My overriding thought and what struck me is how wonderfully diverse the squad is.
(Even down to the last signing of Cole Palmer...mixed race)
75% of the squad is made up of black players. Coruscating black players in every single position from goalkeeper to striker.
25% of that is French (African descent) players. AND I KNOW some people in certain quarters won't like that one bit.
Ol-ee-say would have been the final completion signing, caping-off the French Revolution but can't win them all.
Although some will claim Olise as Algerian, Nigerian, British...imagine the support or scrutinisation he'd get from these footballing mad countries, at a bigger club to showcase, and expand his ability.
On the subject of ethnicity...only other academy products that I can recall with that many nationalities is Musiala - British, German, Nigerian, Polish roots
&
Livramento - Scottish, Italian, British, Portuguese ethnic background. Academy heritage.
Went off on a tangent there...
Melanin galore, just what the doctor ordered. Can't go wrong with a squad packed with melanin & camaraderie in a competitive environment.
Black excellence at the forefront & centrepiece of the club, wouldn't have it any other way + Poch appears to be empowering them - https://www.chelseafc.com/en/news/article/madueke-on-what-its-like-to-be-managed-by-pochettino
https://www.chelseafc.com/en/news/article/ugochukwu-on-chelsea-move-quest-for-minutes-and-english-atmospheres
A recipe for success
Glad club stuck to their 🔫
Refreshing change that club haven't gone down the age-old route of buying experienced costly high-profile flavour of the month names that are bound to disappoint, become problematic causing insourmountable issues down the line and difficult to shift.
Stuck to the programme of young profiles, that possesses strong fundamentals. Very much looking at the bigger picture.
Can't afford to waste outlay on nothingness players.
All our signings from January onwards look like smart thought-out calculated gambles...which will enable Pochettino carry out his forte, developing and extracting optimal performance from lowest average age squads (Precisely how he started out at Saints & Spurs). That's what his remit will be for this young looking side and this is his niche. Working with useful dedicated tools. Aligned.
So much potential upside in Colwill, Jackson, Caicedo, Chuk, Nkunku, Badiashile, Madueke, Petrovic etc
Jackson in particular, parallels with Tammy starting off his career in wide position, only to be an unreserved & unequivocal success at Chelsea, hitting the ground-running.
Poch: 'It’s difficult to find a player like Jackson in the market. For me he has the potential to be one of the great PL strikers. He only needs time and we won’t rush with him, we will give him time and space to grow. His qualities are fantastic.'
He's not wrong! Agility of a bison, strong as an ox.
A natural feel for the game...shifts and change the dynamics of a match in an instance. Don't mistake his slender frame...demostrated that he possesses the upper strength to compete with the hustle and bustle of old fashioned CBs...at any given moment, optimises and maximises that part of his game to the max.
Defenders either bounce off him or Nico proceeds to strong arm them, a menace.
Man mountain of a specimen, physically & mentally.
Slaloms his way into the dangerous areas to affect play, taking the game by the scruff of the neck, ingenuity. Persistent nuisance for any defence.
The double & variation movements are supreme, a nightmare. There's copious amount of depth to his potent approach play, movement and direct play. Type of player that the opposition will try to break, but ultimately fail to break or beat his spirited ways. All the ingredients are their... Struck Gold.
Has any African born frontman ever failed us?
Genuine question (Ignoring Aubameyang, doesn't count).
Drogba? No.
Stein? No.
Eto'o? No.
Weir? No.
Off the top of my head.
Cannot emphasise enough how vital it is for Nico to resume momentum this weekend.
Nico's industry will be rewarded greatly in due course, in terms of direct goals contributions.
Untrained eye will describe him as "raw", which is the generic misguided view and always the default position from simple minds.
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/F552RjLX0AATueN?format=jpg&name=large
This is what is needed, not some half-hearted average joe experienced egotistical mannequin on astronomical wages, destroying the squad dynamics in the process. Had enough of dud signings under the previous regime, to our detriment.
Been deprived of Nico - Cristo linkup which probably won't be seen until next year February. African Cup Of Nations.
