OneMoSalah

Starting to improve on a weekly basis the last few months. Cost 15m, was shrewd move, offers plenty if starting or off the bench. Still prefer him to Ruben in all honesty but Ruben also continuing to grow.

Perhaps but again I don't think it was a clear opportunity for him to go for the ball. Was a poor goal to concede though, which is why I'm not sure if zonal marking is the long term solution, teams with runners from set pieces attacking the ball will always have the advantage on standing players.

Id be more concerned about using zonal marking to be fair. Never been a fan.

Tierney will eventually outgrow and be fwr too good for Celtic and in terms of British players at his age, he is one of the best out there and also very experienced considering he's played over 150 games for Celtic and Scotland combined, winning trophies left right and centre as well as being an influential figure in the dressing room (already captained Celtic multiple times and also Scotland at a young age). Only because he's Scottish and playing for Celtic is he seriously overlooked. If he was playing PL club's he'd have as much hype as Luke Shaw had at Southampton who was considered one of the best u23 LBs in europe if not the best at that time. Easily. Celtic if they ever sell Tierney will get 30m or 35m minimum I reckon bevause he's the real deal. The whole the Scottish Prem is a joke thing is a bit of a arrogant statement, particularly for somebody who I assume doesnt watch it or makes quick based assumptions, the standards maybe not as competitive but its at least at about championship level and even then with the money difference the gaps not as massive as people think, I watch both leagues quite often and wouldn't say playing championship is that much better. SPL clubs play young guys, sure the academies aren't as good as PL or other European leagues but there's always young players breaking through, club's like Huddersfield dont even have an academy and won't be the first or last PL team to do this in the future because they can throw money at young players. I think playing at a Celtic or Rangers every week infront of 50,000+ fans in a competitive environment is perfect for developing youngsters, managers like Rodgers, McInnes, Lennon and Gerrard having huge influences on young players. Just look at guys such as Fraser Forster, Virgil van Dijk, Victor Wanyama and Moussa Dembele have all moved from the Celtic in the last 10 years to club's and have very good careers (could argue if they were playing in Spain, Italy, Germany, Portugal they'd cost double as much at least of what they did from Celtic). Its not all due to the SPL but Id argue Van Dijk and Wanyama could have played for a top 6 team before they all moved from Southampton to Spurs/Pool no problem at all. Moussa Dembele will be a regular French NT player soon and move on from Lyon eventually although he'd easily be able to play for a slightly smaller PL club then get a big move not long after. Also for instance, Charly Musonda failed in Scotland because he wasn't good enough when he did play in this so called "joke league" 6 months after people thought he should be playing in our first team under Conte. Even in the academies big teams are signing lots of hugely talented Scottish players with out fail every season, many who go on to never play and waste their careers. So the Scottish standard can't be that bad. The money is the only thing that holds it back, if the SPL was getting how ever many millions the PL get it would be the same lots of smaller club's spending big money. It's always the same though, European players are considered more appealing options to club's because they can buy ready made players instead of using youth. For me, the Bundesliga is the best league in the world in that regard because its the only one where every team has an incentive to grow their own players and also be competitive hence why Germany were so successful. British football has had the arse torn out of it with money. Million pound academies and nobody in the top 4 is bringing young players through regularly.

Would love it if Conte went there and benched him. Would be ironic. He wasn't even wanted by Lopetegui....

Remember when we thought there's no way Hazard would ever want to work with Jose again? He said about 2 weeks ago he would want to work with him again... I very much doubt Conte going to Real is going to massively swing his decision to abandon a childhood dream playing in Spain for Real who he recently called the "best team in the world" especially if Florentino Perez decides he wants to sign Hazard like he did Ronaldo, Kaka, Bale, Benzema, Alonso etc not caring for his managers thoughts. For all we know Hazard will probably end up with a similar quote regarding Conte some day.

