Ham Posted August 23, 2023 Share Posted August 23, 2023 2 hours ago, Bones said: Our transfer strategy is based on finding players with the right haircut! Is HD Kutz on the recruitment panel? It would make sense 💇 6 hours ago, kev61 said: I like to keep my cards close to my chest.If I let rip I would be be banned. The empty vessels are gaining momentum and I need to tread carefully. Jeez. Just say Maatsen. How difficult is it? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Morgs Posted August 23, 2023 Popular Post Share Posted August 23, 2023 (edited) Interesting points in amongst the sniping. I read with interest the views held by some members here regarding the planning of the club's moves and how, in the first part of the transfer window things all made sense but in the latter part there have been a few moves that make no sense. I am inclined to agree to some extent. I thought while I am waiting for my meeting I might look at the decisions the club has made this summer and see how many make sense and how many are an anathema. I'd have maybe looked at last Jan and last Summer as well but the issue with doing previous windows is that hindsight is always 20/20, and the club may not have had the facts in front of them at the time that we do now. Maybe one to revisit later on if this proves a useful exercise. Lets look at it chronologically instead of dividing up by ins and outs as this makes more sense in terms of logic. We wont include the players like Castillo, Haigh, Adegoke and the rest who were released. 1st July 2023 OUT Xavier Simons, loan to Hull City (loan, no issue, makes sense) OUT Charlie Webster loan to Heerenveen (loan, no issue, makes sense) OUT Sami Tlemkani permanent to AEK Athens, free (sale, wasn't going to make it at Chelsea) OUT Ethan Wady permanent to Millwall, free (sale, wasn't going to make it at Chelsea) OUT Dujon Sterling permanent to Rangers, free (sale, wasn't going to make it at Chelsea) OUT Sam McClelland permanent to St Johnstone, free (sale, wasn't going to make it at Chelsea) OUT Ngolo Kante permanent to Al-Ittihad, free (contract ended, he wanted to go) OUT Brian Fiabema permanent to Real Sociedad, free (sale, wasn't going to make it at Chelsea) OUT Nathan Baxter permanent to Bolton, free (sale, wasn't going to make it at Chelsea) OUT Derrick Abu permanent to Southampton, free (sale, wasn't going to make it at Chelsea) OUT RLC permanent to Milan, 16m (wanted to play and wasn't going to get in the side this season) OUT Eduard Mendy permanent to Al Ahli, 18.5m (not good enough) OUT Kalidou Koulibaly permanent to Al Hilal, 23m (wanted to play and wasn't going to get in the side this season) OUT Mateo Kovacic permanent to Man City, 29.1m (time for a change, was a great fee) OUT Kai Havertz permanent to Arsenal, 75m (time for a change, not good enough and was an amazing fee) IN Diego Moreira, permanent from Benfica, free (exciting youngster, will go out on loan again) IN Alex Matos, permanent from Norwich, free (exciting youngster, will go out on loan again) IN Nicholas Jackson permanent from Villareal, 37m (great signing) IN Christopher Nkunku permanent from Red Bull Leipzig, 60m (great signing) 10th July 2023 OUT Teddy Sharman-Lowe, loan to Bromley (needed a loan, no issue) OUT Baba Rahman, permanent to PAOK, free (needed his situation resolved and a new start and endless loans) 5th July 2023 OUT Mason Mount, permanent to Man United, 64.2m (wanted to go, got a good fee) 6th July 2023 OUT Cesar Azpilicueta, Atletico Madrid, free (deserves his last payday, departs with blessings and good wishes) 11th July 2023 OUT David Datro Fofana, loan to Union Berlin (a bit raw and needed a Bundesliga loan so makes sense) 12th July 2023 OUT Dion Rankine, loan to Exeter City (needed a loan, no issue) 13th July 2023 OUT Christian Pulisic, permanent to AC Milan, 20m (was definitely time to go) 16th July 2023 IN Angelo, permanent from Santos, 15m (very exciting youngster) 19th July 2023 OUT Ethan Ampadu, permanent to Leeds, 8.1m (clearly not fancied so fine to move, got a decent fee for him) 20th July 2023 OUT Omari Hutchinson, loan to Ipswich (needed a loan, no issue) 21st July 2023 OUT Pierre Emerick Aubameyang, permanent to Marseilles, free (thank God for that) 27th July 2023 OUT Christos Kalogerakis, permanent to Anderlecht, free (sale, wasn't going to make it at Chelsea) 1st August 2023 IN Big Les Ugochukwu, permanent from Rennes, 27m (a hedge against not getting Caicedo or Lavia. Will likely go on loan to a Prem side to continue his development) 4th August 2023 IN Axel Disasi, permanent from Monaco, 45m (With Fofana's injury we needed a right footed centre-half and arguably one with pace and power so although we paid a big fee you can see why he was brought in) 5th August 2023 IN Robert Sanchez, permanent from Brighton, 23m (club didn't know Kepa was going on loan at that point but was rated enough to be brought in as our number backup) 7th August 2023 OUT Henry Lawrence, Standard, free (sale, club felt he wasn't going to make it at Chelsea although I'd have kept him for another year with a Championship loan as I think he has a lot of potential) 8th August 2023 OUT Angelo, loan to Strasbourg (loan out makes sense and was always the plan) 10th August 2023 OUT