Pizy

Can we PLEASE get Jorginhomon so we can keep the ball?!

Just play players in their actual positions. That’s all there is to it. Not complicated. Was annoying when Tuchel played players out of position and now Potter is doing the same. As mediocre as Azpi is these days at least he knows that position. And I realize that with the fixture pile up he’s got to rotate certain players, but it was a mistake to drop KK when he’s finally starting to hit top form and replace him with a wingback playing out of position.

Should never, EVER be playing CB when we have a fully fit LCB like Koulibaly in the squad. Should only play there in an emergency. He’s a tireless worker who runs the channel, not a natural CB. And it really shows here. Should’ve rested Chilwell instead of Koulibaly.

We are getting murdered down both flanks. Massive change needed at half time. Midfield isn’t working at all either. This is by far the worst we’ve looked under Potter. One injury to James and the whole team looks lost because we have to shift everyone around to new positions. Very concerning. Don’t think I can pick out 1 positive from an outfield player that half. Kepa prevented complete embarrassment. Even Silva looked very shaky that half which almost never happens.

Take Cucu or Chilwell off for KK, please. Cucu looks totally lost out there at CB. Shift RLC to RWB, move Sterling up the pitch, and bring J5 on so we can keep the fucking ball.

Fucking hell, man. They’re dominating us! Other than the shocker that we scored from we haven’t done a single positive thing. They should’ve scored 2-3 by now.

They’re just easily creating chance after chance down that side, ffs.

That right side is just as much of a problem as I suspected it would be. Sterling, RLC, and Trev are completely out of sorts on where each of them should be. Also not a fan of Cucu at CB.

Really need to sharpen the fuck up on the ball. We’re giving it away far too easily.

Biggest concern I have is Ings and Watkins running that left channel against a right side of RLC and Trev who are both prone to silly lack of concentration errors.

Nah, apparently is was all verbally agreed but I remember Tuchel getting publicly annoyed at Barca in a presser he had and forcefully said that Azpi must stay at all costs basically. Said he was far too important to the squad to lose after we already lost Rüdiger and AC.

100% on Tuchel for adamantly putting his foot down and blocking Azpi’s move to Barca. We absolutely would’ve brought someone in but Tuchel strongly told us all that he felt Azpi was still good enough.

So is it a back 3 with Cucu at CB and RLC RWB? Interesting. Looks like Villa have either gone for maximum pace and pressing with Ings, Bailey, and Watkins or they’re sitting deep and hoping those 3 can spring lightning counters. Either way it should be a real test for a makeshift back line.

Players like Bellingham and De Jong are likely only to come if we have CL football next season. Rice I feel would jump at the chance no matter what if we pay the money. So I still think he’s the likeliest of the super expensive midfield targets.

Must win game in order to keep within touching distance of the current top 3. Lots of Villa supporters have soured on Gerrard and are calling for his job. They’ve apparently been playing some awful football this season. But due to Reece being out I think this will be a tight, slog of a match with them setting out to really frustrate us. So hopefully the players have the same desire to dominate this game as they did the Milan ones. Cannot afford to fall further behind. Even though we’re currently sitting 4th with games in hand on the others above us, the table is pretty grim reading for us. We are already MILES behind in goal difference and goals scored. It’s straight up embarrassing to see clubs with 10 or 20 more goals scored than us and +10-20 goal difference compared to us just 8 games into the season with the squad we have. Absolutely imperative that we continue to beat sides like Wolves, Palace, and now Villa before we start playing the big boys. Edit- and btw, I see we have Brentford midweek who are solid again this season with Toney scoring twice again yesterday and then United a week from now. So even more mandatory to win today. This next 7 days will tell us if we’re a serious team or not.

This season is really annoying already. Spuds keep winning whilst playing shit on a stick football and Arse top of the table and flying. Meanwhile, we finally start hitting form and pick up multiple key injuries. 😔😔😔

Azpi has looked decent because we’re now using him the way we should have been for the last 18 months which is as a sub and rotation option. He’s fresh and isn’t asked to do too much. Now it’ll be like last season where he’s starting every match for the foreseeable future. He’ll likely be good for the first few matches but we may quickly start seeing his limitations again. I feel like the biggest players who are going to suffer with this injury are Sterling and Auba. Reece was really starting to form a strong chemistry with those two because he provides them the exact sort of service they feast on. Only hope is that Azpi can somehow become the attacking threat he was a few years ago when he was serving Morata chances up on a plate.

Yeah, as we saw with Chilly even when he’s back fit it’ll take weeks for him to regain form. Seeing Azpi get burned for pace defensively and being unable to do much of anything going forward for multiple months is going to be brutal just like last season.

We’re fucked. Severely lessens our attacking threat and leaves us more exposed defensively. Goddamnit. It’s Chilwell against Juve all over again.

I think City could solidify their dominance for the next 5+ years if they added Mbappe to Haaland. They may put aside their usual transfer policy for a generational player. Barca I can’t see. They’ve already mortgaged their whole future after this last summer’s spree. Now that they’ll crash out of the CL they’ll be even more fucked.

Mbappe strikes me as the mega-egomaniac type like his idol CR7. He’ll want like £1m per week or something hilarious which we’d never do. That’s on top of the €200m transfer fee PSG would squeeze out of the buyer after he just signed that new deal and because of the bitterness they’ll feel at him forcing himself out. That’s why I always laugh when Liverpool’s name keeps being brought up as a likely or plausible landing spot for him. Liverpool fans have been bitching and moaning for months now and even years that FSG are cheap bastards who won’t spend like the other big PL clubs. Now suddenly they’re going to break the world transfer record and obliterate their wage structure? No chance. It’s Real Madrid, City, or United at a push. The only ones crazy enough to pay silly money.

Seen lots of Villa supporters including Chelsea reporter Matt Law complaining about how shit they are and how it’s far worse now than it was when Dean Smith was sacked. So in the form we’re in this theoretically should be a straightforward 3 points. But with Reece unlikely to play it won’t be easy. Azpi starting instead makes us much easier to defend against.

I was worried about his motivation after almost being forced out of Barca so quickly after moving there and also our ability to provide him service. But man, he has fit in quite seamlessly and looks just like he did when he was at Barca banging them in. Like he wants to prove any doubters wrong.

Feels like every time there an otherwise fantastic night these days it’s soured somewhat by an injury to a hugely important player. 😔 As for the rest of the game, perfectly executed and comfortable control of the game when they lost a man. Strangled the life out of the game basically and passed them to death. Could've and should’ve scored a couple more and Potter will be telling them that.

Oh noooooooooo. Fuck no. Our best fucking player. ‘Looks like an identical injury to Fofana. Knee twist in an innocuous challenge.