LondonsFinest

Man of the match. Luiz - Christensen - Ake should be our 3 CBs next season. Massive talent.

Hopefully, this doesn't mask the fact he had another awful performance. HOWEVER, massive props. Hit that ball sweet and scored a very important goal. Good work!

Apparently, I am still a clown for not understanding football. Oh, the irony. Garbage player. We were awful yesterday and nothing clicked. But NOTHING gets to me as much as this guy and Costa. Missplaced passes, zero presence in midfield, awful positioning. Tell me exactly WHAT does he contribute with? I don't know.

It's called media. Matt Law and Romano are more reliable then a random Colombian radio. However, still, be skeptical about the move to us. I believe it can happen, but also he can switch and go to Man. City or United or PSG or wherever.

Let me start this long post off by saying: "I do not want Lukaku, nor do I rate him as big as some people do." However, Lukaku has massively improved. I was one of the people who was slating him, because he really was frustrating. But, Koeman has worked on his technical aspects. I will lay out my arguments on why Lukaku would be able to replace Diego and why he wouldn't, so please bear with me, here: - Diego isn't better than him technically - Diego is as frustrating as you can get, when off form. Dire passing, no dribbling ability, rarely manages to hold on to the ball, can't shield with his body, no aerial pressence. He offers NOTHING. Basically like playing with 10 men. Lukaku, while not being the second coming of Suarez, is still an okay player with the ball at his feet. He also has a good aerial presence on him, good headers. He can shield and bully defenders. He also has okay passing on him, can name quite a few times he has managed to create fast counter-attacks, make one - twos or just combine with a teammate in no - way Diego would. - He is playing in an above average Everton - He has nobody, who can constantly come up with something out of nothing. Barkley, Mirallas, Lookman , etc. are all inconsistent in their performances. He doesn't have the service, which he could have here. Difference with Hazard/Pedro/ Cesc in behind him, who all offer something different for him to be able to pounce on. - Big Games - Above point being the main factor. People want Lukaku to be a nuisance and conquer big games. How can he? Against Liverpool, against United, Everton couldn't create anything. The one time, everything was clicking for them, was vs. City, and Lukaku and Davies were the main culprits, and unsurprisingly they won 4 - 0. And let's be honest, has Diego really been THAT unreal in big games? Or any striker in the league, maybe bar Aguero(who has also missed tons of chances in those games, which is worse), for that matter? Diego was unreal vs City. PSG last year. Pretty much it. His goals vs. Liverpool, United were tap - ins. Not saying they aren't goals, but would Lukaku miss? He could, but would he really? Diego has also went missing in big games, let's not act like it isn't true. - Age - He is still relatively young. Much work can be done with him. He can develop even more. - Goals - This year, if we manage to become champions, it will just again cement the fact that wins vs. small sides guarantee you Championships. And Lukaku does guarantee goals. Especially with an increased batch of service. - HG - Counts for the HG quota. Which is why I think we're targeting mostly him - Lack of WC forwards - Belotti's amazing, but will cost even more perhaps. Icardi won't leave. Who else is out there? Things that put me off the move: Technicality - What if, this his ceilling from a technical point of view? I doubt it, but what if? He will be a 50/50 player, who will create some and ruin some. Not much of an upgrade to Diego. Just a small one. Lack of experience - He's yet to lead a line as big as Chelsea's. All props to Everton, but the expectations aren't as big as with us. He has to guarantee goals and creativity in order to be our new no. 9. And do it on a consistent basis for it to be the right choice and to please fans. Especially the ones who will be on his back, because of the fact they do not rate him. Plus, he's never really played in the CL. The only time he's been leading a line from the top level is Belgium, and he is hit and miss there, BUT there is the problem with Wilmots and the fact the whole Belgium squad is still hot and cold, despite all the potential. Price tag - Yes, I know the inflation of prices. I realize he won't cost 30 mil. given the fact he's bagged 20 + goals on a regular basis, but in no way should he cost more than 50. Won't renew. Wants to leave. Should lower the price. We can't force ourselves to overpay for him. Would rather watch Alexis at the 9, if we get him, or just throw the money at Icardi and try for him.

Rodriguez proved to be massive one season wonder. Unfortunately. Looked fantastic that wonder season at Wolfsburg, but he has been above average ever since. He needs too much defensive protection behind him. He'd do work, if he has people behind him, but except his crossing, he doesn't look better than Alonso. Gaya's hype is reasonable, but I think it came too soon.

