FM 10: Official Chelsea Thread - Pride of London

[RomaRulez]

Gourcuff is valued by Liverpool at £29M while Hamsik is valued by Napoli at £12M. What would be a reasonable offer for Hamsik? £20M?

And I certainly agree about getting a striker. It would be fun to steal Lukaku away from Valencia after I brought him there. He's valued at £16.75M by Valencia. Edin Dzeko's value is set by Wolfsburg at £22.5M. Athletico Madrid has Aguero at £34M. All of those guys are a bit out of the price range I'm thinking.

What I'd like to do is spend about half the budget on a midfielder and half on a striker. How about someone like Giuseppe Rossi from Villareal? Last year he scored 16 goals, but was over 20 goals each of the 3 years before that. Yet for some reason he's not even playing this year at Villareal. Because of that I'm thinking I could get him pretty cheaply. They have his value set at £10.75M but it wouldn't shock me if they'd sell him for less since he's not playing?

The regens aren't bad, but not world class either. Delac is a 3 star potential prospect. The others I mentioned above are all 2.5 stars potential or lower. I also have 2 other prospects who have 3 star potential. Both are 16 years old so who knows what will happen with them.

[OutClassed]

You might be able to pick Rossi up for under £20m, and Hamsik would be good if he'd come under £20m.

[RomaRulez]

I made my 2 January purchases, and I think (hope) I did pretty well. I did get Rossi for under £20M. I got him for £17M and signed him to just a 2 year deal so I can see how he does. The other deal I think is maybe one that I got a bargain on. I got Mesut Ozil out of Bremen for just £21M. At just 25 years old he's a 5 star midfielder.

These acquisitions pretty much spell the end of the Chelsea careers for Frank Lampard (who had a hat trick the first game I played him....guess he wants to stay?), Florent Malouda, Joe Cole, Landon Donovan, and probably one of the strikers I had when I got here (I'm thinking Moting is the weaker player). Malouda and Lampard are in their last years of their contracts, so I'll just let them leave. The others I'll have to find a way to move out and still get a reasonable return for them.

[OutClassed]

I'm dreading Lampard and Drogba getting too old, some attributes are already starting to fall- but they've started the season really well.

Drogba: Apps: 6, Goals: 4, Assists: 2.

Lampard: Apps: 6, Goals: 3, Assists: 2.

Some good buys there, gives you two excellent players who will stay with you whilst you build your team. A couple of buys like that in each window will definetly get you trophies.

[lacoste8030]

I need a replacement for John Terry soon, so does anyone reccomend a young player i can bring in who can be tutored by him for a season or two and the takeover from him. preferably english.

[OutClassed]

Danny Wilson, he's Scottsh but still very good.

[bir_h]

So I just started a Chelsea save. I have Mikel (DM), Lampard (MC) and Essien (MC) in my midfield.

Balllack and Deco are old, so I wanted to bring in another mid.

Who would you guys recommend? I was thinking either Hamsik or Gourcuff, money isn't a concern. Which one would be better? Or if you can recommend some even better. I was also thinking Hazard. Or instead of buying should I just throw Kakuta in there?

[el sid]

I need a replacement for John Terry soon, so does anyone reccomend a young player i can bring in who can be tutored by him for a season or two and the takeover from him. preferably english.

Cleverly?

So I just started a Chelsea save. I have Mikel (DM), Lampard (MC) and Essien (MC) in my midfield.

Balllack and Deco are old, so I wanted to bring in another mid.

Who would you guys recommend? I was thinking either Hamsik or Gourcuff, money isn't a concern. Which one would be better? Or if you can recommend some even better. I was also thinking Hazard. Or instead of buying should I just throw Kakuta in there?

Hamsik and Gourcuff are both fantastic

[joe__the__man]

I need a replacement for John Terry soon, so does anyone reccomend a young player i can bring in who can be tutored by him for a season or two and the takeover from him. preferably english.

