Rate Your Club's Transfer Window

RealGunner wrote:Milan have a very very interesting team. SES being one of my favourite players in the world and with the new additions(including Torres n Van Ginkel), I am going to try and watch more than last year. last year i did watch few games because of Kaka but Milan were unwatchable(no offence) lol.

The highlights for the first match were promising though!

No offence taken. Milan were unwatchable. We played a really ugly style last year. We played with no speed, no creativity, no urgency, no intensity, made constant defensive mistakes and struggled to create chances going forward. That is the very definition of unwatchable when it comes to football.

As for this season, the Lazio game was very encouraging - and not just because of the result. For the first hour, in particular, we played an exciting, technical, quick style in a 4-3-3. Then we reverted to 5-3-2 and played entirely on the counter. It was an interesting experiment, and we'll see what Inzaghi makes of it in the next few games.

Forza wrote:Milan had a huge mercato, signing 12 and getting rid of 18 players...

IN:

Spoiler:

OUT:

Spoiler:

ISSUES

1. Deadwood removal

I set out a list of unwanted players earlier in the transfer season, and most of them are now gone. All of the following are no longer Milan players: Amelia, Coppola, Silvestre, Constant, Emanuelson, Nocerino, Traore, Birsa, Kaka, Robinho, Matri. I would've also liked to have seen Bonera, Zaccardo, Mexes and Essien leave. I'm particularly annoyed that the last 2 are still at the club, although I think their playing time will be significantly minimised due to new signings (Alex, Bonaventura).

2. Balotelli Out; Torres In

I think this needed to happen for Inzaghi to implement the fast counter-attacking style we saw against Lazio. To play like we did in that game you can't have any passengers. Milan lose Balo's antics, but we also lose the publicity he brings to the club. However, publicity is a minor concern. My main problem with the sale of Balotelli has always been that the money probably won't be reinvested properly (or at all). Only time will tell if Torres is an adequate replacement. I can't think of a better tutor for Torres than Inzaghi.

3. Cristante Sale

A poor piece of business for only 6m. He was a promising youth product and now he'll probably be sold back to us or someone else for 5 times the fee Benfica paid for him. I think Inzaghi would have at least been consulted on this move. He knows Cristante better than the fans. The case may be that in Inzaghi's eyes Cristante wasn't going to make it at Milan... or maybe we just needed quick cash? Either way, it's disappointing to see him leave whilst Essien remains.

4. Poor purchases

Of our newly signed players, I think that Agazzi is the only player who adds nothing to the team. Fortunately, due to the signing of Diego Lopez, Agazzi has been relegated from 2nd choice to 3rd choice GK (Abbiati is now 2nd choice).

5. Excellent purchases

* Alex, Lopez, Menez and Armero already look like being significant upgrades on their predecessors.
* Poli is not fully owned by Milan. During this season he will hopefully develop from a good player into a great player. Conte sees promise in him and has called him up for Italia to face the Dutch.
* Rami's signing gives us much needed depth and flexibility at CB.
* I am particularly pleased at signing Bonaventura after I mentioned that he was available a couple of weeks ago. His presence will keep Essien out of the team until Montolivo recovers at least. I am also pleased that we finally beat Inter to signing him.
* Albertazzi had a good season with Hellas and is another Milan wing-back youth product. He will make sure Zaccardo never sees the field in an injury crisis.

6. Van Ginkel Loan

I would've liked to have seen an option to buy added to this deal. Now we have less incentive to use him, and in the case that he does play and turn out to be good, Chelsea still own him. Although, I have serious doubts as to Chelsea's willingness to keep him when their transfer strategy is often to offload youth products in favour of brining in established stars (e.g. see Lukaku).

SUMMARY
Overall rating: 7/10
Pros: Most of the deadwood is gone; many good, cheap signings
Cons: Cristante gone; Torres potentially unreliable

Great analysis Forza, i completely agree. Though the Cristante sale might drop it to a 6.5/10 for me.

