Didier Drogba

[DannyRoberts]

He's been an annoying so and so over the last 8 years but, if tonight was indeed his last match for Chelsea, can I just say:

'Well played Sir. You were immense'

[treble99]

What a great goal he scored and at such a time.
I thought Ashley Cole had an immense game as well.

Big decisions now in London.
What of Chelsea's manager.Who will it be?
Will he keep his interim manager who you would think might have earned a chance.
Will Didier go or stay?He might have already signed a contract to go somewhere else.
Also to leave on this high will make him a god forever at The Bridge.
If he goes who will replace him.
Now that Abramovitch is in love with the game again will he use his fortune to try to lure Robin van Persie?
What will happen to RVP?Will he stay or will he go?
He has held Arsenal together all season and he can see what might be considered lesser players originally from Arsenal winning championship medals and champions league medals AND getting a fortune in wages.
Another big decision.
What do QPR do with Joey Barton.
Spurs about to move to a bigger ground and make money.Do they spend it no or wait until they make it.
An interesting summer in London eh

[DannyRoberts]

Very good points.

Drogba's celebrations at both the FA Cup Final and tonight suggest that he has played his last match for Chelsea.

With half the team suffering from fatigue it was interesting to note that Torres did not get involved in the penalty shootout so I suspect a very high profile replacement for Drogba will be needed. Robin van Persie would seem to fit the bill in all respects.

Tottenham have now got a £30 million hole in their budget forecasts so the likes of Modric and Bale may become realistic targets for those clubs with bigger budgets than most.

[Wullie]

Good header for the goal, but why why, why do teams not put a defender on the near post for corners? I see it week after week, it is amazing.
Also, why do Arsenal fans put up with being a feeder club to Chelsea and Man.City? Share holder Usmanov is richer than the Chelsea owner and is not allowed on the board.
That's the problem with prawn cocktail fans, no passion.

[nozer]

Personaly i have only seen the guy play a couple of times both in games against Everton at Goodison Park , was not impressed with him at all seamed to me to be a bit of a n*b diving all over the place, bit of a t*t if you ask me.
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"Some people say Wolves best days are gone i prefer to think the best are yet to come" Derek Dougan on joining Wolves from Leicester City 1967.

[treble99]

It will be very interesting to see if Spurs do sell anybody.
Your theory of a £30m hole in the budget is correct and they have a new stadium to finance.
Not much has changed from last season though for Spurs financially and they managed to hold onto everybody then.
They played some superb football in the early part of the season and faded,in my opinion,of just not enough strength in depth when the season came towards the end when all the niggling injuries finally catch up.
I just cannot understand Arsenal allowing all their best players to go.
The season was over and they were out of everything before they started playing.
As a result of finishing above Spurs the fans appear happy.
They are as good as gold.
They have a bit of a chat on a forum and then turn up again.
Where is the money going?
At least at Old Trafford we know it is being siphoned off by greedy owners.
The scousers protest.The Blackburn fans protest.The Manchester United fans protest.
It will work eventually.
The Arsenal fans just allow the best players to join other clubs and seem happy

[nozer]

treble99 wrote:

It will be very interesting to see if Spurs do sell anybody. Your theory of a £30m hole in the budget is correct and they have a new stadium to finance. Not much has changed from last season though for Spurs financially and they managed to hold onto everybody then. They played some superb football in the early part of the season and faded,in my opinion,of just not enough strength in depth when the season came towards the end when all the niggling injuries finally catch up. I just cannot understand Arsenal allowing all their best players to go. The season was over and they were out of everything before they started playing. As a result of finishing above Spurs the fans appear happy. They are as good as gold. They have a bit of a chat on a forum and then turn up again. Where is the money going? At least at Old Trafford we know it is being siphoned off by greedy owners. The scousers protest.The Blackburn fans protest.The Manchester United fans protest. It will work eventually. The Arsenal fans just allow the best players to join other clubs and seem happy

And wats your view on Dogbreath then Trebs.
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"Some people say Wolves best days are gone i prefer to think the best are yet to come" Derek Dougan on joining Wolves from Leicester City 1967.

[Kickoff3pm]

Yes he's a great player and yes his goal last night and some before where outstanding but for me that does not excuse the other side of his game.

This season he seems to b a decent bloke but not the type of bloke I would want around. For me any achievements to have value needs to be won with honor and honesty. Who would claim a race was won if the runner were tripping each other over in the race. Should jockeys start bashing the other horse as the get to the line ?

