I never took to Drogba in the way I did to Zola. Didier was the ultimate drama queen . Zola the ultimate true sportsman an gentleman. I would almost go as far as to say I prefer Costa to Drogba ,in many ways he is more honest.
Chelsea 2016/17 - Very Content
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Drogba could be a bit of a drama queen but from what I know he's done a lot of fantastic charity work off the pitch and is generally a decent person.
there were stories that his charity foundation in the Ivory Coast hadnt delivered . He was larger than than life but as Bonkerslam said he did have flaws.
The ex Chelsea player most undervalued as a person is Ashley Cole.
Really? Only thing I really knew about him doing outside of football was cheating on his wife.
your remark has just proved my point . I will not be able to explain further as my posts are limited
The only frustration was that he didn't put the same effort he put in the big matches into the smaller matches. If he did, he'd have scored a lot more than he did. His 09/10 season was a perfect example of what he would have been if he took every game as seriously as he took the big matches.
But I'd rather have a player that does that than a player who's a flat track bully and goes missing when you REALLY need him. There are no "cracks". He wasn't perfect. Almost no player is. And those diving antics only really happened pre 2008. Drogba's bust up in the Moscow which got him sent off....could you REALLY say to yourself that Costa wouldn't have done 10 times worse? As I said, he wasn't perfect but he's the greatest striker to ever wear a Chelsea shirt. Argue with that if you want but ask yourself if any of the others won a CL for Chelsea and then come back.
His legendary status is well deserved. He's also an Ivory Coast legend and not just with football. I mean, the man stopped a civil war in his country and has built important hospitals that help a lot of Ivorians (as well as the charity he's done in England over the years).
Do I wish he was as constantly laser focused and clinical as a Van Nistelrooy? Absolutely. But he wasn't and he still achieved more than RVN and most other strikers who scored more than he did. Only striker I can think of who scored more AND won more is Rooney.
For the umpteenth time, he was NOT perfect. That doesn't take anything away from his legendary status. If anything, if he had done more, it would only have added to how much he's revered at the moment.
Ossie and Jimmy Greaves are the greatest strikers to wear a Chelsea shirt. Costa is better at team play than Drogba ever was and always gives defenders a battle even when not playing well....alway top effort, something Drogba missed.
I am not saying Drogba shouldnt be legendary but his legendary status and talk about how he played has gone OTT the longer he has been retired from Chelsea
I may be misremembering, but didn't Diego score a bunch of goals in the CL for Atleti en route to the CL final? The year they knocked us out? We can certainly push for the CL next season with him leading our line.
The biggest areas of reinforcement for us in the summer need to be quality depth in midfield and defense. Another striker is about 4th priority for me. A backup for Diego rather than a replacement.
The biggest areas of reinforcement for us in the summer need to be quality depth in midfield and defense. Another striker is about 4th priority for me. A backup for Diego rather than a replacement.
Chelsea as a team with an exact 3-4-3 lineup are near plateau imho, they can only try a like-for-like improvement which would prove quite costly and pretty difficult because it is made for specialists, the flanks first, then a couple of world-class CBs, a CM better than Matic and finally another proven main striker.
unless of course the manager tries (again) to introduce a 424 system which he favours
Diego wont be there i dont think. the Chinese are going to offer mega money, and he will go.
We'll see. If he finishes the season extremely well and ends up scoring 25 PL goals and leads us to the title I think he can be persuaded to stay and fight for the CL next season.
Either way I'm not worried at all. If he stays we keep a world class striker. If he leaves well either buy a world class replacement or one who can become world class like Lukaku.
Drogba as non prolific as he was scored more goals for Chelsea than both Ossie and Jimmy Greaves. Drogba even has more goals for Chelsea alone than Ossie's total career goals. He also won a lot more trophies for Chelsea, been part of the club's most successful spell, leading the line as the main man and winning the biggest trophy in club football for us. Tell me again why Drogba isn't the greatest CFC striker. He may not necessarily be your personal favorite but no one has been greater. You can't dispute that.
If the reports are accurate that Tianjian are offering €150 million for Costa this summer, Chelsea would have to be mad to not take it. Costa is obviously brilliant, but he is 28 and given his history of dodgy hamstrings that amount of money would be a coup.
