The Mailbox fears for Chelsea while they strip out the core of the dressing room. Also: Mbappe to Arsenal; English losers; transfer shocks; and plenty more…
Get your views in to theeditor@football365.com…
Poch’s pups
I worry about Chelsea next season. With the likes of Mount and Azpilicueta leaving, it feels like most of the heart has left the club. Maybe ‘spine’ is a better word. I’m talking about that core of 2 or 3 players who ‘get’ the club (awful term, I know, but I’m cracking on with it). Players that new signings want to impress. Players that dig out those new signings when they’re not performing. But that’s gone from Chelsea. Now they’ve got a squad of shiny young players excited to be at a big club and hoping to play, rather than players with the ego to think that they’ll improve the team and should play every game. Is this a team with the know-how and sh*thousery to see out a 1-0 lead against the likes of Atletico? No chance. Expect Chelsea next season to be more like an over-excited puppy. Fun to watch, and it’ll give you moments of 4-2 and 5-3 joy, but don’t be surprised to find a 3 nil defeat to relegation fodder hiding like a pile of poo behind the curtain. 7th place or worse beckons.
Bobby Hundreds.
Good losers
Perhaps this should have been sent to Cricket365 but the point I intend to make is about English sportsmen in general (before you go “woke” on me, I have insufficient data to include English sportswomen).
The country was up in arms claiming the dismissal of Bairstow was “just not cricket” although it was perfectly legitimate.
English teams have been “bringing a knife to a gunfight” for years of not decades. Other teams and countries have been feigning injuries (e.g. Diego Simeone), making noise outside team hotels (e.g. Turkish football fans), or concocting artificial issues to cause disruption (e.g. Bobby Moores alleged theft) whilst we keep playing some unspoken Maquis of Queensbury rules.
Having grown up in Australia, there are two immutable truths:
1. They, like many other countries, HATE anything to do with England. My Irish buddy has 2 favorite teams; Ireland and anyone who plays against England.
2. Australians are the most competitive group of people I have ever met. They would knock over their gran if it meant winning.
We, on the other hand, almost prefer the “noble loser,” the person or team who fought valiantly but just came up short. We actually dislike anyone who is brash, even of They can back it up. Remember how we treated Daley Thompson?
Personally I think this is a leftover from the class system where we can’t show effort or sweat or that we REALLY want to win. We have to do it will a certain nonchalance and disdain or not win at all.
We have, and will continue to lose important sporting events (on penalties) because that inner fortitude is not bred into us, whereas the rest of the world play to one rule quoted by the former owner of the Oakland Raiders, “just win baby!”
Adidasmufc (England Lionesses, please prove me wrong!)
Transfer shocks
Trawling through the online transfer gossip this morning, I realized I was reading the same words I’d read the day before, albeit slightly different arranged. I became nostalgic for simpler times when transfers were actually news. I’m 112 years old, so I can still remember the nationwide shock when Southampton announced the signing of Kevin Keegan. More recently (but not that recently) I recall my astonishment when Aston Villa signed Peter Schmeichel three years after we all thought he’d settled for semi-retirement in Portugal.
All of which leads me to my Friday mailbox question: what was the last major transfer that was an actual surprise?
Matt Pitt
On board with Mbappe to Arsenal…
I initially thought JazGooner was talking nonsense but actually he makes a really good point.
Mbappe would come with a hefty loan fee though so I would suggest waiving the fee for Balogun in order to secure the signing.
Everyone’s a winner here too. PSG get one of the top scorers in their league, Arsenal get a top talent beyond our finances normally and Mbappe gets to play for London’s top club (we finished above all the other capital’s clubs last season).
Come on Edu – get it done.
Graham Simons, Gooner, Norf London
Or not
I’ve just got one question really. What’s in it for PSG? Am I missing something? They are going to pay full price for Balogun and at the same time let Mbappe run down his contract. Why would you even print an e-mail with such a stupid suggestion? I’m starting to worry that I am actually the stupid one for not understanding why PSG would want to do this and if it is me being stupid, please don’t print this.
Seamus, Sweden
Retro fits
There is a lot to take from the new Wham doc on Netflix but one thing that will probably go unnoticed is just how good the 1985, Guinness Sponsored, QPR Home Kit still looks even after a near 40 year remove.
Regards
Robert, Kilkenny
Comparing apples with apples
Okay, so there is always Messi vs Ronaldo which always seemed strange as they played in different positions and where very different players.
However, how about throwing out other player comparisons that are more like for like?
I always thought Ashley Cole was a fantastic player but never agreed with him being the best left back in the world, this was a very English view point, at his peak I don’t think anyone else around the world was saying this, I remember the Brazilians thinking it was comical to believe Cole was better than Roberto Carlos and the German’s thinking predominately right back Philipp Lahm a better left back.
Conversely, I think Kyle Walker is underrated, everyone knows he’s quality yet I don’t hear the English press and pundits saying he’s one of the best full backs in the world or England’s greatest right back in the same way that people talked of Cole.
Career wise, they are not too dis-similar, Cole breaking through and winning lots at Arsenal under legendary manager Wenger before going to newly minted Chelsea and being a key part in the winning team there under numerous world class managers. He successfully represented England at every tournament available.
Walker rose to prominence at Spurs (although came through at his hometown Sheffield United and had a couple of loans) and ended up playing under Poch before going to Man City and working under legendary Pep. Walker similarly played for England constantly.
Trophy wise, Cole won 3 Premier Leagues to Walkers 5, FA and League Cups Cole won 8 and Walker 6 and they both won the Champions League.
Style wise Cole was probably the better at defending, but Walker is quicker and stronger and his right foot is probably a bit more accomplished than Cole’s left.