Gabriel Slonina, loan to KAS Eupen (with Sanchez coming in he needed a loan) 14th August 2023 OUT Kepa Arrizabalaga, loan to Real Madrid (if the player wants the move then you have to look at it but letting him go without a replacement is inexplicable and will remain so until we sign someone to take the number one jersey) IN Moises Caicedo, permanent from Brighton, 116m (speaks for itself) 15th August 2023 OUT Cesare Casadei, loan to Leicester (loan made sense before Chukwuemeka's injury) OUT Harvey Vale, loan to Bristol Rovers (kid needed a good loan and Bristol Rovers will be good for him) 18th August 2023 IN Romeo Lavia, permanent from Southampton, 62.1m (don't really understand it at this point) 19th August 2023 OUT Hakim Sadsack Ziyech, loan to Galatasaray (superb bit of business) 22nd August 2023 OUT Lewis Hall, loan to Newcastle (if the kid wants to go and doesn't want to stay and fight for his place then fair enough. good fee too.) So from the above list we have Ugochukwu coming in August 1st, Kepa being allowed to leave on the 14th and Lavia coming in on the 18th as what I would class as "contentious" IE: all the decisions in July and barring Big Les, for the first two weeks of Aug make logical sense and you can see why they were made. Accordingly, 100% of the contentious decisions have come in August and 66% of these - the majority - have come in the latter half of August, rising to 75% if we include Lewis Hall (I don't think it is contentious or illogical, but I can see why others may do). So yes, you can say there is a trend to inexplicable or illogical moves from the club as the summer has gone on. Part of this is due to the nature of the transfer window itself - you get the obvious stuff done first as these are the moves that have been in development prior to the window opening. Part of it has been a degree of "panic moves" creeping in, forced or unforced. Of 44 moves in and out, in the region of 10% make no sense, objectively speaking. The Ugochukwu and Kepa questions will be put to bed once the club resolve them - i.e. a loan in the former and a proper replacement in the latter case. Failure to do either satisfactorily would be inexplicable indeed. Where things get interesting is the rumours and things we HAVE NOT done. I have a list. * (Maatsen seemingly safe now Hall has gone, but) making it known that Gallagher and Chalobah are apparently for sale but not resolving things with either until it is too late to replace them if they choose to go. * Failure to sign Olise and him going on to get a new Palace contract having apparently never wanted to come to Chelsea at all. * Bringing in Ugochukwu but not having a really good loan lined up for if we do sign Lavia and Caicedo, as has transpired. * Failure to sign a proper number nine to contest the striker spot with Jackson. * Failure to find a move/loan for Cucurella. * Failure to sign a world class 'keeper to be our new number 1. * Failure to get Romelu Lukaku out of the club at any cost. In summary: Charitably, we should by rights wait until the window closes before judging. Yes, we will end up over-paying for the late business we end up doing but that cannot be helped. What is clear to me that there are several key issues that are not easily explained and need to be dealt with by the club. I have faith they will be, but whether that happens in this window or in the coming ones is open to question. Clearly, the accusations of "the club doesnt have a plan" or "they havent got a scooby" are wide of the mark - the point of my odd little list above was to demonstrate this is quantative and qualitative terms. They do have a plan and they do work logically. The list proves this. I believe these accusations come from a media determined to destabilise and criticise, although these doubts and inferences cannot fully be ruled out because of the six or seven remnant points above. The club's business has been largely smart. Expensive yes, but they have gone about wholesale renewal of the playing staff in a fast, logical and decisive manner and generally it has been a successful summer. These guys do know what they are doing, with the proviso that we must take it on trust that the six or sevens issues we currently do not understand or have a satisfactory resolution on, will be resolved by the time the window slams shut. If they aren't, then accusations and finger pointing will continue with renewed fervour and with some justifcation. But the aggregate list of moves above does I hope demonstrate that the vast majority of the moves the club has made in and out, have logic and a sound reasoning behind them, and that they do fit within a broad strategy. We cannot see the plan, but we can get a decent impression of its facets and features based on the above. The club has trimmed the squad, moved on a lot of players who didn't want to be here and added a lot of quality in key areas. They have added pace and power and more physicality to stop us getting bullied quite so much. The average age of the squad has been dramatically reduced with young players of (we surmise/expect) a level of quality such that if they don't settle at Chelsea, we can move them on for big fees. To use a term Boehly would be familiar with, the portfolio risks have