OneMoSalah

Keep saying it - said it with Maresca when we were trying to push certain players out - would keep Chalobah as a squad player. Still our best/most reliable CB probably, options aren’t great but in terms of HG status, knowing the club, age, experience… really strange we would try and let him go again other than for pure profit on the spreadsheet. Badiashile signing just hasn’t worked out after initial promise & Tosin…. well Tosin should never ever have been signed at all & anyone who disagrees should probably put down the crack pipe 🤣

I think you’re really really nitpicking there. As I said, if he doesn’t try get involved there its a tap in for the other player & “why hasn’t he tried to do anything” as opposed to “why is he not marking the player”….. He ends up on the deck effectively so not sure what else you want him to do in that split second? Maybe be stronger & stay up? But even then, does it still make a huge difference in how the goal plays out? Probably not. Poor goal yes but you’re making a really big point about something that it should never ever get to if dealt with well at the other 3 or 4 opportunities initially (Trev, Josh x2, Caicedo). Caicedo’s & Santos’ role in it gets worse & worse every time I see it, their player runs off Santos earlier in the move who’s recovery is poor after Trev makes a cunt of it, then Josh gets rolled, then Caicedo’s not strong enough in the tackle & Josh makes a cunt of it afterwards. Then Sanchez does what he can. Then Gusto. But in terms of mistakes Gusto’s hardly that bad & already in the middle of a shitshow. Not sure any other fullback/defender would’ve done differently there…

Isn’t two of the moments before the goal him not trying to/failing to just clear the ball though? Thats the point I’m trying to make, all the big opportunities to get rid of it, Trev & him, are the most culpable & obvious chances, no?

Yes he really struggled. But I would rather give him the minutes than Tosin, Badiashile etc. They are established players and not near the required level, Josh is still young & moments like that second goal will make him learn. For the second goal? Are we watching different goals 🤣? Disagree completely. Being incredibly harsh on Gusto who is in a bad situation regardless because of the other defenders actions. Trevor & Josh do poorly, poor communication between them initially. Then Josh doesn’t deal with it not once but twice. Then the GK is stitched up rather hopelessly. Not really sure what Gusto’s meant to do differently really because he’s gone in to try help, if he's not there the player who makes contact & puts him over gets the shot unopposed & you’d probably be asking why he’s covering the other man then 😵‍💫 I mean, lets be honest, what else is he meant to do? What would James have done differently? Jesus what would anyone have done differently? The damage is done directly from Trev & Josh’s initial mix up then Josh’s actions twice. Then the GK is reacting trying to deal with something that shouldn’t happen. Then Galo is reacting to the aftermath of that. I get Josh is a kid and still learning but he had 3 bad moments in that goal. No point passing the buck.

Wouldn’t be surprised if he just sits on the bench. Probably brought back for no reason than to fill a squad place.

To be fair if there wasn’t an improvement/change in forward passes I would’ve been shocked, particularly given who we have played with Rosenoir & that new manager bounce every team gets 99/100 times. There is plenty evidence to see that the change isn’t that big. Anyone expecting that going from Maresca to Rosenoir is going to be like going from Jose to Pep, you’re sadly mistaken. Both are very similar. Rosenoir perhaps more flexible but Maresca had also shown himself to be flexible in certain games here. Its the majority of his body of work here though that was disappointing, given how inflexible the team were say 80-85% of the time. Will see how it goes during the rest of the season. The tougher games are coming now, starting in March. At the end of the season, will give us a huge indication of how much of a difference there is & I doubt it will be that much. They are very much cut from the same cloth like most modern managers these days.

Days of us spending big money is done. Clubs who put £65-75m+ price tags on players won’t be dealing with us. Plus wages also going to be a sticking point too for anyone half decent with multiple suitors. Thing is we need to stop taking players who could be worth a gamble & get the guys who are going to do it though. Because thats the next step. We have all these younger players who are in that category of maybe they will turn into good acquisitions, maybe they wont. Was the same mentality around Gittens & Garnacho last summer, they were considered worth a gamble - why I don’t know, particularly Gittens. I am glad everyone’s come to their senses and seen how bad the Gittens signing is. Was always going to be the case given 1) how limited his skillset is & 2) the huge contrasts in playing styles between us and BVB. Before Gittens & Garnacho, it was Joao Felix. Before Joao Felix, it was Jackson, Angelo & Ugochuwku. Before them, Mudryk, Madueke & Datro Fofana. This worth a gamble approach is a crock of shite. Yildiz another young guy who ok, maybe he is quite talented yes. But he has broken out in one of the worst Juventus sides in the past 10 years. A scarecrow would look semi decent playing in an attacking position for them. This project 2030 or whatever shit they had in mind is going to slip to project 2040 if we keep chopping & changing going for the next could be great, as opposed to adding some great players to supplement what we’ve already got. Only way the owners are going to realise this is when essentially the franchise players/signings - Palmer, Caicedo or Enzo Fernandez - want out. They will be the first 3 no doubt unless the mentality shifts. And I say franchise players because they are essentially the players BlueCo have signed that were the biggest money/biggest performers.