Alonso is arguably better than both. If you said, Ghoulam or Kolasinac, I'd agree, but we made a fantastic choice. Not ideal, but a fantastic player to have. If we end up signing someone world class at LWB and keeping him, it would be the ideal scenario.

I'm not the one saying someone else is a clown, who doesn't understand football. Everyone is entitled to an opinion.

At least @ me, next time you call me a clown. What makes him stand out? Do you realise he was put there to help in midfield, which he undoubtedly did, but just after KdB and Sane went off. And it was more of the fact we had ANY defensive presence, rather than Fabregas having to track back. He lost his marker 4 times on set pieces. Do I remind you what COULD have happened, if City had luck on their side? Stones missing a header and a sitter and Kompany hitting the post is definitely me underrating Matic for his fantastic contribution. Or maybe it was that fantastic backheel vs Burnley. Or the fact, he is a professional footballer and had to wait when the ball was above him, to realise he has to turn around and track the pass, because it's missplaced(vs Palace). And this is just off the top of my head. Matic barely offers anything. BARELY. Remind me, what his qualities are? I really fail to see them, whenever we play. He is supposed to bring stability in midfield? Swear, I've rarely seen such in matches where we aren't on the front foot. Kante still does 90 % of the work. His passing - above average. His positioning - abysmal. Aerial duels and Marking - awful. Explain to me, WHAT is his exact quality, because I really can't wrap my head around it. An above average player, who nearly no top side would have in their team. Do you see him fitting at Bayern, Juventus, Real, Barca? Don't make me laugh. Matic is Everton quality. I'd rather keep Willian than him. He is that invaluable. And, I've also always stated, that, the moment we get someone dynamic next to Kante, be it Bakayoko/ Nainggolan or etc., you'd see just how average Matic really was. So, if you are planning on disagreeing, please don't bother replying, just sit back and wait.

How is he still our player, it's beyond me. Comes in , so he can control the midfield, fails to do so, until KdB and Sane went off and loses Stones FOUR fucking times. I want to burry this idiot in a hole. Even Willian isn't this useless. I would rather see Chalobah, Ake, RLC, Colkett, you name it, anybody from the youth can come in and do a better job. Was so happy when we opted to shift him to Juventus. Sadly, Conte blocked the move. Hopefully, now he knows, and we are rid of this joker. Can't stand the sight of him, I'd rather Obi Mikel, at least he was intelligent.

To be quite fair, he was extremely lucky on the penalty, but with his style, Caballero, who is a smart GK in terms of penalties, would have saved it any day. I was actually expecting him to miss. Thank God it rebounded. He is still our best penalty taker. Maybe Cesc.

Shows he has confidence in him, when he made fantastic saves after such a mistake. Gave him lots of stick for it, but if we are to be able to play "carpet football", he needs to learn from this. It happens. Great performance, TBO.

He is twice the player than Willian, true, but he lacks good decisions and executions at times. I'm one of the few people who defended him last season, but he is really frustrating at times. He either decides to over-dribble, make a really bad pass or to turn backwards, because he can't continue forward. He is underrated, true, but, we need to upgrade on him in the position he plays. Alexis is the dream, there.

I am actually sad he is made to play with retards. He made fantastic passes to all of the players forward and they failed to cross or score. How? He needs someone with him. I am surprised and so happy he doesn't throw a tantrum about it.

