King Kante

Got to feel sorry for him with that ACL.

Bohely has to be the one now, the other two are far too complicated with the principal financiers being involved with other clubs.

@NikkiCFC everyone is awaiting your response 😉

Nikki this first bit is where I feel you're not 'seeing the wood from the trees' as the British say. It seems to me that because Mount lines up in a traditionally WF role (No.11/No.7) in a 343/352 you're expecting WF play from him. This for me isn't the case, and he is instead being told to play a hybrid No.8/No.11 role in traditional parlance. This is why I feel the comparison to Lampard is fair, especially as Lanpard had to play RW in a 442 for a lot of his first two seasons which meant people were expecting him flying down the wing and crossing like Beckham/Figo. I mean, let's be real, how does he get away with playing as he does if TT and Southgate are telling him to go out and play like Hazard/Mbappe/Sancho etc? It is clear they don't expect him to do that and like what he does do. As for Oscar, I feel he is a good example of a player that stagnated; well done for bringing him up. I would say no, he never became as good as SFL, but he could've been if he had applied himself and had the desire/commitment. For me, if he had applied himself and focused on his game more in training then he could've been a very good/to great player. However, for whatever reason, he didn't (probably because he was shagged out banging both his wife and her sister.) Additionally, my point on Mount's stats wasn't so much to say he is a better player than Lampard in his first three seasons but rather that he is showing statistical leaps each season that are similar to Lampard. A important thing to remember with Lampard is that he was considered World Class until he was 26/27+. A lot of this was due to people not rating him when he was younger/not appreciating how much work he put in to become great rather than being naturally great. As for England fans, 90% of them are morons and only a few of them can get over their club loyalties when evaluating players. Saved me a lot of time with the rest I wanted to post.

Can't get angry about being split open by that ball from Modric. That was up there with the best assit ever. Not sure there was much we could do there. Points that turned the tie where then Mendy howler, the RLC/Kante after you Claude for the second yesterday and I would say TC's save from Kai in the 77 minute. That save was very similar to the one he made from AM in 2014. When that happened and prevented 4-0 I turned to my GF and said that I bet Real take this to ET and win then as we run out of legs.

As I always like to do with Mount, I will compare his stats to those of SFL in his first three seasons at Chelsea (also remember SFL was 2.5 years older than Mount when he arrived.) SFL 01/02 - 53 games - 7 goals, 2 assists - 4483 mins - goal/assist every 498 mins 02/03 - 48 games - 8 goals, 5 assists - 4127 mins - goal/assist every 317 mins 03/04 - 58 games - 15 goals, 9 assists - 5041 mins - goal/assist every 210 mins Mount 19/20 - 53 games - 7 goals, 6 assists - 3741 mins - goal/assist every 288 mins 20/21 - 54 games - 9 goals, 9 assists - 4242 mins - goal/assist every 236 mins 21/22 - 45 games - 11 goals, 14 assists - 3049 mins - goal/assist every 122 mins People need to remember that Mount shouldn't really be thought of as a pure AM but more of a old No.8 like SFL because of his off the ball work when out of possession. However, I always use this metric (even though I am not a fan of stats alone) as I used to have to defend SFL a lot in his first three seasons here. As I am doing with Mount, I always pointed to the fact that he was improving year on year and that by the time he got to 25 onwards it would put him in good stead. What is impressive with Mount is that he is showing similar progress with more advanced metrics at 2.5 years younger. In addition, he also has three years of CL experience whereas SFL only got a one/two rounds of UEFA cup experience in his first two years. Lastly, SFL in his 03/04 season also has the 'issue' of primarily scoring against smaller teams. If you look into advanced stats the majority of his league goals that season 70%+ came against teams in the bottom half of the league, whilst his only goal against a top 6 team was a peno against Utd. Tbh, this comparison is going to start to become harder from next year as SFL became our Peno taker from 04/05, however I think this should always be considered, especially as Mount is still only 23.

I do not believe it. Surely they're not that stupid.

It is the same with many players tbf. Alonso is pretty much universally loved by those in the MHL. Ok, he gets a few groans here and there but generally 'runs down the wing' is heard a lot more frequently.

