OneMoSalah

I'll believe it when I see it. Seen the whole player X only wants Chelsea move or have said the usual 'Chelsea would be a great team to play for' before for it to turn out to be utter shite and they move elsewhere or not at all. The likes of David Silva, Robinho, Neymar, Douglas Costa, Sergio Aguero, Nicolas Pepe... the list probably goes on and on. I do find it very strange that out of all the clubs linked with him, particularly the Spanish giants, he only wants to move here. I mean that is surely a first. Even more so when we have no guarantees on where we will be finishing as of yet because theres still plenty of games for 4th position to change hands. Even if by some miracle that is the case, doesnt mean Dortmund will be pressured to sell him to us if we cant agree a fee with them which I dont think people understand. I think the whole 'he wants Chelsea only' thing is kinda blinding them from the fact that Real, United, City and Barca will probably be able to outbid us comfortably if they want to. And before anyone says we have the Morata and Hazard money on top of this supposed kitty of 150m in the summer, please dont, this isnt as easy as FIFA or FM, its not as if every sale goes straight back into a kitty for Frank to spend on the squad only. I doubt we are gonna sign Sancho because there will be teams sitting waiting to see who bids what amount before coming in and bidding more or offering more money as usual. Just like us and United offering more wages to Cavani than Atletico although he was never interested in a move to anywhere else bar Atletico.

Yes and no. There was a lot of tension in the squad between him, Willian, Hazard and Luiz who were obviously big parts of the team and dressing room. Reports are they would have all tried to leave if Conte stayed which said it all. Yes he moaned a lot, wasnt overly happy at the recruitment and he didnt do an amazing job after the turn of the year but the players also dropped their levels a fair bit so to speak based on their effort and performances (again, like under Jose too a season after winning the title although again there were similar factors). There were games like Watford and Bournemouth for instance where you could see the players didnt give a shit. Other games we still created chances but not being clinical fucked us (Morata, lack of trust in Batshuayi - although warranted based on what we see from him when he does play). Regarding Morata too, I think he signed him for Juve at his request before he left but obviously Lukaku was his first choice that summer and you can see that at Inter. Morata still confuses me, he was good the majority of the first half of the season, having an effect similarly to what Costa had when Jose first brought him in (albeit different players and styles), his regression here is absolutely baffling. He had good aspects to his game in terms of technical attributes and his ability to combine with others but his mindset was completely wrong after he went on that dip and never has recovered. Not even properly at Atletico. Sarri, as I said before he went needed time and some new players but the fans and club werent truely behind him towards the end which is sad because I do think if he was able to persist with his tactics and add to the squad, it would of been better. I also agree with your points. He was trying to go from a more pragmatic 343 to a hugely offensive fast paced possession based 433. There were times where the football was very good in terms of the build up but the final third again, that was the key issue, it either got too slow (Hazard, Willian, Morata taking too kany touches and no 3rd man runs from midfield particularly in the 2nd half of the season) or broke down. 2 cup finals were really a bonus for somebody who had never won anything until that season although beating Arsenal in the way we did in the Europa was great. There is a huge underlying factor behind all our managers since after Di Matteo. The transfers have been mixed, for all the good, there has been more bad. For every Courtois, Cahill, Azpi, Hazard, Kante, Costa, Cesc, there is a Bakayoko, Papy Djibilodushd whatever his name is, Barkley, Drinkwater, Michy etc.

Probably his way of saying he has 3 years left lets look to get a new deal. Juventus dont need him. Pjanic is just as good.

If there is a bidding war like many expect for Sancho he will easily go for closer to the 150m IMO. Man Utd, Real, Barca, City, Liverpool and us have all been linked. Dortmund will be rubbing their hands together at the prospect of say 100m minimum for the starting price rising to god knows what. I honestly do think he will go for closer to 150m than 100m because of the interest in him.

This whole Kepa isnt good enough thing is bullshit and just shows double standards. After Cech and Courtois it was always going to be a downgrade of somesort. People keep saying about having faith with younger players and a manager with relatively no experience but want to dump a GK, who is a hugely respected and well known talent around Europe, after a bad half a season. Last season he was consistent and played very well too. Being 25 y/o for a GK is still young. Physically he could do with adding some muscle mass, I feel he isnt particularly strong at coming and claiming high balls from set plays and corners but again, De Gea was exactly the same (even worse IMO) at United before he put on some muscle mass. Kepa is lightweight but his reflexes, general shot stopping, distribution, communication and decision making is still very good for me and if he filled out a bit he would be better able or maybe be more confident in coming to claim high balls and command his area. The coaching behind the scenes really intrigues me, I didnt see this regression coming after last season under Sarri. I do think he has a lack of fonfidence in his defenders as well. Even Cech and Courtois showed signs of regression here too in periods but it didnt mean they were shit so its not like GKs are immune to performing badly or making mistakes either. Looking for a long term replacement on a 71m GK as well? That is going to be difficult to sell to the board.

