Gringo
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Sounds like Pedro Neto was a late move out from nowhere (Jorge Mendes shock horror) and now Sterling has all of a sudden become surplus.
There is just no planning at Chelsea.
It's clear at United we want Ugarte, but unless someone leaves it isn't possible. Chelsea just pull the trigger and then worry about shifting people afterwards.
If Maresca is going to play Enzo at 10 then there's 2 positions for Mudryk, Palmer, Sterling, Neto, Nkunku. With Palmer being the star its basically 4 internationals left fighting over 1 position. Nkunku got the nod against City, Neto has just been signed so obviously will feature, Mudryk was a huge outlay so you'd imagine he's 3rd in line so Sterling was 4th choice at best, how was he thinking he'd play.
I thought Felix likely unexpectedly coming lead to us telling Raheem he has to go. Can only be that I think. Both are on very high wages... Question is if we can find anyone to take him on 250-300k a week or whatever.
It must have been something that happened very recently, he was playing in all our pre season games and clearly meant to be part of our plans...
I think it’s simpler than that. There have been rumours of interest in Sterling from Serie A, and Chelsea would probably love to welcome such an offer and so my guess they’ve now decided Sterling might need to be nudged out of the door.
Shouldn't this have been done early May? Can you find a potential buyer for him in the next 10 days? What if you don't? Does he just sulk for a season?
The issue with a dozen Zirkzees is that every young player wants to feel special and appreciated and their talents nurtured, whereas Chelsea treats you like a factory and nothing special. They have this factory though with the fundamental flaw that it isn't a remotely nurturing environment.Its basically a dozen Zirkzees, players that look nice but you know they're probably more functional squad members, then players with huge star potential. They're essentially projects and you can afford 2-3 in the squad.
They would have been better off just spending that money on 5 stars.
Saying that, it's not all bad as they do have talent there. By some miracle, if Boehly steps back and lets the footballing people work their magic, they could build around a nucleus of: Colwill, Gusto, Caicedo, Lavia, Nkunku and Palmer.
In fairness I think Enzo at 10 was just a vs City thing to get both Lavia and Caicedo on the pitch as double 6s. In most matches one of them drops out, Enzo moves back, and Palmer/Nkunku sits in the 10.There is just no planning at Chelsea.
It's clear at United we want Ugarte, but unless someone leaves it isn't possible. Chelsea just pull the trigger and then worry about shifting people afterwards.
If Maresca is going to play Enzo at 10 then there's 2 positions for Mudryk, Palmer, Sterling, Neto, Nkunku. With Palmer being the star its basically 4 internationals left fighting over 1 position. Nkunku got the nod against City, Neto has just been signed so obviously will feature, Mudryk was a huge outlay so you'd imagine he's 3rd in line so Sterling was 4th choice at best, how was he thinking he'd play.
The issue with a dozen Zirkzees is that every young player wants to feel special and appreciated and their talents nurtured, whereas Chelsea treats you like a factory and nothing special. They have this factory though with the fundamental flaw that it isn't a remotely nurturing environment.
Zirkzee is arriving here with a fellow Dutchman as manager, and is being trained by Van Nistelrooy one of the best Dutch strikers ever and probably a hero of his. He has the space to learn and get game time and the fans get to build up a rapport with him because they know that he's probably here to stay for several years.
At Chelsea, he'd be brought in by a manager who will probably be sacked in three months and all his staff, in competition with various players from around the world with no rhyme or reason of completely different styles, with the constant threat of being sold or in the reserves if he has a few bad games, the fans don't care because how could they care when they keep watching so many players come and go before they can build them up.
It's probably not a case of him being deemed surplus that early. The fact he was brought along for the pre-season tour is a sign that getting rid of him wasn't always in the cards, but now with the Neto signing and the club finding themselves in a position of being almost forced to sign Felix in order to push through the Gallagher sale, the circumstances with Sterling have only recently changed. This one has Jorge Mendes' grubby little hands all over it, with him being the agent of both Neto and Felix.
All in all it's no doubt very chaotic and I'm not at all convinced Sterling is actually moveable given his huge salary. I think at this point the best we can hope to get for Sterling is a loan deal.
The nuclear option would be to simply cut his contract by mutual termination and allowing him a free transfer, if he were to accept that without demanding the club pay him off. That way his large salary could then be more affordable for his next club because they wouldn't have to pay a fee to sign him. But this idea is dependent on Sterling negotiating an acceptable contract with another club first, which is not a certainty even with free agency. This would of course result in Chelsea having to account for his full remaining amortisation value as a big loss on the books for this season (£28.5M) but then again getting his massive salary out would balance it out to roughly a net zero compared to keeping him for the season (£26M a year for amortisation + salary). Basically Sterling's cost on the books would stay roughly the same for the current season, give or take a few million, but then save around £26M/y in costs for the remaining two years. If he has absolutely no future at the club, even this option is better than keeping him around stinking up the place and being unhappy.
