OneMoSalah

Yeah it will probably be a recurring theme all season. Tbf it was a geniune concern throughout pre-season against a lot of dead rubber teams and then after that, the first what 3 or 4 games in competitions? I can see why people were concerned. Its not exactly the worst thing to be worried about. All good teams are built on a good defence.

Regardless, having Jorginho, Kante, Kovacic, Mount, Barkley, Ruben and even Gilmour for 3 roles in the team with all the games we will play this season, it isnt exactly the worst thing to have is it? 5, 6 or 7 years ago we would of killed to have a midfield of this calibre in terms of geniunely top notch technical players. I mean we wanted Modric back in the day etc and now we have players who maybe arent as good as Modric was then or that but are in the right mould, very good technicians with other skillsets too. Genuinely think Ross will be out the door in the summer in all honesty if he doesnt buck up his ideas on the park too

Its been a good start but we still need to be cautious. Same happened with Sarri and Conte eventually although in different circumstances. The young guys have given the squad a really big impetus and freshness but their performances will naturally be inconsistent at some point so we need to be wary and still try and not get overly excited too soon. Also have to hope the senior heads can help the team through such a thing if it happens because the some of our biggest performers this year have been Mount, Tammy and Tomori. Throw in Kova, Jorginho, Willian and Emerson as well. Sure theres a few others too who could get mentions if you eant to go into it. Saying all that, I firmly believe we should be in the driving seat for the top 4 based on Spurs, Arsenal and United's performances and results so far. 100%. But still there will be times where things dont go our way and we will see how the guys react if this happens. Lampard is learning from his mistakes though which is an excellent quality to have as it shows he isnt stuck to his ways completely but the zonal marking still needs sorted. Couple of clean sheets in a row too, always positive for the back line and keeper. Like I said, so far so good but again, need to be cautious as it can just take 3, 4 or 5 bad results in a period of time to change the dynamic.

I honestly do think Willian will play for us most weeks when he is fit. Lamps keeps talking about him being an example on the pitch to the younger players and his performances under Frank have been decent so far despite the common belief that he is shite. Also right now, I really do think with Pulisic, he cant afford to ignore him after the last 2 sub apperances either. Those cameos make me wonder why Frank maybe didnt start him in either game. Mason seems to be a shoe in for Frank at the minute so in my eyes, it makes sense that it looks more than likely to be Callum who will miss out more than the other 2. I mean Callum has huge potential and showed v Newcastle what he can do but tonights performance was very bad. His decision making in the final third definitely wasnt good enough tonight and how Pulisic played coming on the left side where is Callums preferred position, I can see it being a toss up between him or CHO. Also Pulisic already has 5 assists in all competitions... limited minutes or not he is making a big contribution.

Maybe better on the ball but as a defender I dont think he is better. He is a leftie so would give nice balance in a back 4 or 3 but lets not forget how average Bournemouth are defensively and Ake isnt particularly outstanding for them either. Also Piet de Visser is Dutch and probably scouted Ake.... so ofcourse he will sing his praises.

Hopefully this will be the team: Kepa Azpi Zouma Tomori Alonso Kovacic Jorginho Willian Mount Pulisic Tammy Regardless of the team, if Pulisic doesnt start then I have no idea what else he has to do. Really baffling he didnt start tonight in all honesty. Be tough away from home there too Burnley are a proper team who roll their sleeves up, are very disciplined as well as having a threat when they go forward.

Against Burnley is the perfect game for him... they will play a low block more than likely, limiting space in behind so having someone who can take players out of the game is huge. Even more so because he is affecting games. I mean if your worried about the physical side of it I guess Mount and Callum shouldnt play either? They arent much more physical than he is.

Has been excellent all season. People were right to be curious about signing him permanently based on last season but hes proven everyone wrong and is excelling.

Or if we defended the Valencia goal 1000x better.

And those people to put it bluntly dont have a fucking clue. The supercup, Newcastle sub apperance and tonights sub appearance, he made a huge impact in all.

Brilliant work. Good finish.

Pulisic best attacker n hes played only 10 mins or bit over. Lamps really has no excuse to not consider using him from the start his last 2 sub appearances have been good.

