King Kante

Problem is here is that there are protocol's to acquiring evidence. It is similar to how the Police cannot just kick your door down without a warrant. If they do, and even if they find something that incriminates you, then you still get off as the evidence wasn't acquired in the correct manner. I suspect this is how and why City will get off i.e. they did break the rules but there is a technicality that gets them off. If this doesn't work, I am still unsure that FFP can actually be legally enforce as it is essential a cartel agreement.

SFL want to play in a progressive and fast paced manner. Zouma is the worst CB under pressure and passing. Further, he would still rake in a serious fee. So, I see why he may be the one to go. For me, all three of Rudi, Zouma and AC are currently playing at a CB3/4 level for a team that considers themselve a CL side. I mean as great as Zouma's tackle against Benteke was, only reason he had to do it was because he was out of position. Further, for the first goal he needs to be stepping out and blocking Zaha's shot, so while he can head the ball better he still has serious flaws just like AC and Rudi.

Kepa is so dire we only need to get someone like a Ben Foster on a free to see a big improvement. Personally, I think the way to play the GK situation for 2020/21 is to sign a decent GK between the age 31-36 who can put some pressure on Kepa. If Kepa then doesn't improve go out and look for a serious replacement. Only exception for me after that is if someone at Atleti has been hitting the crack pipe a little too hard and would consider a Oblak for Kepa + fee under £50mil deal. However, that is not going to happen. The real question will be who will the CB be and who will be culled from the first team? My money on the one being sold is Zouma as he would raise a decent fee and it appears AC is rated higher by SFL. Rudi gets a reprieve owing to his age as I suspect any CB brought will be under 26.

I am of the opinion that he can get a one year deal. That for me would be perfect as he is experienced, knows the league and club and we have a lot of surgery to do this off season, so having one less position to worry about would be beneficial. I could accept a two year as well, so long as his wages were similar to what he gets now. However, three years is simply too long, especially for someone of his build and position. If he really can get £250k a week for three years elsewhere, then we will have to let him go.

Let's see. I have always felt that they would get it overturned as; a) the evidence was acquired via a hack - therefore probably can be dismissed, FFP is essentially a cartel system as breaks all sorts of commercial laws.

Word coming out of Manchester is that City are going to get their ban overturned. By now they probably know the decision as it is being announced on Monday at 9:30.

Must be, he was holding his knee after the collision. What is more confusing is how he stayed on. Anyway, this is a annoying injury for him as it takes him out of the run in and pre-season.

The problem is twofold. First is that too many people love to play fantasy manager and list all the players that they want us to buy and sell. When doing this I suspect a lot of them haven't really seen some of the players that they quote but because they have watched a couple of highlights, maybe a game or two, read the hype online and possibly played some game in which they become a great player, they must be had. I mean this is why you get people even beating up on someone like Mount who has shown a amazing dedication and has been run into the ground this season and sometimes they will even post a prospective line up for next year with only 1-3 players from this season in it. The second is that Tammy does have a few faults in his game that need ironing out. My main gripes are his off the ball running as from some reason he checks or stops his runs far too often and second is finishing as he is currently in the Andy Cole sort of situation where he needs three chances to get one goal. For me, Tammy has done well this season and next season having Giroud, Tammy and Werner as our options will be ok as that will give Tammy another year to prove he is cut out for the top end of the PL. Also, Tammy apparently has three years left as there was some clause that got activated when he played/scored a certain amount of goals: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2020/07/10/revealed-clause-means-tammy-abraham-has-three-years-chelsea/ So there is also no need to think he has to be sold now to get best value.

I say it is interesting due to the old Conte v Granny arguments. Chelsea fans seem to be split into two camps, with one group believing Granny carried out Conte's instructions and another which believing Conte didn't get any of his first choice players even though he won the league and to say he was responsible for Summer 17 isn't fair. Comments like this indicate that she does have the power to not do what is recommended by those below her.

Interesting. The way he says it, it is clear that Granny must have a serious amount of power. When asked the question he almost laughs. For me, this kind of confirms what I have always suspected, the scouts/managers/coaches can recommend players but Granny can veto it or go in another direction. For me, the only reason why things look to be changing is due to Cech being in there.

If we get Harvetz, what would everyone say we need after that? My money would be on: LB1 (Telles), CB1 (not sure who, De Ligt is the dream but not happening) GK1/2 (i.e. someone that can push Kepa - here I would go for a experienced GK). AM - Willian gets a 2 year renewal. As for outs, I would have: Emerson, Zouma/AC, Barkley, Bakayoko, Pedro, Batsh*t. Loan Gilmour (if Jorgi is not sold, I'd prefer him to have 90 minutes week in, week out - Spain/Germany would probably be best), Amapdu (PL this time), Broja, Anjorin, Maatsen.

Injured his ankle again. Got the feeling his ankle may end up being like Essien's knee. Really starting to feel for him if this keeps him out for long. https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-8505707/amp/Eden-Hazard-forced-pull-Real-Madrid-training-match-ankle-injury.html

Pope is great at controlling his box but he is a pretty poor shot stopper.

I do not believe this for a second but in the very unlikely situation it is true, you would have to imagine that player was Batsh*t.

