The Skipper

AOC would potentially be pushing for a starting spot here depending on form and development I think, can't say the same about Salah tbh.

Contrary to the popular belief, Dortmund sort of play the type of football Jose's trying to implement here I believe.

Quadruple.

Solid point with Wilshere tbh, might be unpopular but he could possibly start over Oscar here (as I can see him performing Oscar's duties perhaps?). He has good work rate and a good motor, clever player but has a bit more finesse than Oscar in his vision of the pitch. Oscar is probably the better goal threat though. Wilshere would be a really interesting one IMO.

We must hope that the likes of Baker, RLC, Chalobah, Solanke etc. make the step up over the years. I would rather try to develop those under our books because the top English talent out there isn't that impressive, and it would be way too costly. Imagine bringing in a Barkley for example? He would cost north of £30m, and that isn't justified at all. Sterling would be the same.

What will you do if it doesn't happen?

Yes, playing online on a console Jase... Get with the times

Not when you play online

Yup I agree. Ramires is a must for me in big games because of the legs he adds to our midfield. He needs to improve defensively though, he's a lot better than what he showed against Everton.

In our system, it's much better he operates from deep simply because he'll have more time and space to pick out his runs from deep and also more vision on the pitch. I'm not basing this on what he's done here, just basing it on his attributes as a player. He'll be able to ping through balls better instead of constantly being surrounded in tight spaces by their CMs and CBs.

Fabregas an 84? EA will definitely upgrade it back to at least 86 this season tbh. It's not like he even had a bad year last year? That's awful.

But Fabregas operates better when his starting position is from deep. Oscar thus provides a much better platform for Fabregas to have a bigger influence on the game, and also aids us a lot better in ball retention.

They don't do it as well as Oscar does.

To me, it's not even about that anymore tbh. I've accepted that Oscar is an unconventional, unorthodox number 10, with a different role compared to your traditional number 10. What Oscar allows is a platform for someone like Fabregas to dictate the game at a more effective rate. Frees Fabregas from his defensive shackles a lot.

I like Stones and Jones tbh. I think Henderson Wilshere will work as well as Gerrard Henderson, potentiall even better because Jack has more bite to him and is a lot more physically imposing than Gerrard with his tenacity. I like that team, it's not wonderful but it's solid.

No one has mentioned this, but surely we must be well in the positive regarding our net spent considering we get fees for loans? We have 25+ players out on loan too. Obviously not all will enforce a loan fee, but some of the significant players i.e. Bertrand, Torres, T. Hazard, Piazon, Chalobah, MVG etc?

Solid.

...... You didn't even want him here to begin with, why you worried?

It's about asset management. When Hazard's contract goes down to 2 years you'll soon have the likes of Real and Barcelona, maybe even Bayern sniffing about. I'd rather not risk that because Hazard "has to prove again that he's one of the best in the league" (as if he didn't prove that last year, he was 2nd in PFA player of the year in case you missed it). Getting Reus isn't a certainty either... We already have Hazard as our player, why should we risk it because 'we can always go for Reus'. I'd rather not. His performances in general last year warrant a new contract IMO, especially to fend off potential suitors.

Courtois and Hazard next are a must for me.

Traore still has a lot to prove. I'm watching him fairly consistently in the Eredivisie this year though, let's see how he gets on. Out of those I'd like to see Thorgan come in to challenge Oscar if he has a good year, because I see them as very similar players. An AM set of Hazard, Reus, Schurrle, Oscar & T. Hazard would be amazing. Both Oscar and Thorgan are capable of playing out wide decently too.

That's correct, I shouldn't have tbh. Oscar is slowly becoming a very vital piece in the system. My statement still applies to Schurrle and Willian though. Less so to Salah because as I said, he's comfortable with being 5th choice. So one of Schurrle (unlikely) or Willian out, and Reus in. Senior player in, senior player out. Would be okay I think. If one of our younger AMs are showing huge potential then perhaps we could offload Salah.

For me, if Reus is coming in, one of the more senior AMs has to leave, not Salah. I doubt one Schurrle, Oscar or Willian would accept being 5th choice.

Huge if. Rooting for Willian though.

I would take Reus and shift Willian tbh.