Vesper

disagree completely, sorry I stand by my post poacher is not a negative it is being in the right place at the right time the players I listed are all poachers and most are target types as well, irregardless of if they occasionally help in the buildup almost none of them are hard pressing types of CF's, a few maybe to a point, but that is not the main part of their game

Athletic Bilbao v Atletico Madrid HD Streams http://www.sportnews.to/sports/2020/primera-division-athletic-club-vs-atletico-madrid-s2/ https://www.totalsportek.com/atletico-madrid/

no, Koulibaly is not going to be WC at 33 or 34 he relies on his pace a lot, which will start to go by then we are not going to pay £100m (or even £80m) for a CB who turns 30 years old in January he isn't Maldini

not a bro and no CB on the planet is worth $120m, not even VVD, as he turns 29yo in 3 weeks. If he was 23 to 26, then perhaps, yes, but he will not be sold this summer (or the next etc) but if he was sold in 2021, no team would pay £120m for a 30yo player not named Messi or CR7 Verane is worth around £100m Juve paid £77m for de Ligt, and he has regressed a wee bit (not saying he will not come back up) but zero chance in today's market anyone would pay remotely near £120m for him there have been just 7 transfers worth over £100m in todays pounds (without add-ons, if you count those, then Hazard is potentially there as well, but as it stands we only get around £90m so far) Neymar (was he worth £200m? (it soon is £200m due to inflation) I suppose so, especially if they win the CL, if not, I will call it just oki) Mbappe (worth every penny) Philippe Coutinho (disaster) Ousmane Dembélé (disaster) João Félix (still has time to make it worth it) Antoine Griezmann (meh, I think he has peaked and will soon slide down, he only has 14 goals and 4 assists all comps so far, he turns 30yo in March, Barca are fools) CR7 (it is what it is, his marketing alone pays for it) Other than the top 2 (and CR7) none have worked out to being worth it, (João Félix is only 20 and has time to come good)

Lewandowski, Icardi (was tracking to 40 goals all comps over a full season's minutes) Aguero, Suarez, Ciro Immobile, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Karim Benzema (23 goals per season average for 13 straight years, and that counts one massively injury plagued season and one dodgy year in 2017-18 where he still won a quadruple, including the CL), Harry Kane is deffo a poacher too, as was (he soon retires, I think next season is his last) Zlatan Ibrahimovic (540 goals and counting for club and country, he has now scored in the last four decades, lolol),Edin Džeko as well (21 goals per year average for 12 years) plus now Erling Håland

we so need CHO and Pulisic to step up and deliver I still have huge hopes for both it is why I am not transfer-crazy for any wingers (once Sancho is taken off the table and of course the impossible Mbappe) Werner is insurance there as well

except we rate those two around £90m plus combined maybe even £100m not saying we will get that (especially with Covid) but we rated Bats at £45m and Baka around £40m told Real in in 2018 that £45m wasn't good enough for Alonso, told them to pay £55m we have a consistent over valuation issue with a multitude of players in our defence if you take COVID-19 away £90m or so IS close to what I rate Jorgi and Emerson at Juve thinks a 29 year old (30 in January) Alex Sandro is worth £45m or so (so they double their money for a player who turns 30 halfway into next season) they can sod off with that valuation almost all fullbacks start to collapse once they hit 30 or 31, the exceptions are extraordinarily rare now (Alves was one) Jordi Alba (and already showing deterioration) in the only truly class fullback on the planet over 30. you cannot name another. Marcelo collapsed quickly when he turned 30. it isnt like buying a DHMF like Jorgino (especially in Serie A, where he can play well until he is 34, 35ish) or a Pirlo, who played the full 90 minutes in the 2015 CL final at 36 years of age, or La Liga in some cases Even DHDMF is rare for players to continue at the same level, Look at Busquets. His drop off once he hit 31 has been dramatic. Barca fans have been roasting him all season long. the other position, besides fullback that show a huge drop off after 30yo is traditional DMF. yes you had one Alves-type exception, the also Brasilian, Fernandinho. After him you have one decent one left over 30 trad DMF atm, Axel Whitsel. Matic and Nzonzi have collapsed. Javi Martínez is reduced to a role player at Bayern. and all 4 are only 31. Idrissa Gueye is the only 30yo trad DMF (Whitselowuld too I think, but he is 31) who would probably make our squad. Luka Milivojevic and Marten de Roon (both just turned 29yo) are not true DMF's Kante is 29, and no longer played at DMF atm, and look at his injuries once he turned 29 or so. It is a brutal position, just like fullback. you have to go down the 28yo (turned 3 and a half months ago) Casemiro to find the next (and arguably the best trad DMF on the planet atm unless Kimmich stays there permanently, which it looks like he may) DMF even at only 27yo, you have only two great trad DMF's in Marcelo Brozovic (and he is almost more of a DHDMF, like the 28yo Jorginho) and Thomas Partey.

