Vesper

and again

damn, should have scored

2021-22 English Premier League Chelsea Everton http://www.sportnews.to/sports/2021/premier-league-Chelsea-vs-everton-s2/ https://www.totalsportek.com/football/epl9/Chelsea-vs-everton-match/

Mikel Oyarzabal is class too

Chelsea can recall Gallagher now but should stay calm with youngster flourishing at Palace https://theathletic.com/3013054/2021/12/13/Chelsea-can-recall-gallagher-but-should-stay-calm-youngster-flourishing-palace/ The evidence for Chelsea to recall Conor Gallagher from his intended season-long loan in January seems overwhelming. By smashing the ball with his right foot into the top corner of Everton’s net on Sunday, Gallagher took his goal tally for Crystal Palace to an impressive six in 15 Premier League appearances. He also has three assists in that time. Understandably, Chelsea fans are getting excited, not only about what the long-term future might bring but how the 21-year-old midfielder could help his parent club in the short term. Like the majority of their season-long loan deals, Chelsea do have an option to cut it short and bring Gallagher back to the mothership next month. Why spend millions in the January window when you have one of England’s finest emerging young talents, proven in the Premier League, to call upon to improve your squad? The academy graduate is, no surprise, loving life at Selhurst Park. But nobody should be in any doubt, his ambition and desire are to break through into the Chelsea senior squad. Should the call come in January, he would answer it. Cutting the loan short seems to be a no-brainer to many, not just because of his talent, but due to the various issues Chelsea’s midfielders are going through. All have been suffering from various ailments and are feeling the strain of the schedule. It is why coach Thomas Tuchel had to pair right wing-back Reece James with Ross Barkley there against Zenit Saint Petersburg in their Champions League group finale last week. Due to his ability to find the net, there is an argument Gallagher is required anyway. Chelsea have had 16 different goalscorers across their 16 Premier League games so far, but nobody in the squad has more than his six. Mason Mount is also on six but the rest, including the £200 million-plus trio of Romelu Lukaku (three), Kai Havertz (two) and Timo Werner (one), have fewer. However, it’s very easy to get carried away. Chelsea will not be making any rash decisions. The fact that Tuchel ruled out the possibility of recalling Gallagher only last month is a huge indication of the club’s thinking. He said: “It is important for him to be happy where he is and not change things. It is important to be calm. “It is too early to talk about recalling him in public before we talk with Conor himself and what his goals are. This will happen in the summer, as we all agreed to the decision that we wanted to send him to Palace.” Minds can be changed, and it is concerning that Mateo Kovacic has now gone nearly two months without a league appearance, initially due to a hamstring problem and currently due to testing positive for COVID-19. N’Golo Kante has been in and out of the side all season because of niggling injuries. The most recent of his 13 games was three weeks ago, and ended with him limping off before half-time against Juventus with a knee problem. Jorginho and Ruben Loftus-Cheek have been playing a lot in their absences, but Tuchel has revealed they’ve also been suffering from some discomfort. The former has had difficulties with his back and the latter had to pull out of that Zenit game last week after picking up an injury in the warm-up. Both started against Leeds United at the weekend, though. Yes, Gallagher could come back in to help relieve the strain on this quartet. But the situation might look very different come January. For example, Kante and Kovacic are both resuming training this week. If all four players are available for selection to play in the double No 6 roles in Tuchel’s preferred 3-4-2-1 system, who will Gallagher be picked instead of? As gifted as the youngster is, the Champions League-winning trio of Kante, Jorginho and Kovacic are going to be ahead of him in the pecking order if fit. Loftus-Cheek shouldn’t be underestimated either. He has made 98 appearances for the Chelsea senior side and has been enjoying a bit of a renaissance this season. And although Saul Niguez has struggled since joining on loan from Atletico Madrid in the summer, it will be a big call by Tuchel to unsettle him further by recalling a youngster yet to make his official Chelsea debut from loan to go ahead of him in the queue. There would be a bit of a debate whether playing that position would negate some of Gallagher’s attacking instincts. He describes himself as a box-to-box midfielder and he has been given licence to get into forward positions at Palace. But he plays on the right of a three-man midfield for Patrick Vieira, with the comfort of a bit more protection behind. In saying that, Tuchel has opted for a three-man midfield a few times and also encouraged one of the “double six” to play higher up the pitch occasionally. Gallagher would still fit in if the opportunity arose. The other option is to use Gallagher as one of the No 10s behind the centre-forward. But this is another area where Chelsea have lots of people to choose from — Havertz, Werner, Hakim Ziyech, Christian Pulisic, Callum Hudson-Odoi, Mount and Barkley (if he doesn’t leave in January). Loftus-Cheek could also be pushed up there, should a few players go missing for one reason or another. In other words, ending his loan early is a big call for Gallagher, let alone Chelsea, to make. Right now, he is benefitting from featuring regularly, working on his game, earning Premier League experience and building that self-belief. Should that be jeopardised for what will surely be a bit-part role for the second half of the campaign back at Stamford Bridge? Gallagher forced his way into the last England squad — albeit after some withdrawals — off the back of his Palace form. That will surely play a factor too, with the youngster wanting to play as much as possible to have a chance of making the World Cup squad next November. It’s worth noting Nathan Ake was in the same boat as Gallagher in January 2017. The Dutch defender was recalled early by Chelsea from his Bournemouth loan after impressing — despite making just 12 appearances. Manager Antonio Conte wanted an extra body in for the title run-in, yet Ake ended up playing just five times in total in over four months after returning from the south coast. His only Premier League start — he made just two appearances in the league — was in the penultimate game, after the title had been won. There is the argument Gallagher can start learning from Tuchel and catch his attention earlier, before he starts thinking about additions he would like to make in the summer transfer window. But the German admires him already, so there is no rush. “I loved him from day one,” Tuchel added in November. “As a team-mate, I would have loved to play with him. It is a pleasure to know him, I am super happy that it has worked out so well. He needs to keep his feet on the ground.” And where better to do that than under Vieira at Palace?

