Bir_CFC

Athletico are knackered and have so many yellow cards, they should go for it now.

I don't know the whole sub was weird with everyone's body language. It was almost like it was planned that Costa will be subbed after 10 mins. Just so Real don't get a mental boost before kick-off.

Will Athletico really be willing to lose Costa, Courtois & Koke in one summer? If for some reason they would, then I'd pay whatever they want for Koke. Even more so than Pogba. I rate him very very high.

Neil Ashton definitely has some good CFC sources. He's been spot on several times when it comes to Chelsea.

No one is celebrating transfer fees. Everyone is excited because we believe Chelsea will reinvest all of that if not more back into the team, unlike Arsenal who sell their first team players and then loan in Benayouns. You best believe no one here would still be happy if this was the only transfer that happens all summer, even if he gets sold for 60M. Think of it as Luiz for Costa + Moreno.

Apparentely, it's 50M with wages included, more like 25-30M transfer fee and the rest wages. Even so, not a bad deal, better than selling him to Bayern. I'd take that.

He's definitely showed his quality, but with Cahll & Terry probably continuing to start 80-90% of the time. Furthermore, considering we'd sign a LB, I'm guessing Azpi goes back to RB and Ivanovic becomes that 3rd CB and if Luiz is still here then it'd be another season like last for Kalas. He needs regular game time, similar to Lukaku a few years back, he's good enough to be a squad player but it's better in the long run for him to get consistent playing time for the better of his development. I was hoping this happened last year too, but hopefully the little exposure he got, now gets him a PL loan instead.

Reports linking him to a loan move to either Bundesliga or PL next season. Jose wants him to get more experience and then come back. Kalas seems to prefer Bundesliga, while in the PL, Villa, Hull & Newcastle have expressed an interest to sign him. I think it's a good idea to loan him out, with Terry re-signing he won't get a lot of chances so it's best to get a loan and get some good experience.

You're missing the point. I'm not arguing about the actual players. But rather the idea of how we should be looking at homegrown players. We shouldn't be buying players just for the sake of them being homegrown. Buy if they improve the squad and if they happen to be homegrown, even better. If Jose is going to play Hilario 20 games a season then even he is worth keeping. The actual players we have and their roles is a separate discussion.

I don't think there are a lot. Chelsea seems to think the same, probably the reason they don't want to overpay for just any homegrown player. Instead they are clearly working on promoting from within. Guys like Ake, Lukaku, etc. That's my point from my earlier post. Don't overpay or compromise squad strength just to make up homegrown players. Either promote from within (save money) or buy only the ones that will contribute (squad strength). Worst that could happen is that we are forced to register a smaller squad, 23 instead of 25, not a big deal imo.

No they don't. I mean squad players who Jose expects to contribute. Players who at worst contribute like Schurrle, Lamps, etc. Not Bertrand, Moses, etc. who will only be given 2-5 games all year.

The problem isn't we need more HG players. The problem is that we can't have more than 17 non HG players. We can have 0 HG players if we want which would mean we can only register those 17 and no more. The way to solve this is not to get English players just to make up the numbers but rather English players who will actually contribute to the first team. What's the point of having 3 English Hilarios, when it'd be the same as not having any. Forget Moses, Bertrand, and the lot. If they can't contribute now nor in the future, they should be sold. Buy first team or squad English players otherwise save your money.

He's out of contract. He'll be looking for whatever way possible to stay relevant in the media so he can find some suitors for next year. Take a shot at Jose and you best believe it'll get world wide coverage.

England were pretty good. Patrick Roberts is some talent. England's back 4 were pretty great too.

Dom Solanke puts England U17 up 1 in the u17 euro finals.

I'm still surprised Bertrand wasn't able to get a chance under Jose. I never liked him going forward but I always felt he was very good defensively and that would be enough for him under Mourinho. It's not like our fullbacks get forward anyways so Bertrand wouldn't have hurt.

I don't think Cesc would join us but he would be amazing. I'd take him in an instant, yeah he's a cunt but he's a hell of a player. I'd also be interested in Pedro and Sanchez. But with the amount of AMs we already have, I don't see the need unless we sell someone.

I'm guessing he was offered a contract from Chelsea but he probably has much better options on the table as well. My guess is that he goes to Monaco or makes a u-turn and accepts what Chelsea offered. He could go to a weak league but I don't think he's fallen off that much yet.

I like Song's technical ability in the midfield but I don't think he has the tactical discipline to be a reliable pivot player for a Jose team. Unless we move to a 4-3-3, we can't afford idiots in the pivot. The 2 in the midfield have to be very intelligent.

Officially announced his retirement on Twitter now. Doesn't make sense to me.

Yes I definitely agree, it's the weakest of the remaining teams, but thats almost a backhanded compliment since the other two have probably the best defences in the entire world. However, their offence is a lot better than any of the teams remaining.

Real got a bit complacent in the second leg. I can understand they may have some lapses during a match but I don't think it's a big weakness. They have pace in their entire back 4. It'll be really hard to score on them.

They may have the occasional defensive lapse. But I don't think they are that bad that you could walk in expecting a goal for sure. They just kept Bayern out for 180 minutes. Don't think it's that weak really.

It'd be hard to beat this Real for the trophy. Like Athletico they don't have any glaring weakness and their attack is even more dynamic and lethal.

He can be called upon during desperate times but shouldn't be anywhere near a starter. And if it's just going to be a bit part role, then I'd rather give that to some of the talented youngsters in our youth and reserve teams.