Vesper

Yes, he is near the top of my 2nd tier targets, seems a great young player. I am a tad sketchy on La Liga strikers overall, but he seems real deal.

Yes, that 2010–11 FC Barcelona team, that won 5 out of the six major trophies lineally (only losing 1 nil in Copa del Rey final to RM stopped them from being first Sextuple ever) was single greatest 1 season plus team ever, but I still rate the late 80's to early/mid 1990's AC Milan sides of Arrigo Sacchi and Fabio Capello as the best era ever. I know there is a lot of competition for that, including all of Peps Barca teams, the Bayern teams of the mid 70's, Ajax early 70's, the 5 in a row Real Madrid di Stefano sides, etc. But I think in a massive round robin tourney, those Milan sides would come out on top. Mainly because of the back 4 (Franco Baresi, Mauro Tassotti, Alessandro Costacurta and Paolo Maldini). and their MF (especially Roberto Donadoni, Ruud Gullit, Marcel Desailly, and Frank Rijkaard) plus peak Marco van Basten. They would tear up tiki-taka IMHO.

Gonzalo Higuain rumours – like Higuain – not improving with age https://theprideoflondon.com/2019/01/14/chelsea-gonzalo-higuain-transfer-rumours-age/

But now they are saying 18 month loan, with obligation to by at end, and its £54m! Thats a disaster if true

you see Higs now (that pic above) THIS below was him at start of season he has SERIOUS weight issues he surges up and down by 15, 20 plus kgs its crazy Napoli to this

I am always very specific in the only three positions I pull this out about Fullback, AMF (which I didnt bring up above) and DMF As those are the ones that the stats show are truly land of the young in terms of top level play. AMF, WC over 30yo TWO David Silva Dimitri Payet thats it secondary striker is too small and nebulous for it to be fair but, unless you count Mario Mandžukić there is ONE over 27 Thomas Müller

Man Utd plan mega offer for 'devastated' Koulibaly https://www.tribalfootball.com/articles/man-utd-plan-mega-offer-for-devastated-koulibaly-4264632 Manchester United are preparing a mega offer for Napoli defender Kalidou Koulibaly. The Mirror says United will offer Koulibaly an escape route away from Italy's racists. United have made the 27-year-old Senegal international a prime summer target after failing to land him before the start of the season. And they believe Koulibaly will this time attempt to force his departure from the Serie A club after being targeted by bigots. The issue has left Koulibaly devastated – and a move away from Italy now appears to be the most likely outcome. Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis has ruled out the player's departure during the January transfer market. He has claimed to have rejected a £95million bid from United in the summer – a declaration that has been denied at Old Trafford. But while United sources insist their interest in Koulibaly never went beyond making an enquiry about a valuation, they have made signing the France-born defender a priority. snip

This is madness, if true. Worst possible outcome IMHO. FFS can someone slap the board quick! Chelsea start Gonzalo Higuain transfer talks - Full details of Juventus demands revealed CHELSEA are locked in talks with Juventus over a possible 18-month loan move for Gonzalo Higuain - and Juve are set to make their demands heard. https://www.express.co.uk/sport/football/1071663/Chelsea-Gonzalo-Higuain-transfer-Juventus-AC-Milan And a permanent deal at the end of the loan could be worth more than £54million. Express Sport understands Juventus have rejected an initial six-month loan deal for the Argentine striker. Higuain is currently on loan at AC Milan but wants to join his former coach Maurizio Sarri at Chelsea. Juventus want to sell Higuain outright for £36m. But Chelsea have proposed a long-term loan, with them taking over the remaining six months of Milan’s lease on the player. They then want to take the Argentine on loan for next season as well for an £18m fee, followed by a permanent deal in the summer of 2020. Juventus are reluctant to go for another loan move but could be persuaded with clauses for the deal to be made permanent if Chelsea finish in the top four or win the Europa League. Chelsea are also in advanced talks with Zenit St Petersburg over a £31m deal for Argentine midfielder Leandro Paredes. snip Also, how the fuck did Paredes' price magically just go up £5m? A few hours ago it was £26m. Barella now would only cost £14m more. That £45m price was confirmed by Cagliari. If Zenit tries the old Juve oki doke and takes it up to £36m the next time, we need to just buy Barella and loan him back till June.