Chelsea must renew Antonio Rudiger’s contract https://theathletic.com/3011011/2021/12/13/Chelsea-must-renew-antonio-rudigers-contract/ Sometimes you just have to ask: what are Chelsea doing? Knowing when the right time has come for a player to leave a football club isn’t an exact science. There are many factors involved but, surely, Chelsea can’t afford to let Antonio Rudiger leave the building. In less than three weeks, Rudiger can officially start talking to foreign clubs and agree a pre-contract that will allow the centre-back to join one of them as a free agent next summer. As The Athletic explained ahead of the weekend, Real Madrid are growing in confidence they can bring the Germany international to the Bernabeu. You could already be questioning Chelsea for allowing themselves to be put in such a vulnerable situation where four key defenders — Cesar Azpilicueta, Thiago Silva, Andreas Christensen and Rudiger — have just six months left on their deals. There is a very strong argument for the entire quartet to be retained, but during the best part of 100 minutes in a crazy 3-2 win over Leeds, Rudiger demonstrated once again how crucial he is. All his characteristics were on show, from winning tackles to going on charging runs upfield. He only touched the ball on 45 occasions, but it just felt like the German was everywhere. Without Rudiger being Rudiger, Chelsea would not have come out on top. There was the unusual sight of him winning not one, but two penalties. It is only the second time since the Premier League began that a Chelsea player has earned two spot kicks in one fixture — the other being Yuri Zhirkov 11 years ago. Both penalties were converted by Jorginho and were the difference between Chelsea securing a crucial victory and dropping points at home for the third consecutive game. Each incident took place in open play, which made it all the more remarkable. This was one of Chelsea’s three centre-backs getting in positions one of the forwards are expected to be. The 28-year-old’s presence in the area induced panic in the Leeds ranks. How else can you explain the clumsy nature of the challenges? There is arguably no one in the Chelsea dressing room with a greater hunger to win. No one with a better understanding of knowing when the crowd, as well as his own team-mates, need the lift of seeing him make a strong interception or marauding charge up the field. He is a great irritant to have on your side. A source of great angst if he is not. “He is always important,” coach Thomas Tuchel said afterwards. “He did not accept to lose today and we can agree on this one, that it was necessary (to win).” Rudiger is one of Chelsea’s main leaders. He has high expectations and is not afraid to put a colleague in his place if he feels they’re not doing something correctly. Just ask keeper Kepa Arrizabalaga. But no one will stand up for a Chelsea team-mate more. After Kai Havertz clashed with Junior Firpo just before and following the final whistle, it was the 28-year-old who raced over to defend him and seemed willing to take on most of the Leeds players single-handed. The only one who was able to get the better of him during the confrontation was Romelu Lukaku, who showed the kind of impressive strength to drag the centre-half away that Tuchel wants to see the Chelsea striker use against opponents during matches. It was the type of incident where pundits will question why Rudiger is getting involved and risking getting in trouble with the referee. It’s also the type of incident that inspires togetherness and team bonding in the dressing room. “If you have Toni, you have Toni,” Tuchel replied when asked about the altercation. “You cannot have Toni being the emotional leader and aggressive leader on the pitch and then suddenly not be involved if there are some team-mates to protect or involved in an argument.” Finding a player like Rudiger is not easy. It’s not all gone smoothly since he joined from Roma for £29 million in 2017 on a five-year contract worth £90,000 a week and there have been spells where his form hasn’t been good. But this is a man who is now playing at his peak. If Chelsea entered the market to buy a player of his equivalent, it would probably cost more than £50 million in transfer fees and around the same in wages on top of that. So why the reluctance to offer something closer to his demands? Sources suggest there have been no talks since Chelsea proposed a five-year deal worth around £140,000 a week in August. As far as the club is concerned, that is a healthy pay rise and should be enough to satisfy Rudiger. It is an increase of over 50 per cent, so you can see their reasoning. However, Rudiger knows his value on the market and that he can get considerably more elsewhere, especially when you factor in the signing-on fee. Players also talk and he will be aware that German compatriots Timo Werner and Kai Havertz, who haven’t been showing the same level of consistency, are making three times what he is at the moment. He has every right to feel aggrieved given the quality of his performances in 2021. But continued suggestions he is demanding, or going to get £400,000 a week elsewhere, are believed to be wide of the mark. The figure Rudiger is looking for is more like £180,000 to £200,000 a week. One should note that he could also find the prospect of playing for Real Madrid or another of the interested clubs, Bayern Munich, hard to turn down. Still, shouldn’t Chelsea put up more of a fight to ensure that doesn’t happen? You can understand Chelsea debating things like what happens if his form deteriorates and the lack of sell-on value should he stay well into his thirties. But they should also be querying whether they’ll be better off letting him leave on a free in the summer and spending a fortune on an unproven replacement. Willian’s displays following his departure to Arsenal — albeit he was 32 when he quit Stamford Bridge for better terms in north London — might see them lean towards the second option. But surely that would be a mistake; Rudiger is only 28 and, as Tom Worville explained in this recent article, is playing in a position where the peak age is between 27 and 31. Chelsea had a glimpse into a future without Rudiger when they laboured to a 3-3 draw at Zenit St Petersburg last week. Tuchel’s side also conceded three with Rudiger in the side against West Ham the previous weekend and, of course, another two versus Leeds, but this was different. The Russian club created chance after chance and the Champions League holders looked rudderless. If Chelsea had any sense, negotiations will be reopened. The sooner the better.

