We're turning into Portugal, you wait we'll signing pretty boy Ronaldo next. :)

Actually, Chelsea are more likely to become a little Brazil... Now I really hope Kaka would follow!

central midfield now is pretty packed although am delighted with the signing does this signal the end of lamps' time with us?

kaka seems pretty remote but robinho looks very likely!

i'd like to see us sign guiza too as he looks the part although not given much chance to shine with torres and villa doing well...

@ CLIVE

God!! I hope not! :(((((

I guess this means the end for Frankie though, so I definitely have mixed feelings. Does this mean we're sticking with the 4-3-3- then, with Ballack-Essien-Deco in the middle?

you'd be silly not to be excited about the coming of such a class player as deco, i wouldn't have bought him but it's still pretty cool and something to look forward to.

I do not know if we need him. Frankly speaking I think we do not need him at all.

After CSKA Moscow, they'll call us Sporting London now.

Sorry Lolli - but even if the plan is to play Essien in defensive midfield [a waste of his talent I think we'd all agree] I can't see us with an attacking midfield of Ballack/Lampard/Deco - all over 30 - and if the Robinho rumour is true, even more so.

At least on the bright side the reported fee isn't as ludicrous as was being suggested last week and it's only a 2-year deal.

There again given the slow recovery rate from injuries of over-30 players perhaps we are keeping them all on the basis one or more of them is often likely to be unavailable!

Nick - more housekeeping I'm afraid. Thanks for getting the numbers re-instated again so quickly - I notice the edit function has now disappeared. Have OleOle removed it till they sort out the formatting problem?

Lampsy must be on his way out, which I think is a huge mistake for him.

Deco will be a success at Chelsea if he doesn't get himself injured.

First two signings do point towards a more creative direction for the side. Both Deco and Bosingwa (strangely) love to attack and these signings are a MASSIVE step up on last summer's debacle!

Next in should be Robinho. Then all we'll need is a new world class striker (please let it be David Villa) and potentially another winger if SWP AND Malouda are shipped out.

As for the outs, i have to start preparing myself for Lamps exit, which will be a crushing blow. I don't think we'll be signing a Van der Vaart to replace Lamps. I think Mikel will be given the holding role permanently and then Essien will be made into the attacking midfielder his power and drive suits. Then the third role will be Deco/Ballack. Hopefully more deadwood will be shipped out with Malouda and SWP looking like definites for the chop due to the interest in Robinho. Belletti also looks to be a gonner due to Bosingwa and Paulo.

These first two signings do signify a statement of intent. We've nearly doubled what we spent last year already, and with a couple more world class players. Fergie will start planning his retirement early as we lift the quad! Then Lamps and Jose will be crying at what they left behind!

I know few of you agree with me but im delighted that weve signed Deco.
Hes world class and showed it at the euros. Just hope this doesnt push Lamps out the door.
--------------Cech----------------
-------------------Riccy------------JT-----------
Bosingwa---------------------------------A.Cole--
---------------------Essien----------------------
----------------------------Lampard--------------
--J.Cole---------------------------------Deco----
---------------------Ballack---------------------
-------------Sheva-------------------------------

What length of contract is he on? I heard 2 years if thats true then we were crazy to pay £8m

I don't want to think about Lamps leaving... Not until it's confirmed.

What a servant to us he's been. He should be staying here for the rest of his career and receiving a testimonial at the end. It'd be a massive mistake if we let him go, in my opinion. We can only hope that isn't the case.

Couldn't agee more Chris. Well said!

Im not worried about Lamps at all, Hes said he wants to end his career with us and im sure we will win the PL next season. This club has done so much for him and he should pay us back for making him the player he is today. Even if he did want to leave (and he doesnt) then he would have to wait another year.
Anyways, Welcome Deco. We now have 5 Portuguese : Hilario, Ferreira, Bosingwa, Carvalho and Deco. He is a good signing. He wont push Lamps out the door but he WILL surely get rid of Malouda (I dont expect many complaints there)

We may have "old" attackers but they are at the height of their careers and Lamps had a great season last year as did Ballack and Deco showed his class in the Euro. I dont see us getting Robinho although I would welcome the move.
I think our squad is now complete. Anyone who thinks Lamps, Deco and Ballack are old then just remember that Zola was 30 when he joined us and he was still world class even at 36. I hope we keep Lamps, Deco and Ballack until the end of their careers.

