I'm surprised that Alonso, Pedro and Giroud haven't moved on, and been replaced in this window, given how little Frank has used all three of them so far this season.

It will be interesting to see how young Lamptey does at Brighton. Hopefully we did at least insert a buy-back clause in that one.

 

Good thing we got the ban lifted, we really are poor at recruiting these days,  had loads of top managers and just not supported them in the windows. 
 

I thought having a football person like Petr In there to help marina would make the difference, apparently Roman has the ambition to recruit, the manager wants players, the club has money...

It just seems like we aren’t getting the job done, same story for the past few years, so what’s the problem? 
 

Top 4, CL big club in London, not like we can’t attract, it’s poor tbh let’s just hope for a good summer

Edited February 1, 20206 yr by SFL82

I just hope that this isn't an indication that they don't see Frank as our manager next season....surely not ?

1 hour ago, Sexyfootball said:

It will be interesting to see how young Lamptey does at Brighton. Hopefully we did at least insert a buy-back clause in that one.

 

The way we ballsed this transfer period up we 100% did not put a buy back clause on the Lamptey deal.

It's clear the club have sold Lamprey without Lampards backing. Why would he go out on a limb bringing him on in some important games only to sell him in January? 

I don’t understand why we didn’t try and gazump United for Bruno Ferndandz? He was available and united were clearly faffing about. 

13 minutes ago, BlueDay said:

It's clear the club have sold Lamprey without Lampards backing. Why would he go out on a limb bringing him on in some important games only to sell him in January? 

Why would the board need Lampard's backing to sell a third-choice RB who wants to leave anyway with a contract about to expire? And Lampard didn't go out on a limb for him, Lamptey is a good young player and earned those appearances, and at the time it was not known the player was eventually going to leave.

Worrying signs that the board didn't think it was worth it to give Frank the  options he needed when we are in a strong position for CL football. 

People keep saying the money is there but is it? 

Maybe the targets we want just weren't available in January.

 

Hot summer is coming!

Although as the lad also said he can play anywhere on the right hand side. So why wasn't the contract arrangements for this lad sorted much early so he didn't run his contract down. We could have moved Pedro on to Brighton and worked with the lad further up the pitch. He's young enough to be Pedro's son virtually so there's bags more potential there.

If we're actually going to reduce our squad depth rather than strengthen it, then why not let those at the end of their time here go before moving on teh potential stars of the future. And third choice or not Lamptey has shown more for me in these cameo performances this season than i haveseen from CHO.

It appears to me to be a matter that there is just no plan here at all.

Looking at the comments from Lampard and some of the few madia links, Chelsea were trying to get a striker, but the fact that we are just not the big club financially that us fans think we are and the fact that those in charge of recruitment are just not good enough at their job means we will likely fail to achieve.

Also in my mind, if you take away the shocking performnaces, poor press speculation and uproar from fans from Conte's second season, this situation now, is the very embryo, of the turn of Conte from season 1 champions to season 2 couldn't give a f**k. I bet Conte has a wry old smile on his face at Lampard at the moment.

13 minutes ago, chef said:

Maybe the targets we want just weren't available in January.

 

So do you also think all of the talk throughout this window has been bollox. I also thought this throughout, although the fact the announcement that Giroud is staying happened five minutes after the announcement that Cavani is staying is probbaly telling. He was the only player that Lampard expressed an opinion over, so it wouldn't surprise me if this cr@p recruitment team did make soem half ar$ed ham fisted approach for him.

I also think our realistic financially available targets are out there, we're just not very good at recruitment. People go on about this war chest because we have sold a number of players, but there is no evidence  anywhere that any of these funds are available to the manager.

Lampard made a point in one of his pressers that we need to add soem depth to the squad in certain key areas. That we have clearly failed to achieve.

13 minutes ago, WhiteWall said:

So do you also think all of the talk throughout this window has been bollox.

No. I think we did  try and get our number 1 CF target(Dembele) but he is clearly not available until Summer so we tried late to get Cavani/Mertens for a half season on loan. Same with Sancho, not available now, cool lets wait 6 months.

Us, United and Spurs were all trying for a striker but really theres no quality available  this window. 

But in saying that that is more hope on my part as our board leaves a bit to be desired.

Edited February 1, 20206 yr by chef

10 hours ago, acidicleo said:

Really disappointed with our board..

Seems like they dont want Lamps to stay beyond this season..

Needed a striker signing badly...

Cant understand the argument wait for the right player till summer..We need to be in the top 4 if we need to get those right players in the summer..!!!