Kalidou Koulibaly SSC Napoli Kalidou Koulibaly Date of Birth/Age: 20.06.1991 29 in 6 days

Sarriball is often like watching paint dry

If I were Conte I would be going all our for LWB Gosens and RWB Achraf Hakimi they would be perfect for his system

Juventus and Barcelona continue talks over Miralem Pjanic and Arthur Melo swap deal After initially rebuffing any possible departure, Juventus have fresh hope of persuading Arthur to leave Spain https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/transfers/juventus-transfer-news-arthur-pjanic-barcelona-swap-deal-latest-a9561061.html

someone is to blame, that is for damn sure if I see remote proof that she is just a complete puppet, then I shall level full blame at the relevant parts of the rest of the board and Roman the totality of the cock-ups is mind-blowing

we didn't!!!!

depends what we get in return toss in Emerson (and cash if we are talking de Ligt or Dybala as their main player) and there are lots of combos to be had Matthijs de Ligt Merih Demiral Alex Sandro Luca Pellegrini Rodrigo Bentancur Adrien Rabiot Paulo Dybala (only if no Havertz)

@OhForAGreavsie will appreciate this: Arkadiy Abramovich saw Bats play well at Euro 2016 and talked daddy into buying him

me when I realise David Ospina is better at distribution atm than Kepa

1 1 Mertens finally is Napoli's all time top scorer

Levy would try and buy a Big Mac value meal on instalment

I will give you the point that she quite possibly did not make the call herself, entirely on her own. But at some point she surely must have SOME power, some responsibility. If not, she is truly a complete Roman puppet. If she is an actual true puppet, basically powerless, then that opens up a nasty can of worms as to the end game blame-wise. I suppose we will never actually know, unless another board member spills the beans on the whole age of Roman (which is massively doubtful) power dynamics.

Ashley Young looks a BILLION times better with hair younger too no clue why he shaved it bald for a decade perfect hairline

Napoli v Inter http://www.sportnews.to/sports/2020/coppa-italia-napoli-vs-internazionale-s1/ https://www.totalsportek.com/highlights/inter-milan-live-stream/

de Ligt + Alex Sandro for Jorginho + Emerson + Cash (or another one of our MYRIAD number of dregs I listed above) Alex Sandro instantly solves LB for 2 to 3 years (so takes pressure off of dumping £80m on Chilwell) and if we buy a younger LB next summer, or in 2022, we can use him (Alex Sandro) as the backup or rotationally) de Ligt is a massive upgrade over AC and Zouma and leaves only a left footed CB to be had to sort out the CB's (provided Romagnoli absolutely will not come we can bide our time) Demiral is far too unproven for me to warrant £60m or so (which is what we would be paying in valuation if we swapped him for Jorginho straight up) Demiral PLUS Alex Sandro for Jorginho, maybe but need to see his fitness (like you said about his knee) and THAT deal still leaves Emerson floating, so it would probably have to be Demiral+Alex+CASH for Jorgi+Emerson

that was the 2nd or third (and final) bid I (and so many others) have posted on this for what will be two full years later on this summer it is so tiresome for me to have to keep retreading the same ground over and over a search of the site proves this to be the case at some point, giving the (literally) dozens of cock-ups involving so many players, all in a myriad numbers of ways that almost always end up costings us incredible amounts of wasted money my huge post that took into account even Marina's so called 'wonder deals' failing to lower the ultimate number under £400m down the shitter when every single book is closed shows that the onus is not upon me or any other poster here to prove that we are in the wrong when we blast her I do NOT blame her for the bad buys, that is on the scouting department, etc overall but at some point, the sheer numbers overwhelm in our favour (in terms of criticising) hopefully we have turned the corner now, as I have little to complain about as of late, but I am no latecomer to this criticism game, I have consistently laid out a lack of future-forward thought by the board and Marina as a whole it is now up to Lampard and the team to clinch a CL spot and up to Marina to get Werner over the line

