Welcome Mauricio Pochettino

[Vegetable 830]

5 hours ago, Thor said:

It isn't an experience thing. It isn't a player quality thing. Fans on here are kidding themselves with cope. 

We have a world cup winner in Enzo. Thiago Silva. Chilly who has won a CL. Caicedo has PL experience and is one of the best midfielders in the game statistically. Sterling is a multiple time PL winner. This team is top 4 quality - just not getting the results right now. 

This is the level of optimism I admire but can't really agree on. I would, if we were actually a mid-table team.

World cup or Euro is hardly measure of anything. Thiago is on the late Cahill level of decline and we have finally face it. Our entire previous roster won CL, yet people claimed they are useless. "PL experience" is joke of advatage on this level. Sterling is past it, just like was Auba, Higuain etc. 

I could probably pick similar cherries even from West Ham or Villa squad, yet they are hardly title contenders.

We could point some positives in every roster there was in last 15 years. The thing is, we had good players and ok players usually, now we have some potentially good players and straight up liabilities. We have strikers, who can't fire for their lives. We have wingers, who shouldn't be anywhere near Chelsea ever, hence Chillwell is a winger now. We have shaky backline and no clear starting set up, which is very important for defenders to play together a lot. We have a goalie that seems like a duct tape solution to a problem.

Things like cohesion and chemistry are one thing to develop, but truth is that like 23 of those 25 players need to make MASSIVE leap in their footballing skill and experience to even remotely think about top 4 with very little room for error and so far we look like a lot of error tbh. Is it on Pochettino? Nah, I don't think so (yet).

[Reddish-Blue 2,510]

18 hours ago, DH1988 said:

The run of games coming up are an absolute gauntlet which will only compound the issue(s) further, we really needed to do a United here and squeeze the points out somehow like they are, albeit from dodgy referee calls mainly, irrespective it's a daunting time for Poch and I can't help but look at how 180 degrees we looked in preseason.. Mentality was there and pressing every single ball.

Because it was full of the young players looking to impress and take the chance offered to them.   Casadei, Santos, Angelo, Carney, Bashir among others. 

Funny how most were not kept around (other than Carney and that nasty injury) and as soon as we got these high priced signings very late in the window things started going from bad to worse. 

I mentioned this before but getting Caicedo & Lavia was overkill and I feel it sends a bad message to the rest of the talented young midfielders as their pathway to first team football at Chelsea is effectively blocked for the near future. 

[Thor 2,718]

2 hours ago, Vegetable said:

This is the level of optimism I admire but can't really agree on. I would, if we were actually a mid-table team.

World cup or Euro is hardly measure of anything. Thiago is on the late Cahill level of decline and we have finally face it. Our entire previous roster won CL, yet people claimed they are useless. "PL experience" is joke of advatage on this level. Sterling is past it, just like was Auba, Higuain etc. 

I could probably pick similar cherries even from West Ham or Villa squad, yet they are hardly title contenders.

We could point some positives in every roster there was in last 15 years. The thing is, we had good players and ok players usually, now we have some potentially good players and straight up liabilities. We have strikers, who can't fire for their lives. We have wingers, who shouldn't be anywhere near Chelsea ever, hence Chillwell is a winger now. We have shaky backline and no clear starting set up, which is very important for defenders to play together a lot. We have a goalie that seems like a duct tape solution to a problem.

Things like cohesion and chemistry are one thing to develop, but truth is that like 23 of those 25 players need to make MASSIVE leap in their footballing skill and experience to even remotely think about top 4 with very little room for error and so far we look like a lot of error tbh. Is it on Pochettino? Nah, I don't think so (yet).

Just isn't true. 

Lets stop pretending there are 19 teams better than us in terms of talent. There isn't even 8. 

RJ and Gusto are top class. Our CB options are fine and better than 90% of the league. We don't concede goals, so this isn't up for debate. LB - we have plenty of options, and aren't in need of an upgrade. 

