Vesper

I personally don't read into these cocked up WC-year pre season matches I am all about the future-forward actual squad and doing a SWOT analysis based off past performances and meta trends that I see I am very good at finding players who will fill certain roles and also know when others are not up to the task at hand all that said I do have a few takeaways from the 2 games Jorginho was a masterstroke Pedro looks aces, rejuvenated (I do realise he cannot play every minute of most games though) our GK situ, if Courtois leaves and no one is brought in is FUCKED we need to keep Ampadu and CHO on first team unless more players are brought in I have little problem with RB compared to LB in terms of LB Emerson may work out, but beyond all others (expect maybe Caballero, but he was a given that he is SHIT) Alonso needs to be sold ASAP, we can get a shit tonne for him and he will be a disaster defensively in Sarri system It is getting to the point where we cannot sell Willian (UNLESS its a swap plus cash or even for Martial, which saves our arse), there are 12 days left in window, and 3 of those are weekend days I think we are oki with Barkely and RLC at AMF BUT BUT BUT we SO need to buy Anderson Talisca in the January window when his loan is up in China, he is EXACTLY what we need there, I have been watch a lot of his games, he is PERFECT for Sarriball, and scores a tonne for MF, I so so rate him over Golovin I am getting resigned to fact that Morata is going to be our striker, I have never hoped for a bigger comeback, he has IMMENSE talent and physical skills, he was fucking deadly for Real Madrid and the first 10 games with us 21 goals or so in 22 game (I may be off a couple but not by much) stretch between the 2 clubs, plus 10 assists, all against high level competition, not some kickabout pre season or joke of a CL group stage I really dont care about Vecino or Rugani at this point, we sink or swim with Luiz backing up AC and Rudiger, , both of whom I LOVE plus Ampadu , screw Cahill I have one wish (other than GK if Courtois leaves,and probably a LB to help Emerson)......... Leon Bailey, especially, especially if Willian is sold, and no swap for Martial, bailey can play BOTH wings,I don't mean get stuffed into one, he truly can play both its the one buy (as long as Courtois stays) that we most need (especial if martial comes in as Striker,removing that issue) we simply have to have more wing firepower in this system and unlike Morata, who has potential to score 25 to 30 goals in all comps, we dont have it other than Hazard for sure atm, especially if Wilian is sold, and even then I still want him IN I think that's a fair breakdown of where we stand

I have the solution brain transplant Chopper into his

what about the biggest of all??? STRIKER if diving and whinging were goals we would top Shitty and the scousers and Manure for sure but, alas they do not

I love Thilo!! another one I have tossed out there good call!!! LETS GET HIM!!!!!!!! some others Malang Sarr from Nice, 19yo massive upside the best on this list probably Rúben Dias 21yo from Benfica Nico Elvedi from Borussia Mönchengladbach 21 yo Ohis Felix Uduokhai 20yo from Wolfsburg 1.92m, pacy as hell Panagiotis Retsos from Bayer Leverkusen and young (19, turns 20 in August) Filip Benkovic from Dinamo Zagreb 21 yo, also great on the ball

BTW, what RB would you sign? I am hoping for MASSIVE things in 2,3 years from our Dujon Sterling I have listed the options all over the board, it is slim pickings here are 2 more I never mentioned (I think) Mario Gaspar from Villarreal Date of Birth (Age): Nov 24, 1990 (27) <<< not the ideal age for a sub, as he is at peak of career and wont be interested I fear in being Azpi understudy after being big man at Villarreal for 7,8 years (he is from their Academy) maybe Fabregas can play pimp, LOLOL Place of Birth: Spain, Novelda Nationality: Spain Spain Height: 1,80 m Position: Right-Back Agent: Toreta d.o.o. Former international: Spain Caps/Goals: 3/2 Lukas Klostermann RB Leipzig <<< many teams sniffing around him, he is PISSED Leipzig brought in my number one young RB I wanted for us, Nordi Mukiele, who is a fucking badass 20 yo, Leipzig stole him for only £14m from Montpellier Date of Birth (Age): Jun 3, 1996 (22) <<<< perfect age Place of Birth: Germany, Herdecke Nationality: Germany Germany Height: 1,89 m great height Position: Right-Back <<<<<<<<< can play LB too Agent: EMG Mundial Current international: Germany Caps/Goals: 12/2

