OneMoSalah

40m plus Batshuayi is a fair deal for Zaha I think. No idea why people are comparing Zaha to Batshuayi anyway. Ones a very decent winger (still better out there for 80m) and ones one of the worst all round CFs in the PL imo. If the ball isnt in the box or straight into his feet 9/10 times he is about as effective as a chocolate ashtray. People say Sergio Aguero hasnt got a very good all round game (not sure I agree) but fucking hell if thats the case then whats it say about Batshuayi. Hopeless. Id imagine Palace would prefer Giroud to Batshuayi anyway. Least you get more.

Huge injury list for them to key playsrs so if we dont get nothing but the three points, it will be a really bad result. Think Ryan Fraser and Lewis Cook will be worth keeping an eye on though can cause some problems for us.

Suppose with all the links to Ake we will see how good he does against us. Would like to see this Kepa Azpi/Reece - Rudi - Tomori - Emerson Kova - Jorgi - Kante/Mount* Willian - Tammy - Pulisic * not 100% certain who to go for, could use Mounts more offensive orientated profile over Kantes because for me right now Kova is undroppable and Jorginho being back in is always useful.

Van Dijk could have made the move from Celtic to a top 4 or 6 team just for the money Celtic wanted (13m IIRC) nobody would take the risk. It was clear to see watching Celtic games that he was far too good, could argue he was never out of 2nd or 3rd gear most of the time but the fact he was in Scotland went against him. Arsene Wenger wanted him but didnt want to pay what Celtic wanted, which Southampton eventually ended up paying after Ronald Koeman made it very clear he rated him and Celtic were knocked out of the CL qualifiers. He improved under Koeman too and became much more vocal/more of a leader imo too so thats maybe helped him accelerate to one of the worlds best in his position too along with his ability. Strangely enough Ajax never tried to buy him when he was in Holland which looking back, seems like madness, going by their scouting departments ability to find gems. Never thought he'd ever be at the level he is now where he is being nominated and coming in the top 5 for Ballon D'ors and for 75m I did think it was a bit much for us to try buy him but he is an outstanding player. Probably the best CB in the PL along with Laporte (who is another outstanding CB imo, arguably playing better than VVD when he arrived from Spain and before his injury).

In my post I said you rarely see those guys now a days though at club level. The more old school captains. Ramos, Chiellini and Thiago Silva, the guys I am thinking of at top clubs these days of the top of my head who are captains. Maybe de Ligt can go and be like that. Captaining Ajax and all at his age, he seems to be in that mould. The captains in the PL towards the top end of the table, Jordan Henderson strike me more as someone in that more classic mould in comparison to at the other top clubs (never thought Id ever say it either because I have always despised him as a player). David Silva at City for instance strikes me as not exactly a typical captain. Young at United. Xhaka at Arsenal before being demoted. Same boat. Azpi is a lot better than those guys as captain material for me. Not Henderson though. But because hes not John Terry or because Cahill wasnt John Terry.... it was a huge issue. Imagine if we made Hazard captain as well with Sarri last season? Theyd be people saying the same or worse... you do need other players in the squad to step up and take responsibility too and be leaders without being captain for say, Jorginho is a guy who is in that mould for us but we havent got many more. It might come with some of the younger guys with experience, it might not.

Let them have him. Average.

And wait and see, the only bigger club who will consider buying him is us due to a buy back clause. No chance Pool or City will sign him as a regular player. He counts as home grown which is a plus and he will undoubtedly be a squad player at those teams although even then is he better than Van Dijk, Joe Gomez or Joel Matip or Laporte, Nicolas Otamendi or John Stones? Who would be his competition at those clubs? Zouma had a good few games before this bad spell. Yes hes not the right answer in the long run either is Christensen as such unless he dramatically bulks up and improves. Zouma has limitations on the ball and positionally but Ake is far from "brilliant"..... if he couldnt be a mainstay at Bournemouth I would seriously be questioning his ability. Their goals against record since being in the PL is pretty bad. We should be going for a top end CB, not someone who is better than Zouma or Christensen but someone who is arguably at Rudigers level or better than. Ake is certainly not.

Fuck me not this ridiculous captain bullshit again. Almost as bad as the Cahill shouldnt be captain bullshit as well. Swear when its all going well Azpi is the man and if not hes this, that and whatever. Hes worth criticism for performances yes but do you think he would of retained the armband under Sarri and Lampard if he wasnt fit for it? When will people realise that the captains in the mould of Terry, Ramos, Kompany etc arent as common as they were 10 years ago either? Footballers are changing, mentally they are softer than theyve ever been. I mean if you look at the likes of City whos captain is David Silva, who you wouldnt think of as a natural leader or Ashley Young at United, Xhaka was at Arsenal etc. In terms of captains we arent the worst. But typical Azpi isnt playing well so the shit captain thing comes to fruition again.

