Vesper

Napoli likely makes the final and they are NO pushover it's a shitshow draw I would say the 6 best teams on the planet atm are (no real order for the top 3) and Napoli is a solid 4th, they are 18 points clear at the top of Serie A after only 26 games played and Serie A has three teams in the final 8 in the CL Bayern Real Citeh Napoli Barca Arsenal and to win the CL we will have to beat 3 of the top 4

disasterclass draw for us 😞

ffs HORRID DRAW the only good thing is that of we make it to final we will not face one of the top 3 teams on the planet downside those 3 teams are in our 4 team side of the bracket!!!! FUCK!!!! only ways it could have been worse is if you had flipped Bayern and Napoli so we would have to beat all three in a row more than likely (or the same thing with different order Real flips with Napoli and then we face Bayern next) or flip Citeh and Napoli and we still face Real next or face Bayern next, the other in the semi and Citeh in the final)

I think De Paul would flourish next to Enzo. Do not get me wrong, De Paul is not a main target of mine.

Patrick O'Viera, lol

would prefer him (even though older) all day over Mac Alliser IF we are talking 2023 summer window by 2024, no (due to his age)

Chelsea tread familiar path by asking Mudryk to play outside his comfort zone https://theathletic.com/4307223/2023/03/15/mudryk-Chelsea-havertz-lukaku/ If you love someone, should you try to change them? It is a question that has been exercising relationship experts for decades. It is also one that has carried a peculiar relevance in recent years at Chelsea, where a series of high-profile, high-value, highly gifted attacking footballers have seen their dream moves to Stamford Bridge degrade into loveless marriages. The experience of watching Mykhailo Mudryk battle his own apparent confusion as well as the Leicester City defence as an experimental No 9 on Saturday should have felt familiar to Chelsea supporters — not least because his positioning was in part designed to keep Kai Havertz, a unique attacking midfielder who has spent much of the last two years being deployed as a striker, in his best role in Graham Potter’s 3-4-2-1 system. Until recently, Havertz had looked in increasing danger of being remembered as a disappointment at Chelsea, despite that Champions League winner in Porto in 2021; the image of him rounding Manchester City goalkeeper Ederson being slowly but steadily eroded by his more recent status as the point and the symbol of Europe’s most expensive toothless attack. Chelsea bought Havertz at the height of Roman Abramovich’s opportunistic final spending spree in the pandemic summer transfer window of 2020 — mostly because they could, not because they had a clear plan for him as Bayer Leverkusen had done. Frank Lampard deployed him as a No 8, a No 10, a right-winger and a false nine. Thomas Tuchel seemed to understand his nature as “a hybrid player” better than most, but defaulted towards playing him as a No 9 for the second half of his tenure. Only now, under Graham Potter, is he once again being used in a role that maximises his qualities. Not every Chelsea attacker is fortunate enough to get the chance to bring an unfulfilling story full circle. Just look at Romelu Lukaku and Timo Werner, the men Havertz effectively replaced as Tuchel’s preferred No 9. Werner attracted the attention of Liverpool and Chelsea as a prolific scorer at RB Leipzig in a bespoke tactical role crafted for him by Julian Nagelsmann — most often playing behind and to the left of a focal point No 9, a position from which he could pick up the ball between the lines and run at goal, drift out towards the left flank, arrive late in the box or run in behind. It quickly became clear Chelsea would not use him in the same way. Lampard deployed him either as a left-winger or as an alternative No 9 to Tammy Abraham in a 4-3-3. Tuchel initially fielded him much like Potter is using Raheem Sterling and Mudryk now, as the speedy striker tasked with stretching opposition defences and creating space between the lines for Havertz. Tactics were far from the only factor in Werner disappointing at Stamford Bridge. His blistering speed in big spaces and technical limitations in small ones always made him a more natural fit for the more transitional style of Bundesliga matches than for navigating the low blocks fielded by many of Chelsea’s opponents in the Premier League. But he also never felt entirely comfortable in the team. “The coach’s system of play didn’t suit me perfectly,” he said of Tuchel’s approach after returning to Leipzig. Then there is Lukaku. Cast your minds back to that notorious unsanctioned interview with Sky Italia in December 2021 that effectively ended his relationship with Tuchel and set him on a path back to Inter Milan on loan — what was his main source of frustration? “I’m not happy with the situation and that’s only natural,” he said. “The head coach has decided to play a different system and I mustn’t let up. I need to keep working hard and be professional. I’m not happy with the situation but I am a grafter. The coach can get me playing more but I have to respect the choices he makes. All I have to do is keep working and wait for my moment.” Lukaku appeared to have taken his game to another level in the two seasons before rejoining Chelsea under Antonio Conte at Inter, thriving alongside Lautaro Martinez in a counter-attacking 3-5-2 system that afforded him plenty of opportunities to do what he did best: receive the ball on the run in transitions and wreck scrambling opponents with his rare blend of direct speed, skill and overwhelming physicality. “Let me tell you why he’s so good,” Conte said of Lukaku during his own appearance as a pundit on Sky Italy three months earlier. “He’s a threat in the penalty area and you have to try and keep him away from it. But he’s also able to come into midfield and unleash his speed: he can be a focal point in the box but also break from midfield with his pace and quality.” Chelsea instead tried to re-cast Lukaku as a lone striker at the point of Tuchel’s