Tomo

And if he proves to be a hit you'll just dismiss it as mere luck like you did us outplaying Ajax in Amsterdam.

If we went for a player that cheap over a Haaland or a Sancho (especially after a summer of no signings) most here would lose their shit claiming it's the ultimate proof we have no ambition anymore.

Its easy to say in hindsight but I don't think anyone really foresaw VVD becoming mere world class level let alone the level he did. I remember the thread with him on here there were rumours we were prepared to sacrifice Christensen to get him and everyone was outraged at the mere thought of it, how times change Re Jadon i think we are going to try for both which kind of lines up with Lampard saying he wants to replace Eden's productivity, plus Zaha can double up as a striker something we need now as with Tammy's emergence no one will come to be back up.

Van Dijk was never a realistic option, he wanted Liverpool and only Liverpool. Also since we've become a more possesion based side our recruitment has by in large been excellent and well and truly made up for the 2017 disaster. We've gone from probably the worst midfield out of top half teams to the best bar City (possibly even including this season) and signed an excellent young player in Pulisic. The only real question mark is Kepa but there's scope for improvement as on form he does suit the way we play down to the ground. Even the January 2018 signings have served a decent purpose all in all, especially Giroud.

Not saying he will turn into this level but VVD was at small teams until he was near 27.

If we can somehow get the price down to about £60m I'm starting to come round to the idea of Zaha. With Tammy's emergence another striker that can double up as a winger is handy, no striker worth their salt will come in just to play back up. We should try and use our connections with Palace to our advantage, we've done them solids with Ruben and Michy which has helped keep them in the PL especially in the formers case, something like offering them first refusal on the players we make available for loan in the next couple of years or even Michy as a makeweight could go a long way.

Wan Bisakka was born in the wrong era. As good as he is defensively he offers next to nothing going forward which will always hold him back from truly establishing himself.

I'm of the opinion that if there's even a 0.1% chance the goal will be ruled out flag it as soon as the goal technically goes in (ala Pulisic Vs Valencia). Letting teams celebrate only to go back is cruel.

I wonder if he deliberately choose the worst option in injury time. If he squared that we were fucked.

Barkley took all the penalties in pre season when he was on the pitch, even when Jorginho was aswell. It was quite evident Barkley was first choice but got removed from duties after that miss.

Games like tonight are why i think Lampard is going to be a top manager. You don't create the amount of openings we did tonight if you're not very well coached. The only thing we've got a problem with systematically is set pieces, things like open play defending and decision making in the last movement will improve once we get better personel in.

I think he needs time out to be honest. Signing a new winger in January and have him see the season out as 4th choice may not be the worst idea in the world. Slowly build up his confidence back up.

Callum's form is also a warning to anyone who thinks Loftus Cheek will come in and carry on where he left off, odds are he won't. We may have to write off the season for both (in terms of being key players) and go again next season.

We would probably be underdog's Vs all of them bar Leipzig but delving into things a bit more it isn't as daunting a list as It looks. PSG on paper are but we know what they're like in CL. Bayern make me feel a bit nervous given what they did to Spurs but if we bring our A game we have a good chance. Juve are struggling to adapt to Sarri ball even more than we were. Barca are defensively bobbins, they'll be a huge danger because of Messi but going forward we can get at them. Leipzig I don't know much about but no doubt will be a very tough match.

We don't know what would have happened if he scored. Had we got that point we may have been more conservative in Amsterdam for example. I think our penalty save in The Mestailla alongside Promes disallowed goal equalled up Barkley's miss in the what could have been stakes.

They'll be some conspiracy theories but I'd be saying it's more our fault for not getting over the line first.

Clubs have to look after their own interests first and foremost. In the same position I would 100% want us playing a scratch side.

The commentators and pundits have reignited their obsession about Kante "being a holding midfielder" big time tonight Jesus wept.

We will go up a level once we have a new LB to go with a more settled James. Grimaldo or someone of that ilk in place of Emerson tonight and the games over already.

The reason why give him time sounded ridiculous with Ole is he was showing no real signs and had United on their worst run for decades. His one off big game results are buying him time now but make no mistake without them he'd be gone and while James and Rashford's pace on the counter is perfect for big teams who open up, it's the opposite when they face teams who sit back and frustrate them. With Lampard and the team so far there has been some genuine positive signs we're well coached and heading in the right direction. We don't out football Ajax in Amsterdam if we're poorly coached, we don't play like we did in the second half against Villa if we're poorly coached, we don't play like we did in the first 80 minutes against Watford if we're poorly coached (would have been about 0-5 or 0-6 if it wasn't for Foster), we don't completely wipe teams out to the point they may as well have removed Kepa's goal like we did against Palace, Brighton and Newcastle if we're poorly coached. The patterns and style we play with takes some serious quality coaching. Unless we go on a relegation run and/or start playing stale rubbish unsustainable football over a long period Lampard will get time and rightly so.

Don't see how even this lot can even have a new manager bounce. Freddie Ljungberg is apparently idolised by that squad especially the young players, if they were going to put in a shift for anyone it would have been him. Everton put their heart and soul into the game against us but even then it was our poor finishing that cost us not that. Any points dropped against Arsenal this season go into the rued dropped points section for me, even at The Emirates.

Only two weeks ago he kept Sterling quiet at The Ethiad then went to the the other side and done the same to Mahrez. He was also excellent against Quincy in Amsterdam. Don't get me wrong he's not what he was and he should be James's back up going forward, however 2015 Ivanovic he most definitely is not.

The bit I love the most is how many people said they'd be patient and happily accept midtable if we play academy players and are showing promise? Yet we're doing both of those currently in the CL places and people are losing their shit. As I said yesterday I don't think the winning run helped things, a bit like last season's unbeaten start it gave out the false narrative that we're title challenges when it was never a realistic possibility which in turn (in my opinion) has some people genuinely believing that this is a title winning team in a catastrophic slump instead of a young team and a club in a cultural reboot having inevitable ups and downs. It's part of the reason I was worried about the appointment as much as I wanted it, fan expectation is just far too high.

I don't get what's happened to him. That half a season when he returned he was the best young defender in the world. He may have been helped with the formation but we played the same formation when he wasn't playing and our defense was drastically worse off. The only two things I can think of is he either got complacent after signing his new contract or his first big drop in form ruined him.

I don't think midfield protection is the problem. The bad games we've had in terms of open play defending have all got one common denominator, Christensen and Zouma as the CB partnership. When it's been Tomori plus one we've completely shut down teams at best and not been bad at worse, even shipping four against Ajax was mainly down to them being ultra clinical.