SydneyChelsea nailed it.

51 minutes ago, Xfaxtor said:

So exactly like the club has done then?

Panic buy? Yep

21 minutes ago, Ernie_blue said:

Panic buy? Yep

Who have they panic bought?

4 minutes ago, Xfaxtor said:

Who have they panic bought?

Maybe Alonso if his not a first team regular.

Have to see today on the CB front, really hope it's not Luiz.

we have gone after our no.1 target in koulibaly, but we refused to go above a certain price and there was almost zero wiggle room from napoli it seems. there weren't any other, good, available defenders out there as we tried where we could. makisimovic wanted the napoli move and vice versa from the club, then we tried romagnoli from milan which wasn't possible. not much else we could have done in this window, and we weren't prepared to spend £50-60 million on a central defender who had one good season in seria a. 

Edited August 31, 20169 yr by enigma

transfer policy has been a shambles for the last 3 to 4 yrs everyone we have bought in that time has either been sold on or is out on loan having not played more than an handful 

of games each

Yeah like Fabregas and Diego Costa, terrible signings two years ago IMO

Our business in summer transfer window starting to resemble an episode of dads army...'Don't panic mr mannering, don't panic'...'we're doomed'.

3 hours ago, enigma said:

we have gone after our no.1 target in koulibaly, but we refused to go above a certain price and there was almost zero wiggle room from napoli it seems. there weren't any other, good, available defenders out there as we tried where we could. makisimovic wanted the napoli move and vice versa from the club, then we tried romagnoli from milan which wasn't possible. not much else we could have done in this window, and we weren't prepared to spend £50-60 million on a central defender who had one good season in seria a. 

Every player is available, it's just they have a price. Like Stones and Chelsea wasn't willing to pay that. If Chelsea really want someone you have to pay the money. Not that I blame Chelsea but maybe the Napoli player was there main target.

To put all your hopes on one CB all summer, then from last week start bidding on other players then on deadline day bid for Luiz is desperation.

I would rather Chelsea buy someone to cover for a season than waste 30m on Luiz who won't improve the first team. 

11 minutes ago, Ernie_blue said:

Every player is available, it's just they have a price. Like Stones and Chelsea wasn't willing to pay that. If Chelsea really want someone you have to pay the money. Not that I blame Chelsea but maybe the Napoli player was there main target.

To put all your hopes on one CB all summer, then from last week start bidding on other players then on deadline day bid for Luiz is desperation.

I would rather Chelsea buy someone to cover for a season than waste 30m on Luiz who won't improve the first team. 

The scary thing is we're now at a point where he WOULD improve the first team.

 

i still don't think he's a top of the line defender, but where we're at just now, he'd improve on what we have.

20 minutes ago, EdinburghBlue said:

The scary thing is we're now at a point where he WOULD improve the first team.

 

i still don't think he's a top of the line defender, but where we're at just now, he'd improve on what we have.

For me his not better than a Cahill and Terry partnership. Or Terry and Zouma. I trust them 3 as CBs much more than Luis, even Ivanovic. So as a defender I don't think his better than we have got.  I would rather Chelsea put 30m towards a CB who would improve the first team. Wait your time, just because you have left it late in the window doesn't mean you have to splash the cash on anyone.

Its like the LB situation, Chelsea have spent over 50m on LBs which could of all been spent on one word class LB.

well @The Brit the window is closed.

I think we'll probably need a couple of months to truly have a strong idea about how we did.

first reactions are that we did amazingly well to get kante, batshuayi looks promising too.

we've kept begovic and signed a third keeper. I don't really see the point, and I think begovic is too good to sit on our bench and not good enough to start regularly for us. but clearly conte wanted these three.

as for the deadline day signings, we did get a leftback, he can cover in the middle and he's left footed. on the surface he ticks the boxes. now we'll find out whether he's any good.

in david luiz we've signed someone who plainly is not a nobody, is clearly divisive but certainly has qualities that others don't in our squad. he's the right age and the right... status? I'm not sure of the right word. he is a significant player in the world game. it is down to taste, but he's a player around whom a team and a defence could be built in a way that you couldn't reasonably expectof someone like djilobodji, who was a last minute purchase and only ever going to be a backup player. if conte wanted luiz (I have my doubts), then I don't think the board can be criticised, or that heads need to roll. if he didn't then I guess it is down to taste. I've made my feelings clear elsewhere.

@ForeverCarefree (I think) made a great point- these guys all know the league and speak the language. that is not to be understated. none of them are going to be like baba, with their manager unsure about their readiness, they shouldn't even struggle like pedro, who despite his quality had obvious issues too.

overall I don't think it is costa / fabregas level work, but it is a big improvement on last season in theory.