Let's look at it from a perspective, based on recent reports: Conte wants to improve the squad. Mostly by buying Sanchez and a LWB. Other than that(and including that), lets access information and think about possibilities and targets: Christensen and/or Van Dijk - Christensen and his dad have both said he will be returning to Chelsea. A major talent, who I doubt anyone is stupid to let go, especially given his succesful loan. Just like Courtois, we will probably put big trust in him as he has proved that he can make the leap from youth to pro football. Although Azpi and Cahill have been great this season, I would still place faith in the young lad on one of the two postitions. To be quite fair, Christensen is even more ideal than Luiz in the central role the Brazillian occupies, because of his fantastic ball - playing ability and intelligence. Which, would see Luiz occupy Azpi's role, which he would also fit great, as he can press and has the pace to keep up and push forward, if need be. Which would result to - moving Azpi at LCB/ or keep Cahill there, or we sign Van Dijk. Which I don't want to happen, as we have Ake and Zouma, who could also do the job there, but if they do not want to stay, then it seems logical for it to happen. I doubt Cahill will be dumped immediately, so I hope the first "potential" trio, would be the solution. LWB(Alex Sandro, Ghoulam, Kolasinac, Mendy) - One of three positions we desperately need to improve. Any of the pointed out would do that. Alex Sandro being the best choice. Ofcourse, being the most expensive. Any potential outings of Costa(to China/Atleti) and/or Willian (China/United) would be for a vast amount of money, which, given Oscar money, CL, Nike deal and the wages we've freed up in recent years, can give us a boost in pursuing Alex Sandro and the big fee he'd demand. Reports in Italy say that Juventus would consider nothing short of 50 mil. euro. Which, is a no brainer, IF TRUE. Although, it has been said, he will probably sign a new deal. Add to that that Juve do NOT need to sell one of their best players and this transfer becomes extremely hard. However, If, Romano's report is right, which it is, we could at least give it a proper try. If we are to fail, then Ghoulam/Mendy would be the better choices. A bit of work is needed in the defensive aspect, but they are still fantastic players and would definitely improve that left-hand side. Bakayoko - Decided not to include Radja, as I doubt he'd leave. Plus, with the reports, we've agreed a deal for the young frenchman, I guess he's our priority. The Second of the three areas we need to improve. Bakayoko is a fantastic signing. Massive player. People undermine him a lot, because he is still young and has problems with his consistency. He's had a fantastic season and is exactly what we want from Matic. Our system is based on the front three and the wing-backs being effective. The center midfielders have to carry the ball forward fast or be able to interchange quick pass upfront. A part from long range passing and the fact he sometimes decides to dribble, instead of passing(because he doesn't believe he will make the pass) is the online problem I see in Bakayoko. Still, he is only 22 or 21, and will just improve. Why not under Conte? Because two bad 2nd halves vs City? Or because of the friendly vs Spain? Cool. Let's undermine the fact he bossed one of the best midfielders in England twice(Moussa Dembele) and the top 3 CM in the world (Marco Veratti). Sanchez/ B.Silva - Alexis. The dream. The final piece to the jigsaw of that front three and last position we need to improve. Pedro has had a massive season, but he's not ideal. Bad touches, decisions, passing, lack of ability to get past an opponent in most of the situations. 50 mil. demanded price for the 2nd best player in England and a player Conte loves to bits. Our supposed number 1 target. What more do we want? For him to be convinced by Conte to snub PSG and Juve. Ideal for Conte's idea of Hazard being the creative spark and Alexis being the "workhorse" forward, who does not stop running, scores and finds the space given by Hazard/Costa. Antonio resigned, because he didn't get him. Can we please make his dream finally come true. He loves his fucking chilleans. If, it does not materialize, hopefully, we manage to bag B. Silva, he is the other choice who would fit Hazard. Still, Romano has said we will go all out for Alexis and one can only dream. Lukaku and/or Morata - Costa is a goner. And as much as I like the bloke, he isn't my ideal choice for a forward. Honestly, I believe we can replace him. Football has evolved. It's more than just a striker being clinical, and even if it is still his main asset, it also requires him to have good link - up play, be able to put other players in good positions, when he is having a bad game. Or, if we are playing against Pullis's WBA, he'd come with his back to goal and lay it off, creating space in behind with quick passing. Just as an example. Lukaku has massively improved this aspect of his game. And he guarantees goals. I do NOT rate him as much, but he has definitely improved and I won't be a fool to deny that. Costa would never make the pass he made to Valencia against Hull. Never. And this is not me hating Costa. Morata - I must be the only one who actually rates him a lot. I watched his big season at Juve, then the next one he was injured, then he decided Real was a good choice for him, which, was a big mistake. Big moment player. Always pops up when needed, be it goal, asisst or something to contribute and lead to a goal. He was played at LM, injured, which is the reason he didn't have a great season and didn't make a dynamic duo with Dybala. Imo, he would fit us good, people are undermining him, because he has barely popped double-digit goals in his career. Still, just for a prime example, we signed Drogba with ONE season behind his back. Morata is still relatively young and has had ONE season, where he was fully trusted and a key figure. In that same season, he got Juve to the CL final(in which he scored), scoring in nearly every game leading up to it. Also, popped goals vs Milan, Napoli and Inter, if I am not mistaken. He can be successful for us, as long as, he keeps himself injury free and is trusted. Depending on the outings of certain players, our wage bill and transfer budget can grow. I believe we can manage to cash in on Costa & Willian and/or Matic. Which would be massive. We could still end up with a relatively good net worth balance, if that be the case. We have to invest this summer, and we have the potential to do so, if do about our business on the low and correctly. Hopefully, we do.

