Vesper

Analysis that proves Saint-Maximin carried Newcastle this season (literally) https://theathletic.com/1949606/2020/07/30/analysis-saint-maximin-newcastle-almiron/ Newcastle United’s 2019-20 campaign failed in the most part to deliver the “front-foot” football that Lee Charnley, their managing director, promised when Steve Bruce was appointed as head coach last summer. The rare moments of excitement were, for the most part, provided by Miguel Almiron and, more notably, Allan Saint-Maximin. In a side otherwise devoid of pace and invention, that duo have become integral to Newcastle’s attack. Without them, the team simply does not function. For three-quarters of the season, Saint-Maximin and Almiron, nominally wingers or wide forwards, played almost as auxiliary wing-backs in a 5-4-1 formation. The pair were given the unenviable task of carrying the ball long distances upfield, to relieve pressure and create opportunities. But, with only the goal-shy Joelinton for company, Newcastle’s returns were low. It would have been generous to describe much of Newcastle’s play as “football”, never mind “front-foot” football. You could not help but begrudgingly admire their ability to collect positive results, even if many of them appeared inexplicable and often aesthetically painful. “I was patient,” Bruce said when asked by The Athletic why Newcastle set up in such a way for so long. “The players were comfortable playing that way. I make no excuse that I toyed with changing things immediately when I walked through the door. But they weren’t ready. When we did change, we did it at the right time. The new formation helps our forward players. It gets them higher and enables us to get up the pitch better.” Although Newcastle’s post-lockdown evolution in style did not quite bring about a transformation in their attacking play — that can only be rectified by significant expenditure in the transfer market, primarily on a top-level centre-forward — there was an undoubted improvement in their offensive output. During the first 29 games of the season, Newcastle averaged 0.9 goals, 0.9 expected goals (xG) and 10.3 shots per game, and their average possession was 36.7 per cent. Post-restart — excluding the Liverpool fixture on the final day of the campaign — they averaged 1.5 goals, 1.22 xG and 12 shots per game, with an average possession of 46.2 per cent. The key to this upturn? Almiron and, most particularly, Saint-Maximin playing higher up the pitch, receiving greater support and providing higher-quality “carries” in possession. Few players in the Premier League benefitted more from the three-month pause in top-flight football than Saint-Maximin — initially, at least. He returned to action leaner, free from the niggling hamstring injuries that troubled his early Newcastle career and with a fresh desire to add an end-product to his dazzling dribbling. Crucially, Saint-Maximin — like Almiron — also found himself playing nearer the opposition goal in a 4-2-3-1 formation (until the final three fixtures) which, although introduced two games before lockdown, really began to blossom following football’s resumption. Across 1,274 minutes of action pre-lockdown, Saint-Maximin provided two goals and one assist, a contribution every 424.6 minutes. Almiron, meanwhile, played for 2,380 minutes pre-lockdown and he also provided two goals and one assist, a contribution every 793.3 minutes. During the first eight league matches post-restart (again, we’ve not included the Liverpool finale), Saint-Maximin provided three assists and scored one goal across 554 minutes, and Almiron delivered two goals and one assist across 584. Their respective contributions improved markedly, to once every 138.5 minutes and once every 194.7 minutes. This was not merely coincidental, either. Rather than finding themselves shackled by the defensive responsibilities of Newcastle’s previous low-block approach, Saint-Maximin and Almiron were liberated, operating in a fluid three-quarter line that permitted them the freedom to roam and to occupy more advanced positions more frequently. The statistics that best display this change are the type and volume of carries made by both players. A “carry” is defined by Opta as the distance a player travels with the ball between actions, and must have a minimum length of five metres. For example, carries are recorded between a player receiving a pass and making a pass, or picking up a loose ball and taking a shot at goal. After the restart, Saint-Maximin carried the ball 22 per cent more often per game than he did before lockdown. During the first 29 games of the season, he averaged 19.1 carries per 90 minutes, whereas over the next eight, he averaged 23.3. With 53.3 touches per 90, up from 44.9, he also saw more of the ball, which makes sense given that Newcastle’s average possession also improved. Almiron saw his number of carries per 90 minutes decrease slightly after the restart, from 14.6 to 14.3. His touches per 90 did increase from 41.7 to 44.9, but that did not result in a greater number of carries, which may be partly attributable to him shifting from a wide berth to a No 10 role. His responsibilities changed and he was further upfield, meaning he did not need to carry possession great distances as frequently. Interestingly, the average distances the pair covered per carry also reduced post-lockdown, highlighting how Newcastle’s formation change moved them higher up the pitch, allowing them to influence matches with shorter, more penetrative bursts. Almiron’s average distance per carry reduced from 7.8 metres pre-lockdown to 6.9 after it. Saint-Maximin’s, meanwhile, dropped dramatically from 9.9 metres to 6.7. As these statistics demonstrate, a longer carry is not necessarily a more effective one, particularly not if it is completed by an isolated individual who is, as much as anything else, attempting to relieve pressure on his team, rather than specifically creating offensive openings. In terms of output, after the restart, both players took far fewer carries before creating a chance immediately afterwards. Saint-Maximin became a third more productive, taking 20.4 carries to create a chance post-lockdown (compared to 33.6 previously), while Almiron almost tripled his effectiveness, cutting his carry-to-chance ratio from 38.4 to 13.1. Not only does this suggest they received possession in more dangerous areas during the final part of the season, it also supports Bruce’s suggestion that Newcastle were able to get more offensive players higher up the field later in the campaign. Whereas Saint-Maximin and Almiron were often isolated after advancing with the ball earlier in the season, after lockdown they found more team-mates in support to whom they could actually provide passes and crosses. What’s more, the type of carries the Frenchman and the Paraguayan made also changed following the resumption of the Premier League. Pre-lockdown, Saint-Maximin attempted 4.4 “short carries” (between five and 10 metres) per 90 minutes and 8.7 “long carries” (10-plus metres) per 90, while Almiron attempted 3.8 short carries and 5.1 long ones. However, post-restart, Saint-Maximin’s short carries increased by 32 per cent (to 5.8 per 90) and his long carries decreased by 18 per cent (7.1). As for Almiron, his short carries went up by 13 per cent (to 4.3 per 90) and his long carries reduced by 20 per cent (4.1). But, while Almiron’s distance carried per game reduced post-lockdown (from 193.9 metres per 90 to 183.7), Saint-Maximin’s increased. The 23-year-old, who was signed from French club Nice last summer, provided fewer “long” carries and instead contributed a greater number of more effective “short” carries”, leading to him covering an average of 300.8 metres per 90 after the restart (as opposed to 269.9 before lockdown). In fact, once football resumed, no top-flight player carried possession for their team more than Saint-Maximin. Chelsea’s Willian covered 295.7 metres per 90 with an average of 23.2 carries per game, just behind Saint-Maximin, who topped both lists. There are no greater demonstrations of Saint-Maximin’s importance to Newcastle offensively than the final two matches of the season, when Bruce’s team looked devoid of ideas in attack as the visibly-unfit Frenchman struggled to assert his influence on proceedings. Another stark statistic is that Newcastle only won once all season (the 1-0 pre-Christmas home victory over Crystal Palace) without Saint-Maximin. Describing him as a key player would be an understatement. He is simply indispensable. The decision to move both Saint-Maximin and Almiron higher up the pitch should, arguably, have taken place long before the 28th game of the season. But, when Bruce eventually did make that call, it allowed Newcastle’s free spirits licence to play in areas where they could materially affect proceedings more regularly. Unburdened, the pair have become ever-more instrumental. Now they have been released, there should be no going back. Front-foot football may be some way off yet but, with an unrestrained Saint-Maximin, Newcastle at least have a player who, when he is seductively slaloming in full flow, petrifies opposition defences and is now providing the end-product to match, too.

