Vesper

Chelsea in thrall to every talent except their own There is a scene in This Is Spinal Tap where the band run into another rock musician, Duke Fame. A snub provokes disdain. “We carried him,” says David St Hubbins, recalling a previous tour. “We had to apologise for him with our set. They were still booing him when we came on.” Enzo Maresca, the Chelsea manager, knows how that feels. After a poor pre-season, conceding 12 goals in the first five games — including four to Celtic — he revealed exactly who was responsible: Mauricio Pochettino, sacked on May 21. So pervasive was his influence, it seems, Chelsea were still defending like drains close to three months later. Yet Chelsea finished the last campaign under Pochettino strongly. They conceded four goals in the final five games, all of which were won. And Pochettino never had his full-strength back four all season. Reece James, Wesley Fofana, Thiago Silva and Ben Chilwell started 42 out of 152 games between them, none together, and 28 of those were played by Silva, who will be 40 in September. There are many reasons why Chelsea’s defence may have fallen short of expectations last season. By comparison, Maresca has struck lucky. Fofana is back and Pochettino developed Marc Cucurella into Chelsea’s starting left back, ahead of Chilwell. James is injured, but Malo Gusto at right back was one of the standout performers in the previous campaign. It would appear the new manager has more to thank his predecessor for than he imagines. Yet that’s Chelsea all over. They seem a very ungrateful bunch, in thrall to every young player on the planet apart from those under their noses. Nine games for Santos, or 30 for Sporting Lisbon B are valued more than decades of devotion from Conor Gallagher, Trevor Chalobah or Mason Mount. The first-team squad is now in possession of six goalkeepers, and none would get in the first team of any club that finished in the top half of the Premier League last season. Players who have been with Chelsea since school are now barred from the first-team building as a means of getting them off the wage bill. Who runs a club like this? Who alienates the very group that can save the owners money: the academy youth? Why send a promising talent to Chelsea, given the way they have treated the products of their system? Better to play 12 games for Rennes and wait for the call. Gallagher is now in limbo because part of the deal that was taking him to Atletico Madrid — not his choice — has collapsed. Samu Omorodion, who was coming the other way, has called off the move. With 22 starts in La Liga, maybe he feels he has too much experience. Maresca blamed fan favourite Gallagher’s departure on the Premier League’s Profitability and Sustainability Rules but that’s more misdirection. Yes, on the balance sheet, homegrown talent counts for more, but there are plenty of alternatives in Chelsea’s overblown squad. The fear is that there is no market for them. No doubt that’s Pochettino’s fault too.

goalkeepers we could have purchased who are better than any we have Giorgi Mamardashvili Diogo Costa Gregor Kobel Mike Maignan Jan Oblak Anatoliy Trubin Matvey Safonov Álvaro Valles Bento

Manchester City agree to sell Julián Álvarez to Atlético Madrid in €95m deal Spanish club due to pay initial €75m for Argentina striker https://www.theguardian.com/football/article/2024/aug/06/manchester-city-agree-to-sell-julian-alvarez-to-atletico-madrid

erm 😿

he has some “discomfort” aka tummy trouble à la

thats £38.5m cash so if we demanded 35m euros for Rom, that's £30m and £20m for Casadei is €23.5m (so counting his loan fees we doubled our money off what we paid) and that all adds up to damn near what I said a day for two ago with different players I said £90m net on net cost before and this adds up to £88.5m (and there is some wiggle room on the Casa and Rom valuations) which is £31.5m to £41.5m less than the Poison Dwarf was demanding last summer and he saves face by saying he got over 100m euros net on net (103m euros)

problem: he turns 30yo in the middle of next season

Right-footed ball carrying CB

absolutely agree m8 😞

assuming Hincapie is off the board soon, as is Jean-Clair Todibo (madness we let him go to West Ham) and Araujo and Scalvini are out until 2025ish with bad injuries that leaves (some are super long shots, those are in italics) Bremer António Silva Gonçalo Inácio Castello Lukeba Mohamed Simakan Marquinhos Dávid Hancko Cristhian Mosquera Milan Skriniar Evan Ndicka

