Vesper

2021 UEFA Super Cup Chelsea Villarreal http://www.sportnews.to/sports/2021/uefa-super-cup-Chelsea-vs-villarreal-s1/ https://www.totalsportek.com/page-1/

I am so stressed about this game and then the FWCC 😰 so so sick of failing in these

Roma general manager heading to London in bid to complete deal for Chelsea’s Tammy Abraham https://theathletic.com/2764169/2021/08/11/roma-heading-to-london-in-bid-to-complete-deal-for-chelseas-tammy-abraham/ Roma general manager Tiago Pinto is expected to arrive in London over the next 48 hours as the Italians attempt to complete the signing of Tammy Abraham from Chelsea, The Athletic has learnt. Abraham is Roma’s top target to replace Edin Dzeko and they have reached an agreement with Chelsea for his permanent transfer, which is believed to include a buyback clause. Despite suggestions of a possible loan, featuring an option or obligation to buy, Chelsea wish to sell Abraham and Roma’s interest is so strong that they are prepared to purchase him outright. The decision is now down to Abraham and Pinto will likely travel to the English capital shortly as he seeks to close out a deal for the 23-year-old England international by the end of this week. With their talismanic striker Dzeko set to replace the Chelsea-bound Romelu Lukaku at Inter Milan and the new season nearing, Roma want the situation to be finalised as soon as possible. Abraham is set to follow Olivier Giroud to Serie A (Photo: Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images) If Friday passes without a resolution, it is anticipated that their attention will turn to other candidates. Roma head coach Jose Mourinho has spoken to Abraham, whose preference is thought to be remaining in London amid credible admiration from Arsenal — but that situation is difficult. Chelsea would prefer for Abraham to join a foreign suitor and in the case of Arsenal, they would almost certainly need to shift a player to accommodate the forward. That could make Roma an attractive proposition, especially given their desire to place Abraham at the heart of their plans to challenge for major trophies again and return to the Champions League. In Mourinho, The Friedkin Group, which completed its takeover of Roma 12 months ago, has selected a manager with a proven track record and who worked alongside an emerging Abraham at Chelsea. Dzeko has led Roma’s line impressively since arriving from Manchester City in 2015, initially on loan and then a permanent transfer, with the Bosnian registering 119 goals in 260 appearances. But he is now 35 and on course for a move to reigning champions Inter as Lukaku’s replacement, leaving a major void which Roma hope Abraham will fill. Abraham is a product of Chelsea’s academy and following loan spells at Bristol City, Swansea City and Aston Villa, he broke into the first team and has contributed 30 goals in 82 matches. He was their joint-top scorer last season but he fell out of favour after Thomas Tuchel succeeded Frank Lampard as head coach in January and was omitted by England for Euro 2020. Abraham is in the Chelsea squad for tonight’s Super Cup meeting against Villarreal in Belfast.

