I'm curious - What position have you played - if you have ever played.

txdadu · 2012-05-22T18:59:08.987441+00:00

LW. I'm decent with both feet and very fast, but a pretty horrible finisher. I loved to put a quick first step on a guy and get the ball in the box, but when it came to finishing from the center, I usually whiffed or tripped over the ball or skied it from 3 yards out.

Let's just say that I was more Joe Cole than Didier Drogba. Lots of style, little substance.

the_codfather · 2012-05-21T23:57:24.170435+00:00

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K%C3%BCbler-Ross_model

We're into the Anger stage now.

I understand the pain of losing in the Champions League final on penalties quite well, but there is no need to justify the result by trying to diminish what the victorious team accomplished.

EnglishMD · 2012-05-21T22:53:00.363703+00:00

I love you guys. Bro hug double back tap.

EnglishMD · 2012-05-21T22:49:38.030082+00:00

It gets me all teary-eyed to read the news, but I do think it is for the best. I love Drogba, and he will always be one of my favorite players. He gave me some of my favorite Chelsea memories, and the passion he showed every time he set foot on the pitch was something special to watch.

He is leaving the club to a storybook ending, and I am happy to say that when I am old and gray, I can look back and remember Drogs with a smile on my face. Always KTBFFH, and best of luck to Drogba in the future!

EnglishMD · 1 day

You aren't the only one, but I can't say that I agree with you. He has been pretty close to averaging 10 goals and 10 assists a season from the wing, barring this year in which he got about half the appearances that he usually gets. He has been a solid squad player with few complaints for a long time now.

Guard01 · 1 day

I don't know where you get the injuries/few more years thing from, but Cech is still going strong (as evidenced by his performance in the CL and especially yesterday in the final).

He had a fantastic season and kept us in a number of matches that we had no business being in.

ScreamingGerman · 3 days

Holy shit. RDM has balls of steel if this is true.

Edit: He is starting in left midfield. Very brave decision from the manager, but I think I like it.

GodSamnit · 4 days

I always did hate it when my ponytail fucked.

robdabank · 4 days

I'm not so sure. He is a great man-manager and a big name with some success in Italy and Spain, but I'm not sure that he has the tactical mindset to help us succeed. Chelsea has always been solid in defense, but I do not want us to employ a full-on catenaccio next season.

Also, I certainly don't think he is the man to rebuild our squad, which is what we need to be doing this summer and into next season. He barely speaks English after all of this time managing the English national team, and on a cosmopolitan team like Chelsea with enough language barriers as is, we don't need a manager who cannot communicate his ideas to the players.

He has a great relationship with Terry, Cole, and (to some extent) Lamps, so that would be a big positive. Also, he has a proven track record with big clubs such as Milan and Real Madrid.

My biggest issue is: think of the media circus that would ensue if we signed him. The British media already beat him senseless as England manager, and the very last thing Chelsea needs is more negative media attention than we already get. Maybe RDM is not the man for the job, but if not, I hope we sign someone equally boring because I think RDM has done an admirable job of deflecting media attention in a way that Villas-Boas never could.

robdabank · 4 days

Harry Harris

Well then, it is settled. There is no chance of us signing Capello.

margasul · 4 days

I like this guy already.

txdadu · 4 days

He has been a great player for the team for many years now. As much as I don't want to see him go, he deserves to play as more of a featured striker with another side. He has great talent, but with Drogba and the rest of the talent we have had up front over the years, there just wasn't a place for him except out on the wing.

I will also be sad to see him go, but he deserves more playing time elsewhere. I'll always be a fan.

OhWhyBother · 4 days

A little late to the party, but this is a very well-written, interesting article. The Carragher quotes about playing Drogs are something you don't get to hear every day, and same with the pre-match routine information.

You can just tell that Drogba is on another level some days (ex: the second leg vs. Napoli). If he has one of those days on Saturday, I think we walk away with the trophy. I feel like he's going to have that look in his eye for what could be the most important match of his long and awesome career.

Lolzafish · 6 days

Overall Grade- B, A++++asfe9999;4; when we win the Champs.

Best Player- Mata

Worst Player- Close between Malouda and Meireles, but I'll give it to Malouda since Meireles scored some important goals this year.

Most Improved Player- Ramires

Most Promising Youngster- Lucas Piazon

Best Moment of the Season- Ivanovic goal at home vs. Napoli to seal the match

Worst Moment of the Season- Getting throttled by Arsenal, 3-5

Ideal Signings This Summer- Hulk (striker), Modric (midfielder), Van Der Wiel or some other player from South America that I don't know about (defensive cover at RB)

Player You Cannot Afford to Lose- Ramires (we were useless at times without his engine and could use another since Essien is so hobbled from his injury... maybe a Tioté or Moutinho?)

thighslikewhat · 6 days

I greatly prefer this option to a formation change if we hope to start both Torres and Drogba. Torres has proven that he can play the role of provider as well as anybody on the team.

