Blue Armour

I couldn't watch this match, and going into it, was honestly not expecting anything interesting in terms of a result ---- (the real interesting end result was Utd vs W Ham), but having said that, WHAT A MATCH! Really proud of our young guns, Pulisic and CHO trying their best to make a comeback,against the title winning Liverpool, and very nearly creating a classic like our 4-4 draw at the Bridge in the CL. Shame that Arsenal reject had to come along to scupper that plan, but whatever. Our objective lies before us. Kepa's form is a big worry. I thought he had turned a corner after he was dropped for Wily, before the lockdown, but ever since season restart, he has been terrible again. Granted the defenders don't make things easy, but he offers very little in terms of being a final line of defense.. At this point, we're only using him as the last man and nothing more. He's not even dominant or vocal enough during set pieces, which is why there is so much confusion in our side whenever we concede a free kick. The big issue with trying to replace Kepa with star quality, is that its another multi million investment and a waste of what we spent to secure him. We might need to look at nicking cheaper, but surely better performing alternatives, such as Schmeichel or Marinez by promising them first team action.

Yeah remember that moment well His physical strength on the ball feels like a throwback to midfielders like Ballack and Lampard.

I hope people recall that this is CHO's first season back from a career threatening injury. Both CHO and RLC easily deserve a break this season.

All that in a season following Eden Hazard departure, and a transfer ban.

3-4-3 formation is a weapon best saved for the most opportune moments. but 4-3-3 should always be our default I think Frank also agrees.

On the topic of Lampard and OGS. I find the current form of both teams rather interesting. First half of the season, you had us regularly picking up points against the bread and butter of the league, especially in away games. United fared well against top 6 teams but flopped against lesser opposition. Now fast forward to the restart, we have won a game against City, at home, beat Leicester away, and you have United more consistent against the lesser sides. Interesting that our next 2 games are against top 6.

Whatever Lampard does to try and remedy the defense, I hope he realizes that chopping and changing the lineup for the sake of it, is not the solution. You'll risk alienating yourself from the players and it's all downhill from there, usually, once that happens.

I hate to depend on another team's ill fortune. But what do you City's chances are of getting a 1 season ban at least? Can they suspend the decision through an additional appeal??

Replace the Yokahama with 3and this picture will be perfect.

Wouldn't be surprised He keeps chopping and changing to please certain of his favorites. No way had Tammy deserved to start over Giroud in this match. No way should Billy have started over Jorginho in the last game. And then he keeps rotating the back 4 without any plan.

I thought he learned from his idiotic decision to start with Tammy against West Ham. Nope. He gave this lamp-post of a striker an instant reward for scoring a goal against CP. I've said it before, Tammy should NEVER start a game till the end of the season until he gets into hot scoring form. And what an absolute STUPID decision to keep Tammy on in this game, and remove the most influential attacker in Pulisic. Probably also trying to please Willian, who is probably running ragged after playing 90 mins of every game, and is ironically halfway out the door. And what's Lampard's idea for fixing a leaky defense? Simple: Keep rotating the back four every time we lose a game. Won't be surprised to see Willy Caballero come on for Kepa in the next game. That will be his next 'fix'.

At this point, I don't really care who plays in our back 4 (or even in goal). Its a merry-go-round of idiots. I know Azpi will never be dropped (and to be fair he defends alright 7 out of 10 times), and will probably include Alonso, simply because he gives an option in attack. Reece James has looked rusty since the restart, and his defending has never really convinced me. I don't think the race for top 4 is the best time for him to get match practice as a starter

Don't quite agree. He was anonymous in the 1st half., and all at sea in the 2nd with Crystal Palace taking 60% of the possession for long periods of the game. Anything but solid, IMO. The instant Jorginho replaced him, we go back to having 70 plus percentage of the ball. The kid is good, but he has been poor since the restart (barring that one long ball he played to setup a goal in 1 match). Shouldn't be starting right now when we have crunch fixtures coming up.

Rest, especially Hudson Odoi

I've been saying it. Plenty of people on this forum have been saying it. The moment we lost Kante and Kovacic, we should have resorted to Jorginho to control the midfield. He finally plays in this match, probably 70 mins later than he should have. Its bizarre. Even if the intent is to move past Jorginho in the future, why would you sacrifice the game when it was obvious we were playing like a 10 man team with Gilmour in the middle of the park. He waited so long to introduce Joginho. Embarrassing to concede 60% of the possession to Crystal Palace. Gilmour has NOT looked the same since the restart. Its actually detrimental to keep playing him in this state, as his confidence will only plummet. His passing (even though the intent of his passes were good) were off the mark, and led to so many turnovers. Too lightweight and poor positioning in our defensive transitions, barely making interceptions. Hope Jorginho starts the next game, especially if Kante and Kovacic are out longer. I would start him even if one those 2 were actually available.

Glad someone in the press asked the question about Jorginho.. ...was getting the impression that the folks at Cobham had forgotten that he is part of the squad

Well...with Kovacic, and now possibly also Kante, missing a game...I hope that Lampard does not resort to playing Billy Gilmour over Jorginho in the middle of the park. Billy has not looked the same since the restart, and is a defensive liability.

About Giroud needing to start every match!

Honestly..that's the only reason I can think of (for now) for him not playing...haircut and a shave..

@Jason Replying to you here since the west ham topic is closed. Its matches like this that show that Giroud deserves to start. Simply because he offers more than Tammy atm, in terms of link up play at least. I wouldn't start Tammy in a league match until he rediscovers his scoring form., and the easiest way for him to do that is to come on at half time when the opposition is tired. IMO, if players are fit, I would start the 4 of Giroud, Pulisic, Willian and Azpi in every match till the end of this season.

I know this will be in people's heads..., but I hope he does NOT chop and change the back 4 after this result. Maybe bring on Zouma for one of the CBs but nothing more. Experimentation with the back 4 is just a disaster waiting to happen at this late stage. I do not want to see lackluster Emerson play and make our attack even more inept Getting rid of a winning formula with Giroud starting up front, was itself a massive mistake. Hope he rectifies that one.

Even dropping Giroud for Tammy. Breaking a winning streak in the PL with Giroud starting Why TF was Tammy even called to start?!! Its not like he was in hot goal scoring form. Honestly, this team just isn't equipped to defend consistently for long periods. Unless we take advantage in front of goal, an accident waiting to happen against teams that just sit back and counter., ala Man Utd.

Knew that shirt logo was meme worthy. Didn't think it would trigger it on its debut. All round terrible day. Wasted a chance to go 3'rd. Conceded 3 goals. Dropped 3 points. Oh yeah....F*cking 3!!!! on the shirt.

Honestly they better be paying big bucks for that oversized logo. I mean the kit is practically a billboard at this point

Honestly do kit makers even do pre-screening with a group of fans, like movie producers do with a test audience, before settling on a design?? Seems annoying when they just go with a questionable choice (referring to the massive sponsor logo in this case), to leave fans stuck with the design for an entire season. Also, does 3 really need to be front and center like that? Could have just put a smaller size version of the logo, along with the text 'three.co.uk' or something like that. The massive logo in the center looks horrendous and distracting. But not complaining too much. We seem to be pretty successful recently in seasons that have terrible kits.