OhForAGreavsie

Has there been confirmation that his move to Zenit was completed before the cut-off, or is the Russian deadline today?

Fully agree but we do need a better player next to him.

1975 at the original Den was a good one. Three of us ended up in their end because ours was packed. A little bit scary, but I'm here to tell the tale. It was a Saturday afternoon game and Chopper came on as a half-time sub, having already played a full 90 minutes for the reserves that morning. Rotation, smotation.

I am, and of the manager.

Maybe we do have fewer weaknesses than other sides but their problems don't frustrate me so I can live with them. I think it is unarguable however that we need quality upgrades. For example, I may be alone but I'm utterly fed up with Matic. Swap him for Tottenham's Dembele and we are instantly a significantly better team. Dembele is not a world beater; he just possesses the kind of technical quality required for the level to which we aspire.

It pleases but does not encourage me. What would encourage me is better players in certain key areas.

Agreed but none of that hides the weaknesses in the team.

Really pleased with this team. The flaws are clear for all to see but they did what they do and grabbed a result. Squad improvements are desperately needed but I question whether we can get it done in the market come summer. That's for another thread however.

Bournemouth? Hope not.

Still 2 hours and 17 minutes to go. We can hope.

Turning down the supposed approach from Bournmouth for Nate is a must to start with. That gives us three senior players able to function at LB/LWB, plus Kennedy if things get desperate. Not ideal I agree, but adding a player who is, in my opinion, inadequate is not going to improve the situation. The immense difficulty recruiting players currently is highlighted by just how few Premier League deals have gone through since this window opened. Although there are a number of players who would be excellent Alonso upgrades, none of them are available so let's keep our powder dry for the summer. The market then will be even more competitive then than it is now so, if we plan signings, we are going to need powder by the ship load.

Worse.

Negotiation speak: "We understand Celtic are extremely reluctant to sell in this window and would not consider a bid below £40m." Translation: "Bloody hell, how much are they willing to pay for this bloke? Play it cool lads but don't blow it; let's squeeze every penny out of these mugs before they get away."

Too one-footed for me. Not the sort of player I would go to the market for.

I want Nat to add just a little urgency to his game. Make the pass you want Nat then stroll and look elegant. Strolling while you're in the process of getting it done sometimes causes you, or the receiver, to be hassled or closed down. That happened a few times today. Use the time your attributes give you to hurt the opponent, not to try to look cool.

Because he isn't good enough for the role you suggest. Personally I question the quality of his continuity play which makes it a struggle for him to be effective in the LWB role too. He can probably get away with the flashy stuff; the odd good run, the odd good cross and the odd strike on goal, but the vital basics of the position; gain possession, maintain possession, find a good pass, are going to catch him out I think.

OK, good suggestion. I will take a look at some all touches videos, if I can find any.

https://www.london.gov.uk/sites/default/files/PAWS/media_id_286710/stamford_bridge_stadium_report.pdf This is the report on the stage one judgement of the scheme by the Mayor's office. The report is strongly supportive of the plan but includes findings that the rebuild does not fully comply with regulations in a couple of areas. These concern match day safety issues at Earl's Court station, particularly for weekday games, and carbon reduction issues in terms of energy usage. A summary of these is in paragraph 93 but if you search the terms you'll find further details in the body of the report. I don't think these issues are insurmountable. If they can be resolved then Mayoral approval should happen pretty quickly but the report makes it clear that the club has to provide satisfactory answers, and agree to having the solutions written into the final conditions before they can resubmit the plan for stage 2 consideration.

Hopefully he can be persuaded to stay. Ghoulam as a starter, with Marcos as the backup gives the kind of depth we'd like our squad to have in every position. Whether he would stay depends on what options he might have and it's hard to guess what those would be.

I like Kessie but I don't think he's the perfect signing for us. For me, Kessie & Kante is not enough quality in the engine room. I'm not at all convinced about Semedo and have no interest in Chelsea signing him. Of the two, I'd stick with Victor.

I was in favour of signing Alonso in the summer because I believed his atributes could help our team. I think that has worked out well but this lad is an Alonso upgrade for sure. Ghoulam offers the good continuity skills which are vital for a wing back, but he brings more pace and more power than Marcos which makes his defensive game more solid too.

I agree that Sidibe is a terrific player but he does not make it to number one in my wish list. That place is reserved for a Matic upgrade because I think an improvement in that position will make a bigger impact on our team than any other upgrade we might contemplate. I say a 'Matic upgrade', but actually I think I mean a Fabregas upgrade. A player who can deliver the quality Cesc can, while also providing the pace, power and energy that will persuade Antonio to select him ahead of Nemanja. That said, you have to sign the players you need when they are available. If Sidibe is gettable in the summer, then we should try.

No visible involvement but I wouldn't expect there to be any. Two reasons: - We know from Antonio himself that he wants signings and that he has talked to the club about his targets. It's reasonable to assume that the club is investigating these but doing so quietly, as every club would like to. Selling clubs have an incentive to hold out to the end of the window. Only at the last minute, of the last day, can they be absolutely sure that they've wrung the highest possible bid out of prospective buyers. They will try hard not to blink before then, even if they actually want to sell. Will we get anything done? Who knows. Lots of good players out there but few available and many potential buyers in a brutally competitive market. Edit: These reasons probably explain why none of our rivals have got anything done either.

Interesting. Maybe I need to see more of him. Based on the video above, I'd say he looks rather ordinary. What we see there does not motivate me to seek out all touches videos and certainly not to watch full game coverage. He shows some competent things in the highlights package, but nothing I would not also expect Victor Moses to be able to deliver. If the club go into the market, we'd all like it to be for a clear upgrade, not a like-for-like alternative. That package does not suggest to me that this bloke is even as good as we have already, never mind better.

Self evident nonsense since I am a real, very real, Chelsea fan and I do want Jose to win the EFL Cup. Perhaps you imagine all Chelsea fans are small minded fat-heads? Another self-evident error I'm afraid. I'm not going to engage with you on this any longer. If I have any comment to make on any of your football opinions, I'll post them.