Who Next?

                   Pep Guardiola is heading for the job at Bayern Munich. Now who will be Chelsea's next manager?

                   It is a worrying thought. Chelsea have seemingly been set on landing Guardiola as the new man to fill the permanent managerial position, one that has interchanged so much under the Abramovich era. And this is the concerning part. Any big manager will be looking at the position with at least a little hesitation, even Brendan Rodgers revealed that he was looking to "build his career, not destroy it.", when asked about a possible link with Chelsea. Then he ended up at Liverpool (lol).

                   The point is is that there are not many managers out there with the calibre to manage a top side such as Chelsea that haven't already been sacked by Roman himself. And the few who do must be more than dubious over the vacant spot, take Joachim Low for example, who's words were similar to that of the Liverpool manager.

                   So the board must turn to alternative options, perhaps looking at a younger, up coming but less proven managers. Some pundits reckon the former blue himself Gus Poyet may be on the cards. He has had a terrific time managing Brighton, steering them away from relegation to then guide them to promotion on his first full season as a manager. Next season, Poyet's team only just missed out on play off's in the Championships, and he was given the Outstanding Managerial Achievement award. 
                   Michael Laudrup and Jorgen Klopp of Borussia Dortmund have been gossiped in the papers as well as David Moyes. Moyes is a manager who has built a very solid team with Everton over the years, one that has challenged for top six spots over the past few seasons despite dealing on a very minimal budget. It would be interesting to see what he would do with Chelsea's acquisitions at his disposal.
                   Of course, after a recent run of poor form and another League run that hasn't gone our way, most Chelsea fans are singing the name of a certain former manager who shot us to the top in the first place (with the help of a Abramovich's funds). Travel 1000 miles south to Madrid, where one of the biggest clubs in Europe are having an atrocious season by their standards, already trailing 15 points behind their rivals. The fans and media start to murmur the name of who they think is responsible, Jose Mourinho. The man most loved by all Chelsea fans, has now a 'rift' with the Madrid dressing room and is now on borrowed time, if reports are to be believed. Media gossip it may be, but after his peculiar actions (benching Casillas) and a poor League run a sacking wouldn't be out of the question. 
                   Now, suppose this does happen. Would Abramovich ever welcome the Portuguese man back? It seems like Mourinho is the only man who could please the fans right now; however, we all know Roman is not one to be too concerned with the fan's opinion, and the problem is still there. The boss wants success, but in a beautiful way. Mourinho on the other hand, bought success as a result of a team focused on organisation and a strong defence. I'm still not convinced that Mourinho would be able to bring attractive football to the premier league, although he still speaks of his "special bond" with Chelsea and his admiration for the English game. The summer is going to be interesting, but for now it looks like we're committed with Benitez.

Why Demba Ba makes sense...

Will Ba be waving goodbye to Newcastle?

Why Demba Ba?

                    Some fans have been quite sceptical over our pursuit of Demba Ba, especially considering we have been linked with hot prospects like Falcao and Cavani. It's obvious we need backup in the centre forward region, as even an in-form Torres (which I'm still skeptical about) has to have competition for his first team spot. And with Sturridge leaving, Torres will be our sole striker. So why Demba Ba over the big names Chelsea have been courting?

• Money-

 simple point, but an important one too when you consider that FFP is dawning over us. Ba would cost us £7-7.5m in transfer fees, about three quarters of what we are receiving from the deal for Sturridge. Of course Ba's wages will probably range from about 10-20k/week more than Sturridge's, but a wage of around 70-90k/week is certainly a lot less of a hit than the 150k/week we are reportedly willing to lure Falcao with.                                                                                                                                                          I am also not a fan of splashing over £40m on a striker. With huge prices come huge pressure and responsibility- many think this is why Torres could not replicate his form at Chelsea. I would like to think that Falcao is strong enough to deal with the constant media strain that would follow his every move, but who knows? Maybe Falcao would also not be able continue his fantastic goal scoring form wearing the blue shirt. And we definitely don't need to persevere with yet another expensive mistake. Big price tags don't alway bring big results.