This is where Broja will have to step-up to the plate. If that falls flat, Cristo will play matches leading the line...Vlahovic in no way, shape or form represents "the right solution".
End of window round-up
posted on 13/9/23
P.S. Speaking of black excellence 👉Cal embodies that phrase in a footballing sense and this - https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FXgL4A2XkAAXRCG.jpg, he'll be back at the top where he belongs expeditiously.
Selling him was the modern equivalent of losing Kev, I'd argue a bigger oversight and worse as Cal immediately operated at the levels and speed of thought required in his mid-teens on promotion to senior squad without the need for a pointless loan, mammoth talent then and at-present (title challenging player, inherently superior option for the left, right, middle -https://video.twimg.com/ext_tw_video/1670005645959917569/pu/vid/720x780/w7i9HrU9SsCF9Oql.mp4?tag=12 )...that's the magnitude of talent gone. 3-year contract suggests he has no intentions of staying long-term at his current club unsurprisingly, but Forest have secured the deal of the decade and their best ever signing at a derisory fee in the meantime (even if it is laced with favorable Chelsea clauses...which other clubs weren't prepared to commit to) on a player worth at least 25x that monetary value - https://video.twimg.com/amplify_video/1697659098550988800/vid/720x900/HxLkWvygy2mKKb_X.mp4?tag=14
Don't blame Cal for biding his time, made clubs grovel to sign him. Needed to make sure this move works out for him, particularly striving for spot in England Euro 2024 squad. This is a player that has shown he can make an immediate transformative impact coming back from debilitating injuries and viruses, without pre-season (see return from ACL with empathetic three goals contribution in-a-row and post-covid recovery match against Villa).
I'd imagine the contract length (3-years), alleged hefty 50%-60% sell-on is the main sticking point and deal-breaker for most clubs (Not the transfer fee).
Foregoing 50%-60% in any sale of an early 20s world class commodity is outrageous!
Especially as in all likelihood he moves within a year or two, after bursting onto the scene again. Forest a merely a stepping stone.
In a way smart from whoever brokered the deal, you either bring him back or there's a sizeable profit on the horizon. Makes me feel mentioning the latter, but thats the reality.
(The saving grace in that deal).
The Cooper factor is patently of great importance to him and I know Cal will be afforded with the platform, responsibility which he thrives upon and prominent role in the half-spaces and between the lines to display his prodigious ability. Fresh start with the coach that he had success with in the past, for his sake 🤞this move is fulfilling for him and more in every single area, deserves it...after enduring and being subjected to serious hardship in a young career riddled with misprofiling, sproadic minutes, politics, unfairness, injuries, misfortune. On the whole...disproportionate starts and gametime received in his senior career to date is an abomination. Damn right biggest Chelsea academy product of gross mismanagement. Highest order! (Anyone that was led to believe that Cal would sign for Lazio are thicker than I thought)
The only slight silver lining is that he's been compensated well, with the wages which reflected his complete capacity.
Will be testament to his tremendous mental fortitude, when he comes through such challenges again. Flying colours. A real tropper!
Greatest Young Talent and one of the greatest club has ever produced -
https://youtu.be/c9z8hM46Rg0?si=TLTQPbx79zIBxY7I
https://youtu.be/oGUv4-7HuQg?si=QJpXJtki-jXha6pO
Football would be in a better place, with Callum hitting the heights his high ceiling demands. Every players path is different, minor setbacks for major comeback and all that jazz.
The talent will never dissipate, greatness will prevail.
https://video.twimg.com/ext_tw_video/1697662757561122816/pu/vid/720x900/Q1WlWCRKLq0FFpMX.mp4?tag=12
Farewell
(I'll be manifesting the return).
posted on 13/9/23
You’ve been quiet on CHO leaving. Your predictions of his Chelsea career didn’t go too well.
posted on 13/9/23
posted on 13/9/23
I was waiting for the OP's reaction to CHO leaving and it didn't disappoint
posted on 14/9/23
Has any African born frontman ever failed us?
Genuine question (Ignoring Aubameyang, doesn't count).
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Brilliant