well, Fulham is up 2 nil, but still needs to close it out in the second leg

Llorente, Atletico’s new star who named his dog Anfield after winning there https://theathletic.com/1939079/2020/07/30/llorente-marcos-atletico-madrid-liverpool/ Julio Llorente pauses, thinks about the question and lets out a little smile. He’s not one to give away his nephew Marcos’ secrets but this one won’t upset the Atletico Madrid midfielder. “It is true that he gave a dog as a gift to his mother and called it Anfield,” he says. You cannot blame him. It should be no surprise that Marcos Llorente wanted to mark his visit to Liverpool’s stadium in March, or to give his family something to help them remember the night. His two goals, as Atletico knocked holders Liverpool out of the Champions League, made him an instant rojiblanco hero for life and also surprised anybody who had been at all following the 25-year-old’s career up to that point. When coach Diego Simeone sent him on for Diego Costa with almost an hour gone, it was seen as a defensive move — a holding midfielder by trade coming on for a centre-forward — with the away team under pressure and the tie closely balanced at 1-1 on aggregate. Llorente’s energy and athleticism further up the pitch could press and disrupt a Liverpool side who were dominating possession and territory. Although when Roberto Firmino made it 2-0 on the night, Atletico’s chances of progress to the quarter-finals seemed to have gone, especially without any proven goalscorers left on the pitch. Then, almost immediately, Joao Felix picked up a miscued clearance by home goalkeeper Adrian and found Llorente in space just outside the Liverpool penalty area. He did not strike the ball especially cleanly, but he got it past a badly positioned Adrian for what was his first ever Champions League goal and just the fourth of his entire senior career. A few minutes later, on the ball 30 yards from goal, Llorente turned away from Joe Gomez and Jordan Henderson and confidently fired a low shot into the corner of the net. There was still time for him to produce his first assist in senior football, sending fellow substitute Alvaro Morata clear to make it 4-2 on aggregate. The reigning European champions and runaway Premier League leaders had been eliminated and Atletico fans had a new, unexpected hero. When the COVID-19 outbreak stopped all football soon after, that match — and Llorente’s contribution to it — was replayed and replayed through the lockdown by all connected with Atletico Madrid. Any rojiblanco fans or pundits mentioning his name now always had to prefix it with “hero of Anfield”, something which his uncle says he has accepted naturally. “He is taking it all well. It shows that Atletico’s fans like him and appreciate him,” Julio says. “It is nice when journalists put a nickname on a player like this — well, once it is positive. And it reminds you of a game where something very important happened. Marcos is very happy with this, he gives it the importance it deserves, he knows the game will always be remembered.” All the talk and celebration around Llorente’s Anfield achievement needs to be placed within the context of his family background. Marcos’ two grandfathers won seven European Cups between them — Paco Gento got six as a key player in a Real Madrid team which also included Alfredo Di Stefano and Ferenc Puskas, then Ramon Grosso took over the team’s No 9 jersey from Di Stefano and won the 1966 European Cup alongside Gento. Two of Marcos’ great uncles (Julio Gento and Antonio Gento) also played for the Bernabeu club before having decent careers at other clubs. The next generation continued the tradition. Marcos’ dad, Paco Llorente won nine trophies, including three La Liga titles, with Real Madrid between 1987 and 1994. Uncle Julio also has two La Liga winners’ medals from his days at the Bernabeu, before moving to Tenerife and being part of the team which famously denied Real Madrid the title on the final day of both the 1991-92 and 1992-93 seasons. The sporting heritage is not even just limited to football. Marcos’ mother, Gelu Moreno, played 14 times for Spain at basketball, while two uncles and two great uncles were also professionals in that sport. So when Marcos entered Real Madrid’s La Fabrica academy at the age of 12, the expectation and pressure on him to succeed would have been quite something. “I’ve been asked that many times too, whether it was harder for me with my surname,” says Julio, when asked if the family name was a help or a hindrance at youth level. “The same as my brothers, when we started out. Llorente-Gento… well Gento, has a weight. Marcos felt that weight at some moments, but it has been more of a help. It has given him strength to show that this surname is carried with pride and he must show that he is a Llorente, or a Gento, or a Grosso.” The name did not help Marcos establish himself with Spain’s age-group teams until under-21 level, when he was a starter in the side beaten by Germany in the 2017 European Championship final. “Marcos comes from a family background which lives and breathes football,” current Spain Under-19 coach Santi Denia tells The Athletic. “Sometimes that can help you but, if you do not have the characteristics and you do not make the sacrifices and efforts to train hard, to be humble, to follow the instructions of the coach, to keep improving, you will not reach the professional level. If he has had extra pressure for his background, he has handled it very well, he has been able to adapt to the demands at Madrid, and has reached the professional level where he is going perfectly.” As a youngster, Llorente also changed position a lot — especially as a thin and wiry frame filled out during his later teenage years, thanks to a lot of physical work, says Denia, who won the La Liga title as an Atletico player in 1995-96. “He went through an evolution — when he was a cadete (14 or 15 years old), he played more on the wing,” he says. “He was physically not as developed as he is now. Technically, he has always been very good. With the Spain Under-19s he took a step up and was the starting ‘mediocentro’. And went to have a spectacular time with the under-21s as a holding player. He was a very, very intelligent player, with spectacular physical qualities, who provided a lot of balance. When he was with us at the under-21s, he always did great work for the team.” Llorente’s progress at club level seemed even smoother — he played every minute as a central midfielder as Real Madrid Under-19s got to the UEFA Youth League semi-finals in 2014 under Luis Ramis. Over the following two years, he established himself as a key member for their youth side, playing against grown men in Spain’s third tier, coinciding with Zinedine Zidane’s spell as their coach. When Zidane took over the first team in January 2016, he did not however take Llorente up with him. Instead he was sent on loan the following summer to Alaves, where he was a regular for the newly promoted La Liga side, who easily stayed up while also making that season’s Copa del Rey final. On his return to the Bernabeu, he again struggled to get much playing time — just five starts in 2017-18, always in defensive midfield and always when the team was being rotated. “The demands on a Real Madrid coach are very high,” Ramis tells The Athletic. “You need players of international quality to compete in La Liga and the Champions League. Zidane is not in a hurry when it comes to giving opportunities, but players need to keep taking advantage of the time they get and show they have the quality that the team needs. It is not easy to find a place in a squad full of such big players.” Real Madrid’s next coach, Julen Lopetegui, gave Llorente just 11 minutes in La Liga during his short time in charge. An injury to Casemiro opened up a place in the team during Santi Solari’s even briefer term and he scored a fine long-range goal at the 2018 Club World Cup. But then an adductor injury took him out of the side. When Zidane returned to the Bernabeu bench the following March, the even younger Fede Valverde was chosen to add energy and athleticism to the midfield. By last summer, everyone knew that Llorente would need to look