He would of been a squad player for Liverpool. I would argue Joe Gomez is the better option for their 3rd CB and hes already there.... just fitness that is preventing him from kicking on. You said Ake is brilliant, he is not brilliant, he is average. Im done with us buying average players and everyone else should be. Batshuayi, Bakayoko, Zappacosta, Drinkwater, Barkley... for me Ake fits right in there and our underperforming defenders dont make him seem any more attractive an option in me. Southampton werent great defensively with Van Dijk? They were good enough defensively before van Dijk. Did you watch them under Koeman? Before van Dijk they had Toby Alderwereild and Jose Font at CB? Ryan Bertrand and Nathaniel Clyne at fullback. Fraser Forster in net. Wanyama and Schneiderlin in MF. They were very very solid, finished 7th and conceded only 33 goals. The first season they had van Dijk, they finished 6th again conceding 41 goals. Season after with Claude Puel finished 7th conceding 48 goals. His last season they struggled but he left in January and had clearly outgrown them. I really dont think Ake has outgrown Bournemouth at all. Anyway, like I said, you said Ake is brilliant but now your saying he is not so what is it? He isnt a real improvement on any our of CBs imo. Christensen was the second coming of christ when he came back after his loan spell in Germany. His performances under Conte at first were better than anything Ake has produced in his entire career. Zouma last season at Everton looked every bit better than Ake. Rudiger is miles ahead of him. Maybe hes an improvement on Tomori or Guehi but they are kids.

Brilliant? Honestly? Based off what? Hes decent but hasnt really had such an effect at Bournemouth that theyve tightened their back line up, their defensive record despite spending big money for a club their size of CBs and LBs is very poor. Ake is solid enough but he is not an improvement on anyone we have, thats the harsh reality. For 40m we are better keeping who we have in my eyes. He wouldnt get a game at United, City , Liverpool or Spurs.

We still have to play Spurs and Arsenal as well in the next few weeks IIRC. People were writing United and Spurs' top 4 chances off far too early.... Arsenal are still in and around the mix as well. Dropping points v West Ham and Everton have cost us a lot of ground.

Thats nothing new on here. Used to log on and avoid checking out the Mikel, Willian, Alonso and Ivanovic threads for a good while. While there should be a degree of patience towards the younger guys it doesnt mean they should escape criticism of any level. The over the top stuff is ridiculous but thats just how it is. Even the Alonso thread, people bringing up that nasty business with the car crash years ago as if it was completely relevant to his performances as a footballer for us in the present day. Just mindblowing. Obviously it was an incredibly unfortunate situation that he was responsible for but in terms of reasons to get rid of him or whatever for performances, mindblowing. Theres no doubt Odoi will get it tougher than any but he put the club through the ringer for a new deal. Got the mega money and his performances have been below par. Mount has struggled last wee while and maybe should be dropped but has shown enough in the first few months of the season to show theres something there.

Id say 343 is maybe worth a go. Kepa Azpi Christensen Tomori James Kova Kante Emerson Pulisic Abraham Mount/CHO/Willian Must win.

And let me guess, Reece James error v West Ham and performances in the last few games mean nothing in the grand scale of things? We all knew he was a very good young player, who can make the grade for sure but I seen people saying he was better than Wan Bissaka on here before he had even kicked a ball in the PL.... if Azpi is struggling play James and if James is struggling play Azpi... even if their both struggling just play one of them and not both.... Regardless, Frank needs to play 1 RB and 1 LB. The fact he sees fit to play 2 RBs in the same backline for me means that both Emerson and Alonso are either definitely not good enough or theres something else entirely going on.

For me, dont know about anyone else, that is and never has been an appropriate excuse. Being realistic, we still have to finish in the top 4 this season because we still have enough in the squad to do so 100%. Playing youngsters is all well and good and there will be mistakes but look at the other players in the squad, as I argued before we appointed Frank, even without Eden I would imagine someone like Max Allegri (who was continuously linked) would probably manage to get top 4 for sure with this group of players. Any other manager, with the transfer ban, with Eden going, the expectation from the club would still be pushing for top 4. We are still there and theres about but Frank has made some questionable decisions in games and with his line ups (2 RBs in a flat back 4) that if other managers had (some have) made, theyd get slaughtered for. We can't have it both ways and hopefully this LB and CB issues will be addressed in January because if we keep playing with 2 RBs and a weak centre back pairing, we are gonna struggle. Team shape also leaves a lot to be desired at times.

This playing a RB at LB thing is beyond a joke. In 2 ways, offensively we definitely do suffer and also it makes us look as if we are concerned about the oppositions right winger that much. Jose got constant criticism for it although we lacked at LB and I must admit, Frank deserves the same criticisms (even more so maybe) because he has got 2 LBs avaliable to pick from as well. Yes they arent perfect but fuck me, surely Emerson or even Alonso has to play ahead of a RB at LB or are they really that bad (know Alonso isnt everyones cup of tea and would fit that category)? I mean having 2 RBs and 2 LBs but continously lining up with 2 RBs is absolutely baffling. If it was working maybe then it would make sense but it isnt. Or is Reece James and Azpilicueta that good that he needs to play both every week? Not convinced entirely. If he wants to play both he has to go for a 343. Simple as that.

