Vesper

he looks motivated back in his home city

pen Felix has completely changed the game

Morata is coming on now

Szymon Marciniak Polish World Cup finals ref too

can PGMOL sign up this ref

thank fuck, this game needed that badly

Olmo another target we had

Leipzig have Emil Forsberg on the bench 10 goals, 4 assists in only 1707 minutes and Patrik Schick 10 goals, 3 assist in only 1577 minutes

this is by far the best I have seen him this year this is how he was 2 years ago and last season I must have just caught him on his oki, not great, games

they have 2 really class CB's though, lolol 3 IF Konate ever recovers

Lodi arrrf, it makes me weep seeing a driving LB who is a play-maker

2019-20 UEFA Champions League, Quarterfinals RB Leipzig v Atletico Madrid http://www.sportnews.to/sports/2020/lei-vs-atl-s1/ https://www.totalsportek.com/atletico-madrid-match/

the only striker in the world worth £100m or more atm is Mbappe IF he continues to score at his insane pace and keeps improving, then Håland in a year or two I see no one else worth £100m or more in terms of CF's due to ages, the only other players worth £100m next summer will be Sterling, Sancho, Havertz (if he further explodes regardless of where he is at) Kimmich, and maybe Davies, maybe Frenkie de Jong (if both keep up their meteoric rises) Saul is close De Bruyne, Mane, Salah, Neymar, VVD, will all be 30 or less than a year away from it, and I would not pay £100m for Kane Messi doesnt count and will be 34yo then anyway A case could be made for Oblak and Alisson, but keepers are such a crap shoot, up up up, dpwn dpwn up

I will not meltdown much, shit happens what WILL make me meltdown is if he ends up in the EPL next year on another team, especially the vermin dippers or the ultra cheaters shitty the main meltdown from me will be if we shell out £80m quid on Chilwell and then, lets say fail on Havertz and STILL do not fix the rest, including a swing and a miss on Rice £80m on Chilwell and pretty much fuckall on the rest equals Lampard sacked next season we also have a REALLY good chance, due to COVID and past fails that now are tearing our entire buttocks off,, to blow far past the £400m net loss (rough but still detailed running calculation) shit away since summer 2017

I put it at 70/30 it goes through

only a few ever real qualify Garrincha Alfredo Di Stefano Pele Cruyff Franz Beckenbauer Maradona Messi CR7 Ferenc Puskas Lev Yashin Eusebio Gerd Muller Paolo Maldini Giuseppe Meazza Michel Platini Zinedine Zidane Ronaldo Marco van Basten Franco Baresi Zico Mbappe will be the 21st just my list, no order

