OneMoSalah

Yes in his last season where nobody performed well but Willian, so yeah your gonna do less if 10 of your 11 players starting each week are underperforming and not to the standard most weeks. There were other elements perhaps tactically as well we didnt evolve but if anyone says that season that anybody played well before Jose was sacked except Willi, they'd be lying.

Yeah true but its making a mountain out of a molehill. There is a lot worse things going on.

I doubt he would ruin them necessarily, its not as simple as that. Theyve done the whole long term thing with Pochettino since 2014, who with limited cash resources has done a very good job undoubtedly but at the same time, looking at it rather bluntly, other than getting to a CL final, hes not really done anything that Harry Redknapp and Villas-Boas hadnt done before at Spurs, both got them into the CL. Okay they have managed 2 x 2nd place finishes in that time but they werent exactly close to the team at the top in any occasion, was like 7 and 10 points off. Yes hes brought a new batch of talented players through, theyve played better football, signed some bigger players depsite that theyd bought a new stadium and training complex etc but has he really changed the culture? Does anybody think Spurs realistically go into the start of a season to challenge for the PL or win trophies? I dont necessarily think so its even more evident for me in that regard because he continuously disregards the league cups as well, where as even at United, here, City etc we take it seriously enough because there is a winning culture at our clubs. All the good work hes done in 5 years at Spurs has accumulated in getting to a CL final and top 4 finishes. The season Spurs and Arsenal really had a chance to win the PL, the season Leicester won it, they fucked it. They have players who have won trophies regularly as well at some level, experienced guys like Vertonghen, Eriksen, Alderweireld, Lloris (world cup which is the biggest trophy out there), Wanyama, Aurier, Moura... Jose could maybe go there, sign a few players (realistically they still have a very good team as it is), push that group to change their mentality and the short term approach could do something for them in regards to making the next step. Maybe not but I am curious to see where Jose goes next and what he does because despite United being shite under him in that last season, he was thrown under the bus a wee bit by either performances or the mentality of tempermental players like Pogba, Rashford, Sanchez, Martial etc who could sulk. I think if he had a few more players closer to the sort of mentality that Ibrahimovic had although these sort of players with this sort of or similar mentalitiies are dying out of the game I feel, they might have turned it round. Maybe not but its clear to see throughout his career here the first time, Inter and even at Real before it went to shit, he prefers these sort of tougher, more experienced players because they can take stick and understand that you can't always be mates with everyone or that everything wont always be hunky dory because shit will undoubtedly hit the fan at some point. Roy Keane touched on these things in an interview thing I watched that in the United dressing room coaches and players would have heated exchanges if things weren't good enough. He believed it was good at times and I still think all top teams maybe should have this sort of element to a certain level even if its maybe not as severe as it would of been 15-20 years ago. Do I see Jose going to Spurs though? Not really. Dont think Spurs are big enough for him in that regard. I think Pochettinos cycle there is coming to an end though, I really do, I dont think he has that winning mentality to push them much further than he has already and you can see some of their players arent as committed as before, Eriksen, Vertonghen, Alderweireld etc. Other than Ndombele the whole tean looks stale.

If he plays ahead of Ross for England, thoroughly deserved. Also when Ruben comes back, giving us another option, I really think Ross could be struggling for his place in the Chelsea squad yet alone England. Lot of inconsistent performances despite Sarri and Frank showing him a lot of faith. Will be interesting to see how Mason gets on if he starts.

I think hes about as good anybody who is realistically attainable. There arent many top class LBs around unfortunately that we could get and at his age, with his current level, the games hes got in the PL and the fact he is probably going to England's first choice LB for the foreseeable future he would be a worth while investment. Jose Gaya is another guy I like, have done for a few seasons, lots of La Liga and CL/European experience. Talk of us monitoring him as well. Chilwell would cost a lot yes so maybe looking at another alternative at a similar level wouldnt the worst idea but I have no doubts a LB will be a target as I cant see Alonso or Emerson both remaining, especially of Frank reinstates Emerson when hes fully fit as first choice. Alonso was also heavily linked with Atletico before after Sarri made Emerson first choice back end of the season and I think we knocked back a bid in the summer too. Sarri also really wants Emerson at Juve so rumours of us looking for a LB are definitely along the right lines.

