Tomo

Hyperbole Well in 24 years of watching PL football i genuinely can't think of a worse one, do you have any names in mind?

That's a good point, which promotes a question that would have been deemed unthinkable 6 months ago!

Please stop. Kepa has been very disappointing this season but you're taking the piss if you genuinely believe that.

It's a big/good problem this midfield situation. Kova has to play right now, his level has simply been world class since the 2nd international break. So it's between Jorginho and Kante for the other spot at the minute.

Then he should be drug tested on the spot. Quite possibly the worst keeper this league's ever had.

Villa maybe but at home we should have enough. As for West Ham, if we can't get the required amount of goals (to win) past this Roberto geezer then we will rightly be the banter club for the weekend.

Quite lucky with the next two games, if there's two fixtures that should be Michy's bread and butter it's the two coming up.

The change to the seeding system has made finishing 1st and 2nd more of an even playing field than it use to be.

For one season? Point i was making at the time was the current Ajax side even without Frenkie are better than every side we will face domestically this season bar two, so if Arsenal/Spurs/United are classed as big games/teams so should they be.

I hate the 3atb with the wrong players, to pull that system off you need certain players in each positions. The three CB's need to be James/Azpi, Christensen and Tomori/Rudi but with wingbacks we haven't really got any bar Alonso who should be backup, i don't think any of our fullbacks suit that position, not even James. If we are seeing that as a serious go to option specalist players need to be signed, one being a convertable winger ala Moses and Dujon Sterling could/should be in with a shout.

No i wouldn't, i just said they're a bigger game/team than United right now, which they absolutely are.

Wait, you think Valencia are a big game but not Ajax?

It's strange as I thought Pedro was going to be playing the role Willian has, because on paper he's perfect for this type of football AND he was in the exact same situation as these kids a decade ago.

Frank's been rotating well in midfield and defense lately but I'm a little worried up front. That front three are being overplayed and by the time we go to Goodison a week on Saturday could be exhausted. I would give one a rest on Saturday and another against Villa.

Would you say we've had our time in terms of dominating the youth competitions or Is this a transitional period and there's more top players (who are currently 14/15) on the way shortly to put us back on our pearch at that level? Would be a shame as I enjoyed watching us make mincemeat of even the fellow top academy sides, although if that was to make way with the first team being so dominant I guess I could live with that

Is it a coincidence that the Gallagher coming back rumours started around the time Ross was caught topless? I had sympathy for Barkley at Everton and under Conte because there was clearly something a miss in the way he was being coached and looked after but in Sarri and Lampard he's had two managers who put great pride in developing players and he's totally wasting/wasted his opportunity.

https://metro.co.uk/2019/02/11/jamie-redknapp-highlights-major-tactical-mistake-maurizio-sarri-made-manchester-city-8519694/

According to transfermarkt he's played every single position in midfield for Charlton.

In 2009 we got a bit lucky at The Camp Nou with the Henry should have been pen alongside Eto'o and Bojan missing sitters (although noted Drogba missed one also). At Stamford Bridge we were anything but cautious and absolutely battered them, we all know why we didn't qualify that night. 2012 we sat back and they created chances at will, we couldn't have complained with a double figure reverse over two legs but the stars were finally on our side in CL. In Conte's first season we were the inferior side up until the equalizer away, to which point we upped the intensity and they couldn't live with us (which kind of backs my point up). The home game i was on a flight and still haven't to this day watched it (goals aside) so can't comment.

I disagree, I feel we approached the game the correct way tactically and were quite unlucky. It's a myth that it's best to sit off a Pep side, that's exactly what he wants, they just wear you down physically and mentally to the point they have you doubting your own sanity, case in point our two games Vs them in 17/18. The best way to play City is to try and impose your own will on them, yes that can be pretty risky as was found out in this fixture last season, but there's a much higher chance of reward. It's no coincidence Klopp has the best head to head record against Pep while the pragmatic managers get their arses handed to them most of the time.

I would agree if we were actually going for short term results. Jose thinks that because it's all he knows. Pep had a poor record Vs the top six in his first season (W2 D4 L6, and the two wins were by one goal) because he was trying to build the system to eventually dominate those type of games instead of going for a short term result, and the next two season's he was rewarded as his record against top 6 opponents was W18 D2 L6, a record which helped them win back to back titles, would they have had such a strong record over such a period of time had they just gone for short term results in season one? I have seen enough from the games against big sides to know it's only a matter of time before that improves, law of averages, when a team rides their luck constantly eventually that luck runs out (ala Spurs last season) and comes home to roost, the results so far are mildly irritating but it's also irritating so many people implying were becoming as soft as Arsenal, something that couldn't be further from the truth.

I wouldn't say we conceded that many against Liverpool in either game, especially from open situations. We didn't concede that many chances against Ajax either, we were by far the better side in Amsterdam and Stamford Bridge they were ridiculously clinical.

We've only had three games Vs big teams this season, one of which he scored in and was arguably MOTM!

I think that's very harsh. Torres's presence actively prevented us progressing as a club, I can't see us ever getting to that point with Kepa mainly because Lampard will intervene before it gets to that point.

It's meaningless in terms of the result but it's something to build on in terms of actually competing with City and therefore winning the title (eventually). Let's say your ideal played out and City pissed all over us with 98% possesion and the one time we managed to turn it over we pumped it forward and João Cancelo put the ball in his own net, yes three points ahead in the table but in terms of actually competing with City properly a massive step back. There's elements of today that has annoyed me but the fact we went to The Ethiad played our own game and not looked atall out of our depth is very encouraging, infact I think it's quite frankly exceptional we went toe to toe with them so early in our cycle and competed, something no other side bar Liverpool in this league will be able to do against them, especially in Manchester.