elsewhere for opportunities. “You’d have to ask Zidane why that happened,” Julio says. “I have no idea. I don’t know, I don’t know. But, look, Marcos is a kid with a lot of confidence in what he can do. When he had to leave Real Madrid, I believe it was a motivation to keep getting better, not to allow his morale to drop. He accepted everything that came, and worked hard to turn the situation around. He is a specialist in that, overcoming adverse situations, when all is not in his favour.” Not that many players move directly across the Spanish capital from Real to Atletico, and especially not at a time when the two clubs are directly competing for the biggest trophies. However, the Llorente family’s previous links to Atletico meant that Marcos’ move was more easily understood. “He is a kid who wants to play and enjoy himself, and accepts things professionally,” Julio says. “It’s true he really wanted to reach Real Madrid’s first team. All his family had worn that jersey. But when the moment came when Zidane told him he would not get much playing time, and he needed to leave, Atletico Madrid was an option that he liked. We liked that idea too. His father and uncle also wore that jersey, so it was a bit strange (the move), but not so much.” While Llorente’s football lineage has made him a figure of interest in Spain, he also stood out for another reason. Not many professional athletes adopt the “paleo diet”, which is based on the idea of eating just what our ancestors did before organised farming began about 10,000 years ago. That means lots of protein from red meat, along with fish, seafood, chicken, nuts, seeds and some vegetables such as potatoes, yuca and sweet potatoes. Dairy products, cereals, sugars and legumes are excluded, while fruit is only allowed at breakfast. Llorente’s interest in healthy eating went as far as to be a co-investor, along with Athletic Bilbao’s Ibai Gomez, in a restaurant called Naked & Sated, not far from the Bernabeu to the north of Madrid’s city centre. “It is what I believe in, what I believe is best for our bodies, and what I eat,” he said at the restaurant’s official opening last July. “More than a diet, it is a way of life,” said Gomez, who has followed his friend’s example in adopting the paleo diet. Julio says that Marcos’ interest in looking after what he eats is another family trait. “His father took extraordinary care with his diet,” he says. “The uncles too, but his father to an extraordinary level. And from a very early age he instilled that into Marcos, these eating habits, practically from when he was born. His father is his best ally in this sense.” Marcos has also admitted to sometimes going to training under Atletico’s punishing fitness coach Oscar “El Profe” Ortega without first eating breakfast, as he believes working out while fasting has a positive effect. He’s also used social media to show off his adherence to the Crossfit “fitness philosophy”, which involves a lot of high-intensity gym work and weightlifting. During lockdown, his impressive home gym featured heavily, alongside dogs, in his Instagram pictures, while his partner Patricia Noarbe has her own personal fitness training business. “It is clear that he has made a decision to look after himself,” Denia says. “But if you see him physically, he is a wonder. He has been looking after what he eats for his whole life. And furthermore he believes in it, which is the most important in all this. It is a sacrifice he makes, which shows that he is a guy who looks after himself, every little detail, how he rests, what he eats, everything he does.” Llorente kept working hard, eating healthily and resting well following his €40 million move across the “derbi” divide in Madrid to join Atletico last summer. However, it initially seemed that Simeone shared counterpart Zidane’s doubts about his abilities at the very top level. He did not start a game until week 14 of the La Liga season, and did not get even a minute off the bench in their first five Champions League group matches. Simeone was noticing something though, and an injury to Koke led to a surprise start for Llorente in the derby at the Bernabeu in February. He kept his place in the XI, playing mostly on the right wing, and a few weeks later scored his first Atletico goal in a 2-2 draw at Valencia. Still though, there was no sign of what was to come at Anfield, which was the first time Simeone had really played him in a front two. That also might have just been a one-off due to the special circumstances of that game, particularly when all football then stopped for three months due to the COVID-19 break. Maybe it should not be a surprise that Llorente’s fitness and energy levels did not suffer even during Spain’s strict lockdown. He was Atletico’s best player in their first game back, against Athletic Bilbao, starting up top in support of Costa in a 1-1 draw. Simeone rotated for their next match three days later, but he came off the bench in late June to score one goal and assist two in a 5-0 victory at Alaves. “Marcos is feeling very good at the moment, very happy,” Julio says. “He had some doubts — he was not playing much — but now he feels the confidence of the coach, and for a player that always gives you a lot of strength, more security in yourself. It gives you wings, you have the feeling you can do anything.” By now, Llorente was playing with never-before-seen confidence, pulling off audacious flicks and dribbles nobody could remember him even trying before. His team-mates had also started looking to find him in advanced positions, and he added another well-taken goal in the victory over Getafe in the penultimate round of La Liga. Even those who always fancied him to thrive at the top level did not expect it to be in this way. “The coach is there to see what qualities a player has, and to get him to show them,” Denia says. “El Cholo (Simeone) is a specialist in this. And he is taking advantage of Marcos’ moment of form, of the physical gifts he has, freeing him from the more defensive position, and is getting results.” That moment of form was such that Simeone was asked whether Llorente was “Atletico’s Lionel Messi” ahead of the team’s visit to Barcelona during the final weeks of the season. “Marcos knows very well that he is no Messi,” he replied, with typical common sense. “But using his humility and his hard work he has been improving, and offering more options for the coach and the team with his physical strength and capacity to score. He is a kid who has been gifted nothing and is earning his place in the team, day by day, and game by game.” Whether a coincidence or not, Atletico’s season took off just when Llorente found a place in their starting XI. The boost in confidence winning at Anfield gave them has also been crucial. Before the COVID-19 break, they were sixth in La Liga, with a side reconstructed last summer having their worst domestic season of the Argentine’s eight years in charge. Post-lockdown, they won seven and drew four of their 11 games. Even as the team was rotated from game to game through the heavy schedule, Llorente appeared in every match as Champions League qualification was easily secured. Now the focus has turned to the quickfire final stages of this season’s tournament next month. Atletico face RB Leipzig in their quarter-final on August 13 and then maybe either Atalanta or Paris Saint-Germain in the last four, with a growing confidence among rojiblanco fans and pundits that this could finally be the year that their European Cup hoodoo is broken — maybe even against Real Madrid back in Lisbon, the city where their hearts were broken by their city rivals in 2014. At the heart of that will be Llorente. “Marcos has a capacity to wait for his moment,” his uncle Julio adds. “That patience is one of the important characteristics of his personality. He perseveres in his work and does not get down, no matter how many setbacks he suffers or obstacles are placed in his path. That is very important to highlight as he is a kid who, although many things have happened to him, he has faced them with optimism and with motivation, and the possibility to recover and return.” All that, plus a knack for naming his family pets.

