OneMoSalah

Cant wait for the next manager to come in, do good in the first season then have a poor second season... rinse and repeat again with all the "its the managers fault". To be honest, 1 PL title when nobody fancied us and if we win the FA cup this season, it looks a hell of a lot better for Conte in trying to get his next job than it does for us all things considering the disjointed way the club is run regarding transfers and the whole short term mindset that is quite clearly the only way the guys upstairs are thinking. The club needs to take a look in the summer and go for someone who they are going to back to have that sort of trust to be able to say about only the players he wants and the philosophy he wants to instil. Our youth system have been thriving for years, not one has been integrated into our team and I think that is purely through the short term pressures of win the league or get sacked/revolving door we've had for years although it has been successful but its not sustainable forever. Need to be more ambitious in the transfer market as well. I think Giroud has been a breath of fresh air for us, if he was a player that Conte asked for or not specifically I don't know... Hazard played brilliantly today (could of done with that sort of performances in the bigger games just after the turn of the year). Strange to think we were second or third last year and in a matter of months the whole season has gone pear shaped regardless of getting to the FA cup final. Still think Conte will go in the summer, which is a shame because I think hes a top coach. Hopefully we can sign off his reign with a strong finish and beat United to win the FA cup. Brilliant post mate. 100% agree.

Why the fuck did Hazard not shoot there? Ffs lol

True but again it’s not the squads really it’s the way the club is run. Change comes from the top. AVB wanted to change Chelsea and wasn’t given the chance to offload players to get others he wanted Falcao, Hulk, Moutinho for example he wanted everyone of them. If the club lets the manager mould the squad okay yes we have every chance with a younger head but not a chance it will happen.

Think its about time hes given a shot here. Fair enough hes only playing in Holland but hes had what 2 and a half seasons seasons there and has like 30 goals and 15-20 assists IIRC.

Be nice to get a look at Emerson for longer than 10 minutes. Hopefully he seizes his chance because he hasnt played a lot. Hopefully Giroud starts but can see Conte going for Morata.

Hes going to make a career out of being a box to box midfielder (whether its here or not who knows?). He lacks the necessary discipline to play as a 6 I think which is evident to see since the turn of the year when he has played but he showed against United when we beat them in the first match that he could be a good box to box player.

next big thing? havent we been there and done that with AVB in 2011? Its a bold move again but wont happen because the club will panic and not back the manager. Also David Wagner? No chance.

Its because the amount of goals hes scored from his position. Cant be any other reason, hes a good player but team of the year maybe a bit much but in all fairness look at the top teams: Delph playing LB for City every week for months because of an injury to Mendy after like 3 weeks, Ben Davies for Spurs due to Rose's fitness, Ashley Young/Luke Shaw for United, Kolasinac or Monreal for Arsenal, Andy Robertson for Liverpool (I really think he should have been in contention though, as a Scotsman its great to see hes grown into one hell of a player, he played basically non professionally when he was 17/18 now hes playing CL football in the matter of like 6 seasons)... its hardly an outstanding pool of competition. At the likes of Southampton, Everton, West Ham who everyone probably expected to do quite well this season... the likes of Bertrand, Baines, Cresswell.. theyve hardly had good seasons I mean just look at the state of Southampton and West Hams defensive records as it stands.

Still he'd be an improvement on watching Bakayoko roam about aimlessly, Cesc get waltz past by players who are slow although even he makes them look fast and Drinkwater is solid enough to play some games but out of his depth in others. 28 or 29 or whatever, he still had plenty in him to give regardless of what people may have thought, which he has shown for United. Shit results or not it was not a football decision, purely a money one although the club probably helped him make up his mind by even enticing an offer from United in the first place.

Still if half the team matched the effort of those two as well, we wouldn’t have been so shit.

The thing was though that he apparently wasn’t good enough for them and wasn’t for us based on that but he’s always done well when he’s played. Okay the goals haven’t come come as many hoped but he’s always performed. He wasn’t. Jason didn’t say this either but many members had slagged the signing of him at first but I think like I mentioned up there his skill set suit the team and performances have always been good in my eyes. I think as well he appreciates the chance to be here you can see the effort he puts in. Not that he perhaps didn’t at Arsenal but it’s easy to see why he became so disillusioned there with them signing Lacazette and regularly playing for only 10 minutes most weeks.

Great performance. Surely shut the whole “he’s a Arsenal reject” clan up too, in all fairness he’s maybe not played as regularly as he might have hoped but when he has played he has done well. His skill set is underrated particularly with the loss of Costa in the summer having a brute strength where he can hold it in.

Morata was pretty good the last 2/3 games I felt? Dont think im the only one who thought that either. A man without a soul? Aww cmon. If that’s the case you could argue the team has been playing like a team “without a soul” except Kante over the last few months.

To go 2-0 down at Southampton is really poor I felt but glad to see we turned it around was a great comeback. If only we had put in something sort of effort in the games against Watford and Bournemouth when trailing...