Again I think your getting a bit carried away with yourself, I have no idea what Bale played like the last game for Madrid but to say Willian looking more effective than him. hmmm. Maybe but I still think he would be fine in the PL. His injuries again, while they have been a few but hes hardly at the sort of level of injury prone you'd associate with other players like Jack Wilshere or various others over the years like Michael Owen etc who have missed months and months of football almost every season or beyond 6 months in a season. Hes still managed to play 42 games last season in all competitions, 39 games the season before. 2016-17 he only managed 27 games in all competitions which is where he struggled with fitness a lot I think. Plenty life left in him I would say and when you see him play hes still as quick as ever (watching Wales on the tablet, still looks breakneck speed and then Scotland on my laptop haha).

If he could handle the physical side of the PL now? I think that is a bit of ridiculous comment to make in all honesty, the guy has probably been stronger physically in terms of his build than he was in his last year or two at Spuds since going to Madrid. Yes he has had his fair share of injuries in the past 2 and a half seasons yes but couldn't handle the physical side of the PL? Cmon. The guys British, played in the PL for however many years.... he could definitely do it again in the PL. No question. Yes hes older but hes definitely gotten better at Madrid as well as developed a huge winning mentality and massive game experience such as CL finals, cup finals etc. If he got over the few wee niggling muscular injuries he seems to get, he would be able to do it with ease as well because theres no way he would come here to be dicked about playing 2 or 3 games in a row at Madrid then being benched/dropped from the squad every 3rd week. He's not coming from u16s football, hes coming from Real Madrid so I don't see why physicality would be an issue at all considering Real played teams like Atletico, Valencia, various other European teams in the CL who can be very physical and get stuck in and have done over the period of his time there. Wages and his age is the only stumbling block for me. Plus would he actually come here? And yes how many years would we get from him, I definitely agree as its hard to tell with many players once they hit that age of 30, 31. I think if he was 28 or 29, we would be interested because there is a guarantee of at least another 2 years on top of say another 2 years of him performing at a higher consistent level before slowing down, although again its not always so easy to judge when somebody is finished or not, especially when you consider the way Bale, like Ronaldo is extremely dedicated to ensuring he keeps in the best physical condition possible (maybe overtraining hasn't helped him and thats where he picks up these wee injuries from here and there). I think a return to Spuds is probably his best or most sensible bet, it pains me to say it but it would be a perfect fit I think, he'd give them that impetus and big game experience/mentality that they clearly lack and they'd be able to afford him a platform to go out and play on. Wages would fuck them with that too but I just don't see us going for a 30 year old for 60m euros or whatever, although if he was to take a wage drop, say 100k or close to that and Madrid would lower there price I wouldnt be surprised at all if we did maybe throw our hat in the ring especially considering the uncertainties with Willian and his contract situation. An experienced player out and one who is a lot better in.... also fully firing we dont have a player who is on the same level as him at all. Its incredible how the Madrid fans and even Zidane has treated him. Bale has over 100 goals and has won more trophies at Real as a player than Zidane did. It doesn't make him better but you could argue Real Madrid winning 4 CLs in a row is up there with them winning the 5 CLs or whatever it was called at the time all those years ago in the 50s, as one of the best periods in the clubs history and he was undoubtedly a key part of those wins. Still think hes achieved more at Real than Eden ever will as well. Eden has maybe gone at the wrong time but again, his choice wasn't it? I think when Bale goes from Real eventually they will miss him in some capacity, not as badly as Ronaldo but again Bales goals per season at Madrid are pretty good, 22, 17, 19, 9 (only played 29 games), 21 and 14 (again in and out under Zidane after he returned). Assists I am not sure on but hes bound to be double figures for them most seasons too. Your looking at someone who contributes a minimum of 30-35 goals a season when played regularly. I think we would get laughed out of whatever meeting if we even proposed such a thing. We would have to pay Real Madrid to take Willian. Exactly. As I said I think if this situation was 2 years ago and he was 28 or 29, I have no doubt we would go for him. Hes the sort of player who you know can get you goals, assists, decide games on his own but the conditions to get him here in terms of a transfer would be incredibly difficult.

