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Thursday 12 October, 2006

Reports in England suggest that Milan are interested in Chelsea striker Didier Drogba, as their search for Andriy Shevchenko’s replacement continues.

The Rossoneri may exploit a FIFA loophole which could allow them to sign the Ivory Coast captain for as little as £4m, as players can buy their way out of their contracts three years after signing them.

Drogba would therefore only have to match the wages earned in the remaining time, which are believed to be approximately £4m over two seasons.

The Mirror newspaper claims that Milan would have no problem in bringing it into effect, despite few clubs exploiting it thus far.

However the Ivorian striker, who has netted eight goals for Chelsea – outclassing Shevchenko in the process – does not seem keen on moving to Italy.

"Great strikers have joined the club but I am still here to serve the team," said the 28-year-old, referring to Sheva’s £30m summer move.

Drogba was already linked with Milan in August, when it seemed that the swoop for Ricardo Oliveira was destined to fail, but in the end remained at the Stamford Bridge side.

The Ivory Coast captain moved to Chelsea from Marseille for £24m in the summer of 2004 and many thought he would be relegated to the sidelines after the arrival of the Ukrainian star.


Football Italia

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He could be a good add, but tbh I don't like him.

what the ... is this ?? I thought players could buy out only when there's a year left on their contract !! But this means ... almost everyone is "free" to go ?? There must be something wrong about this article or I'm the one who does not get it !!

Considering what I last saw of him (his WC performances) I would want him to come. But I don't watch Chelski so I really can't tell how's he playing now ... all I know is that he's scoring more!!

Well he plays to the crowd sometimes....so the fans love him. Big strong guy, so his style of play is more power than finesse.

Think of Obafemi Martins with a lot more brains....no that's not a very precise analogy but will do...

Mostly though, since the other teams assign nearly 3 defenders to mark Sheva, Drogba has it easy and can score a lot more freely than when they used to play with him as lone striker(they did go through a period like that...maybe Crespo was injured or something)

Isn't the ruling, that players who are 28 or over and have been at the same club for a certain ammount of years can buy out?

Don't over flatter the ES, I've been watching a couple of Chelsea matches lately (the last 4 matches they played actually) and Sheva is not being marked heavily, he is just disappearing and sometimes pops up when the ball is passed to him. Drogba is in great form right now, and from what I saw last year from him and what I saw now, it's clear how much he has improved. He's creating plays, crossing, passing, holding the ball up and scoring tons of goals, basically he is doing what Chelsea bought Sheva to do

Actually the disappearing acts have been in the last couple of matches...true I can't explain it....

Drogba is not really doing what Sheva was supposed to...his goals are still mostly poached....but he always was a little more well rounded than ur average goal poacher...he does come back to support mid-field, and sometimes defence...not like Rooney does now for ManU that's hilarious, but in a very sensible way.

Sometimes seeing Chelsea play you get the feeling that Drogba and Terry are the only people who seem to know what's going on...totally pathetic team chemistry...

Arsenal though have been stupendous this past season...Hleb's totally blown my hair back...super cool the way he handles the flank position and cuts in...

But they have that entire weakened left side of theirs...against Liverpool(with Pennant and Gerrard on the right) and possibly a decent Chelsea with Joe Cole back things could get iffy.

Justin Hoyte is hardly a LB...most of the time Arsenal are playing a 3-5-2...well if Gallas wanted more responsibility and respect he's certainly got it...he's been a gr8 buy for Arsenal

Looking back maybe this post should be moved to the EPL thread

Drogba is Veiri in his days .. Hs reminds me so much of him ......

- very well built
- can hold on to balls
- great aireal ability
- pulls away at least two defenders
- etc ..

I guess, his attributes are clear, though I dont like his personality.

great quote

since vieri is my fav player is sad his cuallity has been uneficient

i think it would be a good signing but IMO klose is better

Would be a good "steal" for £4m .He is playing really strong lately.We need another quality striker.

I doubt he'll be sold...Chelsea would be left without anyone...

It's not up to them.
Chelsea have enough money to buy somebody else

Abram0vich would probably take that jet he'd bought for Crespo and give it to Drogba...so Drogba can fly home whenever he wants....I seriously don't think it'll happen.

