Chelsea FFP questions arise over £60m Pedro Neto deal as Todd Boehly ‘loves a sucker’

How on earth are Chelsea able to spend £60m on Pedro Neto? ‘Manchester United are a reasonably good Premier League team and more…

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Chelsea, Pedro Neto and FFP
Can we talk about Chelsea? Specifically whatever it is that is fueling their signing and over paying for so many players. They’re about to sign Pedro Neto for £60 million. Where is this money coming from? They’re not in the champions league this season. How do they expect to be financially compliant? You could say I’m just a bitter Arsenal fan, but the fact is, that half those players they’ve signed have probably borked their whole careers. Sure, they’re on nice, 8 year contracts so financially they’re fine, but the likelihood of them succeeding now has taken a huge hit.

It feels like those people who pay cash to flip some house on Homes Under the Hammer. They don’t want that 3 bed house, they just want someone to pay them either way more money for them, or they rent it out and get someone else to pay.

I’m half expecting Dion Dublin to turn up at Stamford Bridge and walk around the squad pointing out flaws like ‘habitual knee injuries are something to be dealt with quickly’ etc. PSR and FFP were supposed to fix skullduggery, but it only seems to have encouraged it. Like City with their 115 charges, people are paying others a lot of money to find them loop holes to allow them to cheat. This is anathema to the spirit of fair play. Can’t wait for the season to start so we can talk about football again and not signings.
John Matrix AFC

READ MORE: Pedro Neto latest Chelsea transfer target to sign after interest from Premier League rivals

Liverpool over Chelsea, obviously…
Don’t know if this gets printed because F365 doesn’t much appreciate when mailboxers get too pointed with any of their writers, but clearly there was a huddle somewhere (or Zoom call, or WhatsApp directive…  or whatever case be) where Winterburn has signed off on Will Ford’s hit piece on Arne Slot .  Fair play, but transparent ploy to generate clicks and mailbox responses (such as this) no doubt, yet here I am moth to the flame.

Yawn.  But also, Ynwa.  Listen, if Slot gets the sack we won’t be coming for Enzo Maresca !  Rest assured nobody in the league will be in for Maresca if theirs goes.  Even if Slot does go (and it’s too early to know whether that would be good or bad for the club), Liverpool’s definitive vision, ethos and culture, and most importantly its competent execution of fundamental and/or sophisticated footballing operations are all quite firmly in place, so it might not be net positive or negative if or when that time comes.  It would be a new captain, some new skivvies, but the ship sails the same course.

On the other hand, Chelsea are helmed by some truly comical owners jigsawing oddly shaped pieces all over the board, trying to patchwork their utterly ridiculous, league-leading outlay under a revolving door of embarrassing ersatz managers, hoping to luck their way into weaving some sort of coherent blue quilt that doesn’t quite cover toes nor neck.  Anyone with eyes can see how drafty and chilly it’s gone over there.

Most will agree the legacy build at Anfield is pretty secure, so how about a Will Ford hit piece on Chelsea FC, full stop .  Think about it, this is a club with no real history or heritage pre-Abrmamovich.  This is a club that regularly and idiotically jettisons their best, like the Salahs and De Bruynes of then, and the Conor Gallaghers (and Rio Ngumohas, wink wink) of now.  This is a club that backs a patently racist £100M midfielder at the cost of any semblance of dressing room harmony or modern mindfulness.  We did this ages ago with Luis Suarez (after the Patrice Evra he said-she said) and we paid dearly for it, we learned from it; Chelsea are streets behind, making the mistakes we made a decade on.

Anyhow, maybe too much digression there, but one cannot even begin to form comparisons of competition here.  It’s apples and tripe.  Arne Slot could go, sure.  Anyone gets the sack these days.  But really, between the two, which club would you rather support ?
Eric, Los Angeles  CA  (Also let’s not forget to mention Chelsea’s overtures to Michael Edwards.  Or that ghost goal.  Or VVD at the death last year with kids in tow.  Will Ford, why do you keep coming back to this bone dry well…  there’s nothing here for you mate.)

United positivity
Ok, I’ll bite.

Patricio, I dont know who you support, and I really dont care. But your read on United is way off……

United supporters arent optimistic because we think we’re going to go out and win the title this year.  Personally I’d be very happily shocked if we made top 4.  But, if all comes together, there’s a chance we get Champions League.  That really isnt the point.

I’m lucky enough to have been in my 20s/30s while Fergie was laying waste to the English league.  My years of nights in the pub drinking too much was highlighted by moments of footballing magic that will live with me (and all United fans) forever.  If United never win another cup between now and the day I go, I’ve still seen more than my fair share of success.  I dont want that to happen, love the club to still be churning out silverware, but at least my cup has already runneth over.  So if you want to point and laugh, be my guest, I really really couldnt care less.