Less defending, more assists: How Lukaku has evolved since leaving Chelsea https://theathletic.com/2756664/2021/08/09/less-defending-more-assists-how-lukaku-has-evolved-since-leaving-Chelsea/ With less than a week to go until the start of the new Premier League season, Chelsea appear to finally have their new No 9 — and it’s a familiar face. Romelu Lukaku is on his way back at Stamford Bridge almost exactly 10 years on from his first arrival as a raw but prodigiously gifted 18-year-old. This time, he will have superstar billing, a club-record price tag and the knowledge he will be afforded the chance to prove himself able to spearhead the team he supported as a boy. It has been a long and, at times, strange road to get to this point. Lukaku left Chelsea for Everton a frustrated figure in the summer of 2014 after prolific loan seasons with them and West Bromwich Albion, the signing of Diego Costa having crystallised Jose Mourinho’s lack of belief in the imposing young Belgian’s readiness to take up the mantle of his idol Didier Drogba. Three years later, it was Chelsea’s turn to feel snubbed, burned by Mino Raiola and out-manoeuvred by Manchester United in their attempt to bring him back to west London from Goodison Park. That failure forced them down the Alvaro Morata path, to the misfortune of everyone involved. For Lukaku, the last four years have yielded disappointment at United and reinvigoration at Inter Milan; for Chelsea, they have yielded no goalscorer in Lukaku’s class. Yet despite them crying out for a truly elite No 9, the window for a reunion appeared to have closed. Erling Haaland emerged as the striker that every “superclub” owner, including Roman Abramovich, coveted beyond all others. Inter were revived as a genuine Serie A powerhouse by Antonio Conte, while Thomas Tuchel still managed to lead Chelsea to Champions League final triumph in May with a less conventional attack. The stars only aligned in recent weeks, with Borussia Dortmund’s defiance keeping Haaland out of the market and Inter’s financial crisis pushing Lukaku to reconsider his prior insistence that he would stay in Italy. As soon as the door creaked open, Chelsea director Marina Granovskaia moved with trademark speed. Chelsea will be paying a higher price for Lukaku than they would have needed to in 2017, but they are also arguably getting a better player than if they’d signed him then — or at the very least a slightly different one. The Athletic takes a closer look at how Lukaku has evolved his game… Lukaku returns to Chelsea on the back of the two most prolific scoring seasons of his career: 34 goals in 51 appearances across all competitions for Inter in 2019-20, followed by 30 goals in 44 appearances in 2020-21. His record was boosted by being the team’s regular penalty taker — he took 15 of them during his two years at San Siro, successfully converting them all — but as you can see in the graphic below, he has reliably offered at least 0.5 goals per 90 minutes (or one every two games) in all but one of his nine full seasons in the Premier League and Serie A: Key to that consistency is the fact that Lukaku is an impressively versatile finisher. Of his 18 goals from open play in Serie A in 2020-21, 10 were scored with his favoured left foot and six with his right. Defenders don’t have the security of knowing that they can shade him to one side or the other, since he is capable of finding the net from a wide range of angles and positions inside the penalty area. His intelligent movement in the box ensured a steady diet of tap-ins, feeding on low crosses and cutbacks from Conte’s wing-backs. Achraf Hakimi, another player Chelsea were keen to sign this summer, was his most frequent supplier. In addition, Lukaku continues to make great use of the physical attributes that have always given him the potential to be undeniable in certain situations. His unique blend of size, skill and speed make him an absolute nightmare to deal with when isolated against a defender, as demonstrated here during a 6-2 win over Crotone in January. Lukaku reads the flight of the dropping ball better than his opponent and pins him to his back as he flicks the ball around him with the outside of his left foot… … engineering a great scoring chance for himself with remarkable ease. He takes his time, sits the goalkeeper down with a fake and then finds the bottom corner: Here, against Borussia Monchengladbach in December, he receives the ball in a mildly threatening position, but with plenty still to do to get near Yann Sommer’s goal: Lukaku drives into the penalty area, uses his body to create separation from his defender, and hits a low shot through the gap and into the bottom corner before anyone else can react: The starting position in which he receives the ball is one of his trademarks. It is a technique he has been developing for years, as he demonstrated to Jamie Carragher for Sky Sports during his Everton days. In the Europa League mini-tournament bubble that concluded the 2019-20 season, he scored virtually a mirror image of the same goal, this time driving into the box on his left… … throwing his shoulder into the defender to create space, then firing into the bottom far corner: Earlier in 2019-20, Sassuolo made the mistake of allowing Inter to play the ball in to Lukaku’s feet on the edge of their penalty area, with only one defender between him and goal: Pinning his opponent at his back, Lukaku simply flicks the ball to his left, spins away and finishes clinically with his right foot: Lukaku wasn’t a frequent scorer of headed goals at Inter, but the ones he did score were of the quality that suggested he could weaponise it more regularly in a high-crossing team. Again in that 2019-20 season, there was this leap to re-direct Nicolo Barella’s delivery into the top corner beyond Gianluigi Donnarumma and seal a huge win in the Milan derby: There was also this smart glancing effort to guide Ashley Young’s in-swinging cross inside the far post and set Inter on their way to a 2-1 home win over Sassuolo in April: Perhaps the most startling element of Lukaku’s performance last season was his significant growth as a playmaker. He registered 11 assists to go with his 24 goals in Serie A, and the underlying metrics suggest there was nothing particularly