Enzo is a WC winner and is clearly class. The eye test is enough. Caceido is class. Gallagher has done it at other clubs, was wanted by WHU and Spurs - he is good enough to be on the team. 

Sterling can bang in goals - and he isn't past it. Say what you want about Mudryk and Jackson - fine, they might be average or below average - the rest of the team on paper, and based on their achievements are clearly very good. 

Our keeper isn't making or breaking the team. He is stopping shots and we have a good defence statistically.

 

It is a confidence and cohesion (and a whole lot more) issue, and not a personnel one. Why? Because no matter which way you slice it - this team isn't worse than Villas. We aren't worse than Nottingham Forest. We aren't worse than WHU. This team is plenty fine enough to win games based on talent and who is there on paper.

 

I dare anyone with a straight face to say they would swap our entire starting 11 for Tottenham's against Arsenal this weekend. No one wanted Brennan Johnson when he was being talked about as an option. Am I going to sit here and pretend we should have got him now that he is on a winning team? 

[NikkiCFC 8,334]

Agreed. What I have been saying yesterday. 

Edited September 26, 2023 by NikkiCFC

[Mhsc 1,098]

[DDA 9,941]

It's a fact... if we take our chances, we are in the top 5 of the table and everything is being looked and talked about in a completely different way.

Start scoring and all of a sudden, the momentum grows and so does the teams fear factor just like Arsenal did under Arteta.

[Thor 2,718]

6 minutes ago, Mhsc said:

I don't care too much about this. We look better than when Potter was here.

[MoroccanBlue 5,383]

34 minutes ago, DDA said:

It's a fact... if we take our chances, we are in the top 5 of the table and everything is being looked and talked about in a completely different way.

Start scoring and all of a sudden, the momentum grows and so does the teams fear factor just like Arsenal did under Arteta.

Then why is Ivan Toney seen as this answer? Toney’s conversion rate (excluding penalties) since coming into the league is 13.2%.

[Superblue 6,372]

16 minutes ago, MoroccanBlue said:

Then why is Ivan Toney seen as this answer? Toney’s conversion rate (excluding penalties) since coming into the league is 13.2%.

I think this is where I do have a small amount of sympathy with the scouting and recruitment part of the club.

I think there's a dearth of real top strikers at their peak currently and even someone like Osimhen is really gaining traction off the back of just one incredible season.

With Jackson, a lot of his game is very good for his age. Pace is electric, has a good size and frame he'll fill into, good attitude to press, willing and intelligent runner behind the defence (just needs to refine that a little so he's not offside as often) which provides a completely different dynamic we haven't had. Some of his points are raw and he needs to mature as a player and a person but he does have the makings of becoming a very good player.

Ultimately it comes down to trusting in that talent that it can flourish. In an ideal world, we'd have a Giroud type that can be leant on in times of struggle because we have to accept the inconsistent nature of younger players. That's where Lampard in his first stint benefited enormously half way through the season as the results tailed off, he was able to lean more heavily on players like Giroud, Alonso, Jorginho, Pedro, etc who hadn't featured as prominently before.

The lack of foresight at the club, in not ensuring there is some more experience in this group of players is astounding. Poch knows it, he's not an idiot.

 

[OneMoSalah 8,886]

4 minutes ago, Superblue said:

I think this is where I do have a small amount of sympathy with the scouting and recruitment part of the club.

I think there's a dearth of real top strikers at their peak currently and even someone like Osimhen is really gaining traction off the back of just one incredible season.

With Jackson, a lot of his game is very good for his age. Pace is electric, has a good size and frame he'll fill into, good attitude to press, willing and intelligent runner behind the defence (just needs to refine that a little so he's not offside as often) which provides a completely different dynamic we haven't had. Some of his points are raw and he needs to mature as a player and a person but he does have the makings of becoming a very good player.

