OhForAGreavsie

That's 12 more transfer deals in one season than all of us have completed in the whole of our lives combined. Experience is experience. Whether it concerns a positive outcome or a negative one, it all adds to the knowledge base. My point stands that the board know way more about the business of handling transfers than we do. You are implying that the board made bad transfer decisions in 2015. Well that would depend on whether or not the board made the decisions. The answer to that question is just one item in a long list of things that we don't know. Meanwhile, of course the board know the implications of a smaller market this window Vs a more competitive market driven by a reduced fee next summer. Not even the original poster can really think they don't.

The board knows every single thing all of us put together know about football transfers and many, many times more. They live in reality with all facts at their disposal and have handled hundreds of transfer negotiations. This compares very favourably to our combined zero facts, and zero experience dealing with football transfers. It can only be a desire to see squad improvements, plus frustration that we don't know what is happening that cause you to go so far overboard with your comment.

Because he is not, and never was, good enough.

Poorly.

Hopefully including the sell-on discount. i.e. we still get the sell on percentage even if it is us signing him. Hopefully.

Thank you. I've only seen a very limited highlights package of her. In the puff piece when Nouwen signed, Emma described her as a ball paying CB. That is exactly the profile we need because, in my opinion, only Maren of our 'first choice' back four is truly comfortable in possession. In recent seasons we've conceded many chances and quite a few goals because defenders failed to control the ball, miscued after lashing at it wildly, or played very poor passes. Better footballers in the back four will improve the stability and the fluidity of our team. First and foremost recruits must be Champions League quality defenders but in the women's game, no less than the men's, to be a top-level defender requires being technically good too. If youngsters come through the academy with 'squad player' level abilities only that's one thing, but i see no point going to the market to recruit anything other than a player who ticks all boxes for her position. That's especially so given the fact that we have have a virtually unrivaled employment package to offer female footballers.

I'm hoping Aniek Nouwen will be a good contributor but I confess I don't now anything about her.

Not a fan of this deal for two reasons. Firstly, it is in the midfield and back four that we need to improve to catch up/keep up with Europe's elite. Secondly, I'm not a fan of Lauren James. She is Callum Hudson-Odoi; much potential but very little output up to now and little sign yet that this is going to change.

Interesting to hear Kalasinac being described as crap. No Arsenal fan I know was having it when I told them he didn't look to be worth signing back when he was being linked with them. Come to think of it, back then quite a few on here weren't having it either.

Arsenal going down would be life threateningly funny. Died laughing is not a bad way to go but Spurs being relegated would cost me too much. Can't live without my twice a season Spurs fix. Impossible. Meanwhile back to Hibs. Is mid July too soon for popcorn and AFTV?

I know what happened now. You quoted the comment and I highlighted it in your quote then selected 'Quote Selection'.

Which face are people most surprised to see back at Cobham? Charly Musonda took me aback. He'd fallen right out of my mind.

Strange.

It is ridiculous but I can't blame La Liga. Messi's popularity is a huge driver for their worldwide value. Losing him could cost them a lot in their next TV contract. Obviously they will soon have to face that issue anyway but I can understand them wanting to stave it off.

Every time the point I'm about to make is brought up it is knocked down by referencing EU law but I do not believe and never have, that that is an insurmountable barrier. Football needs an NFL style salary cap or it will eat itself. This being a multi national and multi tiered sport, unlike gridiron, the cap would need to take account of income tax rates and be layered so that top five leagues get one level of cap, next tier down gets a lower cap and so on. This has to come.

Agree with this apart from the last bit. Don't see what anyone ever saw in Griezmann.

If Griezmann is a god, I'm an atheist.

At least that will save some wages as they are likely to be fined. Assuming the club are contractually allowed to retain the fines. that is. Sometimes the money goes to charity.

I agree that the quality of PSG relative to their league and the quality of Chelsea relative to ours makes it easier for a player to be effective and look impressive in Paris. If Hakimi is indeed thinking strategically about plotting his way back to Madrid however, I'm not sure that setting himself up to play the flat track bully in league football is the best way to impress. Looking good for Paris in Ligue 1 won't turn many heads when everyone believes that it is easy to look good for Paris in Ligue 1. The relative domestic power of PSG and Chelsea means that while there is a restless ambition for success in the DNA of modern Chelsea, it is in Paris, not London, where ambition turns to expectation. All of us recognise that you don't spend the money PSG has inorder to win Ligue 1. The whole reason-detre of modern PSG is Champions League success but I don't see why the pressure to achieve European glory should be a hindrance to a footballer seeking to impress. How better to catch Madrid's eye than to win the trophy they covet more than any other? This is where PSG's domestic dominance does come in handy. You have to be in it to win it and PSG's annual participation in the Champions League is guaranteed where Chelsea's is not. If Hakimi's ultimate goal is to earn a transfer back to Real then his choice of Paris over London is a logical one. From Chelsea's point of view the best response is to set about changing the mind of the next young young player we might be in competition with PSG over. The best way the start doing that would be to become the first English club in more than a generation to retain Europe's top trophy. In fact I'd argue winning the Champions League this year would make us the first English club to retain Europe's top trophy. Although my opinion on this is seen as controversial by many I am absolutely irrevocably convinced that the old European Cup was a Mickey Mouse trophy compared to the Champions League. Do it Blues.

I visit the forum frequently and regularly but not quite everyday. When I do visit I don't always read all updated threads. Some threads don't interest me and often I come here to read what people are saying about something specific which just surfaced in the media. As a result some of my posts can be a little out of date. I think my record is a reply to a two year old comment. 😞 As for @Clockwork's comment I had to look it up but I take it for granted that you don't agree with all of it. After all you are still here. 🙂

We are not mind readers Jas. If you failed to say what you meant to say then make the correction and allow the conversation to move forward. Instead you've been labouring a point which makes no sense in context. @Hashishispeculated about good performances leading to a player's value, his value, going up. You questioned if that would be a good thing from Chelsea's point of view. Well of course it is a good thing. Nobody except you is talking about his price going up. That's an illogicality you just made up.

I suggest that you read your own posts. I agree with you however that we've exhausted this conversation.

I'm a non believer when it comes to Gabriel. When he was being linked to City, and reported to be replacing Aguero, I posted here to say that I would be delighted if that happened. I thought Gabriel would be a serious downgrade. He's not good enough for Manchester City. if they persevere with him then that's good news in my book If they manage to offload him to us I'll be disappointed