Blue Armour

Didn't stop us from nabbing Caicedo or Lavia

Not sure about this. 12 goals playing with a mediocre Ipswich side is nothing to scoff at., but I wouldn't call it game changing either. Not sure how his strengths will benefit us when playing against the kind of defence we will face off against.

Whichever forward we finally choose to go with, let's get the deal done asap. Let them come in and get acquainted with the club, and hit pre-season running, and hope they dont get an Nkunku style injury right at the start. Much better than waiting till the end of the transfer window and causing confusion for the squad and the manager.

Getting a reliable forward is such a pain for the club in the past few years. Still remember when Morata came in and all the hype around him. He had a great start too. Scoring with left foot, right foot, and headers, and a hat trick. Then it all went to pot because of his attitude. Same with Lukaku. In the past 2 decades, we have had only 2 reliable strikers, Drogba & Costa. And a few semi-reliable ones, Eto'o, Anelka, Giroud, Ba and Kalou.

Can understand choosing a more established striker (and perhaps more pure CF) like Oshimen over Ekitike. But not sure about Delap. Other than him being a nuisance to defenders and being decent with the ball on his feet., I am not sure about him thriving against the defensive lines our team goes up against. Sure, there's the same concern with Ekitke too, but not sure if Delap is the answer there.

Why are 2/3rds of the internet rooting for Antony for this game? Did he become Messi all of a sudden?

I'm pretty sure the club admin are looking at the goal+assist tally when they weigh up Ekitke. Palmer still being in top 5 despite that tremendous drop off in form is quite remarkable.

Hmm. Just wish that claimed price tag would be lower. Would love for him to be part of the squad. That being said, this club admin seems to prioritize lower wage fees over lower transfer fees. So who knows how they prioritize a prospect like him over some one more established (but still a gamble) like Oshimen., that is very likely to command much higher wages.

Get Ekitke, yes. Lanky player. An inch taller than Drogba and Henry.

It's all in the eye of the beholder. I mean, we gave Roberto DiMatteo full credit (and rightfully so) for winning the CL and FA cup, in an otherwise mediocre season domestically, but the point is that the facts eventually catch up. And in DiMatteo's case, the team performance in a few knockout rounds weren't enough to guarantee long term consistent success. And that's my point with regards to Maresca and Ange. Full credit for their achievements this season. But let's not pretend there weren't any problems. More so in Ange's case, tbf. If he wasn't facing a below par United side in the final, the paper talk and the fan talk would be vastly different right about now.

After viewing his post-match comments, I'm very much in agreement with you about a need for an attitude shift. Really needs to create a more positive mindset. Probably no small wonder that players like Palmer seem off the pace. His words: “All the ones that have the answers or the ones that have the truth, they were saying that we are too young, we are not good enough, they were waiting for Aston Villa to drop points for us to achieve the Champions League. They were saying that we were not able to win on this pitch because we are too young, because we are not experienced. “Unfortunately for them, they have all been wrong. All the ones that have the truth and have the answer to everything. “So in English, how you say? F off to all of them, because the players deserve that. The effort they have been doing is fantastic.” I get the us vs them mentality, but he should be humble enough to accept that a lot of things did go his way with regards to other teams. And shitting on a portion the fan group, big Ange style, looks weak. Ange is another one who made the most of an easy Europa league run, and now looks like a hero despite racking up 20 plus losses and a negative goal difference.

Hope it's nothing, and it's just Palmer being Palmer. He looked a bit subdued in the team pics too. Hopefully next season he gets his motivation back. We absolutely need to surround him with more quality players though. If he has to do another one man job to bring creativity in our attack, he won't be sticking around for long.

Would be funny if he came here next season.

Absolutely. And Maresca doesn't care. Top 4 was never his priority. He changed his tune only midway through the season when he presumably got some PR pep talk from the club admin. The way he prioritized dead rubber EC games ahead of PL fixtures in the final third of the season is enough of an indication for me. And the fact that he's talking up the final and his relationship with Pellegrini bodes poorly. Have a sinking feeling that he's going to screw up the lineup for Sunday's game. And agreed. Even if it's a trophy, winning the EC final is a poor consolation prize for a club that desperately needs more sources of revenue.

I'm more worried about Maresca tinkering with the lineup because of his obsession with the conference league., rather than the referee. He cares more about his CV, than the club, so a trophy will be more valuable than a top 5 finish. We might have already secured a top 5 spot by now if hadn't screwed up the lineup against Ipswich Town by resting key players, because of a dead rubber conference league game. If James is on the bench again on Sunday, you know where is priorities are.

Yes. Dew it.

Maresca already complaining about the lack of time ahead of the conference league final, with only 72 hrs of rest and Betis having an advantage. He really should be focusing on the final PL game of the season which is far more important. Really hope he doesn't compromise on the lineup for the last game.

True. Might as well have brought back Eduoard Mendy back as number 1.

This. In a squad lacking world class players, I'd hold onto the ones we have as long as we can. Hilarious to think Gusto was considered a like for like replacement at one point.

With Jackson out and Nkunku not yet fit, I expect Gusto or James to come into RB, with Caicedo joining Lavia in midfield. Enzo will be pushed further up, and Palmer/Neto will play as false 9.

I just wish Maresca would stop talking in press conferences at times. Everything he says comes and bites him back. Like when he said the team wasn't competing for titles last year. Bang. Outside the top 3 and dropping far behind Liverpool. Few weeks back he said that getting in top 4 would be an achievement considering where the club finished in the last 3 seasons. And now the club is in danger of finishing lower than it did last season.

Most likely Palmer & Enzo moving further forward. And James coming in for Jackson. Shame that our former goal threat Nkunku has regressed so badly in the past few months.

Gusto poor to react and block the shot. But great attempt though. Deserving of the goal.

Game over.

James! So close.