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Posted:
Sat May 20, 2006 4:54 pmby Bad Bob
Scottbot wrote:Bad Bob wrote:The key is to staying within touching distance of the leaders all season so that we can be in a position to overtake down the home stretch. I don't see us--nor would I relish us--leading the pack into the home stretch and looking over our shoulder...the nerves associated with that would do me in!
Thats a decent shout Bob. I agree our best chance will be a close fought contest before jumping ahead and stealing the crown in the last few games.
Yeah, let's hope the schedule-maker is kind to us this summer. Let's play Chelsea, the Mancs and Arsenal in well-spaced out intervals away from the major fixture pile-up points (but after we've developed some form!). And, let's have a nice doable run-in against the likes of Machester City and Villa while those 3 are battling it out with each other. We can dream, yeah?
Posted:
Wed May 24, 2006 9:17 pmby Scottbot
Bumped this because i'd like to hear a few more opinions on our rivals in the title race next season. What's your take on chelsea, United and Arsenal next season?
Posted:
Wed May 24, 2006 9:27 pmby Cool Hand Luke
One thing that has been circulating in my mind lately is Chelsea and the players they have currently.
Most positions seem good, but at centre back they have Gallas who has one year left on his contract and has openly stated he wants to leave, Huth is a good 4th choice but looks certain to leave, Ricardo Carvalho has made noises about moving to a club were he can be guaranteed a spot.
In terms of strikers, Drogba has said he would like to leave, Crespo has never been happy and looks like he will move, C.Cole looks like he will move and Eidur Gudjonsson is also leaving
I expect Shaun Wright Philips may be willing to give it another season, and I’m sure Robben will be happy to stay next year, so no real problems there.
But the centre backs and strikers are a huge issue for Chelsea. You really don’t want unhappy players who don’t want to be there in the starting 11, even having players like that at the club will hurt you.
High player turnover may become a common thing at Chelsea and some players may refuse to go there because there isn’t much opportunity to break into the first team.
I suspect that the “3 in and 3 out” plan is out the window. Jose Mourinho sure has some work to do this summer in assembling a happy and motivated squad in time for the first league game
Posted:
Wed May 24, 2006 9:29 pmby A.B.
Chelsea - obviously they have strengthened with the signing of Ballack and could be even more stronger if they sign Shevchenko. However the pair of them are reaching their peek, Ballack will turn 30 soon and Sheva already is 30. Not the long term future for the Chelsea side. While they have strengthened, I believe that it will be even more difficult for them to win the league.
Last season they had a better squad than they did the year before but the gap between us was only nine points and with Manure only eight. I think it will be even more closer this year. Even Mourinho has said that it was very difficult to motivate the players this season, and he was thinking of quiting on two occasions. I think that this problems will continue to grow at the Chelsea camp.
There are players that want to leave but Chelsea don't want to let them go. They can afford to let them rot away on the bench. Terry and Lampard have both got a wage increase in order to compete with Ballack. It seems that the team is starting to develop an ego.
Man Utd - despite having a 
midfield they finished second in the league. It's mostly due to Rooney's brilliance, he's been scoring goals and setting up others. Up front they have no problems, and even at the back with Ferdinand who has been shambles this season, they've conceded six goals more than we have. Heinze is a great defender imo, the best left-back in England and perhaps in Europe. With him they will be even more solid and if they get rid of the tit Silvestre they will be a bit more solid.
Their main problem is of course in midfield. Scholes is having problem with is vision and while Smith,Giggs and O'Shea might do the job against the smaller teams in central midfield they certainly won't do it agains the big guns. They need an enforcer in that position. If they get that then they will be a bigger threat next year. I hear that they are looking to sign Diarra from Lyon who seems to be the player they are missing.
Arsenal - Their driving force this past season was Henry. They are very lucky to have them and should be happy that he's stayed with them otherwise I think they would had been outside the top four had Henry decided to leave.
