vyelkin posted:

Klopp's confirmed what we could all see from the gross replays, Jota is gonna be out for months with that knee injury.

quote:

Waltham Forest Council in north-east London allocated £7,200 in 2019 and 2020 to have the sculpture made of the Chingford-raised footballer.

The life-size figure reportedly depicts the striker sitting on a bench.

Chingford resident Trevor Calver, who uncovered its existence, said it was a "joke" that the artwork was in storage.

Emma Best and Roy Berg, the Conservative councillors for Chingford's Endlebury ward who approved the project, had planned to install the statue on a platform at Chingford Overground station.

But their proposal was rejected following a risk assessment carried out by Transport for London.

For reasons that remain unclear, the two councillors scrapped a previous proposal to place it in Ridgeway Park, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

Ms Best said she had spent "hours and hours" trying to agree a home for the statue with "stakeholders".

Mr Berg said there were no available pictures of the statue when asked by BBC News.

Eau de MacGowan posted:

once upon a time there was life in his legs
now he's just falling apart
nothing klopp can do
jotal eclipse of the heart

Thanks Ants posted:

PL clubs begging for government subsidy is a joke

Thanks Ants posted:

PL clubs begging for government subsidy is a joke

Mainwaring posted:

Looking forward to playing City away while missing two of our best defenders and our only striker.

Grimble posted:

No worries.

Just stick Scottish Ronaldo up front.

Mainwaring posted:

I fully expect this to be what happens vs Fulham today and I'm.. interested to see how it plays out.

Mainwaring posted:

I fully expect this to be what happens vs Fulham today and I'm.. interested to see how it plays out.

maruhkati posted:

Say what you will about the North American salary cap/luxury tax system, it's clear, simple, and applies the same to everyone. "Here is a Number, you either can't go above it at all or have to pay X amount if you go above it." Of course, there's no way in Hell the big clubs would ever agree to anything like that, so instead we've got the FFP rules which seem to operate on pure Calvinball logic. One wonders why they even bother.

Everton could very well be docked another six points later this year. Forest can't be feeling good about their chances either. What will happen? Will it be fair? Too harsh? Not harsh enough? No one fuckin' knows.

vyelkin posted:

Every league should adopt La Liga's system of setting preemptive spending caps before each season instead of docking clubs points years later (unless they shred the documents and sue you in which case you just let them carry on)

deletebeepbeepbeep posted:

Sam Jewell is the reason why Brighton got Caicedo (when Man Utd gave up) as he has a lot of experience and contacts negotiating with South American agents.

Quite a big loss for Brighton as they have been quite good in that market but can't wait to see how this guy spectacularly fails at Chelsea.

vyelkin posted:

Every league should adopt La Liga's system of setting preemptive spending caps before each season instead of docking clubs points years later (unless they shred the documents and sue you in which case you just let them carry on)

Total Meatlove posted:

La Liga preemptive spending cap
German prescriptive ownership model
English pyramid system

deletebeepbeepbeep posted:

Sam Jewell is the reason why Brighton got Caicedo (when Man Utd gave up) as he has a lot of experience and contacts negotiating with South American agents.

Quite a big loss for Brighton as they have been quite good in that market but can't wait to see how this guy spectacularly fails at Chelsea.

harperdc posted:

This is the dream.

Installing the La Liga spending cap and watching Chelsea scramble to pull levers would be great fun.

Mickolution posted:

Yeah, he was rampant...

Loving Africa Chaps posted:

quote:

Chelsea identify Amorim and De Zerbi as potential Pochettino replacements

Club unlikely to be rash but pressure is growing on head coach
Liverpool also interested in Sporting and Brighton managers

Chelsea’s desire to wait until the end of the season before reviewing Mauricio Pochettino’s position has not stopped the club from identifying Rúben Amorim and Roberto De Zerbi as potential replacements for the Argentinian.

Pochettino, who was handed a two-year deal after arriving at Stamford Bridge last summer, faces an uncertain future after a mixed run of results. Supporters turned on the head coach during Chelsea’s 2-2 draw with Brentford last Saturday and there are doubts over whether the 52-year-old will be in charge next season.

Chelsea, who are 11th in the Premier League, remain determined not to make any kneejerk decisions and key figures within the hierarchy are still supportive of Pochettino. Although results and performances have been inconsistent, there is a view that the side is moving in the right direction under the former ­Tottenham manager. Pochettino has not lost a youthful dressing room and has had to contend with injuries to influential players all season.

However the pressure on the former Southampton coach grew after Chelsea lost the Carabao Cup final to an injury-hit and inexperienced Liverpool side in extra time last month. Pochettino’s future is likely to depend on whether Chelsea, who host Leicester in the FA Cup quarter-finals on 17 March, secure European football.

There is currently little desire from the Todd Boehly-Clearlake Capital ownership to rush into a decision on Pochettino, who is being given an opportunity to continue in the job. Boehly and Clearlake are looking for continuity after employing four managers last season.

However Chelsea are taking a long-term view and hope to be ready should they decide to go in a different direction. They are assessing both Amorim, who has impressed at Sporting, and De Zerbi, who could leave Brighton at the end of the season. De Zerbi is on Liverpool’s shortlist to replace Jürgen Klopp and is of interest to Manchester United should they sack Erik ten Hag.

Liverpool are also looking at Amorim. The 39-year-old led Sporting to the Portuguese title in 2021 and he hopes to help them win the league again this season. Chelsea considered Amorim before appointing Pochettino last year.

Any manager who takes the ­Chelsea job would need to be willing to work beneath the club’s sporting structure. Pochettino is not in charge of recruitment. The co-sporting directors, Laurence Stewart and Paul Winstanley, have largely been behind a spending spree on a host of young players. Joe Shields, the co-director of recruitment and talent, has also played a part and Behdad Eghbali, the co-controlling owner, is highly influential.

Pochettino said last week that “I am the coach that needs to be in my place” when he was asked about Conor Gallagher’s future. Gallagher’s contract runs out next year and the midfielder could depart this summer as talks over a new deal are at an impasse.

Sources have suggested that Pochettino has been dealt a poor hand by the club. Chelsea lack experience and leadership, and injuries have made rotation difficult. Pochettino’s options in midfield have been limited by injuries to Roméo Lavia, Lesley Ugochukwu and Carney Chukwuemeka, leaving him reliant on Gallagher, Enzo Fernández and Moisés Caicedo.

But questions have been raised over why Chelsea recalled the 21-year-old midfielder, Cesare Casadei, from his loan at Leicester in January. Having appeared 25 times in all competitions for Leicester, Casadei has had 13 minutes of playing time since returning from the Championship leaders. The Italian was an unused substitute against Brentford and there are fears that his development could stall.

Chelsea have left themselves open to criticism of their strategy. Andrey Santos, the 19-year-old Brazilian midfielder, has played four games across two loan spells at Nottingham Forest and Strasbourg this season.

Chelsea are also looking into their habit of fading after half-time under Pochettino. There is frustration that encouraging first-half performances have not been backed up on enough occasions. Chelsea were 1-0 up at half-time against Brentford but they had to settle for a point after struggling in the second half.