5 hours ago, Mod said:

 

 

I think you're all missing the point of the post.

Its not how Fab joined or his game-time at Barca then, its the general profile and calibre of the players mentioned. Big players that you could half expect at that time, that would slot in and do a job and possibly have success at Chelsea. I could of added many players to the list including Havertz and even Morata. Big names that join that have a buzz about them.

For me, Sterling isn't one of those players, and as mentioned, its the type of signing you would expect of West Ham or similar. The main point was that we seem like we are coming past the times of signing 'buzz' player names.

I'll support Raheem fully should he sign and hope he assists and bangs in some goals. He could end up being great for us which I'd hope. But, would he still be a target if Roman was still here? I doubt it. Is he any better than a 20/21 Pulisic? Nope!

Counterpoint: he’s not the only signing we will make this summer, let alone the only attacking signing, so why does he have to create the buzz? I think we just see the player differently. It’s my belief that he immediately improves our attack and will do what Tuchel needs of him. Hell get on the end of those back post crosses that James and Chilwell send in, and will actually take a man one v one. I agree that he’s not the most buzz worthy signing but buzz worthy hasn’t worked out for us recently.

Your comment about it being a West Ham type signing is bonkers. This is a guy who is 27, has performed well on a team who has won 4/5 PL titles, and wants to come to Chelsea. The price is reasonable, too. Sounds good to me.

Also, side note, he’s much better than Pulisic. Pulisic had one good vein of form after the restart in 19/20. And 20/21 Pulisic was extremely average.

2 hours ago, Munkworth said:

2 hours ago, mwblue10 said:

Counterpoint: he’s not the only signing we will make this summer, let alone the only attacking signing, so why does he have to create the buzz? I think we just see the player differently. It’s my belief that he immediately improves our attack and will do what Tuchel needs of him. Hell get on the end of those back post crosses that James and Chilwell send in, and will actually take a man one v one. I agree that he’s not the most buzz worthy signing but buzz worthy hasn’t worked out for us recently.

Your comment about it being a West Ham type signing is bonkers. This is a guy who is 27, has performed well on a team who has won 4/5 PL titles, and wants to come to Chelsea. The price is reasonable, too. Sounds good to me.

Also, side note, he’s much better than Pulisic. Pulisic had one good vein of form after the restart in 19/20. And 20/21 Pulisic was extremely average.

Not sure who is more devastated at this news. @Mod , me or your printer...

15 minutes ago, axman2526 said:

Not sure who is more devastated at this news. @Mod , me or your printer...

My printer, no question!!

18 minutes ago, axman2526 said:

35m offer with add ons. Confirmed by Fab.

 

Couple of thoughts on Sterling;

- Brilliant player but major reservations is he has always had lock pickers behind him  in Coutinho at Liverpool, and 2 of B. Silva, Gundogan, De Bruyne & Silva at City. He will make the off the ball runs but he needs someone to pick out those runs. We had that issue all season with Werner making the runs but none of the two in the middle able to spot the runs or pick a long range pass.

- Heard someone argue he is leaving because of game time this is false IMO. Bar Foden who played 200mins or so more in the league, none of City’s wingers played more mins. 

- He is actually leaving because he demanded parity with De Bruyne and City weren’t having it. He is currently on £300k/w at City, so do the maths. 
- It isn’t a case of he wants to come Chelsea. Sure he is from North London,  but we are probably the only team willing to match or come close to his demand. You just don’t leave a club that has won 4 of the last 5 PL trophies unless someone has offered you more money. Let’s be honest he isn’t coming here for a new challenge, we are not winning the league in the next few seasons.

- I do wonder what % of his output (goals & assists) is attributable to Pep & his system in City. None of the players he has let go in Sane, Ferran & Garcia have hit their previous heights under him

- oh and he has a high mileage. He has racked up 32,000 mins  of too flight football in 10 seasons. Mane who is 3yrs old has only played 27,000 mins. 

9 hours ago, Mod said:

 

 

I think you're all missing the point of the post.

Its not how Fab joined or his game-time at Barca then, its the general profile and calibre of the players mentioned. Big players that you could half expect at that time, that would slot in and do a job and possibly have success at Chelsea. I could of added many players to the list including Havertz and even Morata. Big names that join that have a buzz about them.

For me, Sterling isn't one of those players, and as mentioned, its the type of signing you would expect of West Ham or similar. The main point was that we seem like we are coming past the times of signing 'buzz' player names.

I'll support Raheem fully should he sign and hope he assists and bangs in some goals. He could end up being great for us which I'd hope. But, would he still be a target if Roman was still here? I doubt it. Is he any better than a 20/21 Pulisic? Nope!