Transfer news tracker: Bournemouth accept bid for Nathan Ake from Man City https://theathletic.com/1959808/2020/07/30/transfer-news-tracker-bournemouth-accept-bid-for-nathan-ake-from-man-city/ The transfer window is open and between now and October, The Athletic team will keep you informed of all the significant developments they hear. Not a subscriber to The Athletic? You can give our award-winning journalism a trial by clicking here. We won’t bring you gossip or rumours, just what is really happening and why. Our team around the country will provide in-depth analysis of the big moves and all the detail — including the Premier League’s value for money table and how it works and David Ornstein’s insight in his weekly column. July 30, 2020 Bournemouth have accepted a £41 million bid for Nathan Ake from Manchester City, report Peter Rutzler and David Ornstein. The deal is understood to be £40 million up front rising to £41 million through clauses. There is confidence from both parties that the deal will be concluded quickly over the next few days. Personal terms are close between Ake and City. He is currently abroad and his medical will happen in due course. Even if Ake gets interest from elsewhere, the Dutch defender has decided to join City and work with Pep Guardiola. The Athletic broke the news that City were opening talks over a deal for Ake in late June. City have been watching him since before the winter transfer window. Chelsea retain an option to match City’s accepted offer having sold the player in 2017. However, at no point have they considered signing him this summer and City were always thought to be the keenest suitor. Bournemouth were relegated from the Premier League last weekend but Ake has always expected to leave this summer as he had just two years remaining on his contract. The 25-year-old does not have a relegation wage reduction clause at Bournemouth, which is likely to hasten his exit. While Bournemouth have suffered from defensive frailties this season, The Athletic has previously analysed how Ake could succeed at City. Ake is viewed as ready to compete at Champions League level.