He has played a lot of football. Far too much this last 2 and a half seasons in all reality. For club & country. But we miss a lot with him out the side. Kante should be an example of how over reliance and playing more or less every game season after season can lead to problems later down the line. He went from being an ever present to needing to be managed for a 12-18 month period due to repeatedly picking up injuries/breaking down. Then that was ultimately used as an excuse to discard him. If ClownLake’s medical team are all over things with the likes of Reece, Wes, Lavia then why aren’t they trying to make some sort of plan for managing Caicedo? Or Enzo? Or any of the other guys playing every game without fail? The data is there and suggests he’s played a lot of games since coming here… would be incompetence to not try to implement something. I suppose their track record signing injured players/players with bad injury histories has shoot them in the foot with Lavia & Essugo who both arrived injured IIRC.

To play so well for 60-65 minutes then concede 2 goals is absolutely ridiculous. Game management & our ability to get the job done is non existent. That game was a big opportunity with United dropping points & to also close the gap, putting pressure on Villa in 3rd but am I surprised? Not really. All style & no substance. Thats us with 5 points dropped vs Leeds this season. Piss poor. Just makes the previous 4 PL results look insignificant as tonight was really a bigger opportunity than the previous weeks. Don’t think theres been a season where the teams fighting for CL slots have been so bad/inconsistent in recent years. Best league in the world but City, Liverpool, Man Utd & ourselves very very poor/not at the levels. That goal we concede tonight is one of the worst goals I’ve seen in proessional football. 100%. Just needed the benny hill theme tune over it.

Wes Fofana has benefitted too. Reece will be deemed more fragile though given his reputation & thats why he’s only gotten 3 consecutive starts in a row once this season. Think he’s only done it a few times since 2023. Will see if it continues. Needs to be longer term. Lavia is needing something though, he’s a waste of a squad place if he can’t stay fit. He’s played so little in the past 2 & a half seasons (club were keen to offload him to United in the Garnacho deal) so if they cannot get him fit, would imagine he’s got a lot of convincing to do to not be offloaded. And rightfully so. We need an identical/similar/alternative option to Caicedo to reduce his workload, no use if the guy who’s supposed to offer that is constantly unfit.

Aye I’m sure Dave Grohl’s physio will have done a good job coming up with a plan for him. Or they’ll build his fitness up then only play him for 60 minutes, 1 game a week…. Then after 3 weeks he will be injured again and its back to the drawing board 😂 If he cannot maintain his fitness from now to the end of the season after this bold claim - cut our losses & sell him. So regarding the game we need to be up for this. Last game was absolutely embarrassing.

Wouldn’t be opposed to it. Physically, Camavinga is a more aggressive, mobile player and he isn’t all that bad with the ball either. Fernandez playing as a 10 essentially, was happening more and more with Maresca & now basically every game with Rosenoir so says everything you need to know about how viable he is as a partner to Caicedo in that double 6. And if its between Palmer & Fernandez fully firing in that 10 position, I am sorry there is only one clear winner. Still any potential deal like this doesn’t help with the fact that Lavia is injury prone & am not even sure Essugo exists. Santos & Caicedo alone aren’t enough. Reece James isnt a CM either.

We won’t get Julian Alvarez. He is top class though regardless of what people think but he isn’t necessarily an out & out 9, he is sort of a hybrid player who maybe plays best paired up with/playing off a more traditional striker. Him & Tonali would be exceptional signings - hence why neither will happen. I’d be surprised if Alvarez doesn’t go to Barcelona, given the talk of the past 12-18 months. Both players will be costly though wherever they go. Badiashile leaving would be good, not quite kicked on & still fetch a decent fee. Would give Barco another season in France also, no harm in playing every week for another 12 months. Will be better for his development & we hold all the chips with regards to ownership/trying to do a deal.

Hate to say it but thank fuck Tosin’s out, he is hopeless. Needs to be kept out the team for as long as possible.

Sancho was a stupid move as well let’s not get away from that. All jobs/moves for the ex City boys through Joe Shields.