Yeah true. Abrahams hold up looks to be improving a lot but still needs some work. Hopefully Batshuayi can reap the rewards of Tammy doing the dog work before, maybe giving him chances. Wow what a sitter. Even Torres would of scored that fucking hell.

Willian off for Pulisic and not CHO is strange for me. Willian hasnt done a great deal either but hes experienced enough and I wouldnt be surprised if he pulled something out of nothing but fuck it. Need a goal regardless.

When is Frank gonna sort this zonal marking shite. More or less every game we concede a big chance from a corner or set play. Also take Hudson-Odoi off hes been shite since the second half started. No point beating around the bush, hes been a passenger second half. Pulisic on please.

Callum has to hit the target at least there for me. His finishing needs a lot of work. Also its so obvious he wants to come inside, he needs to switch it up or make it less obvious at the very least.

Going for a draw isnt a viable option in my eyes. We are 3rd with 3 points. A win here will be excellent, especially if Lille can get a result v Valencia.

But think about it practically. Real Madrid, Barca, Liverpool and Bayern all linked as well as United and City. We will be near the bottom 100% because we arent going to just spend 100m+ like that which Dortmund will want and even then if we did bid that, just think what the likes of United, City and Reals could offer, clubs who have massive massive budgets due to their commercial incomes through sponsorships etc. Being friends with Tammy and Callum wont mean anything if we dont agree a suitable fee with Dortmund, which as I mentioned above with United, City and Real, buying him will be incredibly difficult. Also the direction we are going will mean nothing again if Real, Liverpool or City come for him. They are more competitive than us at this moment and that wont change in a season. Also Hazard and Morata money avaliable or not, I really dont see us spending 100m on one player who doesnt have a release clause.

Sancho 😂 fuck sake we will be towards the bottom of the list for Sancho come next summer. We wont spend the 100m minimum Dortmund will want.

He is basically a defensive midfielder so why would goals or assists matter? People take stats far too seriously. But I do agree we are heavily stacked in MF.

Ironically enough at United he does more than for Scotland but he is still one hell of an average player. He runs about, tries to get stuck in, has a big physical frame but in a team thats on the front foot, who will be playing against low blocks most weeks, his passing and overall lack of top quality lets him down. For Scotland, he is a passenger every game. He sits in a more disciplined role infront of the defence but again, struggles to really impose himself or break the lines with his passing. Doesnt do nearly enough for Scotland to the point where I would rather see Steve Clarke pick Ryan Jack from Rangers in that role.

Good job he doesnt play for a newspaper then.

Slow? Are you sure your not meaning another player? Ive seen him play for Rangers youth teams, Scotland u21s and now for us and slow is something I wouldnt say about Billy Gilmour. He is not slow. Hes not Usain Bolt but slow, for a midfield player, no chance.

Wtf why is everyone in the media praising United's performance v Liverpool? Did they watch the game? United basically just played long balls into the channel and ran around. Liverpool were pretty piss poor by all accounts too but I suppose trying to have Fabinho, Henderson and Wjinaldum pick passes through 10 players sitting deep and compact is about as useful as a chocolate ashtray. All this United can build on this performance pish is ridiculous although if they want to play like a team of hammerthrowers tbf yeah let them crack at it. Also as a Scot, seeing how Scott McTominay played yesterday makes me worry, if he is going to be a key player in our NT we are fucked. Seen the game on the train, whole of the second half he just booted the ball aimlessly everytime. Keanes comment regarding Harry Kane was hilarious though but no surprise Neville, Keane even Souness.... no real criticism of Uniteds performance. Odd because I remember when City beat us 1-0 under Conte, we got absolutely hammered by most pundits until we lost 6-0 with Sarri in same fixture.

If his first intentions to go sign another midfielder when we are pretty much already stacked there then it wont be interesting at all, more daft in my eyes as theres other areas we need to strengthen/improve upon such as upfront and outwide. Good teams strengthen where they are weak be it first 11 or 18 man squad. An injury to Tammy and we are goosed upfront. Willian and Pedro are good pros and have done their bits over the years but they will also need replacing/upgraded on if we are to take the next step. Defence still potentially questionable as Ive mentioned my concerns with Zouma but I think Rudiger will stiffen us up, him and Tomori would be an excellent partnership I feel.