Everyone needs to stop pannicking about the future of Lamps, Riccy etc and share my optimism for next season. When has Chelsea ever been forced to sell a top player in the last 3-5 years? Riccy will stay because of Scolari and PK has said that no matter what Lampard wont be sold. What number will Deco wear? Id give him 14 after Pizarro (remember him) goes back to Germany

And no im not Peter Kenyon in disguise. LOL

Hmmm. Three years ago I'd have been excited by this, but not now. 2 year deal is about right though, but do Barca ever sell their best players?

Hopefully Scolari will revitalise him after a fairly average 18 months or so at the Nou Camp, but not exactly a signing to get the pulse racing. You never know though - same age as Zola when he arrived and he is (was) a great player on his day.

Not sure why folk believe that this means Lampard is off though - he may well be going, but I'm not sure this will make any difference to him either way; I recall similar predictions being made about Frank's future when Veron arrived...

In general I'd much rather see us adopting a longer-term policy, *but* I think this is a good signing. In those various fantastic Champions League battles we had with Barca under Mourinho, when Ronaldinho got all the attention, it always seemed to me that Deco was the real star. He should be gorgeous to watch if he plays anywhere near the level he did for Portugal in the Euros. And he's classy too -- not a preening show pony like C. Ronaldo, nor a celebrity moron a la Ronaldinho.

They said the same things about Frank when Ballack came. Remember? Everyone went on and on about how they couldn't possibly play together.

I think Frank will stay. After the AG disaster, he's got to be excited about where the team's going this year.

I'm very worried about Riccy though.

Barca are clueless when it comes to transfers

They sold Dos Santos for £4m when hes the future of their team

They have put up Ronaldinho and Eto up for sale, Both have beem Barcas key players in the last 3 years and Eto has a phenomenal goal record for them

Last year they paid over £10m for Gaby Milito and this year they have spent $16m on Martin Caceres to play in his position

1 season ago they bought Yaya Toure for something like £5m and now even though hes young and looks a great prospect they have bought Seydou Keita (27) for $12m to play in his position.

They are crazy.

I CANT WAIT FOR NEXT SEASON!!!

Barca may have thrown the odd ricket in the market 13Joe, but there is no way in a million years that they would have let Dos Santos go for that sort of money if they believed that to be the case.

Obviously a degree of renewal going on there; maybe they have just had enough of Ronaldinho falling out of nightclubs and being half the player he was 2 years ago and Eto'o generally being an egotistical arse? I don't see them touting the likes of Messi, Bojan or Xavi around - there is clearly good reason for that.

25, Agree with that. But Ronnie is still every bit as good as he was before.
Form is temporary, Class is permanent and with a coach that will keep a tight lid on him he would thrive again. As for Gio, They sold him after the La Liga season and in his last match for them he scored a hat trick. Eto can rot for all I care, He will proberbly go to Spuds. Messi and Bojan have had good seasons and convinced the club and Xavi is like their version of Lamps, Hes been there for 10 years. I agree that they dont sell players that they rank as their best.
They treated Deco like crap though. He was played in a defensive role alot last season and he would do much better on the left or behind the striker and Scolari will get the best out of him for sure. I agree with you 100% about Barca

Not impressed with that signing.....much better players are on the market

I say we buy rotund-aldinho ... and park him in front of goal. Be almost as good as parking the bus at the moment ...

I fear the possibility of losing Lamps, Drogba and Carvalho, but...

I would welcome the Samba boys such as Kaka, Ronaldinho and Robinho to Chelsea.

Credit crunch? What credit crunch? Just keep on spending, Roman!

I think this signals the end of Lamps which is hugely unfortunate.

