Summer Transfer window 2017

[StanDMan]

You must log in or register to see media

Now then, I was not very confident in our Personnel management & Emenalo when the window began. But, they have managed decently. I would rate B+ with respect to Transfer INs and have exceeded my expectation.
# Morata
Looks hungry and very young. Fraction of Lukaku's transfer fees. Started better than Lukaku already.

# Bakayako
Ligue 1 winner, has a huge potential for a very reasonable fee.

# Drinkwater
League winner, has a tremendous engine and fee is not too bad especially for England intl. Should be a very good squad player.

# Zapacosta
Should be better than Alonso, if we move Dave to the left. Again very reasonable fee than Sandro for 60M pounds. I want to see Dave on the left very badly. That will improve Cahill tremendously too.

# Willy
Decent enough backup. Hey we used to have Hilario, Turnbull as our backup for so long. Cannot always have Cudicini calibres.

# Rudiger
I am mixed here. May be Zouma didn't fit into back 3 formation properly. But Rudiger looks similar or inferior compared with Zouma. Still early days and hope Tony improves a lot.

I don't want to talk about the players went OUT.
I am happy with the fee we got for Matic & Ake. But that doesn't mean Emenalo & co should hand deliver the title to Jose FFS

Anyway, discounting the OUTs, I now think - we have a fighting chance for 4th place.
This wasn't the case when the season started. Looking forward to the season.

 

[Chelsea Pensioner]

You must log in or register to see media

Now then, I was not very confident in our Personnel management & Emenalo when the window began. But, they have managed decently. I would rate B+ with respect to Transfer INs and have exceeded my expectation.
# Morata
Looks hungry and very young. Fraction of Lukaku's transfer fees. Started better than Lukaku already.

# Bakayako
Ligue 1 winner, has a huge potential for a very reasonable fee.

# Drinkwater
League winner, has a tremendous engine and fee is not too bad especially for England intl. Should be a very good squad player.

# Zapacosta
Should be better than Alonso, if we move Dave to the left. Again very reasonable fee than Sandro for 60M pounds. I want to see Dave on the left very badly. That will improve Cahill tremendously too.

# Willy
Decent enough backup. Hey we used to have Hilario, Turnbull as our backup for so long. Cannot always have Cudicini calibres.

# Rudiger
I am mixed here. May be Zouma didn't fit into back 3 formation properly. But Rudiger looks similar or inferior compared with Zouma. Still early days and hope Tony improves a lot.

I don't want to talk about the players went OUT.
I am happy with the fee we got for Matic & Ake. But that doesn't mean Emenalo & co should hand deliver the title to Jose FFS

Anyway, discounting the OUTs, I now think - we have a fighting chance for 4th place.
This wasn't the case when the season started. Looking forward to the season.

I'm a little less impressed , but more optimistic.
# Morata looks the goods. My only concern is that he will get the kind of service that best suits his strengths.
# Bakayako impressed in his short appearance, but we have put a lot of faith in a young 1st year PL player.
# Drinkwater . I think of him as a non stop player with limited creativity and impact on games. I don't think he is even close to being as good as we need to get our midfield working as well as that of Utd, City or Liverpool. I also think the fee was ludicrous for a squad player, compared to what we sold Chalobha for. Hope I am proven wrong, and will cop all criticism if I am.
# Zapacosta. Unless he turns out to be Costa with added "zap", we should have held out for Sandro. That said, I know bugger all about the player, so hoping to be pleasantly surprised. Will need to be good to oust Alonso, who is our most improved player this season, and showing the benefit of a seasons' experience with Chelsea.
# Willy. Excellent back up keeper, at the right place at the right time of his career, for him and us.
# Rudiger This is a very good player who is not yet showing his true form. He looks like one who might take some game time to adapt, but very confident he will improve as the season goes on.

All I can say about the outs is "WHY " ? But nothing new there, we never learn from the de Bruyns, Bertrands or Matics'.