I'd argue that Lukaku would be a logical replacement, being 5 years younger with room to continue to develop. Combined with the Oscar fee, Chelsea could spend the resulting €210 million on Lukaku (€70m), Nainggolan (€40m), Bernardo Silva (€70m), and Djibril Sidibe (€30m). That'd be a hell of a squad capable of challenging in Europe in my (admittedly biased) opinion.
I found this article thought-provoking as well-a statistical comparison of Costa and Lukaku. I actually agree for the most part, I don't think they're as far apart in terms of quality as one might think, and I would argue that Lukaku would benefit greatly from playing with better teammates.
http://weaintgotnohistory.sbnation.com/2017/2/27/14746272/et-tu-lulu
I'd argue that Lukaku would be a logical replacement, being 5 years younger with room to continue to develop. Combined with the Oscar fee, Chelsea could spend the resulting €210 million on Lukaku (€70m), Nainggolan (€40m), Bernardo Silva (€70m), and Djibril Sidibe (€30m). That'd be a hell of a squad capable of challenging in Europe in my (admittedly biased) opinion.
I found this article thought-provoking as well-a statistical comparison of Costa and Lukaku. I actually agree for the most part, I don't think they're as far apart in terms of quality as one might think, and I would argue that Lukaku would benefit greatly from playing with better teammates.
http://weaintgotnohistory.sbnation.com/2017/2/27/14746272/et-tu-lulu
Well done Chelsea and all that, but I'm seriously concerned they might carry this on next season. Scratching around for reasons they won't, but beyond Costa leaving why wouldn't they win it again next year?
You can never predict the Premier League. United will get better over the summer. City will get better. Liverpool will also get better, I assume. Spurs have also been progressing every season. That said, I expect Chelsea to get better as well.
One thing is certain though, it'll be a tight race next season for the title.
Imagine Conte getting his top transfer targets and having had the year of settling in the PL.
Remember, we didn't sign any of his first choice targets and he's still doing fantastically well.
Haven't you heard? Next year is Liverpool's year.
I've watched Lukaku quite regularly with Belgium prior to and during the EUROs and I thought him and Hazard were no good fit. Hazard is always looking for quick link up play with sudden passes and one-twos inside crowded areas, and Lukaku simply couldn't catch up. He produced many easy turnovers and bad passes with his back to the goal, often interrupting Belgium's attacking flow.
Whether it was his first touch, his hold up play or his passing under pressure, everything seemed quite unreliable. He reminded me a bit of Mario Gomez: A beast when he faces the goal in dynamic situations and is able to shoot (or pass) within a short amount of time and with space available; But not good enough on the link up aspects for a top team that has to play through a well-organised defense.
Now, I don't watch Everton at all and I have seen people say on this forum that he improved greatly on these issues. That would make my objections obsolete, although I'm sceptical if a player can make significant progress in these areas at age 23.
The difference between 75% and 65% pass success rate is not insignificant imo. Especially if my speculation is right that Chelsea's opponents play more defensively/get pushed back deeper than Everton's, and there is less space around the box. (Just a speculation, as I said, I don't watch Everton.)
In my experience players only benefit from playing with better teammates when they offer a similar basic skillset. I have seen decent/good players struggle quite badly in top teams if they didn't. For Belgium, Lukaku played with Hazard, De Bruyne, Mertens and Carrasco and I don't think the whole setup was really flattering to him.
Very valid points, though having watched Lukaku extensively over the past couple years I can say without reservation that he has progressed considerably in terms of his passing and hold up play, and would point to his age. I'd also be reluctant to judge any Belgian player based on their performances for the national team under Wilmots given how clueless he is/was; not reaching at minimum the semis last summer was a bottle job on par with anything from any manager over the past half century in my opinion given the circumstances.
Lukaku has looked markedly better this season. It is very true that his greatest strength is as a rampaging force of nature on the counterattack-I can't think of a single striker in the world currently that offers his combination of pace and power in 1v1 situations. His game obviously requires a great deal of refining, but he is absolutely miles ahead of Costa or Drogba at age 23.
Pass rate can be a tricky statistic, as it is so dependent on your teammates' making themselves available and given that Everton commonly just lump the ball up to Lukaku and expect him to make something out of nothing, I think it's a bit harsh to judge him for that. Also like I said, the five year age gap and massive difference in injury history make Lukaku a more than adequate replacement, if indeed the €150m fee for Costa is real.
Ah, so you were probably one of the posters I read here on Lukaku at Everton. As I said, if he indeed got significantly better in these areas, his compatibility to Chelsea's offense might be similar to Costa's.
