Vesper

£50m for Gyökeres would be a steal IMHO prefer him over Isak all day long at that price and even though he turns 27 in June 2025, we would likely get 5 or 6 prime years out of him. plus he only has had 3 big minute seasons on his body (the last 3, and this season will make 4) so he is not like a Michael Owen type who was run into ground at a young age This is Owen at 16 years old and on by the time he was 25, 26, he was already run into the ground also, Owen never scored 20 or more league goals in a topflight season, ever

Carlo needs to REALLY worry about his shit defence (his fullbacks, with Carvajal out, are really dire, and even Carvajal back that doesnt sort out LB (Mendy sucks, regardless of Ancelotti ludicrously calling him the best LB in the world) and lack of depth at CB, especially with 32yo Alaba still wrecked from his horrid knee injury, and Miltao a shadow of the player he was before his own bad injury) Plus lack of creativity at AMF (which Enzo doesn't solve) plus an actual CF as Mbappe at CF, Vini Jr at LW is not working all that well, and tensions between the two are rising

sell him we never should have bought him, let alone for £75m he was already damaged goods

Madness. Sanchez is utter shite. Not really a fangirl of Jørgensen either.

Viktor Gyökeres Gonçalo Inácio Morten Hjulmand Ousmane Diomande Geovany Quenda Pedro Gonçalves Trincão Zeno Debast Marcus Edwards Geny Catamo Conrad Harder Eduardo Quaresma Iván Fresneda

Ballon d’Or https://thedailybriefing.io/i/150855538/ballon-dor There appeared to be huge controversy surrounding the winner of the Ballon d’Or. With Vini Jr. widely expected to get the award, news appeared to filter out early on Monday that, in fact, it would be Rodri who would take the accolade. That left Real Madrid furious and meant that Vini Jr, Florentino Pérez, Carlo Ancelotti, Jude Bellingham and any other Real Madrid representatives didn’t fly to Paris for the gala. Spain coach Luis de la Fuente: “It is not good for football that a club like Real Madrid is not present at a gala of this nature.” Toni Kroos: “Rodri will win the Ballon d’Or. I’ve never seen the importance of these individual awards in football, they have no place.” Barcelona’s brilliant Lamine Yamal was the winner of the Kopa Trophy. Lamine Yamal: “I’m proud to receive this trophy. I dedicate this prize to my mother, my grandmother, to the team, the coaches. It's for those who supported me. Visça el Barça y La capital 304.” Rodri: “Lamine Yamal will win the Ballon d’Or very soon, I’m convinced of it.” Hollywood glamour at the Ballon d’Or awards as Natalie Portman posed beside Barcelona’s Pau Cubarsí, Lamine Yamal and Dani Olmo [pictures from FC Barcelona]: Real Madrid are named the Men’s Club of the Year at the Ballon d’Or but no one from the club showed up at the ceremony to receive it given their support for Vini Jr. Similarly, Kylian Mbappé was not there to receive the Gerd Müller Trophy for Best Goalscorer 2024, which he shared with Harry Kane - who was present at the ceremony. Real Madrid’s Carlo Ancelotti wins Manager of the Year at the Ballon d’Or awards. Emiliano Martínez wins the Yashin Trophy at the Ballon d’Or awards for being Best Goalkeeper of 2024. Aitana Bonmati wins the women’s Ballon d’Or for the second year in succession. It means that a Barça Femeni player has won the award for four years in a row after the successes of Alexia Putellas in 2021 and 2022. Emma Hayes wins Women’s Manager of the Year at the Ballon d’Or awards. Jennifer Hermoso wins the Socrates Award. This is the award given to a player who has done exemplary humanitarian work. Hermoso has been an advocate for women's football and has spoken out against sexual harassment in the game. Man City midfielder, Rodri, is named as the 2024 Ballon d’Or winner. Rodri was very emotional after winning the Ballon d’Or: “Thanks for this. It’s a special day for me and all those close to me… I once told my father that I was going to give up playing football but he said “keep going, try until the end.” Today, I’m very proud.” Official Ballon d’Or rankings [pictures from Fabrizio Romano X account]:

