Chelsea Transfers

[Reddish-Blue 2,503]

2 hours ago, Strike said:

More often the data gives you athletic players who play safe, have high pass % not necessarily the players who try risky passes and have the ability to weigh it just right and create chances. 

You would think there would be enough data out there to find those "creative" players.   Even when us and a whole host of other clubs were keen on Hazard, it was pretty clear from watching him and seeing his data/stats at Lille that he was on his way to becoming a top player. 

The real concern is that there was only 1 plan heading into this season and that revolved around Nkunku, Reece being fit for the most part.  With both players out for an extended period of time, we have no cutting edge in attack and we're sort of crossing our fingers and hoping that Sterling scores a goal or Jackson finally takes a chance in front of goal (had two massive opportunities to get goals against West Ham & Forest....both games we should not have lost). 

[Reddish-Blue 2,503]

1 hour ago, DH1988 said:

Quite a few of us have said about Toney multiple times, we’d be mad not to get him in but I do have concerns over the price and it being dragged out over the whole of Jan. £60m is a fair price considering what’s happened, age etc.

That said, his attitude is questionable off the pitch of course but on the pitch I think he brings the bite we need to our young squad. Desperately missing leaders.

Didn't he go on an interview recently and suggest that his preference would be Arsenal/Liverpool or something along those lines.   Not sure we need another player who doesn't want to be here.  

[OneMoSalah 8,886]

1 hour ago, Reddish-Blue said:

You would think there would be enough data out there to find those "creative" players.   Even when us and a whole host of other clubs were keen on Hazard, it was pretty clear from watching him and seeing his data/stats at Lille that he was on his way to becoming a top player. 

The real concern is that there was only 1 plan heading into this season and that revolved around Nkunku, Reece being fit for the most part.  With both players out for an extended period of time, we have no cutting edge in attack and we're sort of crossing our fingers and hoping that Sterling scores a goal or Jackson finally takes a chance in front of goal (had two massive opportunities to get goals against West Ham & Forest....both games we should not have lost). 

After spending £1bn in 3 windows to be relying solely on guys like Thiago, Chilly, Sterling, Reece and Nkunku to carry the squad due to a lack of proven quality and top club level experience is an incredibly shit footballing vision/strategy.

I don’t get what these sporting directors thought was going to happen by recruiting all these kids, particularly when things get tough, it’s absolutely mind blowing.

Their jobs should be on the line come the summer if we are still in the same place in my opinion. Could you imagine the directors at City or Liverpool coming up with this strategy? Fuck no. Or at any other relatively big, well run club? Not a chance. 

Edited September 19, 2023 by OneMoSalah

[NikkiCFC 8,315]

Is it not ironic? All our attackers play like shit, we did not score 2 games, meanwhile some of the attackers we could have just this weekend did this:

Vlahovic 2 goals

Lukaku 1 goal

Dybala 2 goals

CHO 1 goal

Felix 1 goal

Angelo MOTM

[OneMoSalah 8,886]

6 minutes ago, NikkiCFC said:

Is it not ironic? All our attackers play like shit, we did not score 2 games, meanwhile some of the attackers we could have just this weekend did this:

Vlahovic 2 goals

Lukaku 1 goal

Dybala 2 goals

CHO 1 goal

Felix 1 goal

Angelo MOTM

Lukaku & Vlahovic can bang them in in Italy all season but Lukaku alone coming back here is proof that footballers can score a lot of goals over there and struggle here. £40m and Lukaku for Vlahovic was an interesting deal maybe but fuck knows. Could easily have been a dud. Known our luck.

On Dybala, for the €12m he would of cost - his age, experience, trophy haul, leadership qualities (captaining Juventus on multiple occasions)… I think it was a big mistake to have not tried to sign him. Creative and a goalscorer. Good set play taker. Left footed. Injury record maybe his only downfall. But €12mn - hardly a catastrophe. Although there were the usual “why isn’t he pushing for a move” naysayers when he in fact had a release clause…. that we didn’t even trigger…. 

