Sideshow Luiz

Madrid are the kings of that. They fall in love with the flavour of the month then ask the manager to shoe horn them in.

Doesn't excite me at all. Hope I'm wrong though. Funny, we sold our most Simeone-type player (Ramires), after never fitting in to any manager's system (besides Carlo) since we bought him.

That was my dream scenario too.

Does this mean we can have Mata back?

The Chinese window is open for another few weeks. We wouldn't be able to get a replacement, but we could still sell him. Season's a lost cause, if there were any truth to the rumour, we would have pulled the trigger.

This is why I'd like to see Potchettino as the manager. He's done a great job at both Spurs and Southampton with bringing youth through the ranks. We're absolutely going to have to rely on the academy and shrewd signings for the next few years. It's better long term as well, we're not the biggest spenders in the league anymore, and definitely not in terms of Europe. The faucet has to get turned off sometime. We need to find a way to be successful when that happens (kind of already has, it's not off, but it's not a broken hydrant like before).

That's kind of the issue. It doesn't seem to be that well run. I wouldn't trade our silverware for Arsenal's either. However, the club has obviously changed direction and are trying to fund a new stadium, just like Arsenal did. Jose did a great job getting another trophy out of these guys, but they obviously couldn't sustain the level needed. No one has their wish now. You can't compare our situation to Arsenal's while also making the connection between balancing the books/funding a new stadium and missing out on CL football. Arsenal were able to do that. While 9 years is obviously too long, I could certainly stand a few lean years if it meant that we could fund a new stadium and make the club more sustainable. In order to do that, we have to buy the right kind of players, not just another superstar a la Madrid. In order for this club to remain competitive while the money faucet is off, the purchases will have to be smarter.

This is it. This team is full of square pegs in round holes. It's about roles. New manager, new formation, new style of play, new players needed. 1-2 players get signed, then we start the cycle again. The higher ups need to figure out what they want this team to be, and stick to it, and let that influence the signing of managers and players. We seem to be doing a Madrid, but without the money.

Neat article on Atletico Madrid's defending if anyone is interested: http://statsbomb.com/2016/02/atletico-madrid-without-the-ball/

I'd love to see Sampaoli, as it would be exciting to bring in something completely different. My only concern is that I don't know what he's like in bringing through youth. With the new stadium, I think we'll have to lean on the academy. This is why I slightly favour Potchettino.

I don't think we're going to spend big in the summer. No CL football will have financial repercussions. Hope I'm wrong, of course.

Pelligrini doesn't interest me as I think he's under performed at City. With that squad he should be walking the league. Besides the starting XI, the squad is ridiculously deep. This is the same reason that it's another "kit man" job for Pep.

I can really see him at Utd. now. Pep and Jose in the same city. The journalists will be in overdrive.

We already knew this. I'm going to be so sick of the fawning Pep articles by the time next season rolls around. then it will be article after article on how he's transformed them, yada yada.

This was the worst kept secret in football. It was always going to happen. His buddies are there, City want a manager to take them to the next level, and he likes being at a club with the most amount of on paper talent with the biggest budget. No surprise.

This has been one of the dullest windows I can remember. Not just for Chelsea, but all over.

Agreed. I didn't have to look him up on wiki or check his stats in FIFA. No way that we're making a move for him.

I'm not on the inside of the inner workings of football deals, but shouldn't the things like ££££ be sorted out before the flight and medical? Does anyone else get the impression that these "professionals" aren't all that put together? Madrid not faxing in documents, for example. Most junior office clerks can handle that.

That makes sense, number's wise. I just think we'd be overpaying. His stock couldn't be much higher than it is right now. I also don't think he'd flourish here.

The Vardy rumours are hotting up again. Please, no. I'm very happy for him, I'm glad he's doing so well at this level, but no.

Arsenal have reportedly agreed a fee for him: http://www.dailystar.co.uk/sport/football/490619/23m-fee-prolific-international-star-Arsenal-transfer-news Would love this signing for us. We'd still have some change from the Ramires deal. Much better value than the £40M figures floating around for Teixeira, IMO.

Just making their way through this list: https://www.skybet.com/football/specials/manager-specials Wouldn't put it past Sky to leak some of these stories to trump up some bets.

Okay, Falcao has been terrible, but it was a low risk move again. We didn't pay a loan fee, and he's on 50% of the wages he was on a Monaco. It's still overpaying, but it hasn't cost us that much. Though, we have agreed £38M if we want to make it permanent (don't even joke about it). http://www.teamtalk.com/news/falcao-will-cost-chelsea-38m-fee-leaked-document-reveals

Robinho looked alright in that first video too. Sign of how long ago that was = Seedorf I forget how young Pato was when he burst on the scene. I'm okay with this move. It's low risk.

Ah, Hulk, how could I forget you. We won't go for him now though, he still seems useful. You could get a shirt done now though, and in 3 years time you'll look like Nostradamus.