King Kante

Not got much time to write a lengthy post but I just want to say how pleased I am with AC. I have held a candle for him, nearly by myself, and so glad he is now starting to look like the player he looked like he could be. Still a lot more work to do, but he has been excellent since coming in for Silva. As for the game, super important win. Now lets push on for the rest of the season. KTBFFH

Lampard's Son.

You can't drop Mount, he is our best player atm and that I disagree Ziyech is a good presser. Ok, zero press was a bit strong, but look at today. He was a passenger for large parts of it.

Can't do that as we would have zero press. Maybe against the likes of WBA but that would be highly risky against any decent team considering out CM's are so small.

It is probably that he and his family know the North West/North fairly well as he was born there and his Dad played there. They most likely still have friends or even property in the area. London for me isn't going to be much of a pull for him as he isn't flashy or a party animal.

DCL is my shout as a more realistic option.

For sure, we have too many what Jose/Conte would class as Nice Boys. It is why a we still need three no nonsense players at CB, DMF and CF.

Yeah, we aren't Charity FC for nothing.

Have to disagree. CF after a non-funsized DM is probably the most important position to sort out. Werner is half the player without a good CF to play off and against the big teams we are toothless because Giroud is too slow (although a great CF2/3 I hope he stays fyi) and Tammy is still essentially a mid-table player. So, sure against the Burnley's of this world he'll get you goals but step it up and you get him missing the chances like he did against Spuds at home; although I do recognise the danger of selling him as both Drogba and Costa weren't top rank CF's until they got to 25ish. Further, people need to start to recognize Werner is more of a Pedro type player than a No.9. If we move to a Pep type style then he would be fine but we aren't really set up for that. This said, as much as I would love to lube up and unzip to have a fantasy w*nk over Håland, he isn't coming here. He will go to City.

We aren't selling him unless he gets 10+ or something. Even then, it will just show how patchy he is. At best we get another loan with a £5m fee of something. No one is covering his £120k wages a week.

Funny thing is, this is what I and a lot of other people were saying about him for years but people weren't having it.

Really need to beat the Dippers now.

A bit frustrating as we created the three pretty good chances but didn't take them - Giroud header, Ziyech shot, James ball in before the break away but didn't have anyone to finish them. A draw is not the worst result but this game was in a nutshell why we aren't a top team i.e. need to play 3atb to have any consistent shape and no strikers or AM's that are clinical enough to finish off chances. Player that I was most annoyed with today was Chilwell. All I have heard since Alonso has come back is how out of order it is that Chilwell has been dropped for the 'cockroach', 'Alonslow', 'the snail paced LWB' etc. Well today was his opportunity to shine and he pretty much did nothing other than be fast enough to cover. That boy should've been bombing forward, yet with the exception for one time (and even then he was forced into it) he always cut back onto his right and played a safe ball. He probably will play against the Dippers but I wouldn't be surprised to see him dropped again after that and only used against quick counter attacking sides. As for MotM, AC gets that which makes it two in a row for him. Good to see him playing well.

Ziyech needs to come off he is an absolute passenger. I am also concerned how Shaw keeps bombing down the wing with Callum not tracking him. I would bring James on and put CHO up next to Mount. As for other players, Kante is struggling to pass and Chilwell is not getting forward like Alonso would be but equally he is covering at the back which is needed. However, I am disappointed with him considering he is playing for his place as he should be offering more in attacking phases. Giroud is playing well enough but his lack of pace means they can push right up on us, if after 10-15 minutes CHO doesn't do much I would take him off for Werner.

Deleted

Thanks Nikki, saved me a big reply.

I would personally play Chilwell in this game as I am wary of Utds counter attack and we all know Alonso isn't the quickest (understatement.) However, I am struggling to see what he has done wrong since he has come back apart from be slower than Chilwell. His link up play with Werner is better, he picks up space in the oppositions box much better than Chilwell and he has a much better shooting technique (for instance he gets Chilwell's chance against Wolves I am pretty certain he smashes that in.) Further, I think people are forgetting how indifferent Chilwell was before Alonso came back. He really wasn't tearing up trees. Now I get why people do not want him playing in this game, but for most games he is probably not going to lose his place just because he is slower than Chilwell (unless Chilwell comes back and starts playing like he did in Aug-Sept.)

Especially as it is Utd. Key to beating them is to not let them break. As a result you need your forward line to press them quickly before they release. Mount is our best player for this. No way is he dropped for someone like Ziyech.

Personally, I think he will just go onto rolling contracts for 2-3 years in a similar way JT and SFL did at the end of their careers. Maybe he goes to Spain but I have a feeling he may end up staying in England after he retires as by all accounts he is very settled here.

I think his number of appearances will tail off but I wouldn't be surprised to see Dave here for another 3-4 years and play a similar bench role to what Milner does for the Dippers. Having the odd highly experienced player who can play multiple positions is really handy.

So, what is your solution? Sell him now like we did with KdB and Salah allow him to develop elsewhere then potentially become a £100m player and either buy him then or see him go to one of our competitors?

Thanks for adding this, it saves me replying.

Has there been people saying he is our best player or that he has been the best player this season? That is a pretty big difference. There are plenty of examples where players have won accolades even though technically they aren't as great as others. Further, if you're resorting to stats, then you need to appreciate that you can be asked for detailed break downs on these (i.e. my quality of opposition question) and then have contrasting stats thrown at you. I am not being funny stating this, just rather making a general point that using stats to support and arguement cannot be done so without having a clear understanding of the underlying nuances. As for my inclusion of Grealish, yes that was more of a general point than aimed exclusively aimed at you as this is a ongoing discussion on here.

I keep seeing the Spanish clubs mentioned, but seriously has anyone seen how much debt they're in? Barca are nearly €1bn in debt (with no Owner to bail them out) whilst Real aren't that far behind. No way are they making their players take upward of 50% pay cuts and then buying Håland for €100m plus €300k+ a week. Not happening. Only clubs that can afford him are: PSG, City, Chelsea, Utd, Bayern, Dippers (if there owners aren't tight), Juve (maybe.) Outside of that there is no one that can pull it off. Barca and Real will continue to get mentioned because of their history with big transfers and glamour but the fact is they are are in a real hole financially.