They have a young squad, one for the future but I do not think that they will be capable of making a huge challenge for the title. They still don't know how to play against physical sides and most teams in the Premiership know how to prevent them from playing their football. They are going to struggle if they don't sign a midfielder to replace Vieira. They have missed that kind of player in the physical scraps.
Rosicky is a good player but he's not exactly what Arsenal need in central midfield. Fabregas is young and a good little player but he isn't an enforcer either. They need some inspiration in midfield and so far they haven't found it. As much as they slated Viera after his performance for Juventus against them, they have missed him immensly.
Posted:
Wed May 24, 2006 9:42 pmby Igor Zidane
Cool Hand Luke wrote:One thing that has been circulating in my mind lately is Chelsea and the players they have currently.
Most positions seem good, but at centre back they have Gallas who has one year left on his contract and has openly stated he wants to leave, Huth is a good 4th choice but looks certain to leave, Ricardo Carvalho has made noises about moving to a club were he can be guaranteed a spot.
In terms of strikers, Drogba has said he would like to leave, Crespo has never been happy and looks like he will move, C.Cole looks like he will move and Eidur Gudjonsson is also leaving
I expect Shaun Wright Philips may be willing to give it another season, and I’m sure Robben will be happy to stay next year, so no real problems there.
But the centre backs and strikers are a huge issue for Chelsea. You really don’t want unhappy players who don’t want to be there in the starting 11, even having players like that at the club will hurt you.
High player turnover may become a common thing at Chelsea and some players may refuse to go there because there isn’t much opportunity to break into the first team.
I suspect that the “3 in and 3 out” plan is out the window. Jose Mourinho sure has some work to do this summer in assembling a happy and motivated squad in time for the first league game
That's a cracking point mate.
Are we now seeing the signs of the Chelsea band wagon's wheels fall off. All these star players on very high wages being happy to be rotated and sit on the bench for games on end. Like most players , there stating to find out why there in the game. Because they love playing football. No matter how many medals you win ,it still must be sh!te watching it from the sideline , ask SWP or Joe cole. . Don't get me wrong Chelsea will buy big again and strengthen there squad , but they won't have the strength in depth as they have done, if the pkayers mentioned do leave.
Posted:
Wed May 24, 2006 9:51 pmby ivor_the_injun
I'm very interested that Chelsea are trying to sign Roberto Carlos on a 3 year deal. He's 33, clearly in decline, and has been known to cause a bit of unrest in the dressing room in his time.
He'll sell them some shirts, and will get them a bit more coverage overseas, for sure, but I just can't see the logic behind it from a footballing point of view. All it takes is one big-head behind the scenes, and the cracks will begin to show. And let's face it, they're already there. With the potential for Ballack/Lampard compatibility problems, Drogba and Gallas looking to move, Gudjohnsen being told that he's surplus to requirements, not to mention the fact that SWP and Robben want games that they're not getting, Maureen's really got a lot on his plate this summer.
I genuinely wonder if the honeymoon's over for them. Fine, they can afford who they want, but not every player will click into place instantly, if at all.
Posted:
Wed May 24, 2006 10:50 pmby 48-1119859832
ivor_the_injun wrote:I'm very interested that Chelsea are trying to sign Roberto Carlos on a 3 year deal. He's 33, clearly in decline, and has been known to cause a bit of unrest in the dressing room in his time.
He'll sell them some shirts, and will get them a bit more coverage overseas, for sure, but I just can't see the logic behind it from a footballing point of view. All it takes is one big-head behind the scenes, and the cracks will begin to show. And let's face it, they're already there. With the potential for Ballack/Lampard compatibility problems, Drogba and Gallas looking to move, Gudjohnsen being told that he's surplus to requirements, not to mention the fact that SWP and Robben want games that they're not getting, Maureen's really got a lot on his plate this summer.
I genuinely wonder if the honeymoon's over for them. Fine, they can afford who they want, but not every player will click into place instantly, if at all.
Good points.
