Vesper

Michael Oliver overall (even though I bitch about him) is pretty decent not much after him any ref I mention I will get flamed, but I think Howard Webb and Mark Clattenburg were decent

technically a swap (with another player or some cash tossed in for makeweight IF needed) for Varane is not exactly a 'sale' LOLOL sigh

the shitty appeal result will be known before the season ends maybe even in 2 or 3 weeks

deep in the subconscious it can make a wee difference

massive game Sheff U may be on top of Manure (they should be) and only 4 behind us if we win but still would prefer they beat Manure the Mancs have only that game, SOTON (maybe one could call that a bit of a test, given their form) and Leicester (last day of the season and Leicester may have already clinched top 4 by then so little incentive) as their hardest fixtures left such as easy run in BHA, Bournemouth, Villa, Palace, West Sham, <<< the other 5, arffffff really wished they had dropped all 3 tonight

mathematically eliminated

well, at least they dropped two points

good

that is a fucking DIVE

FUCKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK

just to settle it once and for all (and ironically I want him to take the 2 year now, as that takes off mad pressure to buy another winger, although I can so live with the two he have (soon 3 with Ziyech) IF we buys Haverts who can cover at winger) I am going to brutally fair here and list some that would have been large mistakes apparently I obviously cannot add in players who were too young then (like Ferran Torres or Nicolò Zaniolo, although we were linked with Zaniolo even then, but totally as a an AMF, not a winger, which he is mostly now, or at least half the time) I will lay out every single target (and other than the biggest cockup (granted hindsight) Sancho they are ALL left footers except for one other) some would have been a bust most not and one tricky one these were the RWers out there in summer 2018 and I am placing the £65m in the kitty for this exercise Zaha (the tricky one I mentioned above, as he is better IMHO on the LW than the RW (he si right footed mostly but is sorta ambipedal) as he would have cost MORE than £65m, around £80m or so) would he have been worth it? Impossible to tell now, it depends how much you rate him, the big upside back then was we wold have gotten 5 or 6 prime years out of him, downside now is he turns 28 in November, so thsi is really the last big go round on the transfer market for him, as next summer he will be 29 in a few months and no one is going to pay 70m or more for a player who turns 30yo after only one full season and then 3 months of having him. I think we missed out as he is over 4 years younger than Willian, and does offer a crazy amount of activity and dribbling, etc Sancho (the big cockup in hindsight) he was already, after one year, showing major signs of being special ( 5 goals, 7 assist in only a third of season minutes as a mostly 17yo) and we could have brute force bought him (even overpaying at the time, as we had that £65m to burn,and I wager we could have waved 40m euros or so in Dortmund's face and they would have snapped it up) THAT type of deal is what a WC scouting department would have pulled off Bernardo Silva a huge miss, I raged when Shitty got him, BUT that was 2017, the year before, so not germane to this (although it really is, as IF he had bought him in 2017, ALL this shit would be null and void, Willian would have surely been sold then in 2018, the next year, for the 65m or so) but still, GRRRRRRRRRRRR, my father was insanely pissed (he is a Monaco season ticket holder as he is there so much) Massive cockup, and to pour salt in the would, we ended u buying Bakayoko off them (although to be fair, that was my worst ever scouting job, so I cannot blame the board at all, it is why I never rip into them like I do about Drinkwater, who had FAIL written all over him) Bernadeschi has been shit since he moved to Juve,. we dodged a bullet it looks like, point to Marina and the board, so hat tip to them , and a bad Vesper to me (see, I am being fair) Nabil Fekir super player, huge season in 2017-18 (23 goals, 8 assists, BUT is not a winger) Leon Bailey this one is tough, he was big target for me (we almost bout him way back in 2015, most have long forgotten), in 2018-19 he regressed, had issues, but know is rebounding. For £35m to £40m, I would take it now, as we would have a young player with huge upside who can play either wing, and we would have still had £30m or so left over (£75m if we had sold Alonso to RM as well) Point to me (I am sure many will sod off bish, lololol, but I am standing firm on this close run thing) Filip Kostic (left footer who plays LMF BUT can play RW) he has been superb (accounted for 30 goals overall (18 assists!) this year (and counting), 23 the season before on a shit Eintracht team) and would have been a steal I am putting this down as too obscure to rate, as other than wild toss out (not even sure if I did it on here or not) even I was not single minded bringing him up. One of the most underrated players in the EU. Raphaël Guerreiro too obscure (as a RW) to rate as a legit target for that position, as he hardly played there, despite being a left-footer, only mentioned for thoroughness Federico Chiesa another board cockup I think. Yes he would have cost £50m or so, but he is so young, so talented (he is basically ambipedal, but listed as a right-footer) point to me Mikel Oyarzabal another board cockup, probably worse than Chiesa even, as he would have cost only around £35m or so, I really rate him, then and now, very under the radar overall Malcom, deffo point to board, we dodged a bullet here it looks so far, and I had cooled off on him already by then too after really doing a deep dive Nicolas Pepe wash plus too early to really tell how he plays, but in 2018 he would have been around half what Arse paid, as he was really pretty good, but had yet to have that massive year, I neve rpushed him then really, so, like a said, a wash, he was not a prime target then Hakim Ziyech we finally got him, but another cockup, as he is 27 now, and he would have been only 25 (and was already playing like he does now) David Neres see Ziyech (who plays in same lineup often) potentially a cockup, not as bad as Ziyech and especially not as bad as the next one.......... Pablo Sarabia another huge cockup, he has been superb for years, he is PSG' leading goal scorer in calendar year 2020, vastly better than Willian, not even remotely close Thomas Lemar he had already collapsed by summer 2018, one year wnder (2016/7 Mbappe team) it seems, thank fuck we never bought him Suso, semi-wash to point, but leaning cockup as he would have only cost half or so of the Willian cash, and is hardly a poor player bottom line the board truly fucked up, especially if Willian walks on a free this summer and leaves us hanging with only 3 wingers (one of them, Ziyech who may be needed at AMF in some games as well) if we also miss out on Havertz

