OneMoSalah

Hes been reasonably good for a few games now but because he isnt a hugely pacey fullback, although hes no slouch, he is going to have limitations against some teams. Regardless Id rather have somebody as defensively solid as him than a more offensive and weaker defensive fullback. The issue necessarily isnt our fullbacks being poor (well could argue about Alonso and Zappacosta tbf), its more often or not they arent wide enough or we dont create enough 2 on 1 opportunities to isolate opposition fullbacks in the final third in wide areas to gain an advantage. Ironically, hes been very decent offensively throughout his career here despite the fact people seem to think when he first joined he wasnt offensive enough and now some believe hes past it. His evolution in terms of his versatility and also improving technically (quite a big improvement too, which was even more evident in a back 3 under Conte) is a huge credit to him. Regardless of what people think, can only say £7,000,000 well spent.

Based on how he played tonight and how Ross has played recently for us, RLC would start the next match for me. But Ross played very well in the early stages of the season and also for England in the internationals. I dont think theres a huge difference in how good they are, both play within themselves at times particularly when we arent having a good spell or good game and for them to push on and become top top players they both need to be able to grab a game by the scruff of the neck and be dominant in that midfield. Personally I think Barkley hasnt ever played as well as he did under Martinez when he was 19 or 20 years old, if he played like that he would probably be starting every week for us.

Fitness would be the obvious reason. Hes had continous back problems throughout his career, hes starting adding goals and assists to his game which for me was ultimately what he had to do to prove himself here unlike at Palace, but his fitness is still a concern and hopefully he gets a devent amount of minutes to the end of the season and can rest well and come back for next season without any fitness issues or injury issues.

I think so because theres less burden on him to provide width, Pedro and Willian when theyre on the right like to come centrally congesting the pitch and making the chance for 2 on 1s minimal in comparison to what we seen with Callum tonight. Azpi also got in the box a few times too. Azpi isnt going to blow anyone away with pace but creating 2 on 1s gives him a chance.

Its the sort of thing they get criticized for also. Unfortunately you cant have one standard for one guy and not for the other. All top pros should be able to be technically proficient, that goes for everyone in the team though. The technique some of these guys have is scary and some of the shit you see at times is ridiculous haha. Great play for the goal. He stayed wide giving width, which weve sorely lacked at times all season. Pedro and Willian are different players with different characteristics who could do that but they seem to come inside more often to play quick combinations but the variation Callum gave by staying wide creates that chance for him to isolate Knockaert who isnt strong defensively. Then the rest is simple, good low centre, good finish. Need a second goal now.

Theyve been linked but I dont think they would fancy dealing with his wife. Icardi is ex Barca although I doubt that would hugely influence his decision but never know.

Great goal, inital pass from Eden to Callum was great, excellent low centre and finished well by Oli. Eden should have scored chance few mins before tho or at least hit the target.

He apparently had that last summer too. Personally I think Madrid will go for him. Lot of rumours last year that they were interested, plus his goals from attacking midfield would help them a lot seeing as they are missing goals in attacking positions.

Decent start, winning the ball back quickly, something we have needed to improve on a lot. Giroud unfortunate with that half chance but was tough to do much more, good find by Jorginho.

Chelsea aren't chasing Coutinho for 3 reasons.... 1)Price, 2) most importantly of all, transfer ban and 3) I very much doubt he would want to come here at all. Rumors Barca coach Valderde will leave after this season and be replaced by the current Real Betis coach. He has sort of rejuvenated Sergio Canales and got more out of Lo Celeo than PSG did so I think Coutinho will be fine if Barca do change manager and Setien goes there. He was never gonna Iniestas heir as many thought, for me Thiago Alcantara was basically ready made for that/or even Xavis role but he left years ago.

Transfer ban means theres no chance we are signing any wingers for next season. Pepe will have plenty of offers, like Jovic, so I doubt we will get any of them.

Top 4 has been at stake for a while and the majority of them have failed to respond and raise their games.

How are we gonna sign him with a transfer ban, just keep him at Frankfurt for a season? I doubt hed want to wait when Barca, Bayern or Real would definitely want him. He fits their profiles in terms of the fact all 3 of their top CFs are ageing and need long term replacements. Those 3 along with City, Juventus, Liverpool, United probably all more attractive teams than us right now for a player with his potential.

Way I see it is. If they are 100% fit (as they should be) the best players should play. Ive backed Sarri since day 1 and knew lack of rotation was an issue but weve got some big games coming up so need to play full strength or would you rather we rotated and prioritised the Europa League?

Fair enough but hes still 10x better than Morata and I still think that in the final third we are so pedestrian. He moves and doesnt recieve the pass at times, fair enough it doesnt always mean he could have scored more but the lack or quality in the final third in terms of creating chances is terrible. That has been our Achilles heel last season and this season. Creating chances in games.