fluky about it. His 7.8 expected assists (xA) — which measure the likelihood that a given pass will become an assist — indicated a level of over-performance, but not a huge one. In the below graphic, you can see that Lukaku averaged the highest number of assists per 90 minutes (0.34) of his career last season — one every three games: Lukaku formed a brilliantly intuitive strike partnership with Lautaro Martinez under Conte. They frequently created chances for one another, either directly with the ball at their feet or via intelligent movement. Here, in the fifth minute of the Milan derby in February, Lukaku peels out to the right flank and finds the head of his Argentinian team-mate with a perfect in-swinging cross: A few days earlier, in a 3-1 home win over Lazio, he carries the ball into a shooting position in the penalty area but, realising that two opposing defenders and the goalkeeper have converged on him to leave Martinez open, he slips a pass between them to give his mate a tap-in. This decision is even more commendable when you consider Lukaku was on a hat-trick at the time: Lukaku’s ability to make the most of transition situations, often in tandem with Martinez, was fundamental to Inter’s attacking success under Conte. It also resulted in several spectacular solo goals, including this one to cap a 3-0 rout of Milan in February. He picks up the ball just inside the opposition half with two defenders still to beat and only Hakimi in support… … but rather than lay the ball wide and then attack the box, he instead drives at the backpedalling defenders before jinking onto his left foot and hitting a low shot just inside Donnarumma’s near post: Here, in a 3-1 win over Napoli in the 2019-20 season, he capitalises on a slip to run onto the ball in an even deeper position, this time with Martinez alongside him: The two men effectively run across each other, with Martinez dragging his marker to the right while Lukaku drives to his left, squeezing an unstoppable shot past two defenders and in off the post: As shown below by Lukaku’s smarterscout ratings over time, ball carrying formed a much bigger part of his overall game last season than at any previous point in his top-level career, despite the fact that he also received the ball more frequently in the opposition box (receptions in the penalty area) and played a much more significant role in his team’s build-up play (link-up passing): As the graphic above illustrates, Lukaku was not tasked with much defensive work by Conte (tackles, fouls, clearances and blocks). His 9.1 pressures per 90 minutes in Serie A last season would have ranked comfortably below all of Chelsea’s attackers in the Premier League, though differences in team style must be factored into such comparisons. There is no reason to doubt that Lukaku could adapt to a higher workload off the ball and, considering how involved he was in the recruitment process, Tuchel must be confident of that, too. Lukaku’s first touch and close control were questioned relentlessly throughout his time at United, but most of his problems there sprang from the fact that he was miscast by his old Chelsea boss Mourinho as a target man in the Drogba mould, and subsequently tasked with battling for the ball in the air against physical centre-backs with little by way of support. At Inter, he enjoyed a better diet of service and more readily available team-mates — Martinez, the marauding Hakimi or midfield runners. In this more favourable context, Lukaku’s link-up play did show positive signs. Here, against Cagliari, he protects the ball in the box until the perfect moment to slide Hakimi in down the line, and the move results in a far-post tap-in for Matteo Darmian (out of shot): Here, against Sassuolo, he drops back into midfield, turns with the ball and plays a pinpoint crossfield pass perfectly into the stride of Young on the left: And here against Genoa, he gets the ultimate reward for making the effort to involve himself in Inter’s play. The move begins when he drops just outside the box and stretches to lay the ball off to Barella: Lukaku’s defender follows Barella and the Belgian takes advantage, spinning in behind to race onto the return pass: He then executes a deft jink onto his left foot to lose one final opponent and set himself up for a shot, which he arrows high into the far corner: Tuchel does not typically love fixed No 9s, so Lukaku’s willingness to move around in search of space, carry the ball from deeper positions and combine selflessly with team-mates will all be appealing to him. Don’t be surprised to see him pop up on the right flank — where he has frequently been deployed by Roberto Martinez for Everton and more recently Belgium — and give the likes of Timo Werner and Kai Havertz the chance to run into central areas at times. Lukaku might not be quite as exciting a striker acquisition as Haaland would have been, given the Norwegian sensation’s extraordinary production at such a young age. He certainly isn’t the most exotic choice; in some ways it is surprising to realise he is only 28, considering that we have been watching him go up against seasoned defenders in major European leagues since he was 17. But there can be no denying that he presents an elite answer to Chelsea’s most urgent need. No Premier League side under-performed their expected goals (xG) number more from the moment Tuchel took over in January, and a borderline impenetrable defence was the foundation of their Champions League triumph. Lukaku has offered a steady stream of goals from the moment he arrived in England a decade ago; he already ranks 20th in the all-time list of Premier League scorers, and is well placed to force his way into the top 10 over the course of his five-year contract back at Stamford Bridge. If he assumes penalty duties there may be some cannibalisation of Jorginho’s goal return, but on the whole, there is every reason to think that Lukaku will make Chelsea a significantly better attacking team. That might not be essential to win the Champions League or a domestic cup competition, but history tells us that Premier League title winners can generally lean on an elite primary scorer. That is the conversation Tuchel and Chelsea want to be in this season. Lukaku is good enough to ensure they will be.

