The Chelsea Thread

[damola3]

Whoever doubts he isn't the next Henry...
https://twitter.com/VintageOzil/status/829043200060960770

He'll a a club record signing for a very special top European club.

 

[RhQQ]

After seeing that, I am 101% convinced he is the next Henry. I've never seen a forward run in behind and open his body up to finish since Henry retired. Thanks for sharing that video Damola!Removed all my doubt.

 

[Scouseinthehouse]

Just looking at the table and the relegation places and it just begs the questions WTF you 1) Never accepted Bournemouth's deadline day bid and 2) Took the lad back off his loan to put him in your ressie's? Nathan Aké I'm talking about here. Easy to see why Bournemouth are ****** and the lad himself mustn't too chuffed. Never really been a part of anything at Chelsea. Not been at the club the last two years. Playing regularly and well at Bournemouth. And now he's back in unfamiliar surroundings and back the reserves. The 'cover line' doesn't really wash either. Why now and not back in August?

I appreciate he's Chelsea's player and as such it's their prerogative to do what they want with him. But looking at it from every angle it's a pretty darn poor thing to do what you've gone and done.

 

[Andras99]

Just looking at the table and the relegation places and it just begs the questions WTF you 1) Never accepted Bournemouth's deadline day bid and 2) Took the lad back off his loan to put him in your ressie's? Nathan Aké I'm talking about here. Easy to see why Bournemouth are ****** and the lad himself mustn't too chuffed. Never really been a part of anything at Chelsea. Not been at the club the last two years. Playing regularly and well at Bournemouth. And now he's back in unfamiliar surroundings and back the reserves. The 'cover line' doesn't really wash either. Why now and not back in August?

I appreciate he's Chelsea's player and as such it's their prerogative to do what they want with him. But looking at it from every angle it's a pretty darn poor thing to do what you've gone and done.

We had no backup for the LB post as far as I can tell. Azpilicueta has shifted to the center and is a regular, so unless you start repositioning the entire back line, it makes perfect sense. For the team that is. For Ake, probably less.

 

[Subtle]

Just looking at the table and the relegation places and it just begs the questions WTF you 1) Never accepted Bournemouth's deadline day bid and 2) Took the lad back off his loan to put him in your ressie's?

Mikel, Brana and Oscar are all gone and we need cover in defense/midfield. Ake is capable of filling all those roles, plus he's the only real leftback replacement we have should Alonso get injured/tired. A player that can play across the back 3 + LB + in midfield is incredibly valuable to us, and sure they offered us 18m for him, but even if his value declines by half, which seems exceptionally unlikely, it's not like we could realistically buy another player to cover all those roles for £9m, especially not one as young and talented.

He'll be in the first team when he's ready and intergrated into the system. Conte called him back for a reason. We also can't know for sure because none of the parties would confirm something like that, but most reports at the time said that Ake himself didn't want to be permanently sold this window.

 

[Scouseinthehouse]

Well, we know he said he wasn't sure about returning to Chelsea as he has no real connection there being out the last two years. And that Howe has said they had everything signed and ready to go through on deadline day to make the move permanent with a substantial offer (though not as high as reported in the press apparently) until Chelsea pulled the plug and rejected it. So you'd presume from that, along with the regular footie he was getting, he'd of rather stayed at Bournemouth than return to the ressies at Chelsea and nothing.

Again, I appreciate it's Chelsea's prerogative as he's their player to do what they like with him. But from both the player and Bournemouth's point of view in losing a key part of their XI for the second half the season it seem's a move that isn't the best for either party made on the off chance that someone goes down injured.

Just seems an occurrence where the player gets no say and a club makes a move that isn't in his best interests because they own his rights. Personally, if I were a fan of a club doing that, I'd rather he stayed out where he was getting regular football and developing well and muddle through in the event of injury rather than him coming back to sit the 23's and stall on that progress. Shrugs.

 

[Alc]

Jack Wilshere loan farce shows why Arsenal lag behind Chelsea

I think the above article sums it up perfectly

 

[Alc]

Well, we know he said he wasn't sure about returning to Chelsea as he has no real connection there being out the last two years. And that Howe has said they had everything signed and ready to go through on deadline day to make the move permanent with a substantial offer (though not as high as reported in the press apparently) until Chelsea pulled the plug and rejected it. So you'd presume from that, along with the regular footie he was getting, he'd of rather stayed at Bournemouth than return to the ressies at Chelsea and nothing.

Again, I appreciate it's Chelsea's prerogative as he's their player to do what they like with him. But from both the player and Bournemouth's point of view in losing a key part of their XI for the second half the season it seem's a move that isn't the best for either party made on the off chance that someone goes down injured.

