Vesper

Ajax keen to take Ryan Sessegnon on loan from Tottenham https://www.theguardian.com/football/2020/aug/07/ajax-keen-to-take-ryan-sessegnon-on-loan-from-tottenham-fulham

Arsenal have passed on consequences wrought by a bloated sense of status Everyone knew an extended period playing behind closed doors would be damaging but 55 redundancies have no parallels among the club’s peers https://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2020/aug/06/arsenal-staff-redundancies-coronavirus When Arsenal announced in April that the majority of their players and coaching staff had agreed to take wage cuts, a section of their statement shed telling light on the tone of the negotiations. “In these conversations there has been a clear appreciation of the gravity of the current situation caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and a strong desire for players and staff to show their backing for the Arsenal family,” it read. The squad believed they would be helping to protect other employees, most of whom enjoy nothing like footballers’ levels of financial security, from being plunged into a job market whose brutality seems likely to be unmatched in modern times. So it is no surprise that eyebrows have been raised, to put it mildly, among Mikel Arteta’s players at the news on Wednesday that 55 redundancies are proposed across the club. The players can argue they have done their bit off the pitch – and on it to a certain extent, through winning the FA Cup and reaching the Europa League – and are entitled to question what has changed. That is particularly the case given, in April, Arsenal could foresee a certain degree of the medium-term hit they would take during the shutdown. They knew their matchday income, which was around £96m in the 2018-19 season, constituted a quarter of their revenue and that no other Premier League club could point to a similar reliance on that cash stream. With that, they were aware an extended period playing behind closed doors would be damaging. While nobody knows how long it will be until the Emirates Stadium corporate suites are wining and dining again, there was never any serious suggestion they would be back by the start of next season. The hospitality department is one of several believed to be in line for cuts when the details are fine-tuned. There is a point at which raking over knowns and unknowns becomes harsh: in a global pandemic of indeterminate length it is hard to plan with confidence. But club owners should be expected to take decisions responsibly and it is no surprise many feel that, in opting to cut around 10% of Arsenal’s permanent staff, the Kroenkes have sold theirs short. The knife taken to the scouting department has occupied particular attention, and will apply to a number of the roles that are being discontinued. That may prove to be part of a longer-term plan, regardless of the logic and much as it is no comfort to anyone affected. But it is striking that, viewed en masse, these redundancies have no parallels among Arsenal’s peers and perhaps the more relevant question is how has it come to this. In 2013, when Arsenal signed Mesut Özil, the then-chief executive Ivan Gazidis was moved to hail the “commercial capability of the club to deliver the consistent revenues and financial strength required to compete for the world’s best players”. It was a fair enough statement at the time, borne out by Özil’s arrival and the subsequent move for Alexis Sánchez, and came on the back of several years’ aggressive recruitment of sharp executives who could unlock vast international revenue streams. For it to remain the case, though, Arsenal had to remain stable on the pitch. Instead they nosedived, a chaotic succession to Arsène Wenger and several backroom areas only exacerbating matters, while showing little genuine desire to cut their cloth. It is why Josh Kroenke admitted last year that they were running a “Champions League wage bill on a Europa League budget”, words uttered a fortnight before they spent a club record £72m in Nicolas Pépé. David Luiz joined on £120,000-a-week wages seven days after that. Even after their worst league finish in 25 years, eighth place, they will soon sign Willian for a similar salary and then double that figure in, as seems increasingly likely, securing the future of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. There seems little genuine appetite to scale back and it is worth remembering the brutal honesty with which Arteta addressed their plight in mid-July. “If you are not in the Champions League and you say: ‘OK, I don’t invest because I don’t have the financial ability to do it,’ but the others invest, then the gap becomes bigger,” he said, questioning whether Arsenal should “go for it” in order to make up the ground they have lost. It was striking to read in the club statement on Wednesday the tone-deaf reassurance that roles were being cut “to enable us to continue to invest in the team”. The sentiment appeared troublingly populist; as if, when the dust has settled, a fan’s biggest care is the success of their side. While it is natural to seek improvement, that quest surely goes beyond the pale when it affects the livelihoods of hardworking employees. That is the bind in which Arsenal have found themselves and it is hard to make a case that they have hit on the correct answer. Staff on five-figure salaries, many of them relatively low, will take the rap for an inability to accept reality that long predates coronavirus. In streamlining their numbers, the club pass on the consequences wrought by a bloated sense of self. “Remember who you are, what you are and who you represent,” Ian Wright tweeted on Thursday, using a phrase associated with the late David Rocastle. Perhaps a similar utterance by the current squad would make the necessary impression during the 30-day consultation period that the proposed cuts will undergo; even if it does, Arsenal have no easy way out of a moral quandary that is ultimately of their own making.

