Media Stories, Rumours and Gossip

[thevelourfog]

19 hours ago, paulw66 said:

I am not sure paying someone 275k to do nothing is an option. 

 

I'm willing to be a test subject!

[Sciatika]

Form a queue

[boratsbrother]

It shouldn't be too difficult to strike up a deal which deal which suits club and player.

The owners make it clear to Lukaku that he is surplus to requirements and will not play for the club again and make a deal to pay off a percentage of his contract (say half of it) if he will move to another club. I can't see any of the big clubs English going for him now, so we'd be lucking at a bargain basement price. Even so, that would go towards the pay off and we'd finally be done with him. Seeing that Lukaku doesn't need the money, I very highly doubt he'd do a Bogard and waste the last decent years he'll have in a top league.

 

[xceleryx]

9 hours ago, boratsbrother said:

It shouldn't be too difficult to strike up a deal which deal which suits club and player.

The owners make it clear to Lukaku that he is surplus to requirements and will not play for the club again and make a deal to pay off a percentage of his contract (say half of it) if he will move to another club. I can't see any of the big clubs English going for him now, so we'd be lucking at a bargain basement price. Even so, that would go towards the pay off and we'd finally be done with him. Seeing that Lukaku doesn't need the money, I very highly doubt he'd do a Bogard and waste the last decent years he'll have in a top league.

Isn't that easy from a financial perspective as he'll still have a book cost for the remaining years of his deal, even if a mutual payout was had. This is why we've continuously loaned players out in the past who've been in similar situations - Veron, Crespo, Torres, etc.

We either need to sell him for a price that'll cover the remaining cost he has on the books, either loan him out to achieve the same feat, or bring him back and try to make something of it. Virtually anything outside of that is going to see huge losses, which will be more difficult to work around when we're not going to be in the Champions League and have had the influx of signings we've had. This will be why we're likely to see a few homegrown players sold in the summer because they'll count as pure profit, much more favourable when it comes to covering costs for FFP.

[martin1905]

Looks like Tuchel is going to Bayern.

I can see us being very interested in Nagelsmann

[martin1905]

Wonderful line on sky sports.

Not sure how many Bundesliga titles he should be winning in one season.

[east lower]

23 minutes ago, martin1905 said:

Looks like Tuchel is going to Bayern.

I can see us being very interested in Nagelsmann

Well, it could get quite interesting IF we beat Madrid and Bayern beat Man City (assuming the story is true and TT ends up there).

Grudge match sideshow of TT Versus TB would be worth watching, never mind the football match

[martin1905]

I'd be sacking Potter tomorrow and getting Nagelsmann in now. Perfect timing with the international break. 

They have shown they can be ruthless, time to show it again.

Edited March 23, 2023 by martin1905

[east lower]

11 minutes ago, martin1905 said:

I'd be sacking Potter tomorrow and getting Nagelsmann in now. Perfect timing with the international break. 

They have shown they can be ruthless, time to show it again.

He's have gone weeks ago if I'd had that call. As he's survived the absolute sh*tshow he's presided over, then he's probably with us for the season.

Bad call, but one that I think we may have to get our heads around. 

Nice to give a proper welcome back to TT though, if the chance presents itself.

[martin1905]

7 minutes ago, east lower said:

He's have gone weeks ago if I'd had that call. As he's survived the absolute sh*tshow he's presided over, then he's probably with us for the season.

Bad call, but one that I think we may have to get our heads around. 

Agreed, he should be long gone and although I had come to terms with him being here until the end of this season, as baffling as that is, I think this changes things.

I have absolutely no doubt the club would be looking at others, it's obvious they would be and maybe they are waiting for the right man. Well that right man has just become instantly available but won't be around for long. Next big job that comes up is his. 

He ticks pretty much every box for us and I'm sure Vivell will already be telling Bohley to get him and get him now.

We must not let him end up at Tottenham.

7 minutes ago, east lower said:

Nice to give a proper welcome back to TT though, if the chance presents itself.

Yeah, we are very good at welcoming our own back, no doubt he'd get a very warm reception.

[xceleryx]

Good to see TT back at a club, and very glad it's not at another Premier League one. Hard to not see him doing well at Bayern given their status in the league and quality on hand.

[xceleryx]

And in other news;

Quote

Chelsea are set to pull off another big money swoop - this time for their next groundsman.

They sacked head groundsman Jason Griffin after 30 years at the club as well as his son Reisse. But they are ready to appoint former Real Madrid and Arsenal groundsman Paul Burgess who is widely regarded as the leader in his field.

Burgess left Real Madrid in 2020 to pursue other interests but won rave reviews for the way he kept the pitch at the Bernabeu having built up his reputation while working at Arsenal. In keeping with recent standards under Todd Boehly, Chelsea were determined to get the best man for the job at Stamford Bridge.

Continued below;

https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/chelsea-signing-todd-boehly-stadium-29534545

 

 

Edited March 24, 2023 by xceleryx

[Bob Singleton]

Matt Law in the Daily Telegraph (behind a paywall for many)

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2023/03/24/chelsea-face-battle-keep-highly-rated-coach-thomas-tuchel-agrees/

❝Chelsea are braced for a battle to keep hold of highly-rated coach Anthony Barry after Thomas Tuchel agreed a return to management with Bayern Munich.

Tuchel had been out of work since being sacked by Chelsea in September, but could face his old club if they and Bayern both qualify for the semi-finals of the Champions League. It is anticipated that Zsolt Low and Arno Michels, who left Chelsea at the same time as Tuchel, will join Tuchel’s backroom staff at Bayern.

