MoroccanBlue

Havertz Dembele Jesus Mount Kovacic DM Chilwell CB Kounde? James Mendy

The best we could of gotten out of him was being an impact sub/rotation option and he was never going to accept that. Can blame Lukaku all we want but this is primarily the boards fault. Scott McLachlan, if reports are to be believed, persuaded the club to get him.

It certainly helped speed up the process but his ability as a footballer is what destined him to fail here. Tuchel was never going to dumb down our football to suit Lukaku.

Nkunku, Jesus, and Dembele to replace Werner, Ziyech, and Lukaku would be mad.

Love how Liverpool and City don't even need a complete rebuild like we do and they are acting faster than us. WHY DOES THIS KEEP HAPPENING?

Next season will be Spurs' highlight with Conte. The fact they finished 4th this season already has me convinced they will finish in a Top 4 spot as Conte will go all out this next season, then throw his toys out the pram the next. Just the way it goes with him. Think we will be battling a 4th spot with United.

Academy little stale atm though. Can’t really see anyone other than Vale make it in the Prem if I’m being honest.

Can't blame either of them. If an English club offered me 300kpw and I was making 150kpw in Milan, I'd turn that down in all honesty. A culture and lifestyle you don't ever want to leave.

Not his fault we pulled off the biggest cock up in recent history. I instantly respect Boehly and Tuchel for doing what ever necessary to get rid. Him sulking in the dressing room and training ground will kill morael.

Bastoni would be an incredible move if we manage to swap with Lukaku. Seems he doesn't want to leave Italy.

Gavi the flavor of the month now is it? Loan out Gilmour to Sevilla and watch him take the piss out of La Liga.

How does Mount still start for England.

Cool. How about we actually buy some players instead of reprinting the same story that Boehly will give Tuchel control.

I'm just trying to explore all the possibilities to implement a system where our attacking players can actually thrive. Kante and Kovacic "worked" but there were several issues in terms of dominating possession. I would hope Bissouma's ability on the ball could fix that.

Would a pivot of Bissouma + Kovacic work in a back 4? Mount the CAM?

That for me is the issue. James and Chilwell need to be 100% for the system to be effective and that is not sustainable unless our goal is to become a cup team.

Just all the more reason to get rid what ever possible. Cannot have him sulking up the dressing room and training ground knowing he did well try and leave from the beginning.

Sadly the club seems set on Rice for what ever fucking reason. Chelsea through and through will always be a laugh to me when three years ago this lad told the Matthew Harding Stand to "fuck off" after they beat us at the bridge. Philips is a more natural DM than Rice is either way yet we aren't interested. I for one see the midfield as an absolute priority over others. At the very least I will take Bissouma + Gallagher into next season, and hope by some miracle Jorginho elevates his game with the time off during the World Cup.

I for one am not fickle enough to believe our season went to shit because we lost Chilwell and James for the majority of it. Issues were there from the get go. Our system is entirely depended on the wingbacks being 100%. That in itself shows you how unsustainable it is. Again, you can blame our attackers all you want but it doesn't dispute the fact all of them were prolific at other clubs. The football we play is far too pragmatic and slow for any attacker to shine here. By the time an attacker gets the ball, two defenders are on him. I really hate doing this but I am keeping receipts on the members who feel there isn't an issue going into next season with the same midfield. They are well in for a massive, massive disappointment.

RLC being promoted to a utility player despite looking shocking 90% of the time isn't enough evidence for me to suggest Gilmour and Ampadu can successfully be the DM we are looking for. Particularly when one can't get into a Norwich midfield and the other is extremely limited as midfielder. Fact of the matter we suffered immensely this season because of our midfield. Wingbacks played a part, but I will not pretend our midfield wasn't incredibly unreliable for the majority of the season, whether it was performance related or injuries. Kante is blatantly losing his athleticism, Kovacic is injury prone and Gallagher doesn't work in a midfield two. To add to that, I just saw De Paul and Paredes run circles around Jorginho last week with no effort. It was embarrassing. I don't want Rice. Tchouameni was the answer and its sickening we missed out on him when he was genuinely in our hands. Best we can hope is a mysterious quality DM is available we don't know about or we will go into next season experiencing the exact same problems as last. Doesn't matter what attacker comes in. Unless the midfield is sorted we will experience the same inconsistency and dull football.

What notable role was that? Don't be as shit as Saul? 😂 I really hate to take over Mana's pessimistic mantle but you can quote me. We stick with the midfield we have we aren't finishing Top 4.

I would hope not. Massive limitations as a midfielder which is why he played CB at both Sheffield and Venezia, to which he contributed to both of their relegations.

It was disastrous this season, why wouldn't it be next? Kovacic is injury prone, Kante is losing his athleticism + is injury prone, we've gone about as far as we can with Jorginho and the best of Gallagher isn't suited in a 2 man midfield.

Against low blocks, the problem is the set up. - Ball swings out wide to to the wingback (James/Alonso). What are the options? - Havertz is double marked in the middle and the attacking wingers are marked out wide. - Jorginho is pragmatic in his position to prevent the counter, which leaves just one option through the middle (either Kovacic or Kante). Either can be easily taken out of the game with a body constantly on them. - With no options, the wingback (James/Alonso) recycles back to the CB to try the other side. - Rinse and repeat. Time and time again this scenario happens. Add the slow and tedious way we move the ball, its genuinely no wonder why we've dropped so many points at home and why our attackers continue to struggle. It's easy to defend against. The fact all rumors suggest Tuchel wants to continue this set up, peak Lionel Messi himself wouldn't thrive here.

Do you believe there is a risk going into the season with Kante, Jorginho, Gallagher, and Kovacic?