Miloan had a really good Transfer window

Blue Barrett wrote:Forza, the only reason we sent Van Ginkel out on loan is because of Mikel, who'll be gone by January or next summer latest. Van Ginkel was injured for most of last season and needed to be playing week in week out. Hopefully he performs well at Milan. He has a future at Chelsea.

P.S. Mikel is eligible for a British passport in October so it would have been really cruel of Chelsea to sell him this summer. That, I think, is the main reason he's still a Chelsea player. Once he's gotten that, he'll be off. Like I said, if not January, next summer.

My theory is that Chelsea fans will want a big name instead of Van Ginkel in their midfield. There's a sort of precedent there where fans expect big signings and it's unacceptable not to have a big name in each position. Of course, I might be completely wrong - I'm just speculating.

I'm looking forward to seeing what you think of Milan this season.

For me, we've had a solid 10/10 window. Absolutely happy with all the signings. We needed to overhaul our strike force and we did just that. Got a battering ram of a striker in Costa who's settling in well so far. Got a backup who brings something different to what Costa brings and can also play on either wing as well(that would come in really handy in some games). Hoping Remy becomes Anelka-like for us.

Cesc has been brilliant as well. I was skeptical of the signing to say the least(before it happened) but so far I've been proven wrong. He may not be a Matic type ball winner but he has been really good at pressing for us. His passing and distribution in general has been fantastic as well. Hoping he keeps it up for the whole season. Still expect Oscar and Hazard to hit top form at some point this season. I really believe we have a top gear that no other team has, not even City.

Happy with some of the loans as well. Torres(most importantly), Van Ginkel, Chalobah(to a Premier League club), Thorgan Hazard to a Bundesliga club, etc.


I'm convinced we're getting Khedira for free next summer and someone will come in for Ramires if he does have a good season(looking like he will), maybe Madrid. Khedira + Van Ginkel to replace Ramires + Mikel, as Kick mentioned, will be brilliant if we can pull it off.

Kick wrote:Forza,  whilst I agree with most of it, I have told you that Lukaku's situation and MVG's situation are not comparable due to the fact Lukaku didn't want to compete and forced his way out, MVG is very much not like that. I doubt he'll force a move away if he performs well.

You're absolutely right.

I'm just entertaining the prospect that MVG changes his mind after deciding that he too doesn't want to compete with a new signing after already establishing himself in Milan. It's not all that far-fetched, is it?

Blue Barrett wrote:For me, we've had a solid 10/10 window. Absolutely happy with all the signings. We needed to overhaul our strike force and we did just that. Got a battering ram of a striker in Costa who's settling in well so far. Got a backup who brings something different to what Costa brings and can also play on either wing as well(that would come in really handy in some games). Hoping Remy becomes Anelka-like for us.

Cesc has been brilliant as well. I was skeptical of the signing to say the least(before it happened) but so far I've been proven wrong. He may not be a Matic type ball winner but he has been really good at pressing for us. His passing and distribution in general has been fantastic as well. Hoping he keeps it up for the whole season. Still expect Oscar and Hazard to hit top form at some point this season. I really believe we have a top gear that no other team has, not even City.

Happy with some of the loans as well. Torres(most importantly), Van Ginkel, Chalobah(to a Premier League club), Thorgan Hazard to a Bundesliga club, etc.


I'm convinced we're getting Khedira for free next summer and someone will come in for Ramires if he does have a good season(looking like he will), maybe Madrid. Khedira + Van Ginkel to replace Ramires + Mikel, as Kick mentioned, will be brilliant if we can pull it off.

Agreed with all of this. Chelsea have done some very good (if expensive) business. Much of the money spent has been recouped though. I think that the sale of David "Playstation player" Luiz improves Chelsea's defence & midfield significantly as well.

I'd be interested in knowing what you think Chelsea's weaknesses are?

Forza wrote:

Blue Barrett wrote:Forza, the only reason we sent Van Ginkel out on loan is because of Mikel, who'll be gone by January or next summer latest. Van Ginkel was injured for most of last season and needed to be playing week in week out. Hopefully he performs well at Milan. He has a future at Chelsea.

