Good for Chelsea standards (ie challenging to win the league). Without Hazard they are pretty average for what they want to be, and with him they are still miles behind City/Liverpool.
Based on what? He didn't score that many goals or have many assists and spent a large number of games injured. He wasn't a Matt Le Tissier who truly did keep us up He was better at the start of the season before his injuries and that's the key. He's very injury prone.
Hmm.... I beg to differ but I’m not gonna get my knickers in a twist. Yes, he has scored us some goals at some opportune moments; and I’m only playing devils advocate, but we could’ve had Carillo playing up front for us who scored some goals. He’s £20 odd million quid and gets panned all the time. It’s nice to support a local lad, it’s nice because we have got him from one of the big four but we are in a position where we cannot afford to carry players, especially with a £20 million price tag. We have made some howling appointments in the player recruitment department in recent years, but I am really shocked that people aren’t holding him to account in the same way as other players. Skill wise, no issues, but that much on a player with very bad injuries recently is poor management at the highest echelons of the club. The Mickey mousers have got £40 million for Ings and Solanke and quite rightly are wetting themselves with laughter.
Ings has been one of our best players all season, made a big difference in most games he’s played. Okay, he’s ended the the season badly, but technically he is one of our best players. There were many games where he has contributed directly to goals, in a team where goal scoring is our biggest issue.
I don’t even think the Devil would suggest Carillo is close to being on a par, let alone better than Ings.
We need to sign a new striker but if Ings stays fit (big if), he could be a really important player for us. Particularly if Ralph plays two and we have Ings and a new striker both starting.
I know signing any player is a risk as there isn't any guarantee how they will fit in the system and gel with their team mates, but my real concern is that this transfer window will be more evolution than revolution as I'm not sure we will off load all of the players we want to, and be able to replace them with the quality we want.
I rather like our Danny, he's more skillful than he's given credit for? He did have a poor finish to the season, he's also a player that has not dramatically improved under Ralph. The one thing for me that holds him back, apart from his dreadful injury record is that he's very one footed which affects the way he sets himself up in front of goal.
https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/sport...loyd-kelly-southampton-premier-league-2844477 Bristol City determine to keep hold of England u21 left back Lloyd Kelly
I don't know the precise loan term situation with Boufal, Carillo, Others, etc, but I would have thought that Ralph Hasenhüttl would want them all back to assess them, unless they want out of the PL. None of them are outright bad players and they are essentially paid for signings or academy graduates. Any performances they had put in with Pelegrino, Hughes must be looked at relative to the fact that the retained squad were pretty bloody hopeless also.
Some of them are outright bad players, at least for what we're doing. Carrillo is never going to have a role here; doesn't fit our style, and isn't good enough to change our style to accommodate. Hoedt is bad, and worse, he believes he's really very good. Remember, he was here for a month for Hasenhuttl to assess, and the latter chose instead to ship him off the Spain. Further, Cedric and Clasie are entering the final year of their deals, and neither appear to have a future here. So, really, that leaves Boufal. I'm fine with evaluating him, but there's no sense in waiting until the end of preseason before deciding whether we need upgrades on the loanees. We do, full stop, and we shouldn't leave our business until the last minute in the vain hope that they'll come good.