he was, for years

Loyal, leader and a big brother – Giroud ready for more glory in his ‘garden’ https://theathletic.com/1957477/2020/07/30/oliver-giroud-chelsea-arsenal-wembley-fa-cup-final/ During one of the hardest seasons of his professional career, Olivier Giroud never lost faith. For the first six months under Chelsea coach Frank Lampard, the veteran striker started just two Premier League games. Between December 1 and February 16, he didn’t play a single minute. Giroud is a devout Christian. He would not deem it appropriate to pray for a place back in the side but his religion has provided great support in the good times and the bad. A testament to his beliefs is a tattoo on his right forearm. Written in Latin is a verse taken from the bible, the opening of Psalm 23 to be exact. It reads: “Dominus regit me et nihil mihi deerit”, which translates to prose that is known by Christians around the world as “The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want”. That message travels everywhere Giroud goes and brings him comfort. But when things have got tough, he has found the conversations held with a French-speaking pastor at St Barnabas Church in Kensington particularly helpful. With training and an intense fixture list — even when he isn’t in the match-day squad — getting in the way, Giroud rarely has the option of a traditional Sunday to pay the church a visit, so seeks out the trusted clergyman when he can. It will have been tough to find the time to pop by for a chat ahead of the FA Cup final with Arsenal on Saturday. This is always an intense week as far as preparations go. Plus, there are far more media commitments than usual. Still, with eight goals in his last 11 appearances combined with the reassurance his spirituality provides, Giroud is in a great frame of mind to take on his former club at Wembley. The date is January 31, 2018, and transfer negotiations between three prominent clubs are going to the wire. Arsenal are in talks with Borussia Dortmund for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Borussia Dortmund are negotiating with Chelsea over a loan deal for Michy Batshuayi, and Chelsea are looking to replace the Belgian with Giroud. All three clubs are under pressure to come to an agreement with each other before the deadline. Like the housing market, should part of the chain break, everything was off. As one ex-member of Arsenal’s staff that was working there at this juncture told The Athletic: “It was a three-way deal, with Batshuayi going to Dortmund and Aubameyang coming to us. Football isn’t always built on trust but in that instance, all three clubs had to trust each other that nobody was going to pull the plug. “Chelsea said that if they got Giroud, they’d loan their player to Dortmund. They committed to that.” It is understood Arsenal’s then-transfer chief Dick Law, who enjoyed a good relationship with Chelsea director Marina Granovskaia, called her during the day to ensure everything was still on track. It was regarded by some involved as a pivotal moment. All the dominoes fell accordingly. Giroud was signed by Chelsea for £18 million, Aubameyang completed a switch to Arsenal for a fee in the region of £56 million and Batshuayi headed to Germany. For Giroud, it meant a five-and-a-half-year spell in north London had come to an end. Just as he looked to leave Chelsea in January over fears his place in the France squad at Euro 2020 was at risk, the forward was concerned a lack of games would negatively affect playing at the 2018 World Cup. As the former Arsenal employee explains: “Olivier wanted out. He’d been playing less and had fallen into a role as an impact substitute. He excelled at it but with an international tournament on the horizon, it wasn’t ideal.” In truth, despite scoring 105 times for Arsenal, he regularly faced a battle to prove his worth and show that he was the right man to lead the line regularly. Even before he joined from Montpellier for £13 million in 2012, Arsenal’s French scout Gilles Grimandi was not only at the Ligue 1 club’s games to watch him but creative midfielder Remy Cabella as well. It is believed a younger Aubameyang had also been catching Arsenal’s eye during his tenure at Saint-Etienne. However, not everyone was convinced that he was ready for a switch to the Emirates Stadium. Arsenal needed a new frontman to replace Robin van Persie, who had left for Manchester United. They acquired Lukas Podolski from Cologne that summer for £10.9 million and the original plan was to play the German through the middle, with Giroud seen as a “Plan B”. Yet it soon became clear that Podolski wasn’t suited to playing with his back to goal and Giroud became “Plan A”. The medical staff marvelled at Giroud’s stamina and durability throughout his spell. He could play a huge amount of minutes and contest a big number of duels without suffering injury. But no matter how many occasions Giroud found the net, Arsenal didn’t appear satisfied. The search for other frontmen continued. In the summer of 2013, they made unsuccessful bids for Liverpool’s Luiz Suarez and Real Madrid’s Gonzalo Higuain. They came close to purchasing Demba Ba from Chelsea. Things got so advanced, staff had graphics prepared to be used for articles on the official website. However, Chelsea coach Jose Mourinho scuppered the deal because he didn’t want to strengthen a rival. Another highly-publicised attempt was the pursuit of Jamie Vardy from Leicester after he’d helped them claim the Premier League title in 2016. Once again, it ended in failure but the familiar message was being sent loud and clear to Giroud, so there was no surprise when Alexandre Lacazette arrived from Lyon 12 months later. The bid for Aubameyang proved to be the last straw but no matter how often he felt slighted, Giroud’s attitude could never be questioned. He was immensely popular at the training ground and enjoyed a close bond with influential defender Laurent Koscielny. More importantly, coach Arsene Wenger trusted him. One of the greatest signs of that came the day before he departed. Even though Giroud looked certain to be leaving, Wenger brought him off the bench in a Premier League game against Swansea because the manager knew his player would still give everything. Giroud spoke about their bond with France Football soon after joining Chelsea. He said: “I went to see the coach (Wenger) to ask him where he was with Aubameyang. I put him under a bit of pressure, like my agent, who I spoke to several times a day. I did not want to be deprived of going to Chelsea, which was the best solution for me. “The coach immediately said to me, ‘Don’t worry. I will do my best so that you are happy.’ On one side, it was normal. I had never asked to leave. On the other, I knew that he would not cause problems, given the relationship we had always had. He even said to me that it would piss him off if I did not go to Russia (to play in the World Cup).” One might wonder why he opted to switch to a London rival rather than look elsewhere. Giroud had attracted interest from clubs across Europe but his wife Jennifer wanted to remain in the capital and that was a significant factor. There are suggestions it played a role in the France international staying at Chelsea this season, too. The move has worked out for Giroud and for Chelsea. He helped them win the FA Cup in 2018 and was top scorer during the successful pursuit of the Europa League last year with 11 goals — one of his strikes came against Arsenal in the final, a game where neither Aubameyang or Lacazette made an impact. The feelings of satisfaction were obvious. As Jorginho broadcast live footage from the team bus, Giroud was seen holding the trophy and shouting “Thank you, Arsenal” to spark cheers and laughter from his team-mates. That incident, plus some public declarations about his affection for Chelsea, has inevitably had a detrimental effect on how Arsenal fans now perceive him. If they were allowed to attend the FA Cup final, there was the possibility of the odd boo ringing out when his name is read out over the PA system. No one can doubt how appreciated he is among Chelsea’s fanbase, though, and that is an achievement in itself after wearing an Arsenal