Just to echo some others on here, playing Essien in a defensive role is a waste of his talent (we all saw his nose for goal the last month and a half of the season). He is, without a doubt, one of our most important assets and I don't see him being happy (and staying with the club for long) if he continues being deployed in positions which don't suit him. Yes, he can carry water (so to speak) but is that what he'd like to do? Ballack is 31, Essien is 26--while I'm sure the staff see him as a possible heir to Ballack's attacking position (or Deco's) will he hang around that long? At least we don't have to worry about deploying him at RB anymore.

Also, dropping him back leaves no real place for Mikel who is our most importat player to develop at this point. He is a phenomenal talent and I can get excited about a lineup that looks like this:

Cech
Bosingwa----JT---Riccy----Ash

------------Mikel----------
----Essien---------Ballack---

-----Deco---------Cole-----
----------Striker-----------

Striker yet to be determined.

I will reserve my judgement for now......

I don't really have a problem with signing Deco, however I will have a problem if the intention is to move Lampard on as a result. I think that would be self defeating.

News is that DD is buying a new house in Surrey, so perhaps his intention is to stay.

The good:

1) Reasonable price - Rumoured to be 8m pounds.
2) His playmaking skills and passing abilities.

The bad:

1) His age.
2) His attitude.
3) We miss out on the likes of Van der Vaart, Arshavin etc.
4) Lampard's inevitable departure.
5) WE NEED MORE WINGERS! GET SILVA FOR MALOUDA!

As you guys can see, the negatives outweigh the positives. Im gutted yet not feeling as bad as when we appointed Toady as manager.

After watching Portugal in Euro,it's obvious Deco is still the same player and if portugal were in semis or finals i am very much confident that deco would have made his way into atleast UEFA'S euro' XI.
D

After watching Portugal in Euro,it's obvious Deco is still the same player and if portugal were in semis or finals i am very much confident that deco would have made his way into atleast UEFA'S euro' XI.
Deco on his day is one of the best roving playmaker's and possibly the best playmaker atleast now in chelsea.

Interesting Stats
------------------
Official stats have been released,so it's interesting to note

Shevchenko's Stat
------------------

Shevchenko 12+13[appearances]
Shevchenko 8 (1 pen)
Shevchenko 1196[minutes on pitch]

this means that he scores
1 goal for every 132 minute on pitch.

Compare this to Drogba

1 goal in 189 minute.[15 goals in 2842 minutes on pitch]

Hope this is true,it's from Setanta Website.

Jose Mourinho has effectively conceded defeat in his bid to lure Frank Lampard away from Chelsea.

The new Inter chief had earmarked his former lieutenant at Chelsea as his number one transfer target, but it would appear the Portuguese is encountering difficulties in prising him away from Stamford Bridge.

Lampard has a little over a season to run on his Chelsea contract and Mourinho feels he may have to put to a bid for the England international on ice for 12 months.

”This season? I don’t think so,” Mourinho is quoted in The Sun about Lampard.

”Why won’t he? Well it’s not because we don’t want him, but I’m sure Chelsea and Chelsea officials don’t want to sell him.

”However, for next season it will be easier for him to join me at Inter.

I’m 100 percent sure in 2009/2010 he will be playing here"

FusionTBF..

I believe the quote is "Lies, Damned Lies and statistics".

As much as Sheva looked better than the previous year when he got the chance, anyone who thinks he would make an adequate replacement for Didier has been watching with their head up their arse for the last 2 years!

If Barca really are interested in taking him off our hands, he should be allowed to move on.

So if Lampard is staying, then why did we sign Deco? Its crazy. We have so many top class central midfielders already. I cant help but wonder what Scolari is thinking. It seems that he only buys Brazillians or Portugese. Does he have any transfer foresights?

Personally, I dont think it's a good signing. We'll either have too many players of a similar position and there will be discontent - quelle surprise - or we'll get rid of Lamps who's the best player in his position in the league and replace him with someone who'll take half his contract to adjust.

It's reportedly an £8.3million deal, two-year contract worth £92,000-a-week. The total package to bring him here will cost us about £17.8million, yet we're haggling with 'mere' tens of thousands for Lamps new deal. Hardly rocket science is it ???

I agree with JD, if Barca are letting players go, why do we think they're good enough for us ??