attack, tasking him with pressing from the front and frequently linking play with his back to goal in a slower, more patient possession style not attuned to picking out his more direct runs. The results that followed a deceptively bright debut against Arsenal were at best underwhelming and at worst catastrophic, epitomised by a seven-touch disasterclass against Crystal Palace. There is almost always a significant period of adaptation for attacking players joining elite clubs. It is also true that the best attacking structures are rarely built around one star — unless that one star happens to be a Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo or Kylian Mbappe-level talent. The ability to succeed in different contexts, and sometimes even different positions, is what can separate the attackers who have real staying power at the highest level from those who do not. Sometimes that challenge can come from a change in circumstances; Christian Pulisic was signed to replace Eden Hazard on the left of Maurizio Sarri’s 4-3-3, only for the Italian to be gone by the time he actually arrived at Stamford Bridge. Hakim Ziyech was acquired to play on the opposite flank in the same formation for Lampard, but has spent much of his Chelsea career since trying to find a clear role in a 3-4-2-1. Chelsea signing attacking players without a coherent idea of how best to use or fit them together is a tradition that dates back to the £50million signing of Fernando Torres from Liverpool in January 2011. Injury problems and a confidence crisis precipitated the Spaniard’s rapid decline at Stamford Bridge, but asking him to morph from the transition terror latching on to Steven Gerrard through balls into Didier Drogba’s target man successor hardly helped. Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali are adamant that they will not follow Abramovich’s scattergun approach to recruitment and squad building. Potter’s recent return to 3-4-2-1, however, poses similar questions about their January transfer business. Noni Madueke at least played as a No 10 for much of his youth career in England before switching to the right flank at PSV Eindhoven, but Mudryk is as natural a modern winger as they come. Does either fit cleanly into this system? Perhaps the long-term outcome is that Potter will have a high-end chameleon of a squad capable of matching his tactical versatility, fielding different combinations of personnel in very different formations depending on the nature of the opponent, with no drop-off in performance. Or perhaps it will simply be incumbent upon every member of the squad to adapt positionally and tactically to a more consistent, clearly defined approach. Mudryk already appears to be in this situation as he navigates a mid-season adaptation to a new team in a new country. Potter offered some public words of encouragement after the Leicester win. “We’re positive about him,” Chelsea’s head coach said. “We’re positive about the future for him. But we need just to help them settle and help him understand what he needs to do to help us.” Understanding what Mudryk needs to do to help Chelsea might well require him to provide different things from the qualities that first marked him out as special at Shakhtar Donetsk — but that would be nothing new at Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea delighted with Gabriel Slonina progress as ‘Gaga’ makes an impression https://theathletic.com/4307418/2023/03/16/slonina-Chelsea-chicago-fire/ Every day before and after training, Gabriel Slonina writes in his journal. Chelsea’s new goalkeeper, signed from Chicago Fire of MLS for an initial £8.1million ($10m) last summer, has followed the same routine for the past 11 years. Now 18, he has already filled 15 books with notes and continues to use them as a point of reference. He has not let up since moving to England. These diaries detail goals Slonina has set himself for the short, medium and long-term as well as particular aspects he wants to recall from training or games, both good and bad. One of the reasons he scribbles down his thoughts prior to a session is to help focus on what he wants to achieve that day, to ensure his career remains on an upward curve. It is early days for him at Chelsea, but clearly the exercise is paying off. Slonina, who comes across as mature for one so young, was signed very much with the future in mind. However, he is ambitious and has set sights on becoming the club’s and the USMNT’s No 1 one day. After signing in August, the teenager had to wait to work with his new team-mates as he was loaned back to Chicago until the end of the MLS season in November. He officially joined Graham Potter’s squad in January, but did benefit from an early taster of life at the club in October (Chicago failed to make the end-of-season title play-offs) when attending the away game at Brentford and Manchester United’s visit to Stamford Bridge three days later. He has settled down quickly in new surroundings. Living in a flat near the club’s training ground in Surrey, south of London — preferring there to the city centre, where there are far more distractions — he maintains a strict daily regime; bed by 10pm every night, and rising by 7am at the latest. He genuinely is one of the first players into the Cobham complex each day, and one of the last to leave. Slonina’s work ethic has not gone unnoticed, not least by Chelsea’s new American owners. Everyone at the club has got used to calling him ‘Gaga’, a nickname given to him by his family when he was a youngster and has nothing to do with the singer. The name stuck and he has even adopted it as his Twitter handle. Most of his week is spent training with the first team, working alongside Kepa Arrizabalaga, Edouard Mendy and Marcus Bettinelli, plus goalkeeping coaches Ben Roberts and Hilario. Those elder statesmen have given the youngster a warm welcome and are always on hand to answer his questions. Slonina recognises he has a lot to learn from them as he works to ascend to their level. Game time so far has been with the under-21s in Premier League 2. He