Ultimately it comes down to trusting in that talent that it can flourish. In an ideal world, we'd have a Giroud type that can be leant on in times of struggle because we have to accept the inconsistent nature of younger players. That's where Lampard in his first stint benefited enormously half way through the season as the results tailed off, he was able to lean more heavily on players like Giroud, Alonso, Jorginho, Pedro, etc who hadn't featured as prominently before.

The lack of foresight at the club, in not ensuring there is some more experience in this group of players is astounding. Poch knows it, he's not an idiot.

 

Yes there are a shortage of too CFs but the scouts and recruitment people have been given a profile and the club have spunked £1bn in 3 windows and we look so much worse. As well as these co director fuckwits having a huge input into not keeping the likes of Kova, Jorginho, Kante etc.

Anywhere else and these footballing director guys wouldn’t be in a job next season, wait and see though we will let them continue to ruin our squads development and the club’s overall trajectory again. 

Edited September 26, 2023 by OneMoSalah

[Superblue 6,372]

Just now, OneMoSalah said:

Yes there are a shortage of too CFs but the scouts and recruitment people have spunked £1bn in 3 windows and we look no better. As well as obviously having an input into not keeping the likes of Kova, Jorginho, Kante etc.

Abywhere else and these footballing director guys wouldn’t be in a job next season, wait and see though we will let them continue to ruin our squads development and the club’s overall trajectory again. 

The new directors can't be blamed for the entirety of this as they weren't here last summer when we effectively wasted about £300m of that mark, and the outgoings and fees received this summer go a reasonable way towards bringing the net spend down on this figure, but it is still a huge chunk of cash they've been armed with.

The problem is it's pretty clear that the directive given to them was to buy for the future. I think last summers window was an eye opener to the owners at buying older, established players on big wages who go on to not perform. In my opinion this was a wrong move in itself, and a couple more players in their mid-20's should have been added to the group, or more done to keep a couple of the players moved on. 

Ultimately, it's not fair to pass judgement on the recruitment over the last 2 windows already, despite the lavish outlay, when bar Disasi and Sanchez, the oldest player I think we've bought is 21/22 years old. What I would say is in isolation, a number of the players we've bought do look promising and that they could have big futures here at the club, but collectively as a squad it isn't working yet and I'm not surprised. We've turned over a whole new squad in 18 months bar about 5 players and have very little experience running through the group.

We could be looking back in 2 or 3 years time, having high regards for these last couple of transfer windows. I understand the patience within the fans and media will be non-existent when we've spent so much money, but rightly or wrongly the club has bought potential and that isn't going to be realised in a handful of games.

[Blue Armour 4,448]

48 minutes ago, Superblue said:

 I think last summers window was an eye opener to the owners at buying older, established players on big wages who go on to not perform. In my opinion this was a wrong move in itself, and a couple more players in their mid-20's should have been added to the group, or more done to keep a couple of the players moved on. 

 

Exactly this. This management always seems to follow a brute force approach.

Right intentions, but they go about it an extreme manner.

The players that had to go, should have been phased out over a couple of seasons., rather than doing all in one go.

Anyway it's done. I just hope the short term impact, namely another poor finish in the league, doesn't have any lasting damage.

[Vesper 30,224]

Xabi Alonso

on my list

[Superblue 6,372]

17 hours ago, Blue Armour said:

Exactly this. This management always seems to follow a brute force approach.

Right intentions, but they go about it an extreme manner.

The players that had to go, should have been phased out over a couple of seasons., rather than doing all in one go.

Anyway it's done. I just hope the short term impact, namely another poor finish in the league, doesn't have any lasting damage.

I think the main reason for such a quick turnover has been to change the wage structure/policy at the club. From what it sounds, the wage bill based on basic salaries has been slashed by millions per annum, and all the new players or those signing new contracts have come in line with a much heavier performance related deal that theoretically should mitigate some of the risks for the club of moments like this where we may miss out on European football.

I assume they concluded that making such a transition over a period of 2 or 3 seasons could divide the squad where some are still being paid huge salaries on old contracts and others are on lower, performance related deals.