I don't see how it feels the type of signing West Ham would make. Despite him slightly losing his buzz, he still gets impressive numbers. West Ham would never be in the running to sign Sterling. Sterling definitely has a buzz about him for sure. This isn't some player who has taken a plummet like Rashford. I like Pulisic but Sterling is a lot better than Pulisic.

3 hours ago, mwblue10 said:

Counterpoint: he’s not the only signing we will make this summer, let alone the only attacking signing, so why does he have to create the buzz? I think we just see the player differently. It’s my belief that he immediately improves our attack and will do what Tuchel needs of him. Hell get on the end of those back post crosses that James and Chilwell send in, and will actually take a man one v one. I agree that he’s not the most buzz worthy signing but buzz worthy hasn’t worked out for us recently.

Your comment about it being a West Ham type signing is bonkers. This is a guy who is 27, has performed well on a team who has won 4/5 PL titles, and wants to come to Chelsea. The price is reasonable, too. Sounds good to me.

Also, side note, he’s much better than Pulisic. Pulisic had one good vein of form after the restart in 19/20. And 20/21 Pulisic was extremely average.

and that vein of form was very fleeting. Got injured in the cup final and has never been the same since

1 hour ago, ducavis said:

Couple of thoughts on Sterling;

- Brilliant player but major reservations is he has always had lock pickers behind him  in Coutinho at Liverpool, and 2 of B. Silva, Gundogan, De Bruyne & Silva at City. He will make the off the ball runs but he needs someone to pick out those runs. We had that issue all season with Werner making the runs but none of the two in the middle able to spot the runs or pick a long range pass.

- Heard someone argue he is leaving because of game time this is false IMO. Bar Foden who played 200mins or so more in the league, none of City’s wingers played more mins. 

- He is actually leaving because he demanded parity with De Bruyne and City weren’t having it. He is currently on £300k/w at City, so do the maths. 
- It isn’t a case of he wants to come Chelsea. Sure he is from North London,  but we are probably the only team willing to match or come close to his demand. You just don’t leave a club that has won 4 of the last 5 PL trophies unless someone has offered you more money. Let’s be honest he isn’t coming here for a new challenge, we are not winning the league in the next few seasons.

- I do wonder what % of his output (goals & assists) is attributable to Pep & his system in City. None of the players he has let go in Sane, Ferran & Garcia have hit their previous heights under him

- oh and he has a high mileage. He has racked up 32,000 mins  of too flight football in 10 seasons. Mane who is 3yrs old has only played 27,000 mins. 

Good analysis, particularly the mileage. 

1 hour ago, Munkworth said:

1 hour ago, ducavis said:

Couple of thoughts on Sterling;

- Brilliant player but major reservations is he has always had lock pickers behind him  in Coutinho at Liverpool, and 2 of B. Silva, Gundogan, De Bruyne & Silva at City. He will make the off the ball runs but he needs someone to pick out those runs. We had that issue all season with Werner making the runs but none of the two in the middle able to spot the runs or pick a long range pass.

- Heard someone argue he is leaving because of game time this is false IMO. Bar Foden who played 200mins or so more in the league, none of City’s wingers played more mins. 

- He is actually leaving because he demanded parity with De Bruyne and City weren’t having it. He is currently on £300k/w at City, so do the maths. 
- It isn’t a case of he wants to come Chelsea. Sure he is from North London,  but we are probably the only team willing to match or come close to his demand. You just don’t leave a club that has won 4 of the last 5 PL trophies unless someone has offered you more money. Let’s be honest he isn’t coming here for a new challenge, we are not winning the league in the next few seasons.

- I do wonder what % of his output (goals & assists) is attributable to Pep & his system in City. None of the players he has let go in Sane, Ferran & Garcia have hit their previous heights under him

- oh and he has a high mileage. He has racked up 32,000 mins  of too flight football in 10 seasons. Mane who is 3yrs old has only played 27,000 mins. 

I don't think Sterling is as reliant on lock pickers like De Bruyne etc. His numbers for England are good.

2020 EC qualification:    7 games played, 8 goals, 6 assists

2020 EC : 7 games played, 3 goals, 1 assist

2022 Friendlies: 2 games played, 1 goal, 0 assist

 

 

1 hour ago, ducavis said:

Couple of thoughts on Sterling;

- Brilliant player but major reservations is he has always had lock pickers behind him  in Coutinho at Liverpool, and 2 of B. Silva, Gundogan, De Bruyne & Silva at City. He will make the off the ball runs but he needs someone to pick out those runs. We had that issue all season with Werner making the runs but none of the two in the middle able to spot the runs or pick a long range pass.