They've obviously got better replacements (Xavi and Iniesta for Deco; Messi and Bojan for Dos Santos).

With all these central midfielders, either Lamps or Ballack is off, or we'll be going back to the days of continual rotation when it's obvious a settled side is best. And bearing in mind how many goals were scored bt midfielders and defenders last year, surely we need to be focussing on getting a forward who can actually put the ball in the net.

And before you start 'Grande Fel' (or whatever you should be called), no not Nuno Gomes. Or Helder Postiga. Or Pauleta.

It doesn't feel positive. Deco is a brilliant player, but this is the kind of signing Portsmouth would make if they could, squeezing the last bit out of the toothpaste tube. We have a great midfield. Let's build for the future by blooding some young talent like evil Wenger does. Everyone knows we needed a right back, hopefully Bosingwa will be brilliant. But we need a world-class striker - even if DD stays, if he's injured, are you really confidant Sheva in his zimmer frame can replace him? Or the hapless Pizarro? Or the sulky waste of time Anelka? Let's hope CFC don't start the season with a lone J Cole up front again...

Something is really wrong with our buying policy. I just cannot understand why we must choose Deco where they are CLEARLY better options out there? Its baffling, confusing and irritating. I hope we dont screw up the next 2. It has to be a quality winger for our left flank. A certain David Silva best fits the bill. Robinho is 2nd behind him.

Can Ballack and Terry become team mates with Deco: LINK

"Inter Milan boss Jose Mourinho says he does not expect to sign Frank Lampard this summer - but is "100% sure" he will rejoin him in Italy in a year.

Well now Jose plays his mind games with us. Sell him (Lampard) to me now or next year I am going to get him for free.

Why would some of you make such negative judgement on Deco before he even kicks a bloody ball at Chelsea? He's a proven winner and that matters.

And what's wrong with older footballers? We're not competing for a bloody Youth Cup, for heaven sake!

always the gentleman


LINK

I have to say Bluetone that I don't really blame him, if the guy is in the spotlight for 9 to 10 months of the year having microphones and cameras stuck in his face. I think a couple of weeks to relax with family, girlfriends etc without press intrusion is the least any sportsperson should have.

agree clive

only remark - hell it's CR7 and a remark HAS to be made :) - wrong choice of place. ordinary people go there for celeb spotting, so if relax and solitude is what you're after, well, the lad must have been at least ill advised.

and you're expected to give a TWO fingered salute after 5 years in england ;)

@SIMONT

Its not only about his age. Being 31 when the season starts means that he has lesser time to adapt with aload more of fitness concerns. We could have brought in younger playmakers and let them adpat/grow with Chelsea. He can last 2 proper seasons at most and we have to change again. So why not get the younger ones know? But i dont doubt his abilities as a playmaker.

@Greenlight 36

Why should we ignore stats?
I guess that's the best way of knowing anyone's performance.
The truth is that sheva has performed whenever called upon.
Ok,let's say the constant reply to"frank is not creative" is given in the following manner.........he scores 20 goals.
now let's say that his goals have come against huddersfield[2],leicster[3],derby[4] and penalties[5]...........i m just giving an example[just an example......i m not picking on lampard]..........why base anyone's performance on stats while other won't be judjed on stats.
Double standards anyone.

My 8 month old daughter can crawl faster than Sheva can run these days.

@ JANG

You don't go for a young player just for the sake of it. There're many other factors involved in purchasing footballers: ability, availability, price, personal terms, etc. Youth is not everything; just look at Makalele who has been a key player at Chelsea for so long.

JD,

Nearly, but I hear he's still got a fair bit of pace when his approach from the ninth at Royal Birkdale hit's the pin and he has to run over the hill to see if it went in.

But, in a game, he certainly makes Jan Molby look like Tyson Gay or Usain Bolt

So based on 30 year old Deco joining last seasons 30 year olds - Sheva and Ballack, I wonder who we're keeping our eye on for the rest of the window, and who we're already tapping up for 12 months time.

Maybe the club employs someone who's job is purely to scout for 30 year old players.