Just because he has not been at Chelsea for the past two years does not mean he feels no real connection as he came to the club at the age of 15 and progressed through the youth ranks. Not to mention that the club maintains very close contact with all their players out on loan instead of just letting them be. So not sure where exactly you are getting this idea that he did not want to return to Chelsea or feels no real connection to the club.

Also returning to Chelsea may be good for him. It gives him 6 months to integrate into Conte's system which many young players such as Batshuayi have struggled with. Its also a huge vote of confidence from the club. Yes he loses valuable playing time which you can never beat and as you said yourself, Chelsea are not running a charity for players. We pay him and we need him back now.

 

[Scouseinthehouse]

Just because he has not been at Chelsea for the past two years does not mean he feels no real connection as he came to the club at the age of 15 and progressed through the youth ranks. Not to mention that the club maintains very close contact with all their players out on loan instead of just letting them be. So not sure where exactly you are getting this idea that he did not want to return to Chelsea or feels no real connection to the club.....

He said it himself when he left Bournemouth that he was full of trepidation returning to somewhere he'd really not been at for the past 2 years. Ask him. I'm just the messenger here.

 

[Alc]

He said it himself when he left Bournemouth that he was full of trepidation returning to somewhere he'd really not been at for the past 2 years. Ask him. I'm just the messenger here.

Link? Cannot find anything that says this.

 

[Andras99]

'If the manager calls to say you've done well and he wants you back then it is good, it's a positive sign.
'But I felt a bit nervous to be honest. I hadn't been at Chelsea for a long time. I left two years ago. It felt like a long time and I wasn't sure how it would be.'

'The manager said he sees me in different positions, as a left wing-back and a left centre back,' said Ake, who can also operate in midfield. 'He told me to train well and wait for my opportunities. The first one in the FA Cup went quite well. It can always be better.

'Hopefully I can get more chances to express myself and show what I've learned over the last couple of years. That's my main aim. I don't want to look too far ahead.
'This is the road I took. It was a difficult one because everybody said it would be impossible to break through here. That's why I want to break through. Just to show it is possible.'

 

[Alc]

'If the manager calls to say you've done well and he wants you back then it is good, it's a positive sign.
'But I felt a bit nervous to be honest. I hadn't been at Chelsea for a long time. I left two years ago. It felt like a long time and I wasn't sure how it would be.'

'The manager said he sees me in different positions, as a left wing-back and a left centre back,' said Ake, who can also operate in midfield. 'He told me to train well and wait for my opportunities. The first one in the FA Cup went quite well. It can always be better.

'Hopefully I can get more chances to express myself and show what I've learned over the last couple of years. That's my main aim. I don't want to look too far ahead.
'This is the road I took. It was a difficult one because everybody said it would be impossible to break through here. That's why I want to break through. Just to show it is possible.'

And somehow this has been translated into 'he is full of trepidation' and 'feels no real connection to club'.

 

[Scouseinthehouse]

And somehow this has been translated into 'he is full of trepidation' and 'feels no real connection to club'.

If you just want to look at from a purely Chelsea standpoint of course it wouldn't.

If you look at it from a player/ Bournemouth standpoint you'd have a different view. The lad said he was nervous at returning to a club he's not been at for two years. (I don't see how it's much of a leap to say he's little connection. How often has he been around the first team again?). He gave an interview for Bournemouth saying how much he'd improved the last 6 months with the regular football and loved being at the club. But him then going onto naturally say the right things on the club he's going back to somehow translates into it being the 'best move for him?' (See how that bunkum fits when you take a slanted view?).

I stand by my last paragraph from a few posts up on this being a poor return he's had to make and Bournemouth suffering mightily as well. Whilst Chelsea's U-23's get an addition for the rest of the year so I suppose you have got that to cherish:

"Just seems an occurrence where the player gets no say and a club makes a move that isn't in his best interests because they own his rights. Personally, if I were a fan of a club doing that, I'd rather he stayed out where he was getting regular football and developing well and muddle through in the event of injury rather than him coming back to sit the 23's and stall on that progress. Shrugs."

Of course I'm not looking it purely from a Chelsea-centric standpoint so naturally you'd have a different POV.

 

[Andras99]

If you just want to look at from a purely Chelsea standpoint of course it wouldn't.

If you look at it from a player/ Bournemouth standpoint you'd have a different view. The lad said he was nervous at returning to a club he's not been at for two years. He gave an interview for Bournemouth saying how much he'd improved the last 6 months with the regular football and loved being at the club. But him then going onto naturally say the right things on the club he's going back to somehow translates into it being the 'best move for him?' (See how that bunkum fits when you take a slanted view?).

I stand by my last paragraph from a few posts up on this being a poor return he's had to make and Bournemouth suffering mightily as well. Whilst Chelsea's U-23's get an addition for the rest of the year so I suppose you have got that to cherish:

"Just seems an occurrence where the player gets no say and a club makes a move that isn't in his best interests because they own his rights. Personally, if I were a fan of a club doing that, I'd rather he stayed out where he was getting regular football and developing well and muddle through in the event of injury rather than him coming back to sit the 23's and stall on that progress. Shrugs."