shirt for so long. Indeed, he set up the winner for Aaron Ramsey to deny Antonio Conte’s men the double three years ago at Wembley. All has been forgiven. Giroud helped Arsenal beat Chelsea in the 2017 FA Cup final (Photo: Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images) Giroud found himself in the same situation at Chelsea when the 2019-20 season began as he did on joining two-and-a-half years ago — as a back-up option. First, it was Alvaro Morata, then Higuain, and now it was Tammy Abraham taking center-stage while he had to do a lot of watching from the sidelines. A measure of just how he responded to being usurped by Abraham, a player of limited experience compared to him, came after the Super Cup against Liverpool last August. It was one of two matches Giroud found himself in the first XI in the first three months under Lampard but he’d been replaced by Abraham with 16 minutes of normal time remaining. Abraham went on to miss the decisive penalty during a shoot-out and the England international was subjected to horrific abuse on social media, with some of it of a racial nature. To Abraham’s pleasant surprise, Giroud posted a heartfelt message to his phone. The duo have Christianity in common and Giroud decided that the bible might come to the youngster’s aid. The Athletic has learnt what was sent. Quoting scripture from Isaiah 44: 27-31, it read: “Why do you complain, Jacob? Why do you say, ‘Israel, my way is hidden from the Lord; my cause is disregarded by my God?’. Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” While disappointed to be behind Abraham and Batshuayi in the pecking order for several months, Giroud never let it show. His rapport with the former is described as that of a big brother. They are often seen working on their finishing together in training. Other players have been impressed by his attitude throughout the period he was ignored, the way he constantly gave his all during sessions and never complained publicly about being left out. Speaking to The Athletic, defender Antonio Rudiger says: “First of all, massive respect to him. He always kept his cool, always stayed professional, always worked hard, and he fought his way back. “It was a difficult season for him. In the first six months, he wasn’t really there, then there were all these rumours he is going. We are all human and maybe there are some days where you don’t laugh as much as you normally do when you are playing. That’s normal. But he has always been fair. When he was on the pitch, he was giving his all. When he was on the bench, he always supported the team. There was nothing you can say that was negative about him. “Is he one of the leaders? Yes, definitely. He is always someone to speak to. He won the World Cup (with France in 2018). Oli is a very confident guy but with this World Cup comes more confidence. But he is not arrogant — he is a very good guy on and off the pitch. He is someone everyone looks up to. I look up to him.” Lampard appreciated his efforts, too, but with the Englishman preferring a striker that had the energy to press opponents and provide a threat in behind defenders with pace, his game wasn’t deemed suitable. But, as he told The Athletic in October, Giroud was not going to cause a negative atmosphere: “There are two reactions to being left out of the side. There is one where you put your head down; start complaining that you’re not playing. “The other way is you transform that frustration over not playing into a positive energy. You need to maintain a good feeling to bounce back, to show your character. That is what I try to do at training every day. I’m a competitor. It takes a lot more to get me down.” Had Lampard got his way and signed a forward in January, then Giroud wouldn’t be in a position to try and claim another FA Cup winners’ medal. Talks were held with several sides, including Inter Milan and Tottenham, but a transfer was blocked once Chelsea failed in their attempts to acquire Dries Mertens from Napoli and Edinson Cavani from Paris Saint-Germain. A positive discussion was held between the pair once the situation became a reality and Lampard promised Giroud that he would be given more opportunities. Rudiger was relieved the Frenchman remained in the ranks. “It’s not like convincing someone to come here. That’s different,” he says. “The situation, at the time, was clear: he didn’t play. It was a decision he had to make. Of course, I wanted him to stay but it is what the player wants and my opinion doesn’t count. But, in the end, he stayed and I’m very happy because he showed his qualities.” It helped Giroud that Chelsea’s and Abraham’s form was in decline while Lampard’s patience with Batshuayi was running out. Abraham picked up an ankle injury against Arsenal on January 21, which complicated matters. When Giroud was named in the line-up against Tottenham a month later, in what was just his third start of the season in the league, he led the attack with aplomb and settled nerves with a fine strike in the 15th minute. He has been the main man ever since. The team thrived when Abraham was at his best in the first four months but players enjoyed the physical aspect Giroud brought, too. The manner in which he got the better of Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez during the FA Cup fifth-round win over Liverpool in March was the subject of excitable conversation within the ranks. It was after this contest that Giroud told The Athletic the plan was to sign a new contract rather than leave as a free agent at the end of this season. Granovskaia clearly liked what she was seeing and hearing because a 12-month extension was soon offered and signed. Even after agreeing terms, there was cynicism Chelsea had done so just to be in a position to make some money on him in the summer window. Inter Milan continue to be linked. However, a source close to the player insists this is not the case. “The idea was never to sell,” he says. “It was a good deal for both parties. Chelsea and Giroud need each other. In June and July, Olivier has given the right answer.” Yet even with his stay secured, Giroud didn’t stop working. With COVID-19 putting a halt to football for over three months, he pushed himself in exercise drills to ensure he returned last month as one of the fittest men in the squad. A healthy diet was followed, with new recipes explored to ensure he was in good shape. The leadership qualities have continued to be on show. When 17-year-old Lewis Bate was included in the match-day squad for the first time at Sheffield United, the elder statesman, along with captain Cesar Azplicueta, made a special effort to make the teenager feel comfortable in the surroundings. It was noticeable how after Giroud had scored against Wolves in the match which secured Champions League football for next season via a top-four finish, Lampard wanted to highlight his contribution in 2020. “I don’t want to look clever,” he told Chelsea TV. “I just want to say from January onwards, I didn’t want him to leave. I know what he brings every day to the training ground, it’s amazing. I’m not just calling him a cheerleader; he is a big personality. He also has huge talent. “But the way he has played since those games just before the restart; he has changed a lot for us. People like playing with him. They bounce off him. He literally bounces balls back to players that are our attacking threats: Mason Mount, Christian Pulisic and Willian. He has done it to great effect. I give Oli huge applause for what he has done for us. I’m delighted to have him.” The script for Giroud in 2020-21 looks like it will follow a familiar pattern. Chelsea haven’t gone to a lot of effort and spent £47 million on Timo Werner in order for the Germany international to be a peripheral figure. But that scenario is to worry about another day. Before then, Giroud faces a trip to the ground he affectionately calls his “garden”. He has never lost an FA Cup match at Wembley, having won the competition with Arsenal on three occasions to add to the triumph with Chelsea in 2018. He would love to make it a famous five and therefore serve yet another reminder, to employers past and present, that he should never be written off.

