Vesper

Paging Jim Ratcliffe. Your favourite team needs you to take ownership. Please proceed with all due speed, before Roman's global bank accounts (and quite possible the football club) are frozen and seized.

i said IF, never said he was for sure, but something surely is holding him back, and he has never shown his pre injury Roma form since we bought him Sarri must have some legitreason for his judgement of not playing him much, Sarri is not a fool, he knows he is running Alonso into the ground I want to know what is really up, WHY he is doing this I want Emerson to start, IF he is healthy I have stated this dozens of times It certainly would NOT be a lack of talent only as to why he is being ghosted, as a healthy Emerson is, IMHO a better LB (especially for Sarriball) than Marcos is I rated him 8th best under 29yo LB (soon under 30yo,when Alba hits that age in a few months) in the world, IF healthy, that's HARDLY devaluing him or slagging him out I extensively have documented for months the FOUR key positions we are in trouble with RW CF LB CB (IF we have to rely upon Luiz to be one of the 2 mainstays and IF Sarri continues to refuse to play AC and Ampadu,which leaves washed up Cahill as the 3rd option,or even a starter IF ,as he IS now, Rudiger is injured) to that you can potentially add RB (if Azpi basically fails to produce any sort of acceptable level of offensive thrust to aid an already weak (and preyed upon) right side and,future-forward thinking you MIGHT be able to add 2 of the 3 MF slots, IF we lose Kovacic back to RM, and if Kante simply cannot adapt to his new role in Sarriball (I have now twice posted a great article on this, here it is again https://theprideoflondon.com/2018/09/24/chelsea-sarrismo-ngolo-kante-midfield/ ) he cannot go back to his old pure DMF destroyer role,as it tears apart and deconstructs the entire system) and IF Barkley tailspins and/or gets injured (which is somewhat probable given his past track record in terms of health)

LOL at low level teams Atletico Madrid Juventus Manchester City Valencia ( in Champions League, finished only 3 points behind Real Madrid. Potential???? LOLOL They are starters on multiple CL finalists, crazy amount of league titles, TWO WC winners, all time English season points, margin goal scoring team, etc You are so far out of your depth, and your attempts to insult me make you look foolish. You still have not once addressed the injury issue conjure names? You really do not know football at all apparently, lol I do valuation calculations on hundreds of millions, even billions of pounds/euros/USD, etc of M & A deals for a living figuring out footie players at world class level, with very few numerically to plug into calculations is child's play compared to that also, if you bothered to bloody read, I said to sell him ONLY if he is found out to be perma damaged I rate him 8th best under 29yo LB in the world, IF healthy Juve look at him as a squad player, they have and had the 2nd best, or 3rd best LB in the world in Alex Sandro, a player we went as high as 75m on and were turned down, we failed to grab him 3 straight windows.much to the damage of those windows, and our team overall Only reason Roma sold Emerson when they did is because they rolled the dice that he was probably damaged goods, and he was the safest bet to help avoid FFP sanctions I have seen nothing to dispel this quit whilst you are behind

Probably the most idiotic premiss for an article I have seen in a year plus. CHELSEA KEEPING TABS ON BENFICA’S £54M VALUED GOALKEEPER https://readchelsea.com/2018/09/24/chelsea-keeping-tabs-on-benficas-54m-valued-goalkeeper/

tack så mycket!!!

also, so far, HE HAS BEEN A ONE SEASON WONDER! 19 goals total all comps 2 years ago 15 goals, all comps 3 years ago 9 goals, all comps 4 years ago 12 goals, all comps 5 years ago 10 goals all comps 6 years ago 7 goals, all comps 7 years ago 5 goals, all comps 8 years ago

Not just Carvajal, but literally (if you are going off PLAYING, ffs) 15 to 20 other RB's De Gea??? He had a shitty last 4, 5 months, and is still looking shakey this new season and at the WC Pretty crazy Salah didn't get picked too, I have to say. Although the scouser CUNT fans can sod the fuck right off fucking chav trash council tenant flat twats

Dani Alves????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? Dani Alves in 2018: 16 club games 2 games for Brazil Out at Last 16 of the Champions League Didn't go to the World Cup Hasn't played this season FIFA World XI right-back.