For once he is doing well over there...Mourinho is praising him and the fan like him a lot...we got a better chance of getting Lampard

No

I was being sarcastic... Poor Lampard...from being the second best player in the world to THIS....how the mighty have fallen!!!

Awsome...that would be awsome to have him here...

Yeah, he reminds of Vieri but his dribbling and overall technique is even better. He is the one that takes responsibiliy, he allways gives 100% precent. But in Chelsea he never got the chance to play like at OM,..At Milan he would be just great. We need somone like him fast...

As for the contract, I think this is only a special clause, maybe at Stamford Bridge, but elsewhere...i think no...

You're SERIOUS????!!!

I haven't seen him play for Marseille...is he really that good?

He was great at Marseille and he has find that form this year too

Ok...so do we get him...I'm pretty sure he'll do a better job than Gila...

"Yeah, I'm Drogba and I'm Kool"

Oh come on... Let him stay at Chelsea... I want a younger striker...

he's been even better then at the world cup, honestly. a true power forward, u should see some of the goals he's scored. one of them he practically has a defender on his back and blasts a shot right past the goalkeeper, a thing of beauty. and yesterday he was all over the barca defence and held puyol off to blast the winner in the top corner of the net. i think he's the hottest striker at the moment... and would be perfect for milan.

he scored something like 30 goals one season with marseille. my friends a huge marseilly friend and he goes on and on about how good he is.

Drogba's goal in the CL was great, his goal record for Chelsea in EPL is stupendous, his overall charisma and charactor on the pitch is one to be envied (by most strikers), and his power .. he is extremelly untouchable ...

But, we already have Super Pippo and Gilardino .. Where is Drogba gonna fit in ?

Do you honestly think Milan will give up on Gilardino this season and replace him with *gulp* Drogba ?

Oliviera ? What will happen to him ?

I mean as a striker I like him, but as a person I just cant stand him .. His remarks to the press: I mean his attitude and over confidence .. It's not Milan !! You don't see Milan players ever being over confident !! Even though they are true champions.

He might come, but he would be 'perfect for milan' .. Good, but not perfect IMO.

ya he does get a lot of trash and people call him a diver and cheat, i think it's partially true but i think most of it is because he plays for chelski and lots of people hate chelski, namely the media. but what like about him is he creates his own space. No he isnt a creative forward which we have been lacking since she'ca departure. but i have this gut feeling drogba can play along pippo or even gila. last year we had 4 strikers, gila always got lots of play time. you have to remember sheva leaving was never part of the plan and gila was not really supposed to take over for him especially cuz they arent the same type of player.but i dont think this will happen and i just find the whole situation ironic. chelsea want strikers so they sell gudhjonsen and cole and get sheva.i dont know why they would now sell drogba cuz they would be left with sheva only.

Is he the strongest footballer in the world ??

If not who do you think that is !!?

ehm ... Gattuso ring a bell

He's the most crazy one for all I know !!

Hehe .. Well he played his part in Scotland too, doesnt that merit him some strength .. I mean he definately isnt a coward

Not mental strength ... I meant physical ...

And about his time at Scotland ... he-he ... he took so many kicks that it's only normal he's giving it all back now to everybody !!

i would take him with open arms

i don't think he's the same type of striker as gila and pippo...they both need balls fed to them

drogba is great at overpowering defenders and making something out of nothing

Why would Drogba make the switch?

1- He is one of the leading scorers in the Prem.
2- He is the top forward at Chelsea who is
1- the best team in the Prem and
2- a top contender for the CL trophy.

To Milan who are right now a mid table team that is struggling and might not compete in the CL or Uefa cup next season unless things are turned around.

As a fan I can coming to Milan is a step up from Chelsea. But getting out of my bias, its not like great players to leave top teams for mid table teams, and Milan are not the most attractive team to come to at the moment.

Chelsea are not a team that lets these kind of players do what we did for Scheva.

He is a top forward and we would be blessed to acquire him. He would take time to adapt to Italian soccer. After our surprise in the summer transfer window, I wouldn't hold my breathe.

Try asking him why he did want to make it in the summer (he said so) and then try "Why did Sheva made the switch" !!