Yes, it's obviously a devious ploy from the board to drive Lampard out. There's already a big name lined up to take over. We should have signed an over the hill overpaid striker, whose club was eager to sell. After all, we know they always hit the ground running chipping in with goals left, right and centre.

Edited February 1, 20206 yr by Valerie

If rumours and press are to be believed:

Dembele - The club didn’t want to sell and it probably would have taken near on £60m to get him. Too much.

Cavani - Wanted to go to Madrid. Club also didn’t want to sell.

Piatek - Wanted out and clearly wanted to be first choice. (Something we couldn’t offer him). Hence him dropping down and going to Hertha.

Mertens - Wanted to stay and become club’s top scorer. Club didn’t want to sell.

Tell me who was available apart from Haaland? Who probably didn’t give us a second thought and clearly wants to be first choice and moved to Dortmund to be that. 

The players weren’t there. The club don’t want to buy crap for loads of money again. We move on. 

1 hour ago, chef said:

No. I think we did  try and get our number 1 CF target(Dembele) but he is clearly not available until Summer so we tried late to get Cavani/Mertens for a half season on loan. Same with Sancho, not available now, cool lets wait 6 months.

Us, United and Spurs were all trying for a striker but really theres no quality available  this window. 

But in saying that that is more hope on my part as our board leaves a bit to be desired.

Like everything in life, in you want quality then you have to pay for it and pay what the market dictates.  You want quality players in January, you are going to have to pay for them...something Marina it seems, conveniently forgets.........unless of course its for a pair of Louboutin's

8 hours ago, rtwelch said:

If rumours and press are to be believed:

Dembele - The club didn’t want to sell and it probably would have taken near on £60m to get him. Too much.

Cavani - Wanted to go to Madrid. Club also didn’t want to sell.

Piatek - Wanted out and clearly wanted to be first choice. (Something we couldn’t offer him). Hence him dropping down and going to Hertha.

Mertens - Wanted to stay and become club’s top scorer. Club didn’t want to sell.

Tell me who was available apart from Haaland? Who probably didn’t give us a second thought and clearly wants to be first choice and moved to Dortmund to be that. 

The players weren’t there. The club don’t want to buy crap for loads of money again. We move on. 

Great post. After the money we have wasted over the past few years I’m sure the club isn’t wanting to get there fingers burnt again with average players. We have a lot of them in the squad that need moved on in the summer. 
 

 

Some confirmation from the Chelsea supremos might pacify those wanting blood, after all we only spout conjecture..

22 hours ago, Ballack & Blu said:

Some confirmation from the Chelsea supremos might pacify those wanting blood, after all we only spout conjecture..

I have also said elsewhere on here, that Board or most usually Bruce Buck, needs to explain why they chose not to strengthen the squad despite the Coach's pleading, and why we need not have bothered spending what must have been thousands of pounds on legal fees to overturn the ban. If it was just a case of not being able to find the right players at the right price, then please just name names and I am sure that the majority of fans would accept that.

44 minutes ago, coombsie said:

I have also said elsewhere on here, that Board or most usually Bruce Buck, needs to explain why they chose not to strengthen the squad despite the Coach's pleading, and why we need not have bothered spending what must have been thousands of pounds on legal fees to overturn the ban. If it was just a case of not being able to find the right players at the right price, then please just name names and I am sure that the majority of fans would accept that.

The board probably feel they don't have to explain themselves to the supporters, and certainly not name names.

Just a thought on this, I don't think we got the transfer embargo cleared until some time in December.

We were originally linked with Dembele a young player and a couple of weeks later we are going for a number of older strikers.

It seems to me we started with one idea of purchases and then changed tack half way through the window going for experience rather than younger potential.

This may be because Tammy's goals were drying up yet seems to be a worrying sign there may be a dearth of good talent available.

I think we need to improve our coaching network and use that to suggest acquisitions to the manager, I am reminded the previous coaching network identified Azpilicueta now in his eighth season.

 

 

 

On 01/02/2020 at 11:32, CFCCAN said:

Like everything in life, in you want quality then you have to pay for it and pay what the market dictates.  You want quality players in January, you are going to have to pay for them...something Marina it seems, conveniently forgets.........unless of course its for a pair of Louboutin's

Not getting at you mate, just something to  hang a general observation on.  You do have to pay for quality, but you can only buy quality if players of quality are

a) available 

b) want to come to us/England and

c) aren't being whored out at stupid money like Mertens.

