January transfer window

Please tell us more, we deserve to hear the full story...

 

Well over a third of the Jan transfer window spend was spent by Chelsea lol.

No doubt this will be the usual array of flops and misfits the manager doesn't want like Lukaku, Shevchenko, Bakayoko, Morata, Drinkwater, Torres, Veron, Batsuayi, Kezman, Kepa, Pizarro....the list never ends.

 

One report said Chelsea spent more than all the German, Italian and Spanish clubs put together.

That will go down well with those involved in the proposed breakaway super league.

 

@Sweet Baby Jesus goes for a tab and says, "Mind my phone, @Libby is about to arrive. Just let him know where we are"...

So, text message comes through - "In a grey hoodie"

So I looks up to the bar, and there's a lad in a grey hoodie, looking up, putting his phone away and coming towards us. So I give him a nod, and a thumbs up and he paddles over and I go "so are you @Libby then?" ... fella looked a bit bemused " off the forum?"

He goes "Nah, but I can be!" and we all pretty vociferously pissed ourselves laughing.

Was probably funnier if you were there.

 

I bet you felt Lib-berated after that.

 

Was quite entertaining. Every time Not-Libby walked past after that he gave me the eye and we had a jolly good chortle about it.

 

Feck, although I can believe that as most do business in the summer, and cos Chelsea's spending is so ludicrous.

It seems like Potter's got the same crappy deal as the managers under Abramovich had - ie ridiculously expensive marquee signings lumped on him whether he likes them or not and whether they fit in with the team or not.

Should easily be the most expensive team to finish in the bottom half.

 

That was quite Terri-ble

 

Enzo Fernandez cost Benfica £10m about 5 months ago. Their president must be absolutely wetting himself. I read a few bits about him during and after the World Cup, nobody seemed to really rate him, not at those levels. Decent player, sure, but £107m?! I mean, Caicedo is proving himself in the league and isn't worth anywhere near that. What kind of valuation does that put on the likes of Joelinton, Bruno, etc.?

I just don't think Potter's been involved in any of it. They still have no striker. Squad:

GK - Kepa, Bettinelli, Mendy
Def - Cesar, Badisahiele, Chalobah, Chilwell, Cucurella, Fofana, James, Koulibaly, Silva.
Mid - Chukwuemeka, Fernandez, Gallagher, Kante, Kovacic, RLC, Mount, Mudryk, Zakaria
Fwd - Auba, Broja, Fofana, Havertz, Felix, Madueke, Pulisic, Sterling, Ziyech.

That's 30 players who want first team football. A few will be available on top of the 25 I think - Fofana (fwd version), Chucky and Madueke. By my count, they still have to squeeze 28 into 25, and tell a number of senior players they won't even be in a matchday squad. I guess Ziyech, Auba and Kante aren't playing again this season? But the likes of RLC, Pulisic, Gallagher, James, etc. are making huge mistakes.

I think they're a ****ing mess, personally. Typical yank ownership, all balls and no brain. Maybe I'm wrong and they'll all immediately gel, but I think a more likely scenario is this doesn't really work, they then knee-jerk and sack Potter, ending up in all kinds of trouble.

 

I know they have a few long term injuries on that list ( who therefore might not be registered in the 25-man squad), but as you say it will still leave a fair few who won't get a look in (bar any extreme squad rotation system).

 

I was gonna make a hilarious joke that it's actually 29 cos you've got two Forfanas, then I actually found out that they REALLY DO have 2 Forfanas.

 

From Physio Room, Broja's out for the season (but is young so doesn't count regardless). Kante and Pulisic are both expected back March, but I guess Potter's going to have to tell them they're not playing PL football again this season!! Plus another two I think? I mean, how unsettled is that going to make things!

As I say, it might just somehow work, but if you were betting you'd hedge on an implosion.

 

If you leave out the other Forfana, as well as those, you're nearly down to 25 already....leaving them with a Forest style mish mash of brand new players, egos, and a manager who hasn't got a ****ing clue of what his right team is. Fun times ahead!

 

We needed a centre mid

 

Disagree. We needed a winger to move Joelinton back to midfield which gives us four quality options.

 

Like Gordon?

 

Kind of agree but I said the other day we are a suspension (Bruno) and an injury away from not having the numbers in CM unless Anderson is going to be starting games? If Localhero-Longstaff thinks he's superman now and fly's into a tackle an picks up even just a knock for a week or two we are in a pickle.

 

Joelinton, Willock and Longgy never get injured and he Longgy ain't Tiote. We'll be fine.

 

Yes, that was my point!