Are we stronger? Not much if at all. Have we addressed our weaknesses? Not really, at least not on early form or quality, but too early to say.
Our midfield, our REAL weakness, still looks very threadbare, unless you rate Fabregas higher than I do.Cannot see our striker/s getting any better service than last year until Bakayako fires up.
And our strikers are the weakest of all the top teams. One good one, one dud.
Are we weaker? No we're about on par BUT we might have a couple of players now who will improve themselves and the team.
No reason to fear any PL team, CL is another matter. January window needs to be sorted big time , and quickly.

 

[StanDMan]

This window looks slightly better than last summer window. When we got Luiz & Alonso (Ex-Bolton) mind.
They were very odd moves. But Kante helped settle them quickly & comfortably.

I hope the same this season, I won't mind another POTY for Kante. The most important & most under appreciated position in modern game. It was icing on the cake when Kante got the POTY over Hazard.
I was vindicated yet again about Mikel who helped bring us down considerably in the previous season.

Morata already almost quarter of the way to his league goals target (set by me) of 10 goals.
So, we have a very good chance for 4th spot which is our rightful place. Last season we massively overachieved.

But this season European strain shouldn't take any toll on our players. But guess, we have enough - just enough cover. Again, 4th spot in the league should be our only priority.

More important about this window is the 'Rejects' than 'IN' or 'OUT'.
We didn't pay mindless fees for Sandro, Ox, Lukaku, Van Dijk, Barkley.
I am glad all those players 'Rejected' us !!

 

[Chelsea Pensioner]

This window looks slightly better than last summer window. When we got Luiz & Alonso (Ex-Bolton) mind.
They were very odd moves. But Kante helped settle them quickly & comfortably.

I hope the same this season, I won't mind another POTY for Kante. The most important & most under appreciated position in modern game. It was icing on the cake when Kante got the POTY over Hazard.
I was vindicated yet again about Mikel who helped bring us down considerably in the previous season.

Morata already almost quarter of the way to his league goals target (set by me) of 10 goals.
So, we have a very good chance for 4th spot which is our rightful place. Last season we massively overachieved.

But this season European strain shouldn't take any toll on our players. But guess, we have enough - just enough cover. Again, 4th spot in the league should be our only priority.

More important about this window is the 'Rejects' than 'IN' or 'OUT'.
We didn't pay mindless fees for Sandro, Ox, Lukaku, Van Dijk, Barkley.
I am glad all those players 'Rejected' us !!

Can't argue with most of this except "4th is our rightful spot." I don't think we did overachieve last year, we turned out to be the best team by some way. We were a bit lucky that we clicked into Contes formation very quickly and it proved to be the best one for our players skills. We also got Liverpool and Man Utd in the early stages of rebuilding. Man City probably underachieved and Spurs definitely came good after a couple of rebuilding years. As for Arsenal, they just continue to shamble along. This year I see Utd as stronger ,Liverpool as potentially stronger, Man City on their last chance for the Manager, Spurs weaker after selling good defenders, and us about the same with potential to be better. So unless someone REALLY improves, we're looking OK to fight for the top spot again.

 

[StanDMan]

Can't argue with most of this except "4th is our rightful spot." I don't think we did overachieve last year, we turned out to be the best team by some way. We were a bit lucky that we clicked into Contes formation very quickly and it proved to be the best one for our players skills. We also got Liverpool and Man Utd in the early stages of rebuilding. Man City probably underachieved and Spurs definitely came good after a couple of rebuilding years. As for Arsenal, they just continue to shamble along. This year I see Utd as stronger ,Liverpool as potentially stronger, Man City on their last chance for the Manager, Spurs weaker after selling good defenders, and us about the same with potential to be better. So unless someone REALLY improves, we're looking OK to fight for the top spot again.

For me Europe is a concern especially with our squad. Sorry I cannot look past Jose & Matic for title. Just like I predicted they haven't conceded yet (Matic). Even Lukaku has clicked right away.

 

[chelsea - over 100 years of history]

For me Europe is a concern especially with our squad. Sorry I cannot look past Jose & Matic for title. Just like I predicted they haven't conceded yet (Matic). Even Lukaku has clicked right away.

They have also not really played anyone yet and you did predict Jose for the title most of last year as well.....