Okay. What kind of injury is it? I hope its not the same one as he had before, definitely some sort of pattern if so...

Regardless he has got over 100 goals for Real. Dont think he cant score or is inferior to Willian in any facets of his game. Wages would be an issue and his age isnt exactly helpful either but I think people seem to take the notion that because Zidane doesnt fancy Bale that he is a shit player. He is not.

God. Wtf is going on. Was it with u21s?

Fuck me did I really see a comparison saying Christian Pulisic who played in one of the top 5 leagues in Europe prior to joining Chelsea is at the same level of Salomon Kalou, prior to joining Chelsea, who played in the Erevidise as a striker? How do I unsee something? Kalou was a CF, who was very very raw technically when he first. He ended up as a wide player here but he wasnt even the same type of player either as what Pulisic is, who is much more of a creative player with a much more sounder technical skillset and better level than Kalou had when he came.

Wow such a crime spilling chips in a taxi. The horror. What a surprise. A bitchy article making something out of nothing by some prick journalist. Great article, the news is really informative these days and picking up on all the big issues.... what next, someone must grow up because they spill juice on the subway?

Wouldn't take Neymar anywhere near the club. The fact PSG fans basically have abandoned him as one of their own players due to his actions and attitude says everything you need to know about him. Arrogant little cunt who went there purely for financial reasons if not anything else... don't buy the whole getting out of Messi's shadow, with him and Suarez they formed arguably the best attack on the planet and would of competed for most trophies available, why leave that? You can step out of somebodies shadow at the same club as well..... Fair enough hes a great player when he wants to be but hes 27 and has the attitude of a child. Also 230M dollars? Hes on about 500k a week apparently as well. No thanks. He probably thought Barca wouldn't do so well without him too and now look how that has turned out, still managed to win leagues and cups despite maybe not being at their top level where as its fair to say Neymar isn't even the best player at PSG either as Kylian Mbappe is.

Ah so it was Swindon not Shrewsbury. Yeah that game he was poor. He looked as if he was playing in lead boots although I know he isn't the fastest but he looked very laboured. There was another cup game, probably Shrewsbury, where Mourinho slaughtered Andre Schurrle, Filipe Luis, Mo Salah and other squad players as well the next season I am sure saying something along the lines of they didn't make it very difficult for him to decide who would be included in the next game but again he was right as many performed poorly and we only got through due to an own goal IIRC. Maybe 10-15 years ago it would of got a reaction and not offended as many players as he seems to have done since his second spell here but its all changed now I suppose you only look at when OGS replaced him at United and the response he got from the likes of Pogba, Martial, Rashford compared to what they were doing before (also you look at these guys now and others under OGS when hes apparently dressed them down in the dressing room after poor performances) or when he got replaced at Real by Carlo etc. I'd say the same with demoting Kevin to the reserves, imagine if a Ferguson or Mourinho or Capello or someone did that to a kid in the early 2000s, chances are it would work back then than what it would now. I think even at Hibernian, the senior players reportedly went to the chairman and complained about Neil Lennon which eventually ended up getting him sacked because he apparently had been shouting at some players or a lot of them after poor performances. Its not just at the very top level, this sort of management can cause issues at most levels.

