Superblue

Matt Law covers Spurs too and is reported to have a good relationship with Poch so it's very likely that he's still a contender for the job based on this. We need to get this appointment right and I'm glad the club is taking its time to do so, but we also have to be careful that Spurs are looking for a new manager and come the summer PSG almost certainly will be, and Madrid might well be too. We have a foot up on these currently and we're a more attractive prospect than Spurs, so it's important that we're making moves decisively. The last thing we want is to string things out for too long as we're undecided and suddenly Spurs have snapped up Luis Enrique, PSG have taken Nagelsmann and Madrid have taken Poch. Then where do we go from there. We've got first chance here to identify our first choice and get them before others come sniffing, so it's important we get this done.

Chalobah has to do better when it does and in all honesty highlighted his shortcomings that he's a decent player but not quite good enough for Chelsea. But you're right, without Cucurella doing what he did, that option isn't there and no counter attack is available within the time frame it would have taken for the team as a unit to shift across to that side of the pitch. Unfortunately it's not a one off, it's pretty much an every game thing and his decision making and ill discipline has cost us a red card and a goal across the 2 legs which arguably have been the key moment in both games.

Chalobah will (rightly) get criticised for his rash decision to dive in on Rodrygo but I don't think enough was made of the ridiculous decision Cucurella made to try and press in that situation. His lack of positional awareness and discipline is frankly lethal.

But also on the flipside, how many of these types of players find themselves in Portugal or Holland and then are suddenly £50-100m players a couple of years later. We've seen that ourselves this year with Enzo. I get your point regarding the first team priorities and I completely agree with that, but getting a handle on tapping into that South American market could be huge as there is so much talent and potential there which we've never really looked to invest. The work permit issues are probably a factor but it would be another reason/benefit for a multi club model.

As players are written down over the length of their contract, I assume this deal won't impact FFP requirements until he can actually join in 2025 so is probably completely irrelevant to the current position.

It's easier said than done with the mess that everything is at present but the next manager and this summer are the best chance to see if the club as a whole can learn from the mistakes made this last season. The owners aren't just going to give up and walk away any time soon. Going to the dressing room after the game, visiting the training ground, etc I'm not overly bothered about to be honest. People forget that Roman was a lot more hands on in his early days and I believe did a lot of similar things, it just wasn't a big deal because we were successful. Everything is put under the microscope when things aren't going right. A new manager is much more important than a supposed pep talk after a defeat and from what is being reported this has been tasked to be carried out by the football directors, as it should be. Of course the final decision is down to the owners but unlike the Potter appointment, this one should be made off the back of sound and solid advice, research, etc. The same should be the case in the summer when Stewart/Winstanley/Vivell work with the new manager to reshape this squad into one that can be managed properly.

Completely agree. I can understand not starting him but having no striking option on the bench for so long has left us in a situation where if Plan A doesn't work, there's no Plan B. I think if Broja hadn't been injured during the break, he would have had quite a few opportunities in the second half of this season, even if just as a sub, he'd have still racked some minutes up. Fofana should have been on the bench as his replacement to offer something different, irrelevant of how raw he might be.

The biggest issue with the ownership is that they've tried doing too much, too soon. A lot of the decisions they have or are in the process of making have been pretty positive, but it's been made on the backdrop of complete instability. A lot of people have been crying out for a structure for years which doesn't revolve entirely around the manager and his own players, and instead a revamped look at the scouting, recruitment, football directorship at the club. I actually think the recruitment made in January will be looked back overtime as largely very positive, and that is the first fingerprints of this structure. It doesn't help though that this is intertwined with the summer recruitment which besides Fofana, is trending towards being the worst transfer window in football history given the money spent. The ownership shouldn't pander to the fans. It's clear they felt they needed to make a statement when they first joined with the summer signings, but they should have held their ground until the right structure was in place. Same with the managerial change from Tuchel to Potter. Too many things have been done with the right intentions but at the wrong time. I'm willing to give them time, and they might as well learn from mistakes at the same time the squad is in a transition but this summer, the focus needs to be on stabilising the club and that comes from allowing the directors to do what they are paid to do, and that is make the correct footballing decisions for this club to move forwards.