A lack of rotation and lack of intergrating youngsters isn't just a Sarri problem (although he's known for not rotating his players a lot). These things were problems under Conte and Mourinho too. I agree Luiz, Willian, Pedro, Alonso aren't the best players but they are tried and trusted or have won the managers trust. For a new manager in a high pressure environment where we've sacked people for finishing second like Ancelotti, who was introducting youngsters into the squad at the time, it's easy to see why he's doing this and it's stupid to automatically assume other wise. Even Guardiola would do the same here (he's never brought through any young players from the academy since his days at Barca who've gone on to become regulars). Plan B is Giroud I think but considering Morata has been poor, it's difficult. Regarding CHO, do you change a unbeaten team? Who other than Morata look more than decent enough? Regarding CHO and his potential I would like to see him play but realistically people have to understand he has a lot to do to get ahead of Pedro and Willian in the pecking order. There will be pressure on Sarri to be competitive this season and win something if he can. This is Chelsea Football Club and that pressure always exists here. Talking about the rot wirh the board and transfers, we've got a manager who says he doesn't care about the market as much, so don't expect any huge changes. Its the same people except we dont have Mourinho or Conte in charge who wanted more of a say. Also players and motivation levels one year after winning the title under Jose and Conte too was a big part of our downfall. The last two paragraphs, your obviously well educated but it's not always that complicated. Also things regarding finances, projections, Romans political situation you cannot predict that and it would be daft to do so or even claim to consider it in the long run, this is the first time I've ever seen someone mention SWOT when discussing football.... some of those things really are completely irrelevant to what goes on on the pitch. Maybe some could have effects but I think your seriously overcomplicating things. Regarding a lot from the last few pages, Sarri said we were behind City and Liverpool, I mean we all knew that so its a bit early to start panicking or questioning things like a lack of Rotation/youth players playing 4 or 5 months into a coaches career when we are unbeaten in the league too and changing our style massively. Fans can be fickle, we won trophies under Conte and Mourinho but people wanted them out for various reasons. Sarri has done a good job so far. We've conceded a lot of big chances which concerns me but so far so good.

Jesus I suppose some people will never be happy. Sarri needs time and the chance to build his team, anyone expecting a quick change and winning everything instantly are in for a big shock. We played United off the park first half.... KDB didn't come through academy, I get it he's some player now but shit happens and he couldn't displace Willian Oscar or Schurrle st the time who were competing for 2 positions and a space on the bench. CHO is 17 years old, he's got huge potential but Jody Morris was right when he said in sky he's not ready for first team football every week. Fully adapted? Don't be daft why do you think Sarri kept saying we need time and it could take a year to fully get used to his style.

If anybody doesn't think his new contract is deserved then I don't know what to say. Absolutely crucial in Conte's first season (the system won us the league and Marcos and Victor were huge components in making it work) and has chipped in with some big goals since coming here. Sure he's not really fast, defensively the best, offensively the best or whatever but in his seasons here he has been one of our better players and that is the truth. Also has had a really good goal and assists output as well as have been pretty consistent in performances can't remember him having a really bad game at all. The interest from Real Madrid/Barcelona must have been genuine and regular international call ups probably gave more incentive to the club, along with his performances to renew his deal.

Tbf we completely outplayed United in the first half with those "rubbish players on". Second half they were a lot better tactically and got to grips with our midfielders and started getting beyond Jorginho more and more, which I think will be a issue at times still as the team adapts (the gaps between the defence and midfield is still too big at time). Theres plenty of positive signs but there was a stat that we've conceded a lot of clear cut chances this season so far, think it's the most out of the top 6 teams. The defence is still an issue for me, David Luiz in particular, for everything he offers on the ball cannot defend in a 2 man pairing. Rudiger is really coming into his own I feel and will continue to thrive under Sarri, the guys got everything. This giving youth a chance thing is the same every year. Regardless of manager, always comes up, people complain about why they don't play young player x or y.... seriously every year, does anybody genuinely expect any different? Who was the last guy who actually gave several young players a lot of minutes? Ancelotti? Ffs that was almost 10 years ago. Hudson Odoi had a better chance of playing last season when Hazard Willian and Pedro were out of form at the start of 2018, now Hazard is in top form and Pedro was playing well when he was in the team so its not easy to justify playing him over those 2 or even Willian who's a senior player who's been tried and tested. The culture of the club and its history doesn't help the manager or the young players. We are still unbeaten and still adapting to Sarri's style. Plenty of positives and more to come yet.

