Vesper

lots of gaps

Mendy is single-handedly keeping them out

yikes, Saul looks shaky

thank fuck for Mendy

what a pass by Kova

same for Emi Buendía

COVID quarantine

lol, who would have ever guessed on Boxing Day that Alonso and Rudiger would be almost undroppable

2021-22 English Premier League Chelsea Aston Villa http://www.sportnews.to/sports/2021/premier-league-Chelsea-vs-aston-villa-s1/ https://www.totalsportek.com/football/premier-league/Chelsea-vs-aston-villa-epl/

2021-22 English Premier League Leicester City Manchester City http://www.sportnews.to/sports/2021/premier-league-leicester-city-vs-manchester-city-s3/ https://www.totalsportek.com/football/premier-league/leicester-city-vs-man-city-epl/

2021-22 English Premier League Manchester United Newcastle United http://www.sportnews.to/sports/2021/premier-league-manchester-united-vs-newcastle-united-s1/ https://www.totalsportek.com/football/premier-league/man-utd-vs-newcastle-epl/

Gallagher official MOTM

lol Odsonne on , in first 10 seconds scores 2 nil game over

Gallagher has been incredible

fucking EPL no footie for 2 weeks and the first Saturday back the cunts play SIX games all at same 4PM kickoff

2021-22 English Premier League Crystal Palace Tottenham Hotspur http://www.sportnews.to/sports/2021/premier-league-crystal-palace-vs-tottenham-hotspur-s1/ https://www.totalsportek.com/football/premier-league/crystal-palace-vs-tottenham-epl/

there was more than one and we can take the good with the bad, it is not an either or situ

well yes, these 3 are above him in my book our CMF/DMF situation is both glorious and yet about to become SUPER complicated over the next 2 years or so, maybe sooner

He is literally at the the hardest age to decide what to do with him. He turns 30 in late winter next season, so IF we give him £200K PW for 4 years, you are look at him turning 30, 31, 32, and 33 midseason in those 4 years. Obviously at the end of the 4 years, he value will be very low, as the team that would sign him is buying a soon to be (that same season) 34yo CB. Also, just how good (and importantly, healthy) during the those last 2 years of the 4 (IF we do re-sign him) when he he turns 32, and then 33 in mid-season us he going to be for US? Us the Rudiger of 3, 4 years from now going to be the same Rudiger as he has been the past year? If he does go down in quality, is it really worth paying almost £21m (£20.8m would be the cost his last 2 years) in salary for a rotational squad player, who will have very little value come the end? I would be happy with a THREE year extension, at say £192.4K PW (so he can look at it as basically 10 million quid per year on the nose, £4,800 per year over 10m), then let him walk on a free at 32 year of age, as surely a Serie A club will still pay him a decent salary for 2 or even 3 years. I do not think shelling out another £10m for a 32/33 yo Rudiger is worth the extra year.

If this gets cancelled overall, I am an going to go fucking bonkers

Chelsea to leverage ‘fury’ to low-ball Sevilla in January https://www.football365.com/news/Chelsea-to-leverage-fury-to-low-ball-sevilla-in-january Chelsea are set to return for Jules Kounde in January, but are not prepared to increase the €50m offer they made for the centre-back this summer. The Blues offered a swap deal with Sevilla which would have seen Kurt Zouma move in the opposite direction. But, as director Monchi explained, the bid failed to meet the La Liga side’s “criteria”. Monchi said: “The only written, formal offer from Chelsea came last Wednesday, around 5pm. “We weren’t satisfied with the offer, and it was linked to Chelsea selling a player. It was a decent fee but it didn’t meet our criteria. “We haven’t spoken with Chelsea since Friday night. We all decided that it was best Jules didn’t travel to Elche. It’s normal for players to be affected by news of any kind. Last year he had the interest from City and now Chelsea this year. “Kounde’s clause never went up to €90million. It has always been €80m.” Zouma instead moved to West Ham, but despite receiving £25m for his transfer, Chelsea refused to increase their bid for Kounde. The deadline passed, Chelsea were left without a centre-back replacement, and Kounde was reportedly ‘furious’. The 22-year-old was said to be ignoring phonecalls from Monchi and manager Julen Lopetegui having agreed personal terms over a move to Stamford Bridge. ESPN now claim that Chelsea will return for Kounde in January, but will once again offer €50m, with Sevilla under more pressure to sell their asset, who remains keen on a move to play under Thomas Tuchel. It remains to be seen how Kounde – who is on international duty with France – will react to the situation upon his return to his club, but Chelsea will hope that having made his feelings at the failed transfer clear, Monchi will be open to negotiation over his £68million release clause. Gary Neville claims the Blues have been left a bit “light” due to their failure to land Kounde, but still have the squad to “challenge on all fronts” this season. He said: “You could argue that Chelsea may be a bit light at the back, but what they do have is a system of playing with those two players sat in front of that back three that makes them solid. So what Thomas Tuchel has done since he’s come in is maybe recognise that they can’t be a back four. “If you were looking at them as a pair of centre-backs you wouldn’t be sure about them winning the league, but with the three they have at the back, and sometimes it becomes a five with the two protecting in front, Chelsea are more than comfortable. “They’ve got a system of playing that protects the individuals from potentially being isolated and that now, with the confidence and the belief they have when you win a Champions League like they did last season and with the business they have done in the transfer window, they are going to be very difficult to stop.”