Its not even that, he wasnt comfortably a better fit for any of the attacking positions under Mourinho if we honestly look back at how Willian, Eden and even Oscar did in that period (which wasnt always brilliant but was effective in parts) as well as any of the others we had here and ultimately it was his say who went in the team. Its his issue for not seeing his long term development but who says he didnt? He might have but just couldnt guarantee him games. Again though I did hope at the time he had got more games but it didnt happen and fair enough it backfired on us in the longer run but thats just been our luck with the likes of him, de Bruyne and even Lukaku. Its not a guarantee that these guys would have even wanted to come back here or even that they'd have had the same success as at other clubs (although thinking about it under Conte in his first season, Mo Salah on the right, with Eden on the left and Costa in the middle would of been very very good). Kevins a different story as well because hes a number 10 and since Jose left up until now we havent really played with an actual out and out number 10. Sure if he was there youd maybe think we would have but the Kevin de Bruyne that apparently told Jose he wasnt happy being on the bench in only the 3rd PL game of the season after playing vs Hull Cit6 and Man United, left here with his tail between his legs after being told he was 5th or 6th choice by Jose depending on if Mata left. He had talent for sure but I didnt think he would become as good as he did in the short space of time it took him. Went to Germany and 18 months later, a short period in terms of a potential 16, 17 or 18 year career, he was basically the best attacking midfielder in Europe bar a few obvious ones. I doubt many would of expected that so soon after the move and how he fared here. We wont be the only club who let go of players who dont fit or dont do the business for them only for them to go on and prove their former clubs wrong. No point being too overly worried about departures in the transfer market 4 or 5 years ago now.

Need to be very careful with him and any other players this season who end up needing treatment I think as we seem to have had a lot of reoccuring injuries with a few guys already. This is based on how Kante, Emerson, even beforehand when Rudiger played himself before getting injured again/not being fit enough and having to come off... its either rushing players back or sheer hard luck but I think its more likely to be rushing them in all fairness because it seemed to be a pretty obvious pattern. Rudiger played after recovering, injured again. Kante and Emerson both the same. Weve been good over the years in terms of avoiding huge amounts of injuries as well. Okay Ruben and Callum suffered big ones but I think they were unlucky. Although Ruben and Callum had also accumulated a lot of minutes in a short period of time beforehand, (under a manager who rarely rotated) I think but will need to check to be sure.

So far so good at Juventus I think its safe to say. Averaging 1.9 goals p game, 16 shots p game, as well as obviously dominating possession as youd expect. Showed some tactical flexibility between 433 and 4312 and has even been rotating the likes of Ramsey, Dybala, Bentancur, Bernardeschi, Higuain, Danilo, Cuadrado and Chiellini in and out of his team depending on the shape and opposition which we really didnt see here. Even played 442 in some games with Matuidi playing on the left side like he did for France in the world cup as well. I think everyone knew who would be in the starting 11 after 5 games every week when he was here but at Juventus they could go 433 with Costa/Bernardeschi and Ronaldo wide or 4312/442 with Dybala/Higuain and Ronaldo supported by Ramsey/Bernardeschi or two wingers. Not even taking into account his midfield options which I think for any club, regardless of what people think of the likes of Khedira and Matuidi to have them with all their experience on either side of Pjanic, as well as having options such as Bentancur, Rabiot, Ramsey who can play on the left or right side of a 3 or even in a 2, I think if he wasnt able to be flexible with those he would never be able to. Obviously beat Inter as well as managing the game well. His system and selection worked. He seems to be adapting his way of setting his sides up a bit, they can go a lot more varied and play direct passes as opposed to just constantly keeping it short and inviting a press to play through it, especially against Inter which worked quite well. Maybe learning after his spell here about the fact that his philosophy needed tweaks here and there. Still really excited to see how Serie A ends up this season, Conte, Sarri, Carlo all managing the most likely clubs to compete for the title. Think Juve will win it still but it will be intriguing to say the least to see how those other 2 fair and if anyone else comes to the fore. AC Milan an absolute shambles which is a shame for the Italian league though.

Ndombele is already comfortably one of Spurs plus points this season if not the only one. He is a brilliant footballer, great mix of physical and technical attributes.