Liverpool could land Timo Werner for £36million https://www.liverpoolfc.com/news/media-watch/332478-liverpool-fc-transfers-timo-werner Liverpool are poised to move for Timo Werner if he rejects RB Leipzig's latest contract offer and could land him for a cut-price fee, according to reports in Germany. The 22-year-old striker is one of the hottest talents in the Bundesliga and has already netted 11 times in the league this season – only Paco Alcacer and Luka Jovic have netted more. Leipzig are desperate to keep the Germany international, but he has so far stalled on signing a new contract with his current deal expiring in 2020. According to Bild, Werner is hesitating and believes he is ready to make the next step in his career, with Leipzig only fourth in the Bundesliga and 11 points behind leaders Dortmund. Liverpool, who have long-held interest in Werner, are watching the developments closely and believe they could land the forward for just £36m if he refuses to renew. Leipzig would likely need to cash in on Werner rather than risk losing him for nothing, while they would rather sell to a foreign side than domestic rivals Bayern Munich. The German champions have also been watching Werner extensively, while he previously said they are ‘in the picture’ if he ever leaves Leipzig. Werner has also made no secret of the fact he would like to test himself in the Premier League – though unfortunately for Jurgen Klopp, his compatriot favours Old Trafford over Anfield. ‘Manchester United and Liverpool were the teams I watched quite a lot in England. They were the two that I’m a little bit a fan of, because they have so much history,’ Werner told FourFourTwo. ‘In Liverpool it’s also their stadium and the atmosphere. But when I have to decide, I’m more Manchester United than Liverpool. I’m now at a point where at some stage in the future I’d like to play in a team that wins titles.’

We seem to be regressing.

Before this year, the most top flight goals he scored was 8 ffs. He is injured now. Stuck on nine. Is this what £75m buys now??? And people freak out over my suggestions about Jovic and Piatek, who will both score 20 plus league goals at 21 and 23yo and probably cost £20 or £25m less.

I was lowering the price to make it clear that even at £15m less than they are asking it's a bad deal. Not to mention as one ages, knee injuries (which he had a massive one) tend to have a nasty habit of popping back up.

It is NOT bullshit (other than a few extraordinary cases) It is the cold hard truth. Not saying it is impossible, but the odds are crazy against players overall. Go and name actual world class RB's and LB's right now that are over 28yo. Jordi Alba is the only other LB over 28yo (along with Marcelo) who is still world class Azpi is the only WC RB over 28yo. Name others right now. If what you say is true we should be lining them up like clockwork. Unless you are going to dumb down the term world class to the point of meaningless and say Antonio Valencia, Lukasz Piszczek, Danny Simpson, Seamus Coleman and Pablo Zabaleta etc etc are now suddenly world class. LB cheeky WC bid for 37-year old Patrice Evra. Maybe Ashley Young? LOLOL No, I am not talking about the past. The past is the past. Today's game is brutal on fullbacks. Also Serie A is a slower, more tactical, less physical league that allows older players to still play. Ashley Cole's last full year in topflight football was when he was 31-32yo, on that RDM/Rafa team. It was NOT best year ever, that is pure gas-lighting and it WAS his last full year in topflight football, as I already stated. This again proves my point that post 30 is usually the death knell for fullbacks at top level. Ashely pinched out one, arguably two more years, hardly a paradigm breaker. Branislav Ivanović was 31 for 2/3rds of that horrific 10th place Mo team in 2015-16. He was horrid, already was so so slow. My god did he get lit up. There is zero chance anyone can deny that. I suffered so much that season through Mo's fucking trotting him out every goddamn game as we circled the bowl. By the next season (Conte came in) he was benched and soon gone (and that coincided with our huge run and change in formation after that Arsenal 3 nil smashing we took) His last good year was that magic 30yo number again. Last year, at Zenit, all but 5 of his league games was at CB, not RB as well. Those others like Carlos are the exceptions that prove the rule. Maldini was mostly a CB, not a fullback btw. As for Azpi, the insane amount of minutes will catch up to him. You said 3 or 4 years more years after this at top level. I would wager a shit tonne that at 33yo he will not be remotely close to the player he was in 2016-17.

Let's posit that this summer we buy him (say for £60m) For £60m we get only 2 full years out of him until he hits 30yo. BAD business.

I meant in a few years when Reece contract is in its last year. 29, maybe 30, is usually the last GOOD year for fullbacks (and DMF's too) They almost all fall of the cliff once they turn 30. For LB's the only WC one over 29 is Marcelo (30yo and dropping like a rock, he has been shit this season) That is literally IT For RB's it is even worse, as over 28yo there is ONE, Azpi, thats it (no, Dani Alves is NOT going to be listed as WC, he is almost 36 and it was an absolute FRAUD he was picked for the 2018 all world FIFA team, he played 14 games when the team was picked, some as a sub, he is shot, what a joke he was picked as the BEST RB in the world, it isnt 2012-13 or before anymore, lol) DMF's almost the same except the cutoff is one year higher than LB, 2 than RB. It its over 30 (Busquets, Witsel, Matic,and N'Zonzi all are 30 and WC still), the only WC DMF over 30yo is Fernandinho that's it. So nope 29 (and 30 this summer) is not a perfect age for a fullback (in terms of what very soon is coming). 30yo is in 99% of the cases the death knell of being WC.

