4 hours ago, Floyd25 said:

I wish they'd call it that again, sounds much funnier. 

I still refer to it as the milk cup! That's real old skool!!

Even by our standards in the transfer market, I am truly in disbelief that we haven't signed anyone before this weekend. What an absolute shambles this club is at times.

With the close of the window and the new season fast approaching, Chelsea are in a familiar position – several (say 4) players short and too little time to integrate more new arrivals before the action starts. This and having missed the likes of Lukaku,while dumping Matic, Chabaloa and Loftus-cheek!
Are we going to see a repeat of the season before last – the chaos, a poor run, the ruin of a champion team, and the loss of yet another World-Class manager!
Time to get rid of Emenolo and Granovskaia – they simply do not do the job!

12.5 days remaining. I hope the board is close to a breakthrough.

Is everyone like me checking the transfer updates way too often?

Just now, EmeraldBlue said:

Is everyone like me checking the transfer updates way too often?

I'm and it is driving me insane. First and last time I'm doing this crap. I still believe we are not signing sh*t, but always have some hope that I will get a tweet that we have reached an agreement 

2 minutes ago, EmeraldBlue said:

Is everyone like me checking the transfer updates way too often?

Out of desperation, sadly I am! Our season feels like it hinges on the next couple of weeks. I just don't see where the right calibre of players are going to come from at this stage I though.

7 minutes ago, EmeraldBlue said:

Is everyone like me checking the transfer updates way too often?

It's becoming an obsession. I can't help but click on to Twitter at every available moment. I've got to be up for work at 4am tomorrow and although it's highly unlikely anything will happen between now and then, I'll still be searching for any links as I slurp my early morning coffee. Please God close the transfer window and give me my life back 

7 hours ago, buzzcfc said:

Even by our standards in the transfer market, I am truly in disbelief that we haven't signed anyone before this weekend. What an absolute shambles this club is at times.

To be fair to the board we don't know how difficult it is to buy players. Im sure they are trying.

Isn't Joey Barton still available? [runs]

53 minutes ago, jack_super_class said:

To be fair to the board we don't know how difficult it is to buy players. Im sure they are trying.

City seem to have no bother, to be fair to the board I think they have f**ked up another window, they have done for the 2 windows previous, conte flattered them by making their last day signings work very well, credit to the manager not the board, kante was a good buy obviously.

I think the purchases we have made have been great but we have been so focused in selling and loaning, I dont have an issue with either btw, that we have neglected to reward the manager with a squad deep enough to compete on all fronts and it's just poor work.

I don't think they have an excuse about it not being easy, they are paid lots of money and have all the tools, why are players and managers accountable but not them, it's appalling that we are in the state we are for the first 2 games, no two ways about it.  

1 hour ago, jack_super_class said:

To be fair to the board we don't know how difficult it is to buy players. Im sure they are trying.

When it comes to bringing in players, i don't think they have done too bad, it's how many we have let go in recent times that has baffled me. Letting go of Ivanovic, Oscar and Mikel wasn't a big deal at the time because we had no Champions League football, replacing them could wait until the end of the season. But here we are, a new season beginning and none of them have been replaced, what makes it worse is that we are still letting players go. 

Players sold or loaned since January and their replacements.

Begovic out - Caballero in. I'm not sure if Caballero is an upgrade, the only thing he seems to be good at is saving penalties. Hopefully it's not an issue though.

Ivanovic out - Still not replaced and we have had since last January to do it. It may be the case though that Azpilicueta is the person to fall back on if Moses misses a few games or losses form. I would actually be ok with this.

Terry out - Rudiger in. Rudiger will never replace Terry's role at the club, no player could do that. At this point in their careers though, Rudiger is the better footballer.

Ake out - Christensen in. I think Christensen is the better of the two. Ake maybe a better player going forward, but i rate Christensen higher as a defender.

Zouma out - No replacement and i don't expect one either. I'm happy with the CB's we have and don't think we need anymore.

Aina out - Tomori in. I'm not sure there is much difference in quality between the two so there isn't much change there.

Kenedy out - Not replaced, but maybe Baba Rahman will pull off a miracle and turn into a top player for us.

Chalobah out - Scott in. He's still a youngster and i don't think he is an upgrade on Chalobah and not somebody any of us expected to be included in the team this season, and i bet that includes the manager too.

Mikel out - Chalobah in......well, Chalobah WAS his replacement, but he is gone now too, so we are a player down again.

Loftus-Cheek out - No replacement has been bought in.

Matic out - Bakayoko in. I think Matic lost his way with us and he was never going to get back to his best, but selling him to a team that desperately needed somebody like him, a team that plays in the same league as us and a team that will be looking to take the title from us this season is a shocking piece of business. I don't care about the money we got for him, it's weakened us and potentially strengthened them just enough to have a serious go at the title. Bakayoko has just got back from knee problems and i am unsure if this is the guy that is good enough to replace Matic. Out of all of the Monaco players i watched last season, he impressed me the least, he seemed to have concentration issues. Hopefully Conte sorts that out.

