Tomo

Fernandes makes Lukaku look like the ultimate big game player.

I would like to think of this fluidity in our game remains in Lukaku's absence he'll have to work his way back in (ala adapt to us instead of the other way round). Unfortunately I think he will be straight back in regardless however.

I would start to think it's possible if Edou was largely unbusy but these last two games aside we've been relying on him too much for my liking.

They were actually all right when they were last here. Okay their lack of quality told in the end but they had a style, were competive most weeks and claimed a few scalps along the way (beat City and Leicester at home, Everton away, drew to Arsenal, they also only lost to Liverpool at home by one and us by one both times and had a case for being the better side in two of them). At a loss to work out what's happened to them this time, Buendia alone can't explain such a drop.

As for Mount, remember when he was only playing cause he was sucking Lampard and Southgate off and would be dropped the minute a world class manager comes in? Good times!

Ofcourse but 7 isn't the norm no matter who we face. To put into context, it's more than Liverpool managed vs them in two games this season.

You've still got to beat them. As poor as they are, they don't concede 7 every week.

Yeah huge respect for it. I was in Australia for a month in the Conte title season and it was torturous at times keeping up.

If Tuchel I going to insist Rom is a nailed on starter when fit I really hope he plays him in the RF role. Could actually suit him with a false 9 dropping in creating space for him to utilize.

Is it just me that's still finding it surreal seeing our 2020 signings playing Infront of a crowd?

That's one of the reasons I couldn't subscribe to the ESL outrage. The PL and top end of the Championship is a super league in all but name.

Every signing turns into a board signing when they have a few bad games.

It's ridiculous that even the idea of dropping Mendy for Kepa gets banded about, never mind not even a week after he produced one of the keeper performances of the season.

I wish it happened under better circumstances but I really enjoyed seeing Kai as false 9 again. We simply don't have that fluidity playing with a vocal point. It's going to be really really infuriating if we build some momentum with this system in the next few weeks (easier opponents or not) only for Rom to be thrown straight back in.

I am actually glad Juve won. Lets get through first then worry about toppling the old lady.

I was worried when we signed him, Simeone letting one of his warriors joining us on loan was a red flag in itself (compare that to how stubborn they were in negotiations with Arsenal for Partey).

This is what I find quite worrying, no manager seems to know what his best position really is and seem to improvise off the cuff.

Missing loads of chances is always a lesser evil compared to barely getting any, atleast with the former there's a hope they will revert to the mean (which Werner has been doing of late all be it more for the national team than us but it's a start), if you barely get any where's the hope? The players behind him were creating chances at will last season, for that reason alone the service excuse doesn't wash. Their finishing can be critisised but creating? Not a chance. You mention pressing but Rom is the big reason we've gone to shit in that regard, only Saint Maximan and Ronaldo rank lower out of PL attackers. He's not a stylistic fit atall for what Tuchel is/was trying to build and it is frustrating the hell out of me that we've ripped apart a promising system to accommodate him. The get a poacher to finish what we create narrative was far too flawed, in reality you take a man out of the build up and it's showing, big time. He has to start pushing a goal a game (especially vs the flat track teams) and his goals pushing us into a title race for what we've sacrificed to accommodate him to become even remotely justified.

Atleast yesterday gives hope that Tuchel will hold him to account if this carries on, up until yesterday I was starting to seriously worry he was going to be playing all game every game unconditionally. On a semi related note my one worry about Tuchel was the transfer market and early signs seem to be confirming my fears, Rom has totally disrupted our rythm (in general play) and Saul looks totally out of his depth. It's why I never got this linear thinking of "this guy has won us X trophy so we must back him with whatever he wants".

It's even more silly when the players behind him were part of a team that created chances at will.

That I don't agree with. If there's one thing that Rom can be firmly relied on with is he will force his way out if/when the time comes he has to fight for his place.

When people start banging on about service the writing is on the wall. I'm already longing for the days I can get pissed at us squandering loads of chances again.

Atleast we can now know he will be held to account. Was worried he'd get unconditional 90 minutes like he did under Mou at United.

That's the MO with us tbf, the more expensive they are, the more excuses they get!

I've been arguing with people who genuinely think Kepa will be winning his place back.