Edited August 31, 20169 yr by g3.7

Overall I can't complain too much about this transfer window. Kante and Batshuayi were both quality buys that represented great value for money in today's market and in positions where we desperately needed reinforments. Sure David Luiz and Alonso might not have been on anyone's wishlist but we've got real depth in defence now, 8 defenders all capable of stepping into the first team and this means we won't see another repeat of last season where Ivanovic was repeatedly selected because we didn't have alternatives. I think under Conte's guidance Luiz can improve the defensive side of his game and his ability on the ball can be an asset to our defence, not to mention his versatility. If Zouma comes back without too many repercussions from his injury and Matic can get anywhere near his form of 2014, make no mistake, we will have a real strong squad on our hands. Considering we didn't have the CL factor to attract the biggest names, its been a solid transfer window and slowly but surely we will become the Chelsea of old again, f**k all the negativity. KTBFFH

Im actually happy with the window. Kante is a beast nice profit there Leicester, Batshuayi is exactly the type of striker we should have bought (Well overpaid), Alonso seems decent enough (not an upgrade on Bertrand), Luiz whilst not perfect is the best we could get, and a third choice GK. Remy gone, unhappy Cuadrado gone. I feel we are slightly light up front and I'd have kept Traore here but if Solanke plays well when called upon then I think we're good. I think we are slightly overstocked in midfield, especially defensive midfield (or pivot in a 2) with Kante, Matic, Mikel, Chalobah, RLC and Fabregas. Cant see Chalobah or Mikel getting much game time.

The only thing that annoys me is we have re bought Luiz. Im OK with buying him but the entire point of a DoF is to maintain the long term direction of the squad. You appoint a DoF when you expect high manager turn over, he provides the stability which enables you to progress holistically, actually develop youth. Managers are supposed to deal with the day to day with players and tactics with the DoF looking long term, directing transfers and setting the philosophy, choosing playing staff and manager to match that vision. Emenalo has now overseen 8 managers, all who seem to have a different footballing idea's and vision of how the club should play and all of whom have sold players who I thought had a future. We have sold/released and re-bought Matic, Drogba, Luiz and made massive moves for Romelu Lukaku. We have waited until the last possible moment to offer contracts to some of our absolute legends and of course allow some to leave without actually putting plans in place for their succession. This is not consistent with good future planning. We have consistently sold or loaned players without replacements coming in and on top of that allowed managers to isolate perfectly good players who have been loved by the fans (Mata) and those who could offer something in the future (KdB, Lukaku, Cuadrado). If Emanalo cannot find suitable managers who are able to work under his vision of the club, he isnt doing his job.

Edited August 31, 20169 yr by Shotgun883

I still cant say I'm impressed with the way we do things overall...delighted at Kante and Batshuayi, but it's too inconsistent and having let Traore and Remy go, we now have just two strikers until January...lets hope they don't get injured...while I'm happy to see Luiz in some ways, mainly cos he's a likeable character albeit infuriating player, it still reeks of a panic buy and us going back to the past instead of the future...it makes those in charge of our transfer policy look a bit clueless, which was my point to begin with

On August 30, 2016 at 05:14, PloKoon13 said:

No one actually has a ?

Overall relatively happy.................and in the hope that Ivan sits on the bench more often than not

3 hours ago, The Brit said:

I still cant say I'm impressed with the way we do things overall...delighted at Kante and Batshuayi, but it's too inconsistent and having let Traore and Remy go, we now have just two strikers until January...lets hope they don't get injured...while I'm happy to see Luiz in some ways, mainly cos he's a likeable character albeit infuriating player, it still reeks of a panic buy and us going back to the past instead of the future...it makes those in charge of our transfer policy look a bit clueless, which was my point to begin with

I am of the opinion that we will not play a  2 player system to start the games. I am more than happy to see Luiz and Alonso. Luiz/Zouma/Terry/Cahill/Brana is a good enough squad of CBs. Also this means we can finally move Ceasar to RB and play Alonso as LB. Aina will provide back-up. I dont care if these are panic buys or not as long as they are good buys unlike last year. That only time will tell. 

Look if we go on to win the title, then of course it all looks hunky dory, but you almost suspect it's in spite of our transfer policy not because of it..nature of Cuadrado deal is another example...having been dicked on by a lot of clubs this summer, why are we not demanding the earth from Juve to buy him now rather than this convoluted three year loan bollox?

12 minutes ago, The Brit said:

Look if we go on to win the title, then of course it all looks hunky dory, but you almost suspect it's in spite of our transfer policy not because of it..nature of Cuadrado deal is another example...having been dicked on by a lot of clubs this summer, why are we not demanding the earth from Juve to buy him now rather than this convoluted three year loan bollox?

We bought Cuadrado for 30mil euros for 4 and a half years. Which makes his per season amortized fee as 6.7mil euros. His left amortized fee is around 20 mil euros (3 years). So we are just making a 1.7mil loss on our books for the 3 seasons (IF juve dont buy him outright). 

If they do buy him outright, say in the 3rd year of his loan, that would mean that we will make a 8.3mil euro profit in 18/19 season which is a slot for a 40odd mil euro buy. 

