OneMoSalah

Giroud. Alonso and Willian do well there. Bit of luck it fell to Oli but a lifeline maybe.

honestly 2 of the goals were unsaveable. Second one wasnt even a foul for the FK. For the third one, Reece sleeping there.... should of been closer to Wjinaldum there almost as if hes expecting us to clear the first one. Getting a proper doing now. Also the three times weve worked ourselves in to good positions x2 with Mason one with Willian the first touch or end ball has been awful.

Could argue the case if he had shown a lot more. but he really hasnt and it would be like someone praising Bakayoko for his time in France and maybe 4 or 5 matches here. decent start, Mount should have hit the target with that header. Also dont know what James is doing there when he slowed the ball right down after winning it back, waken up pal.

Tbf he is normally quite good I feel with his analysis. His one with Grealish for me is spot on despite the Arsenal game and many other ones such as the discussions with United and other things over the years.

Souness and Barnes banging on about Naby Keita as if hes a 18 year old kid.... he has been a dud basically so far despite all his talent in his 2 seasons.

I know we can still get top 4 if Leicester get beat by United but get a win here. Another big game. Its doable.

sky sports also reporting it. https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11095/12033127/callum-hudson-odoi-unhappy-with-lack-of-game-time-at-chelsea If he wants to he a midtable player let him go because right now I would say that is where he is at. Hasnt done anything of note bar the game v Newcastle this season. Loaning him probably best move for both parties, especially if Havertz signs. Cant see Bayern being interested anymore and with a 5 year deal signed we have all the power now in terms of negotiations.

Insane. A pair of fuckwits if you ask me. Especislly Heard a lot of stuff going around that she used make up to produce these ‘bruises’ that miraculously weren't there when the police got involved, or seen in photos not long after. Now I am no Dr but a bruise doesnt just miraculously disappear and even with make up it wouldnt be that easy to hide it, would it? Obviously a lot of shit Depp done that was also out of order and both are as bad as each other but if the sun newspaper hadnt called him a wife beater we wouldnt have heard any of it. Hopefully it comes to an end I am sick of seeing it on the news or in the papers. The shit about him objecting to her doing nude/sex scenes in movies is odd, not to sexualise her in anyway because she is a hugely talented actress and successful one but because in modern day movies and TV shows these nude/sex scenes are so frequent that it must be difficult to not find many big and successful projects that require it. Obviously there is movies or shows that don't but these things in shows and movies probably attract more viewers (defos a huge amount of horny teenagers 😂) but the likes of these things on netflix or amazon or other tv shows such as GoT, Carnival Row, Power, Ozark, The Americans etc as well as many other genres or types of movies such as the 50 shades movies, that 365 whatever, Gone Girl, or whatever else use sex or nudity a lot because it draws viewers in and fits their story or narrative. hopefully as I said before this shit in the media stops because it is a steaming pile of shit nobody is probably particularly interested in at this moment of time. Not that physical or verbal abuse is acceptable in any form to that extent but christ, this media circus and the social media influencers etc that are going to influence people the next generations are tedious, shallow human beings. Fucking Katie Price in the papers again everytime she gets a new set of tits or goes bankrupt or is shagging a new bloke for the 837473th time in a year or whatever as well. There really is so much more going on in the Uk and rest of the world that this shit doesn’t deserve to be anywhere near these news outlets. I mean im just about in my mid 20s and I am sick to death of these fucking influencer knobs or these stupid newspaper articles about shit like the Kardashians going on holidays or Kylie Jenner buying a over priced car or whatever or Katie Price as mentioned above or these love island/made in chelsea delinquents with their hollywood smiles and clothing lines because they go on tv and make a cunt of themselves and never have to lift a finger to make money like everyone else. It just makes people think being thick as fuck is good and that you can go and become one of these people or fall down that path by taking 100 photos a day in branded clothing and tag them in it and put 403 hashtags after it 😂 then people complain that years later they’ve done nothing productive with their lives. rant over I suppose. Fuck the influencers

He is an option though. Those guys may not play every game due to injuries or loss of form or suspensions or tactics etc. He will be a very good option to have around the squad if he can find more consistency.

I think more regular goal scorers in the squad will take the burden off Tammy next season. He will have to go again and beat this season’s numbers particularly his goal return in 2020 but I do think with how dependent we were on him first half of the season for goals, he is due a bit of slack. Its a lot to ask for a team of our stature to have pinned our hopes of 20 goals a season from a frontman on a relatively unproven CF who’s best returns have been in the championship. Mount and Hudson-Odoi also have to score more too to progress. Ziyech and Werner will provide more cutting edge and so will Havertz but it is very key to have good goals and assist returns from multiple players when trying to compete for trophies. I think weve missed this for a while, even with Costa and Hazard, Pedro and Willian weren’t quite as prolific as they could have been, particularly Pedro (altho under Sarri he was a lot more). Even the CBs we used to have would probably average 5 goals a season: Ivanovic, Cahill, Terry, Luiz... plus Alonso was in and around the goals his first 2 seasons more often than not.