Luiz consistent? In both spells he had one good season where he wasnt an absolute liability at centre back. Unless I missed something? Or your judging him as a midfielder despite talking about CBs? Reece James and Callum Hudson Odoi got the same as well at the start of the season. Reece has done alright but as I said ages ago, Azpi was only struggling after his minor bad spell due to being exposed/out of position when we lost the ball on transitions. Nothing else. Bad result. Again, people will be nice towards Frank and say he is learning and we have a young team but they need to wake up and be a bit tougher. Losing to West Ham and Everton in the space of 10 days for a squad that has players like Kepa, Zouma, Jorginho, Emerson, Azplicieuta, Kovacic, Kante, Willian, Pulisic, Abraham etc is probably not good enough.

Seen in an article "Roman Abramovich is a fan of" please no, still remember Yuri Zhirkov...

They are definitely 2 CBs and at least a very good midfielder away from being reasonably up there for the top 4 although they could scrape it if their attackers carry them. They have got pace in Martinelli, Lacazetta, Aubamayang and Pepe and those guys are very capable of scoring goals. Another mystery is Ozil, just looks as if he can't be fucked but he still can find that killer pass if he gets the chance. With proper movement in front of him he is still capable of providing key passes and assists but he hasnt been the same since Ramsey and Sanchez left. I am really surprised at how poor Torreira has been for Arsenal, I really really liked the look of him for Sampodria, a proper all action midfielder with a good rounded game. Think if they got Allegri or Ancelotti, an Italian speaking coach, maybe it would help him as I think he is struggling to accustomize to the PL (linked with return to Serie A every window) and the language barrier. Continously playing Kolasinac ahead of Kieran Tierney is also awful decision making. No comparison between the two although fitness hasnt helped Tierney. Bellerin hasn't really picked up where he left off but can be a decent player still and I think losing Oxlade-Chanberlain and Ramsey they lack energy in midfield. I hope they dont get Poch or Allegri.

Wait and see these pricks will up their game, if not I will not be surprised if that big screwball Duncan Ferguson batters fuck out of them at fulltime 🤣 One positive though we won't be the worst team at defending set plays on the pitch today, which is something we cant say very often. Anyway, aye. Must win game. 5-0, 1-0, 2-1, 3-2 whatever just get the result, especially in this period where games are coming thick and fast. No doubt they will be more up for it than they would of been under Silva, whos career has really gone to shit since like 4 months into the season with Watford. Quite gutted they sacked him prior to this game as his team really have been rolled over a lot and look very soft. Torn about what I would prefer to happen in the Manchester Derby tbf, City lose and we go level on points with a win... United lose and we win we are 11 clear of them... fuck it.

Top players are top players regardless of whos around them. Youd think he was surrounded by League 1 players or managers throughout his time here the amount of times that was used as an excuse.

His CL record was always poor here and at Lille. In the big games I cant remember him really having any huge performances bar Atletico under Conte. Maybe be a few games against smaller teams he has excelled but that wont sit right with the Real fans though, he will be judged if that doesnt improve although even Bale has decided CL finals for them and they dont like him...

Think the contract and change in formation has fucked him indeed. First season, despite his lack of pace, he was very good as was Moses (who surprised a lot of people on here undoubtedly). Us not getting Alex Sandro and one of Kyle Walker or Antonio Candreva (tried and trusted for Contes Italy in that role at times) in the summer or Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain in January (not certain he would of been best fit for us at RWB enitrely but did do the job for Arsenal relatively well) kind of left us behind in those wing/full back positions. I dont think Marcos was ever Conte's first choice (like Luiz) but he came in first year, did very well and then started well the next seasom before going to shit. Id be really surprised if he is still here next season, especially if one of Chillwell/Gaya is signed. Selling Emerson to Juve is another reoccurring rumour but I do hope we keep him although in the past 2 months or so a new contract has been continously mooted and fuck all has happened with that. Juve have followed him since he was at Roma so long standing interest is defos there.

Likes of Valencia, Pogba and De Gea perhaps who he is meaning. Dont picture them as leaders in comparison to Terry and Zanetti but again modern day footballers, these breed of players are dying out.

Chillwell/Gaya, Sancho and Isco/Ziyech would be good buys but dont see us getting any in January or perhaps even the summer (mainly Isco and Sancho). Ake is no better than what we have so shouldnt be considered at all. The buyback and fact he came through our academy is probably only thing linking him because he has hardly impressed for Bournemouth that much in all honesty, who have an awful defensive record too since coming up.