Vesper

yes deffo sell Emerson before Alonso, the ship has sailed on getting getting anywhere near the £45m for him (Alonso) that Marina turned down in 2018, and he is willing to sit on the bench and not whinge on (so far), plus he is a great (like you said) super sub who is very hard to deal with later in games (as the other side is knackered a bit and thus his lack of pace is not as noticeable) when we need a goal. As his pace has always been shit, I can see him still being roughly the same player for 3 more years or so (max 3, as when he hits 32/33 he is probably done at top level unless he trots back to a slower tactical league like Serie A) He just has too many games where he drives me bonkers and is exploited defensively. He is deffo one of the more enigmatic players we have had over the past 6, 7 or so years.

Bethany England: ‘Emma Hayes was very, very hard on me. And she still is.’ https://theathletic.com/1862007/2020/06/10/bethany-england-interview-chelsea/ Bethany England will never forget the moment in August 2017 when she thought her Chelsea career was over. Emma Hayes pulled her aside for a private chat during the club’s pre-season tour to Austria and told her that she would be leaving for Liverpool on loan. “I just broke down,” she tells The Athletic. “I thought that was going to be the end of my Chelsea run, and it took a lot for me to get out of that headspace that I wasn’t good enough, that I’d failed in a sense.” When the conversation was over, Hayes — out of England’s earshot — sidled up to a Chelsea staff member who was visibly shocked by the decision. “Don’t worry,” she told them. “You can already start writing the story when she’s back.” That story has proven more remarkable than perhaps even Hayes imagined. England has scored 57 goals since the start of the 2017-18 season, building on the momentum gained during her Liverpool stint to establish herself as the primary attacking threat in a star-studded Chelsea team, and one of the most feared strikers in the Women’s Super League. As well as scoring 14 goals from 15 appearances in the competition this season — a tally that ties her with Arsenal star Vivianne Miedema at the top of the scoring charts — she has provided the two most memorable moments of Chelsea’s campaign: a 25-yard screamer with her left foot to beat Tottenham at Stamford Bridge in September, and the 92nd-minute goal that broke Arsenal’s hearts in the Continental Cup final in February. The FA’s decision on Friday to award Chelsea the WSL title on a points-per-game basis means another one of her long-range strikes, in a 3-3 draw away to rivals Manchester City, was technically the goal that clinched the title. “I’ll take that!” she says with a laugh. “I would have said Maren Mjelde’s goal against City (at home), though, because we won that game.” Hayes takes particular pride in England’s spectacular rise because her path to the top has been so arduous. “It’s probably the biggest impact that anyone’s had on me,” England says of her manager. “I’m sure Emma won’t mind me saying this because we’ve had many discussions about it — she was very, very hard on me when I was at Chelsea (before the loan), and she still is. She still pushes me. “I was coming into this adult world of football at Chelsea, with a lot of demands. Being so hard on me and sending me on loan helped me grow up quickly and learn to value myself more. I know she’s not shy in saying she was hard on me for a reason, and she still is. Even this season she’s pulled me into the office when she’s felt like she needed to speak to me, and she knows I’ll always give everything. “She helped me grow up a lot, how I react to situations and not let my emotions overcome my abilities. At the start of my Chelsea career, I probably saw it as a huge negative, but as time has gone on it’s turned into a positive. I needed to grow up a little and realise I was being pushed for the right reasons, and not the wrong ones.” England never lacked talent or determination. If she had, she never would have made it to Chelsea in the first place. The start of her career at Doncaster Belles had to be balanced with two jobs, in a fish and chip shop in Barnsley town centre and at Marks and Spencer, as well as college commitments. Sleep often fell by the wayside as she strove to keep her football dream alive alongside her academic goal of studying for a law degree, all while trying to earn enough money to make ends meet. Scoring 14 goals to help fire Doncaster Belles back up to the top tier in 2015 raised her profile but England was already on Chelsea’s radar thanks to Paul Green, who left Doncaster to become Hayes’ assistant in 2013. “I’ve known Paul a very long time, coming up to 10 years now,” she says. “He made it easier to settle and he’s always been in my corner. “I ended up going to Chelsea on the strength of Paul knowing me as a person and as a player. Even when I went on loan, he always made me feel it was only a short-term thing, and I just needed a little bit more time to get where I needed to be. Thankfully it all worked out and fell into place. I’ve got a good relationship with Paul and it’s been nice to have him on this