OhForAGreavsie

Deleted - duplicate.

I agree about the dribbling. He seems a more complete player than N'Golo and I think a far more technically capable one than Ess even in his prime. I always felt that ME's ability to carry the ball was more about power than finesse. My questions about Keita are not about his quality, only about how well he'd fit. I really like the fact that we have been linked with a series of really good players this week. If Laxalt were to join, for example, he would, in my opinion, instantly become the most technically proficient player in our squad. His touch is outstanding, and his body control superb. Unfortunately for him, and for us if we sign him, technical excellence is only a tool. What matters is how you use it and from what I've seen, he is himself responsible for the fact that too many of his involvements fizzle out to nothing.I do plan to try to watch more of him though because that technical quality is so highthat you shouldn't turn your back on it unless you are absolutely sure. Another linked player I really like is Kessie. He is much more in the Essien mould I think . His technique is not special, but the lad's power is stunning. Stunning full stop, but when you take his age into account, it's off the scale. I keep thinking back to that Spurs game where we were blown away for 40 minutes. I think if we'd had a player like Kessee in there, then Wanyama and Dembele would not have had things all their own way, as they did in the first half. There are some good players being talked about and I haven't even mentioned the midfielder from Lyon who was linked on Monday; another interesting looking player. Antonio must already have made his plans for January. I'm looking forward to seeing what he's got in mind.

Interesting. He reminds me more of N'Golo and I worry that they are therefore too similar to compliment each other. While Antonio would certainly want to have a squad which gives him the option to play three in the middle, I wonder if he will be ready to spend heavily this January in order to make that switch a full-time one. Other than that, I agree with most of what @BCS said Above.

He looks lightweight to me and a bit flashy. A lot of his game seems to be about beating his man. That's a good bonus to have on top of your basic game, but when it is your basic game that, in my opinion, is a problem if you are projected to play as a wingback.

I read that we tried to sign him in the summer before last but he turned us down. Dembele was top of my wish list in the summer just gone but it seems we were never in the running this time as he chose BVB. You'd have to say that this boat has sailed now. Certainly it's difficult to imagine that Dortmund would sell; they know what they've got.

Not true. He wasn't starting at the end of last season either. As often happens with new/young players, Charly drew more praise for his early performances with Bettis than his contribution really deserved. As his loan spell went on, more realistic assessments were made and Charlie found himself on the bench.

This kind of post is unnecessarily harsh. Oscar never gave anything but his best for this club. If he was short on quality, and I've been saying so since Christmas 2012, that is not his fault. It is the fault of the people who recruited him. Once they get past the development squads, professional footballers would be out of their minds to read fan forums but, on the off chance that they might, why should they have to put up with aggressive posts like yours? What exactly is it you think the bloke did wrong? What can he possibly do apart from his best?

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If Oscar wants this move, then I hope it happens for him. I gave up on him very early but he never let Chelsea down in terms of attitude or effort. If and when he leaves, I hope he does so with the best wishes of Chelsea fans everywhere.

Given the political situation in Turkey, a move to Shanghai sounds far more attractive for a family man than a move to Istanbul does at the moment.

Have to admit I don't have a high opinion of Rmpr's judgement of a player. When I told him that, based on what I'd seen of Pato during his time in Europe, I felt he had nothing to offer at Chelsea, Rmpr told me that he had been watching the duck regularly and that he was fed up with people like me who didn't know what they were talking about. Oh well.

Let's be frank, because they are stupid.

I haven't read the linked article but, if Lucas does want to join Fulham then I hope he gets his move and that it works well for him. He gave it a shot with Chelsea and no one can blame him for that. It has not worked out however so it's time to move on with his career. Good luck to the bloke.

Everybody, including us, does it. I agree it's frustrating as heck, but then many of us would regard the slippy G match as one of our favourite Chelsea memories despite the fact that those were exactly the tactics we used that day. I say again, Tony Pulis came up with the game plan most likely to work for his team, and his squad executed it well. Manager and players deserve due praise and I don't begrudge them it.

Thank goodness for this post. It puts any criticism which is due for today's game where it belongs, not misguidedly on West Brom. For me, all the criticism of Tony Pulis in the two game threads is wide of the mark. West Brom's manager did what he had to do and did it very well. His side executed their game plan and, had they played just a little better in possession, we could have been in big trouble today. Causing problems for the opponents is Pulis's job, not making we fans happy. He was beaten today but not by the opposing team pattern, nor even by the opposing manager. He lost because of a brilliant piece of play by a centre forward at the top of his game. Diego and Gaz apart, we were not great today but we got the job done. That will do for me. Just hoping to see Antonio and the team to their work for the rest of the month, and the squad builders do their work in January.

The season is it over yet. 😄

But then, we know that Pogba isn't.

By which time he will be less than six months short of his 30th birthday. Just another reason why you're right to say this is very, very unlikely to happen.

Unarguably sensible view of course although in the end it comes down to judgement.

I like the look of this kid. He reminds me a bit of Ess. He is very powerful, though not yet quite as powerful as The Bison. On the other hand his technique looks to me to be better than our legend's. If I'm right about that, this balances out the scales a bit. I have to admit though that, coming from me, this isn't as big a compliment as it might be since I never really thought Ess's technical level was top notch.

Hello SJ, Would you value Gibson as highly as the reputed £35m tag Boro have put on him?

I'm not a fan. I first saw him a number of times when KDB was on loan at Bremen, then I watched him a few times when he was being linked with us. The opinion I formed then was that he is overrated so I wouldn't be excited if he was signed. Certainly I would be a lot less positive than I was when we signed Marcos.

It might be the absence of Matic but it might also simply be that city have a quality collection of footballers. In other words, we don't have enough evidence to show whether things would've been better if Matic had been in the team on Saturday. I was strongly in favour of Alonso's signing. I think he has given us improved stability when we are in possession and that this has made a big difference to our effectiveness going forward as well as at the back. Of course he doesn't get all of the credit for that increased stability in possession; Victor has given us just as much of an improvement on the right hand side. Between them they've made a big, big contribution to our turnaround but we do need upgrades. I like Alonso a lot but we should urgently be looking for someone that gives us the same quality of continuity play, but with more to offer defensively. if we find that person, and Marcus is prepared to live with the role of a back up, then that would be a very significant improvement to the squad.

Haven't seen this lad since he was first linked a good while ago. In fairness I suppose I should watch him again to confirm, or update, my opinion but the view I formed then was that there is nothing special about him. As a result of that I wasn't surprised to read earlier in the thread that he has not been having a great season. I did just have a quick look at a YouTube video. It's not all that long but there are only two slightly impressive pieces of play featured. There is a nicely executed dummy on about the halfway line, and a good piece of power where he just brushes a challenge aside. Apart from that, there's nothing out of the ordinary. If it wasn't for all the positive write-ups, here and elsewhere, that video alone wouldn't encourage me to want to see more of him.

Been there, done that. 2 AM scheduled kickoff for Washington Monday night games meant a 5:30 AM finish, with work starting at nine. And I'm talking before the games were available on satellite telly and other platforms. Back in the day, it was a case of trying to latch on to an intermittent medium wave (AM) signal which was bounced by satellite from the States to Frankfurt and then broadcast to US Army personnel stationed in Germany. Sometimes, when it was a big game, and the reception was particularly bad, it meant dragging yourself out of bed, diving into the car to cruise around in search of a signal. These were no balmy, Antipodean nights either. I'm talking cold, wet, miserable midwinter London. 😊 Compared to that, buying a season ticket at RFK, or FedEx field, must have been a doddle!!