Pizy

Still kind of crazy/sad that a fully fit Reece James, our captain and someone who has been the best RB in the world, doesn’t even get in our best XI now. Maresca trusts Caicedo in this hybrid RB/midfielder role more.

Like I said a week or so ago in another thread, I could see us beating this lot tomorrow in a mega difficult match and then losing to the worst United side in PL history with nothing to play for next match. We’ve struggled against Man United for years now no matter their form. As long as the defense doesn’t panic and buckle under the immense pressure of the occasion I think we will win this.

Ideally, yes, but I think the club and Maresca genuinely really like Sancho. Tbf, I won’t be bothered either way. If he stays I’m fine with him as an often used squad player. His production could seriously improve playing with a proper CF for all we know. But if we decide to move on I’m fine with it too so long as we don’t replace him with someone not even as good as he’s been which is spotty. Or maybe the club does nothing in the market out wide and makes Tyrique George a bigger part.

Really don’t see what he changes for them. Midfield hasn’t been their issue. Great for depth I guess but he doesn’t really change their outlook or make them look any scarier.

Making history is making history, no matter how dogshit this competition is. So for that reason our players should be well up for this final. There is absolutely no way we should be losing to Betis. They shouldn’t be able to live with our best team if they’re all available in a few weeks. That’s not to say it will be a breeze but it would be completely inexcusable to lose this.

I well and truly forgot he existed.

I’d rather keep Sancho than sign Gittens. Another risk of a winger that we can’t afford to take. Tbh, it feels silly to even be thinking about more attacking midfielders until the keeper and striker issues are solved. CB as well.

Not saying they can’t win, just that I don’t trust them. I’m praying they win here!

I’m just always skeptical of these teams from France or Italian leagues who don’t face anywhere close to this quality of opponent week in and week out domestically. They aren’t used to the intensity that these battle tested top PL play at. They’re used to being the big bully on the block who nobody can lay a glove on.

Have a bad feeling Arse will go through and win the whole thing. 🫤

Yeah, Delap feels like the safest of the names. He’s not a striker signing that I’d be excited about necessarily but if he’s who we decide on I won’t be angry or anything. At least you’ll know with him that even when he isn’t scoring he’s an almighty pain in the ass for defenders. But again the question remains whether he’s the sort of #9 that elevates us to where we want to be. Is he a striker who we can eventually see hitting those Drogba/Harry Kane/RvP/Aguero numbers and consistently winning matches? Or is he just simply someone who is interchangeable with Jackson and will rotate in and out with him putting up similar numbers?

Ekitike feels to me like he’d be a lot like Jackson in that they will do a lot of really nice things, they’re great to have in your squad as a top club, but not good enough to be THE guy to lead you to the very top. But tbf the only striker available this summer that would be that finishing piece are Osimhen and Gyokeres who are almost certainly impossible for us. So with that being the case would you rather have Ekitike, Seśko, or Delap? Ekitike looks to have the highest ceiling/natural talent. Delap has the tenacity and work ethic that’s perfectly suited to the PL as we’ve seen. Seśko would surely be MUCH more of a box presence than Nico and therefor would probably do well in our setup. I don’t know which I’d prefer.

Agree completely. He looks like your stereotypical “big fish in a small pond” English player who looks very good at a smaller profile club where everything revolves around him but will then disappear at a club where expectations are sky high and you’re just another cog in the machine. I’d be delighted as a rival team if City go for him instead of Wirtz for example who I thought for sure Pep would go after.

Shockingly, I actually feel better about us beating Newcastle than I do Man United. No matter how dogshit United have been in recent years (and my word, they’re AWFUL this season) we really just drop to their level and shit the bed against them repeatedly.

If Palace get something tomorrow o think Forest will buckle under the pressure and we’ll get top 5 in the end.

We’ve been linked with this kid, right? Looks exactly the sort of profile our sporting people are obsessed with. Teenager with superstar potential eventually.

New shirt sponsor looks terrible.

Looks like a nailed on Pep player.

These owners are supposed to be business geniuses and yet we’re still doing deals like this like some small time outfit. A shirt sponsor for a handful of games only? We’re now 3 years into their ownership and are STILL without a long term front sponsor. Literally how is that possible?

I know PSR pressure is real but Villa selling Morgan Rogers feels really unlikely. Much like Wharton at Palace he feels like a future superstar who they hold on to for as long as possible before eventually selling for some absurd Rice/Caicedo sort of price.

I think these owners are absolutely desperate to avoid another Lukaku/Sterling/Koulibaly. Older players on monster wages who will be incredibly difficult to move on if they don’t work out.

These are all strikers who will be after £250k per week or more. I think the days of Chelsea paying these kinds of wages for new signings are over under these owners. High transfer fees are no issue with Clearlake as we’ve seen. If Roman still owned the club then Osimhen would 100% be a Chelsea player. We’d probably go and get Alisson or Ederson as our new keeper as well. This ownership will pay huge fees for players (Caicedo, Enzo, Lavia, all these expensive teenagers etc) but ONLY if they will accept modest wages relative to those transfer fees. Like if Osimhen could be had for 75m + £150k per week I think they’d do it. But he apparently wants double that from a PL club. Isak is impossible for under £150m most likely. Lautaro is their talisman and is probably unloveable as well. He’s also surely on massive wages or would be in order to move. Gyokeres is probably only possible if we finish in the UCL AND if Arsenal/Liverpool/whoever else don’t go for him. So with all that in mind, that leaves us with gambling on a much lesser striker and hoping they develop.

I don’t know if I can handle us signing yet another ineffective wide attacker. Gittens, like Garnacho, has massive bust written all over him.

This is the window that will finally cement what they’re actually about. They’ve spent the past 3 years stockpiling teenagers and young players to “set us up for the next 10 years” or whatever. Fine, we’ve now got loads of ultra promising kids. Have they now learned having watched this season that we desperately need some ready made, experienced players injected into the side? Or will they continue the same strategy and buy more 18-19 year olds? Continuing on this same way after they’ve seen us collapse in the second half of the season due to inexperience and naivety will ensure that the exact same thing happens next season. We will be fighting for 5th again. Arse, Liverpool, and City will be going out and signing 2-3 key players to complete their squads in a surgical way. If we don’t do the same we will be light years behind them once again next season. We’ve got Estevão, Santos, and that midfielder from Sporting coming in. That’s enough youth. Get us some finished products now.

See lots of people on Twitter saying Tah has been really shit this season after his move didn’t happen.