journey with me at Chelsea.” But joining Chelsea also meant competing with experienced internationals like Fran Kirby, Ramona Bachmann and Eni Aluko. Hayes struggled to find the right minutes for England’s development, and she was even deployed at left wing-back during the club’s victorious Spring Series campaign in 2017. “I wouldn’t say I hated playing wing-back, but it was a lot of work,” she admits. A loan was the best option for all parties, even if England didn’t see it that way at the time. “I don’t think anyone else who has gone on loan from Chelsea has come back,” she says. “I’m the only one. I had to tell myself, ‘I’m going to show them what I’m capable of’, and thankfully Liverpool allowed me to show that. “I was in regular contact with Paul throughout the season and he was happy with the way I was performing. It was always nice knowing they wanted me to come back in the end.” England’s determination to prove her worth to Chelsea was relentless. She asked Liverpool staff to put on extra training sessions for her and finished the 2017-18 WSL season as the club’s top scorer with 14 goals in 20 appearances in all competitions. Above all, it was a mental breakthrough, achieved with the regular help of a psychologist named, somewhat ironically, Dr Everton Brown. “It sounds weird saying Everton because I was at Liverpool, but that was his name,” England says. “But when I started seeing him, he started to help me find that confidence within myself. “I saw him again just before I came back down to Chelsea to discuss a few worries I had, and whenever I need him he’s always there to chat to on the phone, or I can go up to see him. He was a massive part of my mentality shift that helped me, alongside the support from my agent and my family. “I’ve always had the ability, and that’s one of the reasons why Chelsea took me on board in the first place. They knew what I was capable of — it was just a case of, ‘How do we get that out of her?’ The way they got it out of me was loaning me out to get game time and figure out my self-worth somewhere else. “I’ve always been someone who is very hard on themselves, very critical, a bit of a perfectionist. The best thing I could have learned was to let things go a little easier, and give myself a break when certain things aren’t going how I’d expect them to go. If there was one thing holding me back, it was my mentality towards things at the start. I’ve been able to get on top of that, and part of that is growing up as well.” England scored 22 goals in her first season back at Chelsea to finish as the club’s top scorer. She had 21 to her name when the COVID-19 pandemic brought a premature end to this campaign, and her confidence is such that when Hayes succeeded in bringing Australian superstar striker Sam Kerr to the club in November, she regarded the high-profile newcomer as a potential strike partner rather than a threat to her place. “If you had been speaking to the Beth of a few years ago, before the loan, she would have crumbled,” England says. “Now I’m at a stage where I don’t need to fear someone coming in. It’s just another challenge: ‘OK, you’re the best striker in the world and you’re coming in, but you’re at Chelsea now and let’s see what you can do’. “I loved playing with Sam from the minute she joined the team. She’s such a lovely girl and we’ve got a great partnership on the pitch. I love it and I’m sure it’s going to be a big thing going forward in the Champions League. Sam hasn’t had too much game time after joining halfway through and then the pandemic cutting things short, but I’m excited to see where it’ll go next season.” Hayes is far from satisfied with all that Chelsea have achieved so far, and next season — when Germany international Melanie Leupolz will bolster the squad and Kirby should be available again after a long illness — presents even greater possibilities. There could be a chance to complete a treble if this season’s FA Cup is rolled over, as well as trying to re-assert WSL dominance over City and Arsenal and take another shot at the Champions League, the holy grail for everyone at the club. England, having emerged stronger from Hayes’ tough love, will be central to Chelsea’s hopes of finally taking down French giants Lyon. “I’d like to think that next year is going to be the year we do it, and fingers crossed because I believe in this team a lot,” she says. “We’re going from strength to strength with the players Emma is bringing in, so teams are going to fear us. I’m just excited about where it’s going to go.” The tattoo on England’s left thigh, partially visible below her shorts on the pitch, reads: “Life’s a gamble so enjoy the game.” The days of self-doubt are behind her and now, at 26, her status as one of the best strikers in the world is undisputed. “I probably am a late bloomer compared to most people, and I just needed that little bit more time,” she says. “Finally I’ve got the opportunity and I’ve proven what I’m capable of. “It’s just important to keep that momentum going and keep working on weaknesses that I can improve. I’m just excited for what next season will bring. I’ll be setting my goals to be even better.”

