1 hour ago, Chelsbear said:

£20 million that get's you a top keeper for a season seems a no brainer for me.

Why take the risk and downgrade significantly for a fee we could make back easily?

 

I'm sort of with you on that, but I just really don't like the idea of having a fly in the ointment who may well choose to run his mouth off to all and sundry for another 12 months unsettling the camp in the process. 

I'm leaning towards just getting the deed done and any fee we can get from it is better than getting sod all next summer.  

1 hour ago, Davey Baby said:

 

It certainly makes sense for Real Madrid.

 

Not sure about us.

Thing is, unless Courtois signs a new deal, we can't win in this scenario.

It's just a case of limiting how much we lose. 

Courtois has apparently just unfollowed Chelsea's official Instagram account. 

I mean, it's not like I care, but that's the sort of dick-head behavior that we just don't need. 

I can imagine him acting like a complete man child for the next 12 months if we keep him and I just don't think it's worth the aggro. 

Edited July 25, 20187 yr by mclovin83

4 hours ago, Ilya said:

https://www.theguardian.com/football/who-scored-blog/2018/jul/25/chelsea-maurizio-sarri-line-up-jorginho

Seems a bit weird to read such fantasy football article in the guardian, but for what it's worth. Apparently we "could line up" with Schmeichel, Milinkovic-Savic next season. And Hazard and Willian stay.  :)

It seems normal to me, since the Guardian is such a vapid rag.

5 hours ago, Ilya said:

https://www.theguardian.com/football/who-scored-blog/2018/jul/25/chelsea-maurizio-sarri-line-up-jorginho

Seems a bit weird to read such fantasy football article in the guardian, but for what it's worth. Apparently we "could line up" with Schmeichel, Milinkovic-Savic next season. And Hazard and Willian stay.  :)

I really don't understand the desire to sign Higuain at all. A few years ago, yes but the guys 32(?) years old and i know that he did well under Sarri a few years ago, but I just don't see it going better than Morata (I obviously could be wrong, but idk just don't feel the transfer). Granted Morata hasn't been a splash either, but since he is already a Chelsea player I'm hoping his second year in the prem is loads better than last. Maybe if he can stay upright against a slight breeze he will fare better.

4 hours ago, mclovin83 said:

I'm sort of with you on that, but I just really don't like the idea of having a fly in the ointment who may well choose to run his mouth off to all and sundry for another 12 months unsettling the camp in the process. 

I'm leaning towards just getting the deed done and any fee we can get from it is better than getting sod all next summer.  

 

Agree with every word but Pepe f**king Reina !?!?!?!

Surely we did want to sell Willian, but what really transpired or didn't' between us and Barca is another Chelsea mystery, the whole transfer window is a f**k up apart from the purchase of Jorghino, you cant tell me we can get our business sorted in 2 weeks, yes 2 weeks till the PL kicks off, and get the 'New' players? integrated in time into Sarris footballing philosophy and playing style...

 

4 hours ago, mclovin83 said:

Courtois has apparently just unfollowed Chelsea's official Instagram account. 

I mean, it's not like I care, but that's the sort of dick-head behavior that we just don't need. 

I can imagine him acting like a complete man child for the next 12 months if we keep him and I just don't think it's worth the aggro. 

Nah they never followed each other apparently. 

6 hours ago, mclovin83 said:

Courtois has apparently just unfollowed Chelsea's official Instagram account. 

I mean, it's not like I care, but that's the sort of dick-head behavior that we just don't need. 

I can imagine him acting like a complete man child for the next 12 months if we keep him and I just don't think it's worth the aggro. 

As much as I dislike Courtois, I can’t see why he would kick up a fuss if he stays?

If he’s staying, then we’d probably say ‘You’re still here for one more year but after that you’re free to go wherever you wish’

What would be the point of him kicking off? No one is going to pay any money for him in January if they know they can get him for free in summer

Pasalic gone to Atlanta on loan. Fifth loan for the bloke

When do we decide enough is enough and sell him? I’ve always thought he was a decent midfielder and would have made a good squad player. Honestly thought he was going to make it at Chelsea next season, as a squad player.

