The Fat Waiters FC

Brief:

Team Wilshere
Marky
Zebs
Hero - CAPTAIN
Gregers
Afro

The second task - DEADLINE 2359 ON THURSDAY 29 NOVEMBER - is as follows:

You are Rafael Benitez, recently appointed as Interim Chelsea Manager. You want the job on a full-time basis. To get the job, your mandate from the owner is this - win the league, get to at least the semi-final of the Champions League, and win the FC Cup like last year. In order to do this, you can buy/sell as many players as you want in the January transfer window. In addition to funds raised, Abramovich has given you £50m to spend.

So that's it - win stuff, spend some money to do so. What I want from you is the detailed plans you would put together - from now until Christmas how you'll set up, who you'll buy in January, and how your team will set up from then until the end of the season.

Hero, you are the Captain of Team Wilshere, and Trebs, you are the Captain of Team Scholes. Please ask questions if you need any clarity.

Lord Azzy Mahmood

Ship Torres off in a deal that sees Falcao coming in, a better cb and dcm are also required.

Maybe target Willian?

Right then, how do you want to go about this?

The way I see it, there are two challenges:

Champions League - getting through in the short term, so making the best of what we have immediately and then January onwards getting a squad capable of winning two trophies and going a long way in CL i.e. deep enough to challenge on all fronts, good enough to win two of them

Hero, may I say DO NOT SELL Torres. Abramovich seems to like him and wants him playing. Apparntly Di Matteo leavng him out of the Juve match contributed to his sacking.
We need to keep Abramo happy to stay in the job. Thats first and foremost.

First TP Target is a straigh forward one, Falco

One initial thought that crossed my mind was establishing your authority on the side by getting rid of John Terry. Torres might fall into this bracket too.

If it wins the league and competes in the CL, that might sway Roman's thinking

Right guys we've got a solid team here of astute managers, we need to utilise the strengths of each other and get the win under our belt.

Afro & Zebs - I see you two as tactics king, at present we're in a mess so I want you working on ideas on how to immediately steady the boat, especially in regards to asserting authority in the dressing room with players, the last match in the CL is of vital importance too so pay particular attention there.

Marky & Gregers - Both of you are proven transfer specialists, I want to see what both of you can do wheeling and dealing in the market, we've got a good framework of a team and we obviously need to think about who could be available in January due to being cuptied etc and what positions we need. Also what effect upon the team selling too many players could have on morale.

I was writing that as you guys typed so it shows we're thinking on the same page at least.

I'm on the case - my initial thoughts is we have to win whatever, and ideally a big win to take away the impact of the draw in the other game

Afro & Zebs - I see you two as tactics king

Awww thank you, thats a lovely compliment Hero

One initial thought that crossed my mind was establishing your authority on the side by getting rid of John Terry

We could go about it from the other angle and get Terry onour side, get him doing coaching badges and install him as player/first team coach.
Just a thought

Good idea Zebs. If you get Terry's ear, you get a lot of the team. Make him feel he is a part of your clique and not his own.

I like it

Yes very much agree. Short term wise there's the huge issue of an immediate win to boost morale, need to get the dressing room on board. Unfortunately the first game is v City!

One of the plusses is obviously the relationship between Benitez and Torres is there, it may lift Torres's confidence on the pitch, the language is also something that we can look at, Rafa is also fluent in Italian as well as his obvious mother tongue but there's a number of Brazilians & Belgians in the squad so ensuring nothing is lost in translation is paramount.

Make him feel he is a part of your clique and not his own.

What I was thinking.
That was we are helping him to become a coach & eventually manager (he'll be after our jobs not our wives lol).
Get him straight back in the team too, he is important to keeping the defence organised.
I dont feel the squad/team needs to many changes. Just a few tweeks.
We should play to Mata's strengths, build the attacking part of the team around him.
A big RM/RW may be required.
Falco is a muct IMO.

Torres isnt scoring, nor can we say he will in our team. We need to handle him carefully. Bringing Falco would mean he loses his place in the starting line up. The problem lies here, when Abramo spends big he wants that player playing, more importantly starting, every match I.E the Sheva situation few years back.

Also, is that hawwt Physio still at the club? Can I get a massage off her, the inside of my leg feels a little tight

I'll have a think about a tactic to get the best out of Torres.

He was at his very best when
1) he didn't roam into the channels, but stayed centrally,
2) he tended to pick up deeper and turn and run at defenders (a scorer of great goals, not a great goalscorer)
3) when he had Gerrard playing just off him - they fed of each other, not just Gerrard feeding Torres

When you say transfers, are we to decide where needs strengthening? Or will you guys have a say on what positions first?

Between you & Gregers I want you to look at the squad we currently have, sell what you deem as surplus to provide extra cash and bring in new talent.

Good point on Torres. It is going to be difficult to argue him scoring, whatever tactic we use, as he is so off the boil.