I generally think Mourinho is the problem. For starters I don't think he appreciates his team enough. His counter parts all do it, Benitez, Wenger and Ferguson. All Mourinho does is praise him and brag about how great he is in pre or post match interviews (when he does them). He never acknowledges his players.
His un-sporting and un-professional behaviour is bound to cause a few problems. I read a while back that Mourinho doesn't get on with Peter Kenyon, if this is the case and the two men near the top are not getting along it will have crippling affects on the lower tiers of Chelsea, e.g. managerial staff, players and then the fans.
Chelsea are pretty much a ticking time bomb unless they get rid of Mourinho and sell off the players that are surplus to requirements.
Posted:
Fri May 26, 2006 9:08 pmby coolsobs
ivor_the_injun wrote:I'm very interested that Chelsea are trying to sign Roberto Carlos on a 3 year deal. He's 33, clearly in decline, and has been known to cause a bit of unrest in the dressing room in his time.
He'll sell them some shirts, and will get them a bit more coverage overseas, for sure, but I just can't see the logic behind it from a footballing point of view. All it takes is one big-head behind the scenes, and the cracks will begin to show. And let's face it, they're already there. With the potential for Ballack/Lampard compatibility problems, Drogba and Gallas looking to move, Gudjohnsen being told that he's surplus to requirements, not to mention the fact that SWP and Robben want games that they're not getting, Maureen's really got a lot on his plate this summer.
I genuinely wonder if the honeymoon's over for them. Fine, they can afford who they want, but not every player will click into place instantly, if at all.
I disagree, I've seen roberto carlos play a few times this season and when ever i've seen him play the age hasn't shown and he is clearly better than del horno anyway.
With chelsea seemingly about to buy shevchenko, their weakest point has now arguably become their strongest, and I can't really see us catching them this season. 
Posted:
Fri May 26, 2006 9:13 pmby redsince2001
i fecking hate the league buyers....
Posted:
Fri May 26, 2006 9:23 pmby A.B.
Roberto Carlos - 30
Ballack - 30
Shevchenko - 30
All three of these players are hardly young anymore, and with such age they will find it even more difficult to settle in the Premiership than they would had at a younger age. Hardly buying for the future are they?
I don't see why they need Roberto Carlos, while he is better than Del Horno he isn't exactly the best at defending now is he?
There will be a lot of problems in the locker-room, egos are growing and it will explode.
Posted:
Fri May 26, 2006 9:56 pmby 48-1119859832
A.B,
I think that Chelsea will sign these kind of players to boost revenue and offer the youngsters at the club a chance to learn from players who have been playing in that particular position for years. The youngsters will be able to get advice from the likes of Carlos (if he signs), Shevchenko (when he signs) and Ballack who are masters of the trade.
So it's not only a footballing move by Mourinho it's also a move to promote financial gain for Chelsea, so in theory it's a smart move but will it be in reality? That's the question.
Posted:
Fri May 26, 2006 10:29 pmby puroresu
Shevchenko will score so many goals in the Premiership. Would love him at Anfield.
Posted:
Fri May 26, 2006 10:42 pmby 48-1119859832
Maybe he will, maybe he won't but there's only one way to find out.
Posted:
Fri May 26, 2006 11:01 pmby weringo
Even though he's playing for the chelsea scum, im quite looking forward to seeing Shevchenko in the premiership next season. Its like watching Henry, even tho he plays for another team he is still great to watch
Posted:
Fri May 26, 2006 11:07 pmby Bad Bob
weringo wrote:Even though he's playing for the chelsea scum, im quite looking forward to seeing Shevchenko in the premiership next season. Its like watching Henry, even tho he plays for another team he is still great to watch
Ordinarily I'd agree with you, as I rate Sheva--much like I rate Henry (on the pitch rather than with a mike in front of him)--but I will never enjoy watching anyone score for Chelsea under any circumstances ever. He could score hat tricks against the Manc Scum and Neverton home and away next season and I wouldn't applaud him. 