Blue Armour

Considering today's match, the possible absentees, and the time taken for players to gel, I hope Frank takes the ultra cautious approach and plays on the counter. We might have to rely on Werner's pace (which could work well against Liverpool dodgy form at the back), and any other runners like Hudson Odoi and Alonso, while packing the midfield and our defensive third. With Pulisic and possibly Kovacic, in doubt, I feel that's all we can do against them. Last time I felt so sure about a match, was when I hoped we used 5 at the back when we played Spurs for the first time last season. Thankfully Lampard did exactly that.

So...VAR ruins another game?

Yep. Called it. Knew that this match was gonna be the most interesting non Chelsea one

Curious about the Leeds Liverpool match That's the most interesting non-Chelsea.match this weekend, IMO. Also gives a clue about our next opponents following Brighton

It's not really as eye catching as it sounds though. 1 assist was a deflected shot, and another 1 from a corner. The 3rd was indeed a beautiful cross field ball to Aubameyang, who still had some work to do before his brilliant goal. Still makes for shitty paper talk though, and a reason to rub it into our faces. But face it, coming off last season's form, it was highly likely Willian would contribute well to Arsenal. He will improve their squad in the short term.

You mean the likes of West Ham and David Moysey are idiots..its the lower ranking clubs that voted against it, for obvious reasons

He's tall.

Nice colour combo. Even if it maybe a concept

No doubt. Messi will become the PL poster boy if he joins. You can bet all the VAR decisions turning in his and Citys favor

Doesnt matter in the league. Other teams will roll over if they encounter Messi in attack. Messi himself will feel rejuvenated under Pep.

You took the words out of my mouth. I also see Silva in the same mould as Desailly and think he could be a good influence on some of the younger CB's. I too am hoping it could be Tomori, but not sure if he will go out on loan. No doubt that Zouma/Christensen can use some education though. Even the older guys.

Yeah,...'thousands' is no doubt an exaggeration. There are a few good examples,...like our very own Didier Drogba, and to some extent, even Lampard, but I think these popular examples are clouding people's opinion.

Not sure of what to make of this. While he won't fix problems in defense, he will most certainly improve it in other ways. It would be almost like us having Marcel Desaiily back in the 2000's, when he had strong influence on the growth of JT as a defender. Could really help out some of our younger defenders, in terms of mentality. The question is,...is that what Frank really wants for next season?

Are you sure its the board in this case? I'm pretty sure the board will present a range of possible options to sign up for a particular position, but its the manager who makes the final pick., or at least has a decisive say, since the signing needs to fit his tactics. There was that myth that the Chelsea board signed Torres., when it was actually Ancelloti who chose the player (most likely over Aguero). Carlo himself admitted this. Regarding Chillwel, I'm not entirely sold. In a transfer window where we need to allocate funds for multiple signings, and when there were seemingly cheaper (and possibly better) options in LB, it is concerning. The one saving grace is that the original 80 mill transfer fee that was rumored, is now less. And he's 23, so hopefully room for improvement

No surprise about Klopp He said he's not going to stick around with Liverpool for too long. He's will want to dominate as much as possible when he's there,..won't be interested in building a new team that he won't manage.

If you look at Rudiger, Zouma and Christensen .... you get the feeling that if any of them were paired with a top class CB with excellent leadership, they would be playing miles better than how they have this season. I can't really say who should get the drop. We need a leader in central defense, and I wish we were linked with one.

Not sure why we're not even making an attempt at Soyuncu Now he's linked with Barca Is he too unrealistic a transfer target?

Maicon, Lucio, ...even our very own Alex Brazilian defenders of a bygone era. Tough as nails

Yep, definitely need him for the short term. For the long term, however, am concerned that one day Bayern Effng Munich will come sniffing for German talent, just like they grabbed Leroy Sane. And we've got Timo too. Hard to see them not come in, if 1 or both succeed. Then again, we've always had Madrid lurking around for Hazard and still got 7 good seasons, so maybe it won't be that bad.

Not sure about your point on CBs, but I agree with you on the midfield lacking defensive nuous. Barring Kante, and to a lesser extent Kovacic, the midfield can seem a bit porous It could be risky, but it then again depends on what kind of on-the-ball tactics the team will use next season.

Its cliche but today was not our day...Azpi and Puli getting injured in the same game, and the ref having a crap day (probably Antony Taylor's chance to take revenge after we knocked his beloved United out of the competition) Like @Tomo said, these horrible ref decisions tend to even themselves over the course of a season. Shame that it happened in a cup final, but we could have done better in terms of our own performance.. I couldn't watch this match live, but watching the first 20 minutes of our play (high press and fast attack) from this game, fills me with excitement for the next season, when we have our new signings integrated. It would be enough to put most sides to the sword. Onwards and upwards.

Or Liverpool's first goal at Anfield last week. I thought we were doing decent up till that point, and then Kepa gets beaten by the first real shot on target from range and gives Liverpool momentum they didn't need.

Considering where they were before he took over, that is a pretty decent job

I dont really care who starts in the back 4 or GK to be honest. We are nigh guaranteed to concede at least 1 goal regardless of the lineup, no matter who from the squad starts in defense. I'll keep Azpilicueta as captain, but that's pretty much it.

Start with Giroud...Start with Giroud.....Start with Giroud...Start with Giroud...Start with Giroud...Start with Giroud.....Start with Giroud...Start with Giroud...Start with Giroud...Start with Giroud.....Start with Giroud...Start with Giroud...Start with Giroud...Start with Giroud.....Start with Giroud...Start with Giroud... And oh yeah, Start with Pulisic as well.