You can't carry a non-scoring striker, he can't be benched, therefore he needs to be sold IMO

I would base prices on what has been bandied about in the press and/or TM value. You are not going to get £31m for Torres.

Right lunch time which means that one half of the transfer team is here.

Chelsea need a strong CB, preferably someone who is quite quick to cover Terry and ideally someone not playing for a CL/Europa league side so he can play in Europe for us.

DCM wise again non CL would be ideal. In the short run having Romeu playing over Mikel is a definite. This would allow Ramires to roam.

Is Falcao a definite/can we play Torres and Falcao?

We need a backup keeper as well if Cech gets injured.

Sales:
Mikel, Lampard, Sturridge, Turnball.

Guys we need to concentrate on our own areas more, whilst it's fine to say that Torres won't be played it's still the decision of Marky/Gregers on if that player is to be sold in the transfer window, please feel to comment but the decision has to lie with the people in charge of their role (although I will overrule if absolutely neccessary).

Think of Afro/ZZZ as being in the roles of coaches whilst Marky/Gregers are focused on wheeling and dealing. That role shouldn't be too time consuming though and Gregers in particular with his alliegance needs to be tapped for his knowledge.

DCMs

Ettiene Capoue
Sven Bender
Gary Medel

Thoughts on which one?

1) he didn't roam into the channels, but stayed centrally, Agreed
2) he tended to pick up deeper and turn and run at defenders (a scorer of great goals, not a great goalscorer) Doesnt have his turn & pace to do that now IMO, a combination of Rafa + Injury messed him up. Rafa as he delayed the operation he needed and played him so much in desperation of trying to win the league.
3) when he had Gerrard playing just off him - they fed of each other, not just Gerrard feeding Torres Who can play off him? Mata isnt the type. Hazard could but Mata is best central when he can control the play.

Marky, id advise ot to make loads of transfers. bring one or two in, lose 2 or 3 max. The main bulk of the squad needs to stay intact without big chances unsettling players, Terry in particular.

Back to Torres. I dont think we should sell. It would anger Abramo.
Rumours in the press say Torres want to go back to Spain. Falco plays in Spain at Torres boyhood club. Are you thinking what im thinking???
Keeps Abramo happy as he doesnt have to shell out loads for Falco, just a bit onto of a mis-friing striker.

Torres back to Atletico in p/x for Falcao is a no brainer yes but what is the ruling on Falcao in Europe, does the Euro Cup nullify him for CL if we get through?

Hero wrote:Torres back to Atletico in p/x for Falcao is a no brainer yes but what is the ruling on Falcao in Europe, does the Euro Cup nullify him for CL if we get through?

Europa League means he can't play in the CL. That would mean we would have no striker for the CL (Sturridge should be sold)

I really like Medel, but he doesn't carry high enough ratings. And which Bender is Sven again? The Leverkusen one is the better one. Capoue also good

On Medel, I was playing as Seville on FM and I sold Medel for £30m to Man City and brought in Cabaye, Pirlo and M'Vila with the cash. Then all my squad were unhappy at the club showing a lack of ambition

Sven is the Leverkusen one and hence can play in the CL (I think)

Id say keep Mikel, Lampard. Lamps with his exp can help the team. Doesnt have to start matches or even play. Let him see his contract out, long standing CFC player.
Mikel, can do a job as a DM. Not great but Id prefer a better partner for him.
Ramires cant be used there as box to box.

Guys we need to concentrate on our own areas more, whilst it's fine to say that Torres won't be played it's still the decision of Marky/Gregers on if that player is to be sold in the transfer window.

I dont feel that way Hero. That is effectivly just how Chelse is being run now:
Abramo buys the players no matter if the manager wants them or not
Manger does the team and when the players he didnt want arent playing well dropping them results in Abramo coming down on you.

The manager picks the team that plays, he should be able to have to players he feels can do a job for him, not players forced on him aka Sheva & Torres.

Zinedine_Ze_Zebra wrote:Id say keep Mikel, Lampard. Lamps with his exp can help the team. Doesnt have to start matches or even play. Let him see his contract out, long standing CFC player.
Mikel, can do a job as a DM. Not great but Id prefer a better partner for him.
Ramires cant be used there as box to box.

Guys we need to concentrate on our own areas more, whilst it's fine to say that Torres won't be played it's still the decision of Marky/Gregers on if that player is to be sold in the transfer window.

I dont feel that way Hero. That is effectivly just how Chelse is being run now:
Abramo buys the players no matter if the manager wants them or not
Manger does the team and when the players he didnt want arent playing well dropping them results in Abramo coming down on you.

The manager picks the team that plays, he should be able to have to players he feels can do a job for him, not players forced on him aka Sheva & Torres.

Its fine to discuss them, but I want everyone concentrating on their job in hand over getting distracted by other things.