Tanguy Ndombélé from Lyon would be PERFECT and would fucking PISS OFF SPUDS to NO end

Because he managed him at Empoli, and he is very expansive in his distribution. It is why Real Madrid wants him so badly too. He is a good foil to Varane in their case. The best ball playing CB's now of the top 50 (in no order) Kalidou Koulibaly (and is 2nd best CB in the world IMHO, only Varane is better) John Stones (but is weak as a pure defender) Marquinhos Key player for Brasil in 2022, he will be captain and leader of their back 4 Aymeric Laporte (best player in the world atm with ZERO caps, was criminal France picked Adil Rami over him, IF Varane or Umtiti had been injured early, I am not sure they would won WC, although Presnel Kimpembe probably could have done the job as well as Laporte, France is so deep that even though they had had injuries in FB too (Mendy still not fully recovered and Sidibe hurt as well, they had a natural CB in Pavard swing over to RB, where he was a revelation) David Luiz (but same story as Stones, can be weak defensively) Virgil van Dijk (same type player as Koulibaly, big, fast, great distributor, thank god LPool doesn't have both or they would terrifying, put Coutinho back and add KK on that team, they would do the Treble, I am convinced, unless Firmino got hurt,as he is all they have for good striker, but what a striker to have) Gerard Piquét (bellend, but cannot deny his great ball skills) Andreas Christensen he is going to KILL it in Sarriball Alessio Romagnoli I gave up on us getting him 2 years ago, AC Milan will never sell, not unless someone waves 80 to 100m in their face, and I also have not seen him take it to top ten level I was sure he would, but give him time Clément Lenglet Piquét's heir apparent, superb on the ball 22yo CB Harry Maguire has come on like gangbusters,WC is just more evidence Leonardo Bonucci years of evidence on him after those 12 (we could argue over a couple others I didnt add) Daniele Rugani is probably next or near next for ball playing CB's (I HATE Otamendi, please dont ask me to stick him in here, lolol, he is far too shitty on defence) I think you see a trait in all this, as Man City, Barca, Napoli (KK's partner Raúl Albiol is great on the ball as well), and now us in Sarriball are all expansive teams with ball playing CB's

I SO want to believe in Emerson as the answer, but I have not seen enough so far to alleviate my fears. I am absolutely not ready to write him off yet, but I do have concerns. Alonso is another story. I am 75% of the way to saying he isn't up to the task. At RB, if Azpi goes down we are fucked.

I feel the same about ARSE a null, I am horrified with the Aaron Ramsey links to us. Out of the goonas entire roster, the only 2 players I would remotely want (and the first only because we are so not sorted in this position) is Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang at striker, certainly would not pay a pound over £55m or so for him, as he is 30 next year and Héctor Bellerín IF Azpi was sold or was forced to play CB full-time, as Bellerín is obviously better than Zappacosta. I do reserve judgement on Lucas Torreira, as he might end up being a poor man's Kante, which is not a bad thing, and he also doesn't have years of North London stench built up on him, lolol. That's IT, for the whole team, sod the fecking lot of 'em.

Mourinho frustrated by Martial's absence with Matic to miss start of season https://www.sportskeeda.com/football/mourinho-frustrated-by-martial-s-absence-with-matic-to-miss-start-of-season Jose Mourinho believes Anthony Martial should have returned to Manchester United following the birth of his son, while the frustrated manager announced Nemanja Matic will miss the start of the season after undergoing surgery. Disgruntled forward Martial left United's pre-season tour of the United States to attend the birth of his second child in Paris, where he has remained since the arrival of his son. snip Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho reveals Anthony Martial frustration https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/man-utd-mourinho-martial-news-14965153 They really looked like shit v LPool Mourinho lost the plot in the after game presser Mid-season form: Mourinho in sensational rant after Liverpool defeat http://www.goal.com/en/news/mid-season-form-mourinho-in-sensational-rant-after-liverpool/13ipg2h3epwti1wycri5au44d2 snip His comments about the quality of the match though, will cause the most stir. Saturday’s game was watched by a crowd of 101,254, but Mourinho told them afterwards that he would not have paid to see what was served up by the two teams. “The atmosphere was good, but if I was them I wouldn’t come,” he said. “I wouldn’t spend my money to see these teams. snip the referees they came by mistake," the manager said. "They were called by the baseball federation and thought it was a baseball game, they arrived here and it was soccer! It was good fun.”