Jordan Spence?

Cleverly?

Do you mean Cleverley?

Because he's an attacking midfielder

[OutClassed]

I'd definetly recommend Hamsik; he's been very good for me so far. His stats for this season read:

Played: 26, Goals: 12 and Assists: 5; all from being a B2B midfielder (And taking a few pens)

Seems for the past 5 games I've played every keeper has hit a bit of form; I could of easily beat them 4 or 5 nil, but they've only been 1 or 2.

Thinking of selling J.Cole (Jan season 2), how much should I be expecting?

[joe__the__man]

Should probably get in excess of £10m for Cole, try offering him out for £20m and see what you get offered.

[OutClassed]

Did that and got three loan bids; £2m upfront and£18m future fee. Really hoping he picks a club where he plays regularly and then I can flog him for that big money

[el sid]

Jordan Spence?

Do you mean Cleverley?

Because he's an attacking midfielder

Apologies, I meant Criag Cathcart

[RomaRulez]

I need a good central defender under £20M to pair with John Terry. Not too pleased with how the rest of my guys are playing. I do have a youngster who could eventually move up, so it could be an older player who I only sign for a few years. Spence is good but out of my price range (although when I get my new transfer budget in the summer I should be able to afford him).

[joe__the__man]

What season are you in Gollum?

[OutClassed]

Despite Drogbas impressive start to the season, 2 goals in his past 18 appearances has really put me off him. Good job Dzeko's returning from injury; what season did anyone else start to withdraw Drogba from the first team? Luckily I have some talented guys to replace him; just waiting to nurture the future John Terry/Ashley Cole/Frank Lampard now

[RomaRulez]

What season are you in Gollum?

We're almost to the end of 2014.

(On another interesting note, the manager's job at Bayern Munich came open and was filled by the manager of AC Milan, both teams I would have been very interested in before landing in Chelsea. )

[OutClassed]

At 2014, I'd say your best bet would be regens. Unless Sakho or Subotic are unhappy, but I doubt they'd be under £20m at that stage.

Regarding a replacement for Lampard; step forward Jonjo Shelvey. On his first league start for me he gets an assist and a goal.

[el sid]

I need a good central defender under £20M to pair with John Terry. Not too pleased with how the rest of my guys are playing. I do have a youngster who could eventually move up, so it could be an older player who I only sign for a few years. Spence is good but out of my price range (although when I get my new transfer budget in the summer I should be able to afford him).

Zapata? Sakho? Fazio? Bocchetti?

[JSmyth]

Restarted the Chelsea save I began a while back, 6 games of the season left but Lampard isn't performing, what instructions do people give Lampard ??

[OutClassed]

Advanced Playmaker - Attack ; In a CM role next to either a B2B or Ballwinner and playing infront of a defensive midfielder.

[RomaRulez]

Thanks for the DC suggestions guys. Still scouting out possibilities.

Luis Suarez wants more 1st team minutes that I can't give him and has demanded a transfer. I put a feeler out at £20M and got 4 offers back. Two of the offers were way too low, but Real Madrid has offered £17.75M and Sunderland has offered £16.5M. Is this a reasonable price for him or is he worth more? So far in 2014 he's played in 36 games, mostly coming off the bench, scoring 9 goals and adding 5 assists. He was acquired by Chelsea in 2009 for £22M from Ajax. The best season he had in Chelsea was 2010-2011 when he had 15 goals and 10 assists.

[OutClassed]

END OF SEASON:

WON the League this year by a good 10 points, ahead of United. The end record looks like this:

W: 28, D: 9, L: 1, GS: 73, GA: 22, Pts: 93. I conceded less and got more points than last season.

