venom2011

Michael Edwards. I think so. He would fill the role above Winstanley and Stewart as Director of Football. He wanted a year break so we'll find out in the summer.

I could care less when they allow clubs who make comparatively less broadcast revenue and matchday revenue to declare greater commercial revenue as legitimate. Speaking of moneyball, we seemed to have 2 very different transfer strategies this window and the cheaper/younger signings are exactly the kind of transfers Dortmund etc make. Very cleverly done, these are perfect hedge transfers that will cover any losses made on the big transfers if a player flops. Santos is probably already worth double what we paid.

I would say he's quite close to Xavi Hernandez in profile. A very good technician with a few extra bows to his string but not the greatest physical attributes. It would be a waste to play him as a holding no. 6. So I'd go with Zakaria or Kante and definitely take a stab at Caicedo or Rice in the summer.

This. I had friends in my whatsapp groups discussing which players their clubs would consider taking. Karma indeed.

It’s actually difficult to answer if you’re considering transfers as separate from the holistic model i.e does it really matter if the club becomes a lot more profitable. But also: Take Mudryk - if in 3 years he doesn’t work out and we sold him for 30-40m, the balance on the books is pretty close to zero. On the flip side, we’ve signed a number of talents below market value (Fofana, Santos etc) a la Brighton as a counterweight. Those are your money makers that will offset the risk of the big signings. And that’s before even considering the amazing academy prospects. So in essence there are two transfer strategies in play - the Brighton model (that will feed into the multiclub system) and the standard one reflecting the club’s ambition.

I actually thought this would be possible but Caicedo for the summer unless Arsenal agreed a fee. He is the perfect foil for Enzo, having better physical attributes, being more defensively sound. Enzo is the Xavi to his Busquets (even if the profiles are a little different).

I like his technical qualities but I've seen him play twice for Benfica in the league and both times I watched him get rinsed defensively a few times. Similar to what you'd see when opposition run past Jorginho. That worries me especially since we'll most likely play a midfield two going forward. That said, there is simply not a midfielder in the world who is the complete package and available at that price.

Yes that was a good little run until injury crisis part one. Still wasn't a well balanced side though - Tuchel had us playing the way we did because of how little we created. Once we sort out the midfield it could elevate quite a few players who have underperformed for a while. Any manager would rate him because he works hard and it's clear to see his technical qualities. Felix will work because he's a slightly different profile, more aggressive and demands the ball. Havertz needs creativity behind him. I think some consistent time with Mudryk, Felix, and Madueke/Sterling behind him may unlock some more of his potential.

Everything you stated is correct and still our only option should be to extend unless he refuses an extension. For FFP his cost would be low with the extension. He's also never played in a fully functional Chelsea team. That said, I've always much preferred Felix as a second striker, and I really hope we sign him to a permanent deal - but Havertz is the type of talent who could really explode as he approaches his peak. Also, if you think Toney would transfer to any of the big 6 at a 'fraction' of Havertz' wage then... You simply don't throw away a 23 year old talent who, even with his obvious inconsistencies, has had more good moments in big games than our twice player of the season - for 35m!

35m for a talented, experienced, 23 year old German international footballer would be madness. Whatever people think of his contributions up to now, he is not a player that we NEED to remove from the squad.

Broadcast revenue increases this year. And I would bet that they find a few new sponsors by the end of the season.

There are numbers and then there are numbers. His numbers were inflated against poor opposition last season. Now that's not to say I'm not a fan of the boy. He's a great option to have, as is Gallagher, but still far from the level needed to start in any midfield or forward position. You make a good point though in that he's never played with high caliber progressive players. I don't think the players around him were average, just not the profile to help take his game to another level. Let's see what he can do from now until the end of the season.

My favourite moment. Every attacker at the club would play the easy ball to Ziyech. He looks up and plays a perfectly weighted ball for Carney through the channel. We once again have two players (Felix the other) who can do this consistently. Never thought I'd see the day...

What they've very cleverly done, which almost no one in the media is talking about, is the risk comes in when you're offering contracts with standard structure but on longer terms. Boehly and Co. are offering incentivised contracts which mitigates some of the risk of long contracts. This was mentioned at the start of the season and then seems to be forgotten. Mudryk is on less than 100k basic wage, but if he reaches his targets and the team performs well, I'll bet my house that he'll earn roughly 200k/week. If he's sh*t it won't cost us a ton. This also may be why Mount is taking long to renew because he must have a feeling his position as a starter is under threat, so an incentivised deal is not ideal.

20m is a bit of a stretch. We've bought quite a few 'bargains' already under 20m. I mean Chukwuemeka was a steal. The ones over 20m were all market value really. 60m for Fofana is no different than City spending 45m on Stones. The only player we've overpaid for in the Boehly era was Cucurella. It's also very worth remembering that accounting profit is key, not economic profit. A player is devalued every year until they are worth zero at the end of their contract. 50m on a 5 year contract so the player is worth 10m at the end of year 4. Sell him for 40m and the club makes a profit of 30m.

I think most players also realise that clubs don't/can't hold them to ransom. If in 4 years Mudryk seriously wants to leave for Madrid, best we would do is negotiate an extra year of service. We've also seen massive contracts before with talented youngsters like Saul signing a 9-year deal at Atleti. But Chelsea does it and it's a problem.

Would be interesting to find out what his basic wage is. They are obviously doing more incentivised contracts (as mentioned in the media a while back) to mitigate the risks of the longer contracts.

You can't trigger any release clause in installments. It's the full fee, upfront, or nothing. Benfica haven't requested a similar valuation to the release clause, they have told Chelsea to trigger it. The fee we actually offered was very reasonable given his age and experience. 120m for a hot prospect is nuts.

Same is true for both Havertz and Mount. Both shouldn't be starting for a legitimate PL and CL challenger. They should be great rotation options and get a good amount of minutes. And when they come into their prime, they have the talent to be world class in their positions. With the rebuild, I'm looking forward to seeing less of them, and that way enjoying them more.

As with Felix and Felix is better in every department but work rate and aerially. Here's hoping the competition gets him to improve his game and consistency.

Mount certainly did not. He scored one goal against top half opposition. Havertz did more in big games/moments than Mount. And that's not praise for Havertz by the way. Ultimately both were very underwhelming.

Pop quiz: In the next 2 seconds, do you think Havertz will either make the obvious pass and attempt to slide-in his teammate for a good chance on goal? Or will he attempt to play it to the one hugging the touchline but get it it horribly wrong and lose possession?

As I've said before, as did Torres, as did Werner, as did Lukaku, as will Aubameyang and now Felix. Old man Giroud wouldn't make those runs too often and Costa had Fabregas and Hazard. You have zero business starting for a top side if you can't make that pass. But then I guess some of these guys have effectively brought the club down to their level.

And people wonder why they don't play risky passes. Not a single one of our midfielders and attackers (bar Felix) can play it with any consistency - which is genuinely puzzling for a top side.