Which was the exact same reasoning for Juan Cuadrado when we signed him. Ample chances or not, there is no guarantee Salah could have done that here based off 5 months in Fiorentina. Maybe made folk understand he should of been given more of a chance yes but weve seen things not sork out with a variety of players at different clubs for whatever reasons. Plus for me, Salahs best football in Italy came in a Roma shirt, 100%.

Again though Salah and De Bruyne all those years ago werent even half the players they are now. I have doubts if both Salah or De Bruyne would have ever turned out so good if they stayed here, even if they played because the demands and expectations at Fiorentina, Roma and Wolfsburg are lower and they maybe gave these guys more of a platform to do their thing. Frank even alluded to it prior to playing Liverpool that Salah has talent but didnt dislodge or play as good as the others in his position when Frank was still playing. Fair to say sometimes these things dont work out for whatever reasons. Fair enough they hardly got sufficient chances but again, if someone said to me that the same kid who couldnt even look half interested for us against Shrewsbury I think it was, who was asked to stay back and train with the reserves by Jose instead of going to the Basel game in the CL and would only make say 10 appearances max for us, would turn into one of the best attacking midfielders on the planet I would have laughed, as would many Id imagine, plain and simple as that.

Not certain that Villas-Boas would of been for that. A presentation does sound like him and okay he did talk about the PL needing a B team league to bridge the gap but he came from Porto where their youth academy is a huge part of how they operate, as well as the whole Portuguese leagues culture. Also the fact he targeted/signed lots of younger players during his time here, Courtois, Lukaku, Romeu, De Bruyne, Davila, Omeruo, Piazon, Bamford (although Lukaku, Courtois and de Bruyne had been scouted by the club beforehand I am certain but he was the manager when they signed so you could say he had a say or an idea regarding them). He also wanted Thiago Alcantara, Andre Schurrle, did play Sturridge a lot, showed faith in Romeu over Mikel too when others wouldnt have and promoted Bertrand to the first team squad. I know they arent academy players and am not certain his youth record is great either though which maybe doesnt help the argument but I think he wouldnt of been wanting to close the academy, he always talked and seemed more worried about a long term change at Chelsea in style and seemed to want to phase out some of the senior players instantly. I do reckon it was Mourinhos 2nd spell. Sounds like something he would do. The whole academy day bullshit after playing Ruben for 20 mins or whatever it was too, it reeks of him. Also the whole academy should be used to make money bit, Jose talked about Chelsea's net spend and FFP in his second spell here a lot. Could argue Conte maybe as well but for me sounds more Jose esque.

He doesn't strike me as someone who would really want to play for either. Some players want Madrid or Juventus because of their history etc but I geniuenly believe he is more than happy in England and at Chelsea.

Yeah I agree but I also think irrelevant of what team is at the top at this stage, be it City or Liverpool, we should just be thinking about getting as many points on the board and not being overly concerned how those two are doing. Just get as many points as possible and let them and the other teams fighting for the top 4 places worry about us. A title challenge was realistically never an expectation at the start of the season but as youve said, Frank and the boys could sense an opportunity looking at this next run and perhaps we could surprise many folk by getting as many points as possible in these next 9 or 10 league games or whatever it is. If we are still there and there's about come February/March, yes 100% start taking more of an interest in their results but I think for us especially at this stage, its too early to be worrying about those 2 when the likes of Arsenal, Spurs, Leicester and even West Ham will all be looking towards top 4/6 finishes too.

His mentality is likely going to be his biggest issue at Real. If he didnt expect that media scrutiny at Real then he clearly has no idea. For someone who dreamed of playing for Real as well, surely he would of expected it? If i am honest it sounds like an excuse more than anything.

Well he certainly took his time to decide to renew. Again a lot of talking but a young guy who is still learning, maybe just let your football do the talking and get on with it.... plenty of opportunities for him now again to kick on and show his worth but for saying the club have done a lot for him and whatever else he is coming out with he would of renewed a lot lot sooner in my opinion.