OhForAGreavsie

Yes agreed, they are totally different. That's why I checked. Also he's not first team ready and I have my doubts that he ever will be.

When I watch the 18s and the 21s I often see scouts taking notes with their paper or digital pads. Sometimes there are entire blocks of them. They always make me feel very envious. Early this season there were hordes of them at the 21s game vs Man City. A game in which a lad who played right back for City was the standout performer. A few days later he joined Southampton. I'm guessing at least some of the scouts that night were watching him.

I also like Lavia more than Santos. Much more. Which Italian bloke?

Regardless of how Inter actually feel, saying things like this is the right negotiating tactic ahead of any loan renewal talks.

In short, Felix's skills are attractive looking but they don't do enough damage to the opposition.

DDF has bags of skill. As posted previously, I really like what I've seen from him in that regard. The charge against him is bad decision making or, putting it more bluntly, selfishness when on the ball. It's a serious, potentially fatal, flaw. It did for Daniel Sturridge and it may do for our new boy.

What they've done is deliberate.

David Hay joined for a reported £250,000 in 1974. At he time this was the second highest British transfer fee ever paid. It was though a typical Blues move. Getting carried away and overpaying for a flavour of the month player. Hay was a very ordinary footballer and did nothing for the club.

Which at least leaves opens the possibility that the big fee was justifiably hard to understand. My general view is that if players don't have the talent, they have no chance but that, even with the talent, they need to demonstrate the ability to apply it effectively. In saying this, I'm not saying anything that's news to anybody here. It looks like Felix is coming and we'll get a chance to see how effective he can be.

I'm surprised by the Felix interest. Never understood how he attracted that massive fee in the first place.

You are not alone on Bakayoko I'm ashamed to say. Not my only mistake though.

Robben did choose us, I agree. That's a second example and that's enough for me to take back the point I initially made. 🙂 I don't recall anyone else matching our offer for Essien. Indeed I remember Aulas saying he would sell Essien to other clubs for half the price he demanded from Chelsea. The complexities of the situation surrounding MJO's move to Chelsea lead me to feel there were non football factors weighing heavy on that situation. We got Hazard because he only wanted Real but they were not able to guarantee him game time so he chose what he expected to be a short term temporary home instead. Ballack was driven by the size of contract, not football. Before the moves of both Sheva and Nando I said they should not be signed. In Sheva's case I said he had nothing left, in Nando's I argued he never had it. There was no serious competition for those players at the figures involved.

Sometime soon Harry Kane will break Jimmy Greaves's Spurs all time scoring record. There are some factors to be taken into account when comparing the players however: - Kane performs in an era where the pitches are far more conducive to attacking play. Kane has played his entire career under laws which are much more favourable for attackers than was the case in Jimmy's day. Kane has already played 33 more times for Spurs than Greaves did. Kane has scored more penalties for Spurs. For at least two of his Spurs' seasons Greaves was alcohol addicted. Kane is a quality player, but he's right when he says Greaves was the best. Maybe one day there will be a better English goal scorer than Jimmy Greaves, but it hasn't happened yet. If it ever does, let's hope he's another Chelsea academy graduate.

I've stated my opinion on Liverpool and Timo many times. I said at the time that they would certainly have been able to afford him if they rated him highly enough. Jorginio is a fair shout. We won that tussle partly because of Sarri as you say, and partly, I think, because of the role in the squad that was on offer. Thanks for the memory prompt. Unless someone else remembers another occasion that you and I have both forgotten, Jorgi stands as the exception that proves the rule.

Out of date FA Youth Cup ticket offer.

You say rarely but, as I type this, I can't remember a single case where we were in competition with clubs higher up the pecking order than we are and won.

Should be a lion on crutches. 🙂

Not from me. I have been consistent since autumn 2011, not a typo 2011, that Rom would never be the answer for Chelsea.

Have to admit that I don't see €120m worth in the highlight videos but I'm biting my tongue because I didn't see the World Cup. When assessing a player though, it is necessary to judge the input, not the output. Just because a player does extraordinarily well, does not mean it's always an indication of extraordinary ability. Sometimes it really is just your day, your month, or your year. Last season people were telling me that my prediction from five or six years ago that Connor did not look to be a Chelsea level player was wrong. Now, his name regularly appears on sell lists. I'm not saying that I have been proven right, Connor may still show that I missed something when he was a youth team player. It is clear however that some are now concluding last season may just have been great 'moment' for him, and not an indicator that he is a great player. I think what I'm saying boils down to form is temporary, class is permanent. The €120m question is which is the case with Enzo, but I'm not in a position to answer that question.

No she didn't. I firmly believe that Roman drove that deal.

Dembele was not shopping around for the best deal he could get from the market last summer, as was speculated. Instead, he was using the speculation to help him secure the best deal he could get from Barcelona. He never really wanted to leave. I initially bit on the hope of getting a player I've always liked since first watching him when I was trying to check how Boga was progressing at Reims. It soon occurred to me however what Dembele was really doing.

Are you referring to the situation where Arsenal bid a certain amount + £1 because they believed that was the requirement of a buy out clause? I've never understood what it is they were supposed to have done wrong there. If they were told, presumably by the player's agent, that their bid would meet all the conditions to trigger the clause, then why on Earth would they bid more? It's not Arsenal's fault that the agent hadn't negotiated as solid a buy out as they thought. Although, since that situation, I'm sure clubs are less likely to just take an agent's word on such matters.

I am convinced that he was not.

I've read at least one report, perhaps posted by you 🙂, stating that Chelsea deny those claims. As for the value of the offer, it is reported not to be cash only. Clearly Chelsea's contention will be that the permanent transfer of Ziyech, plus two youngsters on loan, are of equivalent value to the shortfall. Indeed, Chelsea will likely be saying that the inclusion of those three players more than makes up the shortfall and so represents better value for Benfica. Of course, even if Benfica are attracted to the idea of taking one or more of the players offered, they are going to argue that they are worth a total of €5m between them. In other words, both sides will play they game. L:astly, I have also read reports claiming that negotiations are continuing which does not seem to me to be compatible with Benfica's reported stance. If Benfica are indignant, and if for them it has to be at least the full cash buyout, paid in a single upfront transaction, then what are they negotiating? I think my stance is consistent. I do not take media reports as fully factual until I believe there is reason to do so. My position on this is therefore to remain sceptical while waiting to see.

I've seen nothing which indicates beyond doubt that this is accurate, and I've seen some reports that outright state that it is false. Because of this I don't think we have enough information to form a strong opinion about how CFC negotiators have behaved.