Vesper

THAT would explain last years kit! Good catch!

There is no admission from my end. I listed all responsible. Why you are being so obtuse is beyond me. I am not going to pat you on the back for your wilfulness.

PSG perhaps for Poch. I dont rate Tuchel. If Real dont restock, then Lopetegui might be in trouble. Zidane is Manure bound I would say. PSG would be the only other option I think that might interest him.

Manure are in shambles with their entire back 4, and also their RW (they have no true one at all), plus their really have no true AMF who is worth a shit. Mata??? LOLOLOL, Andreas Pereira needs to step up, not sure if he can.

Yes, but the board is not going to pay that type of money for players over 30. We did try to buy Higuain, he said no. He didnt want to leave Italy, plus we would not give him a long term contract. Bayern simply said NO to all teams in regards to Lewandowski. They refuse to sell him now. They think they will win the treble this year (they do every year, lol) So, again, what do you suggest we do? I am resigned to the fact that Morata is our striker. We had legit shots to fix this (no, not Higuain or Lewandowski, which died on the vine from the other end, not ours per se) We could have met Icardi's £98m release clause. The board stupidly refused. The other legit (if unorthodox) plan was to either sell Willian to Barca for £65m and then pay cash for Martial, or to do the swap deal for him. The board fucked that up too. 4 players, 4 options, 2 the board, our board, fucked up, and 2 the other side refused to play ball. Higuain deal is now perma-wrecked, he will never play here. Icardi CAN, but now, in July 2019, his release clause for 2 weeks is even higher than it was in 2018. We should still move for him. The board will not, I simply do not see it happening. To have ANY hope to get him or Werner, we have to be able to offer CL. They will not come if we cannot offer that, UNLESS both Inter and RB Leipzig have bad years as well. Leipzig may, but we do not even know if Werner is the real deal. Willian also will, next summer, be worth at least £15m less than thsi year. He will be 31 at season start in 2019. Zero chance we get more than £50m for him at that point. Also, the board, inanely, is talking about giving him an extension!!! OF ALL the fucking players to finally break the 30-something rule over, it is WILLIAN???!!! Morata MUST come good in a huge way. The only legit options if he doesnt are the same as thsi summer. Minus Higuain. Maybe the board will break down and pay £80-100m for a 31 yo Lewandowski. Maybe pigs will fly, lolol In order, the best 2019 options Tier one (ie Morata doesn't stop being shit) 1 Icardi 2 Martial 3 Werner 4 Belotti 5 Ciro Immobile (fuck his age, give him a 4 year deal, and this year was the best to do that) <<< big issue, SMS will probably leave Lazio next summer and they will never give up both in same window Tier 2 (Morata doesn't stop being shit) Truly insane ones (insane in that we will NEVER spend this type of cash and the teams will never sell these to us nor will the players probably come) are: 1 Mbappe 2 Dybala 3 Griezmann 4 Firmino 5 Harry Kane Tier 3 (Morata doesn't stop being shit) We start a series of signing ageing players to one year contracts (this is desperation move btw and I HATE IT) 1 Lewandowski (will be probably 2 years from now, not next summer) 2 Edinson Cavani 3 Luis Suárez (zero chance till a couple year older I think, he is a Barca lifer) 4 Karim Benzema 5 Dries Mertens 6 Edin Dzeko 7 Jamie Vardy etc etc Tier 4 (Morata doesn't stop being shit) Start grasping at straws and buy young strikers or not so top level and hope they come good (I HATE THIS) Tier Five Morata comes good, issue solved for 5 or so years Those are literally all the options which would you do? Higuain is off the table, Lewandowski will not be let go until 2020 window I am almost positive AND we will not pay what Bayern demands as he will be 32 They (Bayern) MAY go in and grab Icardi or Dybala or Werner, which would further fuck us what would you do?

Mateo Kovacic reveals how Maurizio Sarri convinced him to join Chelsea Mateo Kovacic has revealed the influence Maurizio Sarri played in his decision to join Chelsea this summer. Croatia midfielder Kovacic signed a season-long loan deal with the Blues earlier in the month, having struggled for game-time at Real Madrid. The 24-year-old was left out of Chelsea’s opening game of the season against Huddersfield Town but played 30 minutes of the 3-2 victory over Arsenal on Saturday. Read more: https://metro.co.uk/2018/08/19/mateo-kovacic-reveals-how-maurizio-sarri-convinced-him-to-join-chelsea-7858245/?ito=cbshare

Eden Hazard rules out Chelsea exit https://www.smh.com.au/sport/soccer/eden-hazard-rules-out-chelsea-exit-20180820-p4zygp.html