Investigation: Chelsea taken to High Court by victims of racist abuse https://theathletic.com/1858180/2020/06/11/chelsea-high-court-racial-abuse/ On the face of it, Chelsea’s response to the Gwyn Williams racism scandal was everything that might have been expected from a club that has prominently voiced support for the Black Lives Matter movement in the last couple of weeks. The club issued a public apology after an independent inquiry concluded Williams had subjected black youth-team players as young as 12 to years of explicit racist abuse. Chelsea, who had commissioned the inquiry, offered counselling to the victims and said they were determined to stand in solidarity with the players. “We want to apologise to all players who experienced this deeply shocking behaviour,” a club statement read. What they didn’t mention at the time was that, behind the scenes, a team of specialist lawyers was already working on Chelsea’s behalf to fight civil claims from players who, to use the club’s own description, had been part of “an environment where racially abusive behaviour became normalised”. Today, an investigation by The Athletic can reveal that Chelsea are involved in a legal battle with a number of players who claim their experiences in the 1980s and 1990s left them with long-term psychological damage, including depression, anger and relationship issues. The case is listed at the High Court for a three-week trial in March 2022 and has been brought by four former footballers, including one who has been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder because, he says, of a “feral environment” in which black players were treated “like a race of fucking dogs”. Chelsea’s position is that the issue is being handled by their insurers’ lawyers, rather than the club, and that the matter is therefore out of their hands. However, that has not appeased the racial-abuse victims when it is “Chelsea Football Club Limited” listed as the defendants in court. The Athletic can reveal Chelsea have simultaneously been paying damages to the victims of Eddie Heath, the former club scout who used his position to groom and abuse boys, aged from 10 upwards, during the 1970s. Heath, who died in 1983, was described in an independent QC-led inquiry last year as a “prolific and manipulative sexual abuser” who was able to operate “unchallenged”. His victims are understood to have received five-figure payments from the club’s insurers and a personal apology from chairman Bruce Buck. Chelsea have taken a different stance, however, when it comes to the racism claims and are denying liability in each case. They had previously stated they were determined to “do the right thing” and it has left the relevant players feeling angry, hurt and disillusioned at a time when the club are showing public support for the Black Lives Matter protests. “The fact Chelsea have publicly come out in support of George Floyd and Black Lives Matter stinks of hypocrisy,” one player says. “As survivors of racial abuse at the club, we feel let down again, like our black lives don’t matter. The public face of Chelsea is not the private face of the club.” An investigation by The Athletic has discovered: Chelsea’s insurers have appointed a specialist legal firm Keoghs, which previously defended the Roman Catholic church as well as Crewe Alexandra in sexual-abuse scandals. At least 10 former players, now in their 40s and 50s, are preparing cases relating to what one member of Williams’ youth team has described as a “mini apartheid state”. One legal argument put forward on Chelsea’s behalf is that the players should have lodged their claims against Williams, not the club. Jody Morris, currently No 2 to the club’s head coach Frank Lampard, may be among the former Chelsea players required to give evidence, having come through their youth system in the relevant years. Chelsea have not offered individual apologies to the racially abused players since the independent inquiry carried out by Barnardo’s, Britain’s largest children’s charity, was published in August last year. Williams, who is in his early 70s and said to have retired from football, was a prominent figure at Chelsea for 27 years, including a spell as assistant manager to Claudio Ranieri and a role in the scouting department for Jose Mourinho. The allegations relate mostly to Williams’ years as Chelsea’s youth-team coach, with the 70-page Barnardo’s report detailing “many different accounts of terms being used by GW (Williams) such as ‘niggers’, ‘nig-nogs’, ‘rubber lips’, ‘monkey’ … ‘little coon’ … ‘darkie’. Other derogatory remarks reported to have been made to young black players included, ‘Who were you robbing last night?’” Williams was said to have referred to three black youth-team players as “the Three Degrees”. He had a habit of “mimicking racial stereotypes by kissing one’s teeth, using a particular handshake and doing a particular walk in front of black players.” There were reports of him making