Chelsea man “often irritates his teammates” – Lack of understanding impacts others http://sportwitness.co.uk/often-irritates-Chelsea-man-criticised-obsession-improve-states-make-teammates-play-less-well/ Chelsea have had four managers since the start of 2016/17 season and Michy Batshuayi has struggled to impress all of them. The situation has forced the Blues to send him out on loan since 2018 and in August, the west London club extended his contract and allowed him to join Besiktas on a temporary deal. On September 8th, Het Belang van Limburg reported the 27-year-old has been ‘undergoing sporting agony’ since joining Chelsea in 2016. In the absence of Romelu Lukaku, suspended for Belgium’s World Cup qualifier against Belarus, Roberto Martínez started Batshuayi on Wednesday. Former Newcastle United defender Philippe Albert, who represented Belgium between 1987 and 1997, was critical about the Chelsea owned player. He is of the belief Batshuayi’s presence on the pitch hinders the team. “The new Besiktas striker is of good will but he often irritates his teammates by not understanding the others, which makes them all play less well,” Albert was quoted as saying by Foot Mercato. “And his obsession with increasing his crazy stats (22 goals in 37 caps) in the national team hurts the fluidity of the Belgian game. Hopefully his season in Turkey will do him some good because we might have a real problem. “Given his mind-blowing personal stats for the national team, Batshuayi is always a highly anticipated forward when he steps up for the game. Against Belarus, it was more difficult than expected, despite a cancelled goal and two clear chances.” Albert is of the belief Besiktas are the right club for the Belgium international and has urged him to regain his best version during his loan stay in Turkey. “He must rebuild his confidence in Turkey, where Besiktas offer him a golden opportunity to get back on track after five years traveling on the bench where he has never managed to win. Once he stacks up a few goals on the shores of the Bosphorus, things will be better for him, you’ll see,” he added. “Hopefully nothing bad happens to him in terms of injuries between now and the Nations League Final Four or the World Cup in Qatar.”