every non GKer over 31yo who is good enough to start for us (at least some of the time and if no Lukaku) there is not that many we do not already have by descending age Zlatan Ibrahimovic Cristiano Ronaldo Giorgio Chiellini Luka Modric Sergio Ramos Gerard Piqué Lionel Messi Edinson Cavani Luis Suárez Dries Mertens (iffy, very iffy now that he is 34yo and slowing down) Leonardo Bonucci 32-33yo atm Robert Lewandowski Karim Benzema Ángel Di María Gareth Bale ????? Sergio Agüero ??????

what 18yo's who play this much for Barcelona topflight (or similar clubs) have we bought?

dead neutral on him 40m euros is great business I thought he was decent, but managers did not rate him disappointed how weak in the air he is as I am sure many can tell, I am obsessed with MFers and CB's (and having top 5 on planet fullbacks/wingbacks) I want a great CF and wingers, but I try and remain calm as their 'streaks' are more pronounced and visible My top two CF targets were always the top two (or 2 of the top 3 if you want to toss Lewa in there for 1 or 2 more years max) players on the planet (any position, with KdB 4th, and Kimmich 5th) Mbappe Håland Lewa Lukaku is a step down from Mbappe, Lewa and Håland, and probably equal with Kane (who would NEVER come here), maybe just behind, and he now shades out Benzema (who, like Lewa is soon done at WV level) Lautaro Martínez is not what we need (I think he would tear it up at Citeh, much better deal for them half of what Kane would cost, and younger too) that said those 7 are the ONLY world class CF's IMHO atm the drop (atm, someone will step up) is massive (I do not count CR7 as a CF) only one atm who I can say has at least a 60/70% chance to get to true WC level is exactly who I said to but if we whiffed on the big 4...... Dusan Vlahovic (time will tell) Isak's relase clause is now insane (depending on whom you believe either €90 or €100m) DCL is not worth £100-110m (that is MORE than Rom, ffs, granted he is 4 years younger than Rom. An aside, this is crazy, DCL is Gen Z, and will be 25 this season, lolol. Tempus Fugit) Jonathan David isn't ready yet Victor Osimhen only scored 10 goals last season Immobile is 32yo in 6 months and will not leave Lazio (and Rome) Richarlison is not worth £90m I do not rate Jesus of Citeh atm, probably never will, but I am open-minded Youssef En-Nesyri is very interesting, but want too another 24, 25 goal or so season Icardi never kicked on, now would be a huge dice roll we already have, Kai and Werner (who I tip to rebound) that's the end of my CF's I rate as 'front pagers'