Have some optimism stan, for crying out loud

 

[Chelsea Pensioner]

For me Europe is a concern especially with our squad. Sorry I cannot look past Jose & Matic for title. Just like I predicted they haven't conceded yet (Matic). Even Lukaku has clicked right away.

I agree Utd look the toughest , but then so they did last year. The problem they have is Jose. We have seen him time and time again get the sulks and take a dislike to certain players and he sometimes puts his ego before the team. Unless he has been seeing a psychoanalyst, it's only a matter of time before his temperament gets in the way of his team performances. He really is a flawed "genius", though that's an overexagerated word to describe football managers.

 

[StanDMan]

I agree Utd look the toughest , but then so they did last year. The problem they have is Jose. We have seen him time and time again get the sulks and take a dislike to certain players and he sometimes puts his ego before the team. Unless he has been seeing a psychoanalyst, it's only a matter of time before his temperament gets in the way of his team performances. He really is a flawed "genius", though that's an overexagerated word to describe football managers.

I agree with you partially. Jose's really a curious case.
I clearly highlighted that in Summer 2015. He should have got a massive contract then.
He had relatively negligible net spent on transfers to get us the title yet he wasn't the top earner.
How will anyone be motivated, if he is the top most performer but gets paid 3rd or 4th best salary in the league.
Same is happening to Conte. He is the best performer, but gets paid 3rd or 4th best salary in the league. This the travesty.

So long Jose's ego isn't disturbed - he will do just fine. Manu has done that exceptionally well.
But our & every one's sake I just hope some just bustle that nest.

 

[Bodinki]

For me Europe is a concern especially with our squad. Sorry I cannot look past Jose & Matic for title. Just like I predicted they haven't conceded yet (Matic). Even Lukaku has clicked right away.

I kind of agree, although less hysterically.
Also bear in mind that people were saying the same thing early on last year when Zlatan was scoring for fun early on.
We are 3 games in Stan, too early to judge anything really.
Though I will agree on paper, United look pretty tough, but as CP pointed out, they did last year too.

 

[StanDMan]

Boys, I would disagree. Last season Jose was his usual mongering self and Manu were not settled at all. Just Zlatan was scoring.

I still have doubts over Lukaku. Morata & Rooney have bettered Lukaku already based on ROI.

This season I don't make Manu due to Lukaku but due to our Morons (Matic) & Jose.
Jose has his game face on, that is ominous. Sad but unfortunate. No hope.
Even if there is a wobble, Manu are the only ones who can go out there and purchase anything & everything.

 

[chelsea - over 100 years of history]

Boys, I would disagree. Last season Jose was his usual mongering self and Manu were not settled at all. Just Zlatan was scoring.

I still have doubts over Lukaku. Morata & Rooney have bettered Lukaku already based on ROI.

This season I don't make Manu due to Lukaku but due to our Morons (Matic) & Jose.
Jose has his game face on, that is ominous. Sad but unfortunate. No hope.
Even if there is a wobble, Manu are the only ones who can go out there and purchase anything & everything.

Lets give it 10-15 games at least before we start handing titles out. Nothing is won in August. City unstoppable last year in their opening few games and look how that turned out. It's a long season and plenty of twists. Jose has won what, 1 title in his last 5 years? He is not the guarantee he was.

 

[chelsea - over 100 years of history]

Lets also not forget Stan, that you spent most of last year giving the title to Jose as well. I'm not sure your predictions are that reliable....

 

[Chelsea Pensioner]

Lets also not forget Stan, that you spent most of last year giving the title to Jose as well. I'm not sure your predictions are that reliable....

All I will say is this looks to be a very close run comp this year, and at least 4 teams look the likeliest, even before some team does a bolter and surprises everyone.
I think we will be right in the thick of it , though we will need reinforcements in the Jan window as tiredness and heavy pitches become a factor. Whoever wins it will definitely have to go some to beat us.

 

[chelsea - over 100 years of history]

All I will say is this looks to be a very close run comp this year, and at least 4 teams look the likeliest, even before some team does a bolter and surprises everyone.
I think we will be right in the thick of it , though we will need reinforcements in the Jan window as tiredness and heavy pitches become a factor. Whoever wins it will definitely have to go some to beat us.