not even Barkley? they really need a CMF/AMF damn well, we have a TONNE of other options to toss their way we have more dregs, many of them pricey dregs, to liquidate than any other team on the planet, not kidding, if anyone can think of another, I would be more than happy to take a look plus some none dregs who still should go £500-550m or so (it dicey to say exactly, and that is NOT counting the actual value of of the last 4 at the end) worth of players here en toto (pre-COVID valuations are more when you count every single one listed) but obviously not all can be sold in one window We need to sell (so much, my head spins every time) Álvaro Morata (Done, great business) Mario Pasalic (Done, and yes, we got hosed for around £15m, but we had no guarantees at the time, I am not that upset) Andreas Christensen (he has GOT to go and be upgraded upon, I would prefer both he and Zouma be sold, but that is probably not happening in one window unless we get 2 incredible buy deals tossed into our laps, which is so unlikely) I just do not see what Lamps sees in our 4 main CB's, they (and Kepa) make my tummy churn every game. Even Alonso has not done that for ages (I have been happy with his pay overall, except for that West Ham choke, arrrrffff). Ross Barkley (if we can get say £30m, even 35m (he is English and is only 26 and is in his prime) for him, he will never be worth more (well COVID maybe lowers that a bit, but not much) plus Bayer failed to get CL then a Barks sale plus Havertz buy is only around £45-55m or so net spend) Tiemoué Bakayoko Emerson Michy Batshuayi Davide Zappacosta Danny Drinkwater (SMDH) Jorginho (Juve need to cough up serious cash or work a swap deal involving de Ligt for Jorgi plus cash or maybe Emerson as I rate those 2 as being worth £70-80m-ish, although that is probably an pipe dream now that he has rebounded a bit the last 6 months) Abdul Rahman Baba Victor Moses Kenedy Marco van Ginkel Juan Familia-Castillo (as Ajax did not exercise their option to buy, or keep him and see if he can ever be a decent LB, which looks doubtful atm, based off my watching him in Holland) Nathan (sold for almost £3m) Charly Musonda Jr. Danilo Pantic (transferred on a free, BUT we get a cut of his next sale) Matt Miazga Lewis Baker Jamal Blackman Lucas Piazón Jake Clarke-Salter Izzy Brown Josh Grant (released) Richard Nartey (released) Luke McCormick Jacob Maddox We could sell Kepa (not likely, especially due to crazy wages for the next 5 years and his £72m transfer fee, ie. how much are we willing to lose of that overall) Zouma (sorry, he is shit too) Marcos Alonso (only if we buy two LB's which is not likely this window, I am oki with him as a the backup as he is curve ball option in certain types of games) N'Golo Kanté (only way I see him being sold is if we get Rice and a really HIGH offer comes in. Here is a reality check either way: he is injured far too often and his value has already plummeted and truly will plummet after this summer. It is complicated, and made further complicated by the fact he is NOWHERE near WC as an RMF in a 3 man MF, he simply is not that great there, other than an odd game here and there, Lampard jacked up the team forcing him back in too early) The 2 I would keep Olivier Giroud (I would DEFFO keep him) Rudiger (very, very unlikely, especially as he is helping recruit these German players, plus I expect him to rebound, go back to a higher level of play, I know many hate him, but it is what it is and I have faith he screws his head on tight next year) Leave on a free Willian (cunt) Pedro

he needs to go somewhere he will play or he is done as an international player

nasi goreng amplop

MOUNT AND DEC Chelsea star Mount’s mum cried when her son’s best friend Declan Rice was dumped by Blues https://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/sport/football/4575717/chelsea-star-mounts-mum-cried-when-her-sons-best-friend-declan-rice-was-dumped-by-blues/

pretty comfortable deffo a massive upgrade over Zouma

£25-30m he is 28yo he turns 29 on November 21 so has around 3 top years left, maybe 4 MAX wish to hell we had got him 2 years ago

