Steve Sidwell to Chelsea

Steve Sidwell has left Reading to join Chelsea. This makes absolutely no sense to me at all. Sidwell is a good, young player and did very well at Reading.

Other than the obvious that he will make loads more money at Chelsea, why would a player like Sidwell want to go to Chelsea? He will not play that much as Lampard, Essien, Makelele, Ballack and others play his position.

I hate it nowadays that youngsters with talent take the big money rather than think about their playing careers. Sidwell perhaps could play at a big club, but not Chelsea, Manchester United or Liverpool. Perhaps a Tottenham, Bolton or somewhere like that.

This kid will sit on the bench most all season aside from some Carling Cup action and an occassional subs role for Chelsea. This kind of transer just baffles me.

I guess no one has learned from the Shaun Wright-Phillips experience.

 

Have fun sitting on the bench, you greedy ginger ****.

 

In total agreement with the above posts.

Unless Steve knows something we don't regarding Reading's future, his leaving a club with a top 10 finish in the EPL and arguably the best manager in the Premiership can only be explained by the quid he will be bathing in. At least he can buy plenty of quality Boots tweezers to pick the splinters out of his bum.

I enjoyed Reading's underdog story and still think they will push for Europe again next season without Sidwell, but they'd better find a servicable replacement because they will miss his class.

 

Sidwell is not that young (28 I think) so the way he looks at it is that its time for a few years making 60,000 pounds a week and then move on to a club.

The guy has no ambition and will be one of Chelsea's Carling Cup specials. Nice job Steve.

 

Look at the positive. The African tournament is gonna kick those guys in the balls. A free transfer trying to cover their ass is probably the motive. He's not half bad, definately a winner at every level up till now. I could see them trying to go back to the 4-3-3 and hoping Sidwell can be the new damien duff.

 

Re: RE: Steve Sidwell to Chelsea

Sidwell is 24.

 

Alright Stevie Sidwell is getting slandered and I'm gonna defend him.

He's going to play for a side which will compete for the league, compete for the cups, compete for the Champions League, he will make loads of money and he will play for perhaps the best club in the world.

He's clearly a talent as seen in his play and Chelskis interest in him. If he had no ambition he'd stay at a club like Reading and remain the best player at the club, he'd maintain the status-quo, never compete for the league, compete for a cup if lucky, and never play a game in the CL. Instead he's made the choice to push himself and play for one of the best clubs in the world. He may not be good enough but at least he'll be able to say he tried. Of course people have their black & white tinted glasses but its unfair to slander Sidwell for signing for Chelsea and its doubly unfair to say he has no ambition.

 

I do not doubt his ambition one bit. And I give Sidwell credit for giving it a go, but I just think he would be better suited for a team like Tottenham, Newcastle or another club that has deeper pockets and more ambition that say Reading.

I just do not like it when young players like Sidwell, Shaun Wright-Phillips and other youtful talent goes to a team that the player will NOT play for regularly. In order for Sidwell to get better and better, he must play. Yes, practicing against the first team will help, but playing in matches is the best way to get better.

 

spencer, i agree with your points. except that i feel my fellow posters expressed that sidwell's ambition to be in the first squad was sacraficed for the quid, or at least that is what i felt they conveyed. my problem is unless chelski get rid of some midfielders, he's rarely going to see the pitch except for when essien and drogba leave for the african cup. however, i may be an idiot (ladbrokes says bet the house on this) and chelski may have significant plans for him, after all, why not, he's class.

my post came from the heart and ignored the issues you presented. i liked watching him play and i enjoyed watching reading this season, except when they played fulham (and their 1st leg draw with united in the fa cup was a beauty to watch as my mates and i were at a pub in sf bright and early to enjoy the match; nothing like a pint of fullers to wash down your toast, cheers to the pacific time zone).

in the end, may sidwell suffer two losses to the whites next year for joining "them."

 

ouch, didn't see chicago tom had posted in the time it took for me to open the thread and respond (had to eat dinner!!!)...my redundancy is unintended!

 

That is too bad. I was really impressed with Reading this season, and enjoyed the occasional game on FSC.

I do hope this doesn't affect next season TOO much. I really would like to see them do well again. I'm always going to root for the under dogs, and they definitely fit that title.

 

I'll join Don on the sunny side of the street. C'mon Bobby!!

 

Your right in that he'll have a better chance of success at Spurs or Newcastle but I think he's making the right choice in going to Chelsea. He's probably confident that he can make the first 11 regularly and more importantly he'll be competing for TROPHIES! Playing an occasional Ueffa Cup tie, thats fine. Slaying the occasional giant in a league fixture, thats great. But winning trophies is on a whole new plane. Trophies are so unrealistic to us Fulhamites that we tend to ignore them, but every player and every club should be willing to commit murder to win trophies.

I'd rather have been the 6th, 7th or 8th man on those Championship winning Celtics,Bulls, and Lakers teams than the star player on the Minnesota Timberwolves. Sh!t if it doesn't work out he can leave next summer but he may never get this chance again, hes doing the right thing in taking it.

Though I will say he'd fit in better at Man U

 

Agreed, he'd be a much better fit with United. Also, it looks like Makelele could be on his way out, thereby he won't need so many pair Boots' tweezers; and as you stated, by pulling on the dreaded blue shirt, he automatically is in the hunt for a quadruple from the get go. And yeah, it's hard to belittle his decision based upon those facts. Simply, I'm sad to see him go to Stamford Bridge, but after the kindly reminder, excited for Convey's opportunity...Sidwell, you're nothing to me now. You're not a brother, you're not a friend. I don't want to know you or what you do.

 

Shaun Wright Phillips made the same mistake two years ago, but I believe Sidwell has a quality that SWP didn't. Sidwell is a hard nose player with plenty of grit and determination.

Makalele is on his way out, Ballack won't be around much longer, Lampard's contract has reportedly fallen through and Essien will most assuredly be around for a few more seasons.

Also lest we forget that Chelsea's transfer policy consists of buying players simply so other clubs can't have them. Sad but true.