• Repute-                                                                                                                                        
More big names like Falcao and Cavani would lead to unhappiness over the teamsheet. And with more top names coming in it will block some of our bright young talents (I'm pretty much specifically referring to Romelu Lukaku here) ever seeing the light of the first team. Ba not being such a huge name, it wouldn't be so objectionable to see him on the bench every now and again. If he won't start, he will still be adding some much needed depth to our centre forward role. And at 27 years old, he has a few years at his prime before he starts to decline with age, which would lead us to a 23/24 year old Lukaku, who hopefully by then has developed into a top class act.

• Tactics-                                                                                                                                       
Torres often disappears in games when the defence sits deep as he is unable to run behind the line. He then often gets pushed out to the wings just so he can get on the ball, and when he does, he loses it very often. Ba would give an alternative tactically and perhaps solve this issue. He adds more power and industry to our attack and can fire quick and accurate shots from the edge of the box. 

• Proven-

This isn't the most important point, but I do feel that Demba Ba has proved himself as a top goalscorer in the Premier League, unlike Falcao or Cavani. I'm definitely not stating that these strikers couldn't transfer their skills into the English League, but buying a player who has already proved that he can it reduces the gamble that Chelsea take when dishing out their transfer money.

• What Torres hasn't-

Ba is not afraid to shoot, which I feel has been one of Torres's problems. He seems timid an afraid to have a pop out goal, whether it be outside or inside the box. To be fair to Torres, he has improved, now having a shot on goal every 22.25 minutes, before Rafa's controversial appointment he logged a shot every 50.8 minutes- which is a measly one or two per game. Most Chelsea fans have been boasting that Torres has now had 13 goals this season. Well, Ba has also now clocked up 13 goals, and in ten less appearances. 

                       My prediction will be that Demba Ba will come to Chelsea as expected this January, rotating with Torres or maybe acting as a backup depending on the number 9's form. At the moment, it looks like Demba will probably add some much needed depth in Fernando's position until the summer, where Chelsea will most likely splash the cash on a bigger name such as Falcao. For now, I really approve of this move by Chelsea. Go for it Emenalo!

Introducing Bafetimbi Gomis

As you must know, Chelsea have been strongly linked with Lyon striker Bafetimbi Gomis, with Canal+ even claiming that talks are in 'advanced stages' between the clubs. So here's a little introduction to the player.

Over the past two seasons he has been on immense form, stacking up 19 goals last year. This season, however, he is looking to top it with 10 goals in 17 games so far. He has amassed 10 caps for France and stands at 6ft tall. He has a strong presence in the air as well as being a clinical finisher. 

Here is a video on the man, remember these videos only show the best of a player and you cannot fully assess them on these.

So he seems like a good catch. The only dubious point is his age. He is 27 years old, which is not old, but certainly isn't young. He clearly isn't the 'signing for the future' that Chelsea have been going for. Sources claim that we also have competition from Liverpool.

Here is what Gomis said on the rumours;

"I have heard it, the president said I will get transferred or 
will renew my contract before the end of the January transfer 
window"

So clearly Olympique Lyon think a sale is not out of the question. Chelsea have been linked with plenty of other strikers though, it will be interesting to see which deal materializes in January.

Courtois Barcelona interest?

"Barcelona want Chelsea goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, who is on loan at Atletico Madrid. Chelsea bought the 20-year-old Belgian for £8m from Genk in 2011 and immediately sent him out on loan to the Spanish side." (The Sun)

Here's the full story;

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/football/4701175/Thibaut-Courtois-transfer-Barcelona-want-Chelsea-ace.html




I haven't had the chance of seeing Courtois play much, but at only 20 years old he is already starting for Atletico Madrid and attracting attention from a top club, so he clearly has huge talent and potential. With Cech getting older, it looks like Courtois will be the heir to his number 1 spot. Even Petr is worried;


On 8 June 2012, Petr Čech told that he felt other Premier League goalkeepers "are not many as talented as Thibaut". Also that Courtois "is one of the best talents in European football." Čech also told: "on the other hand obviously I would like to play here for as long as I could which means I need to be better than him."

So quite evidently Courtois is a talent we really need to keep hold of.The only problem that worries me is that if this interest from Barcelona is real, then Thibaut could be tempted. He admitted before the Europa Super Cup that he felt no real loyalty with Chelsea, having scarcely even trained with them. Additionally, Barcelona is probably the top club in the world at the moment, some say ever, so there's no doubt that this would cross his mind.