Ask that motherfuker scouser twat where Salahs trophies are. Those rotters have never even won the fucking EPL, we have 2 of the last 4 years.

Why would he play an out-the-door-soon Cahill over AC or Ampadu? That is madness. AC is going to start thinking about bolting. He could walk in and be a starter at so many clubs, good clubs. He is better than anything Manure has. If Joe Gomez had not finally exploded, he would be starting at LPool. Goonas FOR SURE Napoli too, lol, ironically that would yield my CB duo wish for last year, in KK and AC, ffs Every single La Liga club except for AM, RM, and Barca Every single Bundesliga club except for Bayern. Every single Serie A club except for Juve, Inter, and AC Milan Every single Ligue 1 club except PSG Every single EPL team except Shitty, Lpool and probably Spuds. So only 11 clubs in world (and us,apparently) where he isn't instant starter, and even most of them he would be seeing more time than he has gotten here so far.

He was a fool to turn down that loan to Schalke, as I have repeatedly stated. He would be starting most games and would get CL football. Now he is falling further down the playing time = development curve as each week goes by.

Ridiculous, and Telles is the lowest on the list other than Wendell and probably Grimaldo. Glad you are not making scouting evals for the already fucked up board we have. Go to any top 50 club in world offer them any one of the following Lucas Hernandez Alex Sandro Benjamin Mendy Jose Gaya Ryan Sessegnon and a CURRENT, post injury form OR even a pre injury form Emerson I guarantee none of the 50 choose Emerson Go try and buy any of those for less than £60-70m, now, it wont happen. Alex Sandro next summer maybe you could get for £60m or so, due to his age then. We had £75m turned down by Juve 14 months ago. If we sold Emerson right now, we would be lucky to get back the entire £29m we potentially spent (£20m pure trans fee plus £9m in add-ons and possible bonuses) Also, you never addressed the injury concern, which sure are starting to look real.

