Forlan was a badass scorer like falcao too na, , 2 European golden shoes But why I would rank Forlan ahead of him is for what he did with Uruguay on the international scene both in the world cup and in their Copa America win and his 2 European golden shoe wins
Well... You're right too sha. Esp that 2 European golden shoe and world cup MVP. Those 2 awards are one hell of an achievement I won't deny...
I don't know why Chelsea are not checking this guy out. 2seasons from now, this guy would be worth 100milli.
the same team also wants to sign Soumare, the past two season they almost made top four, they seem determined to top the table and remain top of table, finishing top four. With these additions it could be possible
Unlimited22: DISCLAIMER - This might be a lengthy read. Every view expressed here is strictly my opinion and is subject to fair and objective criticism.
Quite apart from the fact that this current team seem to lack the mental fortitude that characterised their mid to late 2000s forbears (a problem that I hope winning club football's biggest prize will help mitigate), there are a few glaring on-field issues still plaguing the team, problems that I thought about for a bit and decided to postulate possible solutions to.
1. The lack of a true goalscorer.
While Kai Havertz, Timo Werner, Tammy Abraham and Olivier Giroud have their uses, they all have what seems to be the same glaring weakness. They just, at least at the moment, cannot be relied upon to bang in the goals regularly over the course of a season, something we have sorely missed since the heyday of one Diego Costa. And it is worthwhile to state that all the league titles we've won have had at least one player hitting 10 goals. Our highest goalscorer last season was Jorginho. And even though we've spent a lot on attacking talent lately, this is the issue with the most straightforward solution. Just buy one of Harry Kane or Working Haaland or Romelu Lukaku. Whatever it takes. Whatever tactics and tweaks it will take. The aforementioned guarantee goals. We lack goals. Goals win games. Winning games translates to winning league titles. Simple.
2. The lack of a true DM
One area where Chelsea have a glut of talent is in the centre of the park, but one type of midfielder is conspicuous by their absence from the ranks - a true destroyer. Jorginho, Mateo Kovacic and Billy Gilmour are all far more comfortable with the ball than without it, Ethan Ampadu has little experience in that role and seems more comfortable in defence despite his height and his quality in positioning, passing and tackling, Conor Gallagher is better served facing the opposition goal, while N'golo Kante will just not stick to one position as it quite limits his considerable capabilities. Other midfield players are more attacking minded than these 5 and any attempt to play them more defensively will be doubly damaging to the team in terms of limiting their talents going forward and exposing the defense. West Ham United are playing hardball over Declan Rice.
I have a twofold solution in mind. One, simply buy a cheaper DM from Ligue 1. Aurelien Tchouameni and Boubacar Kamara both come to mind, but while supremely talented, both are still relatively inexperienced and might take some time getting to grips with the English game. Plus, the rather painful memories of Tiemoue Bakayoko are still fresh.
The other option is a bit unorthodox but far cheaper, especially considering the money involved in signing a new CF. And that is to convert one of Andreas Christensen or Reece James to a DM, the way PSG did with Marquinhos. I personally favour James, seeing as in his final loan season at Wigan he played quite a few games there, and he is stronger and quicker and more robust in the tackle than the Dane. His passing range is also good, his positioning has improved drastically, and he won't have to be making recovery runs, which is the one aspect of his game that still needs serious polish. With the impending signing of Achraf Hakimi and the emergence of Valentino Livramento, I would say we are covered on the right side of defence for the foreseeable. Worth trying IMO.
3. We might soon have a CB problem on our hands.
Thiago Silva is 36, a geriatric in professional football terms. Cesar Azpilicueta is a fantastic defender but will struggle with the aerial aspects of playing CB in a 4 man backline. Reports have emerged that Antonio Rudiger is refusing to even discuss a contract renewal. Fikayo Tomori is now an AC Milan player. Marc Guehi, Malang Sarr and Xavier Mbuyamba are still relatively untested at the highest level of English football. That leaves just Christensen, who I'm advocating for playing further forward, and Kurt Zouma. Capable hands, yes. Not good enough. And no, Sergio Ramos is not the answer either.
