23 minutes ago, strider6004 said:

I'm not convinced Rudiger will go despite the noise.

Though presuming Gallagher and Broja return this will give us more options in attack and midfield and feel like new signings.

With Chilwell out and James being injured again we may need to strengthen these areas too.

I think the majority of our spending will go on the defence.

If Rudiger did go it might us the opportunity to get defenders that could play in back four.

 

Rudiger is gone. His contract and christensens contract should have been the main priority after the UCL instead of wasting money on that useless lukaku.

I expect a part 2 of this with kante and jorginhos contracts up next season

1 hour ago, The Don Antonio said:

Rudiger is gone. His contract and christensens contract should have been the main priority after the UCL instead of wasting money on that useless lukaku.

I expect a part 2 of this with kante and jorginhos contracts up next season

Different owners though. Be interesting to see if they take them more as an asset and, if they want to keep them, tell them sign or be sold this summer.

I'm honestly not too upset he's going despite his form under TT, biggest bugbear is we ain't getting a fee.

Ofcourse we have to replace him properly but he's the type of defender that will become very very average (at best) once he loses a yard of pace. A big contract lasting until he was 34 would have been a heck of a gamble. Lukaku we will (hopefully/likely) get away with it as his ego can't accept being a squad player but there's no guarantee Rudi will be equally as bothered.

Only way it would have really made sense is if we were going balls in on the title at all costs next season which I don't think we will be doing under the circumstances. 

Edited April 25, 20224 yr by Argo

I wonder if he has a selfish agent pushing him during all of this. The passion he shows at the club over the last year doesn't make sense if he is just dropping everything and going.

It sucks, but I accepted that both Rudiger and Christensen were going to leave after Christmas. I always said that if they hadn't signed a new contract by then, then I had no hope of either of them staying.

19 minutes ago, Scott Harris said:

It sucks, but I accepted that both Rudiger and Christensen were going to leave after Christmas. I always said that if they hadn't signed a new contract by then, then I had no hope of either of them staying.

I would like Toni leaving to when we let Alex go. Both are/were driving forces in the team, leaders, useful in both boxes and both strong and fast. A blow for sure but not a mortal wound. We have been battered with Toni in the side this season.

For AC I cannot think of a comparison. He is not a leader, a competent but not excellent defender and offers nothing going forward.

Canners take on Twitter…

“It’s obvious Thomas Tuchel wants you to stay, @Tonirudiger. The fans want you to stay.

“Most importantly, YOU want to stay.

“Why haven’t all perspective owners given Marina [Granovskaia] the green light to whisper in your ear it’s a done deal.

1 hour ago, Ballack & Blu said:

Canners take on Twitter…

“It’s obvious Thomas Tuchel wants you to stay, @Tonirudiger. The fans want you to stay.

“Most importantly, YOU want to stay.

“Why haven’t all perspective owners given Marina [Granovskaia] the green light to whisper in your ear it’s a done deal.

Because he turned down 230k a week and wants 10mill signing on for him and another 10mill for his brother agent. It is too much and not sensible. If he loses his pace he won't be top level anymore.

3 hours ago, mojo said:

Good luck

I have learned over time not to get too emotionally attached to players because I realize at the end of the day it's just a job for them. Obviously the ownership issue may be used as the reason but I feel that if he genuinely wanted to stay, he'd wait. In the next couple of months we'll have had new people in charge and he'll have his contract sorted. Real came calling and he used the ownership thing as an excuse. I'm grateful for what he's done since Tuchel arrived and he's been a key player and a big personality on and off the pitch but I won't be wishing him good luck now that he's done with us. Rudiger has every right to look out for his own interest but when all is said and done he's just another journeyman looking to get paid.

34 minutes ago, abramovich said:

I have learned over time not to get too emotionally attached to players because I realize at the end of the day it's just a job for them. Obviously the ownership issue may be used as the reason but I feel that if he genuinely wanted to stay, he'd wait. In the next couple of months we'll have had new people in charge and he'll have his contract sorted. Real came calling and he used the ownership thing as an excuse. I'm grateful for what he's done since Tuchel arrived and he's been a key player and a big personality on and off the pitch but I won't be wishing him good luck now that he's done with us. Rudiger has every right to look out for his own interest but when all is said and done he's just another journeyman looking to get paid.

Yeah I agree with that. The vast majority of players are learning to look out for their own interests above loyality far more so than before. 

If we dropped down a few levels we would see just how loyal James, Mount et al are.

Sky Germany reporting Joško Gvardiol may be a potential Rudiger replacement. 

Looks a player. 

Just now, Sconnie Blue said:

Sky Germany reporting Joško Gvardiol may be a potential Rudiger replacement. 

Looks a player. 

We don't have owners, we cannot sign anybody. Will all be speculation as we literally cannot do it now. 

Madrid haven’t thought this one through but good luck to them slotting him into a back 2, it’s going to give an unnecessary challenge to Ancelotti, who doesn’t exactly thrive when he’s having to restructure. Should have stayed away from Chelsea players after the Hazard fiasco; hopefully another failure will keep them at bay in future.