Lampard wants to bring a GK coach in, I dont know if Sarri had his own one in when he was here, IIRC he did so the coaching standard or the training obviously is inferior/different/whatever because Kepa is a very talented keeper and we all know this.

Or appoint Luis Campos and save the hassle. Someone who can identify great talent.

Think his spell at Milan has shown he isnt that good. He did very well in Poland and at Genoa but moved too soon after a promising start. Started decently for Milan but their desire to resign a 38 year old on a big salary, regardless of how good he is, speaks volumes about what they think of Piatek imo. Spurs taking a hard pass at 30m is also more evidence he isnt that good. As a second option, maybe, he is a decent choice but strikes me as someone who needs to be playing regularly to deliver and I dont see him as an outstanding choice or that big an upgrade on Tammy. Suppose maybe 6 month loan with option to buy is as good as we will get him for or any CF just now though. We do need another CF though.

Perhaps but its also true to say that a big reason why he lost the dressing room because of his reluctance to use senior players more (despite many people at the time thinking they werent at their best), Lamps, Drogba, Anelka etc, even when things werent going well or others underperformed (Mount almost undroppable despite offering nothing in recent weeks, very familar with Torres, Bosingwa and Luiz under AVB). Frank hasnt alienated anyone but his use of Giroud, Barkley, Alonso and Pedro this season, who are more senior personnel in the squad is odd considering how some others have played in those positions. Plus the likes of Pedro and Giroud have won a lot between them, they are good pros so he has to be wary of not looking too far ahead when he has these guys here and now. I think his recruitment ideas of Sancho and Chillwell in the summer, is dangerous because there are no guarantees with them coming and he has other players he can use in those positions to bring others who have underperformed out.

His contract runs out in 6 months so wouldnt of ever been a realistic option unfortunately..or it would have been too much like common sense even for us to mess it up. I do think he could be persuaded to take a wage cut of sorts but we would have to make other circumstances change (bonuses, signing fees etc). The wages on offer in Spain are undoubtedly higher due to their taxes. Pretty sure the likes of Messi and Bale are near bang on 50% tax. Not sure if its much less in PL but if it was to be maybe that or a bigger bonus/fee for signing would make him lower his demand. I do think its probably too late in the day anyway for us to sign anybody of that sort of name. Think the change of scenery would do Eriksen the world of good, regardless of if it is here, Inter or wherever but I do feel Frank could have maybe edged him into a player who as well as gets plenty of assists, scores more.

Even somebody like Tagliafico would be easily attainable in my eyes. Maybe more short term but again, 2 or 3 seasons out of him, better than what we have... its almost as if the club see it as Chillwell or bust.

Maybe wages but again if we are going to haggle with Willian over a new contract before caving and probably handing him 200k a week then offering Cavani slightly more is hardly anything out of the ordinary. Especially considering the fact weve thrown 100k a week at guys like Drinkwater, 180k a week to Hudson Odoi, god knows how much of Falcao and Pato's wages we were paying etc etc. He would be worth the risk I think because 1 we are urgent for better CF options to reduce the load/rotate Tammy out at times and 2 the other options dont seem realistic in January. I do think he will be a hit for Atletico if he goes there, he doesnt strike me as somebody who is finished, where as Costa really suffered after that 6 month spell of not playing and basically has wound up finished earlier than he should of been as well as that Croatian bloke they had for a season who was pathetic, he was probably finished before he had even kicked a ball for Atletico. Have to disagree with Eriksen, hes in his prime age and while he hasnt started for Spurs with Mourinho his quality on the ball is still evident. He has come on and had a hand in a few goals with either key passes or assists in these games and he is definitely more creative than Willian, Barkley and Mason combined. Again for 17m, he would of hardly been a huge risk. Even if he didnt set the world alight completely. I mean we paid 15m for Barkley and people said it was a good move because it was a low price and he had untapped potential so 17m for a player who was arguably one of the top 5 number 10s in the PL over the last 3 years, a huge upgrade on everything we have, baffles me why we werent even in the running. Even more so United who were chasing the inferior player in Bruno Fernandes at about 4 times the price....

