Blue Armour

Either Leeds win convincingly or they crumble horribly. There's no middle ground with them.

Well, considering he almost went out on loan in January, I'm just glad that he is still in the frame.

Exactly my point. Even if there is an opening to play in someone like Werner in the final third, Jorginho 7/10 times opts not to do it and passes sideways. He has made improvements under Tuchel no doubt, especially with the way he dealt with the Sheffield United press in the last league game, but his passing game leaves a lot to be desired.

No jinx!! 😡

Liverpool's defense gone bonkers. Control of the game up till 1-0 and then collapse.

Happy now? Lol

Allison redeeming himself somewhat..fantastic save from Vardy

Allison...what a dumby

I'm never sure what to expect from him in any game really. He never takes full advantage of his height when getting to crosses, because he either arrives too early (eg: his reaction to Reece James crosses in the home game vs Spurs) or more often than not, too late and out of position. With his physique he should be doing a lot better. In some ways he seems to have regressed from his early season form from last year. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T5fp7FV8_3M In the Wolves match where he scored his hat-trick., he showed better ball retention and awareness.

I'm hoping we can learn to be more successful with a different type of striker. The problem is that currently our supporting players are not able to make decisive passes quickly enough in the final third. A striker like Torres or Timo need to be fed quickly enough with passes directly to their feet, because you can't expect to lump the ball to them and make something of it. I've seen Havertz do it on occasion (but he has a whole bunch of issues I don't want to bring up in this topic), and I'm hoping Gilmour can become better at it., same with Mount.

I still have mixed feelings towards Atkinson. Remember all those matches he was in charge of when we faced Fergie's United? Not to mention this beaut.. 😆 a lovely combination of Atkinson + JT crashing into the Tottenham back line)

Haaland. Or at least someone like him. There's a reason why only strikers like Drogba & Costa have succeeded at Chelsea in recent years.

Both him and Ziyech have been pants since their second injury break (or maybe third in the case of Pulisic?) Neither of them are starting 11 quality at the moment.

Thanks for showing this. The BBC commentators were adamant that we got away with robbery., that I was almost convinced.

I too hope that Havertz does well, but making a system work for one or 2 players should NEVER be the objective. We need to have a set playing style that works, and if some players work better than others, then so be it. Case in point, CHO starting over Pulisic (although the CP has enough talent to reclaim the spot), and Alonso over Chillwell. I think part of the reason why Lampard did worse in December and afterwards is because he suddenly had too many talented players fit and available, that he tried to tinker with his lineup every game trying to get most of the big names into the starting 11.

When I saw him get hooked after a poor performance during the Wolves game, I knew it was only going to be a matter of time before Tuchel would restore Alonso to his place in a back 5 formation. While I think we can manage with Alonso as a LWB for a while, its up to Chillwell to re-secure his place in the starting 11. His performance has dipped a lot from his early season form. Hope the loss of his starting 11 spot will motivate him to do better in the future games. We won't be playing back 5 forever, and Alonso will get caught out in any other formation.

Wonder how much of that is on Lampard though. According to the Athletic, his personal signing of the summer was only Chillwell. The rest were dictated by the club. Granted, as a manager he would have had a hand in convincing them to come, using his reputation as a player. But I doubt he was the one who convinced the club to cough up the amount of money we did for Havertz.

I agree. I think the only real curveball that can come their way, when facing those teams, are the midweek fixtures, notably Champions league. Thankfully for them, their first opponents are Borussia Monchengladbach. Don't think their squad will be too badly stretched. Plus they'll have KDB (and possibly Aguero) returning within a couple of weeks.

Its funny how a lot of journalists are seething at the fact that they couldn't get a straightforward United-Liverpool title race. I just saw an article on the Mail describing how they think its possible for City to slip up in the upcoming fixtures

Recently heard that he has a connection with Tuchel too, on his aunt's side. 😉

Hope Tuchel uses this as an opportunity to see how Gilmour can be integrated into his midfield. We need more passing ability from the center of our midfield.

I've liked how he has gotten more out of Kovacic and Jorginho since his arrival. They are far better now than they have been all season. I guess all the additional instruction and close control training sessions with the small football are working. Jorginho even did well in the face of Sheffields high press, something he normally struggles with. Still have concerns with that pairing for the long term. Kovacic runs well with the ball, and he attempts more through balls, but he needs players playing further ahead to make the most. Plus, he can't finish. For someone with such excellent close control, his shots tend to balloon off his feet. Jorginho's passing is also too slow and sideways at times. It slows down our play, and when we don't have Thiago Silva at the back, the CB's and him almost combine to make it lethargic. Hope Tuchel tries Gilmour in the upcoming cup game, and see how he can benefit his midfield.

I would rest Mount/Kante/Pulisic for this game, and play Havertz & Ziyech because they both need to get more match fitness. I would also play Werner, because he needs to regain confidence in front of goal, and this might be his best chance to do so. Also a chance for Frank to try something different from his beaten down 4-3-3. Go for something like this: If he doesn't start with Werner, I hope he at least comes on as an early sub. Pulisic/Giroud/Anjorin could also come on as subs. If Frank is feeling bold, he could also experiment with playing 2 recognized strikers up top.

I bet @Fulham Broadway won't acknowledge that we even played a league cup final in 2008

Okay, okay...Spurs are shite. I will laugh if they lose.