If we recruit those and they are good players, a comfortable 3rd place has to be the bare minimum in terms of goals. If not then it has to be looked at as a poor season. Even with Kai, Werner and Ziyech we should be looking to finish much better than we will this year. With those and the likes of Mount, Pulisic and Tammy kicking on in second seasons (they have to IMO), youd think the big chances created to conversion ratio will be better, meaning more points (hopefully). The expectations will be raised based on our recruitment.

Pochettino apparently being lined up to go to Juve next season despite their result tonight and effectively tying the league up barring a disaster. Will be a great appointment if it happens.

Tbf in a cup semi when your 3-1 up and comfortable I don’t know what you expect. I thought his link up play was actually decent enough when he came on. Never really got any shooting chances when he came on but the game was settled. I think next season with a bit of time off he will come back and ready to do better. He will have to with the arrival of Timo Werner.

Has struggled with injuries a lot the last 18 months and really hasnt made a good enough progression at City imo. Wouldn't touch him with a 12 ft barge pole if he was available. Barkley and Stones, 2 of the most average PL footballers about. Suppose would be comical if we did sign him... only 5 years too late or whatever when Jose could have moulded him into a better defender.

Will be a squad player. Wont stop them trying to sign KK from Napoli either. Stones and Otamendi both free to go by looks of Eric Garcia’s rapid rise under Pep and obviously Laporte being one of the best in Europe.

His goals dried up a bit but his all round play and contribution is still very good. Both, he and Benzema are very very unique CFs for me, not many in that mould, who contribute so much to their teams build up and with assists as well as goals. Rolls royces on their days. Dont think he will be declining anytime soon.

Fuck knows. Regardless, It is like 2 weeks extra and they will not go all the way to the final, it will be fine...

Maybe but even if Havertz stays for their EL games, there is bound to be something in the clubs interest to protect him and our investment no? You would think so anyway. I would say your worrying about something that is more likely not to happen. Plus I will imagine FL will maybe integrate him in a similar way to Pulisic anyway, give him time to adjust and get his bearings in the team.

Yeah its hard to see where they are going. I think Carlo is the man to give them a real identity though and he has said he will have a bigger input with their technical director regarding transfers so I would imagine the players may be better suited than some of their previous signings like under Silva, Allardyce and Koeman.

I think they may have insisted on it but given us a bit off the original price to keep him to then. I dont know. Its hard to say until he’s officially announced. I mean its the same with Arthur at Barca hes signed for Juventus but will continue to the CL is done. Its not that big a deal IMO.

Tbf this is a generic thing and I would take it with a pinch of salt. Being realistic, which football wouldnt like to play for Real Madrid at some point? The club is seen alongside Barcelona, Bayern, Juventus, AC Milan and even Man United as one of the original European super clubs so to speak. Plus given he is a young German, who will have grown up watching Ozil, Khedira and Kroos among others who have been part of a successful German NT, it is clear to see why a young German footballer of his generation would be able to see themselves representing Madrid. Or aspire to at least. Same with Sane and his move to Bayern who will have seen so many young Germans his age make the move as well as guys he played with/grew up seeing at Schalke such as Neuer and then Goretzka. Bayern, Madrid, Barca, United these clubs will always have that lure to the big players or big talents because of their standing, stature and history. If he were to come here and repeatedly state it though throughout, like Courtois or Hazard did at times, it would be a different story. Might not necessarily happen thought, I still remember Victor Moses saying he wanted to play for Barcelona.... look how that turned out 😂