1 hour ago, dansubrosa said:

Pasalic gone to Atlanta on loan. Fifth loan for the bloke

When do we decide enough is enough and sell him? I’ve always thought he was a decent midfielder and would have made a good squad player. Honestly thought he was going to make it at Chelsea next season, as a squad player.

Got a feeling a lot of players stay on for the safety net.

Seeing as we are only two weeks away from the transfer window closing, i'm revising my team from the start of the thread.

GK:

Courtois. We won't sign anybody better or on his level now, so just stick with him for another season and risk losing him for nothing next season. I don't want Reina or any stop gap signing. Just get the job done next season. 

Caballero. Nothing special but he'll do as backup and Rob Green as the 3rd choice.

RB:

Azpilicueta. This is easy. Azpilicueta is one of the best defenders on the planet, and he's underrated going forward.

Moses. I think he's better defensively than he is going forward, as a backup he's good enough.

LB:

Emerson. I think he would suit Sarri's system better than Alonso, so he would be my first choice.

Alonso. You won't find many better back up LB's. It's good to have different types of LB's.

CB:

Rudiger, Christensen, Rugani (if he ever actually gets here) and Cahill or Luiz, i wouldn't give up Rudiger or Christensen for either of these two. No idea who i would have as first choice, there isn't much between them. Rudiger would definitely be one to take one of the two available spots though if it was my choice.

DM and CM:

Kante, Jorginho. Those two are the obvious ones.

Ampadu, Loftus-Cheek and Fabregas the backups.

CAM:

Barkley. I would start him and see what Sarri can do with him. The potential is there, hopefully Sarri get's it out of him. Fabregas and Loftus-Cheek can come in depending on the circumstances of the game too.

RW:

Pedro or Willian, i would prefer one of them to be sold and we bring somebody like Bailey.

LW:

Hazard, first name on the team sheet.

Hudson-Odoi. Hopefully he gets even more chances this season. He's another with great potential.

ST:

Morata, i would give him another season.

Batshuayi, could work well in Sarri's system.

Giroud, squad player.

 

PLAYERS OUT:

Zappacosta, i don't think he's good enough or needed in all honesty.

Zouma, he won't suit Sarri's system and with us being covered at CB i just don't think he is needed.

Drinkwater, same as Zappacosta.

Bakayoko, sold or loan, don't really care.

Musonda, i'm not sure he will ever be good enough.

David Luiz or Cahill. CB is covered, and if Rugani arrives, somebody has to leave.

Willian or Pedro. Like i said above, i would like us to bring in somebody like Bailey.

Edited July 26, 20187 yr by Scott Harris

I really hope we sell Courtois, he has been ruining the team chemistry last season a lot it was very obvious that he doesn't give a single sh*t about doing his job at some point. Other than that our squad doesn't look at a top 4 squad at all there is nobody to score goals, our only hope is that Sarri makes a miracle and turn Morata into an amazing striker.

1 hour ago, Scott Harris said:

Seeing as we are only two weeks away from the transfer window closing, i'm revising my team from the start of the thread.

GK:

Courtois. We won't sign anybody better or on his level now, so just stick with him for another season and risk losing him for nothing next season. I don't want Reina or any stop gap signing. Just get the job done next season. 

Caballero. Nothing special but he'll do as backup and Rob Green as the 3rd choice.

RB:

Azpilicueta. This is easy. Azpilicueta is one of the best defenders on the planet, and he's underrated going forward.

Moses. I think he's better defensively than he is going forward, as a backup he's good enough.

LB:

Emerson. I think he would suit Sarri's system better than Alonso, so he would be my first choice.

Alonso. You won't find many better back up LB's. It's good to have different types of LB's.

CB:

Rudiger, Christensen, Rugani (if he ever actually gets here) and Cahill or Luiz, i wouldn't give up Rudiger or Christensen for either of these two. No idea who i would have as first choice, there isn't much between them. Rudiger would definitely be one to take one of the two available spots though if it was my choice.

DM and CM:

Kante, Jorginho. Those two are the obvious ones.

Ampadu, Loftus-Cheek and Fabregas the backups.