Manchester City Targets for January and Summer 2019 I post this because I still think Shitty are our biggest team to overcome to win the title, with Liverpool 2nd, and I will point out players we both are going after Shitty projected targets (they really dont give a fuck as to price, PSG and Shitty share that enviable position) CB Marquinhos or Matthijs de Ligt or José Giménez or Dayot Upamecano or Benjamin Pavard (maybe even go for the top dog in Raphaël Varane, but Real would be INSANE to give Pep the best CB in the world, it would be like saying, HERE come take the next 3 CL's like we did. To be honest, the first 3 or 4 are (Marquinhos) or probably will be (the rest) sorta near to being as good as Varane (none are there yet, of course). I will say they make a move for Matthijs de Ligt (highest potential of them all), but I honestly have no gut feeling for sure. LB One name only, and its a gut-wrencher for me, as he is my main realistic target for us. Júnior Firpo of Real Betis. We can offer a starting position if we sell Alonso (which we need to do to RM for £50-55m, which covers cost of Firpo). We have to block the Mancs on this one. They will move for Ryan Sessegnon perhaps if we get Firpo, not sure if he is a Pep-style player plus (and this affects us too) I also am not sure if he really wants to be a LB fulltime, I think he prefers LMF or LW. DH DMF Ruben Neves, Wolves says £110m, City will pay close to that, Pep is obsessed (probably rightly so). Only other DMF's I could see them even considering (as it has to be a deep holding type) would be Rodri (too late, Atletico Madrid scooped him up, and I think he is the next Busquets), Julian Weigl (HUGE talent, young, but has had a off year, Pep could fix him and make him a terror though, but Neves is better) and Leandro Paredes (maybe a slight step down, but still could do wonders there, is by far the most experienced and still only 24, but I say NO, they don't go for him). The only other remotely young WC DH DMF's out there are Jorginho, Busquets (not young, lol, but still a monster), and maybe (or very soon) a young 21yo Argentine who plays with Stuttgart, Santiago Ascacíbar. (I don't count Marco Verratti at this position, as he is a regista, like Kroos, Koke, Thiago, Pjanic, Pirlo (back in the day), etc) I am not sure if one could label Lucas Torreira from the goonas as either a genuine DH DMF or world class (for sure not there yet). Maybe also add in Frenkie de Jong from Ajax (see below) as he seems to be able to play almost any position other than striker and GK. I say Neves all the way, he will someday be the best DH DMF in the world, IMHO, and he also can score (sniper of a shooter, 7 goals last year alone), which is crazy, given where he plays from. Its a crazy hard position to fill, as they are so few players who have the skillset need, its probably the hardest position in football to master and play. CMF Adrien Rabiot I do admit both of the first two that I now discuss could be also seen as DMF deep playmaking MF'ers as well, but really feel the are more forward-leaning players. I think, unless Barca scupper the Mancs, Rabiot goes to Shitty in January (maybe a pre-contract) or surely in the summer, on a free, he wants City, City wants him, both badly, BUT watch out for Barca. TBH, a better fit for Barca IMHO is Verratti, but who knows. I think the only other CMF Shitty would REALLY covet if somehow Rabiot deal falls through would be Frenkie de Jong, the 21yo Ajax midfielder wunderkind who is going to be probably the most fought over young MF this summer, as Barca, Real, PSG, ManUre, Bayern, and Juve have all said they want him (not just want, WILL get him in some cases!). God help us and all football if Pep pulls both de Ligt AND de Jong from Ajax. Rabiot, btw, is better at this very minute (totally WC), but de Jong is OFF THE CHARTS scary down the road in 2, 3, 4 years. Same for de Ligt at CB, who is 2 years younger than de Jong. Long shots, finally, would be Bryan Cristante (another favourite of mine) from Atalanta, now on loan at Roma or the poison dwarf's (Napoli) Piotr Zielinski. I do not see them making a run at SMS. He just doesn't, IMHO, for some reason, seem a Pep-type player. He seems to coast at times, which is never going to sit well with Guardiola. Doubt me, go watch the Serbian WC games, and some Lazio losses last year. It has always bugged me about him. He is like a much, much more talented RLC at times. Shitty only have one player like that, the horrid (and injured or would have been long gone) Eliaquim Mangala. John Stones used to have that issue, but Pep has, from all I can see, pounded it out of him. Thats their only needs, literally, other than back-up GK, as Guardiola is contemplating whether to hand a Shitty debut to 19yo Arijanet Muric (big lad too, 1.98m and supposedly still growing a wee bit), He was recalled from loan at NAC Breda last month following an injury to Claudio Bravo. If they bring in those 4 main targets (CB is the only one I am not clear on, I pray it isn't de Ligt they end up with) I do not see how anyone can touch them. Long term insane bonus prediction: They get Mbappe within 3 years or so. Pep is the best manager on the planet, and I am sure he wants who will be the best player on the planet, having had that for years in Messi. Obviously Real and Barca will try too (he is out of Juve, AM, Bayern price range, ours too unless Ratcliffe buys us and finds a quarter to a third of a billion quid he wants to spend in his spare change drawer, lolol), Mbappe would be insane to go to Manure unless ZZ is the manager.(which actually MIGHT put Manure close to the top of the Kylian sweepstakes, goddammit) He would make Shitty, IF they hold the team together, and get those 4 above, plus replace a couple aging stars (Sergio Agüero, who will be 33 in 3 years (hello Mbappe), David Silva (my number one AMF target, Kai Havertz is on Pep's radar as a replacement alas, as, I predict, will also be the one we fumbled this summer, Aleksandr Golovin, provide he progresses at Monaco, plus Carlos Soler from Valencia), Kompany (replaced by one of those CB's I listed, although its Otamendi who will be the first one benched), and Fernandinho (Neves replaces him) could, quite possibly (on paper) become one of the greatest sides ever, up there with the 1955-1960 5-in-a-row EC (CL now) winning Alfredo Di Stéfano-led Real sides, the early 70's Ajax sides, the mid 70's Bayern sides, the late 70's/early 80's scouser scum sides, the late 80's/early 90's AC Milan sides (my pick for greatest ever, due to defence and just insane generational talent, I am sure most won't agree with me), the mid 1990's/early 2000's Manure sides (a little light on the CL trophies, just the one, the Treble Year 98/99), Pep's Barca sides (especially the 2010-11 Sextuple winning team) and the most recent Real Madrid 3 in a row CL sides.