Yeah, we fu*ked ourselves last week. Could've easily been 2 v 2.

Be good to see him back next season, he has certainly done enough to merit a squad role ahead of Barkley, RLC and Saul.

Cannot believe there are still these discussions on Mount. I mean some people are having a go about his stats even though: 1) He has improved his stats year on year 2) Is only 23 so still young; I personally don't expect full consistency until 25'ish (although do expect improvements, which he has done.) 3) He isn't even a player that should be judged on g&a stats. Mount's best quality is playing between the lines and pressing like a mad man. That is incredibly valuable in the modern game and he does this to a high level. Simply put, people either don't realise what type of player he is, don't understand what role he is playing (instead just thinking he is a AM and want elite WF play from him) or simply have an axe to grind.

Honestly, as I said before we brought this joker, we would've been better off with keeping Tammy/Giroud. Honestly, I cannot see how people at the club didn't see this, I am just a regular fan and called this.

Shot ourselves in the foot in this one and then had Benzema produce some magic which you've got to take your hat off too. If we get an early goal, it will be game on but we cannot have Lukaku or RLC on the pitch and we need to start Kova.

I would probably go for this. Wouldn't be surprised about Jorgi for Kante however.

Five year's isn't too much of an issue at 19 as that means that you get out at 23/24 while he probably thought that they would continue to flirt with relegation and be sold earlier to raise cash at some point. The issue has been that West Ham have significantly improved and he gave them a further year option. Now he has to ride or die with them until 2024 most likely.

Personally, I don't want a owner/group of owners who play to public opinion too much.

The Athletic indicated that they heard rumours of a US individual who could finance the deal him/herself (they didn't name him/her (probably because they were spoken to off record.)) In my opinion, those talking loudly in the press do not have much chance. I include Candy/Kim, Centricis and the Broughton/Coe bid in that. People with money generally don't go mouthing off about deals of this magnitude in the press, those that are, are just doing so for the press and/or because they want to draw public support for their bid. Personally I would say forget those that have spoken quite openly. I mean, anyone remember how Roman came in? Literally wasn't reported until the day or two before the deal was sealed. This transaction will be more public due to it's notoriety with Russia/Ukraine, however I am sure we will have a shortlist with someone that hasn't been reported yet/has gone very quite/not said much themselves.

Be interesting to see the short list. If it goes down to three, be best if it is a mixture rather than all Americans as I suspect only one is capable and the others will pull a Hicks/Gillett or Glazer playbook and see us as a 'franchise'.

True. I meant more that the Saudi group will funnel enough cash to spend big (which isn't always a good thing as I can do without Kepa and Lukaku.)

Do Inter have the dollars? Thought their owner had cut most of their funding?

The way I am looking at things, the options seem to be: 1) Take the Saudi money, compete at the top end of the market, but continue to have the media against the club and run the risk of sanctions in future. 2) Take on the Bohely group and hopefully be run like the Dippers. 3) Take on Woody/Ricketts and be run like Utd. 4) Take on a fan led offer and go into the unknown.

I see him going to Barca.

I thought the FA had introduced some rule banning this like they do with the league. EDIT Best source I could find without having to do much digging: https://investenrich.com/2022/03/20/can-crystal-palace-on-loan-ace-conor-gallagher-play-against-Chelsea-in-fa-cup-semifinal/ Looks like he cannot even if the club gives permission.

I think the new owners will make Rudi No.1, especially if they're American. Can see them failing to see of the logic of giving him an extra £15-£25m in contract guarantees to then blow £50m+ on a replacement who will want just as much in wages. Issue will be time. That being said, transfer speculation is all guess work atm, as too much is up in the air. I mean, if we get the Saudis we could be looking exclusively at WC players, whereas if we get Woody expect a sale of a couple of decent players and a reliance on youth players to replace them. If no sale goes through (I think it will) then batten down the hatches. Let's see how the next few weeks play out.

Raphinha is the only winger I want. F*ck getting another player that looks great aboard then finds the PL too much. Only exceptions are player that are truly elite like Mbappe or absolute work horses like Chiesa (before the injury.)