OneMoSalah

Was definitely either him or Tomori to go on loan. Maybe both. Hopefully gets a good loan deal, in the championship perhaps.

Definitely but I think the mantra with the SFA is purely to appoint Scottish managers. Especially after the Berti Vogts experience all those years ago. Its difficult because obviously McLeish for me, is well past his sell by date and Strachan who had started well fucked himself in the end and resigned. He had a real real chance of securing qualification for the Euros a few years back but by being stubborn starting shite like Chris Martin ahead of Leigh Griffiths had been on fire having scored like god knows mayne 15-20 a sesson in the previous seasons at a standard which is hardly that inferior to the championship in all honesty. As well as a few others like James Morrison and refusing to integrate younger players who are now involved with the squad. But yeah, it could take a manager from outside of Scotland to reslly push these guys on although what Steve Clarke did at Kilmarnock was really quite extrodinary taking where they were when he came in at first and the budget he was on to get a shot for European football. Antonio Conte's assistant is in there now so he could reap the rewards. Anyway the standard of youngsters and players in general is gradually improving. Ryan Fraser, Karamoko Dembele, Kieran Tierney, Andy Robertson, John McGinn, Billy Gilmour, Greg Taylor etc. Just have to hope these kids dont get tempted to move to the PL before its too soon like Feruz. Better for the Scottish game too and then when their ready to move on they can go, bring money into the club.

Think he will be in around the squad this year. Really have high hopes for him, followed him when he was at Rangers along with Karamoko Dembele (seen him make his Celtic debut vs Hearts in May, he looked exciting and most importantly wasnt phased by it, obviously 1 first team game but hes done well for youth teams and in pre season with Celtic too). As a Scot these 2 could be huge players for the NT and at club level. Would say that while he maybe looks sinilar to Modric or de Jong as he is mobile, can dribble but he also has a bit of Cesc in him too, he is excellent at providing the final pass and that as a midfielder is a huge strength obviously along with a good range of passing. He and Mount (who I had reservations about slightly) have looked like they want to be in the first team when they've played, along with confidence in their own ability. Time will tell obviously and weve seen before its easy to get carried away with young players but you never know. I do think if we offload Bakayoko and Drinkwater it gives them 2 and also Ampadu a chance to get more minutes.

Was more Barca and his agent I think than anything else although hes not completely inadmissable from the situation. They agreed personal terms before Atleti played Juve in the CL in like March or April. Now Barca havent payed the full release clause and Atletico are taking legal actions.

Good assist for Mount yesterday, need to see this sort of thing more often, more penetrating passes in and around the box. Could be a big season for him as a player, hopefully he becomes more productive throughout the season.

Yeah I think people are reading far too much into this can Jorginho play or not play in a double pivot, the guy in the last few years at Napoli was one of the better midfield players in his position in Europe, hes not just someone who can only play as a 6 in a 3 man MF. Hes played in a 4231 with Italy and also under Benitez with Napoli when he was there. Although a good system or tactical set up is a huge benefit, it is massively important you have very good players in key positions, that is more important and can compensate for the tactical set up not being the best (likes of Hazard, Willian - that year he was POTY - and Diego Costa in previous seasons getting us points when we were hopeless tactically or performance wise comes to mind). Binning or benching Jorginho would be one of the worst decisions Lampard will ever make as a manager. If we want to play quick, direct football going through the lines then Jorginho or someone of that mould is a must. Yes he didnt always look great at times last season when the team struggled but I think everyone could see by May he had shown his worth with a very good back end of the season for him on a personal level. I think as well hes had a transitional year where he had to adjust to a much quicker standard of football in terms of when you lose the ball and am expecting big things from him this year.

