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Chelsea were beaten in the 2010 Community Shield by Manchester United, the performance and the seemingly unfinished pre-season will undoubtably weigh heavily on the minds of Chelsea fans everywhere.

Despite the disapointment of the loss, this was also an opportunity to catch up with my footballing friends for the first time since the FA Cup Final in May. In truth the actual Community Shield match tends to play a minor role in a day of singing, drinking and catching up with familar faces.

Due to recent success Chelsea fans may have become a little blase about visiting Wembley, with the Community Shield not a definite on every fans to do list, maybe having played there every year since 2005 has meant that to some the focal point of English football is losing some of its magic and aura.

Trips to Wembley however are a great excuse for a day out. My day consisted of a few beers, singing and throwing celery outside the Globe pub in the hours leading up to kick off.

The trip down Wembley way was punctuated by singing and banter, with a largely friendly group of Manchester United supporters, I always enjoy this and find it refreshing when football banter, does not lead to football stupidity.

Another pleasing aspect was that once in the ground I only heard the buzzing of one or two rogue Vuvuzela’s, I do not think that English football will ever be ready to embrace this phenomenon of the World Cup.

The most frustrating part of the day however was the pathetic booing of the England players from both sides, I am not quite sure what it achieves and it grates me that it is regardless of the action taking place on the pitch, maybe I am just hypersensitive in my old age, but its a little bit boring.

Ultimately the trip to Wembley ended in defeat, I will be honest and say that I havent really given it the slightest bit of consideration in the fact that we lost, just that our performances need to improve.

This was a very brief review of the Community Shield but the season starts properly on Saturday at 17:30 and lets hope that the team and not just the fans turn up this time.

Most of us know the agony of thinking a star player is going to join our club, only to wake up and find out that he has joined another club. The Robinho transfer saga was one that ended in sorrow for all Chelsea fans, even if in the end it looks like we were saved a great deal of money and hassle.

Today when a player like Ramires is ‘claimed’ to be on the verge of joining the club, it would be better to be more cautious.

Chelsea-bound Ramires passes to his Brazilian team mate Robinho

With the issue of 3rd parties owning Ramires, some claim that it won’t be much of a problem.

However, according to Premier League rules the transfer could be in jeopardy and we as fans musn’t get overconfident till we see the player holding a Chelsea Shirt at a Stamford Bridge press conference.

No doubt that such a transfer is leaning towards the Bridge, but we cannot be sure. Ever since the Robinho Kit Sale debacle its hard to say whether even the official site could be 110% right that the transfer will happen.

Fans can only hope that the club will sign the players that are needed to take the club forward. However, today there is the uncertainty of a last minute bid, a player changing his mind, politics and cash.

Robinho also chose City over Chelsea but his Brazilian counterpart, Ramires, has chosen Chelsea. Let’s hope that this time we can sign the player who truly wishes to be at the club.

Should Chelsea Take Such Huge Risk ??

 Earlier in the week Richard French highlighted Neymar as one of the more viable transfer options for Chelsea.

This is supplemented by the fact that during the past week reports in the media have been circulating that Chelsea are in the hunt for the Brazilian wonder kid.

If Chelsea want to sign him, it is likely he is special, f he is barely old enough to shave and Brazilian then he must be a really really interesting prospect.

It is reported that Chelsea made a bid for the 18 year old star from Santos, apparently this was turned down but the player’s agent has then clarified that that if Neymar wants to join Chelsea then he will do anything to make it happen.

This suggests that with persistence Chelsea have a fantastic chance at signing the youngster, However, should Chelsea shell out such multi millions to bring teenager who hasn’t even won a international cap?

 No doubt that spending such huge amount on teenager is a gamble but there are also positives. As he is still in his early stages of his career and yet to mature,, he will get plenty of time to adjust himself with the English game and the weather. 

 Also, we all know that manager and higher management are looking to build the team for the future rather than the present, as our star players move towards their twilight years in football.

Ancelotti brought Kaka and Pato to AC Milan and they have turned them into real world class players.

Therefore I trust Carlo Ancelotti if it is his wish to sign Neymar then we must trust he can turn this raw talent into a masterpiece., 

Neymar is really one of the exceptional talents of the game today, he has speed, skills, vision, can play with both feet and can play in number of formations as well as all the other requirements to become a star player, including natural Brazilian flair.  

This is the style that Roman Abramovich and Carlo Ancelotti must be seeking, given a chance Neymar could become a superstar and more than repay the clubs investment, becoming a prized asset.  

Yet  every coin has two sides, if we sign him and he comes to England then he will be considered as a celebrity even before he plays a single game, we all know what media is capable of doing.

The burden of expectations might cost him in the recent years few Brazilian players have come to Europe to play in England. There was of course Robinho but we all know what happened to him,

I believer there are many more positives and negatives regarding this transfer but I cannot spend all my days trying to convince you.

In short if Chelsea can sign him for not more than 25 million and give him enough time to adjust without putting any burden, then CHELSEA MUST SIGN HIM…… but only time will decide…….

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When the announcement came that Joe Cole’s contract was not to be renewed by Chelsea, most fans were bitterly disappointed whatever the background circumstances and dealings were.

After the initial shock the two questions were who would replace Joe Cole in the Chelsea squad and where would he go next?