The truth about Jorginho and those Juventus rumours https://theathletic.com/1865230/2020/06/13/jorginho-juventus-sarri-chelsea-lampard/ Over the past two years, one word has become a common refrain around the first-team building at Cobham: “pai”, meaning “father” in Portuguese. It has been Jorginho’s default greeting for Chelsea players and staff alike ever since arriving from Napoli in July 2018 and, such is the force of his personality, it has been embraced within the squad. Team-mates now say it back to him, in person and on social media. Jorginho has been a defining presence at Chelsea since day one. That much was inevitable, given his singular importance to Maurizio Sarri’s tactical system and the subsequent demands placed on N’Golo Kante — the best and highest-paid player at the club — to adapt and fit around him. The decision to immediately recast the entire team to the particular rhythm of his game was a deeply polarising one. It ensured that he often bore the brunt of broader fan frustrations with “Sarriball”. His impact has been every bit as profound off the pitch. Those at the club speak of a warm yet assertive character, who immediately earned the respect of his Chelsea team-mates, a particularly impressive achievement when you consider how easily he might have been dismissed as a teacher’s pet under Sarri. He has managed to strike a balance between being one of the practical jokers at Cobham and being a leader who helps ensure standards are upheld, particularly among the younger players in the dressing room. That status has been enhanced by Frank Lampard, who named Jorginho his vice-captain in October. He values the Italy international’s personality as much as his ability and, like Sarri, has picked his team accordingly. Club captain Cesar Azpilicueta and goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga are the only players to play more minutes for Chelsea than Jorginho this season. In the prolonged absence of Kante due to injury, it is he and Mateo Kovacic who have become the hub of the team, their shared understanding of midfield play and fearlessness on the ball underpinning this season’s best displays. Along the way, Jorginho has been transformed from supporter lightning rod to Stamford Bridge favourite with only minimal changes to his game. The impression is that he has enjoyed the chance to emerge from the shadow cast by his role under Sarri. The public endorsement of a Chelsea legend like Lampard has opened eyes to the qualities he always offered: unshakeable calm in possession, an instinctive awareness of how best to change the direction and tempo of play and the uniquely effective penalty technique that he refines with daily practice after training. Jorginho’s weaknesses have been equally as glaring. His athletic limitations and imperfect defensive instincts hamper his ability to shield the defence. They have also manifested in 13 yellow cards across all competitions this season (one every 228 minutes), resulting in a suspension that carries over to Chelsea’s imminent return to Premier League action. Overall, though, there should be every reason to expect Jorginho to be central to Lampard’s short and medium-term plans. Yet speculation linking him with a move to Juventus — and yet another reunion with Sarri — in the coming transfer window will not go away. So what is going on? Jorginho always insisted that his relationship with Sarri was no closer than you would expect from any player and his coach. “I don’t go out for dinner with him. I don’t go round to his house,” he said in an interview with The Guardian in March 2019. “Our work is very professional and he speaks and explains what he wants me to do. I try to understand that and do my best for the team.” All recent evidence supports his claim. Sources have told The Athletic that the two men have not communicated since Sarri left Chelsea for Juventus in June, either on the phone or via message. The Italian never showed much interest in building personal relationships with players during his time at Stamford Bridge or in leading the club’s recruitment efforts — though he did speak to Christian Pulisic before the USA international signed from Borussia Dortmund for £58 million in January 2019. Juventus have chief football officer Fabio Paratici to do that job and he has been active during the football shutdown. Exploratory talks with Chelsea were held to exchange ideas about a wide range of possible business between the two clubs, who have negotiated extensively about Gonzalo Higuain and Alex Sandro in the recent past. Those conversations quickly sparked reports of a potential swap deal involving Jorginho and Miralem Pjanic. It is easy to see the appeal for Sarri who, despite currently being on course to win the first Serie A