Awards:

Footballer of the Year: Lampard (1st)

Players' Young Player of the Year: Sturridge (1st)

Manager of the Year: Me (1st)

Players' Team of the Year: Cech, A.Cole & Lampard

Goals:

Drogba - 16 goals in 41 (12)

Lampard - 15 goals in 43 (3)

Hamsik - 14 goals in 43 (5)

di Maria - 12 goals in 31 (11)

Sturridge - 12 goals in 25 (9)

Agbonlahor - 9 in 33 (9)

Overall, very pleased to see 5 players scoring 10+ goals. With Dzeko finishing the season on good form, and hopefully gonig further in cups, I'm hoping he'll be the man to hit 25+.

Assists:

Lampard - 17 assists in 43 (3)

di Maria - 13 assists in 31 (11)

Hamsik - 9 assists in 43 (5)

Agbonlahor - 9 assists in 33 (9)

Essien - 8 assists in 49 (5)

Dzeko - 6 assists in 12 (1)

Drogba - 6 assists in 41 (12)

Young - 6 assists in 27 (22)

Boswinga - 6 assists in 43 (2)

All four of my main wingers getting a good number of assists, and you can see Dzeko provided a lot in his limited appearances (He also netted 7 goals).

Squad:

Cech is starting to grumble about new challenges, as is Alex. At the moment the plan is to sell Alex and bring Wilson as a first teamer beside Wilson, and use a regen as backup. Cech may be sold, depending on how much Lloris is going to set me back. J. Cole also might be leaving if Fior bid the £18m in his loan contract. Other players at risk of being sold are just some reserves who I don't feel are up to it. Drogba will take back seat next season and let Dzeko be the main guy, and Lukaku his apprentice.

Other competitions:

FA Cup - 6th Round (Arsenal 0-1)

League Cup - 4th Round (Liverpool 2-3e)

Champions League - Quarters (Roma 3-3 away goals)

Oh, and in 2013 we move to 'Zola Park' which will be a 56,500 capacity stadium, hopefully with room ro expand.

[RomaRulez]

Here's another season recap:

2013-2014 End Of Season:

Chelsea finished with 18 wins, 7 losses, and 13 drawn in the Premier League for 67 points. It was good enough for 3rd place in the table and a trip to the Champion's League. We finished 1 point ahead of Tottenham and 18 points behind league champs Manchester City. In the Europa League we made it to the quarterfinal before being summarily dismissed by Juventus 4-1 on aggregate. The Blues made the semifinal of the FA Cup before suffering a similar fate as the Europa League, losing in ugly fashion 4-0 to Arsenal. I found that one curious as we had beaten Arsenal 3-1 just a month earlier.

Since my arrival at Stamford Bridge the team won 16 games, lost 6, and drew 9 overall. A pretty good performance but there are some obvious holes to fill. The biggest problem is clearly defense, as demonstrated by the Cup and EL results and that we gave up 39 goals in the Premier League, 23 more goals then the team's last championship year in 2011-12.

Team Leaders:

Goals: Klaas-Jan Huntlear (19) (Rossi was hurt when he got to Chelsea so he only saw limited action, but did score 4 goals in 9 games)

Assists: Jon Obi Mikel (13) (Mikel is up for English Footballer of the Year)

Avg. Rating: Moussa Sissoko (7.38) (Sissoko potted 12 goals playing as a midfielder and added 10 assists)

Goalkeeping: Peter Cech conceded 56 goals in 57 games played and had 24 clean sheets. To be honest I was expecting a bit better.

But the big news is on the financial front. In April the board started sending messages out about adding cash to the team to keep it solvent. By the end of the season I had 0 transfer budget left and I hadn't even spent anything since January. Even after I accepted the £17.5M offer from Real Madrid for Suarez, pushing our transfer budget up to £23M, the board took it all before I could spend a dime. I had a £28M deal in place for Danny Wilson, but the day he accepted it the board took the last of the money and I had to back out.

I hope to get new funds in the summer and I expect to sell some players as well, but this isn't a good sign for the future. Makes me wonder if a board takeover is looming?