Roma is an easy team to deal with, straight shooters

If Håland ends up at Bayern, that is close to the best outcome for us missing out on him. Keeps him isolated in Germany, only have to worry about him in the CL, and Bayern simply cannot keep signing giant players like the other big 8 or so clubs. They simply do not have the revenue. We should go ALL-OUT for Mbappe next year. Do not give a rat's red arse about the wage. I hope all the rest of the big clubs absolutely cock block Barca and especially Real Madrid. Do NOT allow them sign any of the monster players. Removing Håland and Mbappe from their recruitment goes a LONG way to doing that. Almost all of the other top of the top players will be 30 and up next season OR will not leave their current clubs (Kimmich, Foden) or are already there (De Jong and Pedri at Barca, and IF Barca total collapses, De Jong will perhaps be up for grabs) Only Kane doesn't fit in any of those categories or already listed names. and he may end up at Citeh anyway. MAYBE one of them will try and pry Bruno away from Manure. I can deal with that, as I do NOT rate him global superstar level. Really good, yes, but nowhere neat top 10 player on planet level and his leaving would fuck up Manure big time.. Break those 2 cunt clubs on the fucking Catherine wheel. It is time to make Spain as irrelevant in football as they are in socioeconomic and political power.

Jose Mourinho’s AS Roma set to enter the race for £40m-rated Chelsea star https://astamfordbridgetoofar.com/2021/08/09/transfer-news-Chelsea-roma-tammy-abraham-edin-dzeko-arsenal/ Inter want to sign Dzeko as their Lukaku replacement

Tiemoue Bakayoko, Ross Barkley, Davide Zappacosta, Matt Miazga, Kenedy, and Danny Drinkwater transfer-listed by Chelsea https://astamfordbridgetoofar.com/2021/08/10/ross-barkley-transfer-news-Chelsea-summer-bakayoko-kenedy-miazga-zappacosta/

we also are supposedly in for Ilaix Moriba Barcelona give up hope of Ilaix Moriba staying - report The club are now waiting for offers to arrive https://www.barcablaugranes.com/2021/8/8/22614358/barcelona-give-up-hope-of-ilaix-moriba-staying-report Barcelona have reportedly given up hope that Ilaix Moriba will renew his contract at the Camp Nou and expect the teenager to depart this summer. The midfielder’s contract expires in summer 2022 and Barca want him to renew or will sell to avoid seeing another player walk away as a free agent. According to Mundo Deportivo, Barca have been waiting for a response to their last offer for the last 10 days from Moriba and are now resigned to the fact he will depart. The club feels that if he wanted to continue then a response would have been received or at least some kind of communication to try and continue negotiations. Moriba has already been sent back down to Barca B to train and will now stay there and not play while the situation remains the same. Indeed the club is “waiting for the midfielder’s agents to present them with an offer” which would allow Moriba to be sold before the close of the transfer window. No offers have arrived yet but there is interest in the youngster. Chelsea are believed to have the strongest interest, while Manchester City are also mentioned as a possible destination. Chelsea transfer boost in chase for Barcelona wonderkid Ilaix Moriba as Laporta reveals ‘he can leave’ amid contract row

Romelu Lukaku to sign five-year Chelsea deal after second medical in London Romelu Lukaku has had part of his medical in Milan ahead of a move to Chelsea and he could be available for the Blues' Premier League opener this weekend https://www.dailystar.co.uk/sport/football/romelu-lukaku-Chelsea-transfer-latest-24722627

Romelu Lukaku's move to Chelsea looks to edging closer as he's pictured with a Chelsea shirt in the back of a car leaving Milan.

