Tomo

The last month/two was an amazing watch but we got so complacent when we had room for error which in my mind counts against them when comparing to our other title sides. Whenever we started a match knowing we'd be top after regardless we always dropped points, a wins a win but we shouldn't have let that get to the final matchday. Compare that to the other title sides who ruthlessly gobbled up any chances to extend the lead and eventually won with games to spare.

This PSG side reminds me of our situation in Moscow. Players with experience of winning this (Carvalho, Maka, Belletti for us Neymar, Navas, Di Maria for them tonight) but still the club can't yet make that final push.

But there's got to be a middle ground. If cities keep locking down over 4 cases (not deaths, not even hospitalisations, cases!) we won't have a world to come out of this to and we will encounter problems (through poverty, suicide etc) that will quickly make Covid the least of our problems. Not to mention although cases are rising here, hospital admissions and deaths are still trending downwards. There's a fine line between appropriate precautions and the utter madness we're seeing in Melbourne and NZ. Cast your mind back to the reasons we were given for lockdown. It was to flatten the curve, save our health service, buy us time to find sustainable ways to cope, the R number etc etc. Locking down (and taking more lumps out of the economy leaving even more families susceptible to poverty) on 4 cases is hugely counterproductive especially when looking further than the end of our noses. What worries me the most is when does this end? Because let's be real, governments aren't going to cease the new powers they have lying down.

Not much we can do if no one will take an obligation. At this point it's about making sure he's not on our rooster for a season.

This year? KO'd by the finalist's at the same stage England's runaway champions got dumped out by a watered down Atletico side featuring Morata.

Depends on the aspects that people are citing potential improvement on. With Chilwell I'll say there is scope for improvement as a lot of his issues seem to be in his head and tactical, with good and patient coaching that's fixable. However I do chuckle when people use the age excuse when it comes to the subject of players having limited to no technical ability, if a player struggles to control a football at 18, he won't start doing so at any point.

Because people make out like it's some god league streets above all the others which is just absolute bull. Players have come to this league from "inferior" league's and gone up a level, also dropped after leaving aswell. Aguero, Silva, Mata, (Xavi) Alonso, Torres, Cazorla, Drogba, Hazard, Firmino, Salah, Alderwierld, Sanchez, Pulisic, Henry, Bergkamp, Vieira, Pires, Auba, Kante, Cech, Essien, Carvalho, Diego Costa, Fabregas, Son all examples of players who did better in the Prem than the so called easier league's and that's just off the top of my head. Also regarding competive, the PL has had 5 runaway winners in the last 6 season's (all of the last four Champions got 90 plus points and 30 or more wins), any other league gets laughed at for those type of stats. Also not to mention, Dortmund lost their last three home games in the Bundi, when was the last time that happened to one of the big boys in the PL?

So we've got just under a 50% chance of avoiding a major side from pot 1, that's pretty good going from our perspective but a bit ridiculous also.

The fact that he shown he can get not so great squad/players punching makes his behavior in those last 5 months 100x worse.

Has no one to blame but himself, although it won't be for the want of trying.

It's not defensively i'm really worried about him, as you say very few FB's are rock solid these days it's more going forward, he often lacks the aggression, movement and quality decision making you see from the likes Robertson, Telles, Grimaldo, pre injury Mendy or even Tierney.

Not particularly keen but i'll give him a fair chance like anyone else.

Only if Germany go on the list (unlikely) or he transits through France.

Pulis is good at what he does but my god what on earth were Arsenal thinking trusting him with such a promising talent? He'd be okay for a no nonsense CB or pacey athletic winger good on the counter (Adama's development had a lot to do with Pulis likewise Bolasie) but hopefully we have blacklisted him in regards to any of our elite technical talent, imagine if we loaned him Anjorin for example?

Does Silva speak English? If he does then this transfer appeals even more if we plan to give Ampadu or even Mbuyamba significant minutes.

Absolutely mental that they've locked down on 4 cases. Worse than Melbourne's beyond Draconian measures!

Because Michy offers literally nothing unless he's sticking the ball in the net and even his finishing has started deserting him. For all Alonso's faults he does have an upside of substance even if we only properly see it one game every four and when he's on it he's capable of match winning moments/performances, main cases in point Spurs and Newcastle at home last season, United away under Sarri where his goal was effectively the clincher for top four, or Spurs away under Conte.

I'm sorry but that is way way to harsh on Alonso, he may not be world class but he has his uses and certainly more so than the players you mentioned do. Above all else, there's only going to be so much money we can spend in one window, if we want to get rid of Alonso we have to find other ways to sort out our backup LB beyond buying atleast for next year. Whether that's by keeping Emerson instead (lol), promoting Maatsen or do what was done with Milner/Delph and shift a midfielder there, not sure who on our rooster would be suitable for that role, Gallagher perhaps?

Thing with Sir Alex is he had a big squad but for the most part a set 11-13 that would play any match of importance, the rest were simply there to fill in for a flat track game when a big boy needed a rest (O Shea, p.Neville etc) or just there to be a super sub and not much more (OGS). Alonso can play vs the Newcastle's of this world while our new LB saves his energy for Bayern.

All things considered i don't think Silva would be bad atall, he still looks pretty good when I've seen him.

Big problem was the team was so good we didn't feel an urgent need to get some serious top signings in. Liverpool appear to be making the exact same mistake today.

Bit torn over the prospect of him going to Leeds. On one hand working under Bielsa will be fantastic for him (plus there's every chance Leeds will immediately challenge for Europe like SHU did), on the other one of our own at Leeds even temporarily just feels wrong and i imagine he'd have to be ridiculously good to win them over.

Not taking anything away from Davies or Trent but do you think they're massively aided by coming into a team at their absolute peak? Compared to our boys who are coming through together in what was already a flawed inconsistent team anyway. I can't help but feel RJ 10 years older coming into our team with the old guard in their pomp he'd have exploded similarly, Callum aswell.

That would be a fair point if it actually happened.