Well done FSG

[BillobShaisley]

..... the way VB plays requires very young players and chelsea dont have them...

What does that mean?

[el matador]

it means that under VB his teams like to push high up the pitch, press teams constantly and play with a very fast tempo. the average age of his porto team is very young. i'd be surprised it was over 24 to 25 whereas the average age of the chelsea 1st team is close to 30 or even 31.

older legs cant do the kind of shifts that he asks of his fullbacks, central midfield players, wide players and centre forwards. his teams outwork and generally overwhelm the opposition but on many occasions last year i saw chelsea bullied all over the park.

with essien missing from midfield for the first 6 months the current squad have no chance whatsoever. their best players are all too old to play at the highest level and the likes of drogba, anelka, lampard, will struggle to make any impact this season. others like terry, cole, malouda, bosingwa are either 30 or close to it.

i think chelsea need 4 or 5 top draw younger players to help them compete otherwise they might struggle to finish top 4. only cech, david luiz, alex and torres have any sort of long term future at the club. even torres may struggle because i dont think he's quite the lone striker that VB needs, a younger version of drogba would be their idea of heaven.

[BillobShaisley]

I see what you mean now, but what's the average age of Barcelonas Midfield and Full backs?

Fat Frank I can possibly see struggling as a CM, Cole hasn't showed any signs of slowing down yet. They are in the market for another Essien (Parker/Diarra). I expect AVB to adapt to his resources if he hasn't been able to buy what he needs.

[el matador]

its also having a completely unselfish approach to football and playing only for the benefit of the team. in the past couple of seasons if anything chelseas players have had even bigger egos. its really the same with rafa, experienced players will struggle to adapt to the constant attention to detail and nit picking to improve them and the team.

younger players are eager to impress and they are easier to mould into what you want. they will run and chase all day and close down space whilst older players have egos and believe that others should do the dirty work for them.

this is why i think chelsea will struggle initially to adapt to VB. they dont have enough younger players willing to run through brick walls for the new manager. the older ones know their time is up and they just want an easy ride until retirement and with drogba, anelka and lampard hanging around the dressing room like a bad smell its not going to be an easy place to manage.

[Norbs]

Here's hoping

[kop-al-74]

Fsg have improved many things behind the scenes aswell I think.The tickets for the first game of the season is always hard to get hold of,especially this coming season with all the optimism around the club.I wanted to take my two boys up for the Sunderland game but couldn't get tickets.

The thought did cross my mind to just travel up from Herts and try and get tickets from touts but that thought didn't last long.

I was on the official website and saw they do the hospitality ticketshttps://bookings.liverpoolfc.tv/even...F5F24F770.web1 Which include tickets for the game upper Anfield Rd and post match meal in the boot room restaurant where a former player will be there aswell.

I haven't before been aware of this,although it's a little pricey,it's probably not much more than chancing tickets from touts,which many people do.And also the peace of mind knowing it's all above board.

I'm pleased and the boy's are over the moon,so excited.It will be the first time I take my 7 year old to Anfield although my older son (9) has been before.

These options just give people more access to the club and it can only be good to help sell out the ground.