been addressed directly and the major risk factors have been reduced from catastrophic to just unpredictable/manageable. The frantic buying is almost at an end now - we will be a much more frugal and "normal" club from this window onwards. The major surgery is all but done. Just a few final moves and we are set. I do believe that. On the basis that resolution of the six or seven remaining "questions" above would fall under these strategic measures, we would be churlish to suggest the club would not deal with them and is not doing so as we speak. Mistakes have been made and others that have been made but are not fully appreciated right now will come out this season (yes Mudryk....) but right now things are moving in a positive direction. Edited August 23, 2023 by Morgs 10 4 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Ham Posted August 23, 2023 Popular Post Share Posted August 23, 2023 😂 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JaneB Posted August 23, 2023 Share Posted August 23, 2023 5 hours ago, kev61 said: Yep.He's an absolute cutie.I said the same to other members.. .. ffs. You always have to spoil everything don’t you Kev? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Mark Kelly Posted August 23, 2023 Popular Post Share Posted August 23, 2023 29 minutes ago, Ham said: 😂 Great video , being able to laugh at yourself is a great thing , he's gone up in my estimation . 2 1 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChelseaJambo Posted August 23, 2023 Share Posted August 23, 2023 2 hours ago, Mark Kelly said: Great video , being able to laugh at yourself is a great thing , he's gone up in my estimation . I wasn't a Sterling fan going back a few years (I guess to a Chelsea supporting Scot he didn't exactly meet the criteria!) but anytime I saw him in interviews I thought he came across really, really well to the extent I'd grown to like him long before he signed for us. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue_in_TX Posted August 23, 2023 Share Posted August 23, 2023 12 hours ago, kev61 said: Jesus.How can a manager have a 4231 preference?.Not that I question your statement, but you set up a team dependent on the players you have at your disposal and the opposition. A 4231 set up seems too fanciful.Imo a 442 or a 451 is all you need and within that as a coach you can be more flexible. Don't care about the formation as much as the selection. Need to stop playing with three center backs. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chelsea_Matt Posted August 23, 2023 Share Posted August 23, 2023 4 hours ago, Morgs said: Interesting points in amongst the sniping. I read with interest the views held by some members here regarding the planning of the club's moves and how, in the first part of the transfer window things all made sense but in the latter part there have been a few moves that make no sense. I am inclined to agree to some extent. I thought while I am waiting for my meeting I might look at the decisions the club has made this summer and see how many make sense and how many are an anathema. I'd have maybe looked at last Jan and last Summer as well but the issue with doing previous windows is that hindsight is always 20/20, and the club may not have had the facts in front of them at the time that we do now. Maybe one to revisit later on if this proves a useful exercise. Lets look at it chronologically instead of dividing up by ins and outs as this makes more sense in terms of logic. We wont include the players like Castillo, Haigh, Adegoke and the rest who were released. 1st July 2023 OUT Xavier Simons, loan to Hull City (loan, no issue, makes sense) OUT Charlie Webster loan to Heerenveen (loan, no issue, makes sense) OUT Sami Tlemkani permanent to AEK Athens, free (sale, wasn't going to make it at Chelsea) OUT Ethan Wady permanent to Millwall, free (sale, wasn't going to make it at Chelsea) OUT Dujon Sterling permanent to Rangers, free (sale, wasn't going to make it at Chelsea) OUT Sam McClelland permanent to St Johnstone, free (sale, wasn't going to make it at Chelsea) OUT Ngolo Kante permanent to Al-Ittihad, free (contract ended, he wanted to go) OUT Brian Fiabema permanent to Real Sociedad, free (sale, wasn't going to make it at Chelsea) OUT Nathan Baxter permanent to Bolton, free (sale, wasn't going to make it at Chelsea) OUT Derrick Abu permanent to Southampton, free (sale, wasn't going to make it at Chelsea) OUT RLC permanent to Milan, 16m (wanted to play and wasn't going to get in the side this season) OUT Eduard Mendy permanent to Al Ahli, 18.5m (not good enough) OUT Kalidou Koulibaly permanent to Al Hilal, 23m (wanted to play and wasn't going to get in the side this season) OUT Mateo Kovacic permanent to Man City, 29.1m (time for a change, was a great fee) OUT Kai Havertz permanent to Arsenal, 75m (time for a change, not good enough and was an amazing fee) IN Diego Moreira, permanent from Benfica, free (exciting youngster, will go out on loan again) IN Alex Matos, permanent from Norwich, free (exciting youngster, will go out on loan again) IN Nicholas Jackson permanent from Villareal, 37m (great signing) IN Christopher Nkunku permanent from Red Bull Leipzig, 60m (great signing) 10th July 2023 OUT Teddy