Paddy

Don’t mean to nit pick, but I doubt that MM asked or wanted to play on the wing - I don’t know that he did or that he didn’t btw - but I imagine he just did was he asked to do?

I hope your right too, cause although I want us to win leagues & trophy’s , I mostly want to watch my team play decent football ?

I think I was very clear that he wasn’t responsible for his fee, it may not be fair but what a player costs does influence our expectation of him, but ultimately the story gets told in the playing of football. I said earlier, there is a football scout in us all, when we watch we form an opinion of a players ability and compare it with points of reference that we have formed from watching other players play in similar positions - In all honesty, I’ve seen nothing to suggest that this guy is going to help transform our team into world beaters, in fact , I’d go as far as saying that currently he detracts from the teams performance - if he went off and wasn’t replaced, I’m not sure that he would be missed ? There were earlier comments liking Havertz to Ozil !! Well for me, that puts the tin hat on it , cause if what we have to look forward to is even close to what Ozil did(not) for the arsewipes, then God help us.

Sorry to be picky, but there is a huge difference between the purchase of KDB and Havertz and it’s about £65+ million. Paying £7 million for a 21 year old with potential stacks up, paying £75 million would suggest that its more the complete package, it’s not his fault that we paid so much for him, but it does influence our expectation I believe .

What, as opposed to the parallel universe that some of us live in

I think the biggest issue with havertz is that for the money he cost, most everyone was expecting a player that was almost the finished article, but he isn’t and in truth he’s far from it. Most of us have watched football for many years and we probably all think we know a ‘player’ when we see one, so when this guy plays and can’t make a simple pass without over or under hitting it, when a player of his stature at 6’3” can’t dominate the opposition player and bully them into conceding the ball or make a mistake, when he looks like he’ll hurt himself more than his opposite number in a one on one tackle, when you can’t, after half a season, see what all the fuss was about in the lead up to his signing, most of us are thinking we’ve bought yet another pup? As for comments on here f**king up kepa, I can assure you he’s managed that all by his lonesome.

You are correct, TT needs time and our support, but I think there’s a couple of things running in tandem , well for me at least, it’s not so much that I’m negative, but more that I am really, really disappointed in how things have turned out. Firstly there is genuine disappointment in Frank leaving the club, I think we all wanted the Roy of the Rovers story , sadly it’s not to be but no one who has seen how Abramovich has operated over the last 15 odd years, can be surprised at Frank’s departure. Secondly, after our top 4 finish of last year, £200+million spent on “talent” and a replacement for Kepa, I had such high hopes for this season. For a while it looked promising, but then the wheels came off, for what ever reason? So there is much disappointment as I now suddenly realise - never been too quick on seeing the bleeding obvious - top 4 is beyond us. Tonight’s game was awful to watch and I understand that it was TT’s first game in charge, but worryingly for me, he left our most consistent, creative and hardest working player (in my opinion) on the bench until the final 10 minutes - surely he has watched us from a distance before his appointment? How could he not play MM from the start ? Mount starts and, I believe, we would have won tonight.

brilliant .

Do you imagine that the initials available in the kit bag has a bearing on new manager selection ?

Afternoon all, been a while since I have posted, the last crap that came out of my keyboard was some very wishful thinking before the arsewipes game on Boxing Day, went something like Giroud to get a brace in a 3-1 win and for Arteta to get the tin tack as a consequence of losing yet again - well that went well didn’t it ! so I guess , be careful what you wish for ? Sad to see Frank go, maybe it was too much for him too soon, dunno, but I so wished him well when he became manager and I wish him well now - good luck mate. I take the opportunity to wish TT well too, I hope he manages to get a tune out of the squad, but I mostly hope that we play some decent football that doesn’t have me shouting and swearing at the television. Wolves at home - we gotta be beating them, COYB !!!!!!

Now that would truly be a beautiful thing , can you imagine, the big hairy french le coq banging a brace in a 3-1 win and artettttttttta getting the tin tack, dare we dream ?

Cor, that would make my Christmas

You are most probably right but now that I’ve looked I can’t unlook ? !!