But on the flip side they have to accept that turnover so quickly is not going to click into place over night. Even if you threw the best XI players in the world together, you couldn't expect them to immediately play well and dominate immediately. Football requires relationships to be built, understandings of how teammates play, runs they make, etc. It all takes time.

[OneMoSalah 8,886]

On 26/09/2023 at 15:55, Superblue said:

The new directors can't be blamed for the entirety of this as they weren't here last summer when we effectively wasted about £300m of that mark, and the outgoings and fees received this summer go a reasonable way towards bringing the net spend down on this figure, but it is still a huge chunk of cash they've been armed with.

The problem is it's pretty clear that the directive given to them was to buy for the future. I think last summers window was an eye opener to the owners at buying older, established players on big wages who go on to not perform. In my opinion this was a wrong move in itself, and a couple more players in their mid-20's should have been added to the group, or more done to keep a couple of the players moved on. 

Ultimately, it's not fair to pass judgement on the recruitment over the last 2 windows already, despite the lavish outlay, when bar Disasi and Sanchez, the oldest player I think we've bought is 21/22 years old. What I would say is in isolation, a number of the players we've bought do look promising and that they could have big futures here at the club, but collectively as a squad it isn't working yet and I'm not surprised. We've turned over a whole new squad in 18 months bar about 5 players and have very little experience running through the group.

We could be looking back in 2 or 3 years time, having high regards for these last couple of transfer windows. I understand the patience within the fans and media will be non-existent when we've spent so much money, but rightly or wrongly the club has bought potential and that isn't going to be realised in a handful of games.

Yes but surely the co-directors have got some sort of expertise and opinions also?

Do you think anybody involved in football at that level can rightfully have thought ok we are selling/releasing more or less every experienced or senior player we have bar maybe 3, to replace them with all these inexperienced/development players, this is going to work. If they did they should be packing their belongings and leaving. 

Boehly got and quite rightfully got stick for the first summer window but the co-directors are definitely accountable for the signings we’ve made since. Yes maybe they were given a directive from the ownership but wasn’t their appointments and isn’t there roles as co-directors of football to offer opinions? To collaborate with the manager, the ownership and also advise them on what we may need to look for? Pretty fucking pointless having them if not?

 

Edited September 27, 2023 by OneMoSalah

[Superblue 6,372]

5 minutes ago, OneMoSalah said:

Yes but surely the co-directors have got some sort of expertise and opinions also?

Do you think anybody involved in football at that level can rightfully have thought ok we are selling/releasing more or less every experienced or senior player we have bar maybe 3, to replace them with all these inexperienced/development players, this is going to work. If they did they should be packing their belongings and leaving. 

Boehly got and quite rightfully got stick for the first summer window but the co-directors are definitely accountable for the signings we’ve made since. Yes maybe they were given a directive from the ownership but wasn’t their appointments and isn’t there roles as co-directors of football to offer opinions? To collaborate with the manager, the ownership and also advise them on what we may need to look for? Pretty fucking pointless having them if not?

 

I'm guessing we'll truly never know. 

The owners will have final say and if they've determined that players need cashing in before they leave for free, then there isn't much the sporting directors can do about that. Similarly, if a directive has been issued for players under a certain age band, then again, it restricts what they can do. 

The issue is, a number of the players that we did sell in the summer for all sorts of reasons, you'd have to argue were the right decision.

Koulibaly wasn't good enough. Kepa the same. The likes of Kova, Mount, RLC all had contracts expiring, and it didn't look like they would resign and we recouped £100+m across them. Unless we'd bitten the bullet with letting any of them leave for free in the summer. There's always been question marks over the likes of Ziyech, Auba, Lukaku over potential negative influences in the squad.

Probably the two most arguable that we could have made more effort to retain to offer that experience within the group were Azpi and Kante. Azpi has been on a steep decline in the last year or two, and Kante has had injury issues for years so I can also understand the reluctance in keeping both on big contracts.

