2 minutes ago, forbzy said:

It has felt inevitable for a while now but still gutted. One of the few players at the club who still had a connection with the fans. Ultimately sold to cover the money invested on unproven talent (most from South America). Most of those players seem to have been purchased more to sell in years ahead too. Feels like we've become a brokerage company.

I don’t believe it’s for cover and I fully expect the club to use the money to buy more unproven talented players.  Watch us go spend 40m on that Samu kid from Madrid. 

16 minutes ago, Erik said:

Point being for 33 million can we find a  suitable replacement? In this current market with players like 29 year old Palinha going for 56 million , it's very unlikely. Complete farce of a sale in my opinion. 

Selling Conor gives us 33m for which we can buy a couple of big names if you are trying to comply with PSR and FFP. Selling a home grown asset gives you pure profit, buying a player you calculate the amortisation amount on an annual basis. Big players are around 20-30m/year. 

If there were no restrictions we'd just buy whoever if the pockets are deep.

2 minutes ago, Sheva said:

I don’t believe it’s for cover and I fully expect the club to use the money to buy more unproven talented players.  Watch us go spend 40m on that Samu kid from Madrid. 

This deal could sweeten that deal. 

52 minutes ago, evissy said:

Maybe we are bankrolling better players with the money. 

17 minutes ago, evissy said:

Selling Conor gives us 33m for which we can buy a couple of big names if you are trying to comply with PSR and FFP. Selling a home grown asset gives you pure profit, buying a player you calculate the amortisation amount on an annual basis. Big players are around 20-30m/year. 

If there were no restrictions we'd just buy whoever if the pockets are deep.

This nonsense of us talking about pure profit and celebrating it is an example of how I despise this souless model and ownership. Ever since this ownership group took over we've all become financial experts.

16 minutes ago, evissy said:

This deal could sweeten that deal. 

You mentioned that we are going to bankroll better players and are you hoping this could sweeten the deal for a player who's had 1 season in la liga with a total of 8 goals in 34 games.

22 minutes ago, evissy said:

Selling Conor gives us 33m for which we can buy a couple of big names if you are trying to comply with PSR and FFP. Selling a home grown asset gives you pure profit, buying a player you calculate the amortisation amount on an annual basis. Big players are around 20-30m/year. 

If there were no restrictions we'd just buy whoever if the pockets are deep.

That's the point though, we have to comply by regulation and our pockets are currently not deeper than during the Abramovich era considering the owners are bankrolling the sales through Chelsea football club. The recruitment policy has been flawed from the outset, this is just us desperately trying to claw back as much money as possible through underselling talented assets. I fear we are digging a well under our own feet and will only realise the gravity of the situation we are in a few years down the line when we are already 6 feet under and can't climb our way out. 

Edited August 5, 20241 yr by Erik

19 minutes ago, evissy said:

This deal could sweeten that deal. 

This Samu lad is genuinely the final straw for these sporting directors. 

Already looking at finding a club that is willing to buy D.Fofana. 

17 minutes ago, Sheva said:

This nonsense of us talking about pure profit and celebrating it is an example of how I despise this souless model and ownership. Ever since this ownership group took over we've all become financial experts.

You mentioned that we are going to bankroll better players and are you hoping this could sweeten the deal for a player who's had 1 season in la liga with a total of 8 goals in 34 games.

Pretty sad isn't it? If I hear the word amortisation one more time I might just lose it. 

33mil? Thats probably what it cost them to make that awful video to promote the away shirt and paying Hazard to put on the home one! The club is a joke!

2 minutes ago, Mod said:

33mil? Thats probably what it cost them to make that awful video to promote the away shirt and paying Hazard to put on the home one! The club is a joke!

Don't worry we have ammortised the fee and paying it over 8 years.

Absolutely gutted. The way Conor and Trevoh have been treated is a disgrace. I'm not an aggressive person but wouldn't mind bumping into Winstanley and Stewart right now.

4 hours ago, Andy2461 said:

I get it that everyone is annoyed he has gone 

but 

he could of taken the latest deal for a lot better money 

Anyone who thinks there’s any loyalty in the game for either players or clubs is deluded.

Both parties are going to be looking out for their own interests and to be honest rightfully so. 

5 minutes ago, Dubair said:

Anyone who thinks there’s any loyalty in the game for either players or clubs is deluded.

Both parties are going to be looking out for their own interests and to be honest rightfully so. 

So you are saying Conor didn’t want to stay and is just following the ££££ just like Mason did eh?

I think you haven’t been watching what’s been going on at our club!

1 hour ago, Erik said:

Point being for 33 million can we find a  suitable replacement? In this current market with players like 29 year old Palinha going for 56 million , it's very unlikely. Complete farce of a sale in my opinion. 

Same was said about Mount and we made the upgrade of the century.

Fitness pending his place in the team likely goes to Nkunku.

Edited August 5, 20241 yr by Argo

Will be watching Atletico and who knows, I may even join a forum and USATim it!

