OneMoSalah

Honestly I thought Zappa was good tonight, probably his best game for us. Wanted to take his marker on and get a shot off. Sure he didn’t cross as often as he would of done if he was on the right but he looked like he had purpose when he got the ball, especially in the first half. I think the need for more quality in the final third is well known but it’s more than just the wing backs although upgrades in these positions are still needed but Willian, Bakayoko, Pedro, Batshuayi are all hit and miss in the final third also but for me it was bad finishing/good goalkeeping that cost us more tonight.

His form at the moment is great, he’s on a wee run again where he’s influencing games big time but I think talks of challenging Messi/Ronaldo is getting ahead of ourselves. Do people think he’s really playing as good as Messi or Ronaldo? Or can challenge guys who have been scoring 40-50 goals a year for nearly 10 seasons? I mean for me Eden is world class, more than likely the best player in the PL but he is not at that Messi/Ronaldo level, even if their aging. He’s in the bracket just below with Neymar and a few others for me. I just dont think he’s got the drive the likes of Messi, Ronaldo or even Neymar have to be that number 1 player or number 1 goal scorer or number 1 assister or whatever which is a shame. But on the other hand if we are talking about importance he is arguably the most important player in Europe because imagine how poor we’d be without him and how much we would struggle.

Kessie has been extremely poor of late. Milan haven’t even signed him fully he’s still there on loan with obligation to buy option. Pretty sure Conti has been out for a while with a long injury.

take it with a pinch of salt

Acknowledging how they are good players who would benefit, like Hazard has, from having somebody good to link up with? How is that overrating them? I never said they were better than Cesc or Hazard and yes I’m aware they haven’t been as good as the start of the season but they all offer something and give United decent depth in wide positions. Also Mkhitaryan started this season on fire.

Yeah it’s weird. I generally thought that Morata would of been his first choice as he signed him at Juventus, although he didn’t coach him but still maybe he wasn’t exactly sure how Morata would do being first choice playing every week as he has been a impact sub or squad player more often than not. Who knows, thought the club were pushing for Lukaku as opposed to Conte.

Without a doubt. I’d hate to see what Morata could do and bring to their team with the depth of attacking players United have like Mata, Martial, Rashford and Mkhitiryian. Imagine they had a CF who could properly link with those players (probably Zlatan can but surely he will be 2nd choice), would make a hell of a difference. For the money we paid for Morata (or would of paid for Lukaku), it’s so clear how much better of a deal we got. Obviously strikers are there to score goals yes but Morata has so much more to offer.

Another hugely talented midfield player in Seria A, playing for Lazio, who have been progressing nicely under Inzaghi the last few seasons. A 22 y/o, Serbian central midfield player with good physical and technical attributes, he can also play as a 10. According to WhoScored he’s played 11 matches for Lazio as a CM this season, has 5 goals and 2 assists. Seen Lazio-Sampdoria (mainly to watch Torreira) and he looked impressive, scored a goal, didn’t lose the ball much, won a lot of aerial duels, drove his team forward as much as he could and mucked in defensively too. Fair enough only Sampdoria but he has been getting rave reviews after last season and was linked with Juventus, PSG, Man City, Man United and Liverpool (who tried to sign him) in the summer. One to keep an eye on for sure.

Real Madrid and Barcelona even if their coming to the end of their cycle, although I wouldn’t say that necessarily because they will always be at the top of European football, will always be among the first choice for sought after players at that top tier level like Dybala. All