[joe__the__man]

Chelsea in financial trouble. Roman is still there right?

And good seasons OutClassed and gollum

[OutClassed]

Rodwell may be on his way to Stamford Bridge for £6m + PvA + Bruma. BARGAIN in my eyes. I doubt I'll impove the team much as I think I've got a great squad, and will only buy players that are unhappy/TListed; I've managed to get myself in the favoured lists of a few world class footballers as well.

[RomaRulez]

Chelsea in financial trouble. Roman is still there right?

And good seasons OutClassed and gollum

I assume you're referring to the chairman Roman? (Sorry, I'm American, don't know these teams that well). Yes, he's still there. Looking at the financial screen he's lost about 100M pounds since the start of the save in 2009-2010. It also says the team lost 75M this season alone. The month ending balance for this month is -86M and it's only May 11th? Where did all the money go all of a sudden? I didn't make any changes to roster or staff since January. Doesn't make sense. The finances are also listed as insecure. They were listed as rich when I joined the club. And no, there are no huge outstanding loans. There is about a 500k loan left but that loan ends this coming September. The way things are going they may need another one. :|

[el sid]

I assume you're referring to the chairman Roman? (Sorry, I'm American, don't know these teams that well). Yes, he's still there. Looking at the financial screen he's lost about 100M pounds since the start of the save in 2009-2010. It also says the team lost 75M this season alone. The month ending balance for this month is -86M and it's only May 11th? Where did all the money go all of a sudden? I didn't make any changes to roster or staff since January. Doesn't make sense. The finances are also listed as insecure. They were listed as rich when I joined the club. And no, there are no huge outstanding loans. There is about a 500k loan left but that loan ends this coming September. The way things are going they may need another one. :|

Yes, he means Roman Abramovic, the Russian owner of Chelsea football club. Do you have a new stadium? Perhaps that is why you're losing money. Or maybe a huge wage bill?

But Roman will generally bail you out, no worries

[RomaRulez]

Yeah, he is bailing us out. Our transfer budget for 2014-2015, with title challenge expectations, was 43M. I then unloaded a ton of salary and I'm still working on the roster in mid-July, selling over 90M in players so far. Most were players that I didn't have much interest in using anyway. The only addition to the squad so far this summer is Danny Wilson. I ended up having to pay about 4M more then my original deal, but at least I got him. I'm now trying to secure a good DR to play to his right. And we're still playing at Stamford Bridge.

[OutClassed]

Liking the look of a few players I can approach in January for frees; Paloschi, Criscito and Adler! Saying that, I've only played one game so far (Community Shield) and lost it (Arsenal 1-0).

Also got sacked from Brazil for losing the Copa America (I came second though), but walked straight into the Uruguay job. Will stick with it for whatever tournament they have in 2012, and then maybe leave for pastures new.

[ballinisahabit]

Im sure all of those players will sign a new contract before you can approach them.

[OutClassed]

I wouldn't be too sure; Adler feels he has to leave the club, and Paloschi wants to be Transfer Listed. Criscito is he only oen that wants to sign a new contract.

[RomaRulez]

My offseason is almost over and it's been a really busy one. I made significant strides in helping improve the club's financial status by selling over 90M worth of players. Plus I had a net loss of 10 people from the backroom staff. And yet we now have a better coaching staff then we did last year, especially on defense. Preventing goals was my primary focus this offseason, and to that end I spent a boat load on 3 players. In addition to Danny Wilson I also brought in Igor Akinfeev (don't ask for how much....almost certainly overpaid) and a regen DR that should be the equivalent of Ashley Cole on the right side.

Since I brought in Akinfeev I want to move Cech now, but nobody is interested. So for right now they'll platoon at GK. Akinfeev will play all the Champions League & FA Cup games, plus all the Premier League games against top half opponents. Cech will play the rest of the games. Hopefully that will keep them both happy until I can find a buyer for Cech. Any guidance on how much I should get for him at 32 years old would be appreciated. He's just a 3 star keeper now. I'm figuring at least 30M?