chimpanzee-type actions towards his own players. The Athletic has spent several months gathering information about what, barring an out-of-court settlement, is shaping up to be the first case of its kind in football. One of the players, whose account has been corroborated by two white team-mates, told the independent inquiry he had been so badly affected he found it too painful even to watch Chelsea on television because of the flashbacks. Even now, 35 years after he left the club, he remains so tortured by his experiences that he deliberately avoids going near their Stamford Bridge stadium. The Barnardo’s investigators found a culture in which one black player was voted by team-mates as their player of the year only for the award to be given to a white player instead. Williams was said to organise blacks-v-whites training matches and a mixed-race player, on his first day, was asked to choose his team. Some players became so worn down, they gave up football for good. One had gone all the way through the system and been awarded a professional contract but decided within a few months that he couldn’t take any more. Other accounts relate to the long-term psychological damage, how “it never goes away” and how the pattern of abuse, in one victim’s words, felt like “a total avalanche.” One player described how the experience “sapped my self-confidence piece by piece”. Another felt “worthless, inferior, second-rate, degraded”. Williams, widely credited for discovering future Chelsea captain John Terry as a youngster, has always denied making any racial comments whatsoever and, according to Barnardo’s, described the evidence against him as “biased, untrue, unfair and artificial and part of a concerted effort to scapegoat him concerning issues said to have existed from over 30 years ago”. However, in the current case, The Athletic has discovered that Keoghs has written to the players to say they should be redirecting their complaints to Williams, not Chelsea. Keoghs even supplied the telephone number and company address for Eddie Johns, the solicitor for Williams. The appointment of Keoghs is particularly noteworthy bearing in mind the publicity surrounding its tactics in the Crewe sexual-abuse scandal. When Steve Walters, one of the abuse victims from Crewe’s junior system in the 1980s, lodged a claim for damages against the club, he received a letter from Keoghs stating there was “no reasonable explanation or justification” for him having waited until his mid-40s before reporting what had happened. Legal papers submitted on Crewe’s behalf stated “there is no, or no adequate, explanation” why boys who had been raped and molested, mostly from the ages of 11 to 14, had not come forward earlier. Keoghs, a Bolton-based firm, specialises in limitation, the legal term for arguing that long delays can prejudice court cases. Kim Harrison, the lawyer representing Walters, described it as a “desperate and dirty tactic”. Keoghs was also used by Blackpool earlier this year in the High Court case that led to that club being ordered to pay damages to a former junior player who, aged 13, was sexually abused by Frank Roper, one of their scouts in the 1980s. The judge ordered Blackpool to pay costs on an indemnity basis because the club, through their solicitors, had repeatedly ignored attempts by the claimant’s solicitors to try to reach a settlement. The victim told the court he was “shocked by the approach taken by Blackpool. When I came forward, I expected the club to want to engage and to understand what had happened”. Making the costs order, the judge said the club’s conduct had been a factor and commented that “the reasons given for refusing to engage in mediation were inadequate”. In Chelsea’s case, a trial in the High Court would attract huge media interest and potentially be of intense embarrassment. As well as Morris, there is the likelihood a number of former Chelsea players and staff members will be asked to give evidence. “It makes an absolute mockery of a 17-month independent investigation that Chelsea commissioned themselves,” one former Chelsea player, who was diagnosed with depression after leaving the club, tells The Athletic. “Chelsea accepted the findings and issued a public apology to say sorry for getting it so wrong. Then two months later the lawyers deny liability again. It’s crazy.” Chelsea put up a Twitter post on June 1 announcing they “stand together with George Floyd and all victims in the fight against discrimination, brutality and injustice”. The following day, the club released a photograph of their first-team squad taking the knee as a symbol of solidarity. For Chelsea, these are matters of great importance when the club have not just had to deal with the Williams case but also a number of other high-profile incidents such as the John Terry trial (Terry was cleared of racially abusing Anton Ferdinand, then of Queens Park Rangers, during a match but later banned by the Football