The solution? Two very capable young defenders, one of whom is starting for club (Dynamo Kiev) and country (Ukraine, at this Euros) at the age of just 18. Ilya Zabarnyi is very young but has shown signs of being a very good CB in a time where there's a lack of top class defenders, and will be available for less than 20m Euros. Which means even if the experiment doesn't work out we can always recoup money from loan fees and maybe a permanent deal later on, but I'm positive he's the real deal. The other is already a league champion with Lille at just 21, a left footed beast who's quick, good at positioning, reading the game and tackling, and is very comfortable with the ball. Because he isn't at the Euros he'll be relatively unnoticed and we won't have to pay a premium to get him if we act fast. Sven Botman is a brilliant CB, and Virgil van Dijk and Mathijs De Ligt Better watch their backs In the Dutch setup.
NB - There are rumours that Aymeric Laporte wants to leave City, but I don't think they have any substance and he might be out of our reach anyway.
PS - Don't forget all views are mine and can be objectively examined and critiqued. Please kindly ignore all typos and grammatical errors.
I saw it somewhere that the club is monitoring llya.
Senior man even in hindsight, fans can only talk but the final decision rests with the board. KDB was sold by Mourinho. COURTOIS forced a move. LUKAKU'S loan was made permanent by Everton and when everyone thought he was coming back the board went on to sign Morata. But it's the fans that sold Belgium's golden generation. Peace.
Mourinho did not sell KDB. He requested to leave and his request was granted by the board. It is simple as that. Mourinho does not have history of forcing players to stay or keep them on the bench to truncated their progress. If you want to leave, you leave.
Lukaku in the way he was then was not what Chelsea needed. If not that Costa started misbehaving and left and the Morata that came was a goat, we wouldn't be talking about Lukaku.
The reasons you are mentioning those teams is because they play in Champions league.
Is white or did Minge perform so much better than Tomori? the coach called the ones he felt had performed in a tougher competition.
Foden performed in Champions league, more people have seen Foden player, I am not taking about 6inch or 55inch seeing, seen him play internationally than Grealish.
Foden has more recognition than Grealish, you can now begin to argue who is more talented or who you like. The fact remains one has enter the class of world stars and the other is still in league star.
That's why players want to play with clubs in Champions league, the more exposure you have in your sports the more deals.
Is like someone arguing that Pulisic is not world class, it is dumb, or Rashford because he flopped in europa league final is not world class
We are talking about whether you like a player or not, let be objective.
See you, dashing world class like it's akara, pULisiC and RasHfoRD is WoRld Class.
I didn't think it necessary to acknowledge an assist which was aided by Jason Denayer's delicious pass to him.
I also didn't think you'd be a great mood after your guy left Kjear exposed against Lukaku on numerous occasions which led to the loss.
You mean Kjaer that was 2 on 1 against Lukaku and still got ragdolled. 2 on 1 is not being exposed. Does he need 3 men against Lukaku and leave the rest of the pitch exposed?
From what I saw, Denmark had the better of things but two moments of magic saw Belgium through
Unlimited22: DISCLAIMER - This might be a lengthy read. Every view expressed here is strictly my opinion and is subject to fair and objective criticism.
Quite apart from the fact that this current team seem to lack the mental fortitude that characterised their mid to late 2000s forbears (a problem that I hope winning club football's biggest prize will help mitigate), there are a few glaring on-field issues still plaguing the team, problems that I thought about for a bit and decided to postulate possible solutions to.
1. The lack of a true goalscorer.
While Kai Havertz, Timo Werner, Tammy Abraham and Olivier Giroud have their uses, they all have what seems to be the same glaring weakness. They just, at least at the moment, cannot be relied upon to bang in the goals regularly over the course of a season, something we have sorely missed since the heyday of one Diego Costa. And it is worthwhile to state that all the league titles we've won have had at least one player hitting 10 goals. Our highest goalscorer last season was Jorginho. And even though we've spent a lot on attacking talent lately, this is the issue with the most straightforward solution. Just buy one of Harry Kane or Working Haaland or Romelu Lukaku. Whatever it takes. Whatever tactics and tweaks it will take. The aforementioned guarantee goals. We lack goals. Goals win games. Winning games translates to winning league titles. Simple.