And speaking of player transfers, a VERY interesting offer has just been made to me. Real Madrid has offered me 29 year old Lukas Podolski for FREE! Now I still have Rossi and my other ST is Huntlear. I did manage to sell Moting over the offseason. If I bring in Podolski I'll either have to move one of the other two (probably Huntlear) or I'll have to go to a different formation, either using 3 strikers or 2 strikers and Podolski as an AMC. So what do you guys think I should do? I can't see passing up Podolski for free, can you guys?

[RomaRulez]

Forgot to mention how I was able to afford both Wilson and Akinfeev. In early August the board said that the club's financial situation was so improved that they dropped another 25M in transfer funds on me. Guess I did a good job.

[ballinisahabit]

I wouldn't be too sure; Adler feels he has to leave the club, and Paloschi wants to be Transfer Listed. Criscito is he only oen that wants to sign a new contract.

Saying that mate ive just checked the contract expiries i have coming up in my Arsenal game, im at the end of December and Criscito, Paloschi, Adler and Pato's contracts are all expiring

[el sid]

Adler almost never signs a new contract, so ends up being released. If Gourcuff hasn't got a transfer yet, he leaves on a bosman too.

[OutClassed]

Got another two or three years to wait for Pato and Gourcuff on my game, although if they become unhappy I'm already on their favoured personal. Two boring draws to start the season, putting it down to lack of competitive match practice. Should tear Hull apart at homethough, if I don't I'll take a look at the formation.

[Falahk]

I would picture Chelsea missing out on champions league in combination with your wage budget was the driving factor to economical issues gollum65

[RomaRulez]

I would picture Chelsea missing out on champions league in combination with your wage budget was the driving factor to economical issues gollum65

Yeah, I'm guessing that was it. So anyone have a recommendation on whether to try and get Podolski? And how about how much I should try to sell Cech for?

[OutClassed]

Isn't Podolski like ancient by that year? You'd be better spending a small amount of money on someone a bit younger who won't command such big wages. What is your wages budget and wage spent atm? I'd also accept anything over £20m for Cech at that age, especially as you have Akinfeev.

Team managed to match my expectations with a 4-0 win over Hull, Villa my next game before the window closes.

Have had a change of plan, I'm only going to sign British players from now on. I can already name a competitive British side...

GK: Heslop ®

RB: Doherty ®

LB: A. Cole

CB: Terry

CB: Wilson

DM: Rodwell

CM: Lampard

CM: Shelvey

AMR: Agbonlahor

AML: Young

ST: Sturridge.

[RomaRulez]

Podolski is 29 and I wouldn't have thought about getting him if he weren't being offered for free. But you're right that his wage demands would be high, much higher then Huntlear. Plus the more I thought about it I wouldn't be able to change tactics. I have 3 top tier MCs and a top tier DMC so I really don't have a spot for Podolski unless I sell a striker. As much as I think getting him for free is great if I needed a striker, I don't really need him.

[lacoste8030]

I have started my Chelsea save and have played 4 league games so far. My transfers are as follows:

IN:

David De Gea - Atletico Madrid - £2.5m plus Hilario

Philipp Lahm - Bayern - £10m plus £17.5 over 48 months

Fernando Gago - Real Madrid - £5.25m

Jack Rodwell - Everton - £9m

Ibrahim Afellay - PSV - £10m

Yoann Gourcuff - Bordeaux - £10m plus £5m over 12 months

Steven Jovetic - Fiorentina - £10m plus Paulo Ferreira and Deco

Thomas Muller - Bayern - £10m plus Daniel Sturridge

Sergio Aguero - Atletico Madrid - £30m plus £22m over 48 months

Luis Suarez - Ajax - £10m plus £10m over 24 months

Yannis Tafer - Lyon - £5m

OUT:

Salomon Kalou - Shakthar - £15m

Hilario - Atletico Madrid - P/Ex

Ross Turnbull - Hull - £2m

Juliano Belletti - Villareal - £4m

Florent Malouda - Atletico Madrid - £16m

Deco - Fiorentina - P/Ex

Daniel Sturridge - Bayern - P/Ex

Franco Di Santo - Blackburn - £6m

Paulo Ferreira - Fiorentina - P/Ex

My main targets in the transfer market was to get Aguero an attacking midfielder and a better right back than Bosingwa. With the attacking midfielder I tried for Sneijder but Inter wanted £59m, so that was a no. Then I thought about Gourcuff and Moutinho and I made offers for both and I then decided to go for Gourcuff.

Fernando Gago was my first signing as he had been placed on the transfer list my Real Madrid for £4.8m and I was considering buying a defensive midfielder to help John Obi Mikel out in that role. Man Utd had already had an offer accepted so I made an offer of £4.8m and Real then come back and said £5.25m so I said ok because to me it was still fairly cheap. He rejected Man Utd and came to me.

Right back was one of my main targets and before I made offers I made a short list of who to buy, Srna, Ansaldi, Alves, Maicon, Santon and Lahm. With Srna and Ansaldi I did think that they were that much better than Bosingwa so it would have bee a waste of money. Alves, Maicon and Santon are impossible to buy on the game and you have to pay out of this earth for them so I decided on Philipp Lahm. Even though once I had decided I had to wait for out going transfers to go through to raise more money.

I decided straight away that I would be getting rid of Hilario and Turnbull as I simply did not think they were good enough for the job and would promote Delac to third choice keeper and bring in someone young who could compete with Cech. I highlighted a few Keepers that would be suitable Hart, Asenjo, Ochoa, De Gea. With Hart loaned out to Birmingham city I was going to keep Turnbull for a season if I got him but he turned out to be way too expensive as City wanted £17m. Ochoa I was not convinced with and Asenjo and De Gea were the two I chased and De Gea was the player that came in.

I really do rate Jack Rodwell on the game so I defiantly wanted to bring him in and he is also a young English player and I want to have young English players in my squad too. Jack Wilshere come in next season for £7.5m, These players will hopefully become my leading midfielders down the line and I want to make my squad young English home-grown players.

Ibrahim Afellay was an impulse buy my scouts said to me that he has the potential to be as good as Lampard so I thought yes more young good talent to introduce into the squad so I snapped him up.

Jovetic and Muller were both last day buys. I had to rush through a deal for a winger because I realised I would only have Joe Cole to play on the wings so that is why I brought in Jovetic as he was the only one I had a bid accepted for out of the three of him, Adam Johnson and Simao. Thomas Muller was not the player I wanted as I wanted to bring in Mesut Oezil but Werder Bremen wanted to much for him so I decided against buying him and went for his German team mate instead.

Sergio Aguero was my main target to bring into the club because I wanted another striker to help out Anelka and Drogba and with him doing so well on previous saves I thought had to buy him. Then as my fourth choice striker I wanted a young player who can score goals and become a big name down the line and with all the publicity that Yannis Tafer gets on these forums I thought I would try him out as I have never signed him before. Then just before the season started Drogba got injured and Anelka was still out so I decided that I would buy another striker because this could easily happen during the season and especially with Drogba going to the African Nations as well, but I decided on getting someone like Michael Owen or Ruud Van Nistelrooy but to me they were both a bit too overpriced at £13m or more so I decided I would go and get a striker with the money I had left and got Luis Suarez from Ajax as he impressed me during the world cup.

So my squad is:

Cech / De Gea / Delac

Lahm / Bosingwa

Carvalho / Ivanovic

Terry / Alex

A. Cole / Zhirkov

Obi Mikel / Gago

Essien / Lampard / Rodwell / Ballack

Gourcuff / Afellay / Muller / J. Cole

Drogba / Aguero / Anelka / Suarez / Tafer

I will not be renewing Ballack’s contract at the end of the season, but I have renewed j. Cole’s already.

