Sideshow Luiz

I hope the club is being super tight lipped about targets, because we haven't really been linked with any wingers. Surely, they've had feelers out for replacements for Hazard (though we seem to be caught flat footed looking for a keeper). The only targets that have been publicized have all come from Italian media and Golovin's mother.

Everyone gets our players on loan. Try before you buy.

That's 2 wingers out, 1 in at a position we're short. I like your optimism.

Not even close. C'mon Madrid, show him you really want him instead of Neymar. If you'd rather have Neymar, then leave us alone and start lowballing PSG.

I think Pedro will be good under Sarri. However, he's not getting younger, so...business is business.

Thiago is quality.

Change option to obligation and we're okay. I think he COULD have a good season (by last year's standards which isn't saying much), but he will always be a back-up.

Coman COULD cost 60M is we bought him now. If we sold Hazard for 200M, the figure would go up substantially. I'm using Dembele as an example. No way he's 120M. But, he is if you sell Neymar for 200 and everyone knows it. I agree that if we sold him, it wouldn't be like for like, because there is no one. You'd have to (wisely) spend it on various areas around the pitch.

Oh, I was 100% against bring back Jose. It was a terrible decision. Worse than AVB and/or Scolari. Yes, we got a title, but we mortgaged so much for it. It had a <5% chance of ending well. I only give it a small number because nothing in life is 100%. Death and taxes and all that. I think that keeping Benitez around for transition would have maybe been okay, if we had a recognized identity as a club, which is what it all comes back to. (having said that, maybe Benitez would have been the guy to have around until we got that kind of thing in place since he's so vanilla). It all comes back to club identity. Hopefully we are on that path now. After Sarri leaves, there should be enough ground work to install another attacking manager without overhauling the squad (again).

I think he's worth far more than 50M next summer. The reason Courtois' value is so low (compared to his quality) is that he's let everyone in football know that he'll only go to Madrid. There is no bidding war, no one to drive his price up. Madrid know that we're over a barrel. Take this small amount or lose him for free next summer. With Hazard, even if it's just Barcelona and Madrid that would want him, the fact that there would be multiple clubs interested will keep his price high. Of course, if he pulls this "only Madrid" shit, we're fucked again.

The issue there is that those players all have risk attached. Next upcoming superstar is all just a guess. Dembele looks more nailed on, which is why he's at Barca already, and why his price is high. Malcom, Lozano, Pulisic, Bailey, Neres, Asensio, these guys all have question marks, much like Eden when we got him. He was coveted, and he had the potential to be this good (I still think he has another level), but it wasn't a given. Dembele and Coman look like solid propositions, but they are already at big clubs. If we sold Hazard to Barcelona for 200M, how much would it cost to buy Coman, assuming we could even get him? Dembele could potentially work, because you're dealing with his club and you have something they want.

I wasn't so against the Benitez hiring at the time. 1. People were complaining, but who was available? As an interim manager, I thought he was head and shoulders above anyone else that was on the market 2. People have an issue with what he said about us when he was at Liverpool. Well, he's going to pander to their fan base, isn't he? However, I don't feel like he should have gotten the permanent gig. I think his strength is getting the most out of a limited squad. The football is safe and boring. The results will be steady, safe, and boring.

Here's a pretty good video of Napoli's loss to City at home in the Champions League last year. Sure, it's a loss, but I'm posting it more for the analysis.

Okay, fair. Not so bad.

I'm not worried about that. i haven't really regretted any of our managerial decisions. Sure, Scolari and AVB did not end up being the right decision. But, no one really stayed too long, IMO.

Never going to happen. He's not really the profile we need with Jorginho here anyway, IMO.

It's funny, the "Roman has an itchy trigger finger" is in part because of sacking Jose. It started there. Now that Mourinho has been around the block (and back) the narrative surrounding him is that he falls out with the club and/or players after a few seasons. However, it hasn't changed the narrative that Roman is quick to pull the trigger on a manager. The press always like to make a list (and they are careful to word it) of managers that Roman has hired and they always include the interim ones. Those guys were never fired, they fulfilled their contracts and a permanent manager was installed. Everyone except DiMateo, but he was always supposed to be an interim. They had to give him the full time job after winning the CL, but everyone knew he was out of his depth.

Don't know if this has been asked, but is there any way of going in for Areola if that's who Roma have lined up to replace Alisson?

Rumours are that Arsenal are after Coman from Munich. He's actually someone I thought of as a Hazard "replacement" if he leaves. Regardless of Hazard's stance, I rate him, and if he's available I wouldn't be upset if we were having a look.

There's no way we get Dybala. I'd love to have him here, but no way. The proven players are all at big clubs. Could MAYBE get Dembele from Barca, but that's a stretch.

I'm not entirely sure of this. Liverpool are doing a decent job with the Coutinho money. They screwed up the Suarez money. Spurs, I think selling Bale was good for them, overall. They bought 7 players, some of them flopped, some were just okay, 1 was Eriksen. The difference (we like to think) is that Spurs, at the time, could use 7 young players that might become something. Top clubs don't do it because what are you going to do? Barcelona didn't go around and shore up their squad with the Neymar money, who are you going to buy? I think we're in the middle. If we sold Hazard, I think we would buy 3 quality players that went straight in to the starting XI.

I've never been one of the "he has to go" type of people. But, really, I just want him to go. The next thing would be to get Hazard to sign a new contract. After Courtois goes to Madrid, it's going to be all "Hazard would fit in here, he would love it, we need him...." He'll be agent Courtois. Honestly, I want to sell him to Lazio so he has to deal with the ultras after he talks his usual bullshit during international breaks.

I see Donnarumma's name come up once in a while, but I think I recall him having issues with the AC Milan fan base over his contracts as well: https://deadspin.com/sad-rich-teen-gianluigi-donnarumma-has-pissed-off-ac-m-1821339619 I'm not interested in having all of that again. If Courtois was at an Italian club, the ultras would have been all over him. I really can't see the Madrid fans warming up to him. I don't really think he needs to sign a contract and see what's up. He should have just asked the club to sell him last summer or the one before. In a discussion with the club, not with the club via his dad and the Belgium press. If we're this upset with him, I can only imagine what Roman's thinking.

That's it though, we're over a barrel. If you were Madrid, how much would you offer? Knowing that you can get him for free next summer. You know this because he won't go anywhere else. You'd have to offer a bit, because it's possible that next summer, Atletico could decide to take him on a free and sell Oblak for some profit. Maybe Barcelona could persuade him, but I doubt they'd be interested. So, you're really the only show in town. He's been on and on about Madrid for years, and it feels like his "maybe I'll sign a new contract" was just keeping us hanging around. This is why I feel let down by him, he should have just asked us to sell him last summer, and not told the world about how he's designed a way to make it cheap to sign him. I really don't blame him for wanted to be with his kids, totally get it. No problem. But, did he really have to make our position so weak in order to do it?