[Bluesummers]

Chelsea manager Luiz Felipe Scolari has admitted that the club may sell Didier Drogba, provided they receive the right offer.

The Ivorian appears to have fallen out of favour at Stamford Bridge after a poor showing in last weekend’s 0-3 defeat to Manchester United at Old Trafford.

The striker has been dropped for Chelsea’s last two games, the 4-1 win against Southend United in the FA Cup in midweek, and yesterday’s 2-1 win over Stoke City in the Premier League.

Manager Scolari has now revealed that whilst Drogba may return to the side for next weekend’s FA Cup clash with Ipswich, if the club were to receive a suitable offer for their striker they would be tempted to sell him.

Speaking to setanta.com the Brazilian explained: “Sell him? It’s my choice but I think if someone offers a lot of money, the club might accept it. He still trains very hard and could be in my side next week – but I make the decisions.”

The Chelsea boss also insisted that this applied to all of his players and not just Drogba. He said: “If people offer money for my players, it’s down to the club to accept them.”

With Drogba left out of yesterday’s squad, Scolari handed youngsters Miroslav Stoch and Franco Di Santo the chance to impress, and the pair, on as second half substitutes, both played their part in hauling the Blues back from a goal down to win 2-1 courtesy of two late goals.

Speaking about their contribution, Scolari hinted that they may get further chances in the first team. He said: “Over a five-year period, I’m the only manager here that has given players like [Miroslav] Stoch and [Franco] Di Santo their chance and I want to continue that.”

Galliani wanna offer 5 mil please and sign him asap thanx.

[MizNelson]

Shouldn't this go in the Football section, as we're not mentioned in any part as being interested in his services?

[Zed.D]

We have a habit of buying players past their very best so I wouldn't rule him out. especially since we've been linked with him a lot of times before.

Do I want him? no, I don't think so... his age is the problem. we must focus on younger players.

This post has been edited by Zed.D: Jan 18 2009, 09:32 PM

[Fillipo Simone]

We have a habit of buying players past their very best so I wouldn't rule him out. especially since we've been linked with him a lot of times before.

Do I want him? no, I don't think so... his age is the problem. we must focus on younger players.

I don't think we need young strikers. We have Paloschi and Pato, isn't that more then enough?

And also, I think Drogba isn't finished yet. He's still much potential, just needs a change IMO. I'd take him without much consideration. But maybe it's just that I'm missing some African component at Milan, ever since the real Puma left...

[mallamkay]

I don't think we need young strikers. We have Paloschi and Pato, isn't that more then enough?

And also, I think Drogba isn't finished yet. He's still much potential, just needs a change IMO. I'd take him without much consideration. But maybe it's just that I'm missing some African component at Milan, ever since the real Puma left...

drogba wuld av been gud, but we need to move on or we wuld some be worse than madrid

[Devillito]

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/dry.gif)

Drogba is finished!! Bring us Benzema!!

[Jack Sparrow]

Guys...we need target men. Borriello has proved as reliable as R99. If not Drogba who? Benzema doesn't fill a tactical hole. Neither does Paloschi, who's more Pippo than anything else. Is that bloke Gomez making any noise nowadays?

[Bluesummers]

Guys...we need target men. Borriello has proved as reliable as R99. If not Drogba who? Benzema doesn't fill a tactical hole. Neither does Paloschi, who's more Pippo than anything else. Is that bloke Gomez making any noise nowadays?

target men ? so many.......

will we buy any of them ? probably not.

I think pato will be our striker for a long time to come.

[acid911]

I think pato will be our striker for a long time to come.

But that still doesn't hide the fact that we need a hitman, someone like Ronaldo (R99), Drogba, Toni, etc upfront to divert the attention of the opposing defenders. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/unsure.gif) A tall, strong, fast and well built guy is needed, someone in the Kaka build (at least). They do the dirty work, and guys like Pato/Gila/Inzaghi finish up with the goals.

Pato is not that guy. Never will be, too.

[Zed.D]

I completely disagree with you, acid. no disrespect at all intended to Gila and Pippo, but they are poachers. they need others to provide them with opportunities or they will end 90% of games without doing anything noteworthy. putting Pato's name in the same line is a little like underestimating his abilities. it's true Pato scores Pippo-like goals (the 1st against Roma), but he can also create a goal opportunity and score out of nothing (the 2nd goal against Roma). so far he has scored more Pippo-like goals, but just as I had no doubt Pato would make it here two years ago, I have no doubt that we will see more wonder goals by him in the future.