Yes and it was alarmingly scary how many in the run up to the summer wanted to trade Matic for a younger upgrade in Bakayoko and look how that worked out. Same with Costa because he was lacking "technical abilitiy"... We need to stop selling our better players, we need to stop selling players to buy, we need to stop selling to rivals. Seriously I think Willian would be still be useful here even if he was off the bench or a rotational option. Its not like hes a piss poor footballer who is out of his depth, fair enough hes not world class by any stretch of the imagination, like Cesc (although not a fan of him playing a 2 man MF doesn't have the legs for it but in a 3 with two more mobile partners, he'd have a role to play) but the amount of folks who think we should just discard them and replace them with the Bakayoko's of the world (1 season wonders) and whoever is up and coming in Germany and Italy or whatever need a reality check because its never that simple. I'd be 100% for signing Martial absolutely, but a squad with both Willian and Martial in it is stronger than the one we've got imo. We have a lack of attacking midfield options as it is, Pedro, Willian, Hazard, Barkley... its hardly exciting. Throw in Martial at least its another body and a pretty good player with a lot of growth. Move out Pedro maybe get another higher level attacker and there's plenty of competition and plenty of options to change a game up. There is a lot of uncertainty around the club due to managers, players futures all in the air, lack of ideology in which way the clubs going and if we start willingly giving "gifts" to other teams other teams will come and come again. Look at Arsenal. How many of their players were signed season after season by big rivals?

Regardless of those players and the past. The point I am trying to make is: do not sell key players to direct rivals. Do not swap key players to direct rivals is surely got to come under that? We continue down that path and we'll end up like Arsenal. Martial as a signing yes go for it, 100% but in return for any of our key players, no thank you. Hes a good player, obviously Mourinho has a past with attacking talented youngsters but you cannot say its completely one sided. I think as well Martial is predominately a left sided attacker, he'd give us a good option to swap things up and probably even on the right as well as possibly upfront but when I've seen him for United this season there is a lot of issues there in his consistency (although I am aware he has struggled to play regularly since the turn of the year due to Sanchez arrival) although he has got a lot of potential. Would you honestly expect Man United to sell him to us though? Juventus and Real Madrid have been credited with interest recently. I think we'd have more a chance of landing Rashford or Shaw than Martial although even then difficult still because they do not sell to direct rivals and never really have.

and look how far that has gotten him, stuck in a pecking order behind Jesse Lingard. Hard work is just as important and regardless of his talent its clear that Martial has stagnated at United. Hes a good player and maybe a move would help but even then why would you give a direct rival another key player? Did nobody learn from Matic in the summer? Willian is a key player here. Does anybody really think if we were to offer them just cash they'd sell to us? Not a chance.

And give a rival another key player? Why?

Why wouldnt we be? Our season has been pretty much disastrous since about December and the sales of 2 big players Matic (to a direct rival) and Costa is a big part of why I feel as well as other things to do with players performances, speculation over Conte and form. Who lets a club sell a pivotal cog of their team to a team competing for the title/top 4 as we were hoping to do?

Roma deserved to beat Barca in the first leg I thought, they played well as they proved again tonight and in the two games against us. They are some team.

Think hes improved the last few games, like mentioned he seems to be staying on his feet a bit more and his link up play at times is impressive. Finishing maybe could still do with some work but I think the physical demands and no winter break this season will be better for him for next season. Hopefully we give him another chance, hes a different style of striker to Drogba and Costa, which in any way is hard acts to follow for different reasons and I think he'll be a bigger success next season for definite. I can't imagine the club would offload him for a loss like its being reported in the media, its so clear there is a very good footballer in him, its just maybe been a bit of a contrasting season from his first half and second half of the season but its been like that for a lot of the players.

Possibly but even then he was always an excellent footballer and it was so clear him and Messi were ahead of everyone else with talent and consistency.

They signed him because he along with Messi were the two best players in the world by a mile without a shadow of a doubt. Nothing to do with records. Although scoring about 70 goals in 100 games over two seasons for a team in the "best league in the world" probably helped. They will sign Neymar next.

Yeah I would like to see him play a lot more before the summer. I think he’s got pace and likes 1v1s in the attacking third, that could make him a real outlet for the side. Alonso has got a lack of genuine pace.. he offers more height as well as a goal threat but I think Conte has got to take a gamble and try this guy out from the beginning of a match. For me he’s very much an unknown but in limited minutes you can see his speed and that he likes 1v1 situations. Moses has a poor final ball but he has got pace which makes him a more useful player in that wingback position and I feel Emerson could be the same.

Yeah I would like to see him play a lot more before the summer. I think he’s got pace and likes 1v1s in the attacking third, that could make him a real outlet for the side. Alonso has got a lack of genuine pace.. he offers more height as well as a goal threat but I think Conte has got to take a gamble and try this guy out from the beginning of a match. For me he’s very much an unknown but in limited minutes you can see his speed and that he likes 1v1 situations. Moses has a poor final ball but he has got pace which makes him a more useful player in that wingback position and I feel Emerson could be the same.