Vesper

WW were the ones to pull out over the dwarf Kounde, thank fuck I never really got hyped about Raphinha, so was not arsed when he went to them (and now they supposedly are already ready to sell him, LOL) HARD PASS if we had pulled de Jong, then NO chance we would go for Enzo and Enzo is more is my type of player (I do rate de Jong though, I think he is a wonderful player) neither Gavi or Pedri were EVER leaving Barca, certainly not to come to us Ousmane Dembélé not coming was a pretty big disappointment (I wanted him over Sterling in fact) BUT there was one fail that KILLED me still does I would prefer him over even Skriniar I think (so you KNOW I rate the fuck of him) especially as he is 4 years younger Ronald Araújo these are my top 6 (performance not value, I mean IF you had to win a game, who would you have on your team NOW) CBs on the planet No order Thiago Silva Ronald Araújo Josko Gvardiol Rúben Dias Marquinhos Milan Skriniar I can see William Saliba or Sven Botman or De Ligt replacing Thiago when our rock retires in a year and a half or 2 and a half years what SUCKS is that before his massive leg break, I would have put Wesley Fofana above all 3 as the next member of the Big 6 CBs I so hope he can recover to that level btw watch these teens the 3 best teen CBs on the planet atm IMHO and one is ours!

Gary Neville has been getting more than a few bovver boots to his jacobs over liking a tweet about Mason Greenwood

Criminal proceedings discontinued against Man United player Mason Greenwood https://www.espn.co.uk/football/manchester-united-engman_utd/story/4867362/criminal-proceedings-discontinued-against-man-united-player-mason-greenwood Criminal proceedings against Manchester United striker Mason Greenwood have been "discontinued," police and prosecutors said Thursday. The 21-year-old footballer was due to face trial in November over allegations of attempted rape, assault and controlling and coercive behaviour. In a statement issued later on Thursday, Man United said they have launched an internal investigation with sources telling ESPN the club could only proceed with their own review once the criminal case had ended. Sources have told ESPN that Greenwood will not play or train with United until the investigation is over and there is no timeframe for how long that might take. Greenwood last played for United more than a year ago in a 1-0 win over West Ham on Jan. 22, 2022. United's statement read: "Manchester United notes the decision of the Crown Prosecution Service that all charges against Mason Greenwood have been dropped. The club will now conduct its own process before determining next steps. We will not make any further comment until that process is complete." In his own statement, Greenwood said he was "relieved that this matter is now over and I would like to thank my family, loved ones and friends for their support. There will be no further comment at this time." Explaining Thursday's announcement, the Crown Prosecution Service said key witnesses had withdrawn their involvement. "A decision has been made to discontinue prosecution in accordance with the Code for Crown Prosecutors," a CPS statement read. A CPS spokesperson said: "A combination of the withdrawal of key witnesses and new material that came to light meant there was no longer a realistic prospect of conviction." The CPS added that it encouraged "any potential victims to come forward and report to police." Chief Superintendent Michaela Kerr, Greater Manchester Police's Head of Public Protection, said: "Given the significant media coverage of this case, it is only fair that we share the news that the 21-year-old man, who had been arrested and charged in connection with an investigation opened in January 2022, no longer faces criminal proceedings in relation to this. "The investigation team has remained in regular contact with the legal team, providing any updates of note, and so understand the rationale for the discontinuation of proceedings at this stage, and that this decision has not been taken lightly. "Despite the media and public's interest in this case, we have decided not to comment on it in any further detail. "I would, however, like to use this opportunity to reiterate GMP's commitment to investigating allegations of violence against women and girls and supporting those affected, regardless of their circumstances, throughout what can be a hard and upsetting time for them." Information from Reuters contributed to that report.

what we need is to SO HOPE that the right footed, crazy expensive and (IMHO) potentially perma-damaged Wesley Fofana somehow regains complete pre injury form oh and a time machine to use to go back scream 'WTF are you THINKING!!!' at Boehly when he is ordering the £95m total cost disasterclass buy of KK, lolol