14 minutes ago, Term_X said:

Madrid haven’t thought this one through but good luck to them slotting him into a back 2, it’s going to give an unnecessary challenge to Ancelotti, who doesn’t exactly thrive when he’s having to restructure. Should have stayed away from Chelsea players after the Hazard fiasco; hopefully another failure will keep them at bay in future.

Hmm he may go to a back 3 with 

 

Rudiger 

Milito

Alaba 

 

Looks really good on paper...

1 hour ago, axman2526 said:

Hmm he may go to a back 3 with 

 

Rudiger 

Milito

Alaba 

 

Looks really good on paper...

They can’t play with 12 players though, the extra body in defence involves taking out one man from midfield or upfront. Ancelotti isn’t the manager for a back 5 as he has always favoured a strong midfield. They also don’t have the personnel to play 2 in midfield, and playing Vinicius behind Benzema will take away a lot from his game. Oh and they might be getting Mbappe. 

5 hours ago, axman2526 said:

Because he turned down 230k a week and wants 10mill signing on for him and another 10mill for his brother agent. It is too much and not sensible. If he loses his pace he won't be top level anymore.

Hold on, Old man Silva can still shift a bit and he’s nearly 38, plus how do we actually know this, Does Marina leak the details??

And we are left to ponder Madrid will pay the £20 million fees, plus his 200+K a week, hardly a free transfer…

1 minute ago, Ballack & Blu said:

Hold on, Old man Silva can still shift a bit and he’s nearly 38, plus how do we actually know this, Does Marina leak the details??

And we are left to ponder Madrid will pay the £20 million fees, plus his 200+K a week, hardly a free transfer…

Silva is an exception not the rule. He has looked after himself amazingly well, which few footballers do.

 

Same sources that leak he was leaving leaked what he turned down to stay.

15 hours ago, abramovich said:

I have learned over time not to get too emotionally attached to players because I realize at the end of the day it's just a job for them. Obviously the ownership issue may be used as the reason but I feel that if he genuinely wanted to stay, he'd wait. In the next couple of months we'll have had new people in charge and he'll have his contract sorted. Real came calling and he used the ownership thing as an excuse. I'm grateful for what he's done since Tuchel arrived and he's been a key player and a big personality on and off the pitch but I won't be wishing him good luck now that he's done with us. Rudiger has every right to look out for his own interest but when all is said and done he's just another journeyman looking to get paid.

This

11 hours ago, Ballack & Blu said:

Hold on, Old man Silva can still shift a bit and he’s nearly 38, plus how do we actually know this, Does Marina leak the details??

Because Silva doesn't rely a lot on pace and recovery speed.

21 hours ago, The Don Antonio said:

Rudiger is gone. His contract and christensens contract should have been the main priority after the UCL instead of wasting money on that useless lukaku.

I expect a part 2 of this with kante and jorginhos contracts up next season

This take always annoys me. 

The club don't focus on one thing at a time. They've been trying to get rudi and ac a new contract for ages. But neither would accept the terms we were offering. 

It's that simple. We aren't the richest club in the world and if a player wants to take the risk somewhere else by winding down their contract to earn more money then they will. 

It's going to happen more and more to all clubs as madrid and barca are no longer paying out monster transfer fees. If you want your sunny retirement in spain then it's going to have to be going on a free. It's not the clubs fault

Edited April 26, 20224 yr by bisright1

To be fair after the sanctions hit the club has had other things in mind. It is mostly bad luck. I think the club handles contracts pretty well in general. We are not overpaying or break our own salarytable for a single player.

ManU paid 300k a week to Rooney 10 years ago. Not to mention someone like Pogba who shouldn't be paid a dime. Every time he puts on that shirt he turns from a world class player to a circus pony. 

I agree we should have done something earlier but who knew Putin would start a war that kicks out Roman and we are sanctioned. 

Christensen I feel would have left anyway. After the CL glory he probably saw an era ending and new chapter beginning. 

I have absolutely no hate towards either of them. 

It's a big loss for us in terms of our current playstyle and tactics. But if Tuchel ever wants to change to a 4-3-3 or 4-2-3-1 then the best decision is to let Rudiger go and not to give him a bigger contract.

Like already mentioned above regarding Real Madrid, getting a player that shines in a back 3 but that is shaky in a back 4 is a strange decision unless Ancelotti is going to re-invent himself.

As a player I dont its a huge loss as he is replaceable, especially if we ever go back to a back 4 where he was very suspect. Its more his personality and fight we lose, and were already severely lacking in that.

I don't blame the club because Rudi and Christensen had a sudden performance boost deep into their contracts, at a point where they held all the chips.

I remember wanting them both replaced during Lamps' 2nd season.

49 minutes ago, evissy said:

 

I have absolutely no hate towards either of them. 

Unless they go to Tottenham 🤣

Edited April 26, 20224 yr by bisright1