Football is fickle, and the press/supporters are more short-sighted now than ever more.  But football still moves in cycles.  In England since the mid 90s, we had United, then United/Arsenal, then United/Chelsea, then United/City/Chelsea, (Leicester!!!), then City/Liverpool, then City, and now City/Arsenal.  It will move again – might not be this year, but it will move again.

But for a United fan, at least we’re finally buying youth.  We’re building a squad.  Much happier buying Zirkzee than going and paying 80-100m to buy someone like a 33 yr old Griezmann to “solve the problem” which our previous would have done.  We dont need Casemiros, Ibrahimovics etc.  But at least we’re buying guys that still havent peaked, and that is what breeds optimism.  Jim hasnt been perfect so far I’m sure, but at least he’s better, and at least we appear to have a plan/strategy/framework.

Last season United’s injury problem wasnt volume, it was volume in one position.  Losing 5 players in one position is pretty nasty, particularly bad when its the area of the foundation of any football team.  I have no idea who, say, Arsenal would have put out as their 6th and 7th centre backs, plus who would have covered the whole season at left back, but I would doubt fairly highly they’d have played the same pretty football.

Ten Hag ?  3rd in his first season …… shitshow last season …… 2 cups.  Thats enough for me to give him another go.  Time is on our side after all…..
Repp (please dont let Southgate anywhere near Old Trafford, Jim)

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Manchester United are ‘reasonably good’
There’s a very famous Dril tweet where he says “And another thing, I’m not mad, please don’t put in the newspaper that I’m mad.”

And I’m reminded of it when I see emails from Manchester United fans who are adamant that, actually, things are going great. If they were going great, they wouldn’t need to be sending you emails saying things were going great. They should stop doing that. Immediately. Even if it’s terrible for your content.

Ultimately, Manchester United are a reasonably good Premier League football team, who play okayish football and get the sort of results you get from a reasonably good Premier League football team. This is probably not good enough for the supporters of Manchester United, and is definitely not commensurate with the expenditure on the team and management, but it’s still okayish.

Unfortunately, “Manchester United: They’re Okay, I suppose” isn’t a very snappy headline in this SEO-dominated age, but they are. Honest. They’re okay. Ish
Dara O’Reilly, London

Everyone’s worse
It’s weird looking ahead to the new season because I think, for a variety of reasons, everyone, bar the odd exception, will be worse. Partly this is PSR influenced with an incredibly quiet window so far (it’ll be the busiest deadline day in years, Jim White will be thrilled) and partly too much football post pandemic. Didn’t watch the Copa, but the best players at the Euros all looked gassed.

Arsenal are my pick to win it, but can they have a third straight season where their most important players stay injury free? Saka, Odegaard, Rice and Saliba hardly missed a game last season.

City have an end of empire feel to them. My hunch is they’re going to be chucked out of the league and they know it. Maybe trying to squeeze one Last Dance out before the chickens come home to roost.

Liverpool have no Klopp and I’m very dubious that’ll work out in anything beyond the short term

Villa on paper look better, but can they handle CL as well? Took its toll on Newcastle.

With Spurs, I’m not at all convinced about Ange, I think he got found out as last season progressed. Can see them being as they were but without the blistering start.

Chelsea are an absolute basket case and I see nothing in the mad firing of Poch, to be replaced by someone as inexperienced as Maresca, to suggest this’ll change.

United? Can’t have as bad a season for injuries and will likely improve, but don’t look like we’re going to take great strides forward, just be a bit less shit.

Newcastle I can see improving a fair bit with less injuries and no CL distraction.

The rest? Brighton have a whiff about them. Doubt they’ll go down, but can see them being bottom 6 or 7. Ditto Brentford. Forest are a low rent Chelsea. Can’t see the 3 promoted clubs doing much, Everton will slog away in lower mid table again.

West Ham, Fulham and Palace might be decent and possibly threaten the Europa places.

All in all, just feels like it’ll be a season of regression for a lot of clubs.
Lewis, Busby Way

Todd Boehly ‘loves a sucker’
HelloI watch a lot of YouTube commentary on football.
Apparently Maresca says the defence is high line and thats bad right?
Also thats a fault carried over from Big P.
Now I don’t coach but I have played and watched for decades.
Its not rocket science!!
If the defence drops closer to its own goal then what happens to midfield and striker??
Do they keep compact and follow the defence back OR do you make bigger spaces between the ranks??
I predict that they will improve the goals against column at the expense of the goals for.
Is that not logical??
Also look at last season with Poch…
Horrible for the most part, but when Poch said Oh Sod It they actually were better. He was meant to be The One
Now….Maresca is Really The One???
I think the Americans just love a sucker and they know theyve got a Shed load of willing suckers trying to hang on to a dream of success.
Mo.

Arsenal to win it
Hello F365 and Mailbox,
Thought I’d do a quick Prem predictions table, just to mix it up a bit and see some teams in different positions. I’ll easily get half of these on the nose.