Association). More recently, there was the racism that Raheem Sterling encountered when Manchester City visited Stamford Bridge in December 2018, leading to a Chelsea fan being banned from the stadium for life. In 2015, Chelsea were embarrassed by video footage showing a group of their supporters stopping a black commuter getting on a Paris Metro train, pushing him back onto the platform. Four fans were later given suspended sentences. Chelsea have spoken out on many occasions against racism and, in their Twitter messages about Black Lives Matter, say they are “committed to being a part of the solution and we are joining our voice to all those calling for fairness, equality and meaningful change”. That, however, has opened them up to criticism from the players, who now find themselves preparing for a court case against the club that once held their dreams. One has told The Athletic that “it is hypocritical to say they support black abuse victims when they continue to treat me so unsympathetically”. Others from the same case have said the same. “Chelsea had a chance to show the world that they would not tolerate the racial, physical and mental abuse found in the club-commissioned report by Barnardo’s,” one of Williams’ former youth-team players says. “To date, I have not received an apology from them.” Chelsea said in a statement: “In August 2019, Chelsea FC published an independent review into non-recent racial abuse, which took place in the 1980s and 1990s. The board of Chelsea FC also apologised to all players who experienced this deeply shocking behaviour and has offered support to all those who suffered. The club today is a very different place from the club then, with new ownership, operational structures and robust safeguarding procedures in place. “All claims for compensation are assessed and managed by the insurer appointed as part of a league-wide scheme of insurance. Whilst the insurer has full control over the claims, including the selection of lawyers, it remains the club’s desire that the cases are resolved as soon as possible. “The club remains completely committed to providing support to survivors of abuse and ensuring that all our former players can access holistic support when it is needed through our dedicated Player Support Service.” Chelsea say they are acutely aware there have been problems in the 1980s and 1990s of their black players experiencing in-house racism. The club’s argument is that the current regime has offered support to those players and their families and, in some cases, has helped the individuals reconnect with the club, attending first-team and academy fixtures as guests. Some of the players in the Williams case had meetings with Buck and the club’s head of safeguarding, Eva Bari, in the months before Barnardo’s published its report. The players whose cases have reached the High Court are represented by Dino Nocivelli, a specialist abuse lawyer from Bolt Burdon Kemp solicitors in London, which has a number of other clients pursuing claims. Samantha Robson, of Robson Shaw solicitors, is representing another player who has instigated a separate claim. “I have seen the club’s recent post in respect of the Black Lives Matter movement,” Nocivelli says. “Actions speak louder than words. We support and fight for our clients against injustice and we want the club to be part of the solution rather than another hurdle. My clients want to be treated fairly and to achieve meaningful change through these civil cases.” Many of the players are also unhappy that Chelsea never condemned their former chairman, Ken Bates, for suggesting that “all these ancient coming-outs so many years later” were because “the sniff of money is in the air”. Speaking in May 2018, Bates said he was keeping an open mind about the allegations involving Williams but added that the boys in question should have found themselves other clubs if their time at Chelsea was so upsetting. He criticised the players for preferring to speak anonymously and described it as “trial by smear”. Nocivelli accused Bates of making “shameful” comments and it is increasingly clear that the players would have liked the current regime at Chelsea to say something, too. “The club had the chance to distance themselves from how Ken Bates referred to myself and the other young black players who raised racial abuse within the club,” one says. “Instead they have turned a blind eye and this really hurts.” Williams has also been accused in the past of making homophobic comments to Graeme Le Saux, the former Chelsea and England defender. “He would wander up to me before training and say, ‘Come on, poof. Get your boots on’,” Le Saux wrote in his autobiography. Williams was so close to Bates, he later followed him to Leeds United, where he became the Yorkshire club’s technical director. He was dismissed by Leeds for gross misconduct in 2013 after emailing pornographic images of women to a number of colleagues, including a female receptionist.

