Vesper

Totally oki with that on these conditions 1 We buy another CB, a great one that Sarri wants. We cannot roll with only Luiz, Rudiger and AC. That would be madness. This assumes Cahill is sold (ffs I truly hope so!) The new CB, when Ampadu returns (in your scenario) might make AC expendable (as Sarri really doesnt seem to rate him) I truly hope not, but football is a brutal business. I have bad feeling if we cut AC lose we will sorely regret it. 2 We buy Leon Bailey, as he can play both LW and his preferred RW. This HAS to happen. Even more so if we lose Eden. We then need to buy TWO wingers, both WC. We CANNOT roll with only Pedro, Willian (both a year older too) and (ffs can we sell him please!) Moses as our only wingers. That is also disastrous.

Striker Ciro Immobile, who was the main provider of goals for the Italians with 41 scored in all competitions last season, also extended his tenure with Lazio for the same length. We can pull them both off the table now for us. Completely We made a legit offer of 115m euros PLUS Musonda (let's value him at 10m euros) so that's 125m euros (£111m) to Lazio and they laughed in our face. They wanted 150m euros (£133m). It is now in writing. Only teams that meet that (Shitty won't buy him, I am convinced he is NOT a Pep player) would be the usual suspects, ie. Barca, Real, PSG. and Manure (IF they sold Pogba). Too rich for our blood, and also for Juve and Bayern. I think it will come down to PSG (especially if they lose Rabiot,and FOR SURE if they sold Mbappe, as they will have £250m to £300m burning a hole in the sheik's robe pocket then) and Manure (if they sell Pogba) or Barca, IF they do NOT buy Pogba. I do not see Real paying that much for a CMF. Maybe I am wrong.

Lolol, I am a gambler. If he is THAT good that he can help a fairly shit overall team beat us and Manure, then he needs to come to us and play with the big boys next year. He might anyway if Lamps pulls a miracle and gets Derby promoted, although we surely would put him on our main squad at that point.

Golovin was injured up until 3 games ago,and has not scored so far. Will be interesting to see how he pans out at Monaco. Even if Kante fully adapts to new role, he's never going to be a big scorer, so it is REALLY on Kovacic and Barkley to step up to the plate. They both are capable in THIS system. Barkley only had one year (2015/16) where he hit double digits (12) in goals.even that year he only had 8 league goals.Maybe we are simply expecting too much.Frustrating as fuck. look at Marek Hamsik's production, sigh

In my fantasyland world, we would scupper Shitty to Neves. He has insane upside and can play any role in the MF,but,most importantly the Jorginho role (DH DMF) Zero chance we drop £100m on him though. Frenkie de Jong is the other young superstar in the making who can play DH DMF too (along with, (and this crazy), traditional DMF, CB, LB, RB, CMF, AMF, and even winger) Itis also fantasyland we land him,as even more than Neves, ALL, EVERY top ten, top 15 club want de Jong badly. Santiago Ascacíbar (21yo Argentine) from Stuttgart would be great b/u,but he is also going to be VERY costly Jean-Philippe Gbamin ,23yo Cote d'Ivoire on FSV Mainz 05 in the Bundesliga is also going to be really pricey,and is more of a traditional DMF Same for 21yo Frenchman Lucas Tousart from Lyon (my dog, is that team LOADED with young talent) Other options are also not cheap, Julian Weigl from Dortmund (Shitty on him too) and then the most realistic I think, Leandro Paredes from Zenit (Roma had to sell him and Rudiger to meet FFP) Stanislav Lobotka (23yo Slovakian) from Celta Vigo often plays in a kind of Jorginho role too, and Spurs and PSG are all over him, Spuds has a £31m bid turned down at the window's end this summer. I was shocked AC Milan sold Manuel Locatelli (20yo) for only £9m to Sassuolo this summer.He is already helping them immensely (they are only not in 3rd place in Serie A due to goal differential, as their defence has been shit). Sander Berge (20yo Norwegian who is exploding at Genk) is another possible option, but not sotested. Big lad too, 1.93m Santiago Cáseres, 21yo Argentine who Villarreal just bought is another one Danilo Barbosa da Silva on Nice (22yo Brasilian) is also out there

Yes. We could have given written permission. Sorta wish we had. Oh well.