No chance we land him in January. Inter would consider selling in the summer if he wanted to leave but can't see them sanctioning his sale mid season. Top striker though, wasn't sure if he'd ever be more than a goalscorer but hes brought so much more to his game the last few seasons, a complete striker.

Why sign a right back and a 18 year old striker, regardless how good he could be, who would in all likelihood never play? While getting rid of one of the best young CBs in Europe to resign a average one? This is not FIFA. It's not as easy as that. Ake, for me is still an average CB, he'd fill the homegrown quota and be an option but he's hardly an improvement on anything we have, he's not an improvement on Christensen so getting rid of him for a RB when we've got 2 already (as well as Ola Aina and Reece James out on loan), a 18 year old striker who'd never play (he's even been linked back with a loan move to Italy).. would be idiotic at best. Christensen should have a bit of patience and faith, he will be a regular soon enough.

Couldn't see why Juventus would ever want to resign Pogba , their MF was so balanced and played so well tonight, Pjanic controlling the game with Matuidi and Bentacur prowling either side of him and causing problems both ways for United in terms of recovering the ball and getting beyond them. Pogba is a very expensive player for a guy who only shows up for 25-30 minutes each week, don't know if it's exactly fair to just blame Jose Mourinho because its been 3 seasons now and I've yet to see a standout game where he's dominated it from start to finish. Not sure what sort of player he is trying to be either, a playmaker, a destroyer, box to box?? He does good things then totally stupid things like switching off or letting somebody run off him far too easily. Juve play like that in most big games and they'll make CL semis at least I think. Joao Cancelo looked class, great variation in his play offensively, comfortable coming inside or staying on the outside as well as being more than competent defensively which was something I wasn't sure after that loan at Inter where he looked naive defensively at times. 40M euros is a sound long term investment for Juve. Ronaldo gives them the x factor upfront with Dybala.

Don't see the problem with Kante. He's still been pretty good, his tackles and interceptions are probably down but still he hasn't been poor which you'd think reading half the shit on this thread and on twitter. He's still getting to learn that role, he isn't as effective in the final third as Kovacic or Barkley perhaps but he posses the speed to cause issues as a third man runner off the ball, as well as pressing the opposition. He still gives us legs in midfield, Jorginho isnt that quick and Kovacic/Barkley at times are caught on their heels also, sure the teams changed style but he's still a vital cog in my eyes and once the team fully adapts to Sarri's philosophy everybody will improve again. Just look at Allan in the Napoli team under Sarri before making stupid assumptions that more defensive minded midfielders cannot thrive in his system, Allan was considered more of a destroyed but he showed he could do more. Anybody who thinks Kante needs replaced seriously should just log out for a month or two...

He was given extra time last season under Conte when he was really underperforming and it didn't really help him. Still he looks uneasy in a back 4 under Sarri. He still needs to learn. He's got a good long term career chance here but demanding to play isn't the right way to do it when you've not put up any really good performances in the calendar year to prove otherwise. Luiz still worries me in a back 4 yes and I'd expect Christensen to get in there more regularly if he puts his head down and gets to work like Barkley did for instance. Rubén needs the same thing too, head down bit of hard work.

Ramsey a bum? He's probably outplayed Ozil in the last 2 seasons.... Why give someone who hasn't performed st a high level for club and country in 2 years £350,000 p/w? That's Arsenals problem, this won't happen here because we don't reward underperforming players with huge new contracts.

