OhForAGreavsie

I've never thought we would sign him. Hoping a little, but not believing.

Crikey, I forgot about the Europa League..

I don't think he would outright lie. His comment obviously does not rule out a bid being made at some point but it firmly rules out that one had been made up to the time of his press conference earlier today. If we are going to go in, presumably we'll do so once B04's Champions League fate has been settled.

Comparing Timo to Henry positionally eh? The bloke's been reading my posts. If he starts comparing Havertz with Bergkamp I'm going to sue. 🙂

You really need to watch those games again.

We'll always differ on this I suspect. I know I'm right, and you know I'm wrong so there we'll have to leave it. I am right though.

This is the kind of thing people were telling me at the time. Because I know the difference between a good player, and an ordinary one doing well. The same way anyone with eyes and experience of watching football should have known that Kezman was not Chelsea player or that Sheva was done before he came here. I've described it many times on here and elsewhere so apologies for the repetition but the brief Liverpool purple patch was a blip. The whole of the rest of Nando's career tells the truth about his real level. I strongly believe that with the passing of time, more people in the game will find that they feel able to tell the truth about their assessments of Nando. The only one I know who broke cover at the time was Martin Allen. He summed up his thoughts on the subject by saying, "Torres, not having him. Not having him at all." Allen was right and there must be scores of other people in the game who knew it too.

I saw the games. I know the stats, I don't agree with the assessment. Well, let's hope that the remainder of this season acts like a tune-up for him so he can hit the ground running when the next season starts. It's easy to rate players on their talents and other attributes. Ruben has it all, but the proof is in establishing, and maintaining a high level of contribution for the team. If that happens, we'll all be happy.

And I've been saying it since he played youth football. Believe it or not, the coaches have improved him somewhat in this regard. In the 18s he often literally stood and watched. I don't think this problem is physical, it's in his head. People often claimed that Daniel Sturridge would learn to overcome his selfishness on the ball. I knew that having been around professional football for more than a decade by then, his coaches must have tried to cure it throughout that time. Since he hadn't shaken it off before coming to Chelsea, it was easy to predict that he never would. We may have to face the fact that Rubes is not going to be able to solve his issue either. Seven years ago I predicted that RLC had no chance of a Chelsea career unless he got over this habit of drifting through games. I'm sure that, come what may, he'll be retained for 2020/21 but it's going to be a turning point. The penny has to drop, or it will be game over for RLC and Chelsea

In case you are unaware, I never rated Fernando Torres. Not when he was with Atleti and being linked with Chelsea, not while he was scoring goals for Liverpool and most definitely not on the day he joined The Blues. Only once before, on the afternoon we signed Chris Sutton, had I been so angry with my football club as I was on the morning I learned we'd done a deal for Torres the preceding night. In saying that I think Timo is a better player than Nando, I'm therefore not praising our new signing as much as you might have imagined I intended to. I can't speak to Timo's mental strength, but I do like what he brings. I like his decisiveness when presented with goal scoring opportunities where he does not have time to think about it, and I like his decision making over whether to shoot or pass. Like doesn't cover the way I feel about his pace however. I don't like it, I love it. I think Timo has limitations, but I also think we should be grateful for them. Yes, grateful. Were it not for those limitations he would have signed for a club higher up the food chain. He's not a galactico but he can, and I think will, improve us.

Hopefully there won't be a vacancy for a long time. In any case, if I had my way, Jody would be up next if he wanted it, followed by Cesc. The time might never come for Andriy.

That's exactly how he was supposed to earn it, by claiming a chance with his performances on loan. He did not. And I'm sure that they would not. Remember that the squad Mario was trying to break into won two titles and other trophies during the period you're considering. Did you read or hear any hint that Frank showed any interest at all in looking at Mario in the last pre-season? I'd be quite surprised if that was so. Anyway, I'm super pleased for him that he's got the move he wanted. Do well Mario.

Mario never persuaded me that he was good enough but Chelsea is in his past now. Good luck to him..

Oops. I better make myself scarce.

Never earned one. That said, I think I read recently that he has no regrets about the Chelsea move. It's been a while, but he's found the team for him. I hope he goes on to have a storming career. Good luck Mario

Isn't going to happen. Far too old to improve his basic talent level. He's got what he's got, and will have to work with it. The comparison which keeps coming to my mind is Fernando Torres. Our former player had flaws in his game which some people overlooked but, Timo seems better than Nando to me. I don't believe we've bought the next galactico, but we've got someone who can contribute for us.

You have to remember I was reacting to the observation that Michy's absence was evidence that he isn't wanted. I simply pointed out that it might only have been evidence of SFL not needing a second striker on the bench yesterday. If Mando had been there in preference to Bats, then that would have been further evidence that Michy is done.

My point was just that Mando is next in line after Bats, and the youngster may even be ahead of Michy now. If Frank wanted a second striker among the subs it would have had to have been one of these two. Given that neither was there, it looks like Frank simply preferred a different balance on yesterday's bench. So, although it's obvious that Michy will be gone as soon as we can find someone who wants him, that's something we knew before yesterday. His absence against Villa is not, in itself, evidence of that fact. I'll give you this probably wasn't a point worth making.

Might be worth noting that Mando wasn't among the subs either so it's possible that Michy's absence was due in part to the balance Frank wanted on the bench.

All four with Werner & Havertz playing the roles of Henry & Berkamp from the Wenger glory years. Two strikers; one part winger, part centre-forward and the other part second striker, part playmaker. Don't think the two Germans are quite in the same league, but I can see similarities in the way they might be deployed.

I wasn't convinced before he arrived but he won me over. For me he is first choice, even if Havertz is added to the squad.

Listen to @Vesper folks.

Not watching. (Father's Day) How is Ruben doing? Edit: No need. Just been able to read a few comments about him.

I like your suggestion but I admit I have always been against the expansion of the numbers on the bench because i think it favours the richer clubs and they/we have enough advantages as is. Insisting on some kind of academy representation is potentially the compromise which would make me buy in to the plan. Without such a provision I'm dead against the idea. After all, the nine names on Man City's bench would be an entirely different kind of list to the one Norwich could muster.

As far as I know, his move to Leeds was only held up by the lockdown and is still on the cards. The club is always tight lipped about these things so I can only hope there was no disciplinary reason behind his departure. It is standard for scholars who will formally be released in June, to be told in January so they have plenty of time time find a new club. Like most academies, CFC work hard to help youngsters find the next step.