Unfazed by Van Dijk comparisons, young Chelsea defender is already impressing Thomas Tuchel OPINION: Chelsea's summer exodus of promising young talent was concerning, but defender Xavier Mbuyamba is proving there is certainly talent still at Cobham to be excited about after training with the first team https://www.football.london/Chelsea-fc/players/mbuyamba-unfazed-van-dijk-comparisons-21504312 A lot of the focus for Chelsea supporters this summer has been the sudden exodus of a group of talented youth products in search of regular first-team football. Marc Guehi, Valentino Livramento, Lewis Bate, Myles-Peart Harris, Ike Ugbo and Tammy Abraham have all vacated Cobham. The slight exception is Tino Anjorin joining Lokomotiv Moscow on a loan with an option to buy for £17m. Even if the number of departures are worthy of scrutiny, the club still boast exciting talent still contracted to the club who will hope to follow the path of Trevoh Chalobah this summer and find their futures in west London. One of those hopefuls is defender Xavier Mbuyamba, who has been recently promoted to first-team training at Cobham. The 19-year-old only joined Chelsea in 2020 after leaving Barcelona’s iconic La Masia academy after months of speculation. The Dutch under-23 international began life for his local club MMV Maastrict and progressed through the youth ranks from the age of 9 before being recruited by the Spanish giants in 2019. Mbuyamba committed his future to Chelsea till at least 2023, but sadly experienced a first-year mostly defined by a torn meniscus injury which kept him out until mid-April when he finally made his debut for the U23’s against Southampton. It was an impactful 24-minute cameo as he scored from a set-piece to wrap up the points in a 3-1 win for Andy Myers side. The start to his second season has gone much better, featuring in all of the U23’s fixtures so far and now has the benefit of training alongside first-team players at Cobham to make up numbers during the international break. Mbuyamba’s tall frame, comfort on the ball and nationality all lead to the expected tag of replicating the success of Virgil van Dijk. But it is clear he is not overly fussed by the expectation as revealed in an interview with Dutch news site NOS back in May. “I know there is a lot of pressure on me at Chelsea. I come from FC Barcelona, I am talked about a lot and I get the stamp 'the new Virgil van Dijk'. I don't care. I show that I can handle it and be as good as they say.” The interview is accompanied by photos of the defender wearing a classic Chelsea home shirt from 2003 which endeared him to fans on social media. Even if the jump up to first-team training seems swift, Mbuyamba experienced similar pressure at Barca as he reveals in the same interview that he trained with Lionel Messi in his time with the club. "I gave a panna (the ball between the legs.) to Antoine Griezmann and Nélson Semedo. They probably didn't like that." Positionally Mbuyamba can play on the left side of the defence, in particular a back-three which he has for Andy Myers in the development squad so far. It's an area that Thomas Tuchel is arguably short in with Antonio Rudiger regularly holding onto that spot without an obvious backup. Rudiger’s unresolved contract situation could also make further room in the squad next summer if he decides to leave. Both Mbuyamba and Levi Colwill, on loan at Huddersfield, can play in that role and might find themselves promoted in the next year, if Thiago Silva also departs at the end of his current contract. Paree, Owner of The Chelsea Spot – a fan-run site covering the Blues is an avid viewer of the youth academy and has tracked Mbuyamba's first 12 months pretty closely. "He joined the development squad towards the end of last season, and straight away impressed in the PL2. He looked very comfortable on the ball, was a huge presence at the back, scored on his debut and also managed to pick up an assist later on thanks to his brilliant long-range passing. This season, he’s replaced Levi Colwill who’s had a brilliant start to his loan at Huddersfield Town, and has played in both the middle and left centre-back positions while continuing his form with some solid performances. As expected at academy level, he has made a few mistakes and shown slight areas to work on, especially with the attackers getting around him a bit too often. Except, his recovery has been very good and, in the end, normally does end up making the challenge. It will be interesting to see if in senior football he is able to make the same recoveries, or whether that’s something that could cost him. Seeing him being promoted to the first-team training during the international break is certainly very encouraging. Speaking to a few academy players who have done similar before, they always mention that the coaches are normally very impressed with them, and that it always puts them in good contention to train with the first team later on if they ever need numbers. Hopefully, he’s done the same too. It will be interesting to see what happens in the future with him. I have no doubts in January he will get quite a few loan offers, but if I was him I’d stick with the development squad throughout the season, get used to English football and go on loan next season where he can have a fresh start with a good pre-season. He’s certainly got a brilliant profile for a defender and plays very much with the Chelsea philosophy. However, so does Levi, and it will be very fascinating to see in a few years’ time whether both can make the squad (fingers crossed), or whether it’s only one of them, in which case Colwill may get the nod due to being left-footed" Given his current standing at Chelsea, football.london understands the plan is for him to stay until January and continue to get regular minutes for the Development Squad. In addition, continuing to train with the senior squad when possible, and then revaluate in January as to whether he goes out on loan for the remainder of the season. The path for any Chelsea youngster is unpredictable given how swiftly the direction of the club can shift within an 18-month period. Mbuyamba revealed he spoke to Frank Lampard before choosing to swap La Masia for Cobham. By the time he returned from his injury in the spring, Tuchel had arrived. But even if his eventual journey does not lead in a similar vein to Trevoh Chalobah, Mbuyamba’s development will certainly be an entertaining watch.

yes, he doesn't turn 25 for another half a year this is his 5th season at Wolves, he joined them a little less than 4 months after turning 20 years old he is likely leaving next summer I wager he only had 2 less league goals than Willian did in the last 4 seasons and he is a DMF, lolol