And again it's all hearsay and even if it's true, Just like Yaya Toure demanding 200k a week to go to West Ham then not going, Ronaldo/Messi demanding whatever every time they go for new deals, De Gea wanting 350k per week for new deal at United etc. No point saying it's madness, the arse has been ripped out of football and it's wages for almost 15 years now. It will only get worse. Television deals and agents are to blame.

I doubt it. The club has been very shrewd in the last 7/8 years with net sale, kit deals and sponsorships. It's hardly gonna bankrupt us and players like Willian asking for huge wages? Don't be silly Hazard is the only real world class player we've had in years (throw Kante, Azpi and Courtois in there too). It's completely understandable and other players will hardly be able to demand the same as him. Kante will get a bumper deal too, it's deserved. The others have a lot to prove to demand anything close to what they'll get.

Isco plays as a 10 or as the most advanced central midfielder in a 3. Hazard as a left winger. Hazard going there or staying here doesn't affect Isco's place in the team and making that assumption is desperation hoping that we'd get him or Eden won't go for that reason more than anything. Only Asensios place would be under threat really but again Asensio played as a sub/rotation player for Ronaldo a lot and still got a lot of minutes under Zidane.

I'm sorry but no way Real give us Isco and Kovacic. Get real. There is no chance we would get Isco alone never mind with Kovacic. Kovacic is much more realistic because it seems hes very much disillusioned with life at Real, rarely playing regularly in his time there, so he is the more ideal player to pursue. Although we can sign him without losing Hazard if he really likes his time here I think. Think 45-50M would do it really if hes keen to stay.

Good player but still very much unproven so don’t think it will happen as of yet. Has had a good run with goals so far but will hit a difficult spell because he’s in a smaller team and they will struggle but then I suppose we’ll see how good he really is, if he still manages to score with regularity or not. Or even get into goalscoring situations.

Really like the fact he’s playing unbelievably but this whole Madrid and dream shit is doing my box in. If it wasn’t Hazard it would be a big deal too. He should stop talking/entertaining these questions, it’s not the first time and all this doesn’t want to leave the club on bad terms means fuck all to me if he is going to continuously say shit like “its my dream” and “Real Madrid are the best club in the world” in a weekly or monthly basis when we’ve got more important goals like getting back in the CL at least. Regarding Spain/Real, Courtois said something similar years ago which wasn’t construed as nothing but a general comment and then look how that eventually panned out. Sure Eden isn’t Thibaut but he should respect he has a contract and more important things to concentrate on this season than a move to Real Madrid (improving, helping club get best finish and having better individual consistency than we’ve seen at times during last season and also 2/3 years ago). I guess people will say we should let him off with it because he’s a world class player but I don’t think so, it’s disrespectful to the club and his team mates. How many world class players do this?

Think he played well for Spain. I think if he keeps playing well, Luis Enrique might use him as his first choice over Alba (didn’t even call him up) personally, I think defensively he can be more useful than Alba who for me has always been quite naive in that aspect of his game although he has real pace. Also Spain dropped off at times v England and even Enrique’s Barca they would sit off and soak up a bit of pressure. Also he adds more physicality, height and a good final delivery to the Spain team. Even if he weren’t to be first choice for Spain, they will be a lot more balanced under Enrique, interesting appointment.

Been a huge improvement so far for United. In the England squad too. If Real were to come for Alonso in January would take him as a replacement.

Good to se this guy guy getting credit because about 4 months ago people were desperate to see us he get rid of him but he’s shown his worth so far under Sarri. 3 goals in 4 games, I think he will easily get 10 goals in the PL this season, he just looks so at home in this new system and style of playing, not a creator as such but a mover and somebody who can combine with others. I think giving him that new contract was pushed more by Sarri as opposed to the club, we all know there stance on older players.