Eden said he wanted to leave last sunmer. While it wasnt a transfer request its not as if he didnt say it... Regarding CHO and more or less the majority of players with agents, I doubt his agent is really going to hugely influence him to sign or not sign a new deal etc, if a player wants to leave its ultimately their decision. Sure agents are there and maybe some yes they can influence or get their clients better deals (that fat Italian dickhead who Pogba, Ibra are represented by is the worst of them the millions he has rinsed from clubs is incredible) but ultimately the buck stops with the player for me regardless. If he wanted to really stay and sign a new deal he would of by now. This his brother is doing this or getting player X or Y a move to Bayern isnt really the reason why he hasnt signed. His head was obviously turned in Jan (the likes of Bayern being interested will do that to many young players) hence the transfer request, coupled together with a lck of playing time. The lack of talk regarding his future when asked after that said 1000 words too. Regardless, the club shouldn't be bowing down to someone who has only played 25 games in the first team if he doesnt want to stay. Anyone thinking their bigger, better or dont want to be here should be shown the door, especially a kid who however you look at it hasnt really achieved anything in terms of his footballing career to date. Not just Callum this is a huge issue with many young players in England. Big youth contracts, too much too soon, I mean look at Rashford, very good prospect and will be a top player but 200k a week? Jesse Lingard very average limited footballer, 140k a week... and theres probably hundreds of them in the UK alone.

Tbf if they look to play counter attacking football and throw crosses into the box from wider areas he will easily score 20 goals a season. Dont think Conte ever wanted him for how he linked up or that when he was here but more because of his record as a goalscorer and his physicality. Think Lukaku will do very well in Serie A if he does go. Id imagine that is only if Icardi is going to go though. Why else would they sign Lukaku when they already have Martinez and Icardi, unless he wants to play 352 with those 2 up top...

Think he will play as a winger here, his 1 v 1 ability would be wasted in central areas where most often than not in games that area become far too congested. Generally more space out wide as teams will sit deep and narrow against us.

Definitely. He wanted Alex Sandro and Candreva (not an amazing player but would of done well at RWB and his final ball was 10 times better) to improve on Moses and Alonso. He wanted Lukaku to replace Costa (still dont get why he wanted to bin him completely, he struck me as the typical mould of player Conte would want, top player, hard working, win at all costs, did it in big games - similar traits to what Vidal, Marchisio, Bonucci, Chielleni had). Think he also wanted Nainggolan (got Kante instead) and Pogba too, glad we didnt get Pogba tbf though. Think Inter will be a lot better under him, plus they already have half decent/good/very good players there like Samir Handanovic, De Vrij, Milan Skriniar, Diego Godin, Miranda, Roberto Gagliardini, Mauro Icardi, Lautaro Martinez, Ivan Perisic... a lot of experience and potential as well as a lot of definite fits for Contes 343 or 352 whatever he goes for.

Again though, talk is talk. Lets see if the players can take FL's words and put those things into performances. For instance, Villas-Boas said the right things too, good proactive football, winning, youth developement, bla bla bla.... Also regarding a unit pulling in the same direction etc, every manager who has gone through any sort of footballing licensed course or even ex player should be aware of that, its hardly pointing out anything that hasnt been mentioned before. Hes hardly said anything that no other manager would say in this predicament we are in, lets be honest. We need to judge him on what happens on the pitch. Hard work is arguably the most important thing in football. I hope he can be successful but again feel that people will cling onto every word he says even if its something that has been said before in a different light than anyone else because hes Frank Lampard. To put a dampner on things, Id still be amazed if he sees out all 3 years of his contract but thats not on him, thats the same with any other manager here. Despite having reservations I am exicted for this season, transfer ban isnt great as we need improvements but it forces the coaches hand to play some of these young lads which obviously as a fan and going on our academies reputation isnt all that bad. Top 4 still has to be minimum target. Would be the same if it were Pep, Allegri, Blanc, Steve Holland or whoever if it werent Frank.

Think we have to give it a few competitive games before saying anything along those lines. Still remember after we played a few times and Inter with Sarri in pre season similar things were said but along the lines regarding his philosophy and how this is what we will be now etc. People need to not get too carried away after a week. While the quotes are encouraging, to say "the old Chelsea" is premature to say the least. Even to say compared to our team under Conte and even Jose in the 2nd spell, we could compete and fight teams even with players like Oscar, Hazard, Willian... we will never be that Chelsea team of 2004/05, 05/06 again because football has changed and managers really dont build teams like that anymore. We were a nightmare to play against physically, tactically, mentally the group was rock solid, could defend for prolonged peroids etc. Before this possession obsession ruined football in a way, as theres truely no correct or one way of playing football.