I'm not being ageist by the way. Hell, at 28 I'm practically embryonic.

@Everyone

why is everyone behaving in here like arsene wenger.................let's buy kids and watch them bloom till they suddenly decide that they are unlikely to win in here and move on.
Deco signing has three positives.
1.once he is ready to move on,we will probably have a ready made replacement in gael kakuta if everything goes fine.
2.we have done a bargain for deco where he have paid nuts for him,signed him for two years where he is disposable if he doesn't fire in first season.for f*ck sake darren bent cost scums 16 million pounds and gareth barry cost 20 million pounds and horror of horrors SWP still demands 8-10 million now and 21 million earlier.

@SIMONT

I dint go for younger players for the sake of it. Take Van der Vaart for example. He is one of the top playmakers in Europe who is going to leave Hamburg in search of a new challange and improve himself. Chelsea can provide him with the stage. Is Van der Vaart's technical quality inferior to Deco? I dont think so. Surely he's more expensive but he has time on his side and after Euro 08, his price has jerked up alittle. I dont want players to just come to Chelsea and play out the remaining days of their career. In 2 seasons time where Ballack is 33, Lampard is 32 and Deco is 33, who's gonna replace all of them?

@Everyone

if you ask me,we should be taking a risk on R10 right now.................yeah the lad is overweight[looks pregnant if you ask me] and has his wonderful nightlife but we allegedly have signed scolari who will kick him in the balls if he dares to shag some ladies in London pubs.
28,has not lost pace,vision,creativity and can be optained for as alse as 12-13 million pounds...15 million pounds definitely[considering the muppet barca board is.....i mean how can anyone sign gabriel milito,eric abidal,thuran aged 34].

@JANG

Van der vaart is the only competitor to robben where injuries are concerned otherwise he is one of the best playmaker around though his pace makes deco look like 100 meter sprinter

Its not about buying kids. Its about for the present and also for the future. There has to be a balance. Why take the trouble of rebuilding the midfield in 2 to 3 years time when most of our 'veterans' retire when we can do it now? Its never too early.

@ JUNG

Ballack, Lamps and Deco can carry on like Makalele in 2 years time. As FusionTBF pointed out, SWP is young and a waste of money; Chelsea have certainly learnt their lesson and don't want to get their fingers burnt again on expensive youngsters!

I agree with Jang. We have to think about today and tomorrow.

@FusionTBF
I hate Arse-Anal, but not everything about Wenger is bad.

FusionTBF......

Sorry mate disagree..... Stats are for numpties.... I will pick the power of Drogba over the current form of Sheva any day.

As forDeco.... He would be fine if we didn'talready have the best central midfield in the league. The problems are on the flanks, not the middle of the park.

@SIMONT

But not everyone does a SWP. What about the likes of Robben and Essien? At least we dint spend more than 10 million pounds for Deco so i presume we have learnt our lessons after buying Sheva.

@GREENLIGHT

Especially on the left. If Scolari fancies Van der Vaart's pace, he can do a job on the left wing. But i really want us to sign David Silva. Robinho should be considered but this time round, we need someone who can CROSS OR DELIVER THE FINAL DAMN BALL and not put it to Row Z. As long as either of the 3 can do it, im fine with any of them.

Big Phil's started today and yet we're only 5th in the table LINK

Shall we keep him?

@Everyone n Jang

van der vaart is not a winger.............he is left footed but doesn't have enough pace and secondaly he a pure playmaker.

@JANG @60

Just a little correction we need

CROSS OR DELIVER THE FINAL DAMN BALL

and can also beat his man...........that is the biggest problem with malouda otherwise malouda is a good crosser and get his crosses right majority of time.
and alas silva is not our man.....he prefers passing to beating his man.
i will rather pick robinho ahead caus he is a show boater but has pace and prefers beating his man to passing.

Lamps will go to Inter...Deco will defintely not be in the bench under Big Phil and also there's Ballack as the other AM...

@ JUNG

I'm not against buying young players at all, but I don't just blindly prefer youth to experience. As to Sheva, I think he will come good to justify his price.(I love Sheva!)