Pedro Obiang was their CMF, along with DMF Declan Rice who tied him up. It also was just our luck that Issa Diop, the new young, expensive French Shammer CB, finally had a good game, after a super shakey start to the season. When Willian starts at RW, we are pretty weak on the right side, as Azpi, even though he is probably the best defensive RB on the planet (maybe you could make a case for Kimmich) is not even in the top 20 or 25 offensively. His main strength there is/was crosses to Morata, but that has dried up, along with Morata in general. Teams will always attack our weak points. Luiz's defence and bad positioning/mental errors. Alonso's defence mainly coming from lack of pace. Azpi's offence. Overall lack of height in all 3 MF's (only comes into play in specific situations) They will try and muscle Jorginho (and usually fail). Kante and Kovacic are very strong for their size, with superb balance and low centre of gravity. Kante is struggling to find his exact role, but I have faith he sorts it out. We owe him a whole year to try. After that, if it still isn't clicking, we may have to sell. It would be insane to waste the world's best pure DMF (and worth £120m or so) by forcing him into a systemic role he just cannot thrive in. We are nowhere that yet, but it may come down to Kante v the system (its impossible, literally to use him as a trad DMF destroyer in Sarriball, it fucks up Jorginho role, and you will always be short a MF further up the field. I posted a great article on this yesterday. https://theprideoflondon.com/2018/09/24/chelsea-sarrismo-ngolo-kante-midfield/ ). The system will always win out as long as Sarri is coach, and I believe in his system 10000%. Cesc's lack of pace, stamina, and little defence. He still is a magnificent passer though. Pedro's small size (which can be a plus or minus depending on situ) Willian's slow play ball hogging, and hesitations. He had great pace, almost never uses it effectively, and will lose it as he further ages into his mid 30's. Eden's weaknesses are very few, other than he is moody and can go too passive at times, plus can over-dribble in Sarriball terms. Sarri will fix the over dribbling part. Morata, everything is a weakness except his hair (DONT TOUCH IT MATEO!) It is not rocket science why we always are positing the need for new players at 4 main positions (CB, LB, RW, CF) and perhaps 3 more. RB if Azpi lack of offensive thrust really starts to hurt and cripples the system and the other 2 MF slots if we lose Kovacic, Kante simply doesn't transition to new role, and Barkley somehow tailspins. Bailey at RW and Icardi or Dybala or Martial or maybe even Piatek at CF would take a lot of pressure off Azpi though.