Pulisic, Mount and Carlton – the story behind this Chelsea picture https://theathletic.com/1989304/2020/08/12/pulisic-mount-carlton-chelsea-trials-picture-academy/ It’s been an eventful few days on social media for Tom Carlton since Chelsea posted a picture of him to their 14.7 million Twitter followers on Sunday; a Lucozade bottle wedged under his left arm as he gives a thumbs-up to the camera, his right arm wrapped around an 11-year-old Christian Pulisic. On the other side of the young American, grinning beneath a mop of brown hair, is Mason Mount. “I never even knew Pulisic was there (at Cobham) at that age until I saw the picture,” Carlton tells The Athletic. “When you’re that age, we’re all the same really — anyone could make it. When you grow up and see who’s made it and who hasn’t, it’s pretty surreal. That picture is crazy.” Sources have told The Athletic that Mount didn’t remember the picture either. Pulisic spent five days at Cobham in the summer of 2010 at the invitation of a member of Chelsea staff who used to play alongside his father Mark in the United States, training with the club’s under-12 side and playing in a friendly match. “You can see he’s got a ‘T’ on his kit, which means he was a trialist,” Carlton adds. The high turnover of trialists at Chelsea’s academy — the sons of David Beckham and George Weah enjoyed similar stints training at Cobham — ensured neither Mount nor Carlton could be expected to remember the young Pulisic. Both had joined the club as six-year-olds, playing in the development centre for two years before earning prized places in the elite under-nines squad. Carlton, like Mount an attacking midfielder, was spotted by a Chelsea scout playing for Sittingbourne Athletic — the boys’ team managed by his father Paul, a former non-League footballer. Several of the Sittingbourne boys were invited to Cobham and ultimately recruited but it was Carlton, bigger and stronger than many of his peers in addition to his technical gifts, who was the standout talent. “Mason and I were the first ones to sign, I think, when we were six,” he says. “A lot of scouts were asking about me and I went to a lot of clubs, but I signed for Chelsea. When you look back now you realise how competitive it was, but at the time I didn’t. I was just one of the good ones, and one of the lucky ones who got picked. “Chelsea is definitely the best academy to be at when you’re that age. The facilities are a joke. You get everything you want — but it’s also the hardest one to make it out of.” Carlton spent eight years in Chelsea’s academy, regularly playing in the same midfield as Mount and Declan Rice and competing in youth tournaments across England and Europe. “He was the holder and Mason and I used to play in front of him,” he says of now West Ham United star and England international Rice. “We were all quite close as kids: Mason and Dec and I, and a few others (in the team). We went to training three times a week and that’s all we knew. All our families were close and we went everywhere for tournaments together — Holland, Spain, Russia.” Rice and Carlton became particularly close friends, and their bond was strengthened by the shared trauma of being released by Chelsea on the same day at the age of 14. “That was really hard,” he says. “My dad got a phone call and that was that. I’d just come home from school. I knew it was the day when I’d find out whether or not I’d be kept on, but as a 14-year-old no one really understands unless you’re in that position. There’s a lot of pressure. It was hard to take. You don’t really get a reason. It’s weird that they can just release you like that, but that’s football. “I lost a lot of confidence. I was only 14 and getting released from Chelsea. I always knew I should get another club, because it’s one of the best academies in the world.” Carlton got plenty of offers but, like Rice, he found West Ham’s sales pitch to be the most compelling. “At the time West Ham brought through a lot of youngsters, and they’re another big club in the Premier League,” he explains. “When you’re that age and you’re lucky enough, they offer you a deal where you live in digs. “You leave home at 14 and they’ve got digs that hold 20, 24 kids. You live there, train there, go to school there. When I got offered that I left my secondary school in Year Nine and went to West Ham.” Rice has spoken about how difficult he found moving from his family home in Kingston, south-west London to club accommodation in Ilford on the other side of the capital, and Carlton had similar problems. “I didn’t realise at the time how hard it would be,” he admits. “In the first month, I couldn’t cope with it and wanted to come home. My mum and dad told me to keep at it. Not many 14-year-olds leave their parents and go to live separate lives two hours away. It was really hard, but I got through it.” The friends spent two more years together in West Ham’s academy before their paths diverged; Rice was offered a professional deal at age 16, Carlton was not. “The second time I got released was harder, and I was thinking that I wasn’t sure if I could do this again,” he says. “That rejection is so hard as a kid. I had about two months off and went on holiday with my mum and dad. “For my mum and dad, it wasn’t great to see their kid getting released, always upset. A lot of pressure comes with it on a young kid’s shoulders. I had a couple of calls from clubs but not as many as when I got released from Chelsea. I went to a couple of clubs on trial, and then I went to Colchester and signed for them. I moved away again and lived in digs there.” Carlton left Colchester for non-League Herne Bay in the summer of 2017 and has operated at the semi-professional level ever since. He still gets paid to play football but it’s no longer his whole life. “I got a job as a football coach, but I didn’t really enjoy it,” he says. “To be honest, I just fell out of love with football. I wanted to get another job away from sport, so I fit glass and windows now.” He is still in regular contact with Rice, and takes great pride in his friend’s remarkable rise to West Ham prominence and England recognition. “I think he’s done the best out of all of them, to be honest,” he says. “He’s worked seriously hard to get where he is and he deserves all the credit he gets. He’s a quality player.” And what about Chelsea’s vibrant youth movement under head coach Frank Lampard this season led by the irrepressible energy of Mount and Pulisic, the two other boys in that picture? “They deserve it, but it’s hard for me to watch,” Carlton admits. “People don’t understand that, but I’ve been with them and it could have been me.” But despite the blows he’s taken from the brutally unforgiving professional football system, Carlton isn’t inclined to abandon his dream. His new season with Herne Bay in the Isthmian League Southeast Division starts in a month, and there are always Football League scouts looking for talent that others may have missed. “I’d have hoped things would pan out better, but I’m 21, so I’m still young,” Carlton says. “It’s started to come back again, that love for football. I just hope I get another chance somewhere, and you never know. I’ll never give up, because I’ve been there and I know what it’s like. I don’t think you realise how good the pro game actually is until you’re not in it any more.”