I see the one game scouts are out in full force, again. Good to see.

Willing to bet, that this guy's watched 4 games of him, vs City and Spurs. Three of which he bossed.

🚨#Tianjin has been told by @ChelseaFC to come back in summer with a 150M€ offer to sign @diegocosta ! The chinese club intend to do so. Apparently?

People acting like he didn't come from an ACL tear and has played for the past year. Awful fanbase.

Shite interview. Asked the same question five times from LÉquipe. He was forced into saying he'd see in the summer. But with Ivanovic and us playing 3 defenders, he could easily slide with Christensen and Luiz.

Him or Bakayoko are taylor made for this side. TAYLOR MADE. Either one I'm happy with.

I will once again be the person to defend Hazard. Are we really undermining Willian? Matic? Alonso? Kante isn't a fantastic ball player, but he is alright. Now, what I am saying is not that Hazard is fucking unreal, don't get me wrong. He isn't playing to his best self, but he tried so much to actually do something. He can't do it by himself, lads. He did it once in Jose's season, but he had Cesc next to him, Diego and Remy were good link - up play. The triangles Conte's basing his game on involves technicality and fantastic link - up play to get into good positions. Matic - Alonso - Hazard is one of these. Moving from Alonso - Hazard - Diego. Out of these, excluding Eden, only Diego can actually have proper movement, good link up play and intelligence, and even he isn't amazing. Saying it again, it's not me saying Hazard is unreal, just that the criticism, that he isn't showing the wankfesting PASHUN and doesn't track back like under Jose, is absolutely stupid. I'm not saying he shouldn't grab the game by the scruff of the neck, but f*ck me, with what support. In the positions which we got pressurised, Alonso and Matic were constantly making stupid passes, losing possession, bare movement. I realize the game plan was to sit back and absorb the pressure, but when the possession comes to us, we have to be ruthless. One-two-three passes and for us to be in something close to actually creating a chance. Do we have that? Do we really have that? No. Willian useless, Matic - meh, Alonso - useless. It's basically expecting Messi to actually be scoring hattricks with Cattermole and Papy Souare. Hopefully, this season, we manage to win the title and start a good transition, alongisde Diego, Eden and Kante. But we need quality, able to actually play in different situations. The only people knowing what to do when we have this possession when we are limited to it are Diego and Eden. Not even Kante. But problem is, with the lack of quality, you can't expect them to dribble, be a constant threat, doing it alone, watching offside traps, taking three or four people alone. It can't happen. It's stupid, but if you take a closer look, Hazard was in good positions, and constantly opening their opposition, finding space. And then, if you take a look at games like Palace, yesterday, Leicester... no proper movement, if we find movement, there is no intelect, zero thinking. Willian can't play a proper through ball, Moses had two chances to pop the ball just outside of the area, he goes for a low cross to someone and it's cleared by Matip/Lovren. He didn't lay it off to Hazard, goes for a weaker foot shot. WHY? Palace, no through balls in three positions, Hazard gets the blame for not putting a shift, WHY? As I've said, he isn't in fantastic form, YES, but how can he be the Messi-esque player you want? These high expectations and resistance to the actual overrating of our players is why you are constantly disappointed.Look at the deatils, watch it a bit more and you'll see. You are making him out look bang average, when in reality, it's not him being ban average... Pretty sure there are people who want him to be benched for Willian...

Not from me. Worse than Pedro. Can't wait for us to actually buy proper talent, who knows what he is doing. Will be a fantastic difference.

Still, do not know, why, nobody is commenting on this donkey's typical shite performance. Instead of putting a proper ball to Moses, didn't make the pass and they score. Literally, can't wait for the day he leaves us.

He did fly to London, but it's, as you said, a knee scan.