Oscar out - Still not replaced and like Ivanovic, we have had since January to do it. It could be argued that Boga or Musonda is his replacement, but they will be back up wingers and i'm not sure either of them are better footballers than Oscar. Oscar wasn't exactly great before he left us, but it's not like Boga or Musonda have impressed out on loan either.

Costa out ( probably ) - Morata in. Costa has burned his bridges with the club. Even if he isn't sold, there is no way back for him now. Morata had a good debut, let's hope he builds on that. Time will tell if he is a better replacement, he certainly looks like a better all round footballer than Costa though.

 

Overall, i think the squad is quite a bit weaker than it was at the start of last season. If we had signed a LWB and kept hold of Matic, i think that alone would have made us look so much better. With Matic in the squad, i don't think we would have lost our opening game, even after going down to 10 men. 10 men with Matic in midfield would be easier to deal with than 10 men with Fabregas in midfield. I also think if we signed another world class player to go on the wing, it would have given us a great chance at going for the Champions League too. I like Pedro, but i think he's just below the level of those special players we need to get us competing with the very top teams.

So right now, i think we need a LWB and CM to make us competitive in the league and a world class player on the wing to take us a level higher. The problem is, even if we do manage to bring the players in, we may have left it too late. We have lost one game already and the games coming up aren't easy either, we could quite easily be too far behind before the new players even settle in.

 

On 8/16/2017 at 17:58, dansubrosa said:

Is it realistic to expect us to sign 3 or 4 players in the space of 2 weeks?

Theres only 2 weeks and 1 day left in the transfer window, and there really isn't much concrete links apart from Danny Drinkwater.

Time to hit the panic button?

For quality players, no.

For mediocrity or worse i.e. the Papys and Hectors, the club can easily sign half a dozen on deadline day itself.

 

Edited August 18, 20178 yr by lchk

5 hours ago, Scott Harris said:

When it comes to bringing in players, i don't think they have done too bad, it's how many we have let go in recent times that has baffled me. Letting go of Ivanovic, Oscar and Mikel wasn't a big deal at the time because we had no Champions League football, replacing them could wait until the end of the season. But here we are, a new season beginning and none of them have been replaced, what makes it worse is that we are still letting players go. 

Players sold or loaned since January and their replacements.

Begovic out - Caballero in. I'm not sure if Caballero is an upgrade, the only thing he seems to be good at is saving penalties. Hopefully it's not an issue though.

Ivanovic out - Kenedy In as LWB cover - Aina to RWB cover Kenedy was brought back to cover LWB rather than RWB but this in turn pushed Aina to RWB cover, 
It may be the case though that Azpilicueta is the person to fall back on if Moses misses a few games or losses form. I would actually be ok with this.

Terry out - Rudiger in. Rudiger will never replace Terry's role at the club, no player could do that. At this point in their careers though, Rudiger is the better footballer.

Ake out - Christensen in. I think Christensen is the better of the two. Ake maybe a better player going forward, but i rate Christensen higher as a defender.

Zouma out - Clarke-Salter in this is more dubious as I fully expect the U20s world champion to go out on loan but currently he is in the squad. No replacement and i don't expect one either. I'm happy with the CB's we have and don't think we need anymore.

Aina out - Tomori in. I'm not sure there is much difference in quality between the two so there isn't much change there.

Kenedy not yet out - Not yet left there have been reports he may not leave if we don't pick up a LWB, but maybe Baba Rahman will pull off a miracle and turn into a top player for us.

Chalobah out - Scott in. He's still a youngster and i don't think he is an upgrade on Chalobah and not somebody any of us expected to be included in the team this season, and i bet that includes the manager too.

Mikel out - Chalobah in......well, Chalobah WAS his replacement, but he is gone now too, so we are a player down again.

Loftus-Cheek out - Boga in - RLC was seen by Conte as an Attacking midfielder therefore Boga is his replacement.

Matic out - Bakayoko in. I think Matic lost his way with us and he was never going to get back to his best, but selling him to a team that desperately needed somebody like him, a team that plays in the same league as us and a team that will be looking to take the title from us this season is a shocking piece of business. I don't care about the money we got for him, it's weakened us and potentially strengthened them just enough to have a serious go at the title. Bakayoko has just got back from knee problems and i am unsure if this is the guy that is good enough to replace Matic. Out of all of the Monaco players i watched last season, he impressed me the least, he seemed to have concentration issues. Hopefully Conte sorts that out.

Oscar out - Musonda In It could be argued that Boga or Musonda is his replacement, but they will be back up wingers (both have and can play CAM) and i'm not sure either of them are better footballers than Oscar. Oscar wasn't exactly great before he left us, but it's not like Boga or Musonda have impressed out on loan either.

Costa out ( probably ) - Morata in. Costa has burned his bridges with the club. Even if he isn't sold, there is no way back for him now. Morata had a good debut, let's hope he builds on that. Time will tell if he is a better replacement, he certainly looks like a better all round footballer than Costa though.

Solanke out - Remy in Not the most important squad spot an easily forgotten but Remy is an upgrade if he can stay injury free for 5 minutes.