- Heard someone argue he is leaving because of game time this is false IMO. Bar Foden who played 200mins or so more in the league, none of City’s wingers played more mins. 

- He is actually leaving because he demanded parity with De Bruyne and City weren’t having it. He is currently on £300k/w at City, so do the maths. 
- It isn’t a case of he wants to come Chelsea. Sure he is from North London,  but we are probably the only team willing to match or come close to his demand. You just don’t leave a club that has won 4 of the last 5 PL trophies unless someone has offered you more money. Let’s be honest he isn’t coming here for a new challenge, we are not winning the league in the next few seasons.

- I do wonder what % of his output (goals & assists) is attributable to Pep & his system in City. None of the players he has let go in Sane, Ferran & Garcia have hit their previous heights under him

- oh and he has a high mileage. He has racked up 32,000 mins  of too flight football in 10 seasons. Mane who is 3yrs old has only played 27,000 mins. 

Brilliant analysis. He is nearly millaged out, few English players look after themselves properly, we have no creative spark like Silva or KDB and he is coming here for money, a bit like a certain Lukaku did.

13 minutes ago, comtrend said:

I don't think Sterling is as reliant on lock pickers like De Bruyne etc. His numbers for England are good.

2020 EC qualification:    7 games played, 8 goals, 6 assists

2020 EC : 7 games played, 3 goals, 1 assist

2022 Friendlies: 2 games played, 1 goal, 0 assist

 

 

How many of those are against dross like San Marino or Malta?

43 minutes ago, axman2526 said:

How many of those are against dross like San Marino or Malta?

About 50% against bad sides and 50% against good. In 2020 EC his 3 goals came against Croatia, Germany and Czech Republic.

Sterling is currently 26th in the all time premier league top goals scorers list.  If he scores around 10/11 goals a season for the next 4 years, (which he should be capable of even in this Chelsea team) he’ll be in the top 10 all time premier league goal scorers.  Not bad for someone who isn’t even a striker.

3 hours ago, ducavis said:

 

- oh and he has a high mileage. He has racked up 32,000 mins  of too flight football in 10 seasons. Mane who is 3yrs old has only played 27,000 mins. 

So, the fact that he has been PL quality since he was a teenager and has been durable as hell his entire career (30+ PL appearances every season from 2013-14 onward), is somehow being used as a point AGAINST him? Deary me.

8 minutes ago, mwblue10 said:

So, the fact that he has been PL quality since he was a teenager and has been durable as hell his entire career (30+ PL appearances every season from 2013-14 onward), is somehow being used as a point AGAINST him? Deary me.

Ronaldo was 17 when he first played for Sporting and joined Utd age 18 I guess that’s why he’s been knackered for years.

Lot of good points made in this thread. I could live with Sterling.

31 minutes ago, DarkMata said:

Ronaldo was 17 when he first played for Sporting and joined Utd age 18 I guess that’s why he’s been knackered for years.

His record is just preposterous. 15 of the last 18 seasons he’s appeared in 30+ league games. His fitness is in its own category, but Sterling has always been a fit guy too. No reason to think he couldn’t play into his mid thirties at a high level.

Mileage = total minutes played is a relevant thing. No doubt some players will beat the average just like some cars will run forever. On average though the more minutes the more wear on tendons and ligaments and the greater the chance of injury.

Sports medicine has improved out of sight so that for instance in tennis the best players last a lot longer or there is what's his name brady the quarterback.

Like a sporting director a great medical team will really help to make for a premier league title contending club.

Unpopular opinion but I can grow to like him. He's constantly running in the right spaces and scores the needed goals from the left or right. 

Hate how he runs like a little girl still

I'd prefer Richarlison over Sterling any day of the week, but seems like we are going to go with Sterling.

Hope he proves me wrong.

13 hours ago, mwblue10 said:

His record is just preposterous. 15 of the last 18 seasons he’s appeared in 30+ league games. His fitness is in its own category, but Sterling has always been a fit guy too. No reason to think he couldn’t play into his mid thirties at a high level.

I agree. it's unfair to use C. Ronaldo as a comparison. The guy is both beast and machine in mortal form. 

As long as Sterling cuts the beer and junk food, no reason for him not to continue playing at a high level at 33.

13 minutes ago, Deino said:

I agree. it's unfair to use C. Ronaldo as a comparison. The guy is both beast and machine in mortal form. 

As long as Sterling cuts the beer and junk food, no reason for him not to continue playing at a high level at 33.

Agreed.  Not expecting Sterling to be still going at 38, but I'm pretty sure we can get a good 4+ years out of him.