I'm aware of the Wilmots factor, but I think it applies more to interplay issues than individual technical weaknesses. The flaws I made out in Lukaku's game were not really the result of a lack of options or support. The situation might very well be different at Everton of course, perhaps I should try to catch a few of their games during the remainder of the season.
In the end we'll just have to wait and see. If Conte & Chelsea judge the player's development similar to you, he'll certainly be high up on the list for a possible Costa replacement.
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We should definitely contemplate selling Costa to China if they're offering that. Spend the money on an elite technical striker. I prefer players that can impact & dominate games without scoring & make their teammates better.
As long as you work hard & score goals people tend to ignore a striker's technical flaws in England. Look for the next Eto'o, Drogba, Zlatan, Suarez etc.
As long as you work hard & score goals people tend to ignore a striker's technical flaws in England. Look for the next Eto'o, Drogba, Zlatan, Suarez etc.
No but this time it actually is though. Like for realsies.
Not sure where you get your records from but Greaves 124 league goals in just 157 league appearances is miles ahead of what Drogba achieved. Ossies league record is similar to Drogbas ....then there are other strikers such as Bobby Tambling, Roy Bentley and Kerry Dixon all with great or decent scoring figures.
I have highlighted above why Drogba ...although legendary was not the greatest.
The other players I have mentioned are/were certainly revered by the majority of the support over what Drogba ever got.
You said it....Drogba was part of a very successful team.....which makes the other players records stand out even more.
All of the players I have mentioned above were always fighting for the team 100% of the time..... something which Drogba was lacking most of his career at Chelsea.
But back to your stupid quote "no one has been greater. You can't dispute that.".... its a forum of opinions and debate which means we can dispute whatever you say like you can with my opinions and facts stated
The story goes that when he left he did something that seriously pissed off one of the major figures behind the scenes at Chelsea, and despite various people within the club trying to smooth it over, it's still a major barrier to him being signed again. Guess we'll see what happens.
Fair enough. Then I'm free to say your opinion is stupid as well. It's one thing to say Zola was loved by everyone and he's your favorite, but most sane people can agree that Lampard is the greatest Chelsea player of all time.
At least admit to yourself that the parameter you're using is "how well was he revered?". You're discounting longevity and trophy haul in and focusing on level of reverence. That's probably the most stupid argument you could have made for Greaves and Ossie and you did it anyway. Joe Cole and Damien Duff were loved by every Chelsea fan. You don't see anyone comparing their achievements to Lampard's for example. And to try to diminish Drogba's role in what we've become today (9 goals in 9 finals, if I'm not mistaken, countless goals in countless big games, Barcelona & Munich 2012) by implying it was because of his team mates is just....wow. Might as well tell me Zola is a greater football legend than Ronaldo because Ronaldo has only been part of very successful teams. You think Jimmy, Ossie, Dixon and the likes went out on the pitch to play on their own or what? It's an 11 team sport. You'll win feck all if you can't get every player on the pitch to play a role.
It seems hyperbole is lost on you as well. I don't literally mean you should stop voicing your opinion on here, Christ!
Greaves would probably be in the top ten strikers to ever play the game, so that's no slight on Drogba. I'm absolutely not convinced Costa reached Drogba levels for us yet. This guy had more goals than games against some of our closest rivals, and more goals at cup finals than finals - both with a significantly sized samples. Ridiculous at big games! I watched him create all four goals against Liverpool. And yes, Lampard is the greatest ever Chelsea player.
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Sure, I'd agree with that assessment of Greaves if you were referring to top 10 in England. That can be debated but you have a strong point there. But he spent most of his career at Spurs, not Chelsea. We're talking about his Chelsea career which only lasted about 3 or 4 seasons.Greaves would probably be in the top ten strikers to ever play the game, so that's no slight on Drogba. I'm absolutely not convinced Costa reached Drogba levels for us yet. This guy had more goals than games against some of our closest rivals, and more goals at cup finals than finals - both with a significantly sized samples. Ridiculous at big games! I watched him create all four goals against Liverpool. And yes, Lampard is the great the ever Chelsea player.
Costa hasn't done nearly enough to be in a conversation with Drogba. I'd put him top 30-40 among Chelsea players of all time tbh.
Shouldn't it be JT not Lampard then?
not discounting trophy and longevity at all...but you seem to base your whole point around it.