P.S. Mikel is eligible for a British passport in October so it would have been really cruel of Chelsea to sell him this summer. That, I think, is the main reason he's still a Chelsea player. Once he's gotten that, he'll be off. Like I said, if not January, next summer.

My theory is that Chelsea fans will want a big name instead of Van Ginkel in their midfield. There's a sort of precedent there where fans expect big signings and it's unacceptable not to have a big name in each position. Of course, I might be completely wrong - I'm just speculating.

I'm looking forward to seeing what you think of Milan this season.

I doubt so. We're not opposed to having young players coming through. I know almost every Chelsea fan wanted Josh McEachran to be a first team player but unfortunately, his career has taken a tail spin.

I think above all, we just want to have quality. And since money is not an obstacle, we're not opposed to getting the best quality available. Van Ginkel, however, is quality. We did spend 16m buying him last summer. Notice how he was also sent to a very respectable club in a respectable league rather than the default Vitesse loans or Championship loans. I'm convinced he would have featured a lot last season had he not picked up that awful injury. He started a few matches early in the season before the injury, afterall.


I think Milan are very interesting. I was arguing with a friend few days ago when we were talking about the top 10 wingers in the world and I said SES is top 10. He didn't agree. That's another topic, anyway. But yes, I think Milan are very interesting. Torres may well end up putting up respectable numbers for Milan and I know MVG will do well. Loved the Lopez signing. That was an absolute steal imo. Second biggest free transfer after Lewandoski to Bayern, I think.

I'll surely be paying more attention this season to Serie A. Juventus without Conte, Roma with Ashley Cole, Milan with my Chelsea boys and Torres and then Napoli.

I'm not sold on Inzaghi yet, but we'll see.

Forza wrote:

Blue Barrett wrote:For me, we've had a solid 10/10 window. Absolutely happy with all the signings. We needed to overhaul our strike force and we did just that. Got a battering ram of a striker in Costa who's settling in well so far. Got a backup who brings something different to what Costa brings and can also play on either wing as well(that would come in really handy in some games). Hoping Remy becomes Anelka-like for us.

Cesc has been brilliant as well. I was skeptical of the signing to say the least(before it happened) but so far I've been proven wrong. He may not be a Matic type ball winner but he has been really good at pressing for us. His passing and distribution in general has been fantastic as well. Hoping he keeps it up for the whole season. Still expect Oscar and Hazard to hit top form at some point this season. I really believe we have a top gear that no other team has, not even City.

Happy with some of the loans as well. Torres(most importantly), Van Ginkel, Chalobah(to a Premier League club), Thorgan Hazard to a Bundesliga club, etc.


I'm convinced we're getting Khedira for free next summer and someone will come in for Ramires if he does have a good season(looking like he will), maybe Madrid. Khedira + Van Ginkel to replace Ramires + Mikel, as Kick mentioned, will be brilliant if we can pull it off.

Agreed with all of this. Chelsea have done some very good (if expensive) business. Much of the money spent has been recouped though. I think that the sale of David "Playstation player" Luiz improves Chelsea's defence & midfield significantly as well.

I'd be interested in knowing what you think Chelsea's weaknesses are?

Wouldn't say we particularly have a glaring weakness atm. We have a strong attack but it could in fact be better. Its a lot stronger now than it was last season but depending on Drogba's production, I'd say City still beat us in that department(United too).

I'm afraid of what our midfield looks like defensively without Oscar. Everton on Saturday controlled the tempo of the game a lot more than we would have liked. Its not that much of a worry though.


I think we have a great blend of pace(Hazard, Schurrle), power(Willian) and creativity(Oscar, Cesc) in attack and good passing plus steel in CM(Cesc, Matic). Perfect for the brand of football Jose wants to employ this season. I'm confident in the team, overall. No real issues.

I'd say our main weakness is not having perfect depth.