Exclusive: Milan reopen pursuit of Chelsea and West Ham United target https://www.calciomercato.com/en/news/exclusive-milan-reopen-pursuit-of-chelsea-and-west-ham-united-ta-68279 According to what has been exclusively learned by CalcioMercato.com, AC Milan are once again stepping up their pursuit of recently unemployed Brazilian forward Bernard. Bernard, who is 25-years-old, most recently played for Shakhtar Donestk in the Ukrainian Premier League, before deciding he wanted to take on a new challenge and move elsewhere. A number of teams have been looking at one of the best free agents on the market, with Lazio, Chelsea, West Ham, Leicester City and a whole host of other clubs being linked. Now though, it appears a move to AC Milan could be happening. In the next few hours, Leonardo of AC Milan will be meeting with the representatives of Bernard, Giuliano Bertolucci and Kia Joorabchian. Milan want to offer Bernard a wage of €3.5 million per season, a risk for a player who has never played in a major European league.

Maurizio Sarri building new-look Chelsea around Jorginho - where does N'Golo Kante fit in? https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2018/07/28/maurizio-sarri-building-new-look-chelsea-around-jorginho-does/ Two matches and two weeks in, but a quite vast difference between the Chelsea of Antonio Conte and Maurizio Sarri is already evident. Several questions follow from a move now in both pre-season matches away from the old 3-4-3 formation to 4-3-3, and among the most prescient relates to N’Golo Kante. A newly crowned World Cup winner and surely also the best holding midfielder of his generation, but already it looks likely Kante will have to accept a modified role at Chelsea. Sarri made a major statement by successfully arguing for the £50 million addition of Jorginho and, with Kante on holiday and not due back until after Chelsea have already played Manchester City in the Community Shield, it is the Brazilian-born Italian around whom the midfield is currently being built. Jorginho played 45 minutes for Chelsea against Perth last week and caught the eye not just with his performance but also a statistic that later emerged about his completion of 98 passes in 45 minutes. That’s right, more than two passes a minute. Similar stats followed the 26-year-old from Napoli where he topped the tables for passing in Serie A last season with almost 3,000 over the course of the year at an average of one every 50 seconds. It was a part of his game that especially improved under Sarri and it already seems obvious that he will be asked to play as the central midfield playmaker and anchor in front of the back four. Few doubt that Kante will start alongside Jorginho in a midfield three, but that would likely mean a modified and more box-to-box role to the right. Conte did also think that Kante could carry the ball forward and contribute rather more creatively but, against Inter Milan in Nice on Saturday night and with owner Roman Abramovich among those watching, Jorginho was occupying much of the space that would usually be patrolled Kante. It was certainly obvious why Sarri had wanted to add his ball-playing quality to the team. Jorginho has been dictating Chelsea’s style and tempo in pre-season and we can certainly expect a more expansive, if defensively suspect, approach next season. Ross Barkley has also performed brightly now in both summer games. Alvaro Morata made the first goal here for Pedro but will clearly face competition from Olivier Giroud and there are questions about whether there is sufficient specialism at full-back after two years spent asking Victor Moses, Marcos Alonso and Cesar Azpilicueta to perform rather different roles in the old wing-back system. Chelsea were ultimately held here to a 1-1 draw here before winning 5-4 on penalties but, even with numerous second-half changes, it felt significant that the new 4-3-3 system was never once altered. And, at its heart, Jorginho was also the only player to complete the full 90 minutes.