1. Arsenal
Absolutely, 100%, nailed-on certainty they will get over the line this time. Kai Havertz will false-9 his way to 25 league goals and perplex every pundit in the country who still can’t work out if he’s any good or not.

2. Man City
Absolutely, 100% legit performances on and off the field that will, after the inevitable legal absolution, never again be questioned by the cold eye of history. But let’s say Haaland’s streaky form continues, there are enough games they don’t put to bed, Rodri gets kidnapped by Gibraltarian separatists… Maybe they’re just not hungry enough to win it again. Arsenal already have their napkin tucked in, knife and fork ready, ketchup on the side of the plate before the chips are even served, and they’ve half an eye on the CL brulée for afters.

3. Palace
It’s going to be a grand old season. Finished the last playing the best football I can remember seeing any Palace team produce. Simply extrapolate that brilliant form across a 38-game calendar, and the glorious Eagles will be the best in the land. Maybe 3rd is a bit conservative.

4. Aston Villa
Not sure why so many have them falling away dramatically, they’re really good. Additional European campaign a factor, perhaps, but Emery built his reputation on winning the Europa, so should know how to manage his squad across the extra fixtures.

5. Newcastle
Have to be much better than last year, or Howe will be first in line for the bone-saw.

6. Liverpool
Will need some time to readjust. Arne Slot resembles Captain Underpants, so I find it hard to take him seriously as an elite-level manager. Presumably the players won’t have this same problem?

7. West Ham
Have some brilliant players. They’ll be much more entertaining, and madly inconsistent.

8. Spurs
They go balls-out, sure, but I remain unconvinced they’re actually any good.

9. Fulham
Most boring team in the country? They play in white with black trim, like they’re going out for the evening, and their whole brand is being pleasant, or something. Still, at least few of their supporters will have been torching English towns over the last week.

10. Chelsea
Some good players. I’m not sure which ones though – more importantly, does the manager know? Who is the manager – do the players know? Just a sorry old mess of a club, and to imagine they’ll be able to put together any kind of consistency is delusional.

11. Everton
12. Bournemouth
13. Wolves
14. Forest
15. Brentford
The boring bit. Mix them round if you like.

16. Leicester
All the promoted teams are unknown quantities. Could a Brentford or a Forest get pulled into The Danger Zone? Absolutely. I think at least one of the newbies will survive, and I’ve plucked Leicester here for various soft-spot reasons.

17. Man Utd
So close, but expect them to pull it out the fire at the last, in typical Man Utd fashion.

18. Ipswich
They will go well, like Luton, but much like Luton they just won’t have enough.

19. Southampton
Sorry, FiL.

20. Brighton
Where they belong.

I found that quite cathartic. Got a decades-old grudge to exercise? Do a predicted league table and relegate that lot you always wished would have an absolute Derby of a season. Don’t worry Rams fans – this time next year, it will be known as ‘doing a Brighton’.
Cheers,
Scriv O’Scoob, Reading

Handballs
In response to Lee’s mail regarding handballs . My view is the prize of a penalty, with it’s associated 90% chance of a goal, is far too high for the offence of a handball in the box. I seem to recall one against Utd in Europe a couple of seasons ago when the ball brushed someone’s hand as the ball was travelling out of the box. Is that really worthy of a free shot at goal from 12 yards? Indirect freekicks should be re-introduced for these situations – but in reality, refs should be wise enough realise that someone blasting a ball at a defender’s hand from short distance is not worthy of a pen.

Also, a quickie on Southgate. Even though in years to come, people will realise he got us to two Euro Finals, the football played in those finals was poor. He was about to bring on Gallagher and Trippier until Spain scored the winner. That’s not a winning attitude. I recall 1986 – we lost to the Argies in the quarters – but Barnes came on and very nearly set up Lineker for an equaliser. In 1990, Waddle hit the inside of the post in injury time before we lost on pens. We may have lost, but we gave it a bloody good go. That’s the stuff to remember, not defensive substitutions, and being on the back foot for 90 mins.

But no doubt, he’ll be knighted for it.
Simon S, Cheshire

In response to Lee’s email in the morning mailbox I completely agree. Can’t remember the last deliberate handball I saw (probably Suarez for Uruguay I guess) and now we have players in the box putting their hands behind their back because they are worried about giving a penalty away

Not sure what the solution is. Possibly an indirect free kick if it hits a players hand indirectly. Probably would cause all kind of issues though in relation to whether the player stopped it deliberately with his hand though to stop a goal but there surely needs to be a better answer to the current situation
Simon

Offside debate
Might as well weigh in on the offside debate.

One way to make the process seem more fair, and to put the control right in the players hands, is to make the lines go off the attackers head.

The should be fairly certain as to where it is, on account of their eyes.
If it’s level with any part of a defender they’re onside, if not, they’re not.

I do recognise this will slightly disadvantage players with big heads, but I am also very okay with that.
Don (Sydney)