Of course I'm not looking it purely from a Chelsea-centric standpoint so naturally you'd have a different POV.

I agree with you regarding the development of Ake. He would have been better of at Bournmouth, from a current POV.
Bournmouth however, why would I give a **** about them? Ake is a Chelsea player, and if Chelsea wants him back, he will be back. The ups and downs of loaning players. As soon as you agree to a recall clause, you are subjecting yourself to this risk. It's not something Chelsea inventented, it's been this way for years.

 

[Scouseinthehouse]

I agree with you regarding the development of Ake. He would have been better of at Bournmouth, from a current POV.
Bournmouth however, why would I give a **** about them? Ake is a Chelsea player, and if Chelsea wants him back, he will be back. The ups and downs of loaning players. As soon as you agree to a recall clause, you are subjecting yourself to this risk. It's not something Chelsea inventented, it's been this way for years.

No argument from me mate and I wasn't slamming Alc for that. Naturally you wouldn't be concerned with Bournemouth. They aren't your club and all that matters to you is Chelsea. It'd be the same from most Bournemouth fans currently ****** at Chelsea if the shoe was on the other foot.

I was just mooting the flip side that on the face of it, calling a player back who's playing regular football and progressing to be nothing more than depth injury cover who'll do well to get much of any first team action from here on out, certainly not in the PL where he was playing regularly and helping out a struggling side; seems a harsh (and costly from Bournemouth's POV) move that didn't need to of happened.

 

[Andras99]

No argument from me mate and I wasn't slamming Alc for that. Naturally you wouldn't be concerned with Bournemouth. They aren't your club and all that matters to you is Chelsea. It'd be the same from most Bournemouth fans currently ****** at Chelsea if the shoe was on the other foot.

I was just mooting the flip side that on the face of it, calling a player back who's playing regular football and progressing to be nothing more than depth injury cover who'll do well to get much of any first team action from here on out, certainly not in the PL where he was playing regularly and helping out a struggling side; seems a harsh (and costly from Bournemouth's POV) move that didn't need to of happened.

It was either this, or buying someone else. I think we can all agree that this was a much better deal for the club. As for Ake, it remains to be seen. I have confidence that he will get his chances to shine, but he has to grab those with both hands, just like Moses did.

 

[PatrickLFC]

It's not unique to Chelsea, we recalled Danny Ward halfway through last season after he had been excelling at Aberdeen, because Klopp didn't trust Bogdan - for good reason - as backup keeper. I thought then and still do that he would have been better off finishing the season in Scotland, but there are positives either way, as Klopp got a good look at him for 6 months and he will definitely be in his thinking for the future. Particularly as a new manager at the time it would be easy to make plans without considering players out on loan at the time

 

[Scouseinthehouse]

With the major difference being Klopp never loaned out Ward to start with and he was the de facto bench 'keeper right the way through the second half of last season upon his return. Even starting a couple of league games.

It's certainly not a unique situation but that's not the example you want to be using mate.

 

[PatrickLFC]

With the major difference being Klopp never loaned out Ward to start with and he was the de facto bench 'keeper right the way through the second half of last season upon his return. Even starting a couple of league games.

It's certainly not a unique situation but that's not the example you want to be using mate.

I know Klopp didn't loan him out, that was the point I was making in the second half of my comment in terms of the positives. And yes he started a couple of games but I don't think being a bench keeper was better for his development than playing week in, week out at Aberdeen. Similar story with Ake - week in, week out football with Bournemouth vs being a bench option with occasional Cup starts, or even league eventually if Conte is happy with him. I think an outfield player would get more minutes off the bench than a keeper anyway!

It's beside the point now though, as Ward is doing very well for Huddersfield

 

[CJACKO11]

Just looking at the table and the relegation places and it just begs the questions WTF you 1) Never accepted Bournemouth's deadline day bid and 2) Took the lad back off his loan to put him in your ressie's? Nathan Aké I'm talking about here. Easy to see why Bournemouth are ****** and the lad himself mustn't too chuffed. Never really been a part of anything at Chelsea. Not been at the club the last two years. Playing regularly and well at Bournemouth. And now he's back in unfamiliar surroundings and back the reserves. The 'cover line' doesn't really wash either. Why now and not back in August?

I appreciate he's Chelsea's player and as such it's their prerogative to do what they want with him. But looking at it from every angle it's a pretty darn poor thing to do what you've gone and done.

I actually questioned us taking him back one of the minority thought i must say. I rate him massively and he's a great squad player so versatile but right now i asked myself do we need Ake to make sure we win the league? No, so i would have let him see the season out however..... If Cahill and/or Alonso was to get an injury i think i'll be counting my lucky stars.