This is going into the realms of fantasy here but if we had Varane instead of Zouma, Khedira instead of Ramires and Falcao instead of Drogba, we'd be stacked everywhere and damn near perfect.

Having said that, Jose doesn't often use his depth so I am not too worried.

I honestly think we're going to find our main weakness this season, as we are yet to find it. We showed against Everton, when we conceded, we went to another gear. I am sure we'll tighten up our defence so we won't need that gear for the next game but it's nice to know we can go there.

Blue Barrett wrote:I think Milan are very interesting. I was arguing with a friend few days ago when we were talking about the top 10 wingers in the world and I said SES is top 10. He didn't agree. That's another topic, anyway. But yes, I think Milan are very interesting. Torres may well end up putting up respectable numbers for Milan and I know MVG will do well. Loved the Lopez signing. That was an absolute steal imo. Second biggest free transfer after Lewandoski to Bayern, I think.

I'll surely be paying more attention this season to Serie A. Juventus without Conte, Roma with Ashley Cole, Milan with my Chelsea boys and Torres and then Napoli.

I'm not sold on Inzaghi yet, but we'll see.

The problem was that last season SES hardly played due to injury. His return is like a new signing because he looks like he's come back at 2012-13 season levels. The remarkable thing about SES is that he's not only technically brilliant, but he manages to cover the entire wing whilst playing at the front of a 4-3-3 formation. He can defend, assist and score - he's a really great player to have. Lopez has already proved his worth IMO, I can't thank Iker enough for forcing him out. I really hope Torres gets back to the level he belongs at. We know he has talent, he just needs confidence.

I find it really laughable that a Chelsea fan has created this thread after years of jaw dropping net losses. Profit only made possible by years of investment which would in todays climate be in very clear breach of FFP regulations. Just sayin'.

Arsenal get a 7/10.

Player summaries below, but in all - solid B+ for me. Our squad looks good front to back, with depth to spare. We can survive an injury crisis and still play a very solid side, which certainly hasn't been true for some time. The only reason it's not a straight A is because of the loss of Suarez - if we had held on to him, I think we'd easily be in the conversation for title contenders, and it's certainly disappointing to see that take a hit. That being said, the sale was necessary (money, controversy, player's wishes, etc.), so no hard feelings towards him or the club.

As for the signings:

- Lovren. Jury's still out on this one for me. I think our defensive woes were largely a tactical choice - we made a decision to optimize Suarez and Sturridge, and the defense suffered as a result. Lack of cover from the fullbacks and DM didn't help at all. That being said, I do feel another CB was necessary, and the fact that he allows us to move into a higher line and defend on the front foot will be a big shift. His leadership will also help immensely (cliche I know, but any Liverpool fan noticed the absolute silence between the GK and CBs last year, which was a problem). I have my doubts about him performing like a 20m CB, but overall I think this was a solid signing, and considering the CBs that moved around the market I don't think we could've done any better this summer.

- Lambert. He's already shown the ability to change games coming on late in the early stages of the season. If we have to start him for an extended period of time, there will be issues, but we have enough cover that I don't think that will occur short of an extreme rash of injuries. At the very least, we don't have to worry about one player getting hit by an errant football (strange having those around a football match), with Lambert starting four months as a result. As it stands, I think he'll score somewhere between 5-10 goals and they'll all be important ones. If that comes true, he's easily worth the money.

- Lallana. Also not convinced by this signing. I'm not sure who I'd start him over in the current set up, so having spent 25m on him (which you'd think would be starter money) seems a bit odd. That being said, the entire theme of this summer has been rounding out the squad in terms of depth; having to choose between Lallana, Sterling, Coutinho and Markovic is a much better problem to have than starting Jonjo Shelvey as a false 9, to use a recent example.