has made four appearances to date and showcased his potential, conceding just once as Chelsea recorded three wins and a draw in those matches. There are five more fixtures this season and Slonina is expected to feature in the majority. The fact the under-21s are involved in a title battle with their Manchester City counterparts — Chelsea are a point ahead but City have two games in hand, and are at home to the west Londoners in mid-April — means there is an element of pressure on him to perform. The club will learn much from how he handles it. In a 1-0 home win over Arsenal last month, Slonina made his mark. It was not just the saves he made en route to a clean sheet, but he demonstrated an ability to pass the ball out from the back — a key quality all keepers must have these days. He was also not shy about shouting instructions to team-mates, commanding his back line efficiently. GO DEEPER The most vital skill for goalkeepers in 2023: Shot-stopping or distribution? Despite spending most of his time fraternising with the senior players, there is no sense of ego when he drops down to play with the development squad. When Leo Castledine scored the only goal of the game in the 86th minute that night against Arsenal, Slonina ran the length of the pitch to join in the celebrations as if he had been playing with them for years. Under-21s coach Mark Robinson is certainly impressed by what he has seen so far. “He’s got a fantastic attitude,” Robinson tells The Athletic. “He does not train with us that often, but when he does he integrates himself into the group brilliantly. It’s not that he just comes in, plays a game and goes back — that it is just a match for him. You saw that in his celebrations against Arsenal — that is what you want. Someone totally invested in what you are doing. “You can see he has developed bonds with the other players, celebrating when they do a block or a tackle in front of him. He only trains with us once a week but he has made a real effort to bond with everyone; buying into what we are doing, asking questions. He goes out of his way to come to find us to ask extra things. That is what you need. “His performance against Arsenal was his best game for us. The way he commanded everything. It can take a bit of time. We are asking him to play quite high at times to join in with possession and to do things that perhaps he was not asked to do at his previous club. He is totally invested. He is brilliant, a pleasure to have around, and feels part of the group.” Slonina’s confidence is hardly a surprise. After becoming the youngest goalkeeper to make his debut in MLS at 17 years and 81 days in August 2021, in January he became the youngest ’keeper to play for the U.S. senior team, earning his first cap in a friendly against Serbia aged just 18 years and 255 days. He had hoped to be named in the squad again this month for CONCACAF Nations League games against Grenada and El Salvador, though he didn’t make Mark Hudson’s squad of 24. Another target on the horizon is the Under-20s World Cup, which begins in Indonesia in May and June. Just like compatriot Christian Pulisic, Slonina is aware his progress will draw even greater scrutiny in his homeland after such a high-profile transfer to Chelsea. Meditation, another activity he took up a few years ago, helps block out any noise from the outside and allows him to retain focus on progression. It was this time last year that Slonina feared his dream move to Stamford Bridge was going to fall through. Most of the work over a transfer had already been done in the January with former Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech, then the club’s technical and performance advisor, key to negotiations. Cech is one of Slonina’s idols, a player whose game he studied growing up, so to receive a call from the man himself saying how much he was wanted by, and would fit in at, Chelsea was obviously a telling factor in his decision to leave Chicago. But the deal was put on hold when then-owner Roman Abramovich was sanctioned and the club got put up for sale. For a while it looked like Real Madrid would sign him instead, but as soon as the Todd Boehly-Clearlake consortium bought Chelsea last May, it was made clear to Slonina how much they wanted to revive the move. He did not think twice — Cech, plus Hilario, ultimately made the difference. When the switch was complete, Cech sent a message congratulating and wishing him all the best, even though by that point he had left the club. Clearly, Slonina has no regrets. “It’s gone great so far,” he told the club’s website last month. “All the goalkeepers, the entire coaching staff and the team are top professionals. They want you to improve, so being around that environment has been amazing. I think I’ve made huge strides, improving as a player and in a personal field, so hopefully I continue to keep doing that working with this group of guys. “I think I’ve improved in everything; just being able to see the little things that I didn’t even think about before and working on those, tweaking them to make me quicker, to make me stronger, to make me more powerful. “After I signed in August it’s been an incredible journey and, honestly, it still doesn’t feel real, coming in and training at the Chelsea facilities. I watched this team growing up and it’s a dream come true.” Inevitably, fans will wonder what happens next. Slonina is currently fourth in the first-team pecking order at Chelsea, although there is a good chance at least two of the three men ahead of him will leave in the summer — Bettinelli’s contract runs out in June and there is a strong possibility Mendy, first choice for the previous two seasons, will be sold after being relegated to No 2 behind Kepa by Potter. However, Chelsea are considering buying a goalkeeper, so that may impact on the young American. As things stand, a decision on whether he stays to be one of three in the senior squad for 2023-24 or goes out on loan will wait until pre-season is well underway. Until then, as he will have noted in his diary, life at Chelsea has been so far, so good.