It depends on what you view as a 'loss'. If we're basing on the original purchase price of players then of course we are talking sizeable losses. But if we're talking current value on the books for the club then I think there's a lot more leeway being able to let players leave and even bank 'profit' on them from the accounts perspective. Pulisic for example will only have a book value of £10-11m this summer, so if we were able to move him on for example for £15-20m then it's profit despite it looking horrific compared to when we purchased him originally. It's still going to make some difficult to shift. Kepa will still have a book value of around £20m and is reportedly on high wages - I certainly see him being much more difficult to move on than Mendy. And as you mentioned, Lukaku is still the anchor and will still have around £60m book value.

I wouldn't be too concerned about this currently. The reports this morning of this interest confirm Chelsea don't want to sell him and are looking to get his contract extended. If we do need to sell a couple of academy players this summer (or that eases the club's position with regards to FFP) then I do believe he'll be near the bottom of that list with Reece, unless he suggests he's not going to sign a new contract and wants to leave. Even in that situation, I'd be inclined to hold on to him for one more year and try to convince him his long term future is here, I genuinely think he'll be a huge star.

It's very unlikely but we've at least kept just about in the tie. I don't think Madrid played that well and I do think the crowd will be up for it next week and push the team on. We've at least given ourselves the opportunity to go out swinging next week.

There was talk that James is putting off surgery until the end of the season and is being managed through it. To be honest tonight has highlighted that he doesn't look fit, but he's been poor since he's come back.

Has anyone ever told Cucurella not to chase the ball and run out of position? He has no discipline or positional awareness whatsoever.

Not looking good, there's more goals in this for Madrid. I think away from home we have to forget trying to be brave and playing intricately through the press. There's spaces in behind, get Enzo on the ball and play it long. Turn them round. It's not a pretty tactic but I think a bit more directness could help with the spaces available. Get the ball in beyond that midfield and they look susceptible.

There has to be the right balance here because on the flip side to this one could easily argue the club has struggled for years to keep consistency for a title push because we've put together a mish mash of a squad under multiple managers, suited to a number of different styles and systems. I agree that agreeing deals for players when a manager hasn't been appointed sends out the wrong signal (although at present we've no idea how close we are to a new managerial appointment and what their input might well be), but we've also hired a number of technical directors that are being paid to get all this decision making right for the club.

I'm sure I read somewhere that they need to get £200m off the wage bill to comply with La Liga so if this is true it could be a huge problem for them to get this sorted out by 30 June which is apparently the clause date. In normal circumstances I would expect Barca to get the player to just hold on for them in the same way they got transfer targets done in the summer, but if he does get his head turned then that dynamic suddenly changes. I think if this started to become more of a likely thing to happen then all the top teams will circle in for him, so it does make sense from our perspective to get in and pitch for him early. As you mentioned the potential link up with Luis Enrique could be a difference maker.

I don't think Gavi can play that more defensive role which Enzo can. I'd probably say if we were comparing that Gavi is more similar to Kova, just doesn't have that strength and stockiness that Kova has yet, but he does have a nimble, low centre of gravity. I don't see a reason why the two couldn't play together in a midfield. If it was a case of having to pay out similar money to Enzo to buy Gavi then I wouldn't. I think there's other positions which need prioritising to spend money on. However if he was miraculously available for free due to Barca's issues then it's an absolute no brainer. The kid isn't even 19 until August and already has nearly 100 Barca games and 20 Spain caps under his belt - he's a seriously talented young player.

It's a very grey area at present, but La Liga reportedly won't register him as a first team player due to Barca's financial situation and being way over the current wage cap there. It's similar to why they couldn't renew Messi. There is reportedly a clause in this new contract that he signed which allows him to void it at the end of the season if Barca still can't get him registered in the first team as currently he is only registered through their academy. Knowing Barcelona they'll find another way to kick the can down the road and sort something out but at present that possibility does exist and the reports coming out do seem to suggest he might be having his head turned a little bit.