Sharman-Lowe, loan to Bromley (needed a loan, no issue) OUT Baba Rahman, permanent to PAOK, free (needed his situation resolved and a new start and endless loans) 5th July 2023 OUT Mason Mount, permanent to Man United, 64.2m (wanted to go, got a good fee) 6th July 2023 OUT Cesar Azpilicueta, Atletico Madrid, free (deserves his last payday, departs with blessings and good wishes) 11th July 2023 OUT David Datro Fofana, loan to Union Berlin (a bit raw and needed a Bundesliga loan so makes sense) 12th July 2023 OUT Dion Rankine, loan to Exeter City (needed a loan, no issue) 13th July 2023 OUT Christian Pulisic, permanent to AC Milan, 20m (was definitely time to go) 16th July 2023 IN Angelo, permanent from Santos, 15m (very exciting youngster) 19th July 2023 OUT Ethan Ampadu, permanent to Leeds, 8.1m (clearly not fancied so fine to move, got a decent fee for him) 20th July 2023 OUT Omari Hutchinson, loan to Ipswich (needed a loan, no issue) 21st July 2023 OUT Pierre Emerick Aubameyang, permanent to Marseilles, free (thank God for that) 27th July 2023 OUT Christos Kalogerakis, permanent to Anderlecht, free (sale, wasn't going to make it at Chelsea) 1st August 2023 IN Big Les Ugochukwu, permanent from Rennes, 27m (a hedge against not getting Caicedo or Lavia. Will likely go on loan to a Prem side to continue his development) 4th August 2023 IN Axel Disasi, permanent from Monaco, 45m (With Fofana's injury we needed a right footed centre-half and arguably one with pace and power so although we paid a big fee you can see why he was brought in) 5th August 2023 IN Robert Sanchez, permanent from Brighton, 23m (club didn't know Kepa was going on loan at that point but was rated enough to be brought in as our number backup) 7th August 2023 OUT Henry Lawrence, Standard, free (sale, club felt he wasn't going to make it at Chelsea although I'd have kept him for another year with a Championship loan as I think he has a lot of potential) 8th August 2023 OUT Angelo, loan to Strasbourg (loan out makes sense and was always the plan) 10th August 2023 OUT Gabriel Slonina, loan to KAS Eupen (with Sanchez coming in he needed a loan) 14th August 2023 OUT Kepa Arrizabalaga, loan to Real Madrid (if the player wants the move then you have to look at it but letting him go without a replacement is inexplicable and will remain so until we sign someone to take the number one jersey) IN Moises Caicedo, permanent from Brighton, 116m (speaks for itself) 15th August 2023 OUT Cesare Casadei, loan to Leicester (loan made sense before Chukwuemeka's injury) OUT Harvey Vale, loan to Bristol Rovers (kid needed a good loan and Bristol Rovers will be good for him) 18th August 2023 IN Romeo Lavia, permanent from Southampton, 62.1m (don't really understand it at this point) 19th August 2023 OUT Hakim Sadsack Ziyech, loan to Galatasaray (superb bit of business) 22nd August 2023 OUT Lewis Hall, loan to Newcastle (if the kid wants to go and doesn't want to stay and fight for his place then fair enough. good fee too.) So from the above list we have Ugochukwu coming in August 1st, Kepa being allowed to leave on the 14th and Lavia coming in on the 18th as what I would class as "contentious" IE: all the decisions in July and barring Big Les, for the first two weeks of Aug make logical sense and you can see why they were made. Accordingly, 100% of the contentious decisions have come in August and 66% of these - the majority - have come in the latter half of August, rising to 75% if we include Lewis Hall (I don't think it is contentious or illogical, but I can see why others may do). So yes, you can say there is a trend to inexplicable or illogical moves from the club as the summer has gone on. Part of this is due to the nature of the transfer window itself - you get the obvious stuff done first as these are the moves that have been in development prior to the window opening. Part of it has been a degree of "panic moves" creeping in, forced or unforced. Of 44 moves in and out, in the region of 10% make no sense, objectively speaking. The Ugochukwu and Kepa questions will be put to bed once the club resolve them - i.e. a loan in the former and a proper replacement in the latter case. Failure to do either satisfactorily would be inexplicable indeed. Where things get interesting is the rumours and things we HAVE NOT done. I have a list. * (Maatsen seemingly safe now Hall has gone, but) making it known that Gallagher and Chalobah are apparently for sale but not resolving things with either until it is too late to replace them if they choose to go. * Failure to sign Olise and him going on to get a new Palace contract having apparently never wanted to come to Chelsea at all. * Bringing in Ugochukwu but not having a really good loan lined up for if we do sign Lavia and Caicedo, as has transpired. * Failure to sign a proper number nine to contest the striker spot with Jackson. * Failure to find a move/loan for Cucurella. * Failure to sign a world class 'keeper to be our new number 1. * Failure to get Romelu Lukaku out of the club at any cost. In summary: Charitably, we should by rights wait until the window closes before judging. Yes, we will end up over-paying for the late business we end up doing but that cannot be helped. What is clear to me that there