Pizy

This is why I wish Roman would do what United & City are doing/have done recently where if the manager absolutely must have a particular player they just pay whatever it takes to sign them. Mou wanted Pogba, boom £90m. Pep wanted Stones, KDB, Sterling, boom £50m each. Bernardo Silva, boom another £50m. Just go to PSG and offer £70-80m for Verratti and make them say no or at least test the player himself. He's Italian, we have an Italian manager who knows him well, and he's made statements recently that he may want to leave there at some point. This is the sort of business we need to be doing. Proven, world class quality and not potential. We have a ridiculous amount of money available supposedly. We can't have multiple games next season where an opponent can neutralize our entire team by simply marking Hazard out of the game or make our entire team cease to function by controlling the midfield.

After having time to relax and think about that game now there are a few things that left a bad taste in my mouth after such a fantastic season. Firstly the midfield. It's kind of scary how against several of the big sides this season Kante has been made to look very average. Against Spuds, United, Arsenal, and Liverpool he performed far below what we expect of him. Doesn't really bode well if we go against actual elite sides, does it? Games where you have to be very good technically. Then there's the defense. Cahill is obviously being groomed as the JT captain replacement which makes me wonder if the club will even be in the market for a new, world class CB. Will Conte and the board just bench him after he captained us and started just about every game in a title winning season? Knowing us, they probably think we're all set in the CB position with Ake and Zouma. Then we get to the wingback positions where I feel Alonso & Moses are perfectly fine against about 80% of the PL but against the top sides and in the CL I think both have huge weaknesses. Alonso is so slow that opponents can easily blow right by him. Moses is just naive and positionally rash. We NEED doe th and quality there. I guess I'm just very concerned and nervous about whether the club see what we see. After the last two summers where the manager didn't get what he wanted and what we needed, I have to see change to believe it. Until I see a couple signings I'll remain cautious.

If he stays then we need to get someone who can play off him rather than another #9 like Lukaku. Morata or Alexis. Both of whom seem impossible at this point in time. Honestly have no clue who we bring in for our attack.

He's always going to struggle against sides that move the ball quickly and harass him. He's almost completely incapable of playing the ball quickly as well. Needs like two or three touches to make his mind up which is infuriating. If he is a starter next season it has to be in a 3 man midfield rather than 2. He gets rings passed around him against teams like Arsenal, City, Liverpool who play quickly.

He's good enough against most PL teams when we can dominate the play and he's good enough to play through the group stage of the CL probably, but there's no way we can compete with any of the big boys with both he and Kante together. Too slow, lacks awareness, and very limited technically.

Played out of his skin at times this season and he deserved the praise he got. But there are times when you can tell he's not wired as a defender. The positions he takes up, the speed (or lack thereof) with which he reads situations, and his decisions in the final third are all poor. Hes a very good option to have in a big squad that'll be in so many competitions next season but he isn't good enough to start every game. We need an upgrade.

It's easy to overreact to a final defeat and say we need so many new players, especially after winning the league, but I don't think it's unfair to say we need about 4-5 new, top class signings for our first XI. Both wingbacks, a midfielder, a CB upgrade for Cahill, and another world class forward. Work better be happening already and signings made quickly because there will be insane competition for a lot of the same players if we wait too long. We won the league and certainly deserved to but we aren't close to being at the level of Europe's elite yet. Too many average players.

The two goal line clears ces aside, Cahill has looked like a pub player. Terrible football brain.

That should be Moses' last game for us as a nailed on starter.

We need a super athlete who's also very comfortable on the ball. Matic is so fucking slow, cumbersome, and clumsy. He turns and reacts like a giant yacht. We need a Nainggolan/Verratti/Vidal type. Bakayoko is who we're linked with but he's so similar to Matic.

How do you come out in a bloody cup final looking like that!? All that talk from our players and they put in that performance. Shameful. Like others have said, as good as Matic and Kante are at one side of the game, they're both so limited and liabilities when they have to go forward or are closed down. Hazard and Pedro look dangerous when they actually got on the ball but the final pass is lacking. Lucky as hell to only be 1-0 down because we can regroup and grow some fucking balls at half time.

This is an absolute embarrassment!

Our midfielders having shockers. Matic has been unbelievably poor.

Hazard hasn't touched the ball yet...

MAKE US PROUD, BOYS!!!

I have a feeling Alexis will play out of his skin on this huge stage. Means we'll need one or more of our star men to do so as well. Definitely think Diego will score here!

That Arsenal defense looks shocking. I'll be very, very disappointed if we don't win this.

Won't be surprised if they start Walcott who always seems to give us problems.

Absolute madness.

If he's backed properly this summer and brings in young, high potential players I see no reason why he can't become our first long term Roman era manager. He doesn't have an abrasive personality that clashes with players and he's far too classy to pick fights with other managers or the media. Unless there's an absolute disaster akin to 15/16 which I cannot see happening, I think he'll build something special here.

Seems like the move to China is out of the question completely now, huh? I guess it's either back to Atleti with the Griezmann money or he stays. If he remains here I can't see us going for Lukaku and Morata looks like he's off to Milan. Well 100% another top class forward for next season so I wonder what we'd do...

€50m + an additional €20m in performance related add-on's. Seems Monaco are easily negotiated with. They have no problem taking smaller initial fees and inserting add-on's. Did the same with Martial.

Mendy would be nice, but I think a RB rather than a LB should be a bigger priority. Moses had a great season but I have my doubts that he'll be as good again next season and especially against other top sides in Europe and improved City/United/Liverpool/Spuds. Moses as an option rather than a must-start is what we should have. Kyle Walker would be perfect but City are apparently close to his signing, too.

All these expensive signings Pep's making are very young, too. This means that (much like this season) we'll see them look brilliant and unstoppable one week and very naive and inexperienced the next. For instance, Sane and Sterling can either be brilliant or laughably bad. They do however have excellent veteran leaders in Aguero, Kompany, and David Silva. Must say, if they sign the players they're favored to sign they'll easily have the best squad in the PL on paper. As we saw this season that isn't the end all, be all fortunately. It does mean that we'll need to also spend huge in order to maintain and compete. -------------Aguero/Jesus------------- Sane--------KDB/DavidSilva----------Bernardo/Sterling ----------------Fernandiho--------Fabinho--------------- Mendy----------Stones-------Kompany---------Walker ------------------------New keeper----------------------- That's insane, tbh.

If they sign all of Silva, Fabinho, and Walker I'll start to be concerned. Until we see what we do, anyway.