Sorry for the double reply, but this is one I cannot wrap my head around as well. Sancho is right-footed, same as Pulisic. One would think that they would not be competing over RW, as Dortmund has been starting a FULLBACK at LW lately, a left-footed one at that, in Raphaël Guerreiro It is even more bizarre when they literally have no true class LB other than Raphaël Guerreiro. Why play him at LW, when you have 3 potentially (or already) superb actual wingers capable of playing there? Also, as I just alluded to, they have another great young LW (this one is right-footed) in Jacob Bruun Larsen, and he has been dropped lately too. TM just changed Sancho's position to LW, but almost all his games are at RW, so no clue what is going on. Finally their 4th winger (also young and good) Marius Wolf, a Frankfurt transfer this year, is, you guesed it, right footed and listed at RW Does Lucien Favre have something against inverted wingers? I much prefer inverted wingers, although a right footed RW is better at deep right corner originating crosses, much like a right-footed RB is. Its what CHO did for the assist in his last start at RW. Hard to believe that the 2 best Dortmund wingers, both right-footed (Pulisic and Jadon) are reduced to fighting over the same RW position when it would seem natural to just play Sancho at LW and Pulisc at RW, or vice-versa. Bonus note Dortmund has who is probably the biggest bust of any young fullback in the world (given how great he looked just a couple years ago), in Jeremy Toljan. Unreal how far he has dropped. Spuds wanted him so bad in 2017. He was so so good at Hoffenheim, then for some reason, poof. Borussia Dortmund talent Jeremy Toljan must be gutted Tottenham didn't sign him https://www.hitc.com/en-gb/2018/12/18/borussia-dortmund-talent-jeremy-toljan-must-be-gutted-tottenham/ Tottenham Hotspur will face Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League last 16. For Dortmund defender Jeremy Toljan, this should be a chance for him to prove to Tottenham they made a mistake not signing him in 2017. The one major problem is that Toljan can't get a game, and is unlikely even to make the squad. Right now he will be regretting that Tottenham decided not to sign him and took the more expensive option for Serge Aurier instead. Let's rewind German newspaper BILD reported in the summer of 2017 that Toljan was available from Hoffenheim for as little as £3 million. This came during Tottenham's negotiations to sell Kyle Walker to Manchester City. It looked like Spurs chairman Daniel Levy was eyeing a bargain for the Germany under-21 international. Spurs did not follow through their interest, with Toljan signing for Borussia Dortmund. Tottenham later paid £23 million to sign Serge Aurier. Aurier has had a mixed time at Tottenham. Toljan's experience at Dortmund has been a downright disaster. He made only 15 starts last season, and now this year under Lucien Favre he has been cast aside. Toljan has not made a single appearance this season and the 24-year-old's career is not progressing as he would like. Tottenham could probably sign him in January if they wanted to, but they have little need to now with Aurier there. Instead Toljan will be regretting the fact Mauricio Pochettino did not choose him, and will be watching on in February thinking what might have been. snip

Shitty have a right of first refusal, which Pepe claims he will never use. I call bullshit IF it is us or another top EPL team trying to buy Sancho. They will buy him, and then sell him out of the league (OR, I think, keep him, if he is truly that good. Mahrez is no spring chicken (he turns 30 in 2 years), so if in 2 or 3 years or so, Sancho is up for grabs, I can so see Shitty exercising the clause. Leon Goretzka, btw, can be added, IMHO, to the list of BIG talents. I think he will end up a massive player. He is the complete CMF package. Time will tell, but I realllly rate him for last several years.

I agree with most, but my main focus was not on Messi, that was an add-on (fair or not) at the end to show the true gulf. I posted those 20 players to show that Hazard stats were not the crazy good, almost singular production (as in top several in world like some make it out to be) level it is being portrayed as.

Junior Firpo is only an inch and half shorter than Alonso, a far better athlete, massively higher vertical leap and pace, and a better defender. Sign him up and take the option away from Sarri. Firpo can also give CB, LMF and RW cover.

I don't think he is deluded, I think Emerson is simply not good enough to bench the turgid Alonso (which a prori makes Emerson shit) We drastically need an upgrade at LB! Hello Chilwell (or if we can still keep 8 HG's without him, hello Firpo or hello Telles).

If Sarri is still the manager he just might. He will claim a 32 or 33yo Azpi is 'untouchable' at RB. Sarri has watched too many Maldini and Totti videos.

Thinking conspiratorially, we know that Dortmund is Hollywood FC's feeder team. CHO is LW, Sancho can play both, and is RW atm soooooooooooooooo Maybe Sancho sees himself along with CHO as the Bayern winger pair circa 2021-22 (or in true Bayern fashion, 2022-23, as Sancho contract runs out in 2022 and he would move to Bayern ON A FREE, just like Goretzka, Lewandowski, Ivica Olic, Hamit Altintop, Sebastian Rudy, Mitchell Weiser (starting RB for Bayer Leverkusen now), etc. Special mention for them raping Bayer Leverkusen for Michael Ballack, whom they paid only 5 million quid for in 2002 when he was one of the top 5 or so players on the planet (I still say Germany would have won the 2002 WC if Ballack didn't get cumulative yellow-card suspended after the semi-final (which lead to a rules change) and who they talked into running his contract down.

I am losing hope too. It is REALLY a hammer blow for me as Barella is the first one of my actual players I wanted this season that the board made an attempt at. Until he shows me otherwise, I think Pulisic was a calculated marketing revenue-generating move.

Our board has made so many BAD moves and fails in t-market that they are paralysed in fear I think.