CAM:

Barkley. I would start him and see what Sarri can do with him. The potential is there, hopefully Sarri get's it out of him. Fabregas and Loftus-Cheek can come in depending on the circumstances of the game too.

RW:

Pedro or Willian, i would prefer one of them to be sold and we bring somebody like Bailey.

LW:

Hazard, first name on the team sheet.

Hudson-Odoi. Hopefully he gets even more chances this season. He's another with great potential.

ST:

Morata, i would give him another season.

Batshuayi, could work well in Sarri's system.

Giroud, squad player.

 

PLAYERS OUT:

Zappacosta, i don't think he's good enough or needed in all honesty.

Zouma, he won't suit Sarri's system and with us being covered at CB i just don't think he is needed.

Drinkwater, same as Zappacosta.

Bakayoko, sold or loan, don't really care.

Musonda, i'm not sure he will ever be good enough.

David Luiz or Cahill. CB is covered, and if Rugani arrives, somebody has to leave.

Willian or Pedro. Like i said above, i would like us to bring in somebody like Bailey.

Only disagree about Zouma. Koulibaly was not suited either and look at what Sarri has made him into. Coach him up and we may not have a need at CB for years between Zouma, Andreas and Rudi. (Ampadu as well if he sticks there) It seems Rugani is not coming. 

Unfortunately for Cahill this is the end of the line, even without Zouma and Rugani, though most of us have also probably written him off before. 

I feel like Luiz is going to start by virtue of being a senior player and working through the whole preseason, short as it may be. Rudi would be the safer bet to pair with him out of the two younger players. 

Edited July 26, 20187 yr by TheChelseaBlues

the squad is ok  even if there are no more in and out moves. Marcos Alonso was team of the year last season and we are planning to bench him. Moses and Azpilicueta give you both attacking sharpness and stability depending on the opponent we face, this is impressive. For 2 CB positions we've got Luiz, Rudiger, Christensen, Zouma and Cahill.  For the trio in the mid we've got N'golo, Jorginho, Cesc, Bakayoko,  Barkley potentially on the top and RLC potentially on the top. For the wings we've got Eden, Willian, Pedro, Hudson and potentially Barkley and RLC.

From 2 to 10 that's pretty impressive. Most of the players have proven themselves reliable and even world class. We just need to fix the goalkeeper and the forward issues due to Courtois and Morata's controversial mentality.

Can't see this squad out of the top 4 again. I'd even go further and predict a tough battle for the title if City side is not as impressive as it was.

Edited July 26, 20187 yr by Giordano_Bruno

I mean we’ve just signed Rob Green, squad complete and Hazard happy with the big signings. Time to crack on and win it all I think!

16 hours ago, mclovin83 said:

Courtois has apparently just unfollowed Chelsea's official Instagram account. 

How do we know that?  I don't do Instagram, but I do Facebook and, if I un-follow someone on there, no-one but me knows.  Is there a great big public list of Chelsea Instagram followers somewhere that someone has read right through to compare with the same list last week and found Courtois was there and is no longer?

6 hours ago, Gol15 said:

I really hope we sell Courtois, he has been ruining the team chemistry last season a lot it was very obvious that he doesn't give a single sh*t about doing his job at some point. 

What actual evidence have you got for either of the two bits in bold?  Or are they just your  outside opinion, gleaned over the last two months?

6 hours ago, Scott Harris said:

Seeing as we are only two weeks away from the transfer window closing, i'm revising my team from the start of the thread.

GK:

Courtois. We won't sign anybody better or on his level now, so just stick with him for another season and risk losing him for nothing next season. I don't want Reina or any stop gap signing. Just get the job done next season. 

Caballero. Nothing special but he'll do as backup and Rob Green as the 3rd choice.

RB:

Azpilicueta. This is easy. Azpilicueta is one of the best defenders on the planet, and he's underrated going forward.

Moses. I think he's better defensively than he is going forward, as a backup he's good enough.

LB:

Emerson. I think he would suit Sarri's system better than Alonso, so he would be my first choice.

Alonso. You won't find many better back up LB's. It's good to have different types of LB's.