Also not saying my only paremeter is how well a player is revered either...again, its only part of it.
In terms of a player overall, taking everything into account..... Although he done great things ( and lets us down often as well ) Drogba is not considered by many supporters to be the greatest striker to wear a Chelsea shirt.
Drogba was top class for maybe 3 years.... but when he first arrived he was awful and in his latter stages wasnt very consistant.
And as a player, I think that even Costa is better at leading a line, battling with defenders for the whole match and link up play.
As I keep saying Drogba was very good at times for Chelsea...but his legendary status gets increased every time we hear about him by fans especially those who havent even seem much of him live in a Chelsea shirt and go by TV highlights and historical media bytes on youtube etc.
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The way he ended his career at Chelsea (first spell) was so spectacular. He scored the only goal in the only chance Chelsea had during the Champions League final against Bayern and then shot the final penalty in penalty shoot-outs which helped Chelsea win the first Champions League ever. Champions League trophy was so so coveted by Chelsea at that time, after a decade of miserable failures. For that reason alone he will be always be remembered as one of the greatest heroes at Stamford Bridge.
You have some good points as his earlier years at Chelsea were not so great (still good or at least not so bad) and his performance was quite inconsistent later. But the most important thing for a striker is to shine in big matches or critical moments. Only twice in Premier League he scored 20+ goals a season but he was always fecking dominant in finals. He really scored there for fun, which helped the club winning cups and gave special feelings to the fan. Of course for that reason people love him.
He was also GREAT against Arsenal EVERY time. Still that's easy I guess.
ha ha ha that's true
I'm just going by what you mentioned mate. That's the only thing you mentioned.
Not going to knock him for taking a while to adapt to the league. Everyone knows he wasn't a ready made product when he was bought. You seem to be going to the extreme to try to diminish what he's done for Chelsea and I find that hilarious.
Thankfully, I'm not one of those. You're just displaying confirmation bias. You seem to only take the opinions of fans that agree with your point of view on Drogba seriously and try to paint that as the opinion of most Chelsea fans while those that don't agree mostly haven't seen him live otherwise they'd agree with you. Can you listen to yourself mate?
So the huge number of Chelsea fans who hold him in such high esteem apparently haven't seen much of him live? I'm not even sure I want to go further with this discussion. You're free to believe whatever you want to.It's a fair argument. 100 times fairer than saying for example "well Wisey is greater, he was more loved" or something like that.
Costa recorded 75 unsuccessful touches and got dispossessed 75 times in 25 league games. He ruins a move SIX times per game, statistically.
Baby elephant is growing in the room quickly.
Baby elephant is growing in the room quickly.
Are you alright in the head mate?
Ossie and Jimmy. Are you just saying to jump on the typical old school nostalgic Chelsea bandwagon? What I mean is those who will for the sake of nostalgia name their greatest ever player, trophy win or match to times in the 70s 60s etc over something more significant in the modern era, just for the sake of being old school.
Jimmy wasn't with us long enough and Ossie is a legend in a different way to Drogba. However, that is not really my concern with what I'm quoting.
How in the Blue hell (pun intended) can you say Costa's team play was better than what Drogba's ever was?????
Drogba's main strength at Chelsea was just that! His team play! I remember after 2006 title win, he was disappointed and openly said that "I've sacrificed myself for the team, which I why my goalscoring is so low. Next season I will be more selfish". That very next season he scored a ridiculous amount of goals in the league. Hold up play, defending corners, slowing down play with play acting were all things Drogba had to help the team. Without Drogba's hold up play, Lampard, Robben, Duff, Malouda and Joe Cole don't have the space and free path to run through on goal. 8 years of great service and teamwork easily beats what Costa has offered us so far.
Drogba was the ultimate team player (way above Costa) and he is an absolute legend at Stamford Bridge. I really question your thought process and motives as a real Chelsea fan to even think that Drogba's legendary status is OTT.
Totally depending what mood he was in. I've lost count of the number of times he used to sulk on the half way line. He'll always be a legend for us, but his reputation has gone a bit over the top since the CL final goal. On a good day he was one of the finest, most dominant strikers I've ever seen, but there were plenty of not so good days too.
Drogba surely has to be a Chelsea legend? How many trophies did you win because of that man?? He was a beast!
That's why I said he'll always be a legend. He was an incredible player, but he wasn't a perfect one. I don't think that's any disrespect to say.