And today other than that moment with Martial I think Zouma was excellent in the game. Whole back 5 actually. Its the consistency though he needs to show as does Rudiger who played as if he was a man possessed today. Still with some needless fouls but the general performance was very good from him. I think as youve correctly said he has the physical and aerial attributes we lack perhaps but he still has faults and his pros obviously. For me his positional play is better in the middle of a back 3 because he has a bit more protection on the sides and he doesnt have to get dragged out there more often. He has had his good and bad moments. He is more a reactive CB than a proactive one still, as in he is better at recovering or making last ditch blocks or tackles as opposed to reading the game and sniffing the danger out early which the likes of Van Dijk and Laporte are so good at. I still think he has obviously improved that a bit in his time since he arrived under Jose as he has matured a bit and again his use of the ball is improving a bit - you seen him hit some long diagonals to Alonso today as well as to Giroud - but I dont think he will ever be the sort of ball playing CB that possession orientated teams such as City, Barcelona, PSG, Juventus etc (which we are obviously aspiring to be based on how we played with Sarri and now Frank) start every week who can play through the lines or dribble out under pressure (although the clip of his run v Ajax may be enough evidence for some to suggest he is a bit more proactive than I have described him as and more comfortable on the ball haha). He will never be fantastic on the ball and may have moments like the one with Martial today where him and Rudiger looked hesitant but I do feel he is a good squad player but he is probably the most sellable CB we have. Plus his camp is allegedly looking at options as they believe he will be sold/not first choice next season and with Jose really keen and Euro 2020 happening next year, you can see it happening. Also regarding Reece. I dont think his physicality has anything to do with how good he is or can be defensively, I think that naturally good defenders are good defenders regardless of if their stockily built or not. Look at Eric Garcia at City, young CB, looks very promising, thin and wirey but engages his opponents well and reads the game well. Even Wan-Bissaka, he isn’t necessarily a really strong player but he is very good at defending. Even Ngolo, he is smaller built but his energy and his defensive attributes are fantastic, if he had several pounds of more muscle I dont think it would make a real difference. Reece also engages his opponent well, we seen him v Zaha earlier in the season for instance. Maybe the physicality can help some players in many aspects of their game and in some cases more often than not but I do think good defenders are good defenders regardless of their really filled out or not so much. Pep used Joshua Kimmich and David Alaba as CBs at Bayern in big matches and both did very well in spells without getting bullied as such. Even Azpi he isnt the most physical player but he has been excellent defensively over the years. I mean physicality is a good thing to have but it doesnt necessarily define a player or make them good players. If they have other abilities and they also have this which they can use as a advantage, yes, it is a bonus, ie. Giroud, Adama Traore, van Dijk, Harry Kane but if your solely relying on this to be a top player you wont get far. As we would of seen of Adama Traores performances before adding real end product to his game under Tony Pulis. His pace and power didnt matter because he couldn’t beat the first man or see the pass early enough.

I think with modern day fullbacks in the PL bar a few: Azpi, Wan Bissaka, Kieran Tierney and Andy Robertson for instance, their always going to be much stronger offensively than defensively. Particularly at clubs such as us, United, City or Liverpool. Its just the way football has gone. Reece is decent defensively and today he was very solid as well as a continuous outlet but like all modern day fullbacks he is probably better in the other half. Thats just how it is. Everything now a days is with the ball, how can you affect the game with the ball, from the GK to the CBs to the FBs. Hence why GKs and CBs with good distribution is probably seen as more important than actually how solid they are because everyone is building from the back (Otamendi, Stones, Maguire, David Luiz, Mustafi etc)... hence why fullbacks who are more effective and comfortable playing in the opposition half are important because everyones utilising having their fullbacks high and wide or some are even having inverted fullbacks like Pep does to create these spaces that David Silva and Kevin de Bruyne find so seamlessly in these almost half positions between the wing and central midfield (Walker, Mendy, Alexander Arnold, Alonso). 20+ years ago people weren't worried so much about how good fullbacks were particularly with the ball or how good CBs were with it to the extent they are now. I know its a stereotype but people wanted CBs who could read it, head it, block it and clear it without fucking around trying to be these ball playing CBs. Obviously there were exceptions to this but generally I dont think people cared that much for how good the CBs were on the ball if they could do the basics and defend properly. Same with fullbacks, it wasnt more can he affect the game in the other half as much it was can he contain the opposition winger? Will he tuck in when the balls in the other side? Again obviously there were exceptions but there werent many who were as equally good defensively aa they were offensively. Plus the quality of these CBs or FBs who are very good defensively and with the ball, again, are hard to find in the PL. Van Dijk and Laporte are the 2 best CBs 100% then a huge drop off. Alexander-Arnold is considered the best fullback but he is average defensively, that shows you everything about modern day football.

If Havertz does even play wide here he will be one of 4 options, Pulisic, Callum, himself and Ziyech. Possibly 5 including Werner but I think he will play more through the middle. You need 4 wingers in a squad these days. I think Werner will likely be more through the middle as I said and can see one of Ziyech or Havertz also featuring more centrally. I dont think he has much to worry about. I think in midfield, shifting Ross might be necessary as we already have Kovacic, Mount, Kante and Ruben on top of him and potentially Ziyech and Havertz who could play those roles in a 433 also. I dont think it will happen but if the club convinces Willian to stay and also gets Havertz, ok, then Callum should be worried. And after this season, where he hasnt done much of note (although the injury wasnt kind but still the big wage put more expectations on him imo), yes he should be worried. I honestly think if we get those signings and possibly retain Willian, he may need to go out on loan.

Even after today, its obvious the season hasnt gone as well as we would all want it to but a cup final and a top 4 finish would be a step for Frank and this squad. Need to win more games next season though and address a few glaring issues we have had over the course of the season but beating Arsenal in a cup final is always a good way to end a season.