Isn't there a declining birth rate in Germany or did I just make that up?
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Kindernapping?
Official | AS Monaco loan Benjamin Henrichs to RB Leipzig - Get French Football News
AS Monaco have this evening announced the departure of German international full-back Benjamin Henrichs, in a loan with €15m option to buy deal with
www.getfootballnewsfrance.com
Quite like Henrichs, RB but can play LB and he can/has played DM too. Loan with a 15m option, we may well end up doing worse...
Wonder what this means for Mukiele?
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Eurosport exclusive: Manchester City close to signing Valencia winger Ferran Torres - TNT Sports
Manchester City are close to signing Valencia winger Ferran Torres, according to Eurosport Spain's sources.
www.eurosport.com
We should have been all over him. could have put pressure on Dele and overtake him and 25m euro is not that much
Are blue racists going for Declan rice?
Any bright spark they have systematically gets replaced at considerable expense.... The saga continues:
Abraham / Werner
Hudson-Odoi / Ziyech
Gilmour / Rice (?)
Mount / Havertz (?)
.....So much for the "Yay! Lampard promoting youth" narrative.
Bollocks!
Their hand was forced; now normal business resumes.
Hold on a fucking minute.
To be honest, this might not be Lampard’s doing, this might be Granovskaia. We'll see next season I guess.
Sure.... But it was Fatty getting all the plaudits this season and lets face it a similar pattern has been going on for years.
But to be fair to him, that's because he has been giving the kids a crack - Mount, Abraham, both played over 2000 minutes PL, James, Tomori over 1200 PL, CHO 800, Gilmore 200, and two 18yo's have made tiny minute debuts.
...Yeh, but he had little-to-no choice given the trf ban and the loss of Hazard. Which is very much part of my point from the off.
He had plenty of other choices for various positions. Let’s not pretend Chelsea were down to their bare bones squad wise just because they lost Hazard. He was happy to cut some seniorplayers loose like Luis, Cahill, let Batshuayi go on loan and he still had players like Pedro around who he benched to play Mount more.
I’m unconvinced by Lampard, and I don’t think we can properly judge him until next season when the (positive) remnants of Sarri’s coaching have properly worn off. And if he doesn’t make CL then whatever he’s done this season won’t exactly be seen as a roaring success.
But either way, we can’t say he hasn’t been pretty brave where trusting the young players is concerned - and they’ve played better football than we have most of the season.
Surely though that's just as likely the flipside to your earlier counterpoint about the Chav hierarchy being behind the their transfer strategy? Fair's fair as they say....
I'm certainly not prepared to suggest cutting Cahill & Luiz lose as brave as it was more likely necessitated by their respective contract situations.
Batshuayi has proven a waste of space and is hardly that justifies portrayal as having a track record worth clinging to or that letting him go was a risk... (Again, I suspect a strategy there of getting some 'make or break' minutes into his legs before they took a punt on another ST - Which they have subsequently done.)
Pedro: Was starting games in the earlier stages of the season.
....But I think we can dispute this (as indeed I have).
Don't get me wrong, I'm prepared to attribute credit to Lampard on the simple basis that bagging top 4 and an FA cup final is a job well done for any inexperienced manager's first season in the top flight. However, as i've maintained all along, rather than "brave", he was obliged by circumstance to rely upon youth and fortunately for him the Chav kiddy farm had a nice crop sat waiting for him.
Take some of the young lads out of the squad and it'd have been a piss-weak group likely boasting a strongest front 6 of:
Kovacic / Kante / Barclay
Willian / Giroud / Pedro
...That's well 'Triffic (c) Redknapp.Willian / Giroud / Pedro
Surely though that's just as likely the flipside to your earlier counterpoint about the Chav hierarchy being behind the their transfer strategy? Fair's fair as they say....
I'm certainly not prepared to suggest cutting Cahill & Luiz lose as brave as it was more likely necessitated by their respective contract situations.
Batshuayi has proven a waste of space and is hardly that justifies portrayal as having a track record worth clinging to or that letting him go was a risk... (Again, I suspect a strategy there of getting some 'make or break' minutes into his legs before they took a punt on another ST - Which they have subsequently done.)
Pedro: Was starting games in the earlier stages of the season.
....But I think we can dispute this (as indeed I have).
Don't get me wrong, I'm prepared to attribute credit to Lampard on the simple basis that bagging top 4 and an FA cup final is a job well done for any inexperienced manager's first season in the top flight. However, as i've maintained all along, rather than "brave", he was obliged by circumstance to rely upon youth and fortunately for him the Chav kiddy farm had a nice crop sat waiting for him.
Take some of the young lads out of the squad and it'd have been a piss-weak group likely boasting a strongest front 6 of:
Kovacic / Kante / Barclay...That's well 'Triffic (c) Redknapp.
Willian / Giroud / Pedro
You can add Jorginho to that midfield as well, and Barclay can play AM too.
That piss weak group (plus Hazard) finished above us and won the Europa League last season.
I don't think in terms of letting those players go that would have been forced on Lampard, especially with the transfer ban and him being unable to bring in replacements immediately. Even ignoring those, they lost one regular first team player - Hazard. He's not just one kid in Hazard's position, he's used a few for a good amount of minutes, when he clearly he didn't have to, he had senior pros with bags of PL and European experience that they'd paid good money for he also could have used more.
I think most managers would have gone with that line up you've picked rather than chuck in Abraham, Mount, James for example. And I think he would have used CHO much more if not for the injuries.
The proof is in what previous Chelsea managers have done and what most other PL managers have done.
I can't remember too many seasons where PL managers have chucked in so many non PL experienced kids minutes in one season. SAF maybe ?
Er... I already listed Barclay.
I also said that's what I'd deem their strongest front 6. Swap in the ever so average Jorginio if you prefer.... Doesn't change the thrust of my point.
...And how many times has Hazard proved a difference maker over the years...? Notably that very Europa final amongst others games last year.
Yes, they finished above us (by 1 point!), but we had our own woes - A huge raft of injuries and according to you reliant of a shit midfielder and our own thoroughly decent cup run.
Cahill was out of contract.
Luiz had one year left so it was sell or let him walk.
.....Both performing poorly the season before.
(You mention James below, but Azpiliqueta is still the main man there.)
(See above)
Not sure what "good money" amounts to in this context.... I see ageing and/or average, but by all means tell me if I'm missing any notable names.
"Most" managers? ...Or merely the ilk of managers you'd normally have little time for?
Again... I'm not disputing what he did. I'm underlining the necessity..... They had an ageing squad rendered average by the loss of Hazard(*) and Lampard had the perfect excuse thanks to the trf ban.... Many have commented that this year was as good as a free hit for him.
(*Play the 6 I mentioned and stick Cahill & Luiz behind them and they'd have been far worse this season.... You won't convince me otherwise.)