20th anniversary of it kicking off soon comes July 1, 2003, when Roman bought us from Bates exactly 5 months from yesterday https://www.theguardian.com/football/2003/jul/02/newsstory.sport5 This article is more than 19 years old Wed 2 Jul 2003 02.19 BST In a surprise move last night Chelsea football club was sold to a 36-year-old Russian oil billionaire after intense and secret negotiations, in a deal worth £140m. Ken Bates, the club's chairman, struck the deal with Roman Abramovich, who is also an influential politician, and has deep pockets. According to Forbes magazine he is Russia's second richest man with a fortune of $5.7bn (£3.4bn) and a wide range of business interests, including the Russian airline Aeroflot. His deal to buy Chelsea Village, the overall owner, values the Premiership club at £60m. It follows months of speculation that Mr Bates had been looking for a financial injection for the loss-making club, with debts thought to be in the region of £80m. In the six months to the end of December, Chelsea Village lost £11m on a turnover of £53m. Mr Bates, who owns at least 29% of Chelsea Village, is staying as chairman as part of the deal and insisted last night that it would be good for the club. "We have achieved an enormous amount over the past 21 years, building a fantastic new stadium and a talented team which is firmly established as one of the top clubs in Europe. In today's highly competitive football market, the club will benefit from a new owner with deeper pockets to move Chelsea to the next level," he said. Mr Abramovich is a keen sports fan but not a particular Chelsea supporter. He decided to approach Chelsea after running the rule over a number of English clubs, including Manchester United, which has itself been the subject of takeover rumours. Last night he said he was "delighted" with his deal, which will stun football fans. "We have the resources and ambition to achieve even more given the huge potential of this great club," he said. He is a major shareholder in Sibneft, one of Russia's largest oil firms which is conducting a merger that will turn it into the world's fourth largest oil company. He is offering to pay Chelsea Village shareholders 35p a share, which is 15% above the closing value of the shares last night at 30.5p. The stock market was closed when the deal was announced. He has bought almost 85 million shares and has the support of shareholders controlling 50.09%. His offer will be extended to the rest of the shareholders when the stock market opens this morning. Mr Bates, a high-profile figure in English football, has transformed Chelsea since buying it for £1 in 1982. He has turned it into a business empire centred on its west London ground but built up debts in building a hotel, restaurant and leisure facilities. Chelsea's ownership structure has always caused controversy because of stakes held by unusual offshore companies.

so the FIFA World Club Cup started yesterday and it had a world's first, and will have another one on Saturday the ref, for the first time ever in a FIFA tournament, went live on his mic and explained the VAR rulings in detail also, Saturday, the 4th of February will be the first time EVER an American club plays in a FIFA world club championship event Seattle Sounders they play Egyptian side Al Ahly in Tangier, and the winner plays Real Madrid

yes, someone posted on that too, before, but you went into more detail cheers! I think it is great idea, btw

IF someone offers us £40m in the summer, gone and he is my favourite player here left from the CL and World Champions days Sell him to Fulham or Brentford as Kova LOVES London he said it is the best city on the planet (other than some in Croatia, lol) and he wants to live here at least part-time after retiring, barring a coaching job elsewhere

this is the worst! KK £95m when his transfer fees are added in, FFS!!!! that would pay for ALL but 2.5m quid of Gvardiol's release clause in 2024 !!

yes! wifey and I each have one first we bought since the best Chels kit eva

I still have no clue how he went from sniper to not being able to hit the broadside of a barn he was so good at most other things just was one of the worst shooters I have ever seen here