FUCKKKKKKKKKKKK

we would not have a summer window until 2027 let that sink in then NEXT (2028) US presidential election will already be less than half a year from the primaries and the race itself will be in full swing (unless Trump wins and ends elections/democracy with some sort of coup, which is madness and a long shot, but not impossible)

French midfielder Eduardo Camavinga, who was injured last night during Real Madrid's training session in Warsaw—where they will play against Atalanta for the UEFA Super Cup on Wednesday—has been diagnosed with a sprain of the medial collateral ligament in his left knee. "After tests carried out today on our player Eduardo Camavinga, he has been diagnosed with a sprain of the medial collateral ligament in his left knee. Pending further evaluation," read a brief statement from the club.

I see nothing that says we will do that atm

I have been begging for him and/or other CBs for years if he goes to AM we have missed out on (my targets over the past few years): Italics are still out there Ronald Araujo Alessandro Bastoni Bremer Micky van de Ven Leny Yoro Marquinhos António Silva Giorgio Scalvini (injured) Gonçalo Inácio Riccardo Calafiori Piero Hincapié Castello Lukeba Nico Schlotterbeck Robin Le Normand Jurrien Timber Mohamed Simakan Willian Pacho Jean-Clair Todibo Dávid Hancko Alessandro Buongiorno Cristhian Mosquera Milan Skriniar Evan Ndicka

IF we get a multi-window transfer ban and/or points dections and/or straight relegation and Citeh get NOTHING or a minor slap on the wrist I am done with the EPL and the FA and all English football, including the national team absolutely done

FUCKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK

Weekly £ 211,231 (Base) £ 42,180 (Bonus) https://www.capology.com/player/victor-osimhen-36158/

https://hofoo22.fooroomtyv.com/embed/3Mnok3TNx0nvP

Argie thug. And fuck Taylor. What's maddening is that not only is the criminal (he literally match fixes) is not only still a ref, but that the motherfucker is allowed to ref games we are involved in. PGMOL is an organised crime gang.

Lysander only joined TC 9 days ago. They were not around when that post they just replied to first went up.

Cole Palmer signs two-year Chelsea contract extension until 2033 https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5698094/2024/08/13/cole-palmer-Chelsea-new-contract/ Cole Palmer has signed a two-year contract extension at Chelsea until June 2033. Palmer’s new terms are a reward after a hugely successful first season at Stamford Bridge, in which he registered 25 goals and 15 assists in 45 appearances across all competitions. Chelsea signed Palmer from Manchester City last summer for an initial fee of £40million with an additional £2.5m due in potential add-ons. The 22-year-old signed a seven-year contract with the option of a further 12 months. He is one of six players to be nominated for the PFA men’s young player of the year award for 2023-24, along with Bukayo Saka, Michael Olise, Joao Pedro, Kobbie Mainoo and Alejandro Garnacho. The winner will be announced on August 20. Palmer had previously only played 19 times in the Premier League for City before joining Chelsea but he enjoyed a breakout year in west London, earning a call-up to the England squad for the European Championship as a result. After remaining an unused substitute for England’s first two matches, Palmer featured in all five of their next games as they reached the final, where he scored his side’s equalising goal in the 2-1 defeat by Spain. GO DEEPER 'Huge ability, huge mentality': Palmer proves he is ready for England Palmer’s exploits at Euro 2024 mean he only returned to Chelsea last week following a holiday. The attacking midfielder featured as a second-half substitute in Sunday’s 1-1 friendly draw with Inter Milan at Stamford Bridge, his first appearance of pre-season. Enzo Maresca’s Chelsea begin their Premier League season at home against City on Sunday, with a Conference League play-off four against Servette or Braga days later. Chelsea have had a busy summer so far, signing Tosin Adarabioyo from Fulham, Omari Kellyman from Aston Villa, Marc Guiu from Barcelona, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall from Leicester City, Renato Veiga from Basel, Caleb Wiley from Atlanta United and Aaron Anselmino from Boca Juniors. They had also agreed a €40m deal to sign Atletico Madrid striker Samu Omorodion but that move appears to have collapsed due to major problems finalising his contract. GO DEEPER Breaking down the brilliance of Chelsea's Cole Palmer - 'Within one touch, he can hurt you'