Belgiannutt

Jason posted a link from the guardian a couple posts above. We're gonna be playing 2 more friendlies (1 behind closed doors (probably both ?) before we leave for our Asia tour. That would bring our total up to 5 games with the community shield making it 6. Last preseason we played 6 games + 1 game behind closed doors so it's not so different.

Who to believe a chief editor of RMC sport with over 200 k followers or a Bakayoko fan and a freelance journalist with a little over 10 k followers, combined.

Let's not forget that Rudiger was Conte's first choice CB target last season. We were reported being extremely close to signing him before he injured himself. We wanted him over Koulibaly and Luiz. Conte really likes him it seems. From what i've seen of him, granted not a lot, he looks like a solid CB with a very good abillity on the ball. Wouldn't suprise me if he displaces Cahill as a starter if given a bit of time to settle. He's already superior on the ball so as long as he can be solid defensively he'd be an upgrade on Cahill. edit: Also on the Manolas -Rudiger comparison i'd say they're very different defenders. Manolas is more of a no-nonsense defender while Rudiger is more of a ball playing CB.

Are you basing that on this game alone ?

Well it's kinda understandable though. The dailymail jumps on any news they can find causing them to get a lot wrong aswell. BBC and SS are a bit more cautious when it comes to transfer news. So it makes sense that people consider the BBC and SS more reliable.

Ever stopped to think that maybe we're penny pinching for a reason ? Like say because we don't have a blanc cheque anymore from Abramovich to do what we want. It's pretty obvious these last couple of years he hasn't been injecting loads of money into the club anymore (apart from the 500 mill stadium ofcourse ). We're working with a different budget (the money that the club actuammy has and not Roman Abramovich his money) then before so we need to be more careful how we spend our money. This transferwindow we have a significant warchest with the raised tv money and the players we've sold but the players we're after will be expensive in this market and we need around 4-6 players.

I don't see how it's bullshit ? I would feel a lot less comfortable if we switched to a back four and had Cahill and Luiz as our 2 cb's. Cahill is too passive and Luiz can be too agressive at times for a back four. Ofcourse it wasn't THE reason but i'm sure it was one of them along with like you said to cover the flanks and allow freedom for our attackers. We also didn't have a proper left back as Alonso was poor there so we switched to allow him to play in a more natural position. Then there's also Kante who in the 4-3-3 was way too restricted. The 3-4-3 allowed him a lot more freedom to chase and press.

Nzonzi is a better passer then Meite other then than that it does seem like a good comparison. Meite is a good passer but not a great one + he also has a tendecy to be a bit sloppy at times with his passing(a sorta casualness about him at times). I agree that Bakayoko is better defensively but Meite is better on the ball and more skillful.

Repubblica was first by some margin (1 june). The Marotta quote only surfaced a couple of days ago. So either they were incredibly lucky or they've got actual sources.

Bakayoko. Meite's a strong runner with the ball and very strong and athletic. Very similar profile to Bakayoko.

“Now the most important thing is to give a correct evaluation of our season because for me it was incredible. Every single player performed at 120 or 130 per cent in every game. We didn’t have many injuries. It’s very important to understand this. Our season was incredible because every player worked very hard and next season for sure we must pay great attention to understand we have to improve in terms of numbers and quality. That’s very important and we must be very cold when we analyse the situation and understand this season we did something great. Starting to think that Conte might be looking to move Azpi to the right wing back position and add a cb with more height (or maybe Christensen). Maybe to balance things out. A more offensive LWB but a more defensive RWB. We haven't really been linked with any RWB for some time now.

I'm calm because there's nothing i can do to change the situation nor do i have all the details on what's happening behind the scenes. So i prefer to stay calm because running around screaming "We're doomed !! " just seems very exhausting Conte left because he won the league 3 times in a row with Juventus and in that time the most expensive signing they made was Asamoah for 18 million euros. He wanted better players (more expensive signings), Juventus refused, so he left. It really isn't comparable to us who regularly spend 30+ million euros on players. People seriously need to stop with this "Conte's gonna leave" crap.

About the transfers i'd wait till after the Nike deal kicks in. Personally i believe Lukaku and Bakayoko are already done deals or at the very least close to being. About the contract talks i wouldn't worry too much. Hazard still has 3 years on his contract and Conte and Courtois have 2 years left. All three have been reported to be open to a contract extension.

Bit harsh. Bakayoko is definitely an improvement on Matic while Matic, if he stays, will be a good squad option to have. Lukaku for Costa is indeed more of a sideway step but he is younger, arguably a bit more prolific and there really aren't that many viable striker options on the market. (I still prefer Morata over Lukaku but i've made my peace with it) I don't understand why people say Hazard can't play in a 3-5-2 ? Hazard + striker (Lukaku probably) with a 3 man midfield of Bakayoko-Fabregas-Kante looks good to me.

Broccoli it is then !!

Just seen the the fragment where the doctor talks to VTM. He said on the scan there was minimal damage to the ligaments. No tear. Just a fracture and light strained ligaments. No problems long term, should recover well. He said 3 months was a realistic estimate for recovery time. Also said he's sure Hazard will be 100 % again. Able to play matches by mid september.

According to HLN he's getting surgery today. I'm hoping for 2 months of recovery (or less ). Start of the season is 11 weeks away so he would still have 3 weeks of preseason.

Well the journalist asked about Real Madrid. Several times. Makes sense that Hazard's answers would be about Madrid, no ?

He usually says the same things though. Affirms his commitment to Chelsea by saying he's happy here and has "x" years left on his contract but then also keeps his options open by saying "we'll see" "anything can happen" "never say never". I think people look at it a bit too black and white. "He's staying for the rest of his career" vs "he's gone the next transferwindow"

£60 million ? He's a good center back but that's it. Nothing special about him to be worth such a ridiculous fee.

COOOOOOOOOOOOOOSSSSSSSSTAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Moses you fucking idiot

I believe Eden's price was £32 million.