To be fair, I think you'd have to say the 2 Manchester clubs are the favourites, and rightly so given their managers, money they have spent etc. Spurs will struggle with Wembley and we look a little light to push on multiple fronts (its also very hard to retain the P.L). however it's mental to proclaim anyone champs this early.

 

[DferPolarBear]

I reject utterly the notion that you can not work and give your best if you are not the top earner. It should never enter the equation. There would be no teachers and no nurses if that were the case. The value to society of one nurse to any football manager you can name is a million fold. The fact that a nurse isn't respected, lauded and paid more tells you all you need to know about people. Style over substance every time. Football is a bit of fluff divorced from reality. I enjoy the fantasy and so should all those who work in it and remember that when they drive their third choice Aston Martin.

 

[Bodinki]

I reject utterly the notion that you can not work and give your best if you are not the top earner. It should never enter the equation. There would be no teachers and no nurses if that were the case. The value to society of one nurse to any football manager you can name is a million fold. The fact that a nurse isn't respected, lauded and paid more tells you all you need to know about people. Style over substance every time. Football is a bit of fluff divorced from reality. I enjoy the fantasy and so should all those who work in it and remember that when they drive their third choice Aston Martin.

I dont think the top earning footballers are the best because they earn the most money. I think they (generally, but not always) earn the most money because they are the best. Other way around.
Remember JT, Lamps, Eidur and Drogba had it in their contracts that they had to be the highest paid players at the club.
When we signed Ballack on massive wages, they all got pay rises, which is why we had to sell Eidur, he was the player with that clause who they deemed as the most expendable (which, in hindsight, i would probably agree with).

In terms of footballers being divorced from reality, thats been the case for the last 15, if not 20 years mate.
Its only going to get worse too.

 

[CFC: Champs £launderx17]

I dont think the top earning footballers are the best because they earn the most money. I think they (generally, but not always) earn the most money because they are the best. Other way around.
Remember JT, Lamps, Eidur and Drogba had it in their contracts that they had to be the highest paid players at the club.
When we signed Ballack on massive wages, they all got pay rises, which is why we had to sell Eidur, he was the player with that clause who they deemed as the most expendable (which, in hindsight, i would probably agree with).

In terms of footballers being divorced from reality, thats been the case for the last 15, if not 20 years mate.
Its only going to get worse too.

Who is new girl?

 

[Bodinki]

Who is new girl?

Gal Gadot

Wonderwoman

Not only is she Wonder woman, but before becoming an actress, she was a combat instructor for the Israeli Defence League, so she can literally kick my ass. Love it!

You must log in or register to see images

 

[DferPolarBear]

I dont think the top earning footballers are the best because they earn the most money. I think they (generally, but not always) earn the most money because they are the best. Other way around.
Remember JT, Lamps, Eidur and Drogba had it in their contracts that they had to be the highest paid players at the club.
When we signed Ballack on massive wages, they all got pay rises, which is why we had to sell Eidur, he was the player with that clause who they deemed as the most expendable (which, in hindsight, i would probably agree with).

In terms of footballers being divorced from reality, thats been the case for the last 15, if not 20 years mate.
Its only going to get worse too.

Work ethic is my point, with this. Everyone knows the obscenity regarding what people would rather spend their tuppence on. It is the thought that anyone already obviously over paid would feel that they should give less than they could purely because they felt someone else earned more. Different of course if you barely manage to make ends meet. I'm not saying anyone does this. just that I find the idea repulsive and would want anything to do with someone like that.

 

[Bodinki]

To tell you the truth when it comes to money in football, I have no sympathy for people who moan about it.
Its the same reason I am losing sympathy for Arsenal fans.
STOP Spending.
Stop going to games, stop buying merchandise, cancel your sky sports subscriptions.
Fans created this problem by continue to splash the cash on things that provide the PL with money.
You cannot keep bitching about it and then exacerbating the problem.
Its same in the video game industry, people who (rightly) moan about EA destroying the games industry to from its peak in the late 90's/early 2000's.
STOP BUYING THE GAMES.
Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice.......and all that.