WilliamPS

Pretty obvious why Chelsea are a draw to players - they win stuff and tend to play in the CL. I imagine they say to players “ Yes we’ve had a bad season, but we will spend again to get back up- and you’re part of that” Chelsea are going to be a force next season. Their squad and team will become more settled and they are unlikely to have such bad injury problems again. I still think it’s worth hanging in there for Olise, but it’s low odds. After June time to move onto other targets

Murphy just spews total gibberish

Gutter for Austria, didn’t take their chance and then that Mbappe is a great player but the commentators totally over the top on him

Serbias manager correctly saw England’s only outlet was down the right through Saka, they got aggressive and shut that down. Their LB had a great second half. What is then up to englands manager is to adapt England to provide either a different threat on the right or to fix the left side. I think starting Foden at LW was fair enough, it was worth trying, but it didn’t work. That needs to be looked at for the next game. TAA is a good player but he isn’t a midfielder, he isn’t good at receiving the ball facing toward his own goal and turning, or finding space between the lines to receive it, or pressing in midfield, which aren’t requirements for a full back. Gallagher is a better solution when there’s little space in midfield. TAA would be fine in a game against a team sitting deep, or in an open game but not when England are getting pressed high up. Fixing the two issues and England look like contenders. As it’s Southgate I think he probably fixes none or one, my prediction is Gallagher in vs Denmark and that will move England up a gear. If Gordon gets on the pitch the case for him at LW will be blatant

Sure but no international team is perfect, and this squad is strong enough to win the tournament if a canny manager uses them well. What drives everyone crazy is the manager has never used the squads well or adapted mid game. In every single tournament game we’re all screaming at the TV from 60mins. This thread, Inc my posts are maybe a bit of an overreaction but its happened so many times we are all 0-ragy bastards in 10seconds.

I can’t bear Southgate’s game management but that’s been the same for 3 tournaments now. Other coaches know if you make aggressive changes, either tactics or personnel England will not react until at least the 70th minute. Hands opposing managers the initiative early in the second half every game. I will reserve judgement on the Foden wide left debate until it’s clear how close to fitness Shaw is. If Shaw is a contender to start in a week then maybe the formation will come into its own and Southgate has made the call to play Foden now so the team settles. If he’s miles away then Foden on the left isn’t going to work and he should have changed it at half time. Kane always gets pelters when England play badly but today (and on every other occasion) it’s cos he’s given nothing to work with. Give Kane chances and he bangs them in.

Well we all know this is what you get from Southgate, he’s like this every game at every tournament Waits for an eternity and goes for safe like for likes

Kane is performing a role and staying high up- but Foden isn’t having an impact and the Serbian RB is having an easy time, agree with the calls for AG on for Foden Saka and Bellingham demonstrating sticking great players in their best positions That said, overall a decent start from England. First half of first game and winning with some good moves.

Getting Palace to accept a bid is the easy part, the struggle will be convincing the player this is the right next step for him.

Watched the BBC highlights show as was out - why doesn’t the BBC show a formation anymore? They only list the players in shirt number order. Same on their website Really pisses me off as I can figure out Scotland and Germany formations and positions as I know the players, but haven’t a hope for some of the other teams. I can’t help but think it’s as they kept getting it wrong and have given up - but it’s useful!

Clubs often give permission for buyers to speak with players agents and agree terms before agreeing the transfer fee. I think it helps selling clubs - the buyers know they can get the player so the seller can push for a few extra quid as the buyer is so far down the track, especially true when it’s a player that is going to be sold - and in this case Everton need to sell him

Ps I also don’t think these expansions are fair on the players

The 16 team euros was great as most of the matches were contests and the knockout rounds were high quality. It was a short but quality competition Europe doesn’t have 24 watchable sides so now in the pursuit of £££ the quality of the tournament is diluted. Once the change is made it’s done though as they will never agree a measure that reduces revenue

Reality of FFP is Liverpool can spend 40m on an understudy with potential. For NUFC those sums can (for now) only go on players who will be first team within 12 months FFP working as intended to protect the established clubs

When you look down it the squad doesn’t have great depth. As when I think of England I think of the options up top I’d mentally forgotten that CB, GK, LB and CM are at best inexperienced Incredible front 4 with superb backups, good RBs, one top CM. Managed by an overly cautious coach. To win the tournament I think England will need to play to strengths and that’s a way more aggressive style than I’d associate with Southgate…but maybe he can change!

Be absolute lols if the related party stuff gets scrapped, and then the clubs who voted for all the FFP restrictions find they are bound by them but PIF can just inject a load of sponsorship. Honestly be so funny

Is there reason to believe his injury will recur rather than just being bad luck?

There is this discussion about every player. Some people start from what teams deep in the CL have and compare targets to that Others come from the angle of who starts at the moment and what does a major upgrade look like.As the squad gets better these views will merge This guy would clearly be a big improvement on Miggy and Murphy, for me that makes him a great signing. RW is the one unimproved area on the pitch, IMO Miggy is at best lower midtable and Murphy is behind that. In a few years they’ll look at RW again and maybe then you get the next Saka…

Lots of black and white tinted glasses in this thread. Chelsea are ahead tyhe moment. They finished higher in the league and are in Europe. They also got to the league cup final and have a much better trophy record. Whilst chucking around cash looks bad to us, to a player it says we will keep buying players until we have a top team. To beat Chelsea, Tottenham, Arsenal or Liverpool to players requires regular European football and regular challenges for trophies - not CL football once. The good news is there’s lots of players out there who will improve the squad and with good scouting the squad can easily get dramatically better than where it is today

You have to remember the self belief these guys have. He will believe he can get and hold a first team place at Chelsea plus the elephant in the room here is Chelsea are in Europe. It matters to players.

Was not uncommon. Rosies Im pretty sure used to have it, amongst others in town, for some reason I think maybe Tilleys too can’t remember exactly as I only ever noticed it as I ordered my Foster’s…

It’s now brewed inside the stadium, if you go in the home end you can gawp at the brewery. Think it’s only neck oil though. For SJP Bring back McEwans, the red, blue and green cans - I can’t remember which one is lager/bitter/ale but it doesn’t matter when they all tasted like shite anyway

The squad lacks players who have played in big games and performed at the highest level, we see that with the CL and league cup final. Trippier has a value beyond his price.

Reminds me of the batshit “I want the club to be relegated to clear the decks” takes a few years ago. At least now the craziness is about Europe and not the PL shows the progress. the EC would have been class, the EL even better. This season has delivered a worse outcome than last season with a stronger squad. The lessons have to be learnt and hopefully luck will turn too. There will be huge pressure now next season to deliver on the pitch. The good news is as long as the squad is strengthened in the right areas then the squad will be at a stage to properly compete for the domestic cups.

With only a year left on his current deal taking a drop now to secure a 2 or 3 year deal may be in his best interests financially. For me The difference between Fraser and Hayden / Lewis is Fraser is still capable on the pitch and so there should be a fee paid. IMO Fraser is down at Southampton as he fell out with Howe and didn’t fit the culture Howe wanted - that’s life sometimes - whereas Lewis and Hayden are not good enough to play PL and maybe even Championship level football. Important not to be a soft touch when selling decent players.