[el sid]

Huge list of forwards there, who're you planning to play as your first choice?

[OutClassed]

Are you playing a 4-5-1; only one upfront with that crazy amount of forwards?! Maybe you should experiment with 2 or even 3 forwards and see if you can fit all your best players in?

[lacoste8030]

No, I play 4-4-2. My first team has worked out to be this:

Cech

Lahm

Carvalho

Alex

A. Cole

Obi Mikel

Essien

Lampard

Muller

Aguero

Drogba

Aguero has 16 goals in 17 starts, Drogba has 16 goals in 14 starts.

My first team has shocked me because Gourcuff got injured and i tried Muller and he has made the posistion his own behind the strikers. Also i can't seem to get Gourcuff to work properly plus i want my midfielders to score more goals which they don't. John Terry has been awful, when he plays we conceed and when he doesn't we keep a clean sheet.

But top of the table clear of Villa by 4 pints who have a game in hand after 14 games. Second in my champs league group 1 point behind Inter going into the final game against Inter too so should be good, although having Atletico Madrid in the group has made it exciting anyways as they are the only team to have beaten me.

[OutClassed]

Oh, the diamond formation I'm guessing. Actually then, you're not leaving as many of your better players on the bench as I thought. With the squad you've got you should dominate the league.

[lacoste8030]

I am in a sense, but i am really disappointed with John Terry. Also how can i get my midfield to score more. Also in the summer i have Danny Wilson and Jack Wilshere coming in this is because i want the best young british talent in my team so my team can be british.

[OutClassed]

Have them take penalties I think 50% of Hamsiks goals for me normally come from the spot; Essien only seems to score 30 yarders for me whereas Lampard will get around 10. What roles do you play them in?

Ozil rejected me (Was TListed for £10m.). Actually pretty glad as I can hardly fit the current 4 wingers in properly!

I'm only starting to look British; but if someone foreign is available for agood price I'll take them. I've got a few good reserve players that are English, so I can bring them through as well. Also found anj America regen that Im treating as English, despite him being 19 he'll be HG in m head

[RomaRulez]

So after thinking about it for a few days I reversed my opinion on acquiring Lukas Podolski, but only under certain conditions. My reasoning was based on a trade that a local baseball team made this week (the Anaheim Angels) in which they acquired a top starting pitcher (Dan Haren) even though they really don't have much chance at making the playoffs this year. Most of the "experts" were questioning the logic of the deal but the key is that Haren has a couple of years left on his contract so the Angels aren't just getting him for this year. When you have the opportunity to get a player of that caliber under advantageous conditions you take it, even if it's not a perfect fit now.

Using that last statement as a guide to my interest in Podolski I had a few requirements I had to fulfill before I'd sign his contract:

1: I'd have to get him from Real Madrid for free. I wasn't willing to pay anything for him.

2: He'd have to be willing to sign for a reduced salary and with a lesser role on the team.

In the end both requirements were indeed fulfilled. I got him for free from Madrid. He signed a "squad rotation" contract at a large pay cut under what he was making at Madrid so therefore I was able to fit him in my budget and my team plans. He's basically going to play a similar role as Petr Cech, playing against "lesser" opponents while Huntlear plays against the top teams. As long as both stay happy and play well I think it will work out well for us. But if Podolski starts complaining about not being part of the first team it'll be a problem. It's a calculated risk.

[lacoste8030]

well essien plays right central midfield as central midfield support and lampard plays on the left as central midfield attack. Don't talk to me about penalties, I have had three and Lampard has missed all three of them. Thomas Muller has scored a good few behind the strikers so i am pleased with that.

Also i beat Inter in my final group game to top my champs league group and have to play besiktas in the second round.