So Conor an Academy graduate been at our club 18 years, has been pushed out the door for appx 9 mill quid less than his value and replaced with another English player - KDH a Leicester City academy graduate, not an international, probably wont ever be one, one year older. Because - wait for it, allegedly Conor not good enough to play possession football as required by Maresca, from the 4 pre season matches I've watched I'd say Conor is not alone in that respect.  Good bit of business then selling him abroad 😂

3 minutes ago, General said:

So Conor an Academy graduate been at our club 18 years, has been pushed out the door for appx 9 mill quid less than his value and replaced with another English player - KDH a Leicester City academy graduate, not an international, probably wont ever be one, one year older. Because - wait for it, allegedly Conor not good enough to play possession football as required by Maresca, from the 4 pre season matches I've watched I'd say Conor is not alone in that respect.  Good bit of business then selling him abroad 😂

It's funny he's deemed not good enough for us yet he's signed for a top champions league club and one of the biggest clubs in Spain. If anything right now he's made a sensible move career wise.
 

The cost of signing lots and lots of dross. Gallagher had some really strong performances in big games last year, think he'll do really well at A. Madrid. 

15 minutes ago, Mod said:

So you are saying Conor didn’t want to stay and is just following the ££££ just like Mason did eh?

I think you haven’t been watching what’s been going on at our club!

Yeah pretty much , an offer was made of a 2 + 1 year contract right ? I’ve no idea of the exact financials but I’m sure it was many multiples of what the average joe gets in a week.

If he really loved the club he’d of accepted it. I’ve no issue with him going off to accept presumably more money at atletico but his loyalty to the club (or any club) is conditional like 99.9% of players. 

6 minutes ago, Dubair said:

Yeah pretty much , an offer was made of a 2 + 1 year contract right ? I’ve no idea of the exact financials but I’m sure it was many multiples of what the average joe gets in a week.

If he really loved the club he’d of accepted it. I’ve no issue with him going off to accept presumably more money at atletico but his loyalty to the club (or any club) is conditional like 99.9% of players. 

If that 2+1 is actually true and not just PR put out by Clownlake, it was offered 3 times, the same deal, while unheard-of players are getting 7 or 8-year deals!

You give all for your club, getting us through a terrible season, spend the majority of your life there, to be c**ted off! If I was Mase, Conor and soon Big Trev, I'd be running for the door and not looking back! Players can't even give loyalty now without it being shat on!

11 minutes ago, Dubair said:

Yeah pretty much , an offer was made of a 2 + 1 year contract right ? I’ve no idea of the exact financials but I’m sure it was many multiples of what the average joe gets in a week.

If he really loved the club he’d of accepted it. I’ve no issue with him going off to accept presumably more money at atletico but his loyalty to the club (or any club) is conditional like 99.9% of players. 

I don't think that's fair.

Simeone is the perfect (big club) manager for him and after a season of a manager treating him like he'd Eden Hazard it's understandable he doesn't want to return to the utility role he had under TT and Potter.

Players supporting clubs they don't play for are ten a penny. Merson supported us despite playing for Arsenal, Mount was a Pompey fan, Bent was an Arsenal fan etc

Edited August 5, 20241 yr by Argo

2 hours ago, evissy said:

This deal could sweeten that deal. 

Are you joking? The last thing we need is yet another bang average forward. We have about as many of them as we do goalkeepers right now.

Didn't take them long.

2 hours ago, Sheva said:

This nonsense of us talking about pure profit and celebrating it is an example of how I despise this souless model and ownership. Ever since this ownership group took over we've all become financial experts.

You mentioned that we are going to bankroll better players and are you hoping this could sweeten the deal for a player who's had 1 season in la liga with a total of 8 goals in 34 games.

Haven't you seen what we are doing? We are buying players that we think will be good at some point. Not ready/peak players. Boehly told this early on. Samu is in line with this 100%. We are stacked in midfield so I guess this is why we didn't want to hold on Conor for any money. We sell Conor and buy Samu.

Another question is whether you like what the club is doing or not. I think we can't judge this as we don't know every detail AND we don't know how well this club will do in a few years time. If we do well and Samu is our top scorer everyone has forgotten Conor long time ago.

5 hours ago, Argo said:

These conspiracies we'd suddenly sell those two are ridiculous.

It's like saying Arsenal will soon sell Saka because they've just sold Smith Rowe and are trying to sell Nketiah.

You did not get my point. I was trying to dismiss the idea that the board does not care about the Academy graduates at all and would sell them for the smallest of profit - hence sell the soul of the club, as some would say.

James and Colwill have an even bigger appeal when it comes to pure profit, yet they are kept at the club and given a starting role. As much as a lot of fans hate to admit it, the likes of Mount, Gallagher and Chalobah not only bring the club a lot of benefits by being pure profit on the business end of things, but they are also not good enough for the things Chelsea try to achieve and I personally share this opinion, too.

Only time will tell if the board was right in everything they did so far. For the moment, it is early. But you can't fault them for the lack of trying. 

For example and this is a fact and nobody can't argue on this is the most recent signing of Estevao and very soon the signing of Gabriel Mec. The three biggest attacking prospects in world football aged 16 or 17 that are destined to become the next superstars by scouts' reviews and analytics experts are Lamine Yamal, Estevao Willian and Gabriel Mec. 

To be in the current state as a club and have already two of these guys signed it is incredible. Add Kendry Paez, too. I think people do not realize how massive this is.