Chelsea’s season: Gifted youngsters, Abramovich commitment and dodgy defending https://theathletic.com/1914050/2020/07/29/chelsea-season-review-frank-lampard-roman-abramovich/ Chelsea have been fun to watch for the neutral but too inconsistent for Frank Lampard and their fans, writes Simon Johnson. The arrivals of Timo Werner and Hakim Ziyech will surely strengthen them next term… Best goal they scored: Fikayo Tomori vs Wolves It’s your first Premier League start away from home against strong opponents and you’re playing at centre-back. A tough afternoon surely lies in store. So what does the rookie do? He opens the scoring with a curling effort into the top corner from around 30 yards out, which leaves Portugal goalkeeper Rui Patricio completely helpless. He was not the only one taken by complete surprise by that strike. Worst goal they’ve conceded: Gabriel Martinelli Tough to choose just one because there are so many candidates, particularly from set-pieces. This debacle just wins because it came from a Chelsea corner during a game they were leading 1-0 against 10 men. Martinelli ran on to a headed clearance and remarkably only had N’Golo Kante to beat. The France international fell over in comical fashion and the Arsenal striker just sprinted away to score. Funniest moment I wasn’t laughing but it did stand out. You don’t expect senior footballers to act like fans and take pictures as a memento of their visit to Stamford Bridge. But after Lille had lost in the Champions League, I was surprised to see former Chelsea striker Loic Remy posing for a series of shots in front of a poster of himself outside the ground holding the Premier League trophy aloft back in 2015. Lille personnel had to come and get him to board the team bus home. Most interesting person I spoke to A lot has been written about Maurizio Sarri but no one tells more stories about the former Chelsea coach than Rob Green. The Athletic detailed how the ex-England goalkeeper was the only one who told Sarri exactly what he thought of him during a team meeting last season. But from Sarri’s monotonous training methods to revealing how the Italian told Gary Cahill to keep quiet on a bus, Green’s honesty was a delight. Moment you won’t forget After being sent on a wild goose chase to find Ajax fans in a London pub, I took my seat for the Champions League group game at Stamford Bridge in time for the second half. Good job I was sober, otherwise I might not have believed what I was seeing, particularly when referee Gianluca Rocchi sent off Daley Blind and Joel Veltman, plus awarded Chelsea a penalty, for incidents during the same passage of play. Strangest quote “You look to the performance of Mason Mount, the performance of Tammy Abraham, you look to the performance even of Andreas Christensen, and for matches of this dimension, you need a little bit more.” Jose Mourinho’s critique of the youngsters’ performances while working as a pundit left coach Frank Lampard angered and dumbfounded in equal measure. Manchester United had beaten Chelsea 4-0 but the scoreline wasn’t a reflection of how the trio played. Biggest controversy For this one, I’m going to nominate… myself. Yes, that’s right, me. Why? Well before the restart last month, my colleague Liam Twomey and I were asked to debate what team should start the Aston Villa match for a piece. Not only did I not select Mateo Kovacic, I also declared he shouldn’t be regarded as Chelsea’s player of the year. Liam was shocked and many readers were too. I won’t change my mind though! Player who should get more credit than he does Olivier Giroud. Has been the ultimate professional this season. There aren’t many World Cup winners who would have kept as quiet as he did when Lampard was leaving the striker out of the team regularly. Then when Lampard finally gave him a run in the side, Giroud repaid the coach with key goals and performances. The France international was so good, he ended the season increasingly as first choice. Biggest question answered this season I was going to talk about the academy graduates being good enough for the first team and then owner Roman Abramovich came to mind. Surely any doubts about his level of commitment have been eased. During the season it emerged he put another £247 million into the coffers. Plus he delivered on a promise to Lampard over making big signings by sanctioning moves for Hakim Ziyech and Timo Werner. Biggest question to answer next season If Chelsea are to become a genuine force at the top of the Premier League again, they have to become more consistent. Lampard has moaned about it for much of the campaign and for good reason. There have been notable wins against Manchester City, Liverpool, Arsenal and a League double over Tottenham. Yet struggling sides like West Ham (twice), Bournemouth and Newcastle have got the better of them. Champions don’t let that happen. Moment that summed up the season Chelsea 4 Ajax 4. One of the most bonkers games in Chelsea’s history, but what happened during a crazy 90 minutes encapsulates what we have seen throughout 2019-20. On the negative front, there was poor defending from set-pieces, Kepa Arrizabalaga was unconvincing in goal and the midfield struggled against quicker opposition. But there were so many positives too: Lampard’s entertaining style, youth players coming to the fore and (pre-lockdown, at least) a home crowd reinvigorated. Who can break through next season? Tino Anjorin. Don’t judge the teenager on the wild, reckless shot on his Premier League debut against Everton in March which looked more likely to nudge a plane during its descent into Heathrow than threaten the goal. Anjorin’s style is similar to that of Ruben Loftus-Cheek, but he doesn’t have the history of injury problems to stagnate his progress. The club gave him a five-year contract in June for good reason. Who needs to leave the club? Kepa Arrizabalaga. After paying Athletic Bilbao a world-record fee for a goalkeeper of £71.6 million just two years ago, it is going to be very difficult for Chelsea to get themselves out of this predicament. However, some resolution needs to be explored because the Spain international is clearly struggling in the Premier League and doesn’t command his area like predecessors Petr Cech and Thibaut Courtois. Opponents will continue to target this weakness. What’s most exciting about next season? Transfers always get the fans talking and Chelsea sent out a real signal of intent by acquiring Werner and Ziyech before the summer window officially opened. Chelsea have lacked a top centre-forward since Diego Costa left in 2017 so all eyes will be on Werner to see if he can fill the void. The team have lacked creativity against defensive outfits so Ziyech’s flair will be key. They certainly won’t be dull to watch.