I completely agree with you though that someone should have pushed harder to get some more experience through the door in the summer or a conscious mind on who we were letting leave. Would it have really interrupted plans if we'd added a couple of players in the 25-28 age bracket who could have come in and immediately influenced the group. For all the money spent on the midfield for example, take Gallagher out and Enzo, Caicedo, Lavia and Ugochukwu have played between them a very small sample of top level games. Too many of this group are building experience together and it's going to mean things take that much longer to turn for the better.

[robsblubot 3,595]

46 minutes ago, Superblue said:

Probably the two most arguable that we could have made more effort to retain to offer that experience within the group were Azpi and Kante. Azpi has been on a steep decline in the last year or two, and Kante has had injury issues for years so I can also understand the reluctance in keeping both on big contracts.

Great post! yeah the individual decisions make sense, but when you take them together, collectively though... not so much.

I'd rather have kept Azpi than Silva; sometimes I think Silva is there just to raise the age average of the squad. 🙂 
Azpi is more versatile, could cover for Gusto (since James is always injured), and also at the back. He's got so much history at the club as well.
 

[Vesper 30,224]

On 27/09/2023 at 08:34, Vesper said:

Xabi Alonso

on my list

Xabi Alonso and why everyone wants Bayer Leverkusen head coach

https://theathletic.com/4908614/2023/09/29/xabi-alonso-head-coach/

 

By Raphael Honigstein and Thom Harris
Sep 29, 2023

 

 

From the relegation zone to being level on points with Bayern Munich at the top of the Bundesliga, Xabi Alonso has led Bayer Leverkusen on quite the ride in his 12 months as manager. Some sort of rebound was almost inevitable given the team’s talent, but the complete change in the team’s attitude under the Spaniard has been nothing short of remarkable.

Ever since the club acquired the unwanted “Neverkusen” moniker following three runners-up spots in 2002, Bayer had been a byword for underachievement and lack of resilience. Now though, they are coming back from a late goal away to serial champions Bayern to score an even later equaliser and generally play with a swagger that befits the most balanced, confident team in the league.

Sporting director Simon Rolfes makes no effort to underplay the manager’s role in this transformation. “There’s a seriousness and maturity in our football that reflects Xabi as a person,” the 41-year-old tells The Athletic. “He’s a natural competitor and winner. He’s instilled a battle-hardened attitude and a fighting spirit in the side.”

Rolfes points to February’s knockout-stage win against Monaco in the Europa League as a key game in lifting spirits last season. “We were the better team in the first leg at home but lost 3-2 because of two late goals.

“In Monaco, we were again the better team and should have won it in 90 minutes. But we had to go into extra time and then to penalties — after we had missed the last seven spot kicks in a row. It was all set up for another unlucky finish. Things looked like they were going against us all season. But we scored all five and won! That was an important moment for the team and all of us.” Bayer went on to narrowly lose against Jose Mourinho’s Roma in the semi-final.

Tactically, Alonso has drawn from many of the different ideas he encountered playing under Pep Guardiola, Jose Mourinho, Carlo Ancelotti and Rafael Benitez. His first move was to stabilise the defence, playing counter-attacking football. Once they were more solid out of possession, Alonso put his attention to improving Leverkusen’s quality on the ball. They have taken another big step forward this year, becoming more and more watchable, and they are now playing the best football in Germany.

“Xabi is not a dogmatic manager,” Rolfe says. “When necessary, the team know how to defend or be pragmatic in certain situations, it’s not always the beautiful build-up from the back. Finding a way to win is what matters to him, more than anything.”

However, there is a sense that Alonso’s philosophy is firmly rooted in his development at his boyhood club, Real Sociedad. He had his first playing and managerial opportunities at a club that has an emphasis on producing technically gifted players to play controlled, possession-based football.

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He took La Real’s B team to promotion to the Spanish second tier for the first time in 60 years. Although they were relegated at the end of that campaign, there are caveats, namely his youthful squad, which had an average age of 21.4 years). His inexperienced team still topped 70 per cent possession in seven separate games.

