King Kante

I think you're right, if you actually look at his performances over the 18 months he has been here rather than the last two months he played. Part of the reasoning for this, I suspect, is tied to a lot of posters making out Alonso is so bad he would be lucky to get a place on the bench of a League 2 side. Hence, Chilwell gets more leeway as they can't handle Alonso playing. As for my perspective on Chilwell I do have two principle concerns with him. First is that he has been a very streaky player so far in his career. The second is how one footed he is. I have mentioned his one footedness a bit on here but people don't seem to have noticed it much. I would say to people when he next plays watch what he does when he is forced to play with his right/has no option to get it onto his left. What I have noticed is that he is ultra-conservative in that he will either a) turn back and break down an attack or b) play very simple passes back/sideways to keep possession. To some extent I am ok with the conservative approach as you don't want your LWB to lose possession high up the pitch, however I find it incredibly frustrating that he never tries to do something on his right when there is an opportunity to move the ball quickly to start/keep an attack going as it stops the momentum. That said, I do agree with others' that he was looking good this season, but things need to be tempered a little as he has gone through purple patches before and then tailed off. He did that in the first half of the 2019/20 season with Leicester then his initial start with us. Obviously, the hope is that he can keep his form up as he is now reaching the age where consistency is key and after that he'll need to work on his right foot if he wants to become elite.

I read more of an indication of just how bad he got. As you say, all saves you would expect him to make, however as the bar went so low, now regulation saves are praised. What was also lost was how he still doesn't have any presence when balls come in high. That said, at least he is making saves he should do. That is a big improvement on what went before.

In regard to LWB are Emerson or Maatsen possible to recall? If so, can see one of them back if needed. If we need to buy/loan then Dinge must be the most obvious one. Out of favour and knows the PL. Only issue with him is that he has been out of form for about a year. Been saying for ages, Rice is boxed in. Wet Spam want too much and he still essentially has 3.5 years left. Cannot see a move for him until Summer 2023 at very earliest unless Utd go mental. With Guehi don't we have some sort of match option? Not sure we will go back for him as it would probably require a transfer request for him and a non-mad bid from someone else which is unlikely due to English tax. Tomori I can see in Italy for a few years, not sure he will move any time soon with the slow pace league and virtually guaranteed CL football. Possibly depends on what he is on.

Someone needs to put that on his Twitter as a FYI.

Dippers only play reserves in EFL cup so doubt it will make much difference to them for this.

Home, away in second.

Someone needs to tell Jorgi to sort out his beard. Starting to look like a young Rolf Harris.

There is some talk about one leg owing to Covid but currently 2 legs.

All in all a good game in the end all things considered.

Vale looks very good, SB is looking good on the ball (not excepting him to do much hold up play at 17/18.) Simons is lost though, he is getting up and down but that is about it, he is losing the runner every time and is picking the wrong option in the final third when he gets it. Not going to beat up/writing him off, but he should be the first one to be subbed.

Actually think that wasn't a bad half all things considered. Their first header was offside and the other chances they've had were ones you expect a GK to save. For me, I imagine the idea is to try and keep possession and tire them a little then bring on some of the bigger boys'. One big concern for me however is Simons, he is completely losing his runner out on the right off the ball which means when they switch play they're in. I would get James on for him at HT. As I have been a critic of his, I will give Kepa his dues, as he is shot stoping really well. Only concern, which has always been my biggest with him, is that he doesn't command his area whatsoever when balls come in, which means it is all on the defence to clear. All in all, try and keep this up for 15 more mins then call the calvery.

Interested to see the young boys'. However, such a line up was always on the cards with all the covid issues and current form of the players. Just hoping it doesn't become a hiding as Brentford will be up for this and we will probably look like a team of strangers.

Yeah, I am banking on a loss tomorrow. In some ways, I think we may just have to go with a primarily U23 side with a few Sarr's, Saul's and Barkley's thrown in. No point breaking down a key starter with 7+ out with covid/injury.