2. The lack of a true DM
One area where Chelsea have a glut of talent is in the centre of the park, but one type of midfielder is conspicuous by their absence from the ranks - a true destroyer. Jorginho, Mateo Kovacic and Billy Gilmour are all far more comfortable with the ball than without it, Ethan Ampadu has little experience in that role and seems more comfortable in defence despite his height and his quality in positioning, passing and tackling, Conor Gallagher is better served facing the opposition goal, while N'golo Kante will just not stick to one position as it quite limits his considerable capabilities. Other midfield players are more attacking minded than these 5 and any attempt to play them more defensively will be doubly damaging to the team in terms of limiting their talents going forward and exposing the defense. West Ham United are playing hardball over Declan Rice.
I have a twofold solution in mind. One, simply buy a cheaper DM from Ligue 1. Aurelien Tchouameni and Boubacar Kamara both come to mind, but while supremely talented, both are still relatively inexperienced and might take some time getting to grips with the English game. Plus, the rather painful memories of Tiemoue Bakayoko are still fresh.
The other option is a bit unorthodox but far cheaper, especially considering the money involved in signing a new CF. And that is to convert one of Andreas Christensen or Reece James to a DM, the way PSG did with Marquinhos. I personally favour James, seeing as in his final loan season at Wigan he played quite a few games there, and he is stronger and quicker and more robust in the tackle than the Dane. His passing range is also good, his positioning has improved drastically, and he won't have to be making recovery runs, which is the one aspect of his game that still needs serious polish. With the impending signing of Achraf Hakimi and the emergence of Valentino Livramento, I would say we are covered on the right side of defence for the foreseeable. Worth trying IMO.
3. We might soon have a CB problem on our hands.
Thiago Silva is 36, a geriatric in professional football terms. Cesar Azpilicueta is a fantastic defender but will struggle with the aerial aspects of playing CB in a 4 man backline. Reports have emerged that Antonio Rudiger is refusing to even discuss a contract renewal. Fikayo Tomori is now an AC Milan player. Marc Guehi, Malang Sarr and Xavier Mbuyamba are still relatively untested at the highest level of English football. That leaves just Christensen, who I'm advocating for playing further forward, and Kurt Zouma. Capable hands, yes. Not good enough. And no, Sergio Ramos is not the answer either.
The solution? Two very capable young defenders, one of whom is starting for club (Dynamo Kiev) and country (Ukraine, at this Euros) at the age of just 18. Ilya Zabarnyi is very young but has shown signs of being a very good CB in a time where there's a lack of top class defenders, and will be available for less than 20m Euros. Which means even if the experiment doesn't work out we can always recoup money from loan fees and maybe a permanent deal later on, but I'm positive he's the real deal. The other is already a league champion with Lille at just 21, a left footed beast who's quick, good at positioning, reading the game and tackling, and is very comfortable with the ball. Because he isn't at the Euros he'll be relatively unnoticed and we won't have to pay a premium to get him if we act fast. Sven Botman is a brilliant CB, and Virgil van Dijk and Mathijs De Ligt Better watch their backs In the Dutch setup.
NB - There are rumours that Aymeric Laporte wants to leave City, but I don't think they have any substance and he might be out of our reach anyway.
PS - Don't forget all views are mine and can be objectively examined and critiqued. Please kindly ignore all typos and grammatical errors.
Interesting take , i think there is shortage of pure 9s in modern era, we used to have scouts looking for southern American nd other leagues(Belgium) prodigies, i dont know why that stopped..I feel TT is going to try james in the dm position that's if hakimi becomes a blue. I think we should sign Tchouameni n let him develop for for one more season seeing kante is in his 30s i dont know how much years he can give..i still have a strong case for kova( very poor output) keeps forming activity..Gallagher is another case if we can give mount a shot in the first team why not him..i think we have enough numbers in defense, TT just needs to find the right combination.