The protracted answer to both questions was the unofficial swap with Liverpool involving Yossi Benayoun; in which Chelsea paid an undisclosed sum for an older and slightly less talented player than has departed.

This does not mean that Yossi Benayoun will not do a good job for Chelsea and achieve success, however he will be replacing a local boy and fans favourite Joe Cole, a player that grew up on the terraces of Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea have reportedly paid £5m for 30 year old Yossi Benayoun who has a decent Premier League record and undoubted talent, he will likely take the role of squad player, with the ability to step up when required. This patience and lower wage demands (assumingly) are likely to be the main advantages to his signing by Chelsea.

On the opposite side of the coin Chelsea have lost and Liverpool gained a 28 year old flair player, who cost his new employers only his inflated contract reported at over £90k per week. Joe Cole is likely to expect a regular place in the starting line up, in a position of his preference to showcase his skills, he will also most likely be hoping for his first injury free season in at least a couple of years.

In the terms of the winners and losers in this deal only time will tell, however I believe that if Joe Cole stays fit and is given a central role he will be successful at Anfield meaning that Joe Cole and Liverpool would have got the best part of the deal. However should Joe Cole fail to recover his form or match fitness then Chelsea will have acquired a solid squad player and shed a much loved injury ridden midfielder who does not quite fit into the current tactical set up at Stamford Bridge.

It is not often that I get drawn into writing about transfer speculation, I normally leave that to others that you will see writing here in the coming days and weeks during the build up to the start of the season.

On this occasion I feel compelled to write about the players that Chelsea should resist the urge of chasing in the coming weeks.

In defence and attack Chelsea have strength and depth and potential match winners, it is for this reason that I see no real need for the procurement of any ‘Marquee’ signings at the club in the coming weeks.

Amongst the big names that have been suggested the three below would constitute a step backwards as the club strives for financial stability.

Fernando Torres

Although a proven Premier League talent, Fernando Torres with a hefty price tag and legs seemingly made of matchsticks would not be a shrewd investment for Chelsea Football Club.

Whilst it is likely that an injury free Torres, would be a real weapon for any side, I do not believe on the current evidence that this is something that will occur in the next 18 months.

Therefore even if a deal was infact possible, the club should focus on developing the talent that it has at its disposal or invest in younger talent that will cost less and draw a lower salary.

Kaka

A ridiculously talented footballer that Chelsea simply do not need, the transfer fee and salary make the signing of the former Carlo Ancelotti charge unsustainable.

I also feel that he would struggle in the Premier League, but fortunately this pipe dream will never come to pass.

Robinho

Its ok the last one is a joke, I just want to remind people that not all big name players live up to their reputation, at the time many were devastated by the transfer chaos that took place two summers ago but I think Chelsea were the winners in that transfer saga.

With a club the size of Chelsea there is the temptation to try and sign every star of the modern game in the Real Madrid ‘Galaticos’ style, however as the mixed fortunes of Real Madrid show, success is built on squads and not neccessarily stars.

There have been departures, some may argue that the loss of Michael Ballack and Joe Cole will leave a whole in the club. However the return of ‘new’ signing Michael Essien means that these losses will not be as hard as many will fear.

There is no doubt that a few players will need to come in to replace the players that have left, but in my opinion we need squad players, or young players that can be developed, rather than overpaid and overhyped ‘superstars’.

Is Fabio Borini the Future of Chelsea's frontline?

As the media keeps reporting Chelsea are tracking various high profile strikers, we can only hope that one of these rumours might be true. Torres, Suarez and Aguero have already proved themselves on the international stage and would be great strikepartners to Didier Drogba.

Sergio Aguero has made it known that he would like to play at Chelsea along side the likes of John Terry, Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba. Furthermore, he mentioned that he would like to link up with Fernando Torres at Chelsea. The Argentinian who is married to Diego Maradona’s daughter has great goal scoring ability.

Torres is well known to Chelsea fans, the fastest man to reach to 50 Premier League goals, he also holds the record for scoring the most goals scored by an overseas player during their debut Premier League season. With Torres hungry for Champions League Football, I hope that he will make the easy choice and choose Chelsea over Liverpool.

Luis Suarez scored 49 goals last season for Ajax and contributed to Uruguay’s dream run to the semi-finals in the 2010 World Cup. Suarez has played a supporting striker throughout his career for the likes of Diego Forlan, Klaas Jan Huntelaar and Marko Pantelic. A potential partnership with Didier Drogba could gift Chelsea Football Club another record breaking goal tally next season.

Looking at less established strikers Romelu Lukaku is probably Europe’s most sought after youngster. A Chelsea fan, he was recently pictured wearing the new Chelsea home kit at Stamford Bridge. The Belgian 17-year old already has 2 caps for Belgium and will give anything to join Didier Drogba at Chelsea.

The real question to ask ourselves is that is it necessary to sign another striker? Especially when we have Daniel Sturridge and Fabio Borini already at the club, there are also others such as young Jacopo Sala desperate for a chance to shine?

Therefore do we need to spend money to make more of a crowd in the striking department? Daniel Sturridge who could be England’s future, should be given a chance in the first team after managing 5 goals in his first season at the club from limited appearances.

The question I put to you and the club is, who should be preffered, should we favour Torres or Suarez over Sturridge and Borini?