Is first thing I thought too!

That or Sheik Mansour doubled the bribe.

COVID-19 has opened the door with a unique key. I am not so pessimistic.

either place would be great for Giroud

awwww FUCK look who Ryan Gravenberch just signed with for his agent that said his brother says he is not leaving this summer (meaning he can leave on a free in 12 months, which I cannot see Ajax accepting (he has refused to sign a new contract). The whole thing is pure Mino bullshit)

wonder if we scouted Omar Richards today (22yo 1.85m left back, London lad, pacey as well, big, strong) not so refined though, not that productive offensively, more of a defensive LB Chelsea v Reading: Friendly COBHAM, ENGLAND - JUNE 10: Christian Pulisic of Chelsea and Omar Richards of Reading during a friendly match between Chelsea and Reading at Cobham Training ground on June 10, 2020 in Cobham, England. (Photo by Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images) https://www.readingfc.co.uk/teams/first-team/defender/omar-richards/

Huge Kante boost, wonderkid involved and Pedro - What we learned from Chelsea's match vs Reading The Blues played a behind-closed-doors friendly with the Royals as preparation for the Premier League return https://www.football.london/chelsea-fc/fixtures-results/ngolo-kante-chelsea-loftus-cheek-18398006 Chelsea sealed a 1-0 win over Reading this afternoon in a behind closed doors friendly. The Blues took on the Royals at Cobham as part of their preparations for the Premier League's return, with Pedro grabbing the winner. Frank Lampard's side are getting ready for their opening game against Aston Villa next week, and will take on QPR in another friendly this weekend. But what did we learn from the match? Huge N'Golo Kante boost N'Golo Kante has handed Lampard a massive boost ahead of Chelsea's Premier League return next week. The World Cup winner has had his doubts over coming back to training, having not been part of the squad due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The 29-year-old suffered a health scare himself last season and was granted compassionate leave from Chelsea and was allowed to train on his own. However, earlier in the week he returned to contact training and today (Wednesday) he took part in the pre-restart friendly with Reading. It's not a guarantee that he will be willing to feature against Aston Villa for the first game back, but it was another boost for Lampard. Pedro on target There is still a doubt over whether or not Pedro will be part of the matchday squad for the Blues with the Spaniard yet to have signed a contract extension. The winger had a good few matches before football was suspended, and he scored in the friendly to show that he could still have a part to play. Pedro is expected to make the move on a free this summer, and he might not want to jeopardise a move with an injury. Ruben Loftus-Cheek stepping up There was another boost for Lampard to have Ruben Loftus-Cheek get more game time and match fitness. The 24-year-old was close to a full-time return when football was suspended and now the England international is expected to play a big part towards the end of the campaign. Lampard will be hoping to give him more minutes at the weekend and hope that he is ready to play a key role. Matt Miazga returns The match with Reading saw the return of Matt Miazga to Cobham, with the American on loan with the Royals. Miazga is not expected to have much of a future with the Blues and is set to a permanent exit in the near future. However, he had a catch up with Christian Pulisic after the game and was back in Surrey for the first time in a while.