- Can. One of the most important signings this offseason for me. Not only do I think he's going to turn into a top player in the near future, I think he's filled a hole we've had in our squad for the last two seasons at least. He's a strong player that can play anywhere in central midfield, can help us take control of games defensively or come on to help contribute to the attack. More importantly, one of the types of opposing players we've had the most trouble with has been strong central midfielders, and now we finally have an option available who can help take them out of the game. Losing Hendo for a few games this year won't be nearly as much of a crisis.

- Moreno. Looks like a great player, finally sorts out LB. Not to mention we have Enrique as depth, and Flanagan/Johnson can fill in if needed. One of the weakest parts of the squad since I've been following the team finally has an exciting and convincing player and looks to be a position of strength. 12m is going to prove a steal.

- Manquillo. I've liked what I've seen so far. Seems a low risk transfer, so if he can keep up his performances this will be a genius move, and if he can't, we didn't lose much in it. Most importantly he provides a quality body at fullback, and with him and Moreno coming in we have a number of solid options on both sides.

- Markovic. Also has looked very good in his brief appearances so far. If the praise he's been getting from across Europe is anything to go off of, we've got quite a talent. I've had a few dreams already of him, Sturridge and Sterling running circles around people in 2 years time. Without a doubt would be one of the fastest front lines out there.

- Origi. Not really sure what was going on here. I wasn't amazed with him at the world cup, and I've heard he hasn't been fascinating in France either. That being said, all the reports said we were looking at him since before the WC, so clearly our scouts have seen something. I'll put my trust in them and reserve judgement for the time being; more than enough time left to find out what's going on here.

- Balotelli. The main attraction. About two weeks ago, we had quite a dilemma. Switching systems to 1 player up top, if it were going to happen, meant that we couldn't bring in a top striker without benching Sturridge (not going to happen). However, we couldn't go into the season without more cover than Lambert and Borini. How do you find a player that can come in for an injury to Studge without the team losing any quality, but wouldn't insist on first team football or come with a first team price tag? I'm very happy with the answer - this is a player I'm comfortable having lead the line, play with Sturridge in a pairing, and at this price, if we need to sit him for a period of time, I'd be OK with that too. Definitely curious to see if he keeps up his enthusiasm over time, but if we can manage to keep his head in it (which I believe we can), I think he and Sturridge will have quite a devastating partnership. I'm excited to see what comes from him this season.

Peccadillo wrote:I find it really laughable that a Chelsea fan has created this thread after years of jaw dropping net losses. Profit only made possible by years of investment which would in todays climate be in very clear breach of FFP regulations. Just sayin'.

Arsenal get a 7/10.

I made the same thread last year.
I acutally didn't have to type the title out because it was already saved on my computer. I would have made it regardless of how our window went.

Just sayin'.

Kick wrote:

Peccadillo wrote:I find it really laughable that a Chelsea fan has created this thread after years of jaw dropping net losses. Profit only made possible by years of investment which would in todays climate be in very clear breach of FFP regulations. Just sayin'.

Arsenal get a 7/10.

I made the same thread last year.
I acutally didn't have to type the title out because it was already saved on my computer. I would have made it regardless of how our window went.

Just sayin'.

Although it was made in a moderately obnoxious fashion, he does have a point. Everyone's lauding the fact that Chelsea turned a profit, but the fact is that it's easy to do so when you've stockpiled 100s of millions of pounds worth of assets (while taking a loss in order to do so) in previous windows. It's like a business taking on large amounts of debt to stockpile assets, then selling those assets in a future quarter and pointing to a profit on the balance sheet. While it is accurate, it's not an entirely honest reflection of the situation.

That being said, Chelsea could've taken a 100m pound loss this summer and I'd still say they had a good window.

stevieg8 wrote:

Kick wrote:

Peccadillo wrote:I find it really laughable that a Chelsea fan has created this thread after years of jaw dropping net losses. Profit only made possible by years of investment which would in todays climate be in very clear breach of FFP regulations. Just sayin'.

Arsenal get a 7/10.

I made the same thread last year.
I acutally didn't have to type the title out because it was already saved on my computer. I would have made it regardless of how our window went.

Just sayin'.