We bought Cuadrado for 30mil euros for 4 and a half years. Which makes his per season amortized fee as 6.7mil euros. His left amortized fee is around 20 mil euros (3 years). So we are just making a 1.7mil loss on our books for the 3 seasons (IF juve dont buy him outright). 

If they do buy him outright, say in the 3rd year of his loan, that would mean that we will make a 8.3mil euro profit in 18/19 season which is a slot for a 40odd mil euro buy. 

Saw somewhere (can't remember who wrote it) that if he plays a certain number of games Juve has to buy him. Which has a very good chance of happening imo.

Mixed feelings to the transfer window, would have liked more, a bit more quality - but who? Shambles? Absolutely not - the sad truth is Man City and Man Utd have jumped over us in the spending league (well Utd were never behind us and City jumped over some years ago). Aside from those two clubs I'm not sure any others in the premier league have brought in as much talent. Time will tell - if we end up the season 2 points off the league title because of an injury to a key player we didn't splash out enough to cover I will be disappointed - but it is still above my expectations for this season where I dream of a league title but know it's unlikely.

Edited September 1, 20169 yr by superdan

Thank god the window is closed, dont think I could handle all that whining for another week. 

In terms of $ spent, we are only behind the 2 United clubs. Interesting, the top 3 spending clubs are leading the league. There's no debate that Kante has been a revelation and the young Belgian has impressed. Luiz will do ok, I think he will adapt pretty quickly. Alonso is a big unknown, I think he won't be rushed in. Moses looks like a new signing for us, that's another plus. Not a bad window at all, and Mikel is roaring to go if required 

The squad balance looks a little better now :

GK 3 - Courtois, Begovic, Eduardo

DEF 8 - Ivanovic, Azpilicueta, Alonso, Aina ; Terry, Cahill, Zouma, Luiz

MID 7 - Oscar, Matic, Mikel, Kante, Fabregas, Loftus-Cheek, Chalobah

WING 4 - Hazard, Pedro, Willian, Moses

FWD 3 - Costa, Batshuayi, Solanke

 

Definitely stronger  for me. Some dead wood has been shipped out, and the players coming in add something different to what we had before, offering Conte more versatility and options for formations and tactics. Will be interesting to see what Alonso is like (tall for a leftback, which ought to help defending set pieces), and also how Conte will shape the team now that he has a ball-playing centreback.

Integration of youth is there as well ... Aina, Chalobah, Loftus-Cheek and Solanke (assuming he stays around)

I make it 38 players out on loan now - a busy few weeks for the team behind that. Surprisingly only three players have ended up with Vitesse :-)

 

Overall I'd say that is a good window for us. Icing on the cake will be if Conte is 100% happy with all 5 of the new players. Luiz smacks of a club/Roman signing, but he does have several of the qualities that Conte likes. The new players certainly add a bit of much needed character into the squad anyway ...

I definitely think we have enough in the kitbag now to win the league this year.

Edited September 1, 20169 yr by Sexyfootball

8 hours ago, g3.7 said:

well @The Brit the window is closed.

I think we'll probably need a couple of months to truly have a strong idea about how we did.

first reactions are that we did amazingly well to get kante, batshuayi looks promising too.

we've kept begovic and signed a third keeper. I don't really see the point, and I think begovic is too good to sit on our bench and not good enough to start regularly for us. but clearly conte wanted these three.

as for the deadline day signings, we did get a leftback, he can cover in the middle and he's left footed. on the surface he ticks the boxes. now we'll find out whether he's any good.

in david luiz we've signed someone who plainly is not a nobody, is clearly divisive but certainly has qualities that others don't in our squad. he's the right age and the right... status? I'm not sure of the right word. he is a significant player in the world game. it is down to taste, but he's a player around whom a team and a defence could be built in a way that you couldn't reasonably expectof someone like djilobodji, who was a last minute purchase and only ever going to be a backup player. if conte wanted luiz (I have my doubts), then I don't think the board can be criticised, or that heads need to roll. if he didn't then I guess it is down to taste. I've made my feelings clear elsewhere.

@ForeverCarefree (I think) made a great point- these guys all know the league and speak the language. that is not to be understated. none of them are going to be like baba, with their manager unsure about their readiness, they shouldn't even struggle like pedro, who despite his quality had obvious issues too.

overall I don't think it is costa / fabregas level work, but it is a big improvement on last season in theory.

Cant argue with any of that, we agree on Luiz`s defensive skills (or more pertinently a lack of them) so now we wait and see just what the returning Luiz is like and back him as much as we can. I am looking forward to seeing Dave at RB and Alonso at LB though, Ive a feeling he may turn out to be a very solid purchase.

 

Oh and wasnt it a shame Zouma left on loan to Schalke with a buy clause, what with him being deemed not good enough by Conte......oh wait.

Edited September 1, 20169 yr by dkw