Overall, i think the squad is quite a bit weaker than it was at the start of last season. If we had signed a LWB and kept hold of Matic, i think that alone would have made us look so much better. With Matic in the squad, i don't think we would have lost our opening game, even after going down to 10 men. 10 men with Matic in midfield would be easier to deal with than 10 men with Fabregas in midfield. I also think if we signed another world class player to go on the wing, it would have given us a great chance at going for the Champions League too. I like Pedro, but i think he's just below the level of those special players we need to get us competing with the very top teams.

So right now, i think we need a LWB and CM to make us competitive in the league and a world class player on the wing to take us a level higher. The problem is, even if we do manage to bring the players in, we may have left it too late. We have lost one game already and the games coming up aren't easy either, we could quite easily be too far behind before the new players even settle in.

 

I have made a few adjustments but I agree with your assessment. It is clear though that we are definitely trying to reduce the age of the squad. 

14 hours ago, Dr Rich said:

With the close of the window and the new season fast approaching, Chelsea are in a familiar position – several (say 4) players short and too little time to integrate more new arrivals before the action starts. This and having missed the likes of Lukaku,while dumping Matic, Chabaloa and Loftus-cheek!
Are we going to see a repeat of the season before last – the chaos, a poor run, the ruin of a champion team, and the loss of yet another World-Class manager!
Time to get rid of Emenolo and Granovskaia – they simply do not do the job!

If you are dissppointed with the lack of signings and demand change, sackkng Emenalo isnt going to change anything. Roman ismt going to delegate more money on individual players because the technical director is getting sacked.

28 minutes ago, Xfaxtor said:

If you are dissppointed with the lack of signings and demand change, sackkng Emenalo isnt going to change anything. Roman ismt going to delegate more money on individual players because the technical director is getting sacked.

If the board (not emenalo) had done their work properly, roman would not need to delegate more money. 

Selling matic AND chalobah without buying a replacement first has got to be the most inept decision by the board. Drinkwater is not worth 40mil in normal circumstances, but he is when the team has 2 fit CMs (one of them being cesc) and 3 overall. The same drinkwater would have been worth 20mil if we had Matic and/or Nat. 

11 minutes ago, didierforever said:

Selling matic AND chalobah without buying a replacement first has got to be the most inept decision by the board. 

I like to think that the decision makers thought to themselves after deciding to sell Matic. "we'll only have 2 recognised central midfielders in the squad until the end of the transfer window but it'll be fine, we've only got a couple of games to play, what's the worst that can happen?" 

 

Fabregas: "Hold my beer"

 

At least we know there will be at least one or two signings to look forward to in the next two weeks. I'm telling myself we're going to leave it all to next week so I'm not expecting anything now.

2 hours ago, didierforever said:

If the board (not emenalo) had done their work properly, roman would not need to delegate more money. 

Selling matic AND chalobah without buying a replacement first has got to be the most inept decision by the board. Drinkwater is not worth 40mil in normal circumstances, but he is when the team has 2 fit CMs (one of them being cesc) and 3 overall. The same drinkwater would have been worth 20mil if we had Matic and/or Nat. 

I cant see Leicester giving us any of their players for cheap, regardless of our needs. But I agree, if you are going to ship out players, you should have a replacement ready. We seem to operate under a strict rule of letting a player go if he doesnt want to stay. Which can be both good and bad I guess. Currently our squad is too light and the board has to get someone in, time will tell how they grade out when its all said and done. 

It's amazing we haven't made any progress for almost a week after the last game. I don't think we expected to meet so much resistance signing the likes of even Drinkwater. hell the people who sold Matic probably expected to get 2 players in return 2 days later. It will go down to the last day, the worrying thing is we got some tough games ahead, could be 0 out of 9 points by next weekend if we don't get players in ( or back).

What will be interesting is once we know what has happened is will the board act differently going forward?

One current scenario might be everyone is making us pay top whack for average squad players because they think we are in a fix.

 

On 8/16/2017 at 15:28, dansubrosa said:

Is it realistic to expect us to sign 3 or 4 players in the space of 2 weeks?

Theres only 2 weeks and 1 day left in the transfer window, and there really isn't much concrete links apart from Danny Drinkwater.

Time to hit the panic button?

This is not the time to Negotiate on price tag.We were terrible in that aspect.We missed Lukaku Let them name a price Pay and Sign the players .Its late but we still have Bellotti,VanDijk,Draxler out there .

What does anyone think about trying to sign draxler?

.... conte wants experienced proven players but emanalo and board wants younger ones .... i am guessing the new stadium and roman's expensive divorce adds to the factor of keeping funds tight .... it will always be a tension between immediate results as wanted by conte ( otherwise he will be sacked ) and board planning for long term .... that is good for the owner .... but will keep fans always on the edge

what were they thinking?...SELLING MATIC,AKE ,CHALOBAH AND THEN LOANING OUT RLC....

We have a net spend of 32 million with Costa yet to sell

are they trying to save money for the new stadium or is Mr Abrhamovich not willing to spend more money on the club ....there need to be a strong reason for this madness...