But Chelsea could also have to field interest from Tuchel in Barry, who worked with the German but stayed behind at Stamford Bridge after his departure to help Graham Potter. Tuchel is understood to rate Barry extremely highly and would like to work with the 36-year-old, who has taken up a part-time coaching role with the Portugal national side alongside his Chelsea duties, again.

It is not known whether or not Barry would be interested in joining Tuchel at Bayern or even if Chelsea would allow their former head coach to speak to him.

Barry was hired at Chelsea by former head coach Frank Lampard, having previously worked at Wigan Athletic and played as a midfielder for a host of clubs including Yeovil Town and Fleetwood Town.

He stayed at Chelsea to work with Tuchel and the pair won the Champions League, before becoming a member of Potter’s first-team staff. He worked for the Republic of Ireland, before joining Roberto Martinez at Belgium for the World Cup and now moving with the Spaniard to Portugal.

In an interview with Telegraph Sport last year, Barry, who became the first student at St George’s Park to have course research published as an academic journal, explained his attention to detail.

“At Wigan, we were desperate to come up with ways to get more possession,” said Barry. “We wanted the ball. Normally it is about more passing drills in training, maybe playing an extra midfielder.

“On the Saturday we had lost 3-2 away at Luton – a real bad one for us – so the next day I sat at my desk. Liverpool had just appointed Thomas Gronnemark as a throw-in coach. There was no preconceived bias. I just wanted to know what the data said and if and how it really made a difference.

“First up I started watching videos of Championship games and realised that West Brom and Brentford were enjoying between 20 and 30 seconds of possession after every throw-in. At Wigan we were averaging between two and eight seconds, losing the ball too soon. Add it up and the difference is huge, especially when you think there could be as many 45 throw-ins a game. The impact on possession stats is huge, with as much as 21 percent of possession a direct result of throw-ins. This has nothing to do with the level of players in your team, but is all about the set-up and how you go about retaining possession from a throw-in or getting it off the opposition quickly.

“For my study we analysed a full Premier League season of throw-ins – 17,000 of them – with data scientists. You could see the impact of the work Liverpool did with Gronnemark and now it is a trend which has caught on across football.”❞

[Mark Kelly]

I wonder why we faff about like clowns when we're taking throw in's then?

[McCreadie]

55 minutes ago, Mark Kelly said:

I wonder why we faff about like clowns when we're taking throw in's then?

There is that. You would think after 4 years they might get it..

Very difficult to know either way without being a fly on the wall, but I have wondered if all of the coaching positions below Potter are filled with the right people? Managers nearly always tend to bring their "team" with them. Understandable to begin with, but I'm not sure that is always in the clubs or the head coaches best interests.

[My Blood Is Blue]

15 hours ago, McCreadie said:

There is that. You would think after 4 years they might get it..

Very difficult to know either way without being a fly on the wall, but I have wondered if all of the coaching positions below Potter are filled with the right people? Managers nearly always tend to bring their "team" with them. Understandable to begin with, but I'm not sure that is always in the clubs or the head coaches best interests.

A prime example of this was Lampard having his mate Jody Morris as assistant coach, terrible decision.

[Bob Singleton]

❝Bayern Munich have made an official approach to Chelsea for Anthony Barry after Thomas Tuchel annoyed his former club by speaking about his desire to bring the coach on to his backroom staff.

Tuchel, who replaced Julian Nagelsmann as Bayern’s manager on Friday, was fired by Chelsea in September and the Stamford Bridge club are disappointed with their former manager for going public with his interest in Barry before formal lines of communication were opened.❞

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2023/mar/26/bayern-munich-approach-chelsea-over-hiring-blues-coach-anthony-barry

[Mark Kelly]

8 hours ago, Bob Singleton said:

❝Bayern Munich have made an official approach to Chelsea for Anthony Barry after Thomas Tuchel annoyed his former club by speaking about his desire to bring the coach on to his backroom staff.

Tuchel, who replaced Julian Nagelsmann as Bayern’s manager on Friday, was fired by Chelsea in September and the Stamford Bridge club are disappointed with their former manager for going public with his interest in Barry before formal lines of communication were opened.❞

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2023/mar/26/bayern-munich-approach-chelsea-over-hiring-blues-coach-anthony-barry

So we are losing a set piece specialist when our set pieces are the worst in the league and probably the known universe. 

I expect we'll cope.

[asvaberg]

Conte is available.....................

[My Blood Is Blue]

1 hour ago, asvaberg said:

Conte is available.....................

Imagine a Conte team with James and Chilwell as wing backs!

[asvaberg]

12 minutes ago, My Blood Is Blue said:

Imagine a Conte team with James and Chilwell as wing backs!

This! 

Edited March 27, 2023 by asvaberg

[thevelourfog]

2 hours ago, Mark Kelly said:

So we are losing a set piece specialist when our set pieces are the worst in the league and probably the known universe. 

I expect we'll cope.

Who does Dave Grohl's set pieces, and what availability do they have?

[Ham]

8 hours ago, thevelourfog said:

Who does Dave Grohl's set pieces, and what availability do they have?

I bet I'm being very dense but I don't get it (and I'm a huge Foo Fighters fan) 🤔

[thevelourfog]

33 minutes ago, Ham said:

I bet I'm being very dense but I don't get it (and I'm a huge Foo Fighters fan) 🤔

Just being silly about the medical staff being let go and someone who worked with Dave Grohl being hired as a medical consultant. 

[FrankLampard8]

On 25/03/2023 at 08:31, My Blood Is Blue said:

A prime example of this was Lampard having his mate Jody Morris as assistant coach, terrible decision.

I've always had the impression that Jody was a really good coach and had my suspicions that behind the scenes he was a lot to do with the coaching/tactics and Lampard was the figure head and dealt with the players.