lol, we are hiring many of the great German and Austrian footballing administrative and recruiting/scouting minds the only one we have missed so far that we tried and failed on was the first and the biggest Christoph Freund, the sporting director at RB Salzburg I still hope we can pull him someday I think he is a genius

Main question with him are those gambling charges and his age (turned 27yo today) I think in terms of player talent, we could do far worse, I love his game he is on my final lists for CF these are the CFs I rate to buy who are remotely available and who are great at pressing (so that rules Dušan Vlahović out) in order of my preference of purchase Victor Osimhen (24yo, turns 25 in December) Rasmus Højlund (super pace, size) (just turned 20yo, MONSTER potential, already scoring a lot for Atalanta, perhaps will be a mini Håland, and he is hardly mini, he is 1.91/1.92m, so over 6 feet 3 inches) Ivan Toney (as long as the betting shit is sorted) today is his 27th birthday, so its buy or not this summer, as he has only 2 full sub 30yo season left, buying him in summer 2024 when he is 28 and a half or so is playing with fire for the price he will still command Jonathan David (just turned 23yo 2 months ago) Randal Kolo Muani (24yo, turns 25 in December, he is 24 days older than Osimhen)

40m euros (£35m) and they sell, I wager

£70m for Mount and I am popping champagne. The good stuff.

lol at all the sadness over the bindippers by the pundits on the telly

CL streams 21:00 - 22:45 | CET CHAMPIONS LEAGUE | REAL MADRID VS LIVERPOOL – S1 21:00 - 22:45 | CET CHAMPIONS LEAGUE | NAPOLI VS EINTRACHT FRANKFURT – S2 also https://www.vipleague.st/real-madrid-vs-liverpool-1-live-streaming https://www.vipleague.st/napoli-vs-eintracht-frankfurt-1-live-streaming

I doubt that you were not even here when the following were posted (feel free to show your claim via other boards or sources postings): first mention of Håland (spelt that way, and the same thing when spelling it Haland) here on TC and this is a scouting comment by me and as spelling it as Haaland (and this was a passing comment about him working Zouma) then nothing under that spelling until months later

I really have to laugh at people trying to shit on Håland's insane goal scoring prowess

FIVE for the monster

that is patently dismissive of his being there to score those goals, and his efforts to set them up if it was so easy why is he shredding record after record by the shedload

Håland is an absolute freak of nature. 6 feet 5 inches of Norse Viking berserker stock.

4 for Håland, WOW