The Skipper

Really can’t complain too much for £15m. Wanted him instead of Drinkwater but alas here we are. English, good technical player that could play as an inside forward in the 343, or as a 3rd CM in the 352. We go forward with Kanté, Fabregas, Bakayoko, Barkley and Drinkwater. It’s not too bad tbh. I think I’d prefer RLC to get a quality loan for a year or two, in Germany or Spain for a side in Europe, playing in his favoured position (CM), to develop, like Christensen or Courtois. He won’t be better off as a back up squad player here. He has issues with consistency and decision making, but he’s still kinda young so who knows.

Should’ve signed two of DD, Barkley and Bakayoko. Not all three. RLC isn’t coming back next season guys.

I told you guys his finishing was wank and I got abused for it.

Having his best season here imo.

Mbappé’s not worth that now but he will be very soon. Guy’s insane.

We’re somehow second. Conte’s a big reason as to why.

His movement has been fantastic today imo.

Rüdiger is so underrated man, what a player. Drinkwater - Kante title winning midfield doing bits, not too surprising.

Well, the club literally just released the figures for 16/17 and we made a £15m profit. That’s without CL football and also with the -£40m we had to pay Adidas to terminate the sponsorship. We really aren’t as poor as you’re trying to make out.

Conte isn't a defensive manager... he's pragmatic. There's a difference. Last season when we easily beat most smaller side confirmed this for me. We would be so much better with more quality going forward. If we have Sandro ahead of Alonso, if we had someone like Alexis ahead of Willian etc. we'd be so much better. Yes, Conte has made mistakes but his squad isn't great. He's at fault I would say 25%. The rest falls on the board's inability to actually upgrade the squad. This squad we have is worse than last seasons - the sooner people accept that, the better.

I don't think anyone is saying we should have 11 world class players on the pitch, people are saying we should get in a few more elite players to compliment Hazard. Asking for an improvement on the likes of Alonso, Willian, Zappacosta etc. is not the same as people thinking football is FIFA. We've barely spent anything for years now so your financial argument of us not being able to afford a big signing here or there doesn't hold much weight.

Eh? That has nothing to do with Twitter: that's just two different reporters having a different take on something said. Could have done the exact same thing on TV or in an article for example.

Nope. It's the other way around. Hazard is much better than KDB for Belgium.

He's just a proper player.

This coupled with a Hazard contract signing would make the club's future look a lot more optimistic. Should get it done ASAP.

Tbh, wouldn’t mind him if he was bought to exclusively play there mostly. He can work on his defensive game - he’s a top athlete so he won’t be as exposed as let’s say Alonso is when it comes to the pace of the game.

What do you think about this? @Belgiannutt

Well, given our recent transfer windows... personally I don’t have much hope. Fair play to you if you do. I do hope we change.

Even if Coutinho goes - they’ve got Keita coming in and have shown interest in guys like Goretzka for example. At least they’re looking to replace with quality whilst also improving their squad in general. I don’t think the Van Dijk signing is great as I mentioned earlier but at least they’re showing that they’re willing to plug the right holes in their team with good talent. They’re also apparently close to signing that Swiss international Akanji - so that’s two big holes in their squad that they’ve addressed. Coutinho leaving Liverpool would affect them far less than let’s say Hazard leaving us. Coutinho is arguably not even their most important player anyway (Salah, Mané). They’re improving either way (even if Coutinho leaves - not sure why people are treating this as a fact) whilst our squad is arguably worse than last season’s. Liverpool’s squad certainly ain’t.

My main point is that they’re showing far more ambition than us, when we started in a better position. I’m not saying the signings will be perfect for them or anything.

I agree with what you said on that for sure. Not defending anything Georgy is saying - your previous reply to him are my exact thoughts. It’s just that it’s worrying in a sense that other clubs are finally starting to catch up/overtake, as @Pizymentioned above.

To be honest, since this season? Yes. They’re showing more ambition than us. Managed to sign Ox ahead of us, secure one of the best CMs about in Keita, now just spunked £75m in VVD... they’re not that far behind anymore.

Defenders are naturally cheaper in the game. I’m happy we didn’t sign him. The young top talent at CB available at the moment is amazing, and honestly we have the best set of CBs in the league. Would’ve been a stupid buy. They could’ve bought two CBs for £40m and it would’ve been much better in the long term.

Seriously? I know Alexis can be frustrating but you can’t coach his final third productivity into Willian. You're calling the guy that led his country to two Copa America’s in a row spineless?

He can be good, but also bad. Quite average defensively, and loses the ball quite a bit vs. low blocks but his athleticism is impressive.