Obviously, one is a left back and the other a right back and Walker still has a couple of years left in his career but who do people think is the better player?
Also, any ideas for other similar comparisons between player that are not normally compared?
Cheers,
Paul K, London
Cup of cheer
Ahead of the season and to pre-empt the usual emails saying the league or fa Cup isn’t enough for some teams, I will just say that beggars cannot be choosers.
As long as pep is around (and focusing more on repeating the treble, you’d expect) every trophy is crucial. This isn’t Fergie winning the league and sometimes not worrying about a cup, pep wants to win it all.
The top 6 or 7 all need a trophy to show their relevance/wealth/placate their fans.
I’ve never got the snobbery about some cups being inferior.
Tom
Fergie’s not for switching
Grealish was understandable. He qualified through his grandparents and we had benefitted from the rule so much in the past that it was bound to go against us eventually. He never made a senior appearance and swapping at youth level is both common and fair. Plus he just seems very English.
Declan Rice was a tougher pull to swallow. He made senior appearances. He seemed to really want to play international football for Ireland, rather than just playing for Ireland so he could play international football. Again, raised in England and is English. So the switch is understandable, we just felt a bit used and betrayed.
This is a longwinded way of saying the following keep your filthy paws off Evan Ferguson. He considers himself Irish, he plays for Ireland, he wants to play for Ireland. And he has already been very clear about this.
Kevin (He may as well be called Spud Murphy)
…Evan Ferguson’s mother may be English but he has a senior competitive cap and goal for Ireland.
Come on guys, don’t be Sky.
Alan.
For Fek’s sake
F365 has some of the best and most entertaining football writing around I’ve little doubt– but just how does anyone compile a list of failed transfer medicals only to omit perhaps the most recent and famous and mysterious one of all in Nabil fekir ? Baffling… (Fekir was the obvious one but he claims the medical wasn’t the issue and his agent suppered the move – MC)
Eric, Los Angeles CA (was it Sherlock Holmes that referred to him as my dear Watson ?)
Read more: Five failed medicals: Man Utd, Liverpool, Chelsea deals scuppered, ‘idiot doc’ denies Breen dream
Ranking rankles
I genuinely think you just throw a bunch of names together when you’re ranking the England’s squads. For the senior team you usually have players like Luke Ayling or that profile ahead of AWB consistently despite the fact that it makes no sense. AWB is like 7 yrs younger and has literally been called up before.
Now for the under 21s, the logic that Luke Thomas won’t get called up is because England have a lot of right backs… He is a left back? I also don’t understand how Anthony Gordon is above Smith Rowe. You couldn’t even say Gordon had a better season than him last year. ESR is far more proven, he’s actually excelled in the PL and proven himself. He is a lot more versatile and he’s also actually played and scored for England. Neither of them are guaranteed starters for their club but ESR should obviously be above him. He’s also playing better for the 21s. I’d nearly have him top of the list to be honest.
Dion, Arsenal.
Value in the markt
Out of curiosity today, I decided to take a look at the world’s most valuable players, via Transfermarkt. A couple of observations:
There is no player in the top 25 over 30
There are only 3 players over the age of 25 (Rodri #14 – Aged 27, Kane #17 – 29 & Martinez #22 – 25)
15 players are 23 or younger
The next 25 have 13 players over 24 with only one (KDB #46 -32)
The next two over 30’s to make the list are Neymar(#71-31) & Son (#92 – 30)
Only 5 players in the top 50 are within the commonly agreed upon peak years of 27-30 years old.
The top ten consists of only strikers, wingers and central midfielders
You must travel far down the list to get to your first goalkeeper (Costa #104 – 23 – 45M Euros)
Highest defensive player is Arsenal’s new man Rice ( #14- 24)
Highest actual defender is Ruben Dias ( #28 – 26)
Highest valued full back is Davies ( #42 – 22)
3 PL players make the top ten
9 PL players in the top 25
15 of the next 25 are PL based, with at least 1 more of them to join
Only 13 players represent clubs outside of Real, Barca, Bayern, and the PL teams
Arguably 12 of the top 50 were developed by a PL team.
Most Valuable XI:
Costa
James- Dias – Araujo – Davies
Rice
Pedri- Bellingham
Vinicius- Haaland- Mbappe
In conclusion, It appears that players in their prime are not the most valuable players, with value most attached to skill and potential as opposed to almost guaranteed skill and experience. Only 5 players making the top 50 being in their prime seem very strange. Did we experience a quality gap? Were players developed in the older ways left behind?
The PL is dominating the high ends of the transfer market, but is also helping develop high end players. They, by the summers end, will most likely have over half of the top 50 most valuable players.
Predictably attackers and creators are valued higher than defenders, but it was surprising to see how low goalkeepers are valued. More surprising the relatively untested Costa was the most valuable.
Similar to over 30’s, with only KDB, Son and Neymar making the top 100. With 2/3 certainly on the decline, is there value in over 30’s at high fees? Like Casimiro?
The 3 most likely big transfers this summer, and the rumors of their value closely reflect the rumored amounts necessary to acquire them seem in line( Kane – 90M, Oshimen 120M & Mbappe 180M). That said, Arsenal went about 20M over the supposed value of of Rice.
Darwin Nunez is value 15M &10M less than Rashford and Fernandes respectively, while also equally in supposed value to Saliba, Reece James, Hakimi, TAA and Salah. So take all of this as you will.
Calvino (A road to nowhere, but I have a 4 Hr road to New Jersey needing some distraction)
Read next: The 20 biggest transfers in the world in the 2023 summer transfer window