At Leverkusen, their steady improvement has coincided with the increased control in their build-up across the last calendar year, with their blistering start to the season built on pass-heavy attacking moves.

As the scatterplot below illustrates, no side have averaged more passes per sequence throughout the opening five games. They have even more than Bayern. Leverkusen’s slightly higher ‘direct speed’ (how fast the ball moved upfield) suggests that they can be quick and incisive when the space opens up too.

Summer recruitment has also accelerated Leverkusen’s progress, with tactically versatile players allowing for a new system.

Wing-back Alejandro Grimaldo has given Alonso an attacking threat down the left-hand side — after generating 12.7 expected assists (a measurement of the quality of chances a player creates) last season at Benfica, a figure that only five players in Europe’s top-seven leagues could better — along with defensive solidity, which allows Leverkusen to shift into a solid back-four shape in the build-up.

Centre-backs Edmond Tapsoba, Jonathan Tah and Odilon Kossounou all move over, allowing the dangerous Jeremie Frimpong to push on with more freedom.

In the middle, the experienced Jonas Hofmann is a talented technician who can combine with Frimpong and cover defensively for his live-wire team-mate, while Granit Xhaka has reinforced a solid double-pivot, encouraging the creative presence of Florian Wirtz to roam across the attacking third in search of the ball, as below.

Leverkusen scored their second goal against Heidenheim with this exact structure at the weekend, as Hofmann darted in behind to receive a perfect through pass from Exequiel Palacios.

There’s also the relentless Victor Boniface, who has averaged an incredible 7.6 shots per 90 minutes since joining the Bundesliga, to go alongside his explosive off-the-ball running. Leverkusen are a potent attacking force.

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---

“Having a deep theoretical understanding of football and a superstar aura from winning everything as a player is a ridiculously powerful combination for a manager,” one senior Bayer official tells The Athletic on condition of anonymity, maintained to protect relationships. “He’s done it all but he has the work ethic and humility of a total novice.” Alonso is the first one in and last one out every day, brooding over tactical details for hours on end.

An employee who saw him address the annual staff meeting described him as “a rather dry” orator who’s not a natural entertainer nor a tactile ‘Menschenfanger’ (catcher of men) like Jurgen Klopp. Unlike some of his predecessors at Bayer, he has shown little interest in club departments that don’t directly impact football. He only really cares about the game.

But that sort of single-mindedness has also inspired staff members at a club that has sometimes been mockingly described as a ‘Wohlfuhloase, an oasis of comfort, due to the relative lack of pressure to succeed. Alonso has managed to energise Leverkusen staffers with his professionalism, charm and hunger for success. “You just sort of believe every word he says, because of who he is and the way he says it,” the employee says. “You believe that he will bring success. Because he does.”

GO DEEPER

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The players are similarly entranced. It doesn’t hurt that Alonso is still the best footballer on the training pitch six years into retirement. He regularly pings 50-metre diagonals that land on the intended blade of grass and plays vertical passes that cut through lines like a freshly sharpened yanagiba knife, all without breaking a drop of sweat.

Some people in the club were initially concerned his fantastic technique might intimidate the team, or worse, rub them the wrong way. They recalled 1990 World Cup winner Pierre Littbarski, in his role as assistant coach to Berti Vogts in Leverkusen in 2001, showing off his free-kick-taking skills, teasing the players for falling short of his standards. “You have to take out the shoe trees from your boots,” the former midfielder used to joke. Until one day, one Bayer player sought revenge — and ‘accidentally’ scythed down Littbarski in a training game.

That won’t happen to Alonso, and not just because he’s too slick to get caught by a mean-spirited tackle. The team respects and admires him far too much. “There are some former pros who try to impress players with their skills on the ball, since they don’t have much else to offer by way of coaching,” the senior club official says. “Xabi doesn’t need that. He just plays a killer pass to get his idea across — like somebody would draw an arrow on the tactics board — and to raise the quality of the training exercise.”

