Anelka signs for Chelsea

http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11095_3038866,00.html

£14 - 15 million.

Very good player , very good signing.

Quality player and will add so much the Chelsea squad that looks a little weak up top when Drogba isn't there.

Good signing and worth every penny IMO

not a great shock really. Anelka was leaving and Cheslea had the moolah and a shortage in Africans these weeks.

What are the odds that Bolton are going down now?

Damn, that's unfortunate, although it has looked inevitable for a while now. Very good player and a massive boost for Chelsea now that they are missing Drogba for the next month.

Sheva off for sure this summer then.

Think so too.

double post

or Drogba or both

Ticking timebomb. Not to mention he's muslim, being surrounded by jews may make him uncomfortable

De Guzman wrote:or Drogba or both

Forgot about Drogba. means Chelsea still need that one extra striker - Eto'o, Ibra, or Defoe.

Still for my money Anelka can't play as the lone striker, so don't see how this will change things unless they play 4-4-2

or 433 where Anelka plays in a wider role and allowed to move in and join upfront etc etc like Barca.

Dark Savante wrote:or 433 where Anelka plays in a wider role and allowed to move in and join upfront etc etc like Barca.

It is a possibility, but then Sheva or Pizzaro will have to play the pivot, and i don't think either of those are particuarly good at this either.

DD wrote:

De Guzman wrote:or Drogba or both

Forgot about Drogba. means Chelsea still need that one extra striker - Eto'o, Ibra, or Defoe.

thought Drogba wasn't as happy as he used to be at Chelsea...

Football Genius wrote:Still for my money Anelka can't play as the lone striker, so don't see how this will change things unless they play 4-4-2

They can with Kalou.
Both they could have applied a 4-4-2 with Sheva as well but they haven't done that so far. No particular reason to expect it change now either.

If keep playing Anelka as lone striker I can see him throwing a wobbler next season and change clubs in winter 08-09.

Anelka can play in the Champions league too, that's another plus

How many new players can you register in January? Chelsea will no doubt have to include Ballack as well.

How many other modern players have played for three of the "big four"?!

Allez les rouges wrote:How many other modern players have played for three of the "big four"?!

Good point. Surely not many.

Shame Anelka has been such a mercinary- could have become one of the World's best if it weren't for his agent brothers persuading him to perform a nomad circuit around Europe to fill their pockets

Well you're right of course, but there aren't so many people who can tell their grandkids "I played for Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, PSG, Real Madrid, Fenerbahce..." – it's some CV!

Allez les rouges wrote:Well you're right of course, but there aren't so many people who can tell their grandkids "I played for Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, PSG, Real Madrid, Fenerbahce..." – it's some CV!

Interesting to see you haven't mentioned the team where he arguably played his best football, Citeh.

I think his greatest memory will be his time with us, we wouldn't have won the title without him.

They don't have quite the cachet of the other clubs maybe, but yes, playing for the "other Manchester team" for longest on top of everything else is quite something...

@Bernd: Hleb, Cesc, Tomas, Almunia, those renowned French-speaking black guys

Allez les rouges wrote:They don't have quite the cachet of the other clubs maybe, but yes, playing for the "other Manchester team" for longest on top of everything else is quite something...

@Bernd: Hleb, Cesc, Tomas, Almunia, those renowned French-speaking black guys

There's no doubt that City pale in comparison to some of the clubs you've mentioned. At the end of the day though, I wouldn't be surprised if he says he enjoyed his time at Manchester more than some of the other clubs.

I think TRWP was talking about strikers. Is Eudardo technically black?

Who cares, he's probably quite a mixture like so many Brazilians. Not as white as Diego, whiter than Dani Alves...

Oh right. In that case we can probably see if we can pretend Bendtner is somehow not a black French speaker

Pleased with the signing, not sure he's worth £15m though. We offered £11m, Bolton wanted £18m so I guess they just decided to agree on a 'fair' price within their own estimations.

Like I said, he'll either be a massive hit or a big failure. I don't see any middle ground with Anelka.

ridiculous amount of money when you bear in mind that Bayern paid £8 million for Klose and a similar amount for Toni

You've got to bear in mind that he still had three years on his contract to be bought out of Otto, quite apart from the distorted English market. It's hardly very ridiculous by Chelsea standards.

Chelsea need a new stadium

£15 million goes a long way to digging a first hole

but I agree

in the greater scheme of "matters Chelsea" ANY amount under £100 million is peanuts

so frankly, Anelka was really a steal

Yes Roman may struggle to afford a new stadium after this