are several key issues that are not easily explained and need to be dealt with by the club. I have faith they will be, but whether that happens in this window or in the coming ones is open to question. Clearly, the accusations of "the club doesnt have a plan" or "they havent got a scooby" are wide of the mark - the point of my odd little list above was to demonstrate this is quantative and qualitative terms. They do have a plan and they do work logically. The list proves this. I believe these accusations come from a media determined to destabilise and criticise, although these doubts and inferences cannot fully be ruled out because of the six or seven remnant points above. The club's business has been largely smart. Expensive yes, but they have gone about wholesale renewal of the playing staff in a fast, logical and decisive manner and generally it has been a successful summer. These guys do know what they are doing, with the proviso that we must take it on trust that the six or sevens issues we currently do not understand or have a satisfactory resolution on, will be resolved by the time the window slams shut. If they aren't, then accusations and finger pointing will continue with renewed fervour and with some justifcation. But the aggregate list of moves above does I hope demonstrate that the vast majority of the moves the club has made in and out, have logic and a sound reasoning behind them, and that they do fit within a broad strategy. We cannot see the plan, but we can get a decent impression of its facets and features based on the above. The club has trimmed the squad, moved on a lot of players who didn't want to be here and added a lot of quality in key areas. They have added pace and power and more physicality to stop us getting bullied quite so much. The average age of the squad has been dramatically reduced with young players of (we surmise/expect) a level of quality such that if they don't settle at Chelsea, we can move them on for big fees. To use a term Boehly would be familiar with, the portfolio risks have been addressed directly and the major risk factors have been reduced from catastrophic to just unpredictable/manageable. The frantic buying is almost at an end now - we will be a much more frugal and "normal" club from this window onwards. The major surgery is all but done. Just a few final moves and we are set. I do believe that. On the basis that resolution of the six or seven remaining "questions" above would fall under these strategic measures, we would be churlish to suggest the club would not deal with them and is not doing so as we speak. Mistakes have been made and others that have been made but are not fully appreciated right now will come out this season (yes Mudryk....) but right now things are moving in a positive direction. Brilliant. Morgerino strikes again! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Original 21 Posted August 23, 2023 Share Posted August 23, 2023 Strike Kudus off the list then… Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kev61 Posted August 24, 2023 Share Posted August 24, 2023 14 hours ago, Morgs said: Interesting points in amongst the sniping. I read with interest the views held by some members here regarding the planning of the club's moves and how, in the first part of the transfer window things all made sense but in the latter part there have been a few moves that make no sense. I am inclined to agree to some extent. I thought while I am waiting for my meeting I might look at the decisions the club has made this summer and see how many make sense and how many are an anathema. I'd have maybe looked at last Jan and last Summer as well but the issue with doing previous windows is that hindsight is always 20/20, and the club may not have had the facts in front of them at the time that we do now. Maybe one to revisit later on if this proves a useful exercise. Lets look at it chronologically instead of dividing up by ins and outs as this makes more sense in terms of logic. We wont include the players like Castillo, Haigh, Adegoke and the rest who were released. 1st July 2023 OUT Xavier Simons, loan to Hull City (loan, no issue, makes sense) OUT Charlie Webster loan to Heerenveen (loan, no issue, makes sense) OUT Sami Tlemkani permanent to AEK Athens, free (sale, wasn't going to make it at Chelsea) OUT Ethan Wady permanent to Millwall, free (sale, wasn't going to make it at Chelsea) OUT Dujon Sterling permanent to Rangers, free (sale, wasn't going to make it at Chelsea) OUT Sam McClelland permanent to St Johnstone, free (sale, wasn't going to make it at Chelsea) OUT Ngolo Kante permanent to Al-Ittihad, free (contract ended, he wanted to go) OUT Brian Fiabema permanent to Real Sociedad, free (sale, wasn't going to make it at Chelsea) OUT Nathan Baxter permanent to Bolton, free (sale, wasn't going to make it at Chelsea) OUT Derrick Abu permanent to Southampton, free (sale, wasn't going to make it at Chelsea) OUT RLC permanent to Milan, 16m (wanted to play and wasn't going to get in the side this season) OUT Eduard Mendy permanent to Al Ahli, 18.5m (not good enough) OUT Kalidou Koulibaly permanent to Al Hilal, 23m (wanted to play and wasn't going to get in the side this season) OUT Mateo Kovacic permanent to Man City, 