There’s an air of focus and commitment to the cause that hasn’t always been observed on the training pitches just across from the BayArena stadium. Alonso moves a lot, talks a lot and sometimes shouts if he feels that a specific message needs emphasis. Recently, he set his team a challenge to be more effective from set pieces. When they duly improved, he rewarded them with two days off.

“He’s a very clever man with sensitive antennas that pick up all sorts of signals,” says another Bayer source who works with Alonso on a daily basis. He points to the manager making sure that some players whose contributions are in danger of getting overlooked by the public receive their due share of the limelight and a bit of extra attention from him.

Alonso isn’t the sole reason for Bayer’s positive momentum, obviously. He has a strong relationship with Leverkusen’s Spanish CEO Fernando Carro and Rolfes, a former central midfielder who’s the same age as Alonso and shares many of his footballing convictions. His ideas are closely aligned with Leverkusen’s transfer policy, too.

The club’s scouting has been formidable for decades, but last summer they were especially smart. Selling French winger Moussa Diaby to Aston Villa for €60million (£52m, $63m) enabled them to invest in a couple more seasoned pros to complement the array of talented youngsters.

Former Arsenal midfielder Xhaka and Germany international Hofmann, both 31, have added character and mentality as much as quality to the dressing room. Grimaldo, 28, is also being mentioned as a hugely positive influence behind the scenes. And on top of that, it’s always useful to add a dynamic goalscorer in Boniface (six goals in five league games), signed for €20.5m from Union Saint-Gilloise.

Picking the right club to succeed is a coach’s most underrated skill. Alonso has been especially careful in that respect. He took this time to learn the trade in three years at Real Sociedad B and turned down a chance to coach Borussia Monchengladbach in the spring of 2021 — he knew from his time at Bayern as a player (2014-2017) that Leverkusen were a better fit.

Bayer are a relatively wealthy club committed to attacking football but they don’t operate in a cacophony of media noise, due to the small size of the city. It’s an ideal place for a young manager to make his next steps. The only question now is how long Bayer can keep up with a manager who’s going places.

Rolfes says they are not worried about reports linking Alonso to the Real Madrid job. “I never mind rumours about our players or coaches. If they’re good and successful, others will take note. In April, there were plenty of stories that Alonso would leave this summer. Didn’t happen.” Instead, he signed a new contract until 2026.

Bayer are not naive. If Alonso gets offered the Bernabeu job for next season and decides he’s ready to take it, the Germans won’t keep him against his will and will try to manage that process in a way that minimises disruption. But there’s still hope it won’t be over come May. Bayer have received no indication that Alonso wants to move on. And from everything they’ve seen so far, he’s not a man in a hurry.

Edited September 30, 2023 by Vesper

[gdlk 286]

I mentioned him, months ago but now he seems Real Madrid bound. 

[Vesper 30,224]

Chelsea

https://thedailybriefing.io/i/137509395/Chelsea

• Claude Makelele confirms that he's leaving his role at Chelsea: "I decided, by mutual consent, that it‘s time for me to seek a fresh, new challenge." Makelele follows Bruno Saltor who left the club last week.

• Carney Chukwuemeka returns to full team training.

• Mauricio Pochettino on Ben Chilwell’s injury: “It’s bad news — the doctor told me it’s not a good thing. It doesn’t look good, we’re really sad.” (press conference footage courtesy of Hayters)

• Pochettino: “I am working to identify what we need for January on transfer market. I’m more involved in transfers, I’m on it.”

• Pochettino on Madueke filmed partying while injured: “It’s a thing that he needs to avoid, all the players need to know that we are Chelsea players and should try to avoid this thing. It wasn’t a big issue but we need to avoid this type of situation, it’s really clear.”

• Chelsea and Man United are on the trail of football’s next big thing. Who is he? Find out more here.

Edited September 30, 2023 by Vesper