CB:

Rudiger, Christensen, Rugani (if he ever actually gets here) and Cahill or Luiz, i wouldn't give up Rudiger or Christensen for either of these two. No idea who i would have as first choice, there isn't much between them. Rudiger would definitely be one to take one of the two available spots though if it was my choice.

DM and CM:

Kante, Jorginho. Those two are the obvious ones.

Ampadu, Loftus-Cheek and Fabregas the backups.

CAM:

Barkley. I would start him and see what Sarri can do with him. The potential is there, hopefully Sarri get's it out of him. Fabregas and Loftus-Cheek can come in depending on the circumstances of the game too.

RW:

Pedro or Willian, i would prefer one of them to be sold and we bring somebody like Bailey.

LW:

Hazard, first name on the team sheet.

Hudson-Odoi. Hopefully he gets even more chances this season. He's another with great potential.

ST:

Morata, i would give him another season.

Batshuayi, could work well in Sarri's system.

Giroud, squad player.

 

PLAYERS OUT:

Zappacosta, i don't think he's good enough or needed in all honesty.

Zouma, he won't suit Sarri's system and with us being covered at CB i just don't think he is needed.

Drinkwater, same as Zappacosta.

Bakayoko, sold or loan, don't really care.

Musonda, i'm not sure he will ever be good enough.

David Luiz or Cahill. CB is covered, and if Rugani arrives, somebody has to leave.

Willian or Pedro. Like i said above, i would like us to bring in somebody like Bailey.

Good assessment and I agree with the majority. 

I still can't quite settle with our striker situation though. I think we need to bring someone in who Sarri has full confidence in. 

Higauin makes no sense from a financial point of view, granted, but I just feel it will give the team a new point of attack, one which Sarri knows well  and has confidence in. I think it needs mixing up. 

We were like a pitbull with no teeth for the majority of last season and that was down to having a striker who couldn't take his chances. Morata just doesn't look like he suits the style Sarri is going to push, and I think if we could recover the majority of the fee we paid and and roll the dice it would be worth the gamble. Michy and Giroud to stay and good options. 

5 minutes ago, yorkleyblue said:

How do we know that?  I don't do Instagram, but I do Facebook and, if I un-follow someone on there, no-one but me knows.  Is there a great big public list of Chelsea Instagram followers somewhere that someone has read right through to compare with the same list last week and found Courtois was there and is no longer?

 

I think you know by clicking on the CFC account page. It would then say who follows them that you follow. So if you follow Courtois, it would list his name. 

In truth though, I don't know if this is happened- it was just being 'reported' by less than reliable sources. 

Basically, I may owe Courtois an apology... 

10 minutes ago, mclovin83 said:

I think you know by clicking on the CFC account page. It would then say who follows them that you follow. So if you follow Courtois, it would list his name. 

In truth though, I don't know if this is happened- it was just being 'reported' by less than reliable sources. 

Basically, I may owe Courtois an apology... 

Ah,  OK  - me and technology, eh?  What am I like?

18 minutes ago, yorkleyblue said:

How do we know that?  I don't do Instagram, but I do Facebook and, if I un-follow someone on there, no-one but me knows.  Is there a great big public list of Chelsea Instagram followers somewhere that someone has read right through to compare with the same list last week and found Courtois was there and is no longer?

What actual evidence have you got for either of the two bits in bold?  Or are they just your  outside opinion, gleaned over the last two months?

Facebook to Instagram is like Korean Committee of space technology to NASA... I guess.

12 minutes ago, Giordano_Bruno said:

Facebook to Instagram is like Korean Committee of space technology to NASA... I guess.

I did a google ( one of our since-banned members taught me all about that) asking "What is instagram".  The first result said " It's like a simplified version of Facebook, with an emphasis on mobile use and visual sharing."

So your analogy would appear to  be arse-about-face.

34 minutes ago, yorkleyblue said:

 

What actual evidence have you got for either of the two bits in bold?  Or are they just your  outside opinion, gleaned over the last two months?

His behaviour and how he let easy goals in makes me think that.

OK- That explains a lot

14 minutes ago, Gol15 said:

His behaviour and how he let easy goals in makes me think that.

Thoroughly scientific, and excellent evidence on which to base a "good riddance"