Why does everyone want to sign Ben White? https://theathletic.com/1991260/2020/08/13/ben-white-leeds-brighton-chelsea-liverpool/ Ben White was one of the Championship’s outstanding defenders last season. Integral to Leeds’ improved defensive performance, the on-loan Brighton defender was described with good reason by The Athletic’s Phil Hay as “Bielsa’s perfect centre-back”. Versatile too, White has appeared as a defensive midfielder for Leeds, and played in both full-back positions for Newport County while on loan there in 2017-18. His admirers extend beyond Marcelo Bielsa though, with Liverpool and Chelsea credited with interest in a defender Brighton themselves have so far appeared determined to keep hold of. So why is this 22-year-old emerging as one of England’s most wanted players? Defensively, White’s greatest strength is probably anticipation. He reads the danger well, constantly scanning the pitch to assess where threats may materialise. He’s not only quick to spot this, though — he’s quick to react and clearly had licence within Leeds’ defensive shape to leave the line and move into wide areas to halt opposition attacks. In this sequence, as Derby attack down the left-hand side, White has already anticipated the danger of a ball down the flank and sprints over to shut it down. He checks his run once he realises that he can’t get to the ball first, using his body shape to shepherd the Derby runner towards the line and prevent an inside pass towards the area. This gives Leeds time to regain a defensive shape, with two players aligning in the centre-back positions within the box and every other Derby player marked. White’s ability to read and react to the situation and his willingness to leave the line and trust his colleagues to fill in prevents an easy ball into the box. White’s positioning in this regard is important — whether in a back three or back four, he is regularly the deeper player, which allows him to sweep behind and move wide. While he’s not extremely quick, his acceleration is sufficient to react to balls in behind or in the channels, and his reading of the game means he’s often setting off towards the danger area before the pass has arrived there. His deeper position also means he’s the organiser and, despite his age, his team-mates clearly listen to him. This anticipation also helps with his duels and interceptions. According to stats from Opta, White is fourth in the Championship for interceptions per 90 among players with over 800 minutes played, with 2.57. He also won 5.89 duels per 90; 57.4 per cent of his total. And although he’s not the biggest defender, he’s shown against the Championship’s most physical attackers that he can hold his own. This sequence perfectly shows White’s defending style — he stands off slightly as the throw-in is about to be taken, ensuring he’s not too close to his man. Once he can see that the player he’s marking is the intended recipient, he uses his strength and body position to get around the player and win the ball, which breaks to a Leeds team-mate who is immediately able to turn and run into space. Not only has White won the ball, but he’s done so in such a way as to spring an attack from a relatively high position on the pitch. While White’s defending is intelligent and proactive, it’s his work with the ball that marks him out as an outstanding prospect. White is ninth of all players in the Championship for successful passes in his own half per 90 minutes, with 37.1 — by overall volume, he was second behind Fulham’s Tim Ream. Importantly, White is bold with his passing choices, he’s not afraid to go long, especially into the channels, but he also often chooses the progressive, rather than the easy, option. This sequence shows White being pressed in possession against Charlton. They have marked most passing lanes well and the simple option as White is closed down is a pass to the nearest player, Pascal Struijk. Luke Ayling, though, is aware that there is a more progressive pass on to Jack Harrison and is pointing to the player. While many centre-backs being pressed with no cover behind them would take the short pass to Struijk, who could then steer it back to the goalkeeper to begin again, White finds Harrison and within one further pass, Leeds have bypassed two lines of the Charlton defence. It’s not that the pass to Harrison is that difficult, but White’s ability to assess his options and not pick the high-percentage, low-reward one is important. He’s also an excellent ball-carrier. As this sequence shows, White has picked up the ball short. While he has space, Charlton are not badly set up to cover. As he advances, White spots that the Charlton player ahead of him is either going to press Struijk or move across to hold him up, and so he accelerates towards the gap. Which he glides through. He then hits a lovely pass with the outside of his right foot on to the run of Stuart Dallas, taking a number of Charlton defenders out of the game. This kind of assertive ball-carrying is rare from a centre-back, as is the technical ability and acumen to execute the final pass. And, as these stats from Opta show, White is consistently high in three important metrics for ball-carrying centre-backs: progressive carries from goal kicks, progressive carries into the opposition half, and shot-ending sequences started. Progressive carries are ones that move the ball more than five metres towards opponent’s goal. Ream is the only other centre-back to appear in the top five or six for those metrics, and no other players appear more than once. This is what marks out White as a special talent, and it’s why clubs are circling the player. So how might White fit in at his current club, Brighton, where he’s yet to play, or two of the clubs most closely linked, Chelsea and Liverpool? It’s worth saying that basing this on the team’s current style presents an issue: it could be that they adapt if White joins, because his abilities allow them to do something they currently cannot. Looking, though, at how these teams played last season it’s possible to infer some things. Brighton Graham Potter is a very flexible coach and it’s likely that he would see White, as well as Lewis Dunk, as the foundations of the team whether they play three- or four-man back lines. Currently, goalkeeper Mat Ryan tends to look for the full-backs when distributing, or to hit the central midfield area. There’s little in the way of passing connection by volume between the centre-backs and the midfield, although more on the right as Adam Webster looks to play it forwards to Yves Bissouma. This could suit White, and he could also drop off, offering a shorter option to Ryan to invite the press while Brighton’s midfield and wide defenders push up. It’s harder to see a clear fit here, but with Potter in charge, Brighton will likely be able to adapt to get the benefits of playing White. Chelsea Frank Lampard’s Chelsea have been disappointing defensively, lacking a coherent shape. Switching often between a back three and four, Chelsea consistently leave spaces ahead of the backline. Here White’s proactivity could be of real use, ushering Chelsea forwards to squeeze up towards the midfield, while also offering cover behind. Kepa Arrizabalaga’s distribution does see a lot of passes up to 25 yards to centre-backs or a dropping defensive midfielder, so White would have opportunities here to take the ball and carry it into space. He’d also offer a deeper line of good progressive passing — currently Chelsea’s defenders mostly try to push the ball wide rather than bypass the opposition lines. Liverpool Liverpool are the only team linked with White to play a back four consistently, and here he would compete with Joe Gomez to line up in the right-sided slot alongside Virgil van Dijk. Alisson hits both centre-backs regularly with passes, but the progressive distribution from centre-back is left largely to Van Dijk. The right centre-back does push the ball forwards to Trent Alexander-Arnold but otherwise often plays it across to Van Dijk. White’s addition would give Liverpool a second excellent passer in this position, while it’s also possible to envisage White’s ball-carrying working well, with Jordan Henderson either pushing forwards to make space, or dropping to cover and leaving room for White to go forwards. As we’ve said, it’s difficult to know how a player would fit into a new side, and more so with central defenders than any other position. The simplest option for White would be a return to Elland Road — he knows the system, the other players, and he’s clearly a huge asset to the team. But with Brighton keen to hold on to their most promising player, and clubs with more financial clout keeping a close eye on proceedings, it’s entirely possible that White will find himself in a new defensive set-up next season. What’s clear, though, is he has the skills to succeed almost anywhere.