Looking at Girouds career stats, it isnt like he has not been an adequate scorer (and he is still in superb shape, even at 32) Starting in 2009/10 Goals 23 14 25 17 22 19 24 Then last two years 16 (in 13 less games than the 24 so say 21 or 22 if same amount of games played) 12 (last year) Now zero so far I cant believe it is age alone. Maybe, but he seems so fit and work rate is crazy high still. Up until 2 years ago, he was averaging almost 21 goals a year in the top flight wherever he was. In 2014/15 he was tracking to 28 if he played same amount as year before and year after, and that was in EPL for all 3 years.

I will play flavour of the day. Let's say we do buy Ramsey. Who then sits, Kova or Kante, or does Ramsey take over Barkley's place and if so, what do we do with Barkley? You can substitute any high end AMF/CMF buy inot this question as well. It doesn't have to be Ramsey. Finally, another catch-22. IF Kovacic does explode and take it to a crazy level (which I KNOW he can) that almost guarantees Real takes him back. Kova loan and Eden contract situ are two HUGE clouds (plus, obviously striker) we are facing.

Wonder how this will go down with the 3 he mentioned. I can totally see Willian and Morata having a fit. They do not respond well to being called out.

I am where you are at in all this. It is becoming a huge distraction, and the January and then summer windows are our last 2 chances to get anything for him remotely near the £200m he is worth. Next summer we will be damn lucky to get a pound over £125m, maybe even as low as £100m. If we also lose Kovacic that means we HAVE to have New CF (£70m to £150m) New LW (Hazard replacement,so a huge drop but still will cost £70m plus (for say Chiesa), unless we can somehow prise away Asensio in a swap) New RW Bailey (£70m plus) New CMF/AMF (to replace Kovacic) £60m plus that's £270m on low end, to £350m or so on high end meaning a net spend of £145m (IF we get £125m for Eden AND spend the lowest) to possibly £250m NET on the high end that also doesn't address any other positions (ie a true AMF, IF we can keep Kovacic or get a similar player and move them to Kante's place at time (that assumes Kante,Barkley and RLC all end up fails, so not ready to call this YET) LB (I think we will just roll with Alonso, for better o rfor worse, at thsi point) RB (the same as LB) CB (I don't see a move here either, unfortunately) I do NOT see us selling Willian, so maybe (disastrously so) we will NOT buy a new RW (ie Bailey), unless we move Willian to LW to replace (well fill the same airspace, lol) as Eden The only ones who will go for sure Drinkwater, Moses, Cahill, Morata (obviously, if we keep him I know the fix is in with Roman),Tiémoué Bakayoko, maybe Zappacosta will demand a transfer, THEN we also have to fill RB b/u NONE of the others are for sure sales at all (and even 2 of those above, Moses and Zappa are not at all guaranteed sales) I have really dialed down all hope major moves, meaning a distinct possibility of losing Eden, and only bringing in a CF and MAYBE a new MF, IF Kova leaves I really think Willian is going to be renewed and will be our starting RW or LW ( IF Hazard leaves) for the next 2 years The ABSOLUTE best possible outcome I can see in all honesty (if Hazard leaves), and even this is a pipe dream Kovacic stays (very iffy as RM are fucking ruthless snakes) We take the Hazard money and buy Icardi or Dybala, maybe roll dice on Piatek RW we buy Bailey, and play Willian and CHO at LW (Bailey can play LW too,so all our wingers can switch sides) hold onto all others (other than the few sales I listed above) and loan out Bats, RLC and that's THE best I can hope for IF Eden leaves/is sold it could go far worse, especially at striker and the wingers,and in MF, if we lose Kova tbh, I don't even know IF we try and buy Kovacic on a perm at this point, as I really think the tap may soon be completely cut off until / if the club is sold as you see, my expectations are diminishing daily in terms of team personnel

Zlatan is the same, except he is missing the Bundesliga, not Serie A, so odds are good that Bats beats him to it (unless Zlalan, for pure ego (and his is HUGE) signs a short contract with a Bundesliga lower team just to score a goal there, lol).