Hello V, Not sure there was one nor that it was needed ? I was thinking about alternative players to counter injury and poor performances, so I amused myself with looking at who was available - then took it further to consider loan players (who technically wouldn’t be able to play) and put together, irreverently and facetiously, a side who, in my opinion, haven’t (yet and may not yet) cut it in Chelsea blue and when I applied their transfer costs into the equation, I found it incredible that we have spent so much for so poor a return - I don’t mean to suggest that we are the only club to do so , but it certainly made me sit up when I realised. So there wasn’t really a point, but since you bring it up, maybe it was about making others realise how wasteful we can be with transfers? or maybe it was to illustrate how difficult it is to get it right in the transfer market? or maybe how poor our scouts are? or maybe to ask the question as to how a player can be worth the money we pay - let’s say justifiably - and yet be so bad when he puts the shirt on? but I really think it was just supposed to be a light hearted, facetious look at who is still on our books ?

I may be alone or in a small minority? , but there was precious little, if anything at all to get up about on last nights performance - yeah we won, but it wasn’t enjoyable to watch, in fact it was desperate, just awful. God bless him, sky interviewed Tammy after the match and he was understandably pleased with him self, but - I’m paraphrasing - he said something like, “ it needed us to perform and we did “ - not in the game I was watching ? However, my mum always told me that ‘there were worse things that could happen’ , ‘there is always someone worse off than you’, ‘to look on the bright side’ and for me to ‘count my blessings’ - not necessarily sure any of that is true, but here is a facetious look at how it might be; This could have been the team to face them c**ts on Boxing Day; Kepa £72 million Zappacosta £22.5 million ( someone’s gotta play on the right !) Christensen 2 bob Rudiger £31.5 million Rahman Baba £23.5 million Drinkwater £35 million Jorginho £51.3 million Baboyoko £36 million Batshuayi £35 million Havertz £72 million Werner £47.7 million It’s made up of players who are current Chelsea players, albeit some are on loan, who have all set the world alight with their performances in Chelsea blue !! and all at a cost of around £426.6 million pounds - it doesn’t sound so much if you say it quick !!!

Wtf, wtf, wtf ? We won but for a long time it felt like we were losing ? I was anxious the whole time, waiting for us to click into gear, but we didn’t, it was shocking. Quiet weird really feeling the way I did when we were winning 1-0 ? Did they even manage a legal shot on target? and yet it felt like we were behind, really strange? I didn’t enjoy the first 70 minutes, it was awful, truly truly awful, nothing about the performance aside from Silva’s goal was decent or enjoyable, we were a shambles, it was embarrassing, I couldn’t see any positives ? Taking Jorginho off bringing Kovacic on and dropping Kante into the defensive midfield role improved things and seemed to lift the players too ? Cant believe Werners first, second, third, well frankly, any touch, is so bad ? Sadly he’s not alone. Cannot play this way v them c**ts on Boxing Day. Thank goodness for Silva’s performance and the 3 points.

IMO Reece is out on his own in comparison to the others you mention - I honestly believe, injuries aside, that this kid could genuinely be world class in time - he’s got it all and bags of good ‘bad’ attitude - I bet he hates losing at anything. He’s a players player, he’s the guy you want to be playing when you play, you implicitly trust him to manage his game and produce at the highest level - If he’s out at any time, it’s more than just the game he plays that will be missed - let’s hope this problem isn’t too serious ?!

Thanks for the Werner appraisal, I think you are spot on in your assessment, it really is very accurate given what we’ve seen so far - we are just discovering his talent, abilities and shortcomings - he’s been involved in setting up a couple of cracking goals which involved his pace, lots and lots of ffs !!!!!!!!! misses and often a terrible terrible first touch and control - don’t think anyone could argue with you that he is not a clinical striker !! Sincerely hope your conviction that Havertz will become world class comes to fruition ?

Morning. Unless I’ve misunderstood, the whole premise of your argument seems to centre around Havertz playing for his country at 20 and being ‘valued’ at £75 million , therefore he WILL be a superstar - does that ALWAYS workout ? The point of citing England national team teenager debutants was to have as a direct comparison as is possible to Havertz with players, irrespective of the positions that they play in, that were supposed ‘generational talents’ of their time, whose fuss and bluster failed to materialise and the reason I did this was to counter your complete certainty surrounding KH and his future - NB. I did ask you to confirm your source of certainty, flux capacitor operated DeLorean, crystal ball, visitation from the underworld etc and since you haven’t mentioned them I assume that you don't have an undeniable source ? So whilst I admire your conviction, you are simply guessing and hoping that he will , you don’t know no more than I or anyone else on this board - and that’s my issue with your posts, you don’t do maybe or might and I struggle with being pontificated at by someone who knows no more than the average Joe. Havertz was never worth the money we paid for him - pants well and truly pulled down. So for the record, I am incredibly disappointed with what Havertz has shown so far whilst playing for Chelsea, I am amazed at, for a professional footballer, how poor his touch, control and general game is, I expected so much more for £75 million and, sadly, I am struggling to see the potential ? Will he make it, f**ked if I know - no one does - I’ll keep my fingers crossed but it ain’t looking good imo ? I’m done with this particular thread, so I have nothing more to say with you, the last word, should you wish, is all yours.

