The Skipper

Ryan Sessegnon. Check him out.

She seems like a spice. Knew N'Golo was one of those silent killers.

He never has been tbh.

1. Constantly slags off our fans indirectly. 2. Gives no credit to Conte or the players. 3. Has the audacity to say that his tactics here were basically the same as Conte's, except he played for four at the back and we play 5. 4. Tried to destroy our most valued player's legs even though just a year ago he was campaigning against such behaviour. And he's surprised that some fans told him to fuck off? Trying to play the victim? Christ.

Kante is improving the aspects of his game that need improving little by little. Seems to be growing in confidence. Hopefully he keeps refining his offensive play. He has decent dribbling ability and passing range, if Conte can just coach him to be effective in the final third we'll have a legend on our hand. Like Conte said, he needs to improve on his vertical passing and today was very positive in that regards. Tip him to have an even better season next year tbh, with better players, more confidence, more experience at CFC. Such a great buy in today's climate.

Chill...

Big performance from the boy. Looks like he means business for the rest of the season if you pair it with his recent comments.

He's actually shorter. Alba is listed as 165cm and Jay's at 164cm (5ft4). Ashley is listed a full 6 inches higher than him. He isn't taller than Roberto Carlos (168cm) nor is he the same height as Alves or Lahm. I've seen the guy play live and he definitely isn't just two inches shorter than Ashley. Besides, there's a kid who's a league above him who's killing at LB at 16, that's the sort of level we want Jay at or near.

Bailly would start, Pogba would start, Mkhitaryan and Zlatan would give Pedro and Costa a good run for their money. Mourinho has underachieved with his squad in the league, no doubt.

Not for that price. So many better players out there too.

Shame he's so small. If he was even Alba's size he'd probably make it here.

He has talent but he's an idiot.

Mourinho has succeeded in making his team the underdog. I honestly think they're bluffing. One of Rashford/Martial will play.

Looks like he'll be sold. He'd get no game time here especially if we sign another forward. Unlucky not to stay this season. His attitude at Ajax hasn't been good.

That's a lazy answer man. All of these guys would potentially start for us. Mourinho is at fault big time for not getting the best out of his players.

It's necessary. United did it this season with Bailly, Mkhitaryan, Zlatan and Pogba. It's more than doable.

Epic theory that. Sounds exactly like Jose.

Thanks for the post. 1. That is a valid concern indeed, and is why we need someone like Zouma to step up. I don't think we'll sell Cahill either. The centre back group is the least of our worries though, it's something we can work with. There aren't many amazing CBs out there worth spending money on that significantly improves that group. I wanted Christensen to start because he's our most talented young centre back. He does need to work on his strength big time though. We bed him in slowly next season, rotating him with Zouma and Cahill. 2 & 3. I spoke about younger players because more senior players have been discussed to death. Just wanted to show that there is a lot of elite young talent available at the moment. Ideally, I would get maybe 2 young stars and 2 more established stars. So something like Sanchez, Verratti, Alex Sandro, Semedo would be amazing for example. It's unlikely however that our window can be so perfect when there are a lot of other clubs looking to spend this season, hence why, again, I decided to perhaps pick out some younger players who'd be easier attainable. I feel like the squad is a lot more experienced than before. We have Fabregas, Luiz, Costa, Courtois, Hazard, Pedro, Cahill who are all experienced and established players. Baker is a good shout for squad depth, for sure.

I'm not disputing any of what you said. You obviously didn't read my initial post well enough because those are the players I said we should target first. If they aren't attainable we can go for young superstars. I mentioned players like Alexis, Aubameyang, Verratti, Bernardo Silva. I just didn't do an XI with them because they are players that won't be as easily attainable. It's way more unrealistic to think we can definitely get Alexis and Verratti in for certain. The XI wasn't the most important part of what I was trying to get at. I mentioned United and PSG because they'll more than likely be in the same position as us next transfer window, possibly fighting for the same players. If I put this XI instead: Courtois Azpi Luiz Christensen Semedo Kante Verratti A.Sandro Alexis Costa Hazard Would you be happier? Yes. It's a lot more unrealistic though.

...Sorry Henrique, just sounds to me like you haven't heard or watched most of the players I mentioned so I can't take your post too seriously. Don't know how you could say that our current 11 is better than that 11 I posted up otherwise. These same players that top clubs like Utd, City, Barcelona, Bayern, PSG, Juve, Real etc. will be after next summer aren't good enough? Really?