Yeah, this is going to be a real problem for us. I have watched their last two games and they were causing Wolves and Burnley trouble in the air. God knows what they are going to do to us. For that reason, I would go with the team that is the biggest/strongest. My team would be as follows: Kepa Dave. Rudi. Zouma. Alonso Jorgi Kante/Barkley. Mount Willian. Giroud. Puli For me Alonso needs to come in for James. I am not someone that thinks James has been that bad but at the moment he isn't producing anything over Alonso and we can do with Alonso for set pieces. As for Gilmour, again I thought against Palace he was ok, maybe a little naive, but not bad like some made out. However, in this game we need to keep the ball away from them in the final 1/3rd and Jorgi is our best passer. As for Willian, he has to start for me as unlike CHO he is very good at keeping possession. Sure, he only will score a penalty but in this game turn overs will be crucial so he has to play for me. As for AC, I do rate him as our best CB as he actually knows how to read the game and is always in position, however for this one we need the players that get their head to the ball best, so that is Rudi and Zouma for me.

You would also think that with the opportunity to win the EL in 4 games, with all being one off games, which would then give them access to the CL and an extra £50m, they would take the risk. Personally, if I am Bayer, I am taking the risk. Against Rangers, they will not need to play him, then in the QF they could get an easy draw, which would then mean they may only need him for two games at most. For me, it would be an insane decision to sell before hand as the chance of a serious injury is actually quite low.

I think it is slightly different situation. Werner had a clause that was expiring that we had to activate. Once we activated it, it meant we had to start paying him. Harvetz on the other hand has no such clause and is under contract. Therefore, Bayer can just sell after the EL. It does not really make much sense for them to do it before that as it is not like they will lose money if he stays for an extra month.

Good. However, the problem still rears it's head then. For me, Said B is not really a gamble we should be taking, unless he really is a great player. As I said, I have only watched Brentford via the highlights on Sky, so I cannot say I have seen enough of him to form a judgement. However, £30-35m for a Champo player seems excessive to me when there are other options that have been playing at a higher level.

I do not know. AM is probably one of the most demanding positions due to the amount of work that they have to put in. If we just have CHO, Puli and Ziyech then we are down to the bare bones, as 'Arry would say, with one injury/suspension/AfCoN. To be honest, an ideal for me right now would be to sign Willian for one more year as he could tide us over whilst Ziyech beds in and hopefully CHO can kick on. However, he appears to be a bit of a joker and seriously want three years.

I think it will come down to whether FFP is actually legal. For that reason I think they may have a chance of overturning it. FFP is essentially a cartel system set up by the biggest clubs and is contrary to EU law.

Just finished watching the Sheff Utd game. We are going to have to ensure we do not let them get any set pieces or corners, they were dominating Wolves tonight in the air. I hate to think what they'll do to us. If SFL was watching that I can really see him thinking of starting Barkley, Alonso and Rudi.

Yeah, this is the problem. He looks great here but once you put him in against a City or any team that presses well he falls apart. He is kind of like the opposite of AC, where AC is a wimp, he is strong, where he cannot read the game, AC can etc, etc. Last night I actually gave him MotM in the poll as I love nothing more than the type of tackle he put in on Benteke, however when watching the highlights, the only reason he had to do that was because of his positioning which allowed Benteke in. Further, for the first goal he really needs to be stepping out and closing Zaha down as he has Dave and AC in position either side of him. Kepa and James where obviously more at fault for that goal but Zouma did have some blame as he did look to go then for some reason decided not too.

Personally I have been impressed with him since I saw him the first time down SB (I have a season ticket). I had seen him a little at DM and I thought that whilst he had a lot of potential he also wasn't all that clinical (although I realised he did have very good reading of the game as he has always known when to lay the ball off when someone else has a better chance.) However, when I saw him play live what struck me was his desire and how quick he actually was. I have been fortunate to witness the debuts of Robben, Hazard and Pulisic and whilst I still rate Robben as having biggest first impression on me but I would definitely say that Puli's was second (even if Hazard was more involved in the game for his.) Lastly, what I loved about last nights finish was how it contrasted with his one against City. Last nights finish was a controlled power hit with his left, whilst he one against City was a cultured curler at speed with his right. The difficulty level of both shots were both reasonably high, yet he executed both perfectly, now that is really special as normally you would expect them to come from his stronger foot. As ever we need to see how he develops and if he he can keep himself fit before we all get too excited about him but in his current form he is showing a very high ceiling.

I am not too sure about this transfer if true - although that may be due to my own ignorance as I have only caught Brentford on the highlights Sky put up on there website, so I have not seen enough of him. Personally, I think he is a bit of a risk as he has only been Champo football and, at a reported £30-£35m, he is hardly cheap. A further thing that confuses me is that he would presumably come in as a AM3/4 and be behind Puli and Ziyech and fighting it out with CHO. As a result, one of the principal times we need him (when Ziyech goes off to the ACoN) he will also be off to play for Algeria. On top of this, we also currently have a buyout of £13m'ish for Boga and then you have someone like Torres as Valencia who is going into their last year (although with Torres I am not sure we would be the right club for him as we already have two young AM's, he is pretty lightweight and I can imagine Barca and Real will be after him.) Then you also have someone like Gallagher who has shown a lot of promise coming through (although I want him to stay on loan for another 1-2 years.) All in all, if we are looking for a AM3/4 I think there are better options out there, unless this bloke is a real top talent but somehow found himself in the Champo at 24.

I would be interested to know what the actual transfer budget it. Sure we got Hazard and Morata money and some money left over from not being able to spend. However, surely this Covid business has taken it toll on the finances?