Sorry to say I can't think of a modern day footballer that earns much of what they achieve. And the sooner more fans stand up and say it's not acceptable the better.

Can you imagine a society where every one in every situation followed a footballer's rules. We would all be bankers and politicians I suppose

[treble99]

If i was Drogba i would move in a different direction now.
He has won everything at Chelsea and scored the winning goal in a Champions league final if indeed he does leave.
That makes him a god forever at Stamford Bridge.
You always become a better player when you have gone as everybody only remembers the good things.
He has more money that he can spend in 5 lifetimes.
He has his charity in Africa.
If he wants to stay fit and still earn some more money i am sure he can go and play in the States or Russia or similiar.
His CV alone will earn him daft money(ask Beckham and Henry) and nothing much will be expected of him.
A nice way to slide towards the end of your career.
As for Chelsea it will be interesting.
They are not a good football team.Experienced and tough in cup matches but not a great team
Even their own fans think they have a "lucky" manager.
I see it a little differently.
They have a manager of great playing experience who has the whole Chelsea dressing room behind him.
That means he doesn't have to motivate them too much.
In a one off cup match he can use his vast experience to set his team out tactically correct.
If he does get the managers job full time,and i believe he will,then he will surely get £100/150m to spend.
Then we will see how good a manager he is as he needs to rebuild a team with a few players coming to the end of their careers.
There is no reason why Di Matteo won't build a good team but if they don't perform in the league then history tells you Abramovitch will get rid and the timing would be right in a years time for Pep to come back.
Very very interesting for me

[nozer]

treble99 wrote:

If i was Drogba i would move in a different direction now. He has won everything at Chelsea and scored the winning goal in a Champions league final if indeed he does leave. That makes him a god forever at Stamford Bridge. You always become a better player when you have gone as everybody only remembers the good things. He has more money that he can spend in 5 lifetimes. He has his charity in Africa. If he wants to stay fit and still earn some more money i am sure he can go and play in the States or Russia or similiar. His CV alone will earn him daft money(ask Beckham and Henry) and nothing much will be expected of him. A nice way to slide towards the end of your career. As for Chelsea it will be interesting. They are not a good football team.Experienced and tough in cup matches but not a great team Even their own fans think they have a "lucky" manager. I see it a little differently. They have a manager of great playing experience who has the whole Chelsea dressing room behind him. That means he doesn't have to motivate them too much. In a one off cup match he can use his vast experience to set his team out tactically correct. If he does get the managers job full time,and i believe he will,then he will surely get £100/150m to spend. Then we will see how good a manager he is as he needs to rebuild a team with a few players coming to the end of their careers. There is no reason why Di Matteo won't build a good team but if they don't perform in the league then history tells you Abramovitch will get rid and the timing would be right in a years time for Pep to come back. Very very interesting for me

I was just wondering what was your view has Dogbreath the player .

[treble99]

Drogba the player is a quality player with exceptional skills and the knack of scoring important goals.
Obviously by your terminology you don't like him and presumably are referring to his apparent lack of strength when he is gently nudged and goes down easily.
I don't like that either but you can't deny his skills.
Personally i wouldn't mind him at Old Trafford for a season or two now that he is out of contract but i suspect that won't be an option as he would want more than the Glazers would pay so we're stuck with Wellshitethe powerfull English centre forward.
Nat Lofthouse would piss himself at the great hope for the Euros

[swnydwr]

For all the great player he is - he is also the biggest cheat in football - there is a great deal of evidence to confirm this - personally when a player from my team dives - eg gerrard, Carroll I find it embarrassing and would not be looking to sign someone who does this act. Then again United have had their fair share - Ruud van Divealot and the other Ronaldo! . Diving, cheating is a problem in todays game and this is what UEFA/FIFA should be looking to get rid of. Have you ever watched a Portuguese league game lately- the ball can only be in play for about 30 minutes!! The worst thing about these cheats is that kids watch them and do exactly the same - I help coach an under 16s team and some of the prima donnas we have had to deal with this year diving is unbelievable!!!!

