119 replies to this topic

[Juan Mata Dor]

http://www.chelseafc...2578766,00.html

Might as well have all Gary Cahill discussion in here. Is he a good player, or a bad player, will he be a starter, is he worth the reported wages? Discuss!

[mokilove]

Welcome Gary lad and good luck!

[paulw66]

Reported wages is the key there.....he was in a very strong bargaining position too.

I think he will play his share of games and I think he will reliable without being spectacular. Apparently has bags of pace which will be a big plus if he plays with JT.

[JSLCampbell]

Happy to have him. Mainly his pace I'll be looking forward to. Funnily enough, AVB has shown a real backing to John Terry, so it'll probably be a JT/Cahill partnership.

What I mean is, I would have wondered if AVB would have considered dropping JT for two fast CB's in Cahill and Luis given the style of football he wants to play. But the way he's talked about JT and the fact that he's selected him for virtually every game makes me think that wouldn't be the case.

I think Cahill will feature a lot. On the one hand, Luis is almost too good to not be on the pitch, but on the other, he's too much of a problem in defence. I wonder if AVB might try and start relocating Luis to some other position (Holding Mid?) and just have a Cole/Terry/Cahill/Ivanovic backline.



Whatever happens, I'm happy with the signing. 7m is probably a steal. Good bit of business, plays well with JT for England, we could have a good English partnership here ;)

[sebcfc]

Not a bad player for the price and he will help us with the homegrown quota. I think he will rotate with Luiz for a while, then will become 2/3rd choice.

[jangz]

good business for 7mil .. shades of the Anelka and Iva deals which were complete steals IMO

[jones]

Obviously, with an injury free squad, I can see this implying Ivanovic as first choice RB, and fourth choice CB.

Then the three of Cahill, Terry and Luiz will be battling it out for the two CB spots. Of course, the skipper will usually be first choice, and Luiz/Cahill will generally compete for the second spot. But I think thay will all be given good amounts of game time. This may also give Terry some unusual rest in games against weaker oppositions, as he often plays with injury and injections. Solid competition is also lethal to maximize incentives for good performances. Considering injuries and bans (Luiz gets a yellow in each game) this kind of quality is necessary.

Hence, I think days have passed for saying "this is our first 11". We now have 3 solid CBs, with our fourth choice being the first choice RB. Double coverage in all positions is passé, as the squad will be to big, and some quality players will play less than whats beneficial for the team. Of course, this is the same defensive suad structure as when Alex was part of the set up, but history shows that Alex is way more injury prone than Cahill.

I am pleased with this deal, and I think Cahill will improve his game here. This also adding more British mentality to the core of the squad is also very positive IMO. Hopefully he is a smart young lad who will settle in quickly with the rest of the lads, and bring more winning mentality on the pitch.

[Stroker CFC]

Welcome onboard the gravy train Mr Cahill.

[BluesMata8]

paulw66, on 16 January 2012 - 05:05 PM, said:

I think he will play his share of games and I think he will reliable without being spectacular. Apparently has bags of pace which will be a big plus if he plays with JT.

In the words of AVB. AND if you believe Wikipedia, he can apparently play at RB, LB and DM. Go figure.

On the transfer, I think it's a good buy. He may not be a great defender but he's a good defender and one who I believe can do a very solid job at CB. It's going to be a step up for him especially when playing in Europe but training with better quality players week in week out would surely help him to further improve his game. Just need to give him time and chance to prove himself. He could well be a very important player for us in the future.

Furthermore, he has done well at International level with Terry and with him being used to play alongside Cole as well for England, it can only mean good news for us. All he needs to do is forming an understanding with Luiz, Ivanovic and/or Bosingwa in defence.

Regarding his wages, think people need to stop reading too much into what the media has written. It could very well all be rubbish stories and they have made Cahill looked like a complete mercenary. I read from one or two places that he was actually more concern about the game time he'll get here along with one or two clauses in his contract.

All in all, welcome Cahill!

[Juan Mata Dor]

I guess the fact that we gave them Sturridge for half a season, and Kakuta for a while helped broker the deal, or perhaps sweetened proceedings. But, anyone slightly surprised Arsenal didn't try and sign him?

[blueandproud]

Welcome to our club Gary and good luck.

[Chelsea-Till-I-Die]

^ Maybe Arsenal will go for Samba who just handed in a transfer request?

Welcome to Chelsea Mr Cahill, I'm sure you'll do us proud!

[DiMatteo16]

People that keep bring up the whole wages thing just want an excuse to not like the guy because they don't want him here. Even if the stories are true, so what? Be angry at the board not Cahill.

Could he get by on £40-50k a week? Yes I'm sure he would struggle through and it's probably more what he should be getting paid. Can I get to work every morning in my Renault Clio*? Yes, but if someone is willing to give me an Aston Martin I'm not going to say no.

I think it's a sensible signing and hopefully he goes on to do well here. Welcome aboard.

*yes I know I'm a show off, don't be jealous.

[My Blood Is Blue]

Think this is a great signing. It's nice to see another English guy in the team, and for a good price too, when you consider the price seems to treble when an English club tries to sign an English player from another English club.

I don't think he's going to come in ans instantly change our team or improve us defensively, but given time he can become a very important player - long term replacement for JT?

It's a nice (relatively) low-profile signing by the club, to help keep the squad fresh in the CB position.

Will be interesting to see what happens to Luiz now, will he rotate with Cahill or will one or the other become a regular alongside JT or will Luiz be tried out in a new position? RB, DM or eve CM?

[BluesMata8]

Juan Mata Dor, on 16 January 2012 - 06:03 PM, said:

I guess the fact that we gave them Sturridge for half a season, and Kakuta for a while helped broker the deal, or perhaps sweetened proceedings.

Or perhaps AVB and Owen Coyle are good buddies

Juan Mata Dor, on 16 January 2012 - 06:03 PM, said:

But, anyone slightly surprised Arsenal didn't try and sign him?

Not really. Arsene Wenger has said he has enough CBs and furthermore, he bought Mertesacker in the summer after failing to get Cahill IIRC.

Edited by BluesMata8, 16 January 2012 - 06:16 PM.