OhForAGreavsie

So maybe Kai is a false nine then. Or is he a nine plain and simple?

I have an unpopular opinion too. It is that players don't regress. Rather it is easier for commentators to claim this than to recognise that they had initially overestimated the player's development. I don't think I've ever been guilty of blaming regression myself though others may know better and be able to find examples. What people could certainly find in my case are instances of me overrating individual performances or the general level of particular footballers.I have certainly been guilty of overestimating a Billy Gilmour display. Leaving the ground after the League Cup win against Grimsby I bumped into a couple I sit with when we watch Chelsea Women. All three of us were absolutely buzzing about the way Billy had played. When I later watched the all touches video however, I did not feel his contribution had been as spectacular as it felt on the night. I think that the emotion of a big win, and several good performances, clouded my judgement. I wonder if emotion also played a part in the reaction to Billy's display against England? I made the mistake of joining a youtube watch along for last night's game and joining in the live chat. For me at least that turns out not to be a good way to actually watch a football match. I therefore viewed an all touches video of Billy this morning and don't feel it lives up to the hype I'm reading today.

Ethan's loans have not surprised me because I don't believe he is good enough to play for Chelsea. I first posted this opinion while he was still here and feel his loan experiences have reflected that assessment.

I'm not aware of anyone but me saying anything which could be misrepresented as meaning what you write here. If anyone did say Lewis is outright a better footballer than Billy then that is their opinion and they must defend it. What I said, and what I'm convinced is true, is that Lewis is more talented than Billy. His touch is better and he carries the ball better. All things being equal a more technically able player will be a more effective player, but all other things are seldom equal. Many factors come into play and, initially, judgements have to be made. Eventually however achievements will tell. In the case of these two players 'eventually' hasn't happened yet.

Agreed.

The Bellingham part of this is the bit I'm most interested in. https://youtu.be/MYPJOCxSUFc

We're signing agents now? 🙂

Hope so

This is a popular opinion but I don't share it. The weakness in Ruben's game is exactly the same now as it was in 2012/13 when I started posting about it. (Elsewhere.) I find that injuries are often just a convenient excuse.

Fortunately the people who noticed Ruben's talent, but failed to notice that he hardly ever produced productive displays, weren't making the decisions. I do not believe that Ruben is earning £5m - £6m per year.

I refuse to believe these numbers and no source other than Ruben, his agent, or Chelsea Football club will convince me otherwise. I just don't see how anyone could ever have felt it was warranted or necessary to pay Ruben £6 million a year.

It's still fun to think about the defensive corps that would give us. Pep, Jürgen, Oli, Brendon and the rest would not be happy bunnies. 🙂

Blatter is a truly disgusting individual.

Yes, I realised this. As you might recall I often post to show my frustration with comments that assume the poster knows more about making transfer deals than the professionals do. I've said it before but I'll take the opportunity to say it again; Marina knows absolutely everything we think we know about how to put a transfer together, and a great deal more. Your suggestion was still fun to read though.

I agree but my comment was only about whether we simply had to sit and wait for Real to make a matching counter offer. We don't.

Brilliant! Knew there had to be a good reason for having you around here. Somebody find this woman Marina's email address.

Think you've missed my point. The purpose of our negotiation with Real would be to compensate them so that they do not make a bid. Obviously if the clause is binding, and Real are determined to take the player back, then the situation is entirely out of our hands.

Agreed. Interesting idea. This would probably also appeal to Thiago because it holds out the possibility of a further extension for him at the end of the coming season. A new contract which would then assume him playing back up to Andreas.

I didn't know that. Assuming he is effective on the left then that would make getting him a lot more attractive. Not attractive enough to justify losing Andreas but more attractive all the same.

No. Assuming that the clause makes the purchase mandatory, i.e. that the player has no right to turn down the transfer, we could negotiate directly with Real over a settlement for them to waive the buy-back. They of course would ask us to write off the remainder of Eden's transfer fee, we would offer a green Smartie, and the negotiation would proceed from there.

'Succession' might be a better word. 🙂 Agreed that he would be behind Thiago & Rudi but given the need to manage Thiago's minutes, and Thiago's injury record last season, Andreas can reasonably expect a satisfying level of involvement. Someone pointed out above we could play 65 games next season. Potentially plenty of minutes to spread around. (Actually I think the theoretical maximum is more than 65 even if the League Cup semi-finals do not return to the two-legged format which is assumed in the 65 number.)

Understood. I just think that, based on what he has done for us lately, there is no possibility of the club concluding that Andreas is a disposable asset. For that assessment to change he would have to fail to perform, in whatever system, over a stretch of games and that's not going to happen this side of the transfer window closing. My bet remains on there being zero possibility that Chelsea are prepared to include Andreas as a make wait in a transfer a package.

Makes no sense even with a four I'd say. Andreas has simply become too good. I think we would all agree that the minimum likelihood of Chelsea being prepared to release Andreas is 0%. Well, my guess is that the maximum likelihood is roughly 100 times that. 🙂

And yet, I'm sure I'm not the only one who sometimes feels able to discern genuine conviction from bravado. That's not to say my feeling must be right here but I definitely picked up no hint that JAF was claiming more than he knew. Or perhaps how erratic opinions can be. Anyone who has a better view of Chelsea now than they did six months ago is not alone. I agree. If I'm correct that JAF knows something and is speaking with the permission of the Haaland family then the implications are either that there is interest in what Chelsea have to say, or that they are happy to encourage others to believe they are interested in what Chelsea have to say.

I watched Fjortoft's ESPN interview on the subject. He genuinely seemed to know something. Given his reported relationship with Alf-Inge he is a) in a position to know and b) likely to respect the family's wishes if they did not want him to go as far as giving the hints he gave. Personally, the player I'd most like to get from BVB is Bellingham but I definitely don't see him feeling ready to leave yet.