Still not sure if he would be a better option than Sturridge, though. I'm not saying I would prefer Sturridge, but there are certainly pluses and minuses to starting either player on the right.

sebastiaan78 · 7 days

Well, we are each allotted 17,500 supporter seats, but I would assume that the overwhelming majority of the 7,000 neutral seats will be going to Bayern fans since it is their stadium.

Maybe it won't be a perfect "home field advantage," but they will certainly have more supporters present. Also, don't overlook the fact that it is their home pitch/facilities.

Lolzafish · 7 days

The Gerrard/Lampard is a tough one that I'm sure will go on for years to come. I'd prefer Lamps, but they both do their jobs better than most.

I'm more confused about Vidic vs. Terry. Chelsea had the best defense in the Premier League over the past 10 years, including the best defense in the league in 04-05 (only 15 goals against, best defensive season on record), 05-06, 06-07, 08-09 (tie), and 10-11 (tie). In that time, Man U only led the league in defense three times. Vidic has only played with Man U since 2006, while Terry has been a starter and consistent performer for Chelsea since the late 90s.

In my opinion, there is no good reason to pick Vidic over Terry.

EnglishMD · 7 days

Yeah, Essien proved he is a perfectly capable defender a few years back when he filled in at RB/CB long term. I worry about his lack of pace and change of direction with the knee injuries though. He is still a solid defender, but I hope he can keep up with the runs of Robben and Ribery. He would almost be better as a CB than a RB because he can remain more stationary instead of having to make lateral runs when Ribery cuts infield.

CechItOut · 9 days

Sturridge has been better about the selfishness in the past few matches he's played, and he is a huge scoring threat who can take on the defense at the back. I think it would be kinda crazy to play Bosingwa out of the defense considering how well he has defended lately.

If it isn't Sturridge, the only other reasonable options for the right side are Torres (could happen but I doubt RDM starts them both) or Malouda on the left and moving Kalou to the right (but we all know what we think of Malouda this season). I think Sturridge gets the nod, but who knows what RDM is thinking. Maybe he goes off the deep end and rolls with a 4-4-2 diamond.

CechItOut · 10 days

To be honest, Bayern's defense is pretty horrid. They had a statistically solid season, but they have very little talent at the back and got ripped apart in a handful of important matches this season. In the CL Final, they will be missing Badstuber AND Alaba.

Missing starters from an already poor back line = lots of goals for us. Problem is, we will be missing Terry, Ivanovic, and maybe Luiz/Cahill. I'm not a betting man, but if I were, I would take the Over on almost any number the bookies put up. There will be goals and lots of them.

Let's just hope we score more than they do!

CechItOut · 10 days

We will be very lucky if both Luiz and Cahill manage to make it for the final, but assuming that does happen and your list stays intact:

                 Cech

Bosingwa -- Cahill -- Luiz -- Cole

          Lampard -- Mikel

    Sturridge -- Mata -- Kalou

                Drogba

Has to be the lineup. No other players have gotten enough playing time to be worthy of a start in the final except maybe Torres (but why start two strikers when we haven't all season long?). Kalou and Sturridge are not automatic first-teamers lately, but they have gotten a ton more starts than their alternatives in Malouda and Essien. I would feel comfortable bringing Torres, Malouda, Romeu, Essien, or Bertrand off the bench if we should need them.

I think our real problem is if one of Cahill or Luiz cannot play. We will be in great shape with both of them since they are both quality players, recent injury or not. But without one of them, Bosingwa will be a major step down at CB (despite his great play lately), and we would not have a single player on the roster who can adequately play RB. It would probably have to be Essien, but he has lost so much pace that he would just get torched. And if neither Cahill nor Luiz is healthy enough to play... we are in a lot of trouble.

I hope to God they can both play.

Hitfizzle · 12 days

Yeah, I'm amazed that people are choosing Drogba over a player like Tevez. Even though Drogs dives around a lot, you would be hard-pressed to find a player who smiles/jokes/helps opposing players off the ground more often than Drogba.

Also, what about Ashley Cole? I love Chelsea and Cole both, but he is a giant prick. He cheated on one of the most beautiful women in the world, left Arsenal for their rivals across London, and shot a guy in the locker room at the Bridge.

ghostridethewhip

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