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English >> Real life soccer
It's for the KOP (1052)
No. Fabinho is a defensive midfielder.
now liverpool have a great GK, world class i think
Hope they bought him with a head guard.
I won't lie; this Liverpool squad are packed. So packed, I'm expecting this season to be a three-horse race between Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester City (who exactly will win is not certain; conventional wisdom backs Pep Guardiola's side to win it this season, but Chelsea have always won the league title in every new manager's first season, and Liverpool have made signings in all the right places).
Chelsea? Seriously? Less than a week until the window for English clubs closes and we've brought in a 38 year old keeper, Jorginho and nobody else added to a squad that needed some quality additions, especially a top quality striker.
Instead they are talking about paying over the odds for the likes of Zaha (I just think we overstocked on Zs in the club shop with Azpilicueta and Zappacosta) and have missed out on other defenseive targets such as Caldara and Rugani. For the last two or three seasons Chelsea's transfer business has been dreadful. Net spend quite low but the purchases, particualrly in midfield, have been woeful.Drinkwater and Bakayoko, the best part of £75 million wasted.
We've a few decent kids coming through, Sarri may just be the manager to finally use a couple of them, such as Hudson-Odoi and Ampadu, and maybe give Loftus-Cheek some game time.
Chances are we'll need to find a top quality keeper, with Courtois still tipped for a move away.
Then, with the window in the rest of Europe open, Chelsea are still going to have to resist bids for the likes of Willian and Hazard, if repots of Barca and Real wanting them are to be believed, and with Hazard in the final two years of his contract.
Unless Chelsea do some good business in the next 6 days, top 4 will be a stretch and Sarri will be another in a long line of sacked managers.
Like I said. If I only followed trends, Chelsea have always won the title in the first season of the new manager (in recent memory). I was simply being light-hearted, and I apologise for the remark, if you were offended by it.
I think that the Chelsea squad is much better than the Manchester United squad, for a start. For whatever reason, Mourinho or Manchester United can't seem to attract the players that he wants...wonder why. I think that the signings that he has made don't fix the team's core problems. I have not followed Yerry Mina closely in his time in Barcelona, but in the World Cup, his positioning was rather suspect for the few games that he had to show his talent, if I remember correctly.
I also don't think that Fred was a particularly necessary buy considering the circumstances, I did agree with Diogo Dalot. I do think that it is distressing to see the transfer window deadline only a week away and they still haven't made the transfers that they wanted or even needed.
Of course, I operate under the assumption that Manchester United don't trust talent (as is Mourinho's modus operandi). Personally, I think if they did, they would have been worse off short-term, but better off for it as time progresses.
I cannot see why Barcelona would want Eden Hazard. They aren't Bayern Munich, Chelsea is not Borussia Dortmund, and Eden Hazard is not Mario Götze. They already have Ousmane Dembele, in addition to the phenomenal amount of attacking depth in that squad, and Hazard himself would command an astronomical price (no idea how much, but I have seen figures of 150 million pounds and above).
Also, Barcelona have already spent 110 million pounds on players (in areas where they honestly need it more). While they have recouped 30 million pounds back in player departures...I still cannot see it.
Similarly, I do not see why Real Madrid would want Eden Hazard as well. They already have players who do everything that Eden Hazard brings. I am fairly convinced that Lopetegui and Isco have a clandestine romantic relationship with each other (snickers), and Marco Asensio is one of the poster boys for Real Madrid's future. Lucas Vásquez is a traditional winger (in a way that makes any comparison with Hazard like comparing apples and oranges).
If you think that Eden Hazard is getting a spot in the central midfield positions....HA HA HA.
That being said, Gareth Bale is very injury-prone, and Real Madrid have sold more than they have spent, so the money is there, but I would have guessed that the money is being hoarded to buy another Neymar-like talent to spearhead the new generation.
I do think that Maurizio Sarri will utilise the young stars in Chelsea. It's the only real way that he could and not sign anyone substantial apart from Jorginho. I think Ruben Loftus-Cheek is simply a diamond that needs a little polishing. While I have only heard of Callum Hudson-Odoi (outside of Football Manager) recently, people seem to think he is another 'real deal'. Your midfield basically writes itself:
- Jorginho as regista.
- N'Golo Kanté as high-pressing ball-winning midfielder.
- Ross Barkley or Reuben Loftus-Cheek as a support midfielder (or Cesc Fabregas as a secondary playmaker).
Note that I have not included the Tiémoué Bakayoko. I simply don't think that he fits in the first-team of this midfield in any way. And Danny Drinkwater...the less said about him, the better.
I operate under the assumption that Chelsea won't lose Thibault Courtouis. If they do...well, Petr Cech is available, if you want him (grins).
You should watch the match from Wednesday between Arsenal and Chelsea to see Hudson-Odoi. If he is handled right, he is a real prospect.
.... and I rest my case. Totally outplayed by City. Zero threat going forward. Missed Kante and Hazard but shows just how poor the squad is.
@Dragontao Chelsea have no Costa-Like player.
If Courtois leaves,you have Calleberoas your main keeper,as Eduardo is too busy with Vitesse.
Kesvick@
- Man United have averysuspect defense.Other than Valencia andYoung(maybe Bailly if he keeps it up)they don't have defenders who can last a whole season.And then you have Jones.Sheesh.
- Fred is only a short term signing,that could fail miserably.
I don't feel that Loftus-Cheek has proved himself .He has had one decent season with Crystal,but he will not play a lot of matches this season,cause Chelsea have plenty of midfielders.
Robert Green https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eo5GyRnDtMY
@Dragontao: Kepa and Kovacic. Not bad.
Happy enough with that, not happy paying £71 million for a keeper (or any player) football is totally mental these days.
The young Polish keeper we have (Bulka) looks a very good prospect. Only 18. With Kepa being 23 I'm not sure what it will mean for Bulka's future. As long as we don't end up with a Cech/Courtois situation. Should have kept Cech and binned Courtois at the time.
We still have not addressed our biggest problem though. Top quality striker needed and not getting one is the reason Chelsea won't challenge for trophies this season.