Something which is alarmingly obvious as a Chelsea fan is out lack of height. Cech clearing the ball either has the be got be Torres otherwise its basically giving possession away.

Mata, Hazard and Oscar are too small in this regards. Ramires for me shouldnt be playing wide right.

Europa League means he can't play in the CL. That would mean we would have no striker for the CL

Double check. You re-register in Jan and I think someone did it last season IRL.
If you play in one of them I think you can play in the other when re-reg in Jan as you have had no effect on the one touny thus effecting no teams in that tourny. Check it. I may just be hoping here but I think its worth a check.

Immediately your focus should be on how to get at least a draw v City and how to get through the group stage of the CL.
The transfer window is over 5 weeks off and there's a lot of games between then where we're stuck with what we have so I need you to work your ZZZ magic on what we have available now.

Its fine to discuss them, but I want everyone concentrating on their job in hand over getting distracted by other things..

OK. Its just part of the conversation as to plan for tactics etc.

There is definately something. The rule is stop a player playing in the same competition for two teams. Therefore, going from Europa to CL should be alright, the other way around has the restrictions that Zidane mentions.

Definately worth checking

Also really liking the idea in regards to Terry and the coaching badges, getting him onboard would immediately assist in the backroom fiasco.

"One player per club who would normally be cup-tied can be registered and
eligible to play, so long as his previous club did not field him in the
same competition, meaning that this player can represent two different
clubs in the Europa League and Champions League"

So if we get Falcao we cannot get anyone else who has appeared in the Europa League this season

I need you to work your ZZZ magic on what we have available now.

OK. Afro, can we start this on Monday plz?

What about Leandro Damiao? Would be available in January due to the Brazilian season finishing, has said he linked well with Oscar in their Internacional days together and would be eligable for the Champions League.

Zinedine_Ze_Zebra wrote:

I need you to work your ZZZ magic on what we have available now.

OK. Afro, can we start this on Monday plz?

yeah. I'll have a think in the meanwhile and we can discuss on Monday

Marky wrote:What about Leandro Damiao? Would be available in January due to the Brazilian season finishing, has said he linked well with Oscar in their Internacional days together and would be eligable for the Champions League.

Great spot Marly, how much would he be going for?

Without looking I'd guess he'd be around the £15m mark tops. If we're selling Sturridge and bringing in Damiao, their fees would be similar and Damiao would fit the style of play better IMO.

As far as a new CB goes, I'd bring in Hummels. He'd cost around £25m IRL but would be ideal.

I can't see Hummels leaving Dortmund but it could be worth a shot

Damiao is a definite then with us sending Sturridge to Spurs or whoever wants him.

Bringing McEachran back from loan wouldn't be a bad option

I think your love of McEachran is biased tbh, I don't see what he'd add. I think Thiago Motta or Felipe Melo would be big improvements at DM without breaking the bank.

Fair point on Hummels, but this is Chelsea. They get their man in the end with enough cash.

What about seeing if a certain Didier Drogba is available in the short term.
He's seeing with FIFA if he can break his contract with Shanghai as the rule is he cannot join a 3rd club within a certain period, would rejoining Chelsea get around that loophole as he's in effect rejoining one of the two clubs he's allowed to be at in that time period.
Instant goalscorer & hugely popular with fans.

Also need to think about ACoN

Hummels I'd be surprised at based on Dortmund in the CL this season.

1. He'd be cuptied.
2. Dortmund at present are looking a good shout for winning it.

We're talking about challenging on all fronts Hero, he'd be ideal for the Premier League. And it would be based on Hummels getting a massive rise in wages, chance to play in arguably the best league in the world and Dortmund receiving a too good to be true offer.

But if not, if no defenders were signed, what about playing Ivanovic at CB and David Luiz at RB?

Also, what formation are we basing this on? Staying with 4-2-3-1?

I like Azpilicueta and him at RB would provide balance with Ashley Cole at LB, and also allow Ivanovic at CB

Luiz to DCM is a decent shout as well

Fellaini for £20-25 million in January would be a great signing, gives the midfield height and would be available for cups and the league

I can't be party to signing Fellaini. It goes against all my principles

Gregers - on the team front, you input is going to be invaluable as you will watch and know Chelsea better than any of us. Marky - would also be good to pick Russ's brains.

My initial brainstorm for the CL game is:


That is quite attack minded, which we need as we should be going for goals as well as the win. Ideally, I would like to get Mata playing off Torres. The idea being the Spanish link up and also trying to replicate the Gerrard/Torres partnership of a few years ago

I like that side Afro but to be honest, Chelsea's downfall this season has been their insistence to be too attacking at times. And playing Ramires and Lampard as the midfielders is too attacking IMO. What about the idea of leaving out one of Hazard/Mata/Oscar?


(I'm sure Oscar played that deeper role for Brazil in the Olympics)