I don't know. I think you're severely underrating Verratti and Griezmann/Dybala's work rate. You have to think about how the dynamic of the team changes with these sort of players in your side. More quality means more control, more time on the ball. Verratti can do Matic's job no? We have Matic for these big difficult games and he does okay, but you honestly don't think someone like Verratti who usually plays well in the very big games can perform his role in Conte's system? Why? You say we need a worker but someone like Verratti has a very high work rate anyway but also adds real quality to the midfield. We haven't been that defensive in big games this season. Not in every game any way. I think you're over exaggerating how defensive we are or how defensive Conte sets us up and you're over exaggerating how much Conte wants work horses first. To me it sounds like you think we can't fit in more top players in the side. Just because we sign a top player doesn't necessarily mean they're all getting free roles either. Griezmann doesn't really have a free role at Atletico. He has set instructions and does very well defensively for Atletico, who are more defensive than us, but you still don't think he'd fit into Conte'a system. Regardless, these players are quite unattainable anyway. In the Conte thread I came up with some alternatives who might be more satisfying, check it out.

Only 4?

We have an amazing opportunity to grow into a true European elite for the next 5 years if we get our signings right this summer. Conte has been a magnificent appointment, and I genuinely can't wait to see what he can do when he has better players in the side. It's truly incredible how he's managed to guide the team 10 points clear. Absolute winner. He's managed to do so whilst sort of integrating some of the academy guys as squad players as well. At managerial level we're truly set with one of the best. Now it's time to give him the right players. In my opinion, we need to upgrade on 4 positions next summer. CM, LWB, RWB, RF. So essentially an upgrade on Matic/Fabregas, Alonso, Moses and Pedro. We do this successfully and we're set. Realistically, there are a few options for us this summer. There seems to be a mix of top players and up and coming superstars available next summer from particular leagues and teams that I feel we should raid. Specifically the French league which is bursting full of talent right now. At CM, I would look into getting Kante a partner that is a lot more complete defensively and offensively. I would rather them be more inclined towards the latter though due to Kante's defensive ability in midfield. The players I have in mind that are possibly attainable are Tolisso, Naby Keita and maybe Bakayoko. Maybe a cheeky bid for Renato Sanches who hasn't settled at Bayern at all? The pipe dream would be Verratti though. At WB, Alonso and Moses have done very well this season as a couple but they aren't good enough if we want to be a top European side. Of course, they stay and provide crucial squad depth (which we severely lack in the position). I would look at getting in Semedo from Benfica the most, he is a top top full back. Maybe look at other options like Aurier? Cancelo? On the left, again there aren't that many exciting players available but I heard we're interested in Lemar, who plays LM at Monaco. Maybe could be converted into a LWB, would be a very interesting option. We can also possibly take a plunge on one of the best young English talents to come through recently, Ryan Sessegnon, who at 16 would need a few years to bed in but he is doing very well at Fulham at the moment and starts regularly now. Maybe Grimaldo from Benfica is an option too. RF is where it gets fun. We have loads of options here, there are many young talents or even superstars available that we could get. Pedro is doing a magnificent job this season, close to being CPOTY for me. However, he is 31 later this year and we need to invest into that position for the future. If we could manage to steal Alexis, that would be fantastic. Bernardo Silva would be excellent too. Then you have someone like Mbappe which would be a ridiculous statement. Maybe make a huge offer for Ousmane Dembele. The sort of player we need to have there needs to have the 'Pedro profile' if anything in my opinion. You can even look at possibly getting in strikers like Lacazette or Aubameyang who could perform really well in that Pedro role, Anelka style. So someone with a goal scorers mentality when in the box and good off the ball movement. That potentially gives us a team of: Courtois Azpi Luiz Christensen Semedo Kante Tolisso Grimaldo Mbappe Costa Hazard That above is a truly exciting side, and should be pretty achievable next season in my opinion. Hopefully we can make even bigger signings though, you never know. The squad depth would be ridiculous as well with guys like Fabregas, Pedro, Willian, Moses, Ake etc. to call on. Good times ahead hopefully, as long as the board and Conte don't mess up the summer transfer window. We need to spend big, because our competitors will. City and United, and Arsenal and Liverpool potentially too. The PL is going to be exciting next season. This is highly optimistic and idealistic but don't see why we can't be. We'll be champions with a lot of cash to spend.

What Jose is trying to do is very simple. His comments are designed to get us to maybe come out maybe more offensively so that his team has more spaces to play the ball into on the counter (Martial, Rashford, Mkhi). Conte isn't stupid however, and we have nothing to prove. We beat them 4-0 earlier this season.

We aren't exactly an offensive team though are we? We score lots because we are ridiculously clinical compared to other teams. We don't actually create that many clear chances. I mean, Jose shouldn't really be talking like this obviously, but there is a slight grain of truth in there.