This is ridiculous ... not even Inter fans think Milan is a mid-table team ... You can't judge Milan by our current status ... I really can't believe I'm reading this from a Milan fan. I understand your frustration over what's happening to the team right now but this is confused ... Milan is what it is (for some the greatest team in the world) and this does not change by our place on the table ...

"Mid-table team" !!

And it is not bias .. it is a step for God's sake !! Wake up, it's a bad year, nothing more !!

WHAT !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It's one of the two .. You either are born yesterday or shoul cut down on the crack ..

What you talking about mid-table !

Thats what a mid-table team is one that is in the middle of the standings.

Milan are in the middle of the standings right now therefore they are a mid-table team.

Theres a difference between meaning of the term---
1-mid table team= they're a medocre team.
2-mid table team= they are in the middle of the standings

1 is not what I'm saying. 2 is just a fact. Its hard to stomach yes, but its the truth until they climb out of it.

We are 11 points out. Inter, Palermo, and Roma don't appear to easily losing points these days.

This logic is really f@cked up !!! I mean utterly f@cked up ... how can someone think that way ... After 8 f@cking games and starting with an 8 point deficit Milan is a mid-table team ... OK !!

Would you stop and think on what you are saying for a minute.

What counts is what happens on the field right? So by this definition we would be at the top 3 right now if we didn't start the season with the penalty.

Dst you need to read more than two lines in someone post.

The next couple lines----

"Theres a difference between meaning of the term---
1-mid table team= they're a medocre team.
2-mid table team= they are in the middle of the standings

1 is not what I'm saying. 2 is just a fact. Its hard to stomach yes, but its the truth until they climb out of it."
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From the standpoint of someone choosing to come to Milan, they are considering the position that the team is in.

Yeah we would have if we didn't have an 8 points deficit.

But its not reality is it. The fact is we are in the middle of the standings right now 11 points out of first place.

Look theres a difference between saying Mid table team=Milan suck and the fact that they are a midtable team in the standings because it is a fact.

When I talk about midtable I'm stating the fact of where we are in the standings.

I read the posts I quote entirely, do not worry about that !!

It's a matter of definition ... we're not a mid-table team we're a team that right f@cking now is in the middle of the table !! Can't you get the difference?? A mid-table team is one that come the end of the season will still be at mid-table cause that's their quality: They're mid-table, they're Serie B quality, they're Universe quality ... all are characterizations. You can't say after just 8 games what Milan or any other team is you can only say where they stand in the table. With your logic, Palermo are champions !!

midtable is "mid"= middle "table"= table of standings which means middle of the standings.

The key is what you mean by it. It could be used to describe that a team is in the middle of the standings or it could describe a team as mediocre. This is just a fact of the English language, it could be used either way.

We are just going around in circles here, we are practically saying the same thing.

First of all being in the middle of the table right now during the beginning of the sason doesn't effect our transfers, players want to come to Milan becasue it's Milan, we have prestige, we have history and we have a tradition to go farther then anyone else almost every season, especially in the CL.

Real Madrid are a prime example of this, sure they are somewhat getting back on track this season, but fact is, even during these disasterous couple of years they still had that attractive power because of what the shirt represents.

Seondly, if you are still going with the logic that if we are in the middle of the table, regardless of being somewhat still favourites to win the league and the CL, but players still aren't attracted to the team,then keep in mind, that by the time the January transfer window opens we could be much higher in the table if we build a consistant run of form.

But I really don't think that us being in the middle of the table effects any player's choice of wether to come to milan or not

The thing is, that if you say "Milan is a mid-table team, noone wants to come to such a team" then I can say "Palermo will get the CL next season.They are champions and they're going to get Henry, Eto'o, Ronaldinho ... even Kaka will go to them"

AFTER 8 GAMES !!!!????

........................................

prestige is not the only option.
i think people should choose their club carefully,
money is not everything (but for most people it is...)

Kompany should be an example on how footballers choose where to go !!

He went to a shitty Hamburg team??

No not that part ... the part where he rejected Lyon because he thinks they're not hungry for titles anymore while he wants his team-mates to be motivated !!

Just tell him Seedorf's here and he'll come full speed !!

Would be great by the way ...

drogba has just signed a contract extension until 2010 so no chance of a move now!!

SIKE