He said he wants to equal Maldini and play topflight European football at 40 years of age Thiago Silva Date of birth/Age: Sep 22, 1984 (38) Literally born on the Autumnal Equinox, so the last day of summer/first day of fall, 1984 so 2024/2025 would be his last season, IF he sticks to that Paolo Maldini Date of birth 26 June 1968 his last season was 2008–09, so 40 years old when he played that (all 32 years of his career were with AC Milan, 1978 to 2009, absolutely amazing) AC Milan main players Manager: Carlo Ancelotti Christian Abbiati Dida Alessandro Nesta Paolo Maldini Marek Jankulovski Giuseppe Favalli Gianluca Zambrotta Andrea Pirlo Mathieu Flamini Gennaro Gattuso Clarence Seedorf Massimo Ambrosini David Beckham Kaká Ronaldinho Alexandre Pato Andriy Shevchenko Filippo Inzaghi Thiago Silva played his first match for AC Milan in a friendly match against Hannover 96 on 21 January 2009, making ten tackles.

why T-Markt only shows prices in Euros now ffs Hello, I've been using Transfermarkt for a very long time and, until I changed my laptop recently, all the prices I had seen were in UK Pound Sterling currency. Now, since logging in from my new laptop, all the prices are in Euros. Since I am used to see them in UK Pounds, I tried to find a way in settings to change this but I couldn't. I am entering the https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk URL so I thought the prices would automatically be seen in Pounds, but no they aren't. Please tell me if there is any way to switch from Euros to Pounds Hi, Sorry little late reply. For a few months it has been shown in euros because of the exchange rates, which, especially in the past, have not always been shown correctly. So your settings are correct. Unfortunately, you also have to say that this will not be changed back again.

If I was a soon to be (last month of this season) 29yo Kova there is not a chance I would extend it for ONLY a year or two on my June 2024 expiring current contract especially for only a year as then I am assed out at 31 or, if a 2 year extension, 32 he turns 30 right before his current deal ends, so that is a hot mess too, as 30yo is when your value starts to dive (and only gets rapidly worse, especially 33yo and on, at 33yo you are 99% of the time fucked in terms of footie valuing you for big pay cheque, despite the freak of nature in Thiago that we are blessed with) unless your name is Messi or CR7 or you are a GK (and even there, for most GKers, 33, 34 is VERY often the last peak years, if they even make it to that age at peak, despite some exceptions (I documented this GK age thing long ago, in pretty detailed depth) it is not a coincidence that the young adult human demographical cohort is so often delineated as 18 to 32yo's it is a bad confluence of age and expiration and club transition/flux

I already explained in some depth as to why there is the talk it is complicated and will require a large judgment call see:

Besides Mbappe and Håland, I also wanted to take all of these (all of whom I so rate) off the lists for absolute clarity this baker's dozen (and 15 when Mbappe and Håland are added) is based off the list above, and also reality Vinicius Junior Phil Foden Pedri Jamal Musiala (GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR) Bukayo Saka Federico Valverde Gavi Aurélien Tchouameni (GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR) Joshua Kimmich Rúben Dias Achraf Hakimi (GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR) Marquinhos Milan Skriniar (GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR)

OK then here is my list! No, we do NOT need to go after either Mbappe or Håland, they are FFP busters and not needed, not with the team we have now PLUS these: GK Oblak or Giorgi Mamardashvili CB Gvardiol CB Ronald Araújo or Mohamed Simakan LB Alphonso Davies or Nuno Mendes (flip a coin) RB WE ARE SORTED!!!! YESSSSSSSSSSSSSS DMF Roméo Lavia or Declan Rice Kante Role Nicolò Barella or Caicedo Box to Box MF Manu Koné or Alexis Mac Allister CMF Bellingham AMF/No. 10 Arsen Zakharyan Winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (ambipedal) or Rafael Leão Winger Mousa Diaby (left footed) SS Make Felix perm CF Osimhen finally, in two years, when he is 18yo BUY Warren Zaïre-Emery and Sell ALL the dregs, bin them ALL!

HARD PASS!