29.1m (time for a change, was a great fee) OUT Kai Havertz permanent to Arsenal, 75m (time for a change, not good enough and was an amazing fee) IN Diego Moreira, permanent from Benfica, free (exciting youngster, will go out on loan again) IN Alex Matos, permanent from Norwich, free (exciting youngster, will go out on loan again) IN Nicholas Jackson permanent from Villareal, 37m (great signing) IN Christopher Nkunku permanent from Red Bull Leipzig, 60m (great signing) 10th July 2023 OUT Teddy Sharman-Lowe, loan to Bromley (needed a loan, no issue) OUT Baba Rahman, permanent to PAOK, free (needed his situation resolved and a new start and endless loans) 5th July 2023 OUT Mason Mount, permanent to Man United, 64.2m (wanted to go, got a good fee) 6th July 2023 OUT Cesar Azpilicueta, Atletico Madrid, free (deserves his last payday, departs with blessings and good wishes) 11th July 2023 OUT David Datro Fofana, loan to Union Berlin (a bit raw and needed a Bundesliga loan so makes sense) 12th July 2023 OUT Dion Rankine, loan to Exeter City (needed a loan, no issue) 13th July 2023 OUT Christian Pulisic, permanent to AC Milan, 20m (was definitely time to go) 16th July 2023 IN Angelo, permanent from Santos, 15m (very exciting youngster) 19th July 2023 OUT Ethan Ampadu, permanent to Leeds, 8.1m (clearly not fancied so fine to move, got a decent fee for him) 20th July 2023 OUT Omari Hutchinson, loan to Ipswich (needed a loan, no issue) 21st July 2023 OUT Pierre Emerick Aubameyang, permanent to Marseilles, free (thank God for that) 27th July 2023 OUT Christos Kalogerakis, permanent to Anderlecht, free (sale, wasn't going to make it at Chelsea) 1st August 2023 IN Big Les Ugochukwu, permanent from Rennes, 27m (a hedge against not getting Caicedo or Lavia. Will likely go on loan to a Prem side to continue his development) 4th August 2023 IN Axel Disasi, permanent from Monaco, 45m (With Fofana's injury we needed a right footed centre-half and arguably one with pace and power so although we paid a big fee you can see why he was brought in) 5th August 2023 IN Robert Sanchez, permanent from Brighton, 23m (club didn't know Kepa was going on loan at that point but was rated enough to be brought in as our number backup) 7th August 2023 OUT Henry Lawrence, Standard, free (sale, club felt he wasn't going to make it at Chelsea although I'd have kept him for another year with a Championship loan as I think he has a lot of potential) 8th August 2023 OUT Angelo, loan to Strasbourg (loan out makes sense and was always the plan) 10th August 2023 OUT Gabriel Slonina, loan to KAS Eupen (with Sanchez coming in he needed a loan) 14th August 2023 OUT Kepa Arrizabalaga, loan to Real Madrid (if the player wants the move then you have to look at it but letting him go without a replacement is inexplicable and will remain so until we sign someone to take the number one jersey) IN Moises Caicedo, permanent from Brighton, 116m (speaks for itself) 15th August 2023 OUT Cesare Casadei, loan to Leicester (loan made sense before Chukwuemeka's injury) OUT Harvey Vale, loan to Bristol Rovers (kid needed a good loan and Bristol Rovers will be good for him) 18th August 2023 IN Romeo Lavia, permanent from Southampton, 62.1m (don't really understand it at this point) 19th August 2023 OUT Hakim Sadsack Ziyech, loan to Galatasaray (superb bit of business) 22nd August 2023 OUT Lewis Hall, loan to Newcastle (if the kid wants to go and doesn't want to stay and fight for his place then fair enough. good fee too.) So from the above list we have Ugochukwu coming in August 1st, Kepa being allowed to leave on the 14th and Lavia coming in on the 18th as what I would class as "contentious" IE: all the decisions in July and barring Big Les, for the first two weeks of Aug make logical sense and you can see why they were made. Accordingly, 100% of the contentious decisions have come in August and 66% of these - the majority - have come in the latter half of August, rising to 75% if we include Lewis Hall (I don't think it is contentious or illogical, but I can see why others may do). So yes, you can say there is a trend to inexplicable or illogical moves from the club as the summer has gone on. Part of this is due to the nature of the transfer window itself - you get the obvious stuff done first as these are the moves that have been in development prior to the window opening. Part of it has been a degree of "panic moves" creeping in, forced or unforced. Of 44 moves in and out, in the region of 10% make no sense, objectively speaking. The Ugochukwu and Kepa questions will be put to bed once the club resolve them - i.e. a loan in the former and a proper replacement in the latter case. Failure to do either satisfactorily would be inexplicable indeed. Where things get interesting is the rumours and things we HAVE NOT done. I have a list. * (Maatsen seemingly safe now Hall has gone, but) making it known that Gallagher and Chalobah are apparently for sale but not resolving things with either until it is too late to replace them if they choose to go. * Failure to sign Olise and him going on to get a new Palace contract having apparently never wanted to come to Chelsea at all. * Bringing in Ugochukwu but not having a really good loan lined up for if we do