Announce Havertz!!!!

that is realistic for a 25 man roster 5 new ones in (can be done over 2 windows if need be) selling the dregs brings in a shit tonne of cash there is zero fantasy level shite involved (other than if they go for Mbappe, but Real, Barca, and maybe Shitty are the only teams on the planet (other than PSG obviously) who could afford him (his price plus his wages), unless Manure go on a wild liquidation spree 3 of those 20 are players back from loan and they have a shedload to sell to raise cash 10 players mega package for NUFC if the headchoppers buy the club 250m euros for the lot £225m insta injection, some HUGE names insta marketing for the Geordies CB Nacho Fernández LB Marcelo RB Álvaro Odriozola DH DMF Luka Modric CMF Dani Ceballos AMF James Rodríguez RW Gareth Bale LW Lucas Vázquez CF Luka Jovic CF Mariano Díaz clears a fuck tonne of salary too everyone but Diaz and Vazquez (maybe) is an instant starter, that is how fucked NUFC is radical times, radical measures

Mount so needs to do a karaoke video of this choon

absolutely not when there are so many other options out there, all cheaper, even ones who are better than Chilwell (Alaba and Theo Hernandez) even if we whack Leicester down £20m from the highest quote I have seen, it is still £65m £65m gets you into Romagnoli territory, especially with COVID-19 market delta and there is ZERO chance we are a better team with Chilwell and no new CB than we are with even the lowest cost yet still big upgrade LB options (Telles, Alex Sandro, Nicolás Tagliafico, Gosens Luca Pellegrini, or, I dare say, even Kurzawa, who is a free and when healthy (his main issue) is streets ahead of any LB we have now) PLUS Romagnoli (or another top 10 or so CB)

Chelsea are willing to sell midfield star to finance further signings this summer https://www.caughtoffside.com/2020/06/19/chelsea-are-willing-to-sell-midfield-star-to-finance-further-signings-this-summer/ In a time where it’s expected that most clubs won’t be doing a lot of business this summer, Chelsea fans must be delighted with some of the business they are doing. The Times (subscription required) looked at the latest with their summer plans, and they confirm that Timo Werner will join Hakim Ziyech in making the move to Stamford Bridge ahead of next season. The fans may be excited to hear that they still have further plans to strengthen, and Kai Havertz is touted as the next big name that Frank Lampard is going after. Unfortunately it doesn’t sound like there’s going to be a bottomless pot of money, so that means some players will need to be sold. They go on to report that N’Golo Kante has emerged as someone who the club would be willing to sell, and it’s likely the fans will have mixed feelings on this. He’s extremely likeable because of his demeanor and his playing style – He never stops running, his tackling and anticipation is incredible and he plays in a clean way too. The problem is that he’s started to struggle with injuries and he’s also 29, and you do have to wonder if he will still be able to play at the top level when his pace starts to go. If Chelsea can get a huge fee for him and that allows them to bring in someone like Havertz, then it will probably be seen as good business. There’s no suggestion that anyone has agreed a deal with Chelsea to sign the French star, but it does sound like his time at Stamford Bridge may be coming to an end. snip