Reece James: Chelsea’s captain, leader, left-back https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5875962/2024/10/28/reece-james-captain-Chelsea-newcastle/ By Liam Twomey Deep in the 98th minute at Stamford Bridge, Reece James momentarily lay face down in his own six-yard box with his left leg covered in the white paint of his own penalty area, having only just cleared the Chelsea crossbar with a frantic, improvised, diving defensive header. The danger had passed, but it was anything but past. Newcastle loaded the Chelsea box for their final corner kick of a hotly contested game with every available giant and Levi Colwill’s friendly arms grabbed James, helping him to his feet before wrapping him in a motivational embrace accompanied by a few words of bellowed encouragement. It was a sequence that enhanced both Cobham graduates’ captaincy credentials; credentials which, in the case of James, have been debated at considerable length in public since Maresca admitted after Chelsea’s midweek cruise against Panathinaikos that he “had expected more” from the 24-year-old in terms of leadership on and off the field. Maresca attempted to soften the impact of his comments ahead of the visit of Newcastle. “He’s doing well, he’s doing fantastic,” Chelsea’s head coach said of James in a pre-match interview with Sky Sports. “The only thing for us is that he has been injured. He’s so important for us. In terms of leadership, I ask (for) more from him. But I ask (for) more from a lot of them. GO DEEPER The Briefing: Chelsea 2 Newcastle 1 - Palmer's pass, the visitors' Cobham influence and left-back James “Because when the team is so young, you need more from them. It’s not just about Reece. In general, they have to give one step forward in terms of leadership.” Persistent injuries and untimely suspensions have severely limited James’ opportunities to grow into an on-pitch leadership role for Chelsea over the past 14 months. The fact he came through 107 intense minutes here (factoring in extensive additional time at the end of each half) without any obvious physical discomfort represents a significant positive step. The last time he managed a full competitive game? April 18, 2023, the second leg of Chelsea’s comprehensive defeat against Real Madrid in the quarter-finals of the Champions League, shortly after Frank Lampard had taken charge of the team on an interim basis. Three coaches, 18 months and a lifetime ago in football terms. Then there was Maresca’s latest tactical gambit: deploying James on the left of defence rather than the right, where Malo Gusto began but frequently inverted high into midfield. The role required him to be more conservative with his positioning when Chelsea attacked, changed the angles of his passes and even necessitated him popping up to make vital blocks in his own penalty area and several goal-line clearances. For another footballer already trying to navigate challenging individual circumstances, it might have proven a discomfort too far. But James’ introspective nature masks a steely resolve. He performed with poise as well as physicality, limiting the industrious Miguel Almiron to one real chance in his 68 minutes on the pitch and enhancing Chelsea’s control in possession. James during Chelsea’s win over Newcastle (Serena Taylor/Getty Images) “I think it worked top,” Maresca said of James’ positioning. “We tried to do something where we moved Reece to the left side and Cole (Palmer) for the first time this season into the left pocket. The reason was to try to attack on that side and also to have Malo in the right pocket. I think in the end it worked really well.” Part of showing personality on the pitch is being able to carry influence to different positions. It is a quality Maresca values highly in his system and one that Palmer exhibited every bit as much as James in the attacking third, scoring the winning goal with a shot from Maresca’s “left pocket” after dropping deeper to create Chelsea’s opener with perhaps the pass of the season. GO DEEPER Was Cole Palmer meant to be this good? We asked those who watched him grow Palmer will probably never be described as a vocal leader, but his demand of the ball and clear-eyed assurance, when he possesses it, oozes the personality Maresca is looking for. Others in this young team are also growing in stature: Colwill standing tall in defence next to Wesley Fofana fighting through significant knee pain, Moises Caicedo snapping into tackles, Nicolas Jackson relentlessly receiving passes under pressure and linking attacks. “With Reece, with Cole, with all the squad… I said the other day because we are quite young, we need to build leaders,” Maresca added. “Levi was quite silent and now he’s always talking. Sometimes when you don’t have them, you need to build leaders. That doesn’t mean you are going to change people, but if they can improve on that, it’s good.” With personality comes greater consistency. The only Premier League teams who have beaten Chelsea since February are Manchester City, Arsenal and Liverpool, with the other 20 games yielding 14 wins and six draws. The mounting evidence that stretches back to the final months of Mauricio Pochettino’s tenure suggests this is the fourth-best team in England — which, given that priority number one is Champions League qualification, is an encouraging sign. Newcastle were always going to be a stiffer test of Chelsea’s burgeoning ability to take care of business against the rest in the Premier League and the home side’s heightened emotional state during the second half underlined their awareness of the importance of winning. Maresca was booked after sprinting furiously back to his seat on the home bench one too many times in protest at a decision from referee Simon Hooper and at the final whistle, Fofana and James were among several players in blue who collapsed to the ground in their own penalty area. For the second time in the space of a few minutes, James was quickly picked back up and engulfed by team-mates. He may not yet be the most polished captain, but he is a popular one at Stamford Bridge and his stoic revival is starting to mirror Chelsea’s under Maresca.