Although it was made in a moderately obnoxious fashion, he does have a point. Everyone's lauding the fact that Chelsea turned a profit, but the fact is that it's easy to do so when you've stockpiled 100s of millions of pounds worth of assets (while taking a loss in order to do so) in previous windows. It's like a business taking on large amounts of debt to stockpile assets, then selling those assets in a future quarter and pointing to a profit on the balance sheet. While it is accurate, it's not an entirely honest reflection of the situation.

That being said, Chelsea could've taken a 100m pound loss this summer and I'd still say they had a good window.

Not sure what any of that has to do with our business this window. Not sure how signing young players and selling them if deemed not good enough for the first team is somehow illegal. Courtois has just come in and benched a club legend. He was a loan player. So if you put aside a bit of bias, you'll see that there's actually a purpose to it and not because we want to breach FFP. Quite a weird assertion, I must say.

Funny that it always has to be an Arsenal fan dropping the FFP line in every thread. Just sayin'.

Yohan Modric wrote:Why isn't Di Maria good in terms of marketing. Top 2 player in Argentina imo.

best player last year imo. Di maria has so much impact when it counts

i'll let Vince sum it up for me
https://pbs.twimg.com/tweet_video/BweGx8KCUAADaNs.mp4

Players in:

Marc-Andre ter Stegen (€12m from Borussia Mönchengladbach)
Rafinha Alcantara (Loan return from Celta Vigo)
Ivan Rakitić (€18m + Denis Suarez loan to Sevilla)
Claudio Bravo (€12m from Real Sociedad)
Luis Suárez (€81m from Liverpool)
Jérémy Mathieu (€20m from Valencia)
Thomas Vermaelen (€19m from Arsenal)
Douglas Pereira (€5.5m from Sao Paolo)


Players out:

Víctor Valdes (End of contract; free agent)
Carles Puyol (Retired)
Jose Manuel Pinto (End of contract; free agent)
Cesc Fàbregas (€33m to Chelsea)
Jonathan Dos Santos (€2m to Villareal)
Isaac Cuenca (Contract termination; to Deportivo La Coruna)
Alexis Sánchez (€40m to Arsenal)
Cristian Tello (€2m loaned to Porto)
Bojan Krkic (€4m to Stoke City)
Ibrahim Afellay (Loan to Olympiakos)
Gerard Deulofeu (Loan to Sevilla)
Alexandre Song (Loan to West Ham)


Grading this a C.

Got the positions right, filled the roles which needed filling. But either with the wrong players, at the wrong price or both...in nearly all positions.

Rakitic and Rafinha are the two which I am most pleased with. MATs has the possibility too, but we have to wait on that.

Got rid of alot of dead-wood, thats good. Not all done in the best way (loans and contract terminations) but at least it done. Not happy about Deulofeu (but willing to give benefit of the doubt) nor Alexis.

5/10

We still never signed a left back or a creative midfielder but we did manage to hold on to Van Dijk. If the Guidetti deal goes through our strike force will have vastly improved with the additions of him and Scepovic.

Blue Barrett wrote:

stevieg8 wrote:

Kick wrote:
I made the same thread last year.
I acutally didn't have to type the title out because it was already saved on my computer. I would have made it regardless of how our window went.

Just sayin'.

Although it was made in a moderately obnoxious fashion, he does have a point. Everyone's lauding the fact that Chelsea turned a profit, but the fact is that it's easy to do so when you've stockpiled 100s of millions of pounds worth of assets (while taking a loss in order to do so) in previous windows. It's like a business taking on large amounts of debt to stockpile assets, then selling those assets in a future quarter and pointing to a profit on the balance sheet. While it is accurate, it's not an entirely honest reflection of the situation.

That being said, Chelsea could've taken a 100m pound loss this summer and I'd still say they had a good window.

Not sure what any of that has to do with our business this window. Not sure how signing young players and selling them if deemed not good enough for the first team is somehow illegal. Courtois has just come in and benched a club legend. He was a loan player. So if you put aside a bit of bias, you'll see that there's actually a purpose to it and not because we want to breach FFP. Quite a weird assertion, I must say.