I've not seen a top-class striker mentioned in here or the media other than by Fantasy Football experts with little or no grasp on reality.

Someone above has listed the possible strikers and the reasons why they were not realistic targets, but that isn't enough for all those wise forum members who have deep  and personal in-depth knowledge of the boards of both our club and every other possible selling club, who know better.

I honestly don't know who people think we should have bought, let alone who would have wanted to transfer this January and who would have improved us.

I have seen a number of people wonder why we bothered appealing the ban to then not buy anyone.

 

The obvious answer is so we would have the option to buy if the opportunity arise to buy someone we wanted at a reasonable price. Appealing it never meant we would definitely sign someone.

 

A second reason might also be that if we were to get find in future for similar offences (and let's face it we are no Mother Theresa's when it comes to transfer dealings) any future penalties would be determined based on a history of a one window ban rather than two window ban.

 

 

10 hours ago, yorkleyblue said:

Not getting at you mate, just something to  hang a general observation on.  You do have to pay for quality, but you can only buy quality if players of quality are

a) available 

b) want to come to us/England and

c) aren't being whored out at stupid money like Mertens.

I've not seen a top-class striker mentioned in here or the media other than by Fantasy Football experts with little or no grasp on reality.

Someone above has listed the possible strikers and the reasons why they were not realistic targets, but that isn't enough for all those wise forum members who have deep  and personal in-depth knowledge of the boards of both our club and every other possible selling club, who know better.

I honestly don't know who people think we should have bought, let alone who would have wanted to transfer this January and who would have improved us.

Don't entirely disagree with your observations, but as I said in another post tapping up through back channels and via agents goes on all the time, so even if during the summer we were banned from buying players, surely to God some one in the scouting staff would have been busy and get the scouting teams out there putting together a list of players and agents to go after behind the scenes which includes going down to the lower leagues and other countries to get your hands dirty so to speak.  You know the 7 'P's.   I also understand that even our rivals are struggling and perhaps identified the same 'usual suspect' players, so perhaps every one is looking in the wrong place?  

I still have a hard time believing that there were no players across the planet (ignoring the usual suspects) of Cavani etc, that were not available...so nothing in any clubs in any of the top leagues in South America? North America? Africa? EU? Russia? Japan? Korea? etc not one player, whether a LB, CB, CF or an attacking midfielder, that could not have been had that would have improved our squad that would not have been asking for stupid money.  Clearly Frank was pissed, and I don't blame him.  

Unless the board is going to shock us in the summer with high profile signings, and getting shot of the deadwood (and who knows how many players are out on loan that will never see the first team) the days of believing we are and continue to be a top 6 club are dwindling, Sheff Utd and Wolves are worthy contenders and if Carlo sorts Everton out they could well be pushing for top 4 / 6 next year also..where does that leave us.   

I just think overall it was a poor effort in January by the board given our precarious CL position and current form. 

6 hours ago, CFCCAN said:

Don't entirely disagree with your observations, but as I said in another post tapping up through back channels and via agents goes on all the time, so even if during the summer we were banned from buying players, surely to God some one in the scouting staff would have been busy and get the scouting teams out there putting together a list of players and agents to go after behind the scenes which includes going down to the lower leagues and other countries to get your hands dirty so to speak.  You know the 7 'P's.   I also understand that even our rivals are struggling and perhaps identified the same 'usual suspect' players, so perhaps every one is looking in the wrong place?  

I still have a hard time believing that there were no players across the planet (ignoring the usual suspects) of Cavani etc, that were not available...so nothing in any clubs in any of the top leagues in South America? North America? Africa? EU? Russia? Japan? Korea? etc not one player, whether a LB, CB, CF or an attacking midfielder, that could not have been had that would have improved our squad that would not have been asking for stupid money.  Clearly Frank was pissed, and I don't blame him.  

Unless the board is going to shock us in the summer with high profile signings, and getting shot of the deadwood (and who knows how many players are out on loan that will never see the first team) the days of believing we are and continue to be a top 6 club are dwindling, Sheff Utd and Wolves are worthy contenders and if Carlo sorts Everton out they could well be pushing for top 4 / 6 next year also..where does that leave us.   

I just think overall it was a poor effort in January by the board given our precarious CL position and current form. 

Anyone know what our scouting department actually consists of ? How many scouts have we got ? Who manages them ?

Or maybe we just rely on agents to bring us players ... ?

 

 

What's the 7th "P" btw .. I am familiar with 6 !