Chelsea loanees Mount and Tomori will not be eligible to play against Chelsea in League Cup — report “standard practice” https://weaintgotnohistory.sbnation.com/2018/10/1/17924050/chelsea-loanees-mount-and-tomori-will-not-be-eligible-to-play-against-chelsea-in-league-cup-report According to ESPN’s sources, Mason Mount and Fikayo Tomori will not be eligible to play for Derby County when they face Chelsea in the League Cup at Stamford Bridge later this month. The two Chelsea loanees have two of the best players for Super Frank at Derby this season and played crucial roles in their shock elimination of Manchester United at Old Trafford last week. But rules are rules, and according to previously cited League Cup regulations, Derby would need “written consent” from Chelsea. But according to the report, Chelsea make it standard practice — like all other English clubs — to include a clause in all loanee contracts that they are not eligible to play against the parent club. The only evidence to the contrary to this is Thibaut Courtois’ case, when he was at Atlético Madrid, but that had a lot to do with UEFA pushing for him to be eligible as well. Last season, when Chelsea faced Hull City in the FA Cup, none of Ola Aina, Michael Hector, or, again, Fikayo Tomori were eligible. It’s a bit of an unfortunate situation — Chelsea would’ve still been strong favorites and we could’ve seen two of our prized prospects in action first-hand — but this is the accepted practice. Sorry, Frankie!

Luiz 'confused' under Conte, says new Chelsea boss Sarri https://nation.com.pk/01-Oct-2018/luiz-confused-under-conte-says-new-chelsea-boss-sarri David Luiz was left puzzled by his treatment under former Chelsea coach Antonio Conte, according to new Stamford Bridge boss Maurizio Sarri. Luiz had been an central figure in Chelsea's title win in Conte's first season as boss, in 2016-17, but scarcely featured after the 3-0 loss at Roma on October 31 last year. The Brazil defender, 31, had a rumoured falling-out with Conte and a series of injuries, not featuring at all after the February loss at Watford. "Two seasons ago he was a protagonist," said Sarri. "Then six months ago he was not playing, so he was a little confused." Chelsea are unbeaten in the Premier League this season, with five wins and two draws, and came within minutes of inflicting Liverpool's first loss on Saturday. What Sarri likes about Luiz could be a trait that explains his exile under Conte. "He's direct. If he has to say something to the manager he has to talk to me," Sarri said. "I like very much direct people. "When I arrived here immediately I had the feeling he's a very good player for my way of football because he's a centre-back who is very technical. "Then I appreciate his qualities as a man. He's really better than I thought before." Luiz is thriving under Sarri. "Sarri is giving us a lot of happiness to play football. We are trying to enjoy," he told Chelsea TV. "He gives us a lot of confidence. He shows us what he wants. He gives us the details about the game." SNIP

That's literally the logical fallacy I mean, petitio principii (begging the question), where you assume the conclusion, plus (and even more to the point) post hoc ergo propter ,where you falsely assume that because some yanks have been cheap in the past, that makes ALL yanks cheap. It a false equivalency-based broad generalisation. There are plenty of cheap Arab owners, Asian owners (ask my Baggie friend about those!, lol), etc, to show that just because a person from that background spends freely (like Shitty ownership) does not mean all will. Same for yanks being cheap (AC Milan new owners are an American hedge fund, and they have opened up the pocket book) Paul Allen owns multiple sports teams,and has never shown a tight purse. Also, other than the first 2 years (2003-2005) Roman has NOT been a big net spender. here is our net spending under Roman Transfer spending under Abramovich (net) 2003-04: £151.4m 2004-05: £146.8m NO MORE BIG SPENDING 2005-06: £51.7m 2006-07: £32.2m 2007-08: £13.8m 2008-09: £12.7m PROFIT 2009-10: £23.6m 2010-11: £94.5m here is the last 8 years 2011-12: £57.7m 2012-13: £75.8m 2013-14 £47.6m 2014-15 £6.4m PROFIT 2015-16 £2.7m 2016-17 £21.9m 2017-18 £54.1m 2018-19 £75.1m total £328.5 for the last 8 years (365.8m euros) that's almost a BILLION LESS than the article https://www.talkchelsea.net/news/chelseas-spending-since-2010-has-been-revealed-and-its-ridiculous/ states, the article is tosh clickbait £41.1m per year net spend on average the last 8 years total £829.8 m over 16 year time frame that Abramovich has owned us works out to around £51.9m NET per year 36% of ALL money net spent was in the first 2 years take away those first 2 years the average net spend over last 14 seasons (per year) is £37.8m