Funny that it always has to be an Arsenal fan dropping the FFP line in every thread. Just sayin'.

I didn't say anything was illegal, just that all the talk about Chelsea's profit is obscuring the truth a tad. Also not an Arsenal fan, and didn't reference FFP at all. Unless you were trying to respond to the post two spots earlier in this thread.

Lol @ Van Ginkel having a future at Chelsea.

Like Sturridge, Lukaku, De Bruyne, Romeu etc among many others.

Just look at the Chelsea threads in the Chelsea section and all these kids who were supposed to be the future of Chelsea have all been sold apart from Courtois.

Lucas Piazon, McEachran and Kakutu among others were there too

Great Leader Sprucenuce wrote:Lol @ Van Ginkel having a future at Chelsea.

Like Sturridge, Lukaku, De Bruyne, Romeu etc among many others.

Just look at the Chelsea threads in the Chelsea section and all these kids who were supposed to be the future of Chelsea have all been sold apart from Courtois.

Lucas Piazon, McEachran and Kakutu among others were there too

Jeffrey Bruma, Michael Mancienne etc pp

So there is a chance that BMG might be able to capture Thorgan Hazard

Blue Barrett wrote:

stevieg8 wrote:

Kick wrote:
I made the same thread last year.
I acutally didn't have to type the title out because it was already saved on my computer. I would have made it regardless of how our window went.

Just sayin'.

Although it was made in a moderately obnoxious fashion, he does have a point.  Everyone's lauding the fact that Chelsea turned a profit, but the fact is that it's easy to do so when you've stockpiled 100s of millions of pounds worth of assets (while taking a loss in order to do so) in previous windows.  It's like a business taking on large amounts of debt to stockpile assets, then selling those assets in a future quarter and pointing to a profit on the balance sheet.  While it is accurate, it's not an entirely honest reflection of the situation.

That being said, Chelsea could've taken a 100m pound loss this summer and I'd still say they had a good window.

Not sure what any of that has to do with our business this window. Not sure how signing young players and selling them if deemed not good enough for the first team is somehow illegal. Courtois has just come in and benched a club legend. He was a loan player. So if you put aside a bit of bias, you'll see that there's actually a purpose to it and not because we want to breach FFP. Quite a weird assertion, I must say.

Funny that it always has to be an Arsenal fan dropping the FFP line in every thread. Just sayin'.

He was talking about my post.. and I also never said anything was illegal. There's nothing dodgy about what Chelsea is doing and I never said there was. I just find it rich for Chelsea fans, who are usually so critical of Arsenal fans propensity towards analysing the clubs finances, to be falling in a heap of praise for their summers transfers after profound net losses over the years, $600,000,000 over the last 10 years in fact.

It's also a little obnoxious in itself.. It's kind of like your club winning the title and creating a thread called "Champions! But how did you club fair this season?"

When I posted that I did just return to my desk from a rather boozy work lunch, it was obnoxious of me I agree.. Kick I didn't know this is an annual thread.

But while we're here... I don't even think Chelsea did post a profit as per OP figures;

http://www.transferleague.co.uk/premiership-transfers/chelsea-transfers.html

16m net spend this summer, only made possible through PSG's idiocy in signing a player which you effectively got you back what you paid Benfica for Luiz in the first place, isn't anything overly impressive when you consider the monumental expenditures over the past 3-4 seasons.

In 03/04 Chelsea, as most will know, spent a whopping 150m, 150m may not sound much anymore considering Real blow that on two players, but in 2003 it was a hell of a lot. From there its a snowball effect.

Not that I'm bitter or anything..

I agree that what money was spent, was spent wisely.

I'd give a solid 9/10. Would've been 10/10 had we gotten rid of more deadwood (Assaidi, Borini, Johnson) permanently and kept Agger.

Pretty great for a 33m net spend though.