Arsenal striker Nwankwo Kanu wore size 15 boots, and Mikel Oyarzabal, who is 6 inches shorter than Rom, wears 13's

IF he went on a loan to Ajax, they are even more a threat, and I rate them (despite them being in a true farmers league) as a VERY dangerous team in the CL

Wijnaldum is a proven EPL player

Ah, that's right, it had slipped my mind. A good buy for them, a rare thing, lol

yes, he is closest there is out there to Kante atm, but he will also be insanely expensive Joshua Kimmich is untouchable Aurélien Tchouaméni is my pick, if no Barella Casemiro is interesting too, of they really want to ship him, big downside is he turns 30yo in around 2 months other similar type players (drop off in quality. obviously) Ismaël Bennacer Wilfred Ndidi Rúben Neves Kalvin Phillips Douglas Luiz Bruno Guimarães Boubacar Kamara

🇫🇷 Kylian Mbappé (Real Madrid-bound) 🇨🇮 Franck Kessié 🇦🇷 Paulo Dybala 🇮🇹 Lorenzo Insigne 🇭🇷 Marcelo Brozović 🇩🇪 Niklas Süle (has rebounded) I am open to any of these the club deems a good deal

2021-22 English Premier League Norwich City Manchester United http://www.sportnews.to/sports/2021/premier-league-norwich-city-vs-manchester-united-s1/ https://www.totalsportek.com/football/epl8/norwich-vs-manchester-united/

I can live with struggling offence but airtight defence

and Chilwell too it looks like

we so need to sort our defence

all 3 top teams won because of pens

shithoused that win and Pool should have drawn, PGMOL working their magic again

bailed out, come on make this!

we are back to Lampard defending, shipping multiple goals every games

Alisson clearly fouled Ings in the box, no call

the contract situations with them is clearly distracting,, they are getting tapped up left and right

we have turned to midtable dross almost instantly since that Juve destruction