Folarin Balogun sends fresh Arsenal message and overtakes Kylian Mbappe in league goals Folarin Balogun is flourishing in France after joining Reims on loan from Arsenal - scoring more league goals than Eddie Nketiah and Gabriel Jesus combined this season https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/arsenal-balogun-mbappe-psg-reims-29110264 Arsenal talent Folarin Balogun scored a hat-trick to help loan club Reims beat Ligue 1 rivals Lorient 4-2 on Wednesday evening. Reims recovered from two goals down after Balogun found the net three times at the Stade Auguste-Delaune II. The 21-year-old has now scored 14 Ligue 1 goals this term - making him the top scorer in the division ahead of Kylian Mbappe, Neymar and Lionel Messi. Balogun's scoring exploits mark a splendid turnaround for the youngster. His Arsenal future seemed in doubt after he was sent on loan to Reims at the beginning of the season, but manager Mikel Arteta will now be looking forward to his return in the summer. "Before I moved, Mikel said he wanted me to develop as a man," said Balogun told reporters last September. "It was kind of like an open answer and for me to interpret what me meant by develop as a man. But by moving abroad, I’m starting to learn what he meant. "It doesn't just mean on the pitch but also off the pitch. I think by the time I go back I’ll be in a better place to compete than I was before I left." Balogun expanded on this during an interview with L'Equipe. He said: "Arsenal is my family. For me, the club represents brotherhood and unity. There, I learned always to push my limits. I remember from training the permanent desire to progress on a technical level." He added: "I think by the time I go back I’ll be in a better place to compete than I was before I left. I realised there were certain things I would struggle with, but I think that’s a good thing. It helps you to manage stuff you’re uncomfortable with which is important." Speaking last March, Arteta insisted Balogun has a big future at Arsenal. He said: "You can see how he is developing. This is going to give us more detail about what is the next best move for him to keep developing... we want him to be part of our future. "He needed a pathway, he needs that exposure. He needs to go through good and difficult moments, and he needs to be able to adapt and find himself in the dressing room." Balogun was spotted talking to Arsenal legend Thierry Henry ahead of Reims' 1-1 draw against Paris Saint-Germain on Sunday night. The emerging star scored a last-minute equaliser and copied one of Henry's iconic celebrations after finding the net.

when Messi finally retires Enzo is likely (he is now second, after Messi of course) to be the number one Argie player and the biggest marketing/seller active player (Messi and Maradona of course will be 1 and 2 or 2 and 1)

The only MFers (not counting AMFs) on the planet I would take right now over Warren Zaïre-Emery, even at only 16yo are only 5 in number (we have one now in Enzo) and also Bellingham Tchou and the two Barca lads (who kinda are actually AMFs but I will call the CMFs) Pedri and Gavi and I am NOT sure on the 2 Barca lads, Zaïre-Emery may well end up better, time will tell on them (and Emery of course) I am nor joking on how much I rate him, even at 16yo Valverde is close btw (but sort of an AMF/winger too), and Kimmich is 28 in a few days, so nope, not enough peak years left in him Bruno Guimarães or Barella? NOPE, Emery all the way Foden is NOT a MFer (T-Markt finally removed Saka as a MFer, now they need to do the same with Foden) Saka is the best left footed winger not named Messi on the planet IMHO, I would take Saka over Salah now, and over Foden after those listed, the drop off is huge atm that is it

Huh? 2? Last season was his best ever stats-wise in his career he was our POTY 11 EPL goals, 13 overall and 16 assists, 10 in the EPL Chelsea Player of the Year: 2020–21, 2021–22