Caldara vs Rugani: analogie, differenze, prospettive future https://www.juventibus.com/caldara-vs-rugani/ The collective euphoria generated around the Ronaldo case has made the final landing of Mattia Caldara under the bridge , which has successfully completed his apprenticeship at the Atalanta and in the next season will be part of the Juventus defense central battery. Impossible, in this sense, not to think about the fate of Daniele Rugani ; the company has always taken away from the market proving to believe a lot in him, but on balance the former Empoli has never been essential and in the last season he found himself closed by the exploit of Benatia and the choices of Allegri, who for a long time he kept it out even in the most affordable competitions. In the next season, with the advancing age and the consequent ailments of Chiellini and Barzagli, Juventus will need a third full-time defender , who can guarantee a high return in case of turnover or forfeit of one of the first choices. Imagining a very young Caldara-Rugani couple to go to the Champions League in the Champions League remains frankly difficult, more likely that the two are used separately together with one between Chiellini and Benatia. We have therefore tried to ask ourselves the following questions: what do they look like and what does Caldara and Rugani differ ? What are their main characteristics? Do they really have the chance to break into Juventus? As in the duel between Cancelo and his equal role , let's start from the obvious, an initial mirror useful as a function of the following analysis: The path of the two 24-year-old power stations, similar in physical structure , has been decidedly different so far: both made their debut in Serie A in 2014, but while Caldara was sent to bore between Trapani and Cesena, Rugani found a mine in Sarri Golden and was unmissable owner in the newly promoted season of the Empoli in A. In fact, the now former Atalantino has tasted the highest national limelight only in the 2016/17 season , while Rugani had already two years of Juventus (experienced in fits and starts, it must be said), since it is also reflected in the national presence of the two. The excellent propensity to score for both boys stands out, impressive the average of Caldara, a ruling on inactive balls, good numbers for Rugani to which must be added a goal in the Champions League against Dinamo Zagreb. Let's add, the decision of Juventus to leave Caldara for a second year in Bergamo allowed the boy to taste important European stages like Lyon and Dortmund, a possibility that would have difficult to have in black and white, as emerges from the few international presences accumulated by Rugani. Let's go a little deeper to find out how they play the role of the two power stations: The general impressions of the insiders are confirmed by the statistics: compared to Rugani, Caldara is a much more aggressive defender in every facet , an attitude amplified by the defensive attitude desired by Gasperini, who from this point of view urges much more rearguard, a situation that also explains how the new Juventus acquisition has suffered double the dribbling compared to the former Empoli, a fact that does not worry if adequately contextualized. If Caldara from this point of view is more like Chiellini , repeatedly invoked by the same player as a reference model, Rugani looks a lot more like Barzagli, of which resumes the Olympic cleanliness and calm, sometimes mistaken for lack of personality. In perspective, an absolutely complementary central couple. Let's move on to the numbers under management of the ball : Said of the structural and game differences between Atalanta and Juve, it should be noted that Caldara is by far the defender least involved in the maneuver of the Goddess , even with a% of successful steps similar to those of Masiello and Toloi, while Rugani has always been a central accustomed to play many balls , just behind Benatia and in front of Chiellini in the top 3 of Juventus. Beware, however, to label Caldara as a rough defender and not very skilled with his feet; despite making almost twice the long casts compared to Rugani, the two percentages of successful launches are very similar , in practice both defenders hit almost a long ball on 2. Caldara and Rugani are not mutually exclusive, not in the near future ; the identity card plays in their favour, as well as the propensity to injure the other Juventus power stations will free him from the space that will have to be very good to exploit, considering that for a defensive center is much more difficult to convince playing hiccups than many other roles. The strict actuality, however, puts us in front of a further dilemma: what will be the hierarchies within the couple in the next season? Allegri will alternate them according to the needs and the minutes they need or will relegate one to fourth / fifth choice of the department? From here passes the growth, and perhaps the explosion, of the two boys.

