looks like this cavani saga is going to roll on for quite some time. poor lewandowski will be sick of hearing his name and 'second choice' being bandied about within the same line this coming weeks.

a bit surprised we didn't try to hijack spurs' paulinho deal though..hmm

Welcome to chelsea, marco van ginkel!


Looks like most people are more excited about cavani eh

Now where are those 'van ginkel snubs utd for chelsea' headlines??!

give mata and oscar a chance to rest man

KDB really looks like a young kid in the picture. might need to put on some muscle though..

Best player on the pitch me thinks.Looks like he just spent time playing footie after bremen's season ended played with some real composure on the ball.

Errr does van ginkel look shorter in real life than in
those youtube vids?

p.s : jury's out on rooney. I don't think he can handle the constant jeers and abuse waiting for him in the stands and in the rags, if he ends up in blue. On the other hand,we're certainly throwing a spanner in utd's pre-season. Sell and they might not secure an adequate replacement,don't sell and they're stuck with an unhappy squad member. It has to be said david moyes shot himself in the foot (with a double barreled shotgun) with those comments about rooney though.

now higuain claims jose wants him at chelsea. as usual, all preliminary talks will be done first by arsenal, and we'll come in if / when we want to

can't wait for the match! So far van ginkel and KDB are proving to be gems, i'm waiting for schurrle to do something special

Fuhh really turning on the style now!

Standout performers were traore, Bertrand, lukaku, hazard, ramires,terry and van ginkel. Special mention to piazon, who managed a neat assist. I think there was a huge leap in quality between the match in Malaysia and indo. Either that, or the Indonesian team were just really disorganised.huhu.
Really impressed with rami’s shooting! Both sweetly struck and unsaveable, I’ve always known the blue Kenyan has some power in those boots. Jose probably ordered some extra training on that aspect of his game. First touch is basically the same though

We’re beginning to witness some slick combination play, let’s see if they can replicate that in the match vs inter. Best goal was probably traore’s, but he did disappear for a bit after his wonderful strike. Style of play and aggression reminds me a bit of yaya toure. Only 17, if he keeps his head down, he’ll be in the first team squad in no time.

On another note, mourinho has confirmed we haven’t upped our bid for rooney. I have this sneaky feeling that we’re planning to delay securing his signature till the last day of the transfer window, just to prevent utd from getting a quality replacement. Its jose after all

lovely goals by kevin and schurrle! i think KDB looked a bit tentative on the ball, maybe still a bit traumatised by that awkward landing. not too worried though as i'm sure the physios gave him the all clear.

the speed of transition between defense to attack as well as our work rate has really been impressive. not to mention those bodies-on-the-line last ditch blocks from milan's shooting. the team already looks quite fit, we just need to work on our finishing.

torres looks a bit quicker these days, but has to improve his decision making. would like to see more shots when he's in a good position. i don't think we'll go higher than 35 mill for rooney, but if all else fails we can always utilise schurrle as a striker as evidenced by his intelligent positioning and sweet volley!

Check the guide again bro,i think they just updated it..there's a live telecast on 817.should be one in HD as well

Agreed on hazard taking too much time on the ball..seems to drift past one or two players then takes forever to release the ball.

Congrats to real,they gave us the runaround in the second half with some delightful pass n move footie. We need to incorporate more of that!

Talk about taking your foot off the pedal.loved the first half and the goals though. Guess the lads were worried about the midweek game more than anything else. Good to have jose back in the dugout

We can only get better from here!onwards and upwards.

Caught the second half, and it looked like were really holding on towards the end there. Somehow I feel between ba, lukaku, and torres, the striker that puts a certain amount of ‘fear’ into the opponents’ defense is still none other than our big Belgian tank. We could’ve made life a lot easier for our back four, if we could just retain possession better.

Not sure if it’s a safety first (I.e : clear the ball at all costs when under pressure) approach instructed by jose, or the players just lack that little bit of confidence to stroke it around when the villains closed us down.
Either way, it’s a valuable 3 points to bolster our confidence early in the season. MOTM showing from cech, he practically assured us of the victory with a couple of amazing saves.

Brana looked a bit shaky on that RB spot, but his header via lampsy’s delivery was crucial. Kind of miss azpi’s swift runs and composure down that right though. Schurrle deserves to start the game vs utd, there’s just this sense of excitement I get when he receives the ball and bears down on goal. Just needs to keep a calm head when he receives a good pass in the box and polish those shooting boots. Mata doesn’t look fully fit, probably needs more game time. I’d let schurrle have a go from the first minute.

We need to seriously up our game for van persie and co. If we can just be more precise in our counter attacks, (we were very careless vs villa, gave away the ball far too cheaply) we’ll be able to get at least a point.

Well its lukaku’s turn upfront. I’m willing to bet he’s the last player utd defenders would want to see leading the line. Would honestly be shocked if jose went with anyone else. torres will probably be subbed in during the second half, subject to the scoreline of course.

p. s: Credit to villa, they were really organised and I don’t see them anywhere near the dropzone if they replicate these type of performances. That win vs arsenal was no fluke.

The willian rumours are literally out of the blue . If it turns out we barged spurs out of the way, it truly will be a repeat of what we did to arsenal with regards to mata. Which was quite simply, hilarious if you’re a Chelsea fan.

But like everyone else I’m scratching my head as to why we’re bringing in (or attempting to bring in) another attacking mid, with the obscene amount of talent we have in our ranks for that particular position. My only guess is we’re close to abandoning the rooney boat, and in the next few days we might see Ba offloaded, Schurrle experimented as a CF (which he’s more than capable of) and willian coming in. With the figures their quoting in the press (25 – 30 mill) and our burgeoning squad, I think it’s highly likely we’re going to sell someone first.

If that 'someone' turns out to be mata though, the fans are going to go ballistic. at the moment it just seems like 'overactive imagination syndrome' from the journos.

This post has been edited by Kerplunk: Aug 23 2013, 09:09 AM

Mata was a real coup! But now that I think of it so was Oscar when we stole him away from spurs, so if we end up doing the same with willian it’s going to be déjà vu all over again for them.huhu.

I’m wondering what’s happened to moses as well. Had a great pre-season, but nowhere to be seen. was really hoping for Ba to score some superb goals (like the ones he scored vs utd) in pre-season but it just hasn’t happened for him. Once upon a time he was even better than villa’s beteke, but he’s struggling to recapture his form. The value in players like him is they’re capable of scoring occasional stunners, but wouldn’t mind too much if they’re kept on the bench. It’s okay to let him go but we need to make sure schurrle’s good enough as a CF.

It seems jose has other ideas with regards to the captaincy. Luiz will be captain in the future imo, but it’s going to take time. For what it’s worth, JT has looked good thus far. Mata seems less vocal than lampsy, but in terms of leading by example, you can’t go wrong with the little Spaniard

Nice update mate!case closed on mata.

Case opened on willian

Well-well..that escalated quickly

Jose mocks spurs medical

Imminent announcement perhaps?

Haha who could've forgotten that piece of 'dark' history!

Last season we had a small squad..now it appears to be the total opposite

After being stretched real thin last time around, i quite like our strength in numbers atm.however like everyone else there's a real concern of player unrest if anyone gets 'sidelined' so to speak. no doubt there will be some unhappy campers,but i trust jose to manage them to a certain degree. How well that turns out,only time will tell. So let's just enjoy the ride now guys!

P.s: Welcome to the bridge willian,still can't forget those two slick goals u scored against us!

Hm...i think lukaku would've been better suited upfront.no service for schurrle whatsoever.