Who exactly do you suggest? We tried to do a swap deal with Manure for Martial (and use him as the number 9 he actually is going back to Monaco days) and failed. We had a 2 week window to pay only £98m for icardi, from July 1 to July 15th, and failed. Lewandowski is 30yo in 24 hours, and would have been close to £100m, plus, like Higuain (31 in a couple months) we do NOT give multiyear contracts to 30 somethings. RB Leipzig was talking £100m plus for the unproven (IMHO) Timo Werner and ALSO saying not for sale even then. Andrea Belotti had a really regressive, bad year last year and Torino refused all offers to all clubs anyway, plus he doesn't want to leave atm. Ciro Immobile will be 30 in middle of next season,and Lazio dont want to sell, unless they get close to SMS money (say 125 to 130m euros) which is madness Thats it There are no more top quality strikers who are even remotely available under 30 Balotelli on a free? Thats about all we could do with a shut window anyway, Icardi and then Martial converted to striker were basically IT, and we fucked them both usp It isnt going to change next window, unless you think Roman will drop the £300m it will take to pull Mbappe from PSG. Over the last 14 yeas, he has spent less than £490m net TOTAL An average of £5m per year. The ONLY years heever spent big were his first 2. Thats it. In 2 of the last 14 years we actually turned a profit on transfers, meaning we sold more than we brought in, in this case both incoming and sales were shit. Several other years we spent like £2m, £7m net total This year will be one of the higher ones ever, and after more are sold of loaned out, it will be in £60m or so total We either grab Icardi next summer, or Martial, or hope that Werner and/Belotti come good in a huge way and the board tosses the crazy money to one or the other that will be their price-tag after ascendant seasons. Nothing else is going to work atm. I could live with a £125m offer for Dybala, Juve will tell us to fuck off, OR string us along all window as they do EVERY WINDOW NOW. I dont see us dropping that kind of quid anyway. We DO have another option (IF Morata doesnt finally play well from now on) CHO as a nine I can see it working, he is bigger and faster than Mertens

If Hazard leaves, it will deffo be for Real or Barca. I cannot ever see him joing Manure. They are so fucked at CB and in my last post on another thread, I laid out how barren the market is for all clubs in need. Maybe Zidane could ram through a Marquinhos and Gimenez double move but that is literally well well over £150m for 2 CB's. KK has one last window where he is remotely worth what it woukd take to prise him away from De Laurcuntiis. The market for CBs is so dried up. They are fucked at fullback (unless 19yo Dalot instantly comes good, and his knee is injured atm) and RW too (they have NONE) and massive overload of LWers too, Hazards position.

I dont know either

Well, Zouma is out on loan (and I feel will never be the player he was before he ripped apart his knee) and Cahill is like a hood ornament, just there for decoration at this point. The main reason I was so gun-ho on adding another CB is that I do NOT rate Luiz at all, and I wished we had sold him and replaced with Rugani (one of only 4 truly calls Italian CB's atm) or Thilo Kehrer (who PSG has now snapped up after our window shut).Both have Luiz passing skills and are far more mobile and aware defensively. The board, yet again, got taken for a Juve ride the whole window, which fucked up a lot of other business. As soon as they started playing games abour Rugani (it was a carbon copy of Alex Sandro the last 2 windows) we should have pounced on Kehrer. £33m took him to Paris for PSG. He is only 21 too, so massive upside and potential longevity. We are just going to have to endure Luiz, Alonso (both on defensive end), and then Willian and Morata on the offensive side. Koulibaly will never play for us, I have given up on him, unless a miracle happens in January of next summer. After that he is too old for me to look at him as long term, so nope, done. I have an update to my CB wish list, and its so depressing. One of my main ones has been Dayot Upamecano, 19yo beast from RB Leipzig. Well, you will not here about him from me again. 100m euro release clause on him now.He is great but not that great, lolol. so In order (for January or more likely summer 2019) (I think we should make the briefest of enquires about KK and Rugani, but I so doubt anything comes of it, unless Rugani collapses at Juve (I so cannot see this happening), in which case, fuck it for real) many of even these are so shaky in terms of chances of us getting them, the market is SO tight atm, I put in bold the best shots we actually have Only 5 truly good ones who are remotely available and who wouldn't be insane money (maybe 6, see Tah below) Marquinhos (probably a pipe dream, but he is the best even remotely available CB in the world atm) José Giménez same as Marquinhos, except he is number 2 Benjamin Pavard (can play RB too) I would be sooo happy to grab him away from Bayern Matthijs de Ligt will be insanely expensive (for his age, 18yo atm) and I just dont trust Eredivisie to EPL jumps that much, thsi season will be a good judgement as to if he is truly worth the £60m or so I can see Ajax demanding next summer Alessio Romagnoli would be a superb signing, but AC Milanwill NOT want to sell unless we shovelded a silly amount of quid to them Rúben Dias 20yo, great young Portuguese CB (by far the ONLY class Portuguese CB in the country, they are in deep shit on the national team), but Lyon on on verge of grabbing him, if he survives the window at Benfica, I am all in on him Manuel Akanji Similar player to Kehrer, will be a bit more expensive as he si 2 years older and more established with Dortmund, would be a good signing Malang Sarr superb young 19yo French CB with Nice, thsi coming year will be a good judgement time. Presnel Kimpembe If a no go on Marquinhos, MAYBE PSG might sell him to us, with Kehrer now in the door. proably no chance, he just signed a new contract Panagiotis Retsos great young (just turned 20) CB with a big upside 5 wild cards, as I am not sure if they are what we are looking for for Sarriball Jonathan Tah 22yo giant (dwarfs KK) justs o huge physically, NOT sure if he is Sarriball type of CB, IF heis, then he the 5th of the actually possible ones Konstantinos Manolas rock solid, Rudiger would be happy, lol, just dont know about his forward distrbution Stefan Savic same as Manolas Nico Elvedi, 21yo Swiss, not convince he is pure class, perhaps he is, not convinced 100%, but he could prove it this year Nikola Milenkovic Serbian version of Tah, just a huge specimen, again, no clue on his distribution skills thats it atm Bonus, keep eyes on these 4, as they could emerge Emanuel Mammana Zenit, 22yo Argentinan/Italian Duje Caleta-Car Olympique Marseille 21yo Croatian Filip Benkovic we were linked, 21yo Croatian, Leicester got him, another BIG player Abdou Diallo Dortmund 22yo France