Totally agree, and like I said, Koulibaly is now too old to be worth the money Napoli would demand next summer. Only 2 years under 30 is not worth £90 to £100m, no way. If it was another club, and his price was £50m, maybe even £60m, then perhaps, but I have given up all hopes of ever getting him. Even Hysaj is a pure long shot,as the poison dwarf will just fuck us in the end. We were so lucky to pull Jorginho away, and obviously Sarri too. I completely understand why they were willing to give up Jorginho. DH DMF's are so rare, BUT also, they don't really have a place in most systems. A traditional DMF (Kante in his old role) is what is valued by 95% of clubs. The only huge clubs who would die for Jorginho is us (under Sarri), Barca (as Busquets replacement down the road, although he may be too close in age), maybe Arsenal, maybe Lpool,, and of course Manchester City under Pep Juve, Bayern, Manure, Napoli (now, under Ancelotti) , AC Milan, PSG (they might be able to use him, but they have Verratti already, and Rabiot); RM, Spuds, Inter, Atletico Madrid, etc etc etc all play systems where he would not be used correctly.

Why would any of that mean no Kovacic? I hope it is a given we try like hell to buy him on a perm basis. At Least we have him to play, and at least he wants to stay (if Real sells him) The other issues are far worse (unless RM pulls Kova back), as we have no remotely acceptable striker, nor a WC RW, and I just have a terrible feeling Hazard wont renew. I think he looks at it as even a 3 year extension takes him to 32/33yo (and thus not in prime anymore) in the first year with a new team, if he left after the end of the extension.A full 5 year NEW deal would mean he would be 34/35 in first post Chelsea year.That's basically USA/China cash in age (or a year away from it) It basically locks him into Chelsea for his entire career peak years. I just get the feeling that bothers him.

At least get my name right, I am not a fucking scooter. And if you dont like my posts, ignore them. I don't see you contributing much to the forum. You have FIVE posts since I joined almost ten months ago, one of them is a no text picture. You are also the first person to whinge about my posts, versus many likes. If you want to just read articles then stick to footie news aggregator sites. Finally, I hardly am on every thread. Pure tosh.

If we dont get a striker soon, and a RW if Pedro isnt going to start almost every league match and all hard cup ties, then we can forget about winning shit, and really may have trouble qualifying for CL next year, which deffo seals Hazard leaving. I am down to a laser focus on CF, RW, and Hazard contract/sake situ. Those 3 are clear and present dangers to the future of the team, along with the brewing ownership nightmare.

If we are going to be true cunts and not buy a WC striker in January, we need to recall Bats from loan early. It's madness we only have 2 strikers, one of them beyond shit, and the other an ageing, non scoring, link-up specialist who isnt even consistent at that. We have the worst strikers of any top 25 club in the world. Bring Bats back and give him a go, or fucking buy Dybala or Icardi or Piatek, or stopgap it with a 30 something like Cavani, Modeste, etc.

Yep. Now that Koulibaly is basically too old to be worth the £90m plus (if we bought this coming summer we only get 2 years before he turns 30) Napoli would demand, the only player I would even remotely say warrants an enquiry to the poison dwarf would be Hysaj, for Azpi b/u and probably replacement. He will probably never approve a sale to us as long as Sarri is manager.

Yes. That is what I have been waiting for too. It's why I am really hedging my bets. He really does look the part of a classic striker though. Shit, if he is the real deal and we land him, we are so set for years at striker. Would be a huge relief.

At RW I have no clue (especially Barkley as Sarri seems to rate him. Striker is simpler, we only have 2, he plays the both. Only options there is a false nine or to try Alonso at CF (joking). Maybe try Barkley there too? Much rather Barks have a go at RW. Something just tells me he could rip it up there. Btw, Luiz is here to stay. For sure. Sarri loves him. https://metro.co.uk/2018/09/30/maurizio-sarri-name-the-chelsea-star-who-has-surprised-him-the-most-7993199/ I sure hope he is doing right thing. If he pulls the same shit with Willian though, I am going to go bonkers. As long as Luiz makes no mental errors, it will always be Willian who fucks us up the most, along with Morata. Willian is a horrid RW for Sarriball. He slows the game down more than any RW (especially one who actually has pace) we have had in years. Let's hope Pedro recovers soon. Moses was a fucking shambolic mess at RW too. I actually would give him a shot at trad RB. Zappacosta will soon demand a transfer. Moses could be better used as Azpi b/u. Maybe even be quite good. Don't know till we try. Cup tie line up I would love to see against Lamps GK Willie CB Ampadu CB AC LB Emerson RB Moses (if he is shit there, pull him quick and put Zappa in) DH DMF Fabregas CMF Drinkwater (not joking, Kova and Kante need rest, and we are paying Drinkwater bloody £6.24m a year. Good time to showcase him for a sale in January) AMF RLC LW CHO RW Barkley CF Morata (play him until he either scores or breaks down sobbing on the pitch like a baby) I REALLY would kill to see that line-up. So many questions answered (even is only a little). We still should smash Derby, even if that's who we put out.