[treble99]

There are some cheats and there are others who make the most of such situations
Also as the game has developed and got faster it is difficult when to determine when an athlete/footballer who is running at not far short of Olympic speed has been touched and when he has dived.
There is not as much diving as some people make out.
It is often the fan of a team that plays at pedestrian pace doesn't know the difference of what he is actually looking at.
Did Franny Lee earn the name of Lee won Pen or was he a diver?
Do Liverpool have divers.
It's an opinion

[swnydwr]

Did you bother reading what I said - Liverpool do have divers - I don't like that! They are the same as everybody else - but if you are naive enough to think that they are not trained to dive/make the most of situations then you are in cloud cuckooland! My problem is that I was taught as a kid not to go down when kicked - unfortunately this is not the case now. The speed of the game shite is something that has been peddled by sky to excuse the cheating that goes on. Do you actually think it is acceptable for Mr Drogba to go down pretending to be injured - then look through his fingers holding his head when he is also making out he has been kicked in the leg?

By the way, fair play to Chelsea , they rode their luck and won it before accusations of sour grapes are thrown at me.

[treble99]

Have you ever stood by the side of a pitch even at a training session when there are professional footballers on show.
Just look at the speed the ball fizzes around.Just look at the reaction time required.
As i am 60 years old i have watched a lot of games over the years.
Please don't try to compare a few kids kicking a ball around to the professional game as it is now.
Don't even try to compare it to say the 60's when strength was far more important than speed.
You were taught not to dive.So what.
What does that have to do with a modern day professional footballer who is built like a gymnast.There are a few you know.
Of course there are divers but don't start the Ruud van Divealot shit.
The point i was making is that there is a fair number of divers around a lot of clubs and the refs know them and should compensate for it
Equally there are a lot of defenders who know how to slyly tug a shirt then look the other way.
That's cheating as well you know.
Then there are those that timewaste.
I think that's cheating or certainly not in the spirit of the game.
What about the fans that throw shit when a player is taking a corner.

[swnydwr]

yes - i have stood at grounds where professional footballers are on show- i have actually been to training sessions with professional coaches and .... they do encourage players to "make the most of sitiations " as you put it.

My point is that this diving lark IS copied by kids and is not good for the game!!!

I didnt try to compare it to the 60s?!!!?

The comment about Ruud was an example - I gave 2 examples from my own team so I am not having a pop at you. You have to admit his dive against Ipswich a few years ago must go down as one of the worst ever!!!

My point about being taught as a kid not to go down shows the difference in training ideals between now and the 70s.

Time-wasteing and shirt tugging are also problems within the game to be looked at - I couldn't agree more. Personally I think UEFA/FIFA should look at the way physios can come onto a pitch and treat a player on the deck in the same way as rugby union. It would certainly cut out the "lets slow the game down" lark that has become common over the last couple of years. Mr Drogba is quite good at this one also.

fans that throw shit when a player is taking a corner? I thought we wre talking about cheats not mindless idiots who do stupid things. then again.....

[Tynie Topics]

I reserve more wrath for John Terry, who prances onto the pitch in his kit and makes like he was an integral part of the game.
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[treble99]

my point exactly about looking away.
he knees somebody in the groin and then looks away.
only problem was that there were 17 cameras all round the pitch looking at everything on and off the pitch.
now that's a mindless idiot and a cheat AND England captain.
What sort of example is that.Never mind diving which i stress i don't agree with.

[The SFC Chris]

Tynie Topics wrote:

I reserve more wrath for John Terry, who prances onto the pitch in his kit and makes like he was an integral part of the game.

Why do you have a problem with him coming on the pitch at the end? At the end of the day he has spent so many years at Chelsea and been so integral to their recent success that he deserves the chance to celebrate his team winning the Champions League on the pitch with his team-mates. Although having said it was stupid what he did in the first place and he should never have been allowed to lift the trophy - I don't have a problem with him going on the pitch though and don't see why anyone would.

[Tynie Topics]

The SFC Chris wrote:

Why do you have a problem with him coming on the pitch at the end? At the end of the day he has spent so many years at Chelsea and been so integral to their recent success that he deserves the chance to celebrate his team winning the Champions League on the pitch with his team-mates. Although having said it was stupid what he did in the first place and he should never have been allowed to lift the trophy - I don't have a problem with him going on the pitch though and don't see why anyone would.

He almost cost his team any chance they had of reaching the final with utter stupidity, they got there despite him not because of him and yet he has the audacity to lord it up in his kit and get his hands on the trophy when he should have been sitting in the stands thanking his lucky stars his team mates bailed him out.


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