1 hour ago, Ballack & Blu said:

Seen a few pros saying we should look at John stones, as ball playing defender, i think Pep has tretedhim sh*te, what with his other crap defenders, the lad has lost that confidence, you don't suddenly become sh*t...

I'm not sure about Stones, as I think we need a leader at the back to organise and motivate our existing players.  I'm not sure Stones is that sort of character.

3 hours ago, Gol15 said:

Like that squad although I am not sure about Rice. Would rather we bring back Ampadu and possibly also keep Kante so we have more cover for injuries & suspensions.

The Centre back, left back and keepers are MUSTS. I would still keep Alonso as back-up.

1 hour ago, Ballack & Blu said:

Seen a few pros saying we should look at John stones, as ball playing defender, i think Pep has tretedhim sh*te, what with his other crap defenders, the lad has lost that confidence, you don't suddenly become sh*t...

He hasn't suddenly become sh*t. He's never been all that. Got as many mistakes in him as the defenders we already have or Luiz. Would leave him well alone.

We dodged a bullet with Stones, we should be thankful he didn't end up here. He has as many errors in him as our current lot. He's pony 

A great Bit on SS about Werner wanting to lead the New Chelsea, like Drogs did back in the day, seems plenty of mutual admiration between Timo and Franky

 

 

 

Edited July 28, 20205 yr by Scott

52 minutes ago, Scott said:

 

 

 

Given your formation I would get rid of Sancho, move Ziyech to the right and Pulisic on the left and swap Chilwell for Tagliafico

I think the Werner signing gives us a lot of flexbility.. we may also see a lot of him and Giroud/Tammy playing together in a back 3 system.. with a tossup between ziyech and pulisic for the other spot.. or on the left in a front 433 with ziyech and mount vying for the AM role with Kante and Kova providing the shield.. i think these are exciting times.. it will be great if we could add a huge personality like we did with Ballack back in the day.. ..someone who has done it all at the top.. A player that demands from his team mate... unfortunately i cant think of any available at this point.

Why are people so keen to drop Mount?  ?

2 hours ago, fester said:

Why are people so keen to drop Mount?  ?

Only reason he played so much this season is because we didn't have anyone else. Once we sign better players he will naturally go back to the bench and slowly integrate himself into the team how CHO and Reece have done instead of just being thrown in there expected to play every game.

1 hour ago, driller97 said:

Only reason he played so much this season is because we didn't have anyone else. Once we sign better players he will naturally go back to the bench and slowly integrate himself into the team how CHO and Reece have done instead of just being thrown in there expected to play every game.

Why would Mount have to be slowly integrated into the team when he has been an integral part of the team this season? He plays if he is the best option for the system for any particular match; if the gaffer thinks somebody else is the best option, Mount will sit on the bench or even in the stands.

1 hour ago, Valerie said:

Why would Mount have to be slowly integrated into the team when he has been an integral part of the team this season? He plays if he is the best option for the system for any particular match; if the gaffer thinks somebody else is the best option, Mount will sit on the bench or even in the stands.

Because we had no choice but to play him as he was versatile, but once we were allowed to make signings of course we are going to strengthen in several areas - one of which being midfield

On 21/07/2020 at 19:36, Ballack & Blu said:

I wouldn't say no to Oblak in Goal, and definitely think there will be a new Captain, as Dave isn't vocal enough for Frank..

 

Frank wasn’t the most vocal either but I don’t recall him ever refusing the role of vice captain or not stepping in when JT was missing. He’s described Azpilicueta as the epitome of Chelsea Football Club. It’s highly, highly unlikely he loses the armband until he retires/leaves/is phased out.

11 hours ago, driller97 said:

Only reason he played so much this season is because we didn't have anyone else. Once we sign better players he will naturally go back to the bench and slowly integrate himself into the team how CHO and Reece have done instead of just being thrown in there expected to play every game.

This is a very odd take. He was pretty close to our player of the year. Played nearly every game, led our press without the ball, scored 7 goals and made 5 assists in the league including crucially on the final day. He won't be going back to the bench for Havertz.

More likely they will play together in a 4-3-3 with Kante anchoring, similar to what we saw with Barkley and Mount as free roaming 8s a few weeks back. 

I think the Sun, or mail have given 5 team formations, and only one looks decent, i think to get more expensive players in after havertz, kante could be sacrificed, no one else could command still such a hefty fee?

https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/football/12255966/chelsea-havertz-transfer-werner-ziyech/

Edited July 29, 20205 yr by Ballack & Blu

Alright, I'm going to be as realistic as possible, having seen the Chilwell links resurface I'll have to include him.

Here's my line up.

10 hours ago, Ballack & Blu said:

I think the Sun, or mail have given 5 team formations, and only one looks decent, i think to get more expensive players in after havertz, kante could be sacrificed, no one else could command still such a hefty fee?

https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/football/12255966/chelsea-havertz-transfer-werner-ziyech/

Kante, Jorginho seem like the most likely players to leave with the combination of still getting quite a big fee.

We have other expendables like Barkley and Bats but they probably will get us around 20m or less.

Watching the playoff game last night Gallagher looked like he could be challenging Kova for a role,

Watching the playoff game last night Gallagher looked like he could be challenging Kova for a role,

He is not there. I am not saying miles off but a couple of hundred meters. He is not explosive, quick and his vision didn't impress me. However a good season in Championship and he mighty be ready... He has a lot of positive attributes. He loves to take the ball and orchestrate things. We have such a packed midfield I don't think we can give him the minutes he needs.

 

And an Academy XI for the domestic Cups ...

 

 

9 minutes ago, evissy said:

2 hours ago, fester said:

Watching the playoff game last night Gallagher looked like he could be challenging Kova for a role,

He is not there. I am not saying miles off but a couple of hundred meters. He is not explosive, quick and his vision didn't impress me. However a good season in Championship and he mighty be ready... He has a lot of positive attributes. He loves to take the ball and orchestrate things. We have such a packed midfield I don't think we can give him the minutes he needs.

I noticed he seemed to lack a bit of pace sometimes, but it could have been the other guy being really quick ?

36 minutes ago, Sexyfootball said:

 

And an Academy XI for the domestic Cups ...

 

 

So you'd sell Kante, Jorginho and Barkley?

31 minutes ago, Zeta said:

So you'd sell Kante, Jorginho and Barkley?

Stupid selling all 3, but Barkley needs to go i think. We can afford to sell 1 of Kante or Jorginho but definitely not both and certainly not all 3 unless we are planning on buying another midfielder, which we aren't

I think Barkley and Jorginho are the ones who might bite the bullet.

2 hours ago, Zeta said:

So you'd sell Kante, Jorginho and Barkley?

Who wouldn't ?  ?

I think Kante is unfortunately a busted flush, who we've pretty much done without for most of the season, and have had worse results when he has played anyway. Jorginho is too slow for Lampard's style of football, and Barkley is replaced by Havertz. Simples non ?