Genoa's Krzysztof Piatek Off to Best Serie A Debut in 70 Years https://www.si.com/soccer/2018/09/30/krzysztof-piatek-genoa-serie-a-goals ROME (AP) Krzysztof Piatek is off to the best start for a Serie A debutante in nearly 70 years. The 23-year-old Poland striker scored both of Genoa's goals in a 2-1 win over Frosinone on Sunday to raise his tally to eight in six matches. The last player to achieve the feat was Karl Aage Hansen with Atalanta in 1949-50. Overall this season, Piatek has scored 12 goals in all competitions - including his four-goal performance in the Italian Cup in August. Piatek's performances have helped Genoa into sixth place. He had already scored twice before Frosinone pulled one back with a penalty from Camillo Ciano for its first goal of the season. Piatek joined Genoa from Cracovia for a reported fee of 4 million euros ($4.6 million) in June. There are reports that Juventus is interested in signing him to a much bigger contract. We REALLY have to look at him as the possible answer (not saying he is yet, but wow, he is fucking on fire,and is on a pretty shit team and STILL scoring like this) I absolutely would straight swap Morata for him NOW, maybe even kick in £10m or so to grease the deal done. Morata's value is plummeting too, each week, so Genoa might tell us to fuck off. I can tell you now that EVERY big team will go after him, ESPECIALLY Bayern, Juve, Barca, Real,and PSG.

Who is this X Factor? IF we are to be a true CL threat we need a truly WC CB, a WC LB, probably a WC AMF if Barkley doesnt pan out (especially if Kante simply doesn't adapt to new role, as then we slide Kovacic (or his replacement IF we lose him back ro RM) over to Kante role and go all out for a true AMF like Talisca or even better Kai Havertz, plus a WC RW and WC striker. Thats not even counting losing Hazard (for, like UJ said, half his true worth). Simply adding a striker solves none of those other issues.

£134m is INSANE for a valuation for Zielinski. He isn't a bloody top ten in world player, not even close to a top ten MF, ffs Only players I rate worth more than £100m would be (and some will soon be NOT worth that due to age at time of buy) only NINE players, all positions in the world are worth £135m or more (13 if you force in Saúl Ñíguez, Kante, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, Paul Pogba, all whom are close to that) Only 23 players (IMHO) are worth £100m or more (plus CR7 and Messi, who are too hard to but value on for number of reasons,mainly marketing (HUGE plus), plus age (negative,especially CR7) £135m or above are in red MF De Bruyne (who, BTW, would be basically 33yo at the end of a 5 year contract (he turns 33 June 28, 2024) IF a team bought him this coming summer), Coutinho (almost exactly 1 year younger than De Bruyne, so 32 at the end of a 5 year contract if a team bought next summer) then the under £135m but above £100m MF (the next 4 are close to £135m, maybe some are worth that) Saúl Ñíguez Kante (3 months older than De Bruyne, so a true 33yo at end of a 5 year contract, although he will age better than anyone on this list) Sergej Milinkovic-Savic Paul Pogba drop down Marco Verratti Rúben Neves (soon over £100m) that's it CB Raphaël Varane (£100m) that's it Fullbacks David Alaba (£100m) that's it Wingers (I will not,as usual put Messi or CR7 in this) £135m or over Mbappe (£225-250m) Eden Hazard (£200m, but we will never get that now) Neymar (£200m, but never wanted him, still do not) Mohamed Salah (£140m to £150m, IF he scores this year fairly close to last, overwise hedrops downto £100-120m) under £135m, but worth £100m plus Ousmane Dembélé (probable goes above £135m soon, he is really coming on) Marco Asensio Leroy Sané that's it Strikers Harry Kane £175m Paulo Dybala £150m Mauro Icardi £135m under £135m, but over £100m Antoine Griezmann Roberto Firmino Gabriel Jesus (barely makes the £100m threshold) Robert Lewandowski would be here if he was 2 or 3 years younger that's it I also would take Kovacic over Zielinski (plus they are almost EXACT same age, 2 weeks apart) Kovacic scores a WEE bit less (due to being in a more defensive system usually), BUT his 2 highest seasons scoring are higher than any of Zielinski's (one is equal to his high)