Blue Armour

Sigh.. hope he's just saving his best for when the season begins. The best that can be said at this point is that he doesn't disrupt play like Lukaku

Haha-haland.

On a side note...have you seen some of the reactions (not on this forum) to Kepa's potential loan move? People are claiming that this would be a disaster because they feel Kepa should be number 1 over Mendy due to his better distribution

Watching Haaland for City reminds me of Lukaku playing for us. Hardly involved.

Yeah it's annoying that we chase a goose in Kounde, but do fuck all with regards to Skriniar. Really wondering if someone in the club just decided that he doesn't fit the style of play..

Lol. I pinged you right when you posted this.

@Tomo I know you said top 4 would not be as difficult as people make it out to be, because the chasing pack (namely Arsenal & United) are hardly any better from last season. Granted, Arsenal were poor in terms of chance creation last season, but now you have Gabriel Jesus scoring for fun in this team., in preseason at least.

Can we keep Gilmour with us this season? Like McEachran, I feel he thrives when playing among quality players. I called it last year that his loan with Norwich could be a disaster, but back then people suggested Daniel Farke knew Tuchel and would handle Gilmour well. Farke fucked off and the loan became a waste.

Can see your point. Comparing the squads, Rudiger has been replaced by Koulibaly, we traded Lukaku for Sterling, and we traded Saul for Connor. Only question is whether Colwill can step up to provide an adequate replacement for Christensen. EDIT: the question is whether Tuchel will use Colwill to replace Christensen, instead of Saar.

If Emerson leaves Alonso stays.

The lack of any consistent transfer rumors in the past few days makes it feel even more likely that the club wasn't prepared with a plan B following the failure of the Kounde bid. The only hope is the club gets its act together fast because other clubs will become less likely to part with their players after the season begins., especially if they need replacements.

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2022/jul/26/football-transfer-rumours-Chelsea-milan-skriniar-josko-gvardiol

Yeah. Probably the club was taken aback by Barcas poaching of Kounde, and were not expecting it to happen a second time. Hopefully they always had a plan B and won't scramble at the last minute

Just saw a recent article based on info from Nizaar: https://theprideoflondon.com/2022/07/20/significant-Chelsea-renewal-updates/amp/ Apparently the contract talks should begin once the transfer window ends. So it's very likely you are right.

Fuck. I hope we upgrade the contacts of Mount and James sooner rather than later. Hope the club doesn't take their loyalty for granted and wait till the last minute to discuss contract extensions. Even if he can't bring in more targets, this is one thing Boehly HAS to get right.

Rumors of Spurs entering the race for Skriniar. Also rumors of him wanting to renew his contract at Inter. Not sure if they can.

Miazga is still here? Imagine if Djilobodji were still here too. A back line of Miazga, Saar and Djilobodji

Emerson is a fraud. A lot of people give him leeway because of the misconception that he is a better defender than Alonso.

You're referring to Batman, clearly.

I've been saying this before. Getting rid of Marina/Cech to start from a clean slate is one thing. Doing it in a season where extensive repair is needed and piling additional responsibilities on the manager is another. If this ends up being the straw that causes Tuchel to up and leave, that would be infuriating. We have 2 weeks before the season begins and are short of at least one attacker and CB from the looks of things. My only hope is that in next week's friendly Tuchel puts together a team complete with first teamers (like @Superblue_1986 suggested), and at least THAT team can play with good cohesion. No more of Saar, Batshuayi or Emerson.

Interesting comments. Probably not happy with how the transfer situation is panning out, with Sterling the only incoming attacker and no striking replacment in sight. Then again who isn't happy. The problem is Tuchel doesn't have much of a leg to stand on, seeing as he would have had a big part in moving the only striker option we had in Lukaku on for peanuts. Horrible situation exacerbated by defenders leaving. This window we're being forced to dip into the market to reinforce several areas simultaneously, and it also happens to be the same season we get new ownership. Perfect storm brewing and no Abramovich to bail us out.

Yes, youre right. Snapped up by PSG. I had hoped we would go fo him. Now I'm just hoping we go for someone like him.

Players already thinking about the 2nd day of the two day Universal Studios pass.

Hope he stays fit. Already see it. Koulibaly is going to be key for us.

On a positive note. Koulibaly. Immense. At least in the limited minutes.