But he's gone from Barcelona to a year out to the Spanish national team which he's only just left so the question marks over another big club are arguable as it's not like he's been in unemployment during that time. His personal life will have no doubt played a massive part in any decision making over the last few seasons too. Coaching a national team was likelier a much preferred option and when he returned I would expect he felt a sense of loyalty to finishing the job with the national team after they gave him the break away he needed. The problem I think is that of the main 'contenders' for the job, they all have different strengths and what I would say are perceived weaknesses until they prove otherwise. Luis Enrique will always have that Barca team used against him in a way of 'anyone could win with that team' but you still have to go and win nonetheless, and it was done in an extremely impressive, relentless, dominating way. You could argue Poch had a similarly talented front 3 at PSG and struggled to get it to work. I actually think his work at Spurs was better than perhaps some might give him credit for, but ultimately he didn't win anything and when they did get into positions to they completely froze as a club. His stint at PSG was average at best and I think he struggled under the increased pressure and expectancy there. It could be argued that Nagelsmann found it similarly difficult at Bayern, and both have thrived at clubs that are a little beneath that top tier. Does either have that true winning mentality and desire at the very top level that Luis Enrique has shown previously at Barca? Or would one of them be a better fit for our squad which probably needs a bit of time, patience and development?

Doesn't De La Pena represent both Gavi and Luis Enrique? Or is he a football agent/rep but also a coach with Luis Enrique? Either way if it is true, it would certainly lend credibility to Luis Enrique's chances of joining here and to be honest if he was able to exert his influence on turning Gavi's head and we managed to poach a player of that quality on a free, or minimal comp, it would be a huge coup.

This is where this new recruitment team really need to make things happen. There are players out there that could slot into this team and cost a fraction of those prices. Outside of Osimhen, I actually don't think there's a huge array of obvious 'top tier' striking talent out there at a good age. It might well come down to thinking outside the box and finding a less obvious option. It's annoying that Broja got injured when he did. Not necessarily saying he would have been the answer but I think he was primed to be the striking alternative to Havertz in the second half of this season and may have had the chance to show what his long term potential at this level is. I read the other day we're interested in the Valencia goalkeeper. I don't know much about him but Valencia have a real chance of getting relegated and even if they stay up are in dire straits financially so there may well be a good deal there.

The only ideal situation for me with buying Felix is if we can do it in a way that moves a player on we don't want anymore. In this instance, I'm particularly thinking Lukaku. If we could do a deal with them which involved Lukaku + £20-25m then this would work. Otherwise, it just doesn't look a feasible deal. There are bigger priorities than him and he doesn't justify splashing a circa £80m transfer fee on him.

Well the first players to look at will be those with contracts expiring in 2024: Thiago Silva will be staying and continue to be season to season. Azpi and Auba I think will likely be moved on for small fees, or possibly even given free transfers. If we can milk a few million for each, even in add ons, bonuses then great. Loftus Cheek will likely be sold, although I believe the club has an option for another year. I think in the past his wages and possible reluctance to move has prevented anything so not sure how easy he'd be to sell. Perhaps the club's price tag on him has always been prohibitive. With a year left, if we could sell him for £10-15m I think the club would do it. Kova I think depends on the new manager and if he wants to sign a new deal. If not, then I think he'll be sold in the summer and I would assume we could look at somewhere around £20-25m for him. Pulisic I think will be sold. His FFP value will be around the £10m mark, so if we can get upwards of that will be good. Considering his age, marketing potential, etc someone might take a punt on him at around £20m? There is a player in there, just a very inconsistent one and probably someone who'd actually thrive more playing for perhaps a slightly lesser team but playing regularly. Mount is the big one. I do think the club want him to re-sign. However if he is reluctant, the club has no other option. If we can get £40-50m for him this summer compared to nothing the next it's a complete no brainer as that could be the difference this season between being able to sign a striker or not. Deal with these first, and then assess the rest. But I think for the most part your list would be what I would expect to see. Ampadu, CHO and Maatsen I think will be sold. Ziyech will leave too. A decision will need to be made on Lukaku if Inter, looking likely, don't take anything up for him. I think the likes of Gallagher and Havertz will be dependent on the new manager. If Colwill is coming back in, I think a centre back will need moving out too to make way. Koulibaly would seem the obvious choice but I also wouldn't be surprised if Chalobah moved on.

Just how close did we get though. The end result was we were willing to pay even more for Cucurella so we didn't sell Colwill and instead loaned him out with no option. There's been no rumours currently suggesting we'd sell him despite all this talk about having to sell for FFP, and the only news I've seen has been expectations that we're looking to tie him down to a long term contract. He might be loaned out for one more year if we can't move one or two defenders on, but I don't see a scenario where we sell him.

If we got anywhere near that fee for him he's being sold.