OhForAGreavsie

Is this another Italian passport job, or would any move for this kid need to be delayed until he's 18?

Tammy is quoted by The Mail today as saying, “I’m not sure what I’m doing next season, if I’m coming back, going elsewhere on loan or staying at Chelsea". Seems reasonable to guess that the club thinks it sensible to sort out any transfer comings or goings among the strikers before finalising Tammy's next step.

Of course it's not a crime and how did I mock you tw? I just asked a question. Respectfully.

You mean bugging you.

😀There is only one TheWiz. There is also only one 'the wes' but he is 'tw' while his capitalised forum mate is TW.

We don't need spectacular passing from that position. That position is all about continuity. In any case many of the most effective passes are, in themselves, very straightforward ones. I'm repeating myself here but Tottenham Dembele plays simple passes and does not score goals, yet he is the best in the Premier League at his position. His ability to retain the ball under pressure, to get turned after receiving the ball facing his own goal, to skip past a challenge or two when appropriate make him invaluable. As a package, his attributes completely outrank the odd great pass. Such a player turns defence into attack and, in so doing, makes his team more fluid going forward as well as more secure defensively.

Hello tw, May I ask why you prefer to use the word 'are' instead of the word 'our'? Is it a personal thing or does it perhaps reflect a local dialect?

This is a key point. It is tempting to judge a centre forward by counting his goals, but that is not the right method. The CF who makes the greatest overall contribution to his team is the one to go for. Rom can help us. He is certainly a better player than Diego was during the second half of last season. He is not though the man I would choose.

Obviously in this case Chelsea had no choice in where Dom moved on to, but the notion than we should insist a young lad accepts a transfer to a lower level that the one he is capable of gracing, is odd to say the least. We are not running a slave gang. These are people with ambitions and dreams. People who have entrusted Chelsea with the formative years of their careers. If Dom wants to try to breakthrough at Liverpool then good luck to the lad.

Yes, I agree with this. In his younger days, at AZ in particular, Dembele did opperate further forward, but he's found his home in the role he plays for Spurs.

I also like Bakayoko. Indeed, as I said in my first post about Tolisso all those months ago, I really like the quality of player we are being linked with recently. That comment was true then, and is mostly true now.. I remember some seasons when, never mind the players we actually signed, even the ones we were linked with weren't great.

What does reliable even mean in this context? The appetite among football fans for transfer rumours is voracious. The willingness of agents, clubs and players to provide the stories which feed those rumours, for their own purposes of course, is endless. Media outlets therefore have a plentiful supply of material and they know they can make money by giving audiences what they want. In order to achieve "reliability", those outlets would need to filter out the rumours they know to be plants. In a wildly competitive market however they know their audience can get that same rumour somewhere else. Filtering stories therefore has the potential to cost them revenue. When no one really expects the majority of transfer stories to be accurate anyway; when online revenues are so hard to come by; and when they can honestly claim to have a source for a story, then aren't we asking too much of them to make the sacrifices necessary to achieve reliability? In any case, there is often a direct, reciprocal relationship between media and sources. "If I get this obvious plant out there for you, you owe me when you have something real to say. Deal?"

Dembele is a better version of Matic. I consider him to be exactly the player we need. A player who mirrors his attributes is therefore precisely what I'm hoping for. Is that Tolisso? I watched Lyon several times after he was first linked a few months ago. I like him but I have not seen that he is able to retain possession under pressure as well as the Spurs man does. Even so, I would be happy to have Tolisso. He has applicable attributes of his own.

So you mean to imply that unless someone reports it, it doesn't happen? I'll be honest, I don't think you can really believe that.

Give me some evidence which supports your feeling. If we want a player, why would you doubt that we will try to convince him to join? It's just a basic tactic to have the manager speak to transfer targets. Imagining that our managers don't do it, is akin to me thinking you can't count up to ten. I may have some crazy agenda which is suited by casting you as an inumerate idiot but that wouldn't make it true. In fact thinking that would say more about me than it would say about you.

Belotti here, Rom elsewhere. Sorted. 😊

Hello Skip, Never doubt your powers of persuasion my friend. Not that you'll ever persuade me that Rom is the right choice. A workable choice perhaps, but never the best one.

Keep up the good work TW.

I love TheWiz's posts. They are just brilliant. His one about Nemanja being better than Glen Hoddle in every aspect of the game bar heading, because, he argues, Glen was a master in the air, is an all time classic. I challenge any fan forum, anywhere, to come up with anything better. People who think you can just throw this stuff together don't know what they're talking about. Producing output like that takes skill and diligence. People should stop picking holes and just admire the genius we have in our ranks.

Yep, they could sign him, then send him on loan till January.

Liverpool broke the rules, got caught, so came up with a formula for attempting to extricate themselves. It's a good formula. Far better than the stupid way we handled the situation with Ash, for example. Does that mean they should get away with it however? Not in my book it doesn't. I await the FA's reaction.

I would not be keen to sell him to Atleti. Over the course of the season, a number of people, myself included, have worried that Diego's poor form seemed almost deliberate. At times, the chronic indecision and the appalling passing seemed just too bad to be true. The suspicion that he might have been manipulating his exit on terms favourable to Atletico won't go away. This suspicion must surely be complete nonsense but it's there all the same.

Sorry!

They say Bayern are interested in him. For the second time today, I find myself saying I'll believe that when I see it. If he is a £100m player, we should expect the elite clubs to be clamouring for him. I don't believe any of them have any interest in him whatsoever because they know the answer to your question. He has made the most of what he has and so will always make a contribution but his technical shortcomings will forever trap him below the highest level.

This would be a fun negotiation. Mariana of course will tell Everton that's she's only interested in negotiating 'gross' and then discounting our sell on clause thereafter. Everton will claim that other clubs are prepared to pay their fee in full and pay Chelsea's share on top. That's how selling clubs always want to deal with sell on clauses if their negotiating position is strong enough. Thing is, I'm not sure Everton's position is all that strong because few, if any of the clubs who can both satisfy Rom's ambition, and meet Everton's demands, are interested in him. It seems to me that those clubs pretty much all want to do better, and they certainly aim to do better. I'd say the best plan for us is to let him go elsewhere, collect our share, and put it toward one of those 'better' options.