pretty much close to what I think as well, and I simply do not understand the obsession with an £80m Chilwell when Reguilon is £55-60m less for £80m we should get a 23, 24yo Alaba ffs and it REALLY is a wee bit of semi-madness to pay the same (or more even) for a 28yo Tagliafico as the 23yo Reguilon will cost after the 2021-22 season he is 30yo and will quickly crater out, it is dead money, and it isn't like he is remotely WC, and never will be I will left the Raumdeuter express my sentiments

he is probably going to Everton to play for Carlo

becuase he is the best remotely available LB, even if the chances of him coming here are pretty slim I also think he has a large potential to play CB, like his brother he is bigger, stronger than Lucas as well

I can so seeing us still fucking this window up

Dunk (due to age) and White (who I do NOT rate) are hardly break the bank expensive, Diego Carlos will cost more, (and he turns 28yo at the end of this coming winter, so only 2 full sub 30yo seasons) Liverpool have been told they must meet Diego Carlos' €75m (£68m) if they want to purchase him from Sevilla. I think they would drop down to around €65m (£59m) but that is far more than Dunk or White (not advocating for him at all) would cost. Kounde is interesting, but I have seen zero links from us to him. I am really wary of his height. for ages it was listed at only 1.81m, but now has been switched in some places to 1.84m. He is not that strong physically, so if he is indeed only 1.81m, that is a danger sign for me. Diego Carlos (1.84m) on the right, Kounde in the middle maybe he is still growing he was only 1.78m as a 19yo at Bordeaux

we fuck this up, and then panic buy Chilwell for £70-80m and then use THAT as a reason we cant do shit anymore and I am going to go BONKERS. As mentioned, the @sscnapoli believes that Sergio #Reguilon is the ideal left-back to reinforce the squad. Giuntoli is trying to speed up the times to burn the Premier League competition, that of Chelsea above all: a general agreement has been reached on the engagement. @SkySport 1:55 AM · Aug 13, 2020·Twitter for iPh