Willian is 'upset and offended' with how Chelsea have ended his Stamford Bridge career after facing a 'take it or leave it offer from Marina Granovskaia' - as he agrees three-year Arsenal contract https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-8603853/Willian-upset-offended-Chelsea-ended-Stamford-Bridge-career.html

absolutely for a fair price he is solid, great in the air, big, not super pacy but is really good postionally, can lead a defence and LOVES Chelsea since he was a wee lad I have seen him have some absolute MONSTER games over the past few years

damnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn Joe Hart is RIPPED

Bats + Barkley + £20m done and dusted

we loan them Tomori they loan us Eduardo Camavinga with an obligation to buy CHA_CHING

Burnley want £50m for Pope!! they can go fuck themselves

. he is FAR better on the ball and far more athletic than Matic, but this above is dead spot on put Ginter and Dunk behind him, and Predrag at keeper (or Onana, or, etc etc etc) and we will allow 15 to 20 less (at least) league goals

I am oki, after a long spell, with our first 2 kits, and although that 3rd is truly shit (due to the fucking Palace colourway) if anyone wants to feel better thank the olde gods that we do not have to trot out in this pile of cat shite/piss lol, the expression on their faces tells the tale!!

Chelsea legend John Terry on Bournemouth shortlist to replace Eddie Howe https://metro.co.uk/2020/08/06/chelsea-legend-john-terry-bournemouth-shortlist-replace-eddie-howe-13093239/

Man City star brands Chelsea icon a "bastard" during Kai Havertz transfer talk https://www.express.co.uk/sport/football/1319005/Man-City-Chelsea-Kai-Havertz-Ilkay-Gundogan-transfer-news Manchester City midfielder Ilkay Gundogan has branded his fellow countryman Michael Ballack a "bastard" while explaining why Chelsea transfer target Kai Havertz is not like the former Blues midfielder. Gundogan may have to come up against his Germany international team-mate Havertz in the Premier League next season. The 21-year-old has told his current club Bayer Leverkusen of his desire to leave and join Chelsea. The west Londoners have apparently agreed personal terms with the versatile midfielder and are negotiating the fee. If Havertz completes a move to Chelsea he is expected to help them become serious challengers to Liverpool and City. The Leverkusen star has been compared to Blues icon Michael Ballack but Gundogan thinks Havertz is a class above. "In my opinion, Havertz is even better than Ballack in terms of his playing ability," he told Sport Bild. "Ballack had a certain level of aggression in his game, and a strong mentality. "He was a top player of the previous generation - a bastard on the pitch, in a positive sense. Kai isn’t like that." Havertz will become Chelsea's third signing of the summer and second from the Bundesliga. Frank Lampard's side moved early in the window to capture RB Leipzig striker Timo Werner - who Gundogan also knows from his time with the national team. "Believe me: Everyone at City knows about Timo Werner," Gundogan said. "Many of my team-mates asked what kind of guy he is. He deserves respect." City will be weakened next year after selling winger Leroy Sane to Bayern Munich.

and Luiz in a back 2, on the right get in some true ball-watching bobblehead action on those corners and Özil will have cleat marks on his back from Willian not watching where he is going on a trackback Özil has less pace and effort than the midfield stripe

back is the yank's national team front is Palace

jinx

Search Reguilón on here the oldest 25 or 30 or so posts are from me, lol I did not have him as close to my number one LB target back in early to late 2019, but he was on my radar I am sure some of the old posts have not aged well, but some probably did I was pissed that Barca got Firpo for only £16m I still think he comes good, especially if he goes to Inter and plays wingback Barca fucking wrecks so many players

Sergio and Ben are born 5 days apart, they are both born in the last 15 days of the millennial gen (born 1981-1996) Sergio Reguilón Born: December 16, 1996 Ben Chilwell Born: December 21, 1996