title of his career, has arguably found it even harder to implement his football philosophy at Juventus than he did at Chelsea. Jorginho’s accompanying move to Stamford Bridge in the summer of 2018 eased the tactical transformation from the Antonio Conte era, even if full adaptation was never achieved. He could serve a similar purpose for Sarri in Turin. Juventus hold a considerable political stake in doing all they can to help Sarri succeed, having nudged out the spectacularly successful Massimiliano Allegri last summer in search of a Pep Guardiola-style identity. The balance of their midfield has been a headache for much of this season, with Pjanic struggling for consistency in the Jorginho role – though Rodrigo Bentancur’s promising audition in the 2-0 win over Inter in March hinted at a potential solution. Pjanic is no longer key to Juventus’ long-term plans. He is also a player that interested Chelsea when he was building his Serie A reputation at Roma but that was a long time ago and now he presents the same two issues that Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang did as a transfer target: age and wage. At 30 years old and on a contract that pays him around £120,000-a-week, he no longer fits the profile of player that is being sought to supplement the vibrant home-grown core at Stamford Bridge. Douglas Costa, another out-of-favour player mentioned within the context of a Jorginho trade, makes even less sense. He does not play a position in which Lampard needs extra bodies, even if Pedro and Willian depart Stamford Bridge as expected this summer. Pulisic and Callum Hudson-Odoi are looking for more important roles next season, while marquee signings Hakim Ziyech and Timo Werner are both regarded as quality wide options. There is a more fundamental problem of contrasting priorities between the two clubs. Juventus are hoping to strengthen their midfield at a low cost while selling players who are surplus to Sarri’s requirements to balance the books. Under Marina Granovskaia, Chelsea do not sell low. They paid a fee rising to £57 million for Jorginho only two years ago. His performances since have not depressed his value and, despite the deflationary effect that many expect the COVID-19 pandemic to have on transfer fees, it is hard to envision a scenario where he would be allowed to leave at a loss. Jorginho has embraced London. The packed nature of his first season meant he was slow to explore his new surroundings from his home near Stamford Bridge but David Luiz and the rest of Chelsea’s contingent of Brazilians helped ease him in, introducing him to the familiar charms of Cafe Brazil opposite the stadium on Fulham Road. He picked up English quickly and fell in love with the city, to the extent that he did not leave the country during lockdown, as Willian and several others did. The respect Lampard has shown him runs both ways. Those who know him say Jorginho has felt empowered to lead on and off the pitch this season, and he has particularly relished changing the minds of Chelsea supporters who were slow to be convinced by his game. He is settled and happy at the club, even though Luiz is long gone and Willian and Emerson Palmieri — his closest friend in the squad — are likelier than not to follow in the coming weeks. However, no option can be taken off the table. There remains a sense that Chelsea could be convinced to sell. Midfield is the most crowded area of Lampard’s squad and Billy Gilmour’s spectacular breakthrough before the shutdown presents a real alternative to Jorginho. Kante and Ruben Loftus-Cheek are fit again at last and Kovacic — by virtue of his age as well as his performances this season — is the most logical established cog to build around. If there is to be a third link-up between Jorginho and Sarri, Juventus will have to put together a bid that is more appealing than the offer of an unwanted squad-filler. If Jorginho stays at Stamford Bridge, the evidence of the last two years suggests Chelsea’s midfield metronome will continue to define this team, in good ways and bad, with his personality as much as his skill set.

the £65m offer came right when we were leaving Australia, I (and a multiplicity of others) have documented this for ages it happened, it was a legit offer even if she has turned down 10m quid less (as the final offer, and I only am using £55m as an example, the figure at the end was the full £65m) if still was a massive cock-up I so do not understand why people are still trying to push FUD posts on this subject it's done and dusted and we are just going to suffer the full loss (unless we somehow renew him (IF we add no more upfront players) and sell him NEXT summer, at which point we would be so lucky to get £10m or so (as he turns 33yo in August 2021)