King Kante

FFS what is it with this 4231 bollox.

I agree. Another factor is 1st in the group, looking at the CL this year, finishing 1st would be a real boon as the quality between 1st teams and 2nd teams is vast. For me, SFL will go with a strong line-up: Mendy Dave AC/Rudi Zouma Chilwell Kante Mount Kova (think Kai is injured, if not he starts) Ziyech Werner CHO Subs to get on: Giroud, Jorgi/Kova, James and Emerson.

Just reading through the pages and it is funny. 10 months ago we all thought that the squad would need a massive overhaul and it would require us to be canny and bide our time for 2-3 years. Now the majority think it is a case of a DM plus a CB and we are set for years.

I think with Gallagher it is more a case of players ahead of him and the complicated nature of shifting high earners. For me, he isn't getting ahead of Mount and then he has to compete with: Gilmour, RLC and Kova for a place in the squad. Gilmour looks like he has a higher ceiling so he is ahead and then you have Kova and RLC who are on massive wages andnin Kova's case, came in on a highish fee. Not sure either of those two can be shifted whilst they aren't unusable. For that reason, I can see him being sold for say £15-£20m with a £25-£30m buyback option so once we have cleared some of the backlog he can always be brought back easily.

Well I think his insane contract keeps him here. Another factor is that I have been told by someone that knows of him that he is a bit of a homeboy/Mummas boy. That is why he never went on loan until he was 21 and when he has gone he has had to stay in South/West London. Further, if we do switch to 433 with Mount and Kai as our starters (which is the formation and selections that make most sense) we need a back up No.8. That means Barkley or RLC. If you've seen my posts on RLC you'll see I have been calling him out for a long time but I think he is almost impossible to shift in the medium term. My CM squad would look like: No.4 - Rice, Amapdu, Gilmour No.6 Mount, Kante/Kova, Gilmour No.8 - Kai, RLC

Those numbers are insane. I would say if Rice is signed it will be curtains for: Barkley, Jorgi, Kova/Kante and Gallagher (who I could see being sold with a buy back.) That would give: Kante/Kova, Rice, Ampadu, Kai, Mount, RLC and Gilmour, which is still 7 players for essentially 3 roles. Although as Rice and Amapdu can moonlight in CB it would maybe not be too bad. The problem however, like Summer, would be finding buyers. Gallagher in this situation would probably not be too much of an issue as in my above suggestion he would essentially be a glorified loan. Barkley would probably be easy to shift due to his passport and okish form for Villa (although I wouldn't expect top dollar.) Kante/Kova and Jorgi would be issues due to their style or play, wages and fees.

Yeah, I think he has admitted this. From everything I have ever read about and seen of him, he kind of strikes me like he treats training like most blokes down the local 5 a side league do.

Gladbach seem to still rate AC to a certain extent. I reckon there could be a chance of a AC+ cash deal.

Indeed. Mount has got a lot of criticism for reasons that are beyond me as he has mostly played out of position since coming back here. Mason should really be playing as either a No.6 or a No.8 (with me starting to lean towards him becoming a No.6 owing to his work rate both on and off the ball.) It is the same with Harvetz. Everyone on here said he should be playing No.11/False No.9/No.10 as that is where he played for Bayer. However, if you watched him, you would've seen that in the PL he would have to play No.8 as his single best quality is attacking the space and in the PL teams will just low block the f**k out of him in a No.9-No.11 role.

Who would've thought it, 433 is our best formation.

Well lets hope we do not get a Bambi Abrahams performance today. I am glad we have moved to 433 and I said it may be wise to rest Werner here. However, Giroud whilst limited in his movement is great at getting the ball down and involving the AM's. For me, whilst he may seem more limited than Tammy, he is actually a better player as he brings the best out of players around him.

Question: Has Giroud banged SFL's wife? Cannot see why he never plays, especially in this one.

Isn't he injured?

Alternatively, Amapdu may be able to slot in. He was very impressive against the Dippers. In my opinion, if Amapdu can stay fit and concentrate his game on becoming a DM (which I think is his best position anyway) then I think he becomes a usable option in the next 12-24 months. Tbh, with the options we have to play the pivot I was slightly surprised he wasn't kept as he is probably better suited to playing alongside Kante/Jorgi/Kova than any of those as a pair. I suspect, we it may have been because we couldn't shift any of them we loaned Amapdu as he is in desperate need of minutes.

Hazard has again said that when he is done at Madrid, he would want to come back here. Be interesting to see if we would actually take him back or not. For me, I was always of the opinion that he was a Rooney type player in that once he got to about 30 he was going to drop off a lot as it is quite clear that he does not look after himself like an elite athlete should. What do people think? Would you want a 31/32 Hazard back or do you want to leave it where it is and remember as he was?

433. That is all.

Well, if Mendy gets injured, I want Cech to start. No more Kepa/Willy please.

My point is, 4231 is a formation that does not works for us. Either he has to play CF in a 433 or out wide in a 433. 4231 is not an answer for us atm and if that means Werner has to adapt/be played out of position then that is better than us persisting with 4231.

Play him on the left. 4231 is a really bad fit for us as we do not have the CM's to play the pivot properly. Even in a 4231 he is getting isolated and lets face it, with all the long balls that get hit, we would need to play Giroud and have him as a left sided AM anyway. On to the game and great to see Mendy get another clean sheet. The difference between him and Kepa is massive. As for my MotM it goes to Ziyech.

Be fuming if he does. If he stays fit he'll be a very good player.

Currently playing like the DMF we're crying out for. Sheff Utd's best player of the first half against the Dippers.

I am ok with the tactics to a large degree as I understand we need to shore up at the back, however the subs left me fuming again. Why in the hell were Giroud and Kova not put on as the first two? As for the third I would be ok with Mount or Ziyech depending on how the game was going. I just do not get how SFL does not realise that CM is a real problem as it does not link the back line to the front line and how he appears to rate Werner and Tammy as target men with all the long balls being hit. MotM - Mendy/Thiago.

Well, I wouldn't say so good yet. But after having a T-rex armed, funsized gk in goal for the past two seasons it does make me feel a lot better. Only concern I have so far is composure and distribution. As for this game, we really need Kova on as we have no one linking the midfield to the attack. CM is now our biggest problem imo. As for the game the Walking Forehead seems to be able to do what he wants to us. Kick us in the balls, choke slam our players in the penalty area. Just waiting for a Tombstone as a finisher now.

So, Kepa out of the trip to OT with a 'shoulder' injury. How long before we see Cech make the bench?

Not surprised. He is the player from the next generation of youth products that looks like he could make the first team fairly soon. If we could've shifted Alonso and Emerson, I was expecting him to become LB2 as Dave can play LB if we found it was not working.