Infinitely Content

Player only wanted Hearts.

At this rate, it would be Matt Targett in midfield like that mad game at Old Trafford.

And Hato will play about 16 games, be largely nondescript, another name without distinction, and be sold to Leverkusen for £38m in a year or two. The Chelsea way.

Nkunku has missed 54 games in 2 seasons due to injury since joining Chelsea. Talented player but reservations about that one, would have to be a low fee and relatively low wages.

Despite the fact it didn't always come off, it was encouraging to see how he seamlessly looked like a Newcastle player, both in the positions he was taking up and the attempted exchanges with Tonali in that inside right channel. It doesn't appear like he will require much moulding or much change in our overall patterns of play, he fits in very well.

That's why I specified best 11, I wasn't making the point that we've a stronger squad, only that we've a stronger 11 despite all the money they've spent.

And yet at least 7-8 of our players would walk into their best 11 imo.

It's probably just due to a personal aversion to anything overtly corporate and to the kind of language and mannerisms people who are product of that environment use, but I found our previous two directors of football hard to listen to or feel in any way moved by. I don't know if it's a reflection of the nature of the role and the types of people who end up on that path, or just two misses from us but I'd love the next one to be someone who just speaks in normal language and lets their work be proof of their proficiency, rather than overusing corporate jargon and playing that role which often makes me feel a bit suspicious of someone's authenticity and trustworthiness.

I don't think he's all that good to be honest. At his present level, I feel he'd have done very very well to reach the heights of Fabian Schar in his career, whom he is a level or two below at the moment in my observation. I think as a result, we should be looking for someone superior to, or at the level of Schar, just younger. I personally would still be more than happy to see Schar starting for us next season. I think the idea that he fell off last season, something I've heard said a few times although not too much on here, was massively overblown tbh. I thought he had a good season.

The Aitana Bonmati show tomorrow. Pure elegance.

Couldn't have said it better myself.

Probably not tbf, not since Villa had Watkins and Duran, which proved unsustainable for them.

Yeah, it's probably a far more accurate and favourable framing to put it like that, Real Madrid and Man United to be added in there for Huijsen and Cunha respectively. I'm just thinking of the Tonali, Bruno, Isak deals where we managed to just go out and bring in some of Europe's top talent without much fuss. I even think those players mentioned are of a higher calibre then most we've gone for this summer. Don't know, just expected more, rightly or wrongly.

I get it aye, it's frustrating though. I certainly expected and hoped for more, I was under the assumption we would be a far more attractive proposition to players than we seemingly are, and I was hoping for more incomings of the calibre of our better players in Tonali, Bruno etc. Perhaps they will turn out to be, but I'm just not particularly feeling it at the moment.

You could almost forget we won a major trophy and qualified for the Champion's League last season with a first team largely consisting of international players for the likes of England & Brazil. We're operating like some bottom half fodder. I'm miffed tbh, I really thought we would go big this summer. With that said, Wissa joining Elanga would represent a significantly strengthened frontline. I just can't pretend to not be both somewhat underwhelmed and also just confused as to what's gone on and how things are seemingly so difficult for us though. If we get this done, I want to see us go big and bring in some genuine quality to be really excited about at CM and CB, whilst conclusively resolving the Isak situation.

Relegated by the 11th-15th April aye?

Catt... ah nevermind.

Basically every Premier League team has only 2 goalkeepers who will likely see game time across a season. It is quite normal, spending a large part of our budget on a third option, and more importantly wasting time on it is negligent at this point for me. Pope is quality, one of the best shot stoppers in the league and a quality sweeper keeper. Dubravka is fine as back up as proven last season. We really don't NEED another, it would be a nice to have, not a must have. Sure we wanted Trafford as an opportunistic addition, but he appears to have slipped through our grasp. I don't see why we should be targeting secondary options when we've got so much work to do in far, far more consequential positions. We're sitting here with Willock and Miley as back up to one of the hardest working midfield 3's around. It's literally insane, one is not good enough, the other is still too young to know and thus to rely on too heavily.

Sack the keeper shite off, we've more than competent enough options there for now, yet we have gaping holes across the squad, where it's not subtle upgrades we're looking for but critical places to be filled and enormous quality upgrades required, namely in central midfield and CF. The pace our lot work at we literally cannot afford to piss around with what, a 6th first team goalkeeper? It's insane man.

With Xhaka in there, should it happen and providing he's still up to it athletically (although that's never been a standout attribute of his), I think they're recruiting and proving more attractive than I thought they might. Proof is on the pitch of course.

Aye, I should specify Premier League/top European leagues.

Beyond the 90 minutes on the pitch, everything about football is absolutely shite.

Welcome bhaisaab, you xG nonce you.

I quite like Vini Souza at Sheffield United, could probably get him for a decent fee and would be ideal to cover both Joelinton's presence and to a lesser extend Tonali at the base. Edit: He's gone to Wolfsburg this window, player only wanted Wolfsburg. A miserly £13m.

Nah not for me, I can see the minimalist design direction they've gone for, without what they deem to be unnecessary ornamentation. It's a valid design choice they've made as outlined a few posts above and it's clearly been made by a designer who knows what they're doing. Which is not to say you have to like it mind, your opinion of it not being to your taste is valid. I would just push back on it being amateurish and on the fly though.