We don't really need a CM for the medium to long term but rather one just for the short term as Saul has been so awful. As for Jan, I cannot see anything much except for a LWB and maybe a LCB (if Rudi does sign a pre-contract.)

Kepa Dave Silva Rudi James Jorgi RLC Saul Ziyech Puli Mount Bench Mendy, Sarr, Alonso Kova, Kante, Barkley, Vale. Alonso looks like he is struggling with an injury at the moment, so I would go with Saul at LWB. May be some arguments to start Sarr instead of Silva to save him for the PL. Not sure many of the others' can be rested unless Kai and AC are actually back.

Well personally, I am on record saying that I'd rather either Giroud or Tammy over Lukaku. Neither were perfect but they were better fits that Lukaku.

Yes, a bankrupt Barcelona will be able to afford him 🤣

Personally hoping Newcastle come in for Barkley.

Well the Eto'o over Lukaku one made sense as Eto'o was formerly an elite player who was still performing at a decent level and was available on a reasonable/short term contract. Lukaku on the other hand was known as a flat track bully who is hopeless at dealing with low block defenses and is very technically limited. Add to that he required a £97m fee and £91m+ contract. Broja may have been a bit of a push, but Tammy and Giroud wouldn't have given us anything less than we're getting out of Lukaku.

Yeah, let's just hope the three are amongst those unlikely to start. Additionally, Everton are half the team without DCL so better to play them now rather than wait until he and there injured players are back.

I do not believe anything that Phillip's says.

Reports suggest two starters.

How the f*ck have we got Taylor again? We seem to have that f*cker reffering our games every month.

Personally I see Dave staying and becoming our James Milner utility player as he can play so many positions and is a great character to have in the dressing room. Additionally, it shouldn't be forgotten he has been here 9.5 years now, so any move will uproot his family. Does he really want to do that at 33 with Children and owning a non-league club in England. I am not too sure. I think RLC will depend on what he wants. If he won't drop his wages and is happy to except a purely squad role, I can see him staying especially as there are a lot of rumours he is against moving too far from his family. Think Werner is a hard sell. Who exactly will we sell him too? Bayern and Madrid won't buy him, Barca are broke and Juve could be getting relegated. Dortmund? Maybe, but no way do they go near his wages. Only kind of deal I could see is a swap for Felix with Atleti, but swaps are incredibly rare, except for clubs looking to do dodgy accounting. Newcastle could possibly want him, but I cannot see him going for it. I agree with the others' but reckon Barkley will have to be a loan owing to his wages.

If the ask is £180k a week, that is something we have to consider as that is £46.8m over 5 years, which isn't that crazy when you consider how much it is to go out and buy a like for like replacement. Additionally, owing to his position it isn't out if the question you can still pick up a reasonable fee for him in 2-3 years time (although the wages may make it difficult if he has a drop in form and/or we return to a back 4 as he isn't great there.) However, some things do need to be considered. Firstly, yes he did win two pens and has been playing well, but let's not forget he was at fault for the Burnley goal by not stepping up with the line and he should've done a lot better prior to West Ham's second. Another problem I have with this article is how they ask how we find ourselves in this situation. The answer is pretty clear. Firstly, Dave and Silva are at an age where they only get 1 year extensions moving forward. Whenever we have had the situation in the past the extension has been announced until March onwards so this really isn't concerning/surprising. As for AC and Rudi, it needs to be remembered how we defended like the Keystone Cops under SFL. A lot of people wanted them both replaced and Rudi was actively being pushed to go to West Ham at the start of last season. Seriously, neither were getting sizable extensions at that point and really only since the turn of this year have most people wanted them too. Lastly, as we do now find ourselves in this situation, it isn't surprising AC is being prioritised over Rudi owing to his lower ask, his age and academy status. All in all, this isn't great, but it shouldn't be surprising to anyone who has a memory that extends beyond February this year.