While I know Pato is not a target man and will never be that, I now have no doubt that he can be the focal point of every team's attack once he reaches his prime [note that he's a kind of player that will reach his prime MUCH sooner than most players - I'd say by the age of 23 (or maybe sooner) he will be a monster!]. Ronaldo wasn't a target man [a la Toni, Drogba, Nistelrooy, etc.] because he wasn't a header of the ball, yet he could be any team's lone striker. so unless we're just looking for a guy who is an excellent header, it's understandable that Pato does not exactly fit the bill. but I can't think of any other characteristic that he lacks or will not gain/improve at in the future. I know I'm making myself look like silly fanboy, but that's what I really think about him. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)


* I think target men are not fast, nor need to be.

This post has been edited by Zed.D: Jan 21 2009, 07:28 AM

[acid911]

Agree with the majority of the post. I always categorized Pato more in the Ronaldo mold, a striker that can do all things, play at almost all forward positions, unlike Inzaghi types that are pure poachers! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif) Technically not a hitman, but if we play with a 2 strikers system (last year with R99) with someone experienced like Vieri and Drogba (who's different than Luca Toni in that he can run halfway across the pitch if needed) then Pato can stay in the box and score goals. We had Borriello who could have accomplished that goal of holding the ball up from a pass from Pirlo/Ronaldinho/Beckham and then once the defenders were on him, pass it to Pato for him to score.

It's complicated. Always is with multi-dimensional attackers like Pato/R99. They can fit anywhere.

[dst]

But that still doesn't hide the fact that we need a hitman, someone like Ronaldo (R99), Drogba, Toni, etc upfront to divert the attention of the opposing defenders. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/unsure.gif) A tall, strong, fast and well built guy is needed, someone in the Kaka build (at least). They do the dirty work, and guys like Pato/Gila/Inzaghi finish up with the goals.

Pato is not that guy. Never will be, too.

We have Borriello who I personally have faith in but he's always injured...

[acid911]

We have Borriello who I personally have faith in but he's always injured...

I was a fan of him too, but that was months back. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sleep.gif) For me, currently, we don't have a player named Borriello. Still hope he gets back and shows his true worth. He will always be injury prone. I still think we should have sold him for 19m to a Serie A side, and bought Huntelaar instead.

[Rossoneri7]

I was a fan of him too, but that was months back. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sleep.gif) For me, currently, we don't have a player named Borriello. Still hope he gets back and shows his true worth. He will always be injury prone. I still think we should have sold him for 19m to a Serie A side, and bought Huntelaar instead.

But then who will fill in the quota for Milan breed players ? We need them in order to register for UEFA competitions. And Borriello is a very good choice, when he's back, I hope he can take the pressure off the team by being as decisive as he was in Genoa ...

I mean, I'm not denying Huntelaar's talent, but being placed infront of an Italian defense, many players choke. Take a good look at Gourcuff, he can dribble through 3 or 4 defenders in Liga 1 .. Which, realistically, is miles away from the quality that he faced (and I hope he will face again) in Serie A.

Hence, having Borriello is like hitting two birds with one stone .. A quality Serie A striker and a Milan breed player .. Don't you think ?

[acid911]

Yes, but I still think he isn't the solution we need. The fact that he's so injury prone is another thing altogether, I'm talking about his effectiveness in this team. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/huh.gif) I think the Milan shirt is too big for him. Weak technique, and a confidence player which is another point in the cons column. Strikers who are touch or confidence players never get big, you have to be consistent and sustain your talents and abilities to score goals. Something bad happens (like your girlfriend leaves you on national TV), and you lose your scoring touch, then that's always bad.

Now, if he gets back to top form, like the one he displayed in Genoa, then all's dandy. Of course, I'll be more than happy, as I rather liked him. But if he doesn't then we'll never get anything near the 19m that was offered to us last year. As for the homegrown player thingy, there are so many other homegrown players that we could/should/would have given a chance in the senior side. Darmian being one contender, Paloschi being the other.

Still, too early to decide. It's been what half a season, exactly, and two goals from Bori? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/dry.gif) Time will tell.