we have been absolutely wonderful in terms of COVID-19 response

looks like we will get around £45m less is general revenue payment from the EPL for 2019/20 versus 2018/19 that is every clubs' cut (all 20) and doesnt count anything else bad, but not a complete disaster https://www.football.london/arsenal-fc/transfer-news/major-financial-boost-arsenal-chelsea-18396692 Premier League revenues could rebound to a record high in the 2020/21 season, according to leading accountancy firm Deloitte. The top flight’s 20 clubs are set to see collective revenues decline for the first time since the Premier League breakaway of 1992 as they count the cost of the coronavirus pandemic, which has obliterated matchday revenue and left clubs covering sizeable salaries at a time when their earnings are near non-existent. Broadcasters will also need to be paid rebates due to the three month postponement of football whilst season ticket revenue for the 2020/21 season can also not yet be guaranteed. In its annual review of football finance Deloitte estimates that collective revenue, which reached a record £5.2billion in the 2018/19 season, will slip to £4.3billion for the following 12 months. snip However some of the revenue that clubs are missing out on in the remainder of the 2019/20 season could be recovered over the following campaign and Deloitte is expecting revenue to rise to new heights for that reporting period, though much of this will be attributed to the fact that the traditional period in which clubs report their finances (generally from the start of June to end of May) could now encompass one and a quarter league seasons. “We forecast that the restart plans for the Premier League and a number of its peers will cause a rapid recovery in financial results as some 2019/20 broadcast revenues are pushed into the 2020/21 financial year, which may result in a bumper revenue year,” Jones said.

eeek

I have seen moolah before but never used it in my life dosh sure, used that a lot dough, not so much (seen it as more of a yank thing) lucre usually is prefaced with filthy never had someone object to the use of quid in such fashion before scratch and bread I use too

we are just going to have to disagree there are only a handful of players under 28yo who I would grab instantly if money was no object The 15 top remotely available under 28yos pulling out the impossible Mbappe and then Varane (age) and we already have (99%) Werner Havertz is 4th after Sancho, Håland, and Oblak (and you could make a case he is 2nd or 3rd, if you drop Oblak down and rate Havertz over Håland) Jan Oblak Raphaël Varane (falls off next year as he turns 28 on April 25th) José Giménez Marquinhos Alessio Romagnoli Milan Skriniar David Alaba (drops off soon as he turns 28 in 2 weeks) Sandro Tonali Saúl Ñíguez (never forget he can play LB to a WC level as well, he just hates it, lolol) Sergej Milinkovic-Savic Kai Havertz Kylian Mbappé (fantasy land BUT he is available, just for too much quid) Jadon Sancho Erling Håland Lautaro Martínez

eeeeeeek the one team (spuds will never pay that nor ill the dippers), along with Shitty (who he will not go back to I think) I do not want him at that said I would so so love the EPL to go back to the noughties were it was us and Manure battling for the title every year with the rest of the pack back down off the pace I do not hold Manure in the disdain I hold Victimpool, Spuds, Arse (never hated them to Spuds level, never close, and I liked Wenger, I think the bloke was overall pure class, despite no CL), and Shitty (probably not a popular stance here but it is unrealistic to think that we can be the ONLY great team every year in the biggest league on the planet) If Manure pulls an Actual WC CB to pair with Maguire, gets Sancho, pulls a great DMF and holds onto Pogba, that is a doom scenario (especially if you also toss in another holdup play CF as well) Williams looks to be a keeper at LB, and Greenwood looks to be soon a superb player as well as long as they keep OGS and dont do the Poch play, that is in our favour I think (I am still not sold on OGS as a top 10, 12 manager at all)

Fake news

I was being sarcastic, no club on the planet would pay 102.5m euros for Mount. If one offered that we would be INSANE to not take it and buy Havertz tomorrow (with cash left over)

find a team who will pay (put a pill in their drinks, lolol) what the official Centre International d'Etude du Sport (CIES) Football Observatory says Mount is worth and cash in, lololol 19th most valuable footballer in the world according to them (and CAS uses their rankings, roflmaoooooooooooo)

sounds like pre happy hour at a uni pub on ladies night

lol Marina will find out what Bajan wood really means