First game didnt expect much more. Ampadu really caught my eye but still at times in first half he played too safe with his passing. Kenedy isnt a LB and has no place here in the long term in my eyes. Batshuayi did good but still have doubts about him, although times the final pass to him was shit ornthey went another way. Billy Gilmour looked promising when he got on but think this seasons too soon. Dujon Sterling was disappointing. Hopefully with the addition of more senior players who played regularly together and more fitness training we will be a lot better. Im sure we will. 4231 is still for me not a better fit than 433.

He has even more of a chance than ever to be kept around for one reason which is mind boggling. We lost Rob Green and Gary Cahill who took up two home grown slots in our squad and Victor Moses is probably set to depart as well. So considering that, I think that unfortunately he will only be kept for that reason. Hes not good enough to start and really you would think he has to go but his HG status could help him as well as maybe only using him in cup games. We need how many, a minimum of 8 HG players in our 25 man squad? We have Andreas, Ruben, CHO, Barkley and Ampadu from last years squad. Few other names that spring to mind are Reece James, Fikayo Tomori (if Zouma stays he will go on loan likely), Mason Mount and Tammy Abraham. That gives us 9 but again theres talk of Tomori going and also clubs being interested in Ampadu (Aston Villa)... so we could be down to 7. Another few players who could be included in that HG list is Lucas Piazon, Izzy Brown and Marco van Ginkel IIRC... but I do hope we maybe think logically and maybe keep Jamal Blackman as 3rd choice GK and sell the other 3. Id be happy with us having Callum, Ruben, Ross, Andreas, Mason, Fiyako, Jamal, Reece, Ethan and Tammy making up HG places in the squad but honestly think that one of, if not both of Ampadu and Tomori will be up for loan if Zouma stays. Luiz, Rudiger, Christensen and Zouma is more than enough. Realisitcally dont think the 25 man squad will be too far off this: Kepa, Cabellaro, Blackman (HG) Christensen (HG), Luiz, Rudiger, Zouma Azpi, Reece James (HG), Alonso, Emerson Jorginho, Kante, Kovacic, Barkley (HG), Mason (HG), RLC (HG), Drinkwater (HG), Pedro, Willian, CHO (HG), Pulisic Giroud, Batshuayi, Tammy (HG) Obviously as well with the u21s you dont actually need to register them but some will definitely be registered this season as they will need to be. Would be interesting to see who else FL and JM maybe turn to but after saying they wont alienate anyone that means DD could stay.

They just got 50m for Wan Bissaka so we should ask for 35m. Good deal for us I would say but we would be short uptop.

Thinking about it, It will either boil down to one of two things. Playing time (which he will get more here than at Bayern who still want him) or money, which I can see being more likely now. If he rejects an offer it is more likely to be a financial issue as in my eyes now, he is probably going to be odds on to start most weeks if hes fully recovered with Eden being is gone and not being able to move for anyone. All the talk of 100k a week for someone yet to play 50 games professionally is a bit ridiculous though. Still think Ruben getting 120k a week is a wee bit mad too although a new deal was deserved but then again at least we arent dishing out 250k a week to the likes of Rashford or more to Pogba, Sanchez etc like United. Again think we have to be wary with some of these guys coming through, cant afford to spoil them too soon with huge huge paying contracts based of 15 games etc.

Honestly as I and many have said before (even when he submitted his transfer request), if he decides to leave and still wants to go to Bayern then he is even dumber than I imagined. He wont start there 100%. If he wasnt getting selected regularly ahead of Willian and Pedro under Sarri he has another thing coming with Coman and Gnabry under Kovac. Bayern are reportedly very interested and looking at Pepe and Bergwijn as well. He will do well to make it in their starting 11 even if they only get one of them. Hes a talent but he needs to play, if he doesnt want to play here then going to Bayerns not exactly the right move either. Theres something off about this whole situation has been since the start.