Vecino has donkey written all over him (he look like shit in the WC too, one of the few Uruguayans who did)), and Mattia Caldara is a potentially better CB than Rugani IMHO. I would LOVE Sarri to publicly explain why he fancies those 2 so much. Juve are crazy to let either go, given their ages and the ages of their others CB's, but money talks I suppose. It's Rugani's 24th b-day today btw.

We need a LB far more than a RB, I do not want to have to move Azpi back to CB except in emergencies. Plus, there are not that many good available RB's out there atm Sime Vrsaljko is on verge of signing with Inter, who desperately need a RB, even worse than we need a LB.You saw today that D'Ambrosio is not up to a level they need, and they have no one in backup. João Cancelo went to Juve permanently after Inter had him on loan. Elseid Hysaj is a no go for us as we have that damn no-raid deal with Napoli. He (obviously) was wanted by Sarri, but the agreement to not touch Napoli scuppers that. Djibril Sidibé will more than likely go to AM to replace Sime Vrsaljko Thomas Meunier has said he will only leave PSG for Barca, who are interested as they have moved Sergi Roberto back to MF, leaving them only Nélson Semedo, with no backup (unless you count Roberto) Only other remotely available RB of top quality is Benjamin Henrichs, who I really want us to sign, and sell Zappacosta, but it is not going to happen. I have seen zero links with him for us in ages. All the other good RB's either already were purchased thsi window or are not for sale, thats why we have had so many teams asking about Zappacosta. I f no one from that list above comes in, we are crazy to sell him now. I would love Joe Gomez from LPool, as he is only 19 and has HUGE upside potential, and is also a CB, BUT the scousers will never sell him atm. He is eventually (a year or two max) to their other CB to pair with VVD. Benjamin Henrichs 'wants to leave Bayer Leverkusen' https://www.sportsmole.co.uk/football/bayer-leverkusen/transfer-talk/news/henrichs-wants-to-leave-leverkusen_330155.html As for Rugani, I am pretty sold on him (unlike many here who are not, lolol), but £45m is too too high. Juve originally priced him at only 30m euros, but that was for Serie A clubs. Juve always will try and rape EPL teams, look at the Alex Sandro nightmare we had (GRRR, that is devastating we didn't get him), has so fucked us up now) Real Madrid also want Rugani pretty badly (that came out from Perez 2 days ago) and he will go there before us. They really needs another CB (worse than us), as Nacho is shit for backup, and the cuntish Ramos is 33 next March. Rugani is a great match to pair with Varane when Ramos really starts to slow down, as he is more expansive with the ball, whilst Varane is best CB in the world (IMHO, and I think I have been proven right based on the WC), partially for the reason he is a stellar in the box defender. Sarri is convinced Rugani is perfect for his system,other than his real wish (and mine) the impossible to get Koulibaly. He doesnt rate two great CB's, Stefan Savic and Konstantinos Manolas as been a good fit for Sarriball (Idefer to him on that). My other choices would be Benjamin Pavard (who is a Azpi clone inasmuch that he is also a combo RB/CB type, and great with the forward distribution and crossing. He also can score (he won goal of the WC as evidence). He has signed a pre-contract for next year with Bayern, but now apparently is having 2nd thoughts. and Mattia Caldara, Rugani's teammate, who is, IMHO, better than Rugani, He is good enough to start for 98% of most teams. Do not know Sarri's opinion on him. There are others I rate,(Malang Sarr of Nice, a great 19yo, Matthijs de Ligt from Ajax, 18yo but insane asking price of £55m, Dayot Upamecano, of RB Leipzig, 19yo too) but they are not perhaps the right type for our system. Hopefully Luiz comes good yet again.