I think Firpo is the answer long term and now at LB for us, as I am starting to think Emerson may not recover back to pre-injury Roma level. Alonso, obviously, is not the long term answer, and whilst he has some unique qualities, he is simply too slow and a defensive liability, especially in the all out pressing Sarriball system.. Firpo is an amazing athlete, big (1.84m) pacey as fuck, technically skilled (spanish upbringing), good passer/crosser, loads of stamina. Shitty are ALL over him, but we can offer a starting position, especially if we are smart (asking a lot!, lol) and sell Alonso for £50m plus to Real. At Manc City, he is stuck behind Benjamin Mendy, one of only 6 LB's 28 and under I rate above him in the world (it is actually 8 in total LB's above him atm,, but Marcelo and Jordi Alba are too old to buy and far too expensive anyway.) He has a £54m release clause, which would be covered by an Alonso sale to RM (or mostly covered), plus Real Betis is cash-strapped and might negotiate a bit. My LB target ratings (many are NOT remotely available, and again, I do not list Marcelo and Alba,as they are too old to buy, I would put Marcelo right under Alex Sandro atm, and Jordi under Mendy, if it was a fantasy one year NOW team I was constructing) David Alaba Lucas Hernandez Alex Sandro (after this next summer, and maybe even now, too old to justify £70m that Juve want) Benjamin Mendy Jose Gaya (100m euro release clause so nope,ain't happening, Valecia are firm, they turned down 60m euro offer from Real Madrid, and then raised his release clause to 100m on new contract) Ryan Sessegnon (Fulham want around £80m or more, so no way we drop that type of money) Junior Firpo (he could move above even some here, for sure Alex Sandro in a couple years, as Sandro only has a season and half after thsi one at sub 30yo) Emerson (only if pre-injury Roma level) Alex Telles (off the table, new 5 year contract with 75m euro release clause) Alejandro Grimaldo (my 2nd best realistic option, after Firpo) Wendell (Bayer Leverkusen) Faouzi Ghoulam (its Napoli, its never gonna happen, plus he is soon 28) Raphaël Guerreiro (Borussia Dortmund) Layvin Kurzawa (PSG) Dalbert (Inter Milan) Héctor Junior Firpo Adamés (born 22 August 1996), simply known as Junior, is a Spanish professional footballer who plays for Real Betis. Mainly a left back, he can also play as a left winger or a central defender. Born in Santo Domingo, Junior moved to Benalmádena, Málaga, Andalusia at the age of six and joined Real Betis' youth setup in June 2014, aged 18, from CD Puerto Malagueño. He made his senior debut with the reserves on 15 February 2015, starting in a 1–1 home draw against Granada CF B for the Segunda División B championship. Definitely promoted to the B-side ahead of the 2015–16 season, Junior appeared regularly during the season, which ended in relegation. On 17 April 2016 he scored his first senior goal, netting the third in a 4–0 away routing of Algeciras CF. On 1 August 2017, after spending the whole pre-season with the main squad, Junior renewed his contract until 2021 He made his first team – and La Liga – debut the following 12 February, starting in a 1–0 away defeat of Deportivo de La Coruña, becoming the first Dominican Republic-born player who have ever featured in La Liga. Junior scored his first professional on 17 March 2018, netting the first in a 3–0 home win against RCD Espanyol. On 19 August, after being definitely promoted to the main squad, he agreed to a contract extension until 2023. Born in the Dominican Republic and having spent most of his life in Spain, Junior holds citizenship of both countries. (so doesn't count as a non EU player) https://www.instagram.com/juniorfirpo3/?hl=en https://twitter.com/JuniorFirpo03 Man City weigh up January move for Real Betis sensation Junior Firpo https://www.tribalfootball.com/articles/man-city-weigh-up-january-move-for-real-betis-sensation-junior-firpo-4247605#3tDZiGDBLewQrvOx.99 Manchester City 'want Real Betis defender Junior Firpo in £54m deal' https://www.sportsmole.co.uk/football/man-city/transfer-talk/news/city-want-betis-defender-in-54m-deal_334991.html

This is a major worry for me. AC is not a kid anymore, he has multiple full seasons at top flight football. I saw that Cahill and Luiz are our starting CB's against the Scouser scum! What the fuckery!!!! Zero chance out eam is better with Cahill starting over AC or Ampadu, ZERO. Especially against speed burners that LPool have, they are fast as fuck athletically, not just tactically. Joe Gomez Trent Alexander-Arnold Alberto Moreno (not a good player, but is very pacey, go back and watch last pre-season LPool match v Bayern, at Bayern, where the scousers destroyed them, and Morena ran riot) Nathaniel Clyne Andrew Robertson (slowest on thsi list and still miles faster than Cahill) Naby Keïta Fabinho Georginio Wijnaldum Sadio Mané Mohamed Salah Xherdan Shaqiri Roberto Firmino hell even Daniel Sturridge all would run rings around Cahill, and most of them around Luiz

I guessed pills, as you said trip, and dont know many who do straight LSD anymore, lolol.

I have put him on other LB lists as a possible squad player. Dont rate him atm anywhere near the ones I listed here (all on the list above are starting quality, above Alonso, for Sarriball system. Lucas, his brother, WOW, what a player. Real bought the wrong one, lolol. Firpo is my new obsession, have watched him play in 5 or six games, full games. Real deal, explosive athlete and he is Spanish bred and trained, so superb technical skill, like Alonso and Gaya, Alba, etc.

totally oki! I learned long ago (well as long ago as a 26yo can, lol) that pills and internet do not mix