Greatihex: Mourinho did not sell KDB. He requested to leave and his request was granted by the board. It is simple as that. Mourinho does not have history of forcing players to stay or keep them on the bench to truncated their progress. If you want to leave, you leave.
Lukaku in the way he was then was not what Chelsea needed. If not that Costa started misbehaving and left and the Morata that came was a goat, we wouldn't be talking about Lukaku.
Ok, but I don't think the average fan had a say in these decisions.
Roy Keane believes those who criticise Chelsea and England midfielder Mason Mount are nothing more than "idiots".
Prior to England's World Cup qualifier against Poland on Wednesday evening, the Corkman was asked about suggestions that Jack Grealish and Phil Foden should start ahead of Mount.
"Well that is pretty important, that your manager likes you," Keane told ITV.
"Doesn’t matter what people outside the game think, there are a lot of idiots out there.
"Ultimately, I think the players pick the team and he has performed well enough for every manager to say ‘listen you are going to be in my starting line up’.
"He wants to be an all round midfielder. I never hear anything negative about him off the pitch, he seems a brilliant young kid, he has gone out on loan he has done it the hard way."
Keane had also been full of praise for the 22-year-old following England's win against Albania at the weekend, a game in which Mount scored his fourth international goal.
"I think he's outstanding," said Keane.
"He affects the game, he's always involved. His goal today was outstanding.
"The beauty is he makes the game look easy. He's always in control of the ball. Outstanding talent."
That man will never know me, but I am so proud of his success. Man was built for this.
The same fools that were calling him jambody blah blah are the ones now abusing their coach for selling him to buy ighalo. They said he could never join a big club, he joined Manyoo. They said he would not start at Manyoo, he started and was even their highest goal scorer. They said Martial was better than him...he collected Martial's number 9 shirt from him.
Roy Keane believes those who criticise Chelsea and England midfielder Mason Mount are nothing more than "idiots".
Prior to England's World Cup qualifier against Poland on Wednesday evening, the Corkman was asked about suggestions that Jack Grealish and Phil Foden should start ahead of Mount.
"Well that is pretty important, that your manager likes you," Keane told ITV.
"Doesn’t matter what people outside the game think, there are a lot of idiots out there.
"Ultimately, I think the players pick the team and he has performed well enough for every manager to say ‘listen you are going to be in my starting line up’.
"He wants to be an all round midfielder. I never hear anything negative about him off the pitch, he seems a brilliant young kid, he has gone out on loan he has done it the hard way."
Keane had also been full of praise for the 22-year-old following England's win against Albania at the weekend, a game in which Mount scored his fourth international goal.
"I think he's outstanding," said Keane.
"He affects the game, he's always involved. His goal today was outstanding.
"The beauty is he makes the game look easy. He's always in control of the ball. Outstanding talent."
What say you?
I didn't watch him play but after watching so many videos about keane
I noticed that he is an attitude player, he puts hardwork above talent, those players that like to be known as hard, he had many fights with so many players, didn't even know that Gary Neville was a troll, I expected him to like mount based on the kind of perspective that he has when it comes to players
it's his overall perspective on teams and their abilities that I like, he also changes his mind about players, so I wouldn't be suprised if he later notices the flaws that we talk about and drag him
He is my favorite football personality, pains me that he is a united legend but I will always listen to anything keane says, even if some are skewed based on how he likes to look at players, there were good players that he under looked because of his attitude bias that went on to be very good players for other teams, very very good players and those teams are even grateful to keane for being blind
Nothing he said about mount is new or unexpected, understanding the man's view of footballers those opinions were expected
You mean Kjaer that was 2 on 1 against Lukaku and still got ragdolled. 2 on 1 is not being exposed. Does he need 3 men against Lukaku and leave the rest of the pitch exposed?
From what I saw, Denmark had the better of things but two moments of magic saw Belgium through
Kjaer stood no chance against a heavier Lukaku; therefore it's no brainer that Horjberg should always be close by during their dwells in order to easily steal the ball from Lukaku. Isn't that what providing defensive cover is about?
Horjberg failed in his primary duty and that's the reason they lost.