he was not in the french line up, that and france already had wingers with more experience then him. I wouldnt want him in chelsea though because he is definitely like anelka in his early years.
Mancienne was on loan and only recently was recalled so thats why he hadnt featured at all. Also capello called mancienne up for the same reason walcott was called, he isnt ready but its important to give young players time with the current crop so they can get comfortable being around super stars. Ben Sahar has been loaned out to a crap team near relegation which is what he needs. The pressure to perform and regular playing time against teams with better players then his. The other youngsters i expect stoch and maybe a good left back from the reserves to even get a shot. Stoch isnt as good as di santo but plays a faster game.
Chelseas attack style has slowed down considerably, this was partly because the current way we play means more on the ground breaking down work but also drogba wasnt there to allow the early ball. Another reason for chelsea slowness is that many of the players are used to one way of playing that is ingrained in their minds, the positioning, running, tactics and general movement for another style will take time to adapt to. The way chelsea is playing means that the task of improving will come down to how fast the players adapt and how good of a coach scolari really is.
Dont be surprised by scolari having little input in how players are bought, at best he can make reccomendations for this or that player but the final decision is the boards. Its not like Football manager where you have control over who is chosen. A coach comes in requests a good striker or whatever and maybe has a list of players he wants, the boards then looks it over and decides on the best player that they can afford
http://www.chelseafc.com/page/LatestNews/0,,10268~1506904,00.html
seems like bridge is on the way out…
we need the following: Zhirkov, zaki(if we are going to play 4-4-2) and a decent right winger, maybe sheweinsteiger.
this would be the best chelsea formation:
———————————————cech—————————————
bosingwa——————–carvalho————–terry————————-cole
——————————————–mikel————————————–
————————ballack/deco——————-lampard———————–
—essien/cole/bastian—————————————————–zhirkov/malouda
————————————–drogba/zaki———————————————–
Quoting isg
Fair enough. It’s not like the Football Manager the same way life is not like the movies. But a manager of Scolari’s stature would not only be able to make recommendations but also insist on certain signings. Just like the way Phil did for Robinho. Unless the relationship between Roman and Phil is as bad as the one between Roman and Jose, Scolari would have a big say on who’s being bought or sold. I don’t see someone being bought while Scolari doesn’t actually want him. No way. Look at the recent buys and near buys. It’s Scolari written all over those transfer moves. Bosingwa (I think Hile had a say there), Deco, Fabio Paim, Mineiro, Robinho (missed one) etc.
@1 | Vinton Lindo
Gotta agree wit you, I think Yuri Zhirkov is a superb player and he would give our current squad big boost if he join us! Andre Arshavin, in the right formation would take the world by storm. He seem to be destined to go to ars, but I would love to se him wit a chelsea shirt=)
Ben Arfa, is a big headed brat, but u cant take away his talent. BUT i dont think he would make his present felt in our current squad. We dont need to many changes, I want us to click and play consisten teamball from now on.
Aite mates..
im 100% certain that bosingwa was avram grants signing. Avram also preferred the attacking Fullbacks, just not as far up as scolari does. Its the reason essien was used as a fullback over ferriera and belletti, essien was able to dribble and run from Rb something belletti isnt really able to and ferreira isnt comfortable doing. Avram originally wanted alves but wasnt prepared to fork over 30million euros so he opted for bosingwa. Deco was an easy decision for chelsea since he is a big name and came cheap. Also many of scolari’s players came in before the financial problems came about. Im not sure if chelsea has a technical director after they promoted then fired avram grant(who as a technical director didnt do too badly, but as a coach was generally too defensive, that and he followed up on mourinho the first coach to win chelsea the PL for ages).
After reading Luis Fabiano profile from wikipedia ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lu%C3%ADs_Fabiano) , I am convinced that we can end up with more red cards . English defender will man mark him more than La Liga .. LFS should also practise 10 player combination..
Luis Fabiano is too expensive,with that money we can buy more players,by the way we need a winger or a dribbler second striker.
Podolski!!!!!!!!!!!
What does this mean? There is no rumour about Podolski wrto Chelsea. Or do you have any inside info? Don’t raise our expectations like this!
Quoting krasicklasnic
man im just saying instead of going for expensive Fabiano… Podolski is a lot cheaper … with proven crentials!! you dig?
so im just implying why aren’t we after this guy … he quick powerful … very good infront of goal… long shot short shots .. can play out wide…. but its seems the old man wants to turn us in the brazilian national team
Podolski is like a rooney but with a better attitude more like ballack
Quoting denver
Its Rooney attitude that makes him a great player.Personally its the player i like more from MU to watch with that “never die” attitude.
Quoting ish
I still feel that Bosingwa was Scolari’s signing. Dani Alves was not Grant’s idea. It was JM who was chasing Alves but when Sevilla demanded too much he backed out. Also Grant played Essien at right back because JM did it with reasonable success. Grant did not have a track record of using attacking full backs. When Bosingwa was signed on 11-May-2008 (the last match day of the photo-finish premier league), we had only the champions league final to be played. By that time, it was quite clear that Grant would go. Even if we had won the champions league, Grant would have gone (just like Capello was sacked after the long-awaited la liga title for Real Madrid). The decision to sack Grant must have been taken long back, just like it happens for every manager. That being the situation, I don’t think it would have been Grant’s purchase. Also remember, we learnt as early as 3-June that Scolari was going to be Chelsea’s new manager. I can imagine that that the discussions would have been over a few days or weeks ahead, even when Grant was in charge. Also if you see, Scolari could have wanted a new defender (Bosingwa), a new midfielder (Deco) and a new forward (Robinho) – all of whom had played under him. That’s my guess!
BC!!… what the hell happen to the ‘bc shout out link’???
Denver – Thanks for reminding me! Now it is there in each comment box!
cant find the shout
Quoting Talbott
If you are a play that makes plays with your runs then you are a playmaker! Robinho and Messi are playmakers set they don’t pass the ball likeXavi or Lampard or any of those mold types! Being a playmaker in the fashion you’re thinking about in the traditional sense is not the only way to be a playmaker. Breaking down defenses and making one two passes to split three or four guys to make goal opportunities is considered being a playmaker to me and a lot of people I play football with.
BlueFan#1
Here is the link for BC Shout. This link is also now in all comment boxes. Check the sub-text. I’d put it in a much more prominent place later on.
Out: Malouda,Ferreiera
In: Ben Arfa,Zhirkov,Podolski/Fabiano
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Dzagoev
read the last para carefully