Some points. Telles (75m euro release clause on new contract) and Jose Gaya (100m euro release clause in new contract) are now off the table. The only 4 actually available top class LB's at the moment are 1. Ryan Sessegnon (but Fulham want around £80m) Would love him, but cannot see the board dropping that type of money, plus he really wants to be a winger or AMF. 2. Junior Firpo of Real Betis who I think we need to beat Shitty to. He has rocketed up the charts and is the real deal. Big (1.84m) super pacey (Kyle Walker level fast) great tackler and passer. 54m euro release clause and unlike Porto and Valencia, Betis will negotiate and need cash. 3. Alejandro Grimaldo - Benfica 2nd best affordable option but has so many clubs sniffing around. 4. Wendell - Bayer Leverkusen (issue there is we need Bailey and perhaps Tah, plus I would love to eventually pull AMF Kai Havertz, so Bayer will not let all go in a window or a window and a half). They are struggling atm and will perhaps miss out on Europe, which aids us greatly. Firpo would be PERFECT. Far better in long run than Alonso. As for Emerson, it is not just Sarri not rating him. At this point it is looking like he is still damaged goods from his knee injury at Roma. If he was at pre injury Roma level now, I have no doubt he would starting, or at least playing a lot more. At that old level the only LB's I would rate over him (in terms of actually buying as Marcelo, Jordi Alba are too old) would be (and remember, many of these are NOT available): In order: David Alaba Lucas Hernandez Alex Sandro (after this next summer, and maybe even now, too old to justify £70m that Juve want) Benjamin Mendy Jose Gaya Ryan Sessegnon Junior Firpo (he could move above even some here) Emerson (pre injury) Alex Telles If Emerson turns out to be Zouma'd we need to cut him loose. If not, then we still need to move on Firpo. Better player at end if the day. Emerson if recovers finally is worth keeping for rotation/back up. Alonso needs to go asap, he is not a Sarriball LB, he is a defensive liability and Real want him badly and would pay basically what Firpo would cost.

CIES Football Observatory n°234 - 24/09/2018 Performance Minutes for a shot: European rankings http://www.football-observatory.com/IMG/sites/b5wp/2018/234/en/ Issue number 234 of the CIES Football Observatory Weekly Post ranks clubs across Europe according to the number of minutes per shot attempted. The following teams head the table in the five major European leagues: Manchester City, Juventus, Olympique Lyonnais, Barcelona and Bayern Munich. Slavia Praha tops the rankings outside of the big-5. So far this season, Manchester City players only needed 4'02'' to take a shot. At the opposite end of the table, Huddersfield Town is the Premier League team needing the most minutes to shot: 12'08''. The highest figure overall in the 35 competitions surveyed was recorded for Hamilton Academical (Scotland): 18'12''. The biggest gap within the same league was observed in Greece: from 5'00'' for Olympiacos up to 18'07'' for Panetolikos. Data used comes from OptaPro for the big-5 leagues and the English Championship and InStat for the remaining competitions. More information is published from our Twitter account (@CIES_Football) or available on demand at [email protected].

