Chelsea welcome Mr. Ballack.

[fish eel]

I just wish Chelsea would take Roy Mackaay of Bayern's hands.....

The whole Ballack thing, just freaking ridiculous. He was never going anywhere else other than Chelsea. But good on the Bayern management, when he didnt sign, they simply pulled the contract, stopped talking to him and refused to even contemplate getting caught up in a bidding war

 

[hybrid_tiger]

awesome. we should have an awesome midfield now. best in football.

Should be your best season as a supporter since your first in 2003.

 

[aqua_duck]

The chelski bandwagon rolls on

 

[Dragooner]

F*CK CHELSEA!!!!!!!!

I h8 them, i just h8 them

 

[aqua_duck]

Even Real Madrid weren't this bad, and thats saying something as a Barcelona fan

 

[Eddie.]

Doesn't it feel hollow?

No.

Ive been a supporter sinced as long as i can remember, and it feels good

 

[Tim Brasher]

Shevchenko is reportedly going to sign with Chelsea....This is ridiculous

 

[stuke]

he will not be 250,000 quid a week. 250,000 australian dollars possibly.

reports are 250 000 pounds per week. approximately 600 000 - 700 000 AUS dollars per week.

 

[Mad Dogg]

Essien > Makelele

All he attempts are square passes, isnt a bulldog whilst tackling, nothing more than a glorified water carrier, far from a deep-lying playmaker.

Who said that Makelele was a deep-lying playmaker? And why does he have to be a 'bulldog' when he tackles?

Makelele is the best pure defensive midfielder in the world. He has an incredible positioning sense which lets him get in the right spot to just slip in and steal the ball, instantly looking to spread it to a teammate in space, rather than come steaming in and throw himself into the tackle (and then being in trouble when the ball runs to another opposition player).

Yes, Essien is a better all-round player (although I do feel Makelele is under-rated in his passing and technical ability), but Chelsea and Real before them have plenty of other players who can attack. And it's Makelele's unmatched defensive work that lets these other players concentrate on their attacking work. I can guarentee you that if Essien was picked ahead of Makelele, all it would do is mean that Lampard and Ballack would both have to worry more about defending than they currently do, hence making the team as a whole weaker.

In other words, I would absolutely love it if they did choose to play Essien instead of Makelele.