https://theathletic.com/4145730/2023/02/01/premier-league-million-january-transfer/ If January is supposed to be the month of frugality and financial restraint, nobody’s told the Premier League clubs. On and on went the spending in this latest transfer window, as though what had been a record-breaking summer never ended. The 2022-23 season has brought new levels of excess for English football’s top 20 clubs. After £1.9billion ($2.34bn) was collectively spent through last June, July, August and the first day of September, the opening month of the new year saw cheques written for another £815million. Deadline day alone saw deals struck for £275million. The total spend of £2.7billion is a 47 per cent increase on the previous high of £1.86billion, for the 2018-19 season. Even as we grow increasingly numb to the soaring figures, they are no less extraordinary. Just as the Premier League had never known a window like the summer of 2022, there was again a uniqueness to the business done in the last month. Some clubs held back, opting to keep their powder dry for the close-season, but the vast majority found reasons to buy in January. Even allowing for Chelsea’s aggressive ambition — roughly a third of the month’s total spend came out of Stamford Bridge — the Premier League’s total gross outlay was £385million more than any other mid-season window and three times that of the same period last year. COVID-19 and the prudency it briefly enforced has begun to feel as distant a memory as the backpass rule being introduced.

The most underrated signing of the window was… Miller: I’m going to get ahead of the game here and say Yasin Ayari, the 19-year-old Swedish midfielder signed by Brighton. Have I seen him play? No, obviously not, but I can only assume he’s going to be brilliant in a year or so. Beyond that, Weston McKennie to Leeds United could be handy and Bournemouth’s new forward Antoine Semenyo seems lively. Anka: It’ll take until next season, but Malo Gusto is going to be one of the best right-backs in the Premier League and it is absurd Chelsea will be able to field either him or Reece James. English clubs should keep shopping at Lyon. Sheldon: Carlos Alcaraz has caught my attention at Southampton. The midfielder, who cost an initial £12.3m, impressed on his debut against Everton. He is unlikely to get a lot of attention given their perilous position in the league, but his first outings suggest they have unearthed a very competent player at a relatively low price. Alexander: Brighton have welcomed an 18-year-old Argentinian wonderkid, Facundo Buonanotte, so he’s bound to be attracting eager bids of £100m within a couple of years. But in the short term, Gustavo Scarpa at Forest looks like one to watch. Five shots and a chance created in his first 104 minutes of Premier League football = fun. Describe this transfer window in a sentence… Miller: If Brighton want to sell you a player, they will sell you that player, but if Brighton do not want to sell you a player, pack up your things and head home. Anka: The Premier League is once again making payments using metal credits while the rest of Europe is scrambling with pocket change out of their savings jar. Sheldon: Chelsea spending a fortune, handing out contracts that run into the 2030s and taking advantage of UEFA’s financial fair play rules regarding amortisation.

CIES Football Observatory n°407 - 01/02/2023 Performance Global rankings of best “take on” players Issue 407 of the CIES Football Observatory Weekly Post presents the players who have performed best in the area of take on over the past year on the basis of an exclusive index based on 100 taking into account the frequency of successful dribbles and crosses, playing time, as well as the sporting level of matches played. Ousmane Dembélé (Barcelona) tops the list among attacking players and João Cancelo (Bayern München) among defending ones. Vinícius Júnior and Kevin De Bruyne round up the podium for offensive players. Seventh overall, Kylian Mbappé is the highest-ranked footballer among those who played primarily in the centre of the attack. Three players who have not yet turned 20 appear in the top 100: Jude Bellingham, Ângelo Gabriel (Santos FC) and Jamal Musiala. The evergreen Croatian Luka Modrić is the oldest player on the list, ahead of Salernitana’s Antonio Candreva. Among defensive players, João Cancelo outranks Trent Alexander-Arnold and Javi Galan (Celta Vigo). Four players aged 23 or under are in the top ten: Pedro Porro (fourth), Reece James (eighth), Nuno Tavares (ninth) and Alphonso Davies (tenth). The French Malo Gusto and Quentin Merlin are the youngest footballers in the top 100, while Jesús Navas and the fresh América Mineiro recruit Nino Paraíba are the oldest. For more information on the different areas of play considered by the CIES Football Observatory for the analysis of players’ technical performance (InStat/Hudl data), please refer to this Monthly Report . Take on index ranking (01/02/2023) At least 1,000 domestic league minutes during last 365 days. Data: InStat/Hudl. snip