Yeah it's weird that they haven't even tried to copy the team that is winning the league every year and their model, which is Man City. United at their best were much the same too.You ideally have a squad full of players that all believe that they're at the right club and are happy with their choice in terms of how it fits into their career.
I think how most clubs have traditionally managed that is by having a mix of age profiles. You have a few squad players in their late 20s or 30s that don't mind not playing much and are happy to be wise older heads (while making good money at a big club). You have a few very young players in their late teens just breaking into the team who don't expect that many minutes but are happy to be involved on a limited basis as long as you give them the pathway to a bigger role and show them what they need to do to get there. And you have a core of prime age players in their 20s who all really want to play and are giving each other competition. Its a good formula for a game in which you get a 25 man squad but realistically only are going to be giving significant time to maybe 17-18 players, with probably only 14-15 players being truly key men who have a shot at being selected for big matches if everybody is fit.
Chelsea's "problem" is that even if you take out the players they definitely want to sell, they've still got like 25 players from the age of 20-26 who all are at a point in their careers in which they absolutely need to be playing regularly to keep developing. That's great from a financial investment perspective to have players in that age bracket but from a player satisfaction and team harmony perspective its not so good.
Someone wrote a song about him and it went semi-viral, so Cucurella joined in. Probably not the smartest idea given the schedule but then again don't think anyone was under any illusions that Cucurella was likely to be splitting atoms anytime soon.Seen Cucarella getting stick from the city fans yesterday and then found out it was for singing a song about Haaland when he won the Euros. Why did he sing about Haaland?
Seen Cucarella getting stick from the city fans yesterday and then found out it was for singing a song about Haaland when he won the Euros. Why did he sing about Haaland?
Seen Cucarella getting stick from the city fans yesterday and then found out it was for singing a song about Haaland when he won the Euros. Why did he sing about Haaland?
Jorge Mendes probably owes us a massive favour down the line now
A lot of their recent business seem a bit mad but I guess you can kind of at least see some sort of idea with them but signing Felix is just mental
They're rumoured to be in for a multi year transfer ban, so they need to stock pile and then sell whatever they don't need over time.A lot of their recent business seem a bit mad but I guess you can kind of at least see some sort of idea with them but signing Felix is just mental
The issue with a dozen Zirkzees is that every young player wants to feel special and appreciated and their talents nurtured, whereas Chelsea treats you like a factory and nothing special. They have this factory though with the fundamental flaw that it isn't a remotely nurturing environment.
Zirkzee is arriving here with a fellow Dutchman as manager, and is being trained by Van Nistelrooy one of the best Dutch strikers ever and probably a hero of his. He has the space to learn and get game time and the fans get to build up a rapport with him because they know that he's probably here to stay for several years.
At Chelsea, he'd be brought in by a manager who will probably be sacked in three months and all his staff, in competition with various players from around the world with no rhyme or reason of completely different styles, with the constant threat of being sold or in the reserves if he has a few bad games, the fans don't care because how could they care when they keep watching so many players come and go before they can build them up.
I understand his frustration but there are much better ways of dealing with it than what he did. A statement like this an hour before the game is just so small time. He could have just leaked stuff after the game or something rather than releasing an official statement like this showing his discontent.
Just a transfer ban?They're rumoured to be in for a multi year transfer ban, so they need to stock pile and then sell whatever they don't need over time.
This is for rule breaks from the previous regime apparently.Just a transfer ban?
If they fail to meet the new rules from next season, I’d expect more than a tfr ban.
Another one? Should take some points this timeThis is for rule breaks from the previous regime apparently.
Is there anything more soulless than Chelsea? I'd be despairing if I was there fan. How are fans supposed to feel any sort of connection/affection with the club/squad?
Another one? Should take some points this time
Wouldn't that be at least as "shocking and pathetic from a professional"?
I think that just shows that he is disappointed about not playing and you can always claim that it’s just media cooking up things. To release an actual statement an hour before kickoff seems pathetic
The 18 players named in the squad on Sunday had only player from the squad that started the opening game in 2022-23Is there anything more soulless than Chelsea? I'd be despairing if I was there fan. How are fans supposed to feel any sort of connection/affection with the club/squad?