Felix never convinced at Atletico or here in a lot of minutes. 1 goal for Barca in a game where they won 5-0 against an utterly shambolic Real Betis doesn’t change that. Talent there but not enough substance. Not what we need considering we have about 4 players who can be described the same way.

CHO could/should have been given a chance here ahead of signing Mudryk (probably) but meh he wouldn’t have gotten us much further.

Angelo again, 1 goal, hardly as if he was going to contribute heavily to this team was he?

And again the big one. Its all what ifs.

[Mhsc 1,097]

36 minutes ago, OneMoSalah said:

After spending £1bn in 3 windows to be relying solely on guys like Thiago, Chilly, Sterling, Reece and Nkunku to carry the squad due to a lack of proven quality and top club level experience is an incredibly shit footballing vision/strategy.

I don’t get what these sporting directors thought was going to happen by recruiting all these kids, particularly when things get tough, it’s absolutely mind blowing.

Their jobs should be on the line come the summer if we are still in the same place in my opinion. Could you imagine the directors at City or Liverpool coming up with this strategy? Fuck no. Or at any other relatively big, well run club? Not a chance. 

I suspect the high-level strategy is a Boehly / Eghbali strategy, probably one they already had in mind before acquisition as part of their mission / vision for the new Chelsea that they sold to their fellow investors. Then the team they have hired (PW/LS etc) is the group of people they think can execute their strategy to deliver short/medium/long term success within the scope of the company values and mission they have defined.

Of course, you can argue that Poch, PW, LS etc should have found a way to make a winning squad with the amount of money available in summer and money was spent excessively in the wrong areas (e.g. Caicedo+Lavia for huge fees vs finding a cheap supporting option for Enzo - like just buy Ugo, keep Andrey Santos, and then spend the rest of that money on buying goals)

Edited September 19, 2023 by Mhsc

[MoroccanBlue 5,380]

41 minutes ago, Mhsc said:

I suspect the high-level strategy is a Boehly / Eghbali strategy, probably one they already had in mind before acquisition as part of their mission / vision for the new Chelsea that they sold to their fellow investors. Then the team they have hired (PW/LS etc) is the group of people they think can execute their strategy to deliver short/medium/long term success within the scope of the company values and mission they have defined.

Of course, you can argue that Poch, PW, LS etc should have found a way to make a winning squad with the amount of money available in summer and money was spent excessively in the wrong areas (e.g. Caicedo+Lavia for huge fees vs finding a cheap supporting option for Enzo - like just buy Ugo, keep Andrey Santos, and then spend the rest of that money on buying goals)

It is, particularly when both of them came from tech start up backgrounds. 

What they are doing is classic blitzscaling. 

 

[Strike 7,486]

2 hours ago, Reddish-Blue said:

You would think there would be enough data out there to find those "creative" players.   Even when us and a whole host of other clubs were keen on Hazard, it was pretty clear from watching him and seeing his data/stats at Lille that he was on his way to becoming a top player. 

The real concern is that there was only 1 plan heading into this season and that revolved around Nkunku, Reece being fit for the most part.  With both players out for an extended period of time, we have no cutting edge in attack and we're sort of crossing our fingers and hoping that Sterling scores a goal or Jackson finally takes a chance in front of goal (had two massive opportunities to get goals against West Ham & Forest....both games we should not have lost). 

One of the reasons the plan was only Nkunku was because data guided the club's moves for Mudryk Madueke Palmer. Only creative player we were linked with in the Nkunku mould was Cherki.  

[Vesper 30,153]

4 hours ago, OneMoSalah said:

£40m and Lukaku for Vlahovic

£34.5m (€40m) + Rom

[Vesper 30,153]

Will Chelsea move for a new striker in January?

https://thedailybriefing.io/i/137173430/will-Chelsea-move-for-a-new-striker-in-january

It’s too early to say for sure if Chelsea will move for a new striker in January, for now they are saying their focus is on the current squad. They are also keen to protect Nicolas Jackson, who had a very good pre-season, though of course to repeat that in the Premier League is not the same. Still, they back him and they want to trust him.