Chelsea: Sarrismo has no place for a fully defensive N’Golo Kante https://theprideoflondon.com/2018/09/24/chelsea-sarrismo-ngolo-kante-midfield/ N’Golo Kante has embraced his role as Chelsea’s box-to-box midfielder. Unless Maurizio Sarri ventures into new tactical realms, Kante is not going back to his previous station. Let’s start with what we know. First, Maurizio Sarri favours the 4-3-3 to the exclusion of almost any other formation. He used it for most of his time at Empoli and all of his time at Napoli. He introduced it on day one at Chelsea, and even as the Blues will occasionally strike a 4-1-4-1 or 4-2-3-1, those are fluid formations in and out of the 4-3-3. Second, without Jorginho as deep-lying playmaker, there is no Sarrismo at Chelsea. If Sarri had not been able to bring Jorginho with him, well, he may not have taken the job. But if he had come to Stamford Bridge alone, his estimate for Chelsea playing at Liverpool’s level would be more than the single year he quoted after the draw at West Ham. Jorginho’s passing provides the temporal and spatial framework for Sarrismo, accompanied by his explicit on-pitch instructions for his teammates to fill in that framework as best they can. Jorginho could not have this effect if he was in any other role, nor could any other player have his effect in the deep-lying playmaker role. Not now, not yet, not for a while. Against this backdrop, N’Golo Kante. Sarri’s system does not employ a traditional central defensive midfielder, and the deepest midfield spot is already taken. This leaves only option: repurpose Kante into another position. The club or coach who would dismiss N’Golo Kante – not sell him because of an incomparable offer, but dismiss him for squad-level tactical reasons – does not exist except in fiction. I’ve seen some stupid things in my day, both in football and out, and yet I cannot believe there is such a club or coach. Of the two remaining midfield roles in Sarri’s schema, the box-to-box midfielder suits Kante best. The name itself makes one reason obvious: the player has to cover a wide range of the pitch. Kante already does that. Now he needs to initiate and cover transitions, and be versatile on both sides of the play. Kante has the physical capabilities and the defensive skills, requiring development only in the offensive elements and the specifics of implementing the role. The third midfielder is too far forward and insufficiently defensive for Kante’s talents. N’Golo Kante is not yet, and may never be, the perfect box-to-box midfielder. But he is already stronger than any other option at Chelsea and most other options available in the transfer market. Similarly, although he is not dedicating himself to defensive midfield, he still has many responsibilities in that realm. Kante as a box-to-box midfielder only shaves about 10% off his contribution to defensive midfield. N’Golo Kante as a box-to-box midfielder – leaving him at 90% of his best – can do more for Chelsea’s midfield defence than all but a half-dozen central defensive midfielders in the world. Ninety-percent of N’Golo Kante would still be starting at a top four team in a big five league, and he still would have started for France all the way through their World Cup win. The same does not apply to Jorginho. Taking Jorginho out of the deep-lying playmaker role and assigning him elsewhere in the 4-3-3 or changing the formation would slash what he brings to the team. Such a move would take far more out of his game – and therefore out of Chelsea’s game – than Kante experiences as a box-to-box midfielder. Jorginho’s relative lack of versatility gives his role the job security that N’Golo Kante does not need. The closest option would be for him to play further forward in Cesc Fabregas territory. But there his passes would need to be select and incisive, rather than rhythmic and geared towards possession. He could almost certaintly learn to do it, but it would come at a much greater loss of his contribution to the team, and therefore of the team’s already-limited ability to execute Sarrismo. The move would reset the team’s learning curve until someone came up to Jorginho’s level as deep-lying playmaker and Jorginho came up to the necessary level in the forward creative role. If Maurizio Sarri is unsatisfied with N’Golo Kante as the box-to-box midfielder, he must overhaul one of the two tenets we opened this article with. The most likely option would be to veer away from the 4-3-3 into a system that allows N’Golo Kante and Jorginho each to play their archtypal position. SNIP (more at the link)

3rd times the charm for me posting this. Gaya is off the table. €100m release clause in new contract and Valencia will not budge. http://www.beinsports.com/au/laliga/news/gaya-pens-new-five-year-valencia-deal/881329 They told RM to sod off, and that is when RM switched to Alonso. Shame, as Gaya is a beast. He was insane v Croatia when Spain crushed them to dust 6 nil. Just ran riot all game. We are down to only 4 great options. 1. Ryan Sessegnon (IF we would use him as a left back, he is by far the best option, albeit will be crazy expensive) 2. Júnior Firpo - Real Betis (new addition, been watching him for 2 years, he is ready to play EPL ball, Shitty want him badly) If we won't spend Sessegnon money (Fulham will want £80m or more, not joking) Firpo is now my pick. 3. Alejandro Grimaldo - Benfica (so many big clubs want him, our odds are poor) 4. Wendell - Bayer Leverkusen (was a beast last night in the EL) BTW, it fucking sucks that Bayer has SO many players I drool over! Bailey, Havertz, Henrichs (gone now), Wendell, Tah, Retsos, 18yo Paulinho, (a probable superstar LW), Lucas Alario (striker option not discussed a lot), and Brandt. The drop-off after those 4 is pretty steep, in terms of who is actually available. Wendell presents problems as well, as he is on Bayer Leverkusen and there are others players from there we need more. Bailey being the big one. Ferland Mendy from Lyon might be a 5th option, need to watch him more. Let's hope Emerson can finally recover to Roma, pre injury, form. I am starting to have some doubts. Or we may have to go the full stop youth route: Theo Hernández 20yo (on loan at Real Sociedad from Real Madrid, good luck prying him away, and I think RM is insane loaning him out, as they have shit for LB backups, so if Marcelo goes down, they will have to scramble) Marcelo Saracchi 20yo RB Leipzig, they just bought him from River Plate for £11m Borna Sosa 20yo VfB Stuttgart just bought from Dinamo Zagreb for £6m tall (1.84m) pacey, huge upside Aarón Martín 21yo on loan to Mainz from RCD Espanyol Hamza Mendyl 20yo Schalke just bought from Lille for £7m Toni Lato 20yo Valencia CF Jorge 22yo on loan to Porto from Monaco