Hopefully see Barkley, Pulisic and Giroud (if still here) in some capacity. They can't do any worse than Mount and Willian. And dont risk Tammy for the love of god, remember when Kante, Emerson and Rudiger were risked earlier in the season and ended up out for longer.... Hopefully should be straight forward enough.

Again, exactly. I am not utterly convinced Telles is the best LB out there but he is far better than what we have. I am still baffled regarding Eriksen and will.continue to be so. Not even just us, Man United not going for him either, it is as if the clubs dont want to improve....

Tbf I think its a fair point to say aeve been lucky the other teams around us havent done so well while we have struggled in recent games. To call it luck of the footballing gods is another thing. I think if Spurs had performed better under Mourinho (as I felt they would have personally because they have the firepower) we could have been out the top 4. United we have a bit more of a chance with because they are as fucked as we are if not more so but again they seem to manage to nick points in big games bar the Liverpool one, where as we really tend to struggle in the big games, which based on how we are doing in the smaller games could determine our top 4 status this season. I do seem to remember when we only finished 3rd under Sarri due to the 'other teams playing poorly as opposed to us doing well last season... I think it could be more the same this season if we manage it. The people making out people are moaning about Lampard all probably moaned a lot about Jose, Conte and Sarri.... fans moaning about managers not doing well isnt exactly unwarranted, its not as if we are playing great just now and Lampard doesnt deserve the criticism from fans?

If Frank and the board keep coming out with this naive 'it has to be the right player' shite for the remainder of the window when guys like Edinson Cavani has handed in a transfer request - a top player in a position we are crying out for hugely just now - then I don't know. I mean who or what are the board looking at/doing? If they can miraculously decide they want to go after Giroud for Conte then surely when somebody of Cavani's ilk puts in a transfer request they take notice? Surely? We continue to be linked with younger players (particularly English ones in Chillwell and Sancho who are obviously with more long term in mind but we need something now to refresh the group. Even Eriksen is going to Inter, for 17m, I mean who at the club hasnt thought you know what he might do a job for us and for 17m... why not? Surely Frank and Jody isnt thinking Mason and Ross are better options than Christian Eriksen? 17m is hardly breaking the bank and even then at 20 or 30m he is a top quality player and his final pass is better than anything we have in the squad at the moment. Eriksen and a new CF as well as shipping Ross out who Frank clearly doesnt fancy (was linked with West Ham) would of been a great window imo.

Yes if somebody much better came along I would go for it. We need to. He needs the competition and we need another more than capable striker. Yes hes the striker but above all else this is his first spell in the PL at a big side, he was always gonna go on a barren run at somepoint, hes still young and hasnt scored reguarly bar at Championship and youth level his whole career. Its as if people assumed him and Mount were gonna coast the PL based off a few seasons of championship and dutch football... they are struggling but because we are short and Franks mismanaged certain squad players, they will continue to play. Lampard and the board will take a lot of blame if we cannot get somebody in this month to reduce the pressure/burden on Tammy. That is my honest opinion. I do think Lamps was naive to basically throw Giroud aside after a month, if he had played more he might have been able to offer more in certain games. I am getting worried if we are forced to rely on just Tammy upfront and we continue to dominate games but not score, dropping easy points in small games, the other teams will smell blood and eventually leap frog us which despite their current state of affairs I dont think is so unforeseeable. If that happens, surely it means 2 things, no CL and potentially no FL at the helm especially if we go from 4th to outside it. Other managers have been let go for the same things (Villas-Boas).

Something along the lines of Buffon was talking to club executives about championship winning bonuses as they had already won the league, although the season wasn't over. Not sure if it was season they went unbeaten or not.

Something along the lines of Buffon was talking to club executives about championship winning bonuses as they had already won the league, although the season wasn't over. Not sure if it was season they went unbeaten or not.

Probably a small fraction of what Ferguson or Clough did back in the day. Even Mourinho prior to 2010.

And what about if he didnt score all the goals he has this season? Where would we be? Abraham can still get better but he is more exempt from criticism than some of the other players this season in my eyes, he had a shocker in the PL for Swansea, went to the championship - done well again and has improved even more so again this season scoring a lot of goals for us. He has arguably carried our team in terms of goalscoring this season. The likes of Mason Mount, Willian, Hudson-Odoi, Barkley, Pedro, Giroud and Batshuayi should all be doing more when they play (or if FL would play them maybe theyd take some burden off him) and contributing with goals. Its nothing like comparing him to Torres for winning a corner (and for all the corners that Torres would of won us anyway, half his shots cleared the bar or posts and more than half his dribbles he rsn out of play).... I am sure when Costa didn't score goals but found other ways to affect a game in a positive way not a word was said by many fans... You said hes only scored 3 in his last 11 but how many others in our squad have scored more than that in their last 11 as well? Striker or not he needs help. Aguero has Sterling, Sane, Silva etc to chip in with goals. Kane has Son, Lucas, Dele who can chip in with goals. We have got Mount, Willian and Barkley who arent really big scorers traditionally although MMs record in Holland and championship was decent and I would have expected more in that department from him.