Christopher Nkunku’s return from injury could also be crucial for Jackson’s form. They linked up well together in pre-season, so to have someone like him to help create space and to give him different kind of passes could be crucial. That’s why they believe that when Nkunku is back the attacking situation will be very different, so that’s why they’re not commenting on signing another striker now.

They had the chance to sign other strikers in the summer, like Dusan Vlahovic, but Chelsea were never 100% convinced about going for a traditional number 9. I think they will stick to that plan for the next couple of months, and then let’s see where we are at the end of November, but for now they are not actively working on a new striker because they want to protect the squad they have.

Personally, I really like Vlahovic so for me he’s an excellent option for any club in the world, but especially for Juventus as he’s key player there. I don’t know the exact reasons why Chelsea rejected that possibility, but they were not sure since July and then again in August so they decided not to take up that option.

Ivan Toney’s name has come up with Chelsea, and it’s normal when a player like that looks like being an opportunity on the market. I think Toney is going to leave Brentford in 2024 - 100%, that’s the feeling of those close to him, so let’s see if that’s going to be January or the summer transfer window.

Chelsea have an interest, but also other clubs in England and some Italian clubs. He’s always been appreciated by many clubs, though England probably looks the most likely destination because he wants to continue in the Premier League. Still, I see his name in the headlines a lot but there is nothing concrete or advanced at the moment. I think it will take some time to see which club will go for him and who can offer proper money to convince Brentford.

[Reddish-Blue 2,503]

8 hours ago, Mhsc said:

I suspect the high-level strategy is a Boehly / Eghbali strategy, probably one they already had in mind before acquisition as part of their mission / vision for the new Chelsea that they sold to their fellow investors. Then the team they have hired (PW/LS etc) is the group of people they think can execute their strategy to deliver short/medium/long term success within the scope of the company values and mission they have defined.

Of course, you can argue that Poch, PW, LS etc should have found a way to make a winning squad with the amount of money available in summer and money was spent excessively in the wrong areas (e.g. Caicedo+Lavia for huge fees vs finding a cheap supporting option for Enzo - like just buy Ugo, keep Andrey Santos, and then spend the rest of that money on buying goals)

The high level strategy is obvious, get all the wonderkids and top level talents and let them develop together. 

The problem is, we have zero experience in the squad and I don't see how we're going to be in the UCL race for the next 2 seasons....by which time some of the better youngsters will have plenty of offers across Europe to go and be involved in title challenges/UCL games etc and we will be stuck as a mid table side. 

[Thor 2,693]

Felix scoring goals for fun. CHO scoring. 

People keep thinking this is a player issue. Yet when they leave they can score. 

You can keep piling all the players you want in the team and the same outcome will happen. Team is plenty good - but the attacking flow, tactics and build up is no there. 

Players aren't suddenly shit overnight, and they aren't suddenly magic as soon as they leave us.

Stop thinking more players is going to fix us. You'll end up disappointed. 

[DH1988 1,348]

Waiting until Christmas, won’t post what I’ve posted before in terms of individuals as it’s not changed.

Re: Felix, good player, had his chance to prove he should be back and didn’t take it.

At the moment the overwhelming concern to me is the work rate and intensity of the team, it’s absolutely shocking and a far cry from preseason effort(s). Team shape, personnel etc are not first priority to me/for me, it’s running yourself into the ground for 90 minutes as a baseline before anything else.

[DDA 9,935]

14 minutes ago, DH1988 said:

Waiting until Christmas, won’t post what I’ve posted before in terms of individuals as it’s not changed.

Re: Felix, good player, had his chance to prove he should be back and didn’t take it.

At the moment the overwhelming concern to me is the work rate and intensity of the team, it’s absolutely shocking and a far cry from preseason effort(s). Team shape, personnel etc are not first priority to me/for me, it’s running yourself into the ground for 90 minutes as a baseline before anything else.

The work rate has dropped because half the players have been sent out on fucking loan.

Angelo

Santos

Casaedi

All ballers who brought in energy to the team. 

Nkunku injured too.

It's a fucking joke.

[Mário César 1,250]

that fucking clown destroy our club