IF we don't buy any more players, and IF they do not make the first team squad, we are in deep shit, IMHO. Of this I am most adamant on and sure of. The squad is poor in multiple positions already GK (which is a true nightmare if Courtois leaves), LB, potentially AMF, both wings except for Hazard (especially if Willian is sold) and of course striker too. Take those two out and it's looking even worse. Panic level worse. (as that means no LW backup at all, as Pedro is starting RW, No RW backup either (if Willian is sold). No quality CB backup unless you move Azpi over (Cahill is shit, and I don't rate Luiz as top quality) and that means Zappacosta is our RB

Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri 'still waiting for the best Morata' http://www.espn.co.uk/football/chelsea/story/3577874/chelsea-manager-maurizio-sarri-still-waiting-for-the-best-morata NICE, France -- Maurizio Sarri said he is still waiting to see the best version of Alvaro Morata at Chelsea, but he praised the Spaniard's performance in Saturday's penalty shootout friendly victory over Inter Milan. Cesar Azpilicueta netted the winning spot kick as Chelsea triumphed 5-4 in the shootout after a 1-1 draw in their International Champions Cup opener at the Allianz Riviera, with owner Roman Abramovich in attendance. Pedro Rodriguez had earlier opened the scoring for Sarri's men on his 31st birthday after good work from Morata, who provided an impressive focal point up front before being replaced by Tammy Abraham in the 64th minute. Morata's future has been clouded by uncertainty all summer after a disappointing first season in English football saw him score just three times in the final five months of the campaign, and Chelsea have been linked with signing Juventus striker Gonzalo Higuain to replace him. Speaking after the match, however, Sarri insisted that Morata is in his plans. "I'm still waiting for the best Morata," he said. "In the first match [against Perth Glory] Morata did not play very well, in Australia. "But tonight, especially in the first 30 minutes, he improved a lot. I am satisfied and I am very confident in him for the future." Sarri also revealed that he had been encouraged by Chelsea's performance, but wants them to speed up their possession game even further as they build towards the start of the new Premier League season in a fortnight's time. "So far, I am satisfied," he added. "I am of course waiting for the other players from the World Cup but these players gave me total availability. So now I am satisfied. I've seen in the match something that we tried during the sessions. So far, so good. "I like the sound: 'Sarri-ball, Sarri-ball, Sarri-ball'. But I don't know the meaning, really. Because we move the ball very quickly? This evening we moved the ball well, but I think not at the right speed. "You have to move the ball at a great speed on the floor, otherwise we risk playing for 90 minutes with 75 percent of possession but without scoring. So we have to improve on this." Academy prospects Ethan Ampadu and Callum Hudson-Odoi were given another opportunity to impress from the start and showed promising flashes, with the latter afforded 82 minutes on the pitch. "I don't know if they will play this season in the Premier League," he said of Ampadu and Hudson-Odoi. "But I know that these names will be very famous in the next years."

I watch a lot of Serie A footie, so you may be right. I watch very little La Liga, unless its one of the big 3 or its a La Liga team in Europe. I watch a little Bundesliga too, if I am looking at particular players or managers. I REALLY rate Julian Nagelsmann, from Hoffenheim. Was hoping we might get him if Sarri deal collapsed. He is only 31 (turned 31 five days ago) and actually turned down Real Madrid, lol. I cannot blame him there, as that is a HOT SEAT position. He then signed a pre-contract to go to RB Leipzig next summer. I have posted videos of Strakohsa before.

Someone we don't need and shouldn't buy, but Sarri seems to want him like he wants his next pack of fags, so there's that. At thsi point I have almost no faith that we are going to come good in this window. We will just have to roll with what we have. The new rumours of the club being sold would explain a lot.

I cannot wait until the Tom Heaton rumours start a bubbling.

Butland is shit in distribution, go watch some Stoke games. Worse than Schmeichel, who is no star in that department either.

I agree on all but the gross part. I love the flair.

I fucking hate him. GOD NO!! BLÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ

I apparently am the lone voice out there who wants Thomas Strakosha from Lazio, who I really rate highly. Donnarumma is not going to happen I think. Alphonse Areola from PSG is another option. Schmeichel isn't good enough with the ball IMHO. He plays way too many hit 'n hope long balls. I could live with Cillesson. We could have had Alban Lafont for an insanely low price (Fiorentina somehow signed him for only 8.5m euros). Only 19, already has 3 full Serie A seasons under belt, and I think has a good shot at being France's national keeper in the 2022 WC. 1.93m, incredibly quick, great with the ball too.