Still dont think if he had started 25-30 games this season it would make a huge difference to where we are in the table and the run of form we've had but like I mentioned before, he needs to play to the end of the season. Hes definitely off in the summer or he will run down his contract for the next summer and leave for free. 100%

100000% agree mate. Your bang on. For me, theres no short term fix to this problem we have because the long term reprecussions of the short term mindset weve adopted over the years and it has finally came back to bite us. The next 2 or 3 seasons will be a progression in terms of developing the squad and they will probably be trophyless.

Dont think its that simple. Hes been below average over the course of the season but hes not the only one. Hes definitely a player we need to keep especially now we lost Cesc in January. Think with the right structure hed be a very good player for us, theres no doubt hes had bad games but defendings never been his strong point, hes a regista. Also I think next season regardless he will be much better suited and hopefully have bulked up in preparation because he needs it. I still think if he signed for City we would all be gutted we never got him.

Im unsure what will happen in the summer. We made progress but have stagnated and with the transfer ban it doesnt help Sarri if he were to go for more players to suit his philosophy, if he were to believe that some of these guys need to go. The quality of starting players in the 11 or the 18 is more an issue than the manager in my eyes. Alonso, Luiz, Kovacic, Barkley, Willian, Giroud, Zappacosta, Pedro (altho hes been more productive this season), 8 out of 18 that arent good enough. Some have potential to grow but havent done enough - Kova and Ross especially but we cant really afford to sell players without replacing them this summer. Just shows Conte did more thsn what youd expect considering that most of the 11 he picked most weeks are still here.

How much football have Christensen Emerson RLC and CHO played though this season? Thats 4 players who havent been regulars so they should be able to play regular minutes over that period. GK you dont really run into the ground so thats 5. Kantes engine is one of his biggest strengths, which made today even more of a surprise. So 6 players who are more than capable of playing 8 games in 29 days I would say. These 8 games are vital so playing his best players even if it means running some of them into the ground, considering his job is 100% on the line, would make sense plus his reputation of not rotating its hardly not believable. He will rotate for the Europa League anyway too so others will get a chance, likes of Giroud Zappacosta, Alonso, Willian, Pedro etc can play that games if he goes with that 11. We need top 4. Hazard, Higuain, Kante, Azpi, Jorginho all have to play 100%

Kepa Azpi Rudiger Christensen Emerson Kante Jorginho RLC CHO Higuain Hazard That 11 should be starting every match til the end of the season for me. But it wont happen.

Sarri made the wrong call not starting him but taking Giroud on in second half ahead of Callum, for me, was the correct call. It wasnt nice and it was hugely lucky but we won. Not sure Sarri is gonna survive past the summer though, which is disappointing because I had hoped he would be given time but the fans were pretty clear at the game today, there is huge discontent regarding Sarri. I think its unfortunate because there are bigger issues than him, like the fact that at least 6 of the starting 11 needs replaced with geniune quality. Alonso, Luiz, Kovacic, Barkley, Willian and Pedro. Although Eden and Kante would normally start. Callum should have. Also its concerning me a loy that Higuain is cutting a disillusioned figure uptop, his movement is there but the ball rarely comes when it should. Its odd because you can see when he moves that he has got the experience and know how of making opportunities to be found but its our play is too slow and ponderous in the final third and doesnt happen. Lots of negatives despite 3 points. I think Callum is still off come the summer too, think his mind was made up in January.

Considering Hernandez has looked very good for Atletico Madrid and was so consistent and mature in terms of his performances (along with Benjamin Pavard on the opposite side) for France when they won the world cup (his first international tournament as well I think?) I dont think 80m euros is that unrealistic considering he is 22, has experience of playing for Atletico in the CL and France, still has to come to his best years but hes quite complete in regard to that hes grown physically, is good technical and more importantly versatile. Christensen isnt even on the same page as Hernandez for me unfortunately in regards to his ceiling. Good talent Andreas but hasnt quite gone too well for him this season with less minutes.

But if we cant shift Zappacosta do you really think we are gonna trust an academy product ahead of a full back who cost 25m or whatever? If Zappa goes yes James has every chance of featuring as Azpis back up but if Zappa doesnt, I really cant see it.

Kylian Mbappe is a generation talent. Nobody would be stupid enough to not play him. Not even Sarri. I hope CHO plays a lot more next season and personally I think he will, even if Sarri stays which is hard to tell but I do hope he does depsite mixed results the change in style has been pleasing, its been a long time since we have played anything remotely close to this style of football - despite mixed results in attack where we have struggled at times. James maybe comes back if we shift Zappacosta but if we dont hes not gonna play. I think he has a huge chance because Zappacosta (and Giroud) all has complained about lack of playing time this season. Regarding Pedro, poor or not hes scored 8 or 9 PL goals this season. Hes not been amazing but hes put some good performances in considering how poor he was the season beforehand I feel.