sign Lavia and Caicedo, as has transpired. * Failure to sign a proper number nine to contest the striker spot with Jackson. * Failure to find a move/loan for Cucurella. * Failure to sign a world class 'keeper to be our new number 1. * Failure to get Romelu Lukaku out of the club at any cost. In summary: Charitably, we should by rights wait until the window closes before judging. Yes, we will end up over-paying for the late business we end up doing but that cannot be helped. What is clear to me that there are several key issues that are not easily explained and need to be dealt with by the club. I have faith they will be, but whether that happens in this window or in the coming ones is open to question. Clearly, the accusations of "the club doesnt have a plan" or "they havent got a scooby" are wide of the mark - the point of my odd little list above was to demonstrate this is quantative and qualitative terms. They do have a plan and they do work logically. The list proves this. I believe these accusations come from a media determined to destabilise and criticise, although these doubts and inferences cannot fully be ruled out because of the six or seven remnant points above. The club's business has been largely smart. Expensive yes, but they have gone about wholesale renewal of the playing staff in a fast, logical and decisive manner and generally it has been a successful summer. These guys do know what they are doing, with the proviso that we must take it on trust that the six or sevens issues we currently do not understand or have a satisfactory resolution on, will be resolved by the time the window slams shut. If they aren't, then accusations and finger pointing will continue with renewed fervour and with some justifcation. But the aggregate list of moves above does I hope demonstrate that the vast majority of the moves the club has made in and out, have logic and a sound reasoning behind them, and that they do fit within a broad strategy. We cannot see the plan, but we can get a decent impression of its facets and features based on the above. The club has trimmed the squad, moved on a lot of players who didn't want to be here and added a lot of quality in key areas. They have added pace and power and more physicality to stop us getting bullied quite so much. The average age of the squad has been dramatically reduced with young players of (we surmise/expect) a level of quality such that if they don't settle at Chelsea, we can move them on for big fees. To use a term Boehly would be familiar with, the portfolio risks have been addressed directly and the major risk factors have been reduced from catastrophic to just unpredictable/manageable. The frantic buying is almost at an end now - we will be a much more frugal and "normal" club from this window onwards. The major surgery is all but done. Just a few final moves and we are set. I do believe that. On the basis that resolution of the six or seven remaining "questions" above would fall under these strategic measures, we would be churlish to suggest the club would not deal with them and is not doing so as we speak. Mistakes have been made and others that have been made but are not fully appreciated right now will come out this season (yes Mudryk....) but right now things are moving in a positive direction. I'll be the devil incarnate again.The whole post is entirely subjective.It is far too early to judge the IN players. Yes.we have got rid of the deadwood but we could have replaced them with a whole new collection. Personally I don't think we have,but there many question marks hanging over many players. A nicely written post but a bit premature.Let's see where we are come crimbo. Sorry to make a nuisance of myself again. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kev61 Posted August 24, 2023 Share Posted August 24, 2023 14 hours ago, JaneB said: You always have to spoil everything don’t you Kev? Well I suppose there's no xmas card from you this year Jane.? Oh well I'll just have to put the same one out again that you sent me last year.😉 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chara Posted August 24, 2023 Share Posted August 24, 2023 13 minutes ago, kev61 said: I'll be the devil incarnate again.The whole post is entirely subjective.It is far too early to judge the IN players. Yes.we have got rid of the deadwood but we could have replaced them with a whole new collection. Personally I don't think we have,but there many question marks hanging over many players. A nicely written post but a bit premature.Let's see where we are come crimbo. Sorry to make a nuisance of myself again. Hey kev.... you always post from the heart without malice to my mind..and are big enough to apologise on the occasions you maybe step a little too far....raspy, indelicate at times but always honest to your thoughts...that is not nuisance my friend...the Forum needs every different voice and approach to issues otherwise it becomes a self parodying bland back scratch of egos! Free speech is exactly that........... freedom to speak as you find. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kev61 Posted August 24, 2023 Share Posted August 24, 2023 21 minutes ago, chara said: Hey kev.... you always post from the heart without malice to my mind..and are big enough to apologise on the occasions you maybe step a little too far....raspy, indelicate at times but always honest to your thoughts...that is not nuisance my friend...the Forum needs every different voice and approach to issues otherwise it becomes a self parodying bland back scratch of egos! Free speech is exactly that........... freedom to speak as you find. Thanks Chara - the cheque's in the post😉 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xceleryx Posted August 24, 2023 Share Posted August 24, 2023 5 hours ago, Original 21 said: Strike Kudus off the list then… Going by everything I've read from Ajax supporters this is a good thing. Talented, but about as thick as a brick and shown little progression in recent years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chara Posted August 24, 2023 Share Posted August 24, 2023 51 minutes ago, kev61 said: Thanks Chara - the cheque's in the post😉 Will it bounce as high as the last one?😁 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kev61 Posted August 24, 2023 Share Posted August 24, 2023 6 minutes ago, chara said: Will it bounce as high as the last one?😁 Of course it will.Even more so since my wife and I are retiring to portugal. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kev61 Posted August 24, 2023 Share Posted August 24, 2023 17 hours ago, boratsbrother said: Here's my objections to all of that. We are prepared to give young foreign players the time to develop into the level of player we need, but not our own young players. We are taking three Hall level fees to buy one Mudryk or W Forfana. What we are losing our soul and identity🙁 That's not true.There is a not so hidden agenda going on here. Imo Hall would never have made it with us.I agree we have buying tripe in the past. My biggest concern at the moment is Disasi.Who thought it would be a good idea to sign him? He has no pedigree - so who bought him and why?. Everything needs to be scrutinised by people who know what they are doing. The one good thing about Disasi is he looks like he cares about being crap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kev61 Posted August 24, 2023 Share Posted August 24, 2023 17 hours ago, Ham said: Is HD Kutz on the recruitment panel? It would make sense 💇 Jeez. Just say Maatsen. How difficult is it? Not difficult at all.I'm just wary of the backlash from the "experts". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sleeping Dave Posted August 24, 2023 Share Posted August 24, 2023 Balogun is an interesting one. 21 goals yes, but I believe 7 of them were penalties (many of them poorly taken) and the remaining for 14 were all in the box, many in a one v one type of situation against the goalkeeper. Not going to pretend I’ve seen him play so can’t comment on the rest of his game. But he strikes me as an Inzaghi type player who won’t give us much in the build-up play. Perhaps that’s why Arsenal are doing what they can to get a big fee? They know he’s limited and I like to replicate that form in the PL? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kev61 Posted August 24, 2023 Share Posted August 24, 2023 I don't get why a team would sell a player to a rival and i don't understand why a rival would want to buy a player from a rival? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Kelly Posted August 24, 2023 Share Posted August 24, 2023 I see Manchester United supporter and Midfield lynchpin Mason "Home" Mount is out injured for a few weeks. Hamstring apparently , who'd've thunk it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xceleryx Posted August 24, 2023 Share Posted August 24, 2023 23 minutes ago, Mark Kelly said: I see Manchester United supporter and Midfield lynchpin Mason "Home" Mount is out injured for a few weeks. Hamstring apparently , who'd've thunk it? 6-8 weeks wasn't it? What a shame. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xceleryx Posted August 24, 2023 Share Posted August 24, 2023 1 hour ago, kev61 said: I don't get why a team would sell a player to a rival and i don't understand why a rival would want to buy a player from a rival? There's a multitude of reasons. If x club doesn't feel that y player is good enough, fits their football, has peaked, etc then selling to a rival may not be seen as negative. Not all transfers between rivals carry the same weight, there's layers to it. Point in case being that I'm sure you'd happily sell Lukaku to Spurs, Man Utd, Liverpool, Arsenal or whoever if they came in for him this summer. However, you'd probably not have wanted us to sell Hazard to any of those same sides when he was here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Tucker Posted August 24, 2023 Share Posted August 24, 2023 34 minutes ago, Mark Kelly said: I see Manchester United supporter and Midfield lynchpin Mason "Home" Mount is out injured for a few weeks. Hamstring apparently , who'd've thunk it? Brightened up my day😂 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kev61 Posted August 24, 2023 Share Posted August 24, 2023 2 minutes ago, Michael Tucker said: Brightened up my day😂 And what a plonker he looks with dyed hair. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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