Bayer Leverkusen's fate could provide Chelsea a Kai Havertz transfer boost that saves £20m Chelsea are not the only team battling for their future in Europe https://www.football.london/chelsea-fc/chelsea-transfer-news-kai-havertz-18448866?_ga=2.141222258.1165590372.1592533049-1112970423.1591103731 Bayern Leverkusen's Bundesliga fate could dictate the price at which Chelsea are able to lad Kai Havertz this summer. Having already funded a significant outlay for Hakim Ziyech and £47.5m Timo Werner but there is a sense they are not done yet. Havertz has been closely linked after an impressive start to the season but his club are asking for in the region of £90m for his signature. However, if they fail to qualify for the Champions league that could see the figure drop closer to Chelsea's reported £70m valuation. snip Hertha beat Leverkusen on the road, and drew with Borussia Monchengladbach at home so if that happens again and both beat the two other shit teams they play Havertz price will go down by £20m

no clue

Spuds have spent or committed to (in just the last two windows) Tanguy Ndombélé £54m Giovani Lo Celso £14.4m LOAN fee + £28.8m transfer fee total spent £43.26m Steven Bergwijn £27m Ryan Sessegnon £24.3m Jack Clarke £10m Gedson Fernandes £4.05m LOAN fee + trans fee £43m total £47.05m total spent £205.55m gross minus £51.3m from sales and loans $154.25m net (that tops even the 2003/4 buys and 2004/5 buys for us in inflation adjusted net spends and massively more in gross) so they can go

Timo Werner: How Chelsea move happened, how he will fit in and what happened to Liverpool deal? https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/52970103

Tottenham Hotspur fans react as RB Leipzig troll club after Timo Werner signs for Chelsea https://sportslens.com/tottenham-hotspur-fans-react-as-rb-leipzig-troll-club-after-timo-werner-signs-for-chelsea/301161/ RB Leipzig striker Timo Werner is set to join Chelsea at the end of the Bundesliga campaign, and the German side couldn’t help but throw a jibe a Tottenham Hotspur via their Twitter handle during one of their announcements. Julian Nagelsmann’s side ran out 4-0 winners on aggregate in the Champions League last-16 at the expense of Spurs in March, with Werner scoring from the spot at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in the first-leg in February. Leipzig were quick to remind Chelsea fans that the Germany international has no difficulty finding the back of the net against their London rivals, and it didn’t go down well with some Tottenham fans. Here is how they reacted to the jibe:

Exclusive: UEFA to relax FFP regulations in light of coronavirus crisis https://theathletic.com/1690193/2020/03/20/exclusive-uefa-relax-ffp-regulations-coronavirus/ European football’s governing body UEFA has relaxed its Financial Fair Play regulations to help cash-strapped clubs survive the crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic. With the professional game facing its biggest economic challenge since World War Two, the move has been broadly welcomed by football finance experts but some have warned UEFA not to let clubs with the wealthiest owners take advantage of the temporary relaxation. In response to calls for urgent help, the Swiss-based governing body has extended the deadline for clubs to prove they have no “overdue payables” — such as unpaid tax bills, transfer instalments or wages — from March 31 to April 30. Furthermore, it has also reminded clubs that the principle of “force majeure”, a French term that means greater force, is written into the spending rules. “Any extraordinary event or circumstances beyond the control of the club that are considered a case of force majeure are taken into account as part of the club’s assessment, on a case-by-case basis,” a UEFA spokesperson told The Athletic. Introduced in 2011 to curb overspending, the FFP regulations are based on the idea that clubs should not spend more than they make from their ordinary business activities. Owners are allowed to invest as much as they like in the club’s academy, community work, stadium and women’s teams but there are strict limits on how much additional funding they can put into the first team playing budget or transfer kitty. The rules are policed by an independent body known as the Club Financial Control Body, which has investigatory and adjudicatory arms. Numerous clubs have been sanctioned for breaching these rules, most notably Manchester City, who are currently appealing against a two-year ban from European club competition that was imposed last month. It is understood that the decision to push back the deadline for unpaid bills and reassure clubs that any extra support from owners in the coming months will be assessed more leniently than usual follows talks with the European Club Association, the organisation that represents the interests of the continent’s leading clubs. Confirmation of UEFA’s move comes a day after the Premier League warned clubs that domestic broadcasters might ask for £762 million back if no further fixtures can be played this season and former Football Association chief executive Mark Palios told The Athletic that clubs will go bust if players do not agree to pay cuts. “UEFA has employed a practical and sensible approach,” says Kieran Maguire, a football finance expert who lectures at the University of Liverpool. “By giving clubs longer to provide proof of no outstanding debts it allows the clubs to focus on day-to-day issues rather than administrative compliance issues. “In relation to the monitoring for FFP, UEFA has acknowledged we are in extraordinary times. It has effectively allowed clubs some flexibility in terms of FFP compliance. “At the same time, those clubs who do have significant resources behind them cannot exploit their financial advantage to use the present circumstances to give themselves carte blanche in terms of spending money without fear of action.” John Mehrzad QC, a leading sports law specialist at Littleton Chambers, agrees with Maguire that this move was necessary, pointing out that the relaxation of the March 31 deadline will help “clubs remain afloat” at a time of continuing expenses and uncertain income. He warned, however, that it might not be so good for “clubs, players or staff wishing to be paid over the next six weeks, as clubs can effectively default until the end of that period and not face UEFA sanction”. But this, he explained, is the “hard balancing act” governing bodies have right now, as they prioritise saving clubs on the basis that if they go bust, their players and staff might not receive any further pay at all. On the decision to take a more generous view of injections of cash from owners, Mehrzad says: “That approach makes sense but it is potentially open to abuse if, for example, a very rich club injected in a lot of cash from an owner not to use on wages but to buy players in the next transfer window. Hence, the assessment on a ‘case-by-case’ basis.” Nick De Marco QC, from Blackstone Chambers, is perhaps the leading legal expert on FFP rules in the UK and described the UEFA move as “obviously sensible”. But he would like to see the British football authorities follow suit. “The suggestion that clubs may be able to rely on the principle of ‘force majeure’ will be of particular interest,” says De Marco. “In England, the clubs that are struggling the most to pay their players and keep going are governed by the English Football League’s (Profitability and Sustainability) rules which are far stricter than those of UEFA. “In my view these rules need to be suspended during the current health emergency. Clubs are already struggling to be able to pay their players and other staff, and if the only way they can do so is by going into debt it makes no sense at all to then punish them for it.” The EFL declined to comment on UEFA’s decision to loosen its rules but it is understood that any change to its profitability and sustainability regulations would have to be agreed by its 71 clubs and those conversations are ongoing. Sean Cottrell, the founder and chief executive of LawInSport, sums up the situation like this: “Extending the deadline makes sense, given the crisis countries across the world are facing. “Football, like all sports, is having to adjust rapidly to the situation and in many cases they are supporting local communities at this difficult time whilst managing their own internal difficulties. “What is of interest is UEFA suggests COVID-19 is considered a case of force majeure in terms of FFP. This may have significant legal implications later down the line for clubs and players.”

can you imagine Kepa Luiz Mustafi eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeekkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk

Varane with Kante and some cash (only due to age) on the other end (or AC + Kante, as AC is made for La Liga) or De Ligt for Jorginho and Emerson (maybe try and add cash too and do a two for two and get Alex Sandro as well, this LB is sorted for 3 years or so) or other combos and/or cash for them and these other following four Marquinhos or Skriniar or José Giménez or Romagnoli (least expensive on this list, but also the best left-footed CB remotely available on the planet (and 3rd best overall, after Laporte and Lucas Hernandez) those are the 6 best even faintly available CB's on the planet (Lucas H I still do not believe will be sold to PSG unless its a swap for Marqinhos) that are still young enough to buy (KK is not, he turns 30 in January and the poison dwarf said zero chance he is sold for less than 100m euros) in fact the only other top ten CB I did not list somewhere up above is VVD there are you ten best CB's on the planet atm massive drop off after those 10 easiest position on the planet to pick the clear top ten ps fuck Harry Maguire that cunt is not close to any of those above Manure is deluded I would go bonkers if we somehow bought him or did some trade I detest him, detest Stones, and Gomez is also a tad overrated, although he is young and should pass those two up

if memory serves he took it down