@Greenlight

yes,given a chance i will have drogba in my squad caus he doesn't require much service.
my point was sheva is the scapegoat for everything..........that's all escpecially he has performed whenever called upon.

Big Phil's started today and yet we're only 5th in the table LINK

Shall we keep him?

He's got to go, we're outside the Champions League places and haven't scored any goals, and Bolton and Paul Ince's mob are above us! Bring back the Average One I say

#63

Malouda gets his crosses right most of the time? We must be watching totally different channels. I think Silva or Robinho would be good on the left wing and i agree that Van der Vaart is purely a playmaker. But as he showed for Holland, technical quality can carry a player through. I still have not given up hope that we will sign a top class central attacking midfielder who has time on his side. Deco's contract is afterall, only for 2 seasons.

@SIMONT

I can see where you are coming from. But i just felt that there were clearly better options out there who can contribute more on the longer term than Deco. Thats all.

@JANG

The problem is malouda rarely crosses caus he rarely beats his man..........on other hand we we have SWP who can beat his man but then put a cross which makes my crosses look like robben's cross.

@ 65.SIMONT

You love Sheva?!

OOOO!!! You little liar!!! :)

ive heard sergeo Ramos was coming too,if he comes chelsea will rock

A short snippet from Health and Safety News

'The O2, which recently staged sell out performances by both Led Zepplin and Prince (as the artist was previously referred to as), has been refused a licence to host The Chelsea Midfielder's Annual Dinner and Dance for 2008.

"The venue was not designed to accomodate those sort of numbers," a spokesman for Greenwich Borough Council was quoted as saying.'

You're right BB
What is it with Chelsea?, who obviously have this fetish in buying midfielders, Clownio started the trend when he was given a large ammount of toyshop money.

I reckon if we flood the midfield other teams will become claustrophobic and will probably give up before they reach the halfway line.

I see Ben Sahar has joined Portsmouth on a 6 month loan deal - presumably to free up another place in the squad for a midfielder.

Maybe we're looking at some sort of 2 - 7 - 1 formation next year, just a line of midfielders strung out the width of the pitch, like kids at school playing British Bulldog *insert own regional name for playground game*

@73 BB - as ever you hit the proverbial bullseye with the dart of humour. Even by our own recently bloated standards we seem more than a bit overprovided with midfielders whose egos will not take kindly to bench-warming.

@ 75 Fifty - curiously I was about to suggest this very formation, partly inspired by just starting to read the Jonathan Wilson book on the history of football tactics which was mentioned on here recently. He talks about how up to the 1870s "dribbling" was the main ploy used by most teams and passing scarcely got a look in.

In the first Scotland v England international in 1872 England played a 1-2-7 formation - a player would charge with the ball towards goal supported by his colleagues in a line behind him ready to take over if he lost possession - is this not British Bulldog with a football added?

This sounds like an ideal role for Drogs or similar replacement battering ram supported by our surfeit of midfielders in a 1-7-2 variation.

Worryingly the 1872 game ended 0-0 - so perhaps not such a great idea after all....

@76 - BBD

Not a bad book, is it? Thought it could be a bit too anorak-ish, but it's actually a very interesting read about a subject that could be dull in the wrong hands. Interesting how the argument about the balance between defensive play and attacking football that still divides fans now was merrily raging away in almost exactly the same manner back in the late 19th century!

I'm all for 1-2-7 myself. Just need to get Big Phil on board now...

I really want Lamps to stay but If he doesnt then I can live with that

As for as signing Deco

Positives

The fee, He signed him for just £8m and hes definetly worth more than that

His playmaking skills are world class yes he is 30 but showed in the Euros that he is at his peak. Plus he can go forward well and holds the ball up excellently when he goes forward (This would be a bonus if we used 4-3-3

We finally have a world class attacker to replace the useless Malouda on the left side

IF Lampard leaves then we have a top class replacement

Negatives

Another midfield player and the unbearable speculation regarding Lamps future


JANG, "His attitude" is a negative? Explain

Big Phil's started today and yet we're only 5th in the table LINK

Shall we keep him?

