Nickcook26

Currently unsure about Leeds using our academy players to boost their squad numbers for the season on the cheap. So far Jamal Blackman has sat on the bench occupying the number 2 goalkeeper spot. Lewis Baker is also having to settle for a place on the bench. Defeating the purpose of a loan move for me Hopefully they have bigger plans for Izzy than the above. Appreciate it's early days and all the players could force their way in to the team but not a great start...

Not in the matchday squad today. Unless there is an injury we don't know about he will be quite upset about this and his role looks like it will be restricted to League Cup/Europa League appearances. A shame but a transfer request in January is a certainty if he continues to be overlooked for the Premier League.

I think we are all in agreement last summer's window was not a good one, but the one before? Kante, Alonso and Luiz proved themselves as very good signings in a title winning season. Certainly not bad returns for "panic buys". It was just a shame Luiz had a huge falling out with the manager this season preventing him from having an impact. Although he wasn't the only player!

Just had a brief scroll down of the thread. A lot of panicking/complaining already which seems completely over the top. I'll be reserving judgement on all matters (managers/directors of football//transfers etc) until the eve of the first game of the season which is when the transfer window also shuts this summer.

No, unfortunately ineligible. Despite not being cup tied, a player needs to be registered within the squad for the semi final to appear in the final.

Confirmed as missing out on the Brazil World Cup squad which was named today. Not how he would have planned his season at all.

Very short odds to make the England squad to be announced Wednesday. My money is on him to make it.

Fantastic post this which should make for some interesting comments. Emanalo certainly seemed to divide opinion with the fans. What is undeniable is that he held a very senior position during a period of very significant success for the club. He certainly took the blame from the fans in recent times for missed transfer targets however he should be proud of a lot of the transfers he was involved in (Kante/Salah/De Bruyne/Lukaku/Hazard for example). His leaving interview was fantastic from the website and I would recommend everyone have a read. It certainly gives an insight that this guy was a huge part of how the club was run. http://www.chelseafc.com/news/latest-news/2017/11/chelsea-tv-exclusive--emenalo-on-standing-down.html Back to the original post, I think Conte is right to point to losing Emanalo as a big moment in the season. For sure there are other factors too which are undeniable but you can't help but get the impression he provided a lot of solidity within the club. I'm surprised to see he hasn't been replaced yet, but I do sense big changes to our structure over the summer so it remains to be seen.

I think it's fair he could have expected a little run in the side at times this year to try and reinvent the brilliant partnership he had with Kante at Leicester. It's a team game and these 2 worked really well at Leicester. Given how bad Bakayoko and Fabregas have been this year it was surely worth a try?

This is the perfect time to give Hudson Odoi a run in the first team. We have some meaningless PL games coming up as we have nothing to play for. Hazard is a little out of form and also deserves a break for attempting to carry the team individually for most of the season. Stick him in the team and see how he gets on. We have nothing to lose. Appreciate this guy is young but he is the best I have seen in the academy for a long time. I'm just nervous about him not getting a chance.

He played out of position v Bournemouth which was the managers choice and scored a wonderful equaliser v Watford. No one said he can't be criticised but to say we should be looking to sell him is plain stupid.

What an absolute disgrace these posts are. Actually laughable.

Conte needs to resign now (although he won't as he wants the pay off). His negativity is wearing me down, the fans and clearly the team. If you think his team selections, tactics, demeanour and attitude have all been amazing this season and faultless, whilst our dramatic fall from grace can be apportioned purely to the board then I disagree with you. This man plays the victim wonderfully in the press and is at least equally accountable for the regression of the team this season. Thanks for last season Antonio but you aren't the manager for us long term.

From memory tickets for the FA Cup semi final will be readily available to any members/ST holders who want to go. Unfortunately the final will be a different story. Should we get there, the game will be higher profile and we will have a reduced allocation. Members with very high points could be ok but all season ticket holders will get the opportunity first.

Looking at this, a lot of people pushing for Fabregas to be moved on. In my opinion I think we should keep him but certainly in a reduced role. Almost similar to last season where he predominantly came off the bench. Also we need to remember he qualifies as a homegrown player which plays a part in squad requirements these days. With no sell on value at his age I certainly see a useful role from the bench or in games where the opposition dig a trench on their 18 yard box.

Dropped for Spain and this should be a massive kick up the back side for him. The world cup is 2 months away and if he turns his form around, no players are standing in his way for him to get back into that squad. He should be fully fit now so surely this should drive him on to turn this form around. (I hope he is reading this for motivational purposes)

Tough few games for Andreas against some of the best players in the world at Barca/City/United For sure, he has made a few errors recently but with the right attitude you would hope he can come through it a better player. Many on this forum have long been going on about the club not giving young players a chance, but they also have to accept young players will most likely make mistakes too! I think we have all seen enough this season to believe he can be a big player for us over the next few years. For me, we should persist with starting him.

Completely agree, he wants the sack and the pay off. It is so obvious from the press conferences/tactics/substitutions. I enjoyed the 90th minute substitution of Hazard today to ensure the board removes him this week. Then Conte can have the new job he wants (probably Italy) by the summer.

Marcos Alonso played a season with Davide Astori at Fiorentina who sadly passed away this morning, will be interesting to see if he is able to play today / in the right frame of mind

Everyone wants him to stay of course but I'm not sure money alone will be enough to make that happen. I hope I'm wrong but history says it's hard to fend off Real Madrid when they come calling for one of your players.

Unless there is a miracle in the second half of this game, how can he survive this? We have a week until the next home game and it wouldn't surprise me if Conte was sacked in the coming days.

You would like to think he wasn't just lieing through his teeth? Something doesn't add up to me, either Conte had a big influence on this transfer as he says, or Giroud is just outright lieing. Any guesses anyone?

First interview on the website today: "The most important was talking with the coach, Antonio Conte. I felt like he really wanted me and he really wanted to work with me". With all the speculative comments about Giroud being a board signing and not a Conte one, do his comments surprise anyone? I was told Conte had nothing to do with transfers at all so it is interesting Giroud had this to say.

Sorry mate but to compare us with Arsenal is just laughable. Thank god our board don't run our club in the same way they are run (most expensive season ticket, accepting failure of the manager, no CL football, selling of star players).

Not sure he has to be better than current options for this to make sense in my opinion. The fee is pretty small in today's market. We now have a backup LWB whereas we didn't for the first half of the season so increases the squad depth straight away. Kenedy/Sterling weren't trusted. A lot of pundits saying he has massive potential too, so let's hope the scouting department have got it right like they did with Azpi/Salah/De Bruyne etc... Time will tell! It could work out like Baba Rahman, but also could also be another Azpi. But let's all get behind him and give the lad a chance...