robsblubot

It's not just his (young) age, which is certainly a consideration as it should be. We just don't know how CHO will fare in the PL or are we comparing his performances in friendlies with Willian performances in the PL? (hardly a willian fan myself, but does not sound fair to me) He's certainly a wonderful promise, but I'd be very surprised if this were his year to shine. You can literally count in one hand the players who could play an important role in professional football at the age of 17.

very optimistic view of our dealings, but even at face value there would still be plenty to blame in the lack of planning around #1 Gk and paying what they paid for an unknown. It also does not explain why there is no buy option. The problem of all this is that even if Kovacic does not want to return to RM, RM can set whatever price they want effectively auctioning the player to the highest bidder. It's interesting how people want to give credit to folks who show time and time again a complete lack of long-term planning. We have these weaknesses in the squad *because* we wasted too much money in bad players and overplay for good ones. Unless we are claiming resources are unlimited, which does not seem to be the case.

I know people here liked costa style, but this idea that good or even great strikers need to be aggressive is simply false. the best strikers I’ve seen play the game were so cold that some did not even celebrate goals very much (Romario, r9). Aguero is pretty cold too. and Lukaku who people compare with morata pretty much walks around without the football.

Hah very true! prob different scouts - like good ones.

Not sure we can say this is good business regardless of courtois valuation. If you take money into the equation the question is whether this is the best quality gk we could get for the money. if the answer is yes, due to his potential, then it is indeed good business. i don’t trust our scouting that much, so will remain cautiously optimistic on this one. Without a doubt a bit of a gamble and a very expensive one at that. Still looks like a panic buy - just hope it is at least an educated one.

Now the elephant in the room: was his name a predicament or did he change it once it became obvious he wasn’t going to cut it as a striker?

I don’t disagree with your long term reasoning. Just that players of that caliber, modric and ronaldo, could potentially give the club and the team such a boost that their acquisition would outweigh the negatives. Could also be the difference between cl or not. dont think Kovacic is in the same bracket and am also concerned that he may hinder RLCs development.

@eemanyooel hopefully, we shall see. So, what's the best scenario here? He plays well, but not too well? Like he does well, but RM think they can do without him. Then he loves london and Chelsea and wants to stay. So, never boo him, like ever, even if he plays like Bakayoko. Let's hope he keeps his best performances for practice sessions only. (no I'm not serious here)

quid pro quo with united at all times Don't hand them anything at any level without return. Esp with that fucker in charge.

^^ Thank you now please fuck off. can we move this to ex-players ?

No I would not have moaned had we signed Ronaldo on a one year loan without buy option. Or modric

no, we have not become Arsenal... we are Everton!

Kepa was a panic signing to replace a player who is in his last year contract and has told the club time and time again he wouldn't sign an extension. So, we are breaking the world record for GK to acquire a VERY promising young GK who is NOT proven at this level (from Bilbao). It is especially expensive considering the risk involved - alisson was less risky. Kovacic is a controversial one because of the buy option or the lack thereof, esp considering he's also unproven (many similarities with Morata for ex). In any other business, Marina would be in trouble for the complete lack of planning, but I guess football and Chelsea are different. Yes, we can be happy about the signings and NOT the way they've been done - different things. Also, She brought Bakayoko in, so until she sells him... it's on her.

hah during the game (against Lyon) RLC dropped back several times and every time he did, looked a lot better than both Drinkwater and Bakayoko.

and physically too, which surprised me actually. Now I wonder whether Tammy wouldn't be better served by hitting the gym hard and only then getting a loan once he bulks up a bit. Ampadu looks great but he's only 17, so not sure how much the club can count on him if any. Perhaps a PL loan is open to him given how well he plays, but he's so young that maybe he does not yet need it. I don't disagree with what people say of Emerson (and Alonso) just not sure how important having an attacking left-back is in Sarri's system. The fact that we have Azpi on the right may actually push Emerson ahead of Alonso since Azpi is terrific in defense and only decent going forward. That's on Sarri and I'm happy he has these choices for fullback position. There are other areas of far more concern than the fullback IMO.

we can't score goals with Tammy playing up front. It's not like he misses his chances, but rather he does not get anywhere near scoring most of the time. He pretty much does everything wrong and misses the simplest of passes. Tammy literally needs to learn to play in that position, like the basics, but luckily for him he's still 20. Would be very glad and surprised if he gets a loan offer from a PL club. BTW, Moses on either side produced closed to nothing - very poor as a winger.

Emerson looked very good going forward and did OK defensively. Alonso played fewer minutes and looked off, like many of the other starters who joined late. Defending is more important in this system (than with wingbacks) and Emerson had a couple of defensive horror shows last season. Hyperboles aside, good options for sarri and very different ones at that. Not terribly concerned about the fullback positions since Zapacosta looks better this season.

come on man seems like Eden came back from vac with the usual extra stones... good game by piazon, btw

Tammy is not usable at this time. Will not get a loan in the PL. bakayoko is the worst player on the pitch as usual. Danny slightly above that. RLC is playing well even when dropping back.

I could def agree with that if there is indeed an option to buy, otherwise sorry... no can do. We are not getting Luka Modric, but the aspiring player who hasn't got a game last season and that's the reason he wants out. I'm sure he's a good player, but he wasn't the starter for a reason. So, for us to be signing him on loan, there must be an option to buy. Otherwise we would just be improving a player for RM to use later when and if he's at his best. In other words, without an option to buy, we should have been looking at other targets as long-term replacements for fabregas.

Then it looks like a panic move, like most of our deals in the transfer window.

Same thing that usually happens when a manager does not play or appreciate a player. Willian was not playing because he was playing like shit and Conte was right in not wasting time with a player who produces so little in attack. Willian wasn't happy then and will become unhappy again as soon Sarri sees the same, and drops him. He was shit for Brazil too (had one good game) and has become too inconsistent at a time he should've been playing at his best. We are missing an opportunity to move on, or perhaps the other clubs just aren't as interested as Willian's agent claim?

That’s why I wrote that he will go awol for a while (please reread) and then come back when all else fails (at window closure). these guys have agents and lawyers at their disposal and do it all by the book. He will get paid just fine... there is no excuse for the club to be unprepared though. Ridiculous.

I do understand. He’s basically disappointed in Chelsea because we are holding on to him this late int eh window bc we suck in the transfer market. hes saying he does not really care if there is a replacement or not. Time is up and he has been warning and waiting for a long time. He will stay awol for a while and then if all fails will come back and coast receiving his fat paycheck until Jan... rinse and repeat. this club looks lost tbh

My guess is that ac had a particularly bad end of the season, which coincided with the time sarri started paying attention. And/or coaches game that info.