Having said this, this source originates from the Sun, which is definitely not known for being reliable.

Capital One Cup- Here's a worrying thought.

              

Here's a worrying thought

                 An extremely demoralised Chelsea squad are arriving back on Tuesday afternoon. The Capital One Cup game against Leeds is on Wednesday night. This allows about 24 hours for the Chelsea team to accommodate for the 9 hour time zone difference. A tired and dishevelled team performance (like last match?) is the recipe to an Arsenal vs. Bradford situation. 

                 Our season isn't looking too bright at the moment, so the Capital One Cup could be an important trophy to win. For although it is silverware of trivial value, it could still be held as a small success in a troubled season, perhaps why I am aggravated that we didn't manage to finish the job on other 'meaningless' trophies- such as the Community Shield, Club World Cup and Europa Super cup*. Losing out on yet another trophy to a small team such as Leeds or Bradford would only be testament to the teams mentality. 

                 We have a great chance of winning this, in fact we are the last 'big' team in the Premier League who are still in it. And if we have a shot at silverware, no matter how valuable, why not go for it?

                     

                     *Just to clarify, I don't value these cups as equals to the Premier League, Champions League etc.

Some thoughts- Reaction to Club World Cup

Club World Cup Loss

Reaction and thoughts

                  Most people thought that the Club World Cup would not mean a whole lot, except the security of bragging rights that we are truly the Champions of the World. Again most people wouldn't have thought that it would end with some of our top players in tears. It clearly meant more to the team than the media had conveyed. Not only were the players upset but the fans were after a frustratingly dire second half. 

                  One matter that constantly frustrates me as a Chelsea fan is the constant commentary, criticisms and general discussion about Torres. The problem for our number 9 is that he has become impossible to ignore, and this game was one of his worst performances in the Chelsea shirt. As usual he often drifted into the middle of play to try and obtain the ball to dribble and pass and link up with other players, and I can't recall a single moment in the second half where he did this without losing the ball. His strengths don't lie in his dribbling skills nor his passing but in his pace- which has dramatically declined since his injury, and finishing- again, dramatically declined. The pinnacle of his woeful game came at the 86th minute, in which with good fortune the ball bounced into his feet, and yet from six yards he still hit the keeper. No wonder he had tears in his eyes at the end of the game. It confirms what Chelsea really need to do in January- Abramovich needs to swallow his pride and admit Torres is a flop, and then of course invest in a few new strikers.

               

                   Something that I really questioned today was the exclusion of Oscar. Benitez's justified this decision by claiming that Moses would provide the width and pace that Corinthians have struggled against. Well, Moses wasn't very effective today. But the greatest reason for Oscar to start is that this is a cup that the Brazilians covet greatly. The passion of our Brazilians could be seen at the end of the game with Luiz, Oscar and Piazon in tears. So we had a great player with a huge passion and desire to win on our bench, instead of players out there who really didn't look like they cared. And then I saw this;

                    Don’t know if this has got through to the English media, but Oscar told a Brazilian reporter that Rafa ‘must be crazy’ for not starting him.

— Euan Marshall (@euanmarshall)

                      Moving on, our central midfield were dominated in the second half. In the first half Lampard put through some amazing balls up front, and had Torres maybe taken a better first touch we could have had more openings. After the break, however, we looked overrun. We missed Mikel, and Romeu had also looked solid as a deep set midfielder position until his injury. When I saw Azpilicueta was coming on I had hoped that Rafa was taking the move that the commentator had interpreted it as. Take off Lampard or Ramires and push Luiz into the central midfield where he had done so well in the Semi-final. Luiz was a player out there who was really working hard. Pushing him into central midfield would have granted him a greater effect on the game in the last half hour when we were chasing a goal. His energy, passing ability, skill, power and passion would surely have made a huge difference. Instead Rafa just did a straight swap for swap of rightbacks. Ahem.

                 However, this just avoids the main reason for our defeat. It was simply that the players (most of them) just didn't really care. Chelsea didn't turn up today, but Corinthians played as if it was a World Cup final to them. They were well drilled and organised. It made them hard to breakdown and when Chelsea did they didn't take their chances. And yet players were still teary at the end.

                 Well onwards and upwards, hopefully.