He's got to go, we're outside the Champions League places and haven't scored any goals, and Bolton and Paul Ince's mob are above us! Bring back the Average One I say

This is too funny

Decos contract should definetly be among "The Negatives", 2 years? Surely he will play longer than that. Id expect him to get an extension if we do well next year.

@ 77 KaiserJonny_II - my copy only arrived in the post yesterday so I've literally only read Chapter 1 last night - but seems good so far.

I don't see Not-Big-Phil's name in the index - though even 2nd Choice Steve [and Ally McCoist] rate a name-check.......

#80

Whether he is going to become like Zola depends on his first season - How he adapts to Chelsea and the lifestyle in England. What is done cannot be undone. I trust Scolari because Deco is a class player and class is always permanent. He will provide the footballing brain that we lacked all these years. I got a bad feeling that he will suffer coming against the likes of Liverpool and Man Utd because they dont give space away easily and it will affect his passing game or rather he cannot influence those type of games much as he lacks abit physically at this age. But still, his playmaking skills are a welcomed addition to this team.

A few straws in the wind prompted by the Deco signing.

Debate 1.
Are we building for the future or does BP have to win the lot this year?

Debate 2
Will BP alter the way Chelsea have been playing or talk about change but go with what's been working as did AG?

To me the Deco signing suggests:

BP is under big pressure to deliver immediately and therefore reaches out for those he knows best and believes can make an impact straight away.

I'm sure it was on here that I read something about Deco being an intelligent and articulate player and one who is always ready to put forward ideas and talk to his team mates.

If BP wants to change the way Chelsea play quickly then he needs people in his team who understand his methods, strategy and tactics and can communicate this to their colleagues.

If RC stays then he, Bosingwa and PF understand the defensive requirements (although watching the game v germany you might ask what defending?) and Deco (plus others?) provide the know how up front. This applies to training and to games.

The same goes for keeping Makalele. He wants to coach, has so much experience to pass on and would be invaluable in helping Mikel and others in the defensive midfield role.

I fear for the younger players coming through in the short term as this pressure to win and win now will always force coaches down the tried and tested path. However if BP gets some time and breathing space then who knows? Once he gets a look at the younger players he may see some that fit his plans.

Now watch carefully as these incisive, intelligent and informative observations are completely junked by tomorrow's signing.

I thank you

Abramovich makes £250M available to Chelsea boss Scolari

tribalfootball.com - July 01, 2008

Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich has put aside an incredible £250 MILLION for manager Luiz Felipe Scolari to reshape his squad.

The Daily Star says Abramovich is determined to rebuild Chelsea's squad for new manager Scolari and the Russian has been a constant visitor to Euro 2008 over the last weeks.

He has put aside more than £250m for Scolari and those close to Abramovich expect yesterday's capture of Deco to start a flurry of transfer activity over the next few weeks.

The Russian has certainly put Premier League managers to shame with his spying trips and has spent more time at the Euros than any other club. He has easily seen many more matches than England coach Fabio Capello.

Apart from Arshavin and David Villa being the obvious ones, who else did he scouted? Did the likes of Van der Vaart and David Silva escape his eyes?

Ferrer backs Deco for Chelsea success

tribalfooball.com - July 01, 2008

Former Chelsea and Barcelona fullback Albert Ferrer is backing Deco for success at Stamford Bridge.
"For sure he's going to succeed for his warrior and non-conformist style that totally corresponds to English football," Ferrer told El Mundo. "Besides, Deco's technical quality is better than the Premier League's average.

"To me, the reason why Barcelona and Deco parted ways is not a football one.

"As a footballer, he would find a place at whatever club."

And what might those reasons be Mr Ferrer?

Jang, Agree with you. I think he will do well though because its an open league and he will be able to attack more in our team. Especially if he plays on the wing. I trust he is here for the long term despite only a 2 year contract.
We now have 4 champions league winners with Porto

250 mil? Holy crap. RA must be crazy. We dont really need any more additions to our squad until somebody leaves. Deco was a good signing and Robinho will be BUT we shouldnt bring in all these players until we are sure of the role they will play in the team.