Guendouzi looks like they found a hidden gem. Only 19 too and great poise. A good chunk off that team is shite though. Mesut Özil has to be one of the least motivated players with WC talent I have ever seen. Xhaka is a nightmare.

I hope it works out for him, he seems a geniunely nice bloke. True shame he didn't play well here. The EPL is a brutally fast paced league. I think the more tactical and slower pace in Serie A might suit him. One small problem. Conte is in line to take over if Gattuso gets the sack. Eeeek

If you cannot glean who is scouting, who is choosing targets, who negotiates, and who balances the books, from not just all that but also years of windows, I dont know what to tell you. There is not some secret cabal. Those listed, insofar as their listed duties and roles overlap into the signings arena, are to blame. I laid out the entire hierarchy of the club. Add Roman into the mix too, obviously.

I love Matt Law. The real deal Chels journo.

Chelsea, Sarri: " We were perfect for 75 minutes. For the other 15, it was better to smoke..." https://m.calciomercato.com/en/news/chelsea-sarri-we-were-perfect-for-75-minutes-for-the-other-15-it-64909 Lololol

Oi!! THEY LIVE IN MANCHESTER FFS!! Any semi sane person would go wonky and depressed, LOLOLO

I am going to stop whinging about Alonso until (and if, hopefully not) he goes on a multiple game shitshow streak. I think we are fine for now in MF, GK, RB, CB (except one short) LW I just wish we had gotten one more quality CB (you know my list, Thilo Kehrer is my rage fail this window after Willian for Morata swap cock up) AND the same real 2 nightmare positions (Striker and RW) We have to just pray (I am atheist so that isn't going to work) Morata goes semi nuclear and Willian/Pedro combine for at least 20 plus goals in all comps. If we never get Martial, and fail on Icardi, I really am in a quandary about striker. Dybala, Mbappe, and Roberto Firmino are the only other ones who interest me TBH. I know, I am a nutter to want a top 7 striker (Martial COULD be top 10 or so I think) but I so NOT ever want to stop seeing us as trying to win the league and the CL EVERY season. Robert Lewandowski is even looking oki, despite his age (30th birthday in 28 hours). (but that IS an issue,and it is THE issue for Higuain)

Speaking of real deal LB's,MENDY!! OMG, he was a FUCKING MONSTER TODAY for shitty!! Add him to Sane and Aymeric Laporte and Bernardo (fuck scrapping for Bailey if we had that little soon to be superstar) to players I soooooooooooooooooo wish we had. (Dont get me started on KDB, sob) We got the only one off that Monaco club who is SHIT, lolol.

Pogba turned the ball over TWENTY-SEVEN times!!!!!!!! That makes Bakayoko get the green-eyed monster!!! LOLOL

Name one player on Manure who is consistent game in, game out. There are NONE, not even De Gea lately. Nemanja Matic is as close as it gets. We have Azpi, Kante, and to a less extent Rüdiger and Hazard, and soon, I am sure, Jorginho and Kepa. Especially once they get used to the Sarri system. AC is also capable (I think many on here forget how good he was last year in a shit season) and Ampadu deffo looks to soon be there too. He is only 17 and already so polished. Kovacic should also get there as well.

He needs to get the fuck away from Mo and come inhale Sarri's second hand smoke.

He would flourish as a number 9 in Sarriball. I was in a chatroom full of Mancs watching the game and they BLAME US for blowing out the deal for Willian swap!! Lolol I said January window lets do it! They said they would toss in £10m on top, lolol

Its not mandatory like in Spain, but yes, Bundesliga often do insert them into contracts.