Although both are limited players think Candreva would of definitely done a very good job at RWB ahead of Moses and Zappa. Think Conte played him there when he was incharge of the NT during the euros at times. Llorente probably wouldnt of done much more than Giroud though.

I think it theres one thing Atletico have successfully done is remain competitive despite losing their best players. Joao Felix may not have done much but they havent been as excited about a young player in Portugal since Ronaldo probably, which considering the talent they are producing now a days says a lot (some very good players coming through, as usual with Porto, Sporting and Benfica). €120m for a 19 year old who if he does well will make them a huge profit, if you think 120m is a lot now a days wait say 4 or 5 seasons down the line big clubs will probably end up paying closer tl 200m for 19/20 year olds off the likes of Porto, Benfica, Monaco, etc. Its not his fault or Atleticos fault that Benfica put a release clause to protect themselves in his contract, is it? Also Filipe isnt maybe an exceptional player or a well known one but if theres one thing Atletico recruit well on, its defenders. 30 year old or not. Even then you look at the likes of Godin, Filipe Luis, Miranda, Gimenez regardless of age all came from smaller clubs and improved under Simeone, who is one of the best managers at extracting things and pushing players to their full potential. Its no surprise Griezmann became much much better at Atletico under Simeone. Or Costa the first time. Also, yes Marcos Llorente isnt Rodri and wasnt really utilised at Madrid but again, I think he will come on at Atletico. Look at Thomas Parteys progression for instance. Regular minutes under a guy who played that same position? None of its a dead cert but Atletico will be fine. Simeone is definitely capable of rebuilding the team hes lost Falcao, Courtois, Gabi, Costa, Luis, Turan, etc before and replaced them with obscure buys in some peoples eyes but it worked.

Christ almighty. 2 players we need to bin desperately. Unless Batshuayi doesnt mind being 2nd choice. Drinkwater needs to go

Why panic? I mean lets be honest for our record with youth, which I dont expect to dramatically change even with Frank it isnt going to be a colossal loss. They could end up good players yes but if we have seen one thing in the past its that young players dont always pan out either. The academy is very good, true, but its not like weve had one year only and the rest have been mediocre weve seen before different age groups all being successful.... the academy will keep producing, losing two or three is not necessarily the biggest problem, not getting them involved with the first team is.

The guys I have unbolded, looking forward to see what sort of shape their in and how they do. Been a big fan of Billy since he was at Rangers, think if he gets minutes it will give a good guage of wheres he is at particularly physically as he is technically good. Doubt he'll be in consideration for the 25 man squad but if he fares well maybe get a chance of a loan? Who knows? Some of the other youngsters I am not overly familiar with but again will jeep an eye on them see how they do.

Honestly with the fact Maka and Drogba are meant to be coming back I am really surprised we couldnt make some sort of coaching position avaliable for Gianfranco as opposed to the ambassador role or whatever the club offered him. Hes still hugely popular and respected, maybe being here with Sarri and his coaching career went against him/wants a return to management or even Frank just wanted to bring folk he worked with in but I think he could have definitely fit into a role. Shame but hey ho. Classy statement, would expect nothing else from the guy. (Hope the club also look at recruiting Michael Ballack in some capacity although hes doing his coaching badges based off his Instagram so wonder what he will do after that)

What about the countless Bundesliga matches over the last 4 years where hes turned in good performances against the likes of Schalke, Leverkusen Mochengladbach, Bayern, Hoffenheim, whoever else? Again, like club games, at international you can only beat who is in front of you, players can only perform against whoever their up against. We are talking about a guy with 100+ games in one of the better European leagues in the world at the age of 20. But I suppose this means CHO's England debut vs Montenegro meant nothing either? You could consider them a "pub team"..... If you can perform well at 19 or 20 against Bayern Munich you can definitely perform against anybody.

Think it will be 4231 with Kante next to Jorginho or 433 witb Kante-Jorginho-RLC as the MF, just Kantes positioning/role will be tweaked. Think dumping/benching Jorginho would be a error. Nobody else in our MF does what he does. Even more so if Frank is wanting to try and continue persist along the same lines as Sarri did.