Tomo

If we add the loan fee we've probably made it all back if not got a profit.

He was always a bit entitled. He left us in the first place because we wouldn't make him undisputed number one.

It's nothing personal, he's just not good enough.

I would rather have Giroud till he's 40.

It's a risk given his injury but if anyone deserves such a chance being taken on them it's him given how patiently he waited to play regularly in the first place.

Mount plays a different role to all of them, you may aswell add Caballero and Giroud to the list.

For all the talk of lack of managerial experience there's one aspect Lampard is in tune with more than anyone we've had manage us in the Roman era (including Jose) and that's the unique pressure and scrutiny of what being associated to Chelsea brings. As much as i liked Sarri he really, really underestimated that aspect of this club when he first arrived. It's not as simple as he knows the club (if it was that basic we could have just appointed any of the old guard) but i feel a lot of the time under Roman managers had no real experience of the external pressure's of managing Chelsea (Sarri, AVB and to an extent Conte especially) which led to choppy waters whereas Lampard will have no illusions about what's to come on that score something he as good as pointed out in his press conference. Also I've said this a few times but the academy is our golden ticket, we had a quiet season by our standards previously but in the 10's we have been so dominant at that level to an extent not seen since the Busby Babes and we really need to start promoting the cream of that crop and hopefully translate such dominance to first team level, Frank happens to have one of the best qualified for our academy starlets in our coaching setup. The reality is Liverpool and especially City are probably going to be too strong for the next 2 years, we will try to catch them Lampard won't accept nothing less but reality is it's unlikely so lets turn this negative into a positive, build our next generation and make sure we are the one's to pounce when their current cycles slow down a bit.

I think it's more down to the deep rooted weak mentality at Spurs than Pochettino. If hypothetically he took over us and got us in the same promising positions he got Spurs in, the winning culture around the club would do the rest (as was shown last season when we had a previously plotless manager incharge and won the Europa final against a team with the "Europa specialists" incharge). As much as it pains me to say it the guys an incredible coach.

17 of your last 25 posts are taking swipes at Kovacic to one degree or another. We get it, you don't like him.

I fully agree we shouldn't be promoting youth for the sake of it and i was the first person pointing that out when people wanted the likes of Bamford, Baker, Kalas, Musonda, Bruma and even Moses (as a winger) given "proper" chances but with these group things are different, if coached well and properly some of these players could turn out to be the real deal. Reece James is ready now, RLC made mammoth progress last year and while i'm not convinced CHO is yet the massive upgrade on Willian and Pedro people say he is he is certainly good enough to be part of the squad. For Mount this could be a year too soon for him but with Ruben injured and Barkley flattering to deceive we need to give him a go, i'm very confident he will make it in the long run but it's just a question over how effective he will be immediately. Abraham i think will mature his tactical game as he gets older even though i do think he's more a long term number 2 at a big club and Ampadu probably needs a loan similar to what AC27 had but that doesn't really matter as we have good CB's here already. Dujon Sterling will almost certainly head to the Championship on loan this time but could be an option afterwards especially if we revert back to a back 3. Our long run plan should be following the Liverpool model of best academy players mixed with star signings, that's how we will close the gap on clubs more financially better off than us,

City are going to take some catching in the next few years (even though Pep will probably leave next summer it will still be a couple of years before his effect and impact starts to wear off).Which makes this the perfect time to go through the transition of building a style of play and getting these young players through, it's pointless going down the win now route when we won't actually win now and it appears the club know that hence the Lampard appointment and emphasis on academy (although how much of that is being done under duress due to the ban is anyone's guess).

He will give them time if he believes the reward will eventually come but he's as ruthless as they come if players simply aren't cutting it (Jansen, N Jie, N Kokodu however you spell it).

I'm not convinced it's that tbh. In his first few months here he was fantastic against Burnley, Stoke, Atletico and Jose's United which are arguably the 4 most physical teams we faced during his time here. He shown in those games especially he can physically compete, it's the mental aspect he can't handle and that is what will always prevent the Morata of those games turning up consistently.

I'd have been a lot more worried if they added a player like that to their 2017 side but i don't think he can make them title contenders now, Spurs have declined a lot performance wise last season, Eriksen is leaving, Toby's turned average, the fullback options are levels below Walker and pre injury Rose, their midfield is streets behind 2017 even with TND's addition and Alli's been crap for ages. Their run to the CL final has masked over a spectacular collapse domestically, they've made the best possible start but make no mistake they need a rebuild just like the other top 4 challenging sides do.

I think in the long run he will be very good but he will need some time to settle. Ideally we would still have Hazard and the 2015 Willian so we could ease him in.

I have never really been that critical of deals taking a while because i use to on and off help (succesfully) run my local club so i know to an extent what will be going on and why it's taking time (even at local level negotiating can take weeks and lots of overtime to pull off, that's almost always the case when you're trying to sign someone who their current club doesn't want to see leave, as is the case with Derby/Frank). The parts i am critical on is the lack of structure in the first team picture (look down you'll see a thread of mine from few months back) and at times the recruitment both of which we seem to be making steps at fixing but time will tell.

It seems strange that we employ experienced business people or ex-pros to carry out roles at Chelsea. Reading this forum it seems half of the people here could get a deal done far quicker and much more successfully. As for people moaning about Chelsea being the only team to 'do things wrong' or 'drag their heels' - That's only because you only follow Chelsea. Every team has fans that moan about the way they do things. The big difference at Chelsea is that we actually win things. A lot. Calm down and wait for it to happen.

Ultimately we need to tap into our best youth. Results wise we have the best set of youngsters in this country since the Busby babes and have to take advantage of that. Our current youngsters with the experience of Azpi, Pedro, Kante, Luiz and even Willian alongside them in the squad has the potential to be as good as the Ajax/Monaco sides that go to CL semi's and unlike them we will be able to keep the lads after the breakthrough season if/when it comes and enjoy them in their primes. Should these lads reach their potential that will more than make up for our financial handicap in the market these days compared to the big boys. Putting the situation into that sort of context, Lampard with Morris and Edwards is the perfect set up right now, we can't waste these obscenely talented lads, we just can't.

Oh you meant this season, sorry I misread and thought you was comparing there respective times at Chelsea. Given we want to transition to a more possession based style of play yes I would much rather have Kova. If Frank persists with him in the attacking position of the 3 then yes I agree he would be a waste but in one of the other two I think he will turn out well (especially if Lampard plays a double pivot as he can sit back while Kante does his forays forward).

Name the things Baka did better, the odd goal and what?

He really really didn't.

Well done for completely taking what I said away from any means of context.

To further add remember our pivot problems of early this decade? We would have killed for even one player of the quality of Kante, Jorginho or Kovacic at that time (Lamps was well past his best and while Rami had his uses controlling games wasn't one of them).

I will decide on whether he's a good signing when we know what Frank is doing with him. If he's going to play him LCM/CAM then he will be a waste. If he's going to be cover for Jorginho and Kante at DLP and RCM he will be a good signing. If Frank's going to a double pivot this could be a masterstroke, it plays to all of his major strengths and nullify's his weaknesses.

I imagine Kovacic will be cover for Jorginho and Kante.