I’m staggered that you would make that statement to further your point, it’s completely meaningless and nonsensical, who knows what were these guys worth when they made their England international debuts as TEENAGERS ; Luke Shaw - Jack Wilshere - Micah Richards - Theo Walcott - Phil Jones - Calum Chambers etc etc Careers since, mostly blighted by injuries, but like Havertz they were injury free when beginning their international lives and all of them presumably showing something special to get selected? They haven’t amounted to much since though , have they ? As for the German national team , they see something in Rudiger that FL doesn’t and someone must have been involved with the signings of Kepa, Bakayoko, Drinkwater, Veron, SWP, Morata - do you imagine that it might have something to do with the same scouts who you put your trust in ? Is your statement ‘......what we paid wasn't a punt and we weren't a soft touch.’ a statement of fact or is that just your opinion ? Only, if it’s factual, how do you know, crystal ball, time capsule, visitation from the CFC ghost of Christmas’s future ? or is it just a feeling in your water? .........So I have to believe that he will adjust and improve from his current level. You keep believing and I’ll just keep me fingers crossed !

If he cost £25 million I wouldn’t have such a problem with taking a punt on his ‘potential’ , but I was expecting so much more bang for the bucks we paid for him ( weren’t we all ??) and that he would be a reasonable player with growth to come, - notwithstanding PLnewcountrycovidonly21stilllearninggreatpotentialblahblahblah - I mean, he’s been truly truly awful this past couple of games and in those matches , he didn’t shoot, he definitely can’t pass without it being under hit , he can’t run with the ball without losing it (often very easily) and he doesn’t successfully tackle either and if he carries on under hitting passes to his team mates , someone will get injured. It’s not his fault that we paid what we did for him, but I am so underwhelmed with what I’ve seen from him from the get go and right now I, personally, just don’t see this potential, he doesn’t do the basics even? and the trouble is his piss poor performances have an effect on the teams moral - did you see the looks that James gave him a couple of times v Everton ?! I think I’m guilty of believing all the hype - that’s what spending £75 million on a player does to you - and although it’s not my money, what’s spent is spent and unless it’s recouped, it can’t be spent again so that means less or no money to spend next transfer window and I wouldn’t be surprised if we are getting a reputation of being a soft touch in the transfer market ??

No, I can’t I’m afraid - look it’s not my money so it’s no personal loss to me - but I don't share your belief that time will necessarily improve things, I have really grave doubts that he can become a player, let only a generational talent ? I’m now starting to have the same feeling of dread as I did when Kepa was No.1 when I look at the starting line up and his name appears ? I hope your right and I’m wrong.

yeah, the videos didn’t show too many under-hit passes or bottled tackles I’ll wager ? If I’m being absolutely honest and I understand that no ones gives a sh*te about my opinion, but I find it all really depressing, I get that no one is ‘born ready’, but I absolutely expect him to at least be competent whilst he gets used to PLnewcountrycovidonly21youngstilllearninggreatpotentialblahblahblah and before he becomes the worldie that has been prophesied by the many on this forum ?

Thanks for taking the time to post this - at last something that I can understand rather than pie charts and graphs which I can not - bloody hell, doesn’t make a great read does it? £75 million for the potential to be a world class player and without any guarantee of course, is that honestly the going rate ? World class, well he’s got a f**king long way to go cause right now, I’m sorry to say, he’s f**king hopeless - I mean he f**ks up the basics - a 5 yard pass under hit every time ffs - no wonder James was giving him the death stare - that’s a potential career ending leg brake !!!? We well and truly had our pants pulled down with Kepa, is this going the same way ? At the risk of being suicidally depressed further, do you have insightful opinions on Werner ?