Oki I will bite, and post what i would like to see us work towards starting in January, in terms of the actual team (you know my 21 outs, and again, they do not all have to go at once). This all assumes Hazard does NOT renew and we sell or swap him next summer, if he stays just ignore the LW part 25 man roster GK Kepa GK b/u Angus Gunn GK 2nd b/u Marcin Bulka CB Rudiger CB ( TWO of these) Marquinhos (1st choice) or Matthijs de Ligt (2nd choice) or Benjamin Pavard (3rd choice) or Jonathan Tah (4th choice) CB (2nd of the four right above) CB AC CB Ampadu LB Ryan Sessegnon (1st choice) or Júnior Firpo - Real Betis (2nd choice and is my newest tracked player to be a WC fullback, he is big (1.84m), pacey as fuck, tenacious, great passer, I almost rate him as good as Sessegnon) or Alejandro Grimaldo - Benfica (3rd choice) or Wendell - Bayer Leverkusen (4th choice) LB b/u Emerson or (if he is indeed never going to recover to Roma pre-knee injury form) Ferland Mendy Lyon (1st choice) or Dalbert - Inter Milan (2nd choice) or Borna Sosa - Stuttgart (3rd choice) or Marcelo Saracchi - RB Leipzig (4th choice) RB Azpi RB b/u IF we bought Pavard, he would be the backup RB, if we do not, then stick with Zappacosta, but if he insists on a transfer, then Elseid Hysaj (1st choice and eventual Azpi replacement, IF he accepts waiting to start mostly) or (more likely) Davide Calabria AC Milan 21yo (2nd choice) or Adam Marusic - Lazio (3rd choice) or Melingo Kevin Mbabu - Young Boys (4th choice) DH DMF Jorginho Box to Box hybrid AMF Kante IF he cannot adapt to Sarriball by next summer, we may have to sell him (I can hear the screams now, but if he simply cannot adapt it makes zero sense to hold onto a £120m best in world DMF that sits due to system), in which case I would go for Pogba (1st choice and we would have the Kante money to flat out buy him, IF we did sell Kante) or Rúben Neves of Wolves who can play almost anywhere in MF (2nd choice) CMF Kovacic (IF we lose him back to RM, then Frenkie de Jong of Ajax (1st choice) or the others I list in next CMF spot CMF Bryan Cristante (on loan to Roma from Atalanta, 1st choice) or Amadou Haidara - RB Salzburg (2nd choice) or Roberto Gagliardini - Inter (3rd choice) or Nicolò Barella - Cagliari (4th choice) AMF Kai Havertz (1st choice) or Talisca (2nd choice) AMF Barkley LW Marco Asensio (only way he would ever come here is if RM tossed him into a Hazard deal, 1st choice) or Federico Chiesa (2nd choice and far more likely, and probably as good) or Vinícius Júnior (same as Asensio, buy maybe a WEE less unlikely, 3rd choice) or Mikel Oyarzabal (4th choice) LW b/u CHO RW Bailey (1st choice BY FAR) all the rest are b/u RW b/u David Neres (1st choice) or Suso (2nd choice) CF Icardi (1st choice) or Dybala (2nd choice) or Martial (3rd choice) or Krzysztof Piatek (4th choice) CF b/u Maximiliano Gómez - Celta Vigo or Giovanni Simeone - Fiorentina (flip a coin, lol) CF 2nd b/u Giroud Junior Firpo David Neres Bryan Cristante Frenkie de Jong Angus Gunn Giovanni Simeone finally, because MF is so damn complicated, here is a complete breakdown where I list all remotely available and also go into our targets

Lolol, hell no, I would never call Sarri average, even if he fails here, as he has a unique vision that can deffo work, IF Roman and the asshole board backs him with the right players and does things in a truly proper future-forward intelligent manner.