another great omen Dodgers vs. Yankees World Series Game 3 Highlights (10/28/24) | MLB Highlights No team that lost the first three games of a World Series has ever stuck around for Game 6, let alone win the Series. This is the 120th World Series played. Just one club, the 2004 Boston Red Sox, against the Yankees in the American League Championship Series two decades ago, has completed the comeback to win after losing the first 3 games in any 7 game postseason series ever. How the 2004 Red Sox did the (seemingly) impossible

RB Leipzig’s Xavi Simons unlikely to return before 2025 after ankle surgery https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5879264/2024/10/28/xavi-simons-injury-update/ RB Leipzig playmaker Xavi Simons will likely miss the rest of the calendar year after undergoing surgery on an ankle ligament injury. The Netherlands international sustained the injury to his left ankle in last week’s Champions League defeat at home to Liverpool and underwent an operation in Munich over the weekend. The 21-year-old, who has scored three goals and provided two assists in 11 appearances across all competitions for RB Leizpig this season, is expected back in training before the end of the year but the club do not expect him to play again until 2025. RB Leipzig head coach Marco Rose has said that the club would consider Simons’ long-term future, as well as the team’s short-term needs. Simons suffered the injury in the Champions League defeat to Liverpool earlier this month (Marco Steinbrenner/DeFodi Images via Getty Images) “We are still trying to figure out how to proceed,” Rose said. “It is important that we find a good solution, as he wants to play at the top level for many years to come.” Rose said on Monday that “being fit to play this calendar year is the big goal” for Simons, who is on a season-long loan deal from Paris Saint-Germain. RB Leipzig having 11 matches remaining in 2024 and they play St. Pauli in the DFB-Pokal on Tuesday before travelling to Borussia Dortmund in the Bundesliga on Saturday. Rose’s side also have Champions League matches against Celtic, Inter Milan and Aston Villa this year. RB Leipzig are joint-top of the Bundesliga alongside Bayern Munich and Rose’s team remain unbeaten domestically this season.

Manure sacked ten bags. Zero shock.

Las Palmas considering allowing star Álvaro Vallésout the door in January amid talk of pre-agreement https://www.football-espana.net/2024/10/26/las-palmas-considering-allowing-star-out-the-door-in-january-amid-talk-of-pre-agreement Las Palmas goalkeeper Alvaro Valles was arguably the best in La Liga last season through the first six months of the season, and attracted a great deal of interest in the process. Valles has been sent to the stands by the club though, after refusing to sign a new contract. Valles was heavily linked to Real Betis in the summer, but the Andalusian side could not agree a deal with Las Palmas. He had been told by the club he would not play again if he did not sign a new deal, but Relevo say that there is a tacit agreement for Valles and Betis to renew talks in june, when his contract at Las Palmas expires. However Las Palmas could take a change of approach and look for a loan move for Valles until the end of the season in the January transfer window. The Canary Islanders would at the very least save the last six months of his salary in that way. Sporting Director Luis Helguera certainly wasted no time in finding a quality replacement in Jasper Cillessen, but it will no doubt grate in Gran Canaria that they have not been able to strike a lucrative deal if Va lles is to be leaving. Álvaro Vallés: The Modern Sweeper Keeper https://breakingthelines.com/player-analysis/alvaro-valles-the-modern-sweeper-keeper/

Out of contract in 2025: free agents available on a Bosman Alvaro Valles (Las Palmas) (we could sign him in January on a loan now) Alphonso Davies (Bayern Munich) (will end up at either Barca or Real Madrid) Jonathan Tah (Bayer Leverkusen) Jonathan David (Lille)

the most embarrassing thing was ALL the English pundits who were on his dick for months as if Arse had just signed prime Jairzinho

they only have 2 outfield players over 28yo and only 4 more over 25yo

yep

2 1

1 1

Robertson shredded

1 nil Arse Saka

the pen VAR and then on-field review

https://www.vipleague.pm/ligue-1/strasbourg-vs-nantes-1-live-streaming

no Saliba (banned) no Calafiori (injured) Partey at RB, as Ben White plays CB