He has struggled this season but lets not forget how many countless big saves he made last season in games where we werent great. People branding him a panic buy really are forgetful and need to calm down. I am concerned with how hes being coached behind the scenes though.

Lampard has said similar things maybe not the same level but similarly still. Solskjaer is living a charmed life at United just now though. He has been there for over a season now and they have regressed significantly under him.

He didnt neccessarily fail but I said before we appointed him it was hardly a hugely outstanding feat. Thats the stark truth but for his first job, it was a step in the right direction for his trajectory as a manager. There was a lot of subplots because they cut their wage bill, reduced the average age of the squad and changed their style etc but his records at Derby and here show one thing: his teams really cannot keep clean sheets and arent clinical enough. I still think Frank has put his stamp on the team, the youngsters are proof of that but if he keeps us in the top 4 this season he will remain for sure. There is a lot to be desired still about how we play and some of it is down to the quality we have and some of it due to coaching. The defensive set up at corners, ingame management at times and restricted use of more senior players who maybe arent amazing but could have offered something different to others (in a season where he wouldnt know if he could buy players) has annoyed me though. He was making mistakes earlier on tactically but looked as if he was learning from them but now it seems as if he isnt. Hopefully he will go back to learning from his own mistakes and get us going again. His saving graces so far are his affinity with the club (although his reputation as a player has to be put to one side when regarding him as a manager), the fact we are still in the top 4 and the youngsters being given a chance. We have been lucky that Spurs Mourinho appointment hasnt neccessarily brought the results many would of expected and that OGS has been the managerial equivalent of Ali Dia at United. How he has walked into that job and continued to keep it is beyond me (and how we havent beaten his side everytime weve played them too). He does need to add to the group, anyone can see that and as well as the young guys who didnt play PL football last season who are quickly learning and need to mature, he also has to learn and mature as a manager. He was a risky appointment, undoubtedly, but there have been some good signs this season although there have been some worrying ones too. I said before Sarri went we should of tried harder to keep him, although the discontent and uncertainty from the fans and board, he was never gonna stay as soon as Juve moved - I mean Juve are Juve and they wanted him. Or went all out for Allegri. But here we are so we have to back what weve got. The Pep and Zidane comparisons regarding ex players at their clubs was always a bad thing to hold Lampard to though. And many on here did it or used it as some sort of hope that it would be straight forward for Frank as it perhaps was for those 2 at Barca and Real.

I dont think City and Liverpool are that far away. It is maybe difficult to see it now but remember the season we recalled Courtois, bought Costa and Cesc for our starting 11 and went to win the league? After finishing 3rd the previous season where Hazard, Matic and Azpi were probably our best quality of players in that period compared with the others? Weve still got good players but with 3 or 4 players of the right quality, in key positions and an improvement in our shape/organisation/team structure (which has been an issue this season), we can compete. Hopefully Tammy, Mason, Andreas, Ruben, Tomori, Reece will continue to play (if they deserve to thought) and develop, becoming better players too in the next season or two but I do think with 3 or 4 very good additions in weakspots in our team, we can be right up there. Maybe not next season but the one after? The young guys do need to come of age and there is huge potential with some of them but it will be a gradual process undoubtedly. I think a few players between 23-26 who are already pretty established at a good level and experienced along with one or two smart short term deals (ie Cavani) can definitely help us. As stated above by Vesper in the next 4 or 5 years City and Liverpools main bulk of their squad will be older. Theyll buy to replace but even then City lost Kompany and you can see the impact thats had, they will lose Silva at the end this season and Aguero probably the season after. They werent/arent just top players, they are huge figureheads in the dressing room which you need to be successful too. Leroy Sane is definitely not a cert to stay either. De Bruyne, Sterling and B. Silva are still incredible players but at the same time I dont think any team can just replace an Aguero or a David Silva or a Kompany. These guys arent/werent just top players, they are almost as vital to City as Drogba, Cole Lampard, Cech and Terry were to us as figures.