that's the next one, NOT this one in 2021 (December)

absolutely disagree I would take a guaranteed double continental and global cup win and a top 4 (but not 1st place) ALL DAY over losing the cups and winning the league, especially if it is Citeh who win and NOT Manure or victimpool (and a bonus if we finish above them) Those two trophies are INSANELY hard to win, as you have to win the CL just to get in one and then either the CL or the EL for the other (and if you get in via EL, the CL team is often far better than you, look at us v Villarreal, we are vastly superior) IF we only win the EPL this season and lose UEFA Super Cup FIFA World Club Championship (staggeringly hard to win after this one last time under the old format) League Cup FA Cup CL I am NOT going to be satisfied AT all the only thing that could have made that worse, is if we had played just now in the Community Shield and lost as well (which we almost always do, we are so shit in it) a chance at 6 or 7 trophies, including 2 continental and one global, and losing them all save for the league is NOT acceptable.

we need to buy Aurélien Tchouaméni fuck Drinkwater would rather a reserve team MFer play in those games you mentioned hell, play Lewis Baker he actually looked good at MF and then CB in a back 3

Incurring the manager's wrath! Furious Diego Simeone storms onto pitch during pre-season friendly vs Feyenoord to blast Yannick Carrasco after Atletico Madrid star's petulant kick-out sparked melee Atletico Madrid flew to Holland for a friendly against Feyenoord on Sunday The LaLiga champions lost 2-1 having gone down to 10-men late in the first-half Yannick Carrasco started a brawl by kicking out at full-back Tyrell Malacia He then taunted the player, Orkun Kokcu came away with blood on his head Diego Simeone stormed over to Carrasco to send him down the tunnel https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-9874607/Diego-Simone-storms-pitch-friendly-lambast-Yannick-Carrasco-sparked-melee.html

Callum Hudson-Odoi hires out Thorpe Park to thank NHS staff and key workers for their efforts during the Covid-19 pandemic... with the Chelsea winger having just returned from doing volunteer work in Ghana Callum Hudson-Odoi treated key workers and school leavers to a day out The 20-year-old organised it, with guests enjoying things away from the crowds The winger had recently returned from organising football sessions in Ghana Hudson-Odoi is expected to start for Chelsea against Villarreal in the Super Cup https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-9872277/Callum-Hudson-Odoi-hires-Thorpe-Park-thank-key-workers-pandemic-efforts.html

Shoot me fucking now if Drinkwater makes the final 25. Seriously, what the fuck!!! Nightmarish. Dystopian.

Getting Roman the only 2 trophies he lacks (and one of them the club overall lacks) is a BFD. Plus, just being able to call ourselves World Champions for the first time ever, after 117 years of football is a massive reward. It also removes the stigma of being the one English Club to get into the FWCC and not eventually bring it home (Manure and Pool both failed on their first attempts too). We will better Manure's record, as their first attempt they were by far the biggest fail ever. Not only were they the only UEFA side in history to not at least make the final, they did not even make the 3rd place game. They crashed out massively in the group stage. And they dropped out of the FA Cup just to go for it. Super fucking massive all round fail. So if we win now, we can tell those Manc cunts (they are far worse about us not having a world championship than Pool is) to ram it up their fucking batty crease. I am so sick of hearing it from them ever since they finally won it the season after the Moscow CL final nightmare. Even then, in what was close to the weakest FWCC field ever, they barely squeaked out a win versus a shit LDU Quito (Ecuador) side 1 nil. That Corinthians team that nipped us in 2012 would have battered Manure if the Mancs played as shit a game as they did in the 2008 final. Hell, even in the semifinal, the let in 3 goals against a far from world class Osaka Japanese side. We pounded a really decent Monterrey Mexico side in our 2012 semi.

the first one for Roman too and then the big one, the FIFA world club championship the only trophy still contested we have never won and the last year it is simple and relatively easy to do (it goes to 24 teams for the next one) and also, as the next one likely will not be played until 2023 we will get to wear the gold world champions shield badge for 2 straight years

that's what she said 😆