agree, almost, I just had Pulisic flipped with Mount, but could easily go the other way

Kante needs to be sold ASAP (or swapped)

that pic reminds me of a breakup scene, lolololol it's not you, it's me bbe

Foden will probably be better over the course of his career (just not now)

watch Pep's best teams, and you will see hyper complicated rotational play and literally in-flow complete (and so fluid) offence-to-defence and def-to-off formational switching/morphing also look at the players I put in my 3 1 3 3 exactly what you are describing in terms of positional experience and attributes I love multi positional capable players that should have been evident from my multi-year postings if I could snap my fingers and make myself a manager (with the vision of a previous manager enabling me) I would be a female version of Rinus Michels this formation is very close to what I envision (plus the rest of 1995) Bloodlines of Rinus

when you give a 6 year old a dye marker and tell them to put stripes on a shirt

Kovacic FTW been saying it for months, have not changed my mind Pulisic 2nd Mount 3rd Giroud 4th Willian 5th Azpi 6th Tammy 7th Kante 8th Reece 9th Alonso 10th Barkley 11th

my 2 main complaints with Chilwell are simple 1. I REALLY rate Theo as the best remotely available left back on the planet 2. £80 (or even £60m) is madness for Chilwell In terms of pure rating (money and situation/availability be damned), I DO rate Chilwell super high in order Davies Alaba Robertson Theo Hernandez Lucas Hernandez (if you play him as a LB again) Chilwell (as Alex Sandro hits 30 in just 6 months, and fullbacks, like I have said a million times, almsot always go poof once they are above 30yo) Alex Sandro (last year) Jose Gaya Telles Digne Ferland Mendy Lodi Gosens Nicolás Tagliafico Marcel Halstenberg

Nike designers must be on crack shameful new Roma home kit

Koulibaly looked very poor totally looked like he did not give a shit as soon as Inter scored the first goal his pace is going

Nike is either great or shit no clue why they made those zig-zag stripes

damn this site nailed it (almost) SEVEN months ago http://www.footballshirtculture.com/Kit-design/inter-milan-2020-21-home-away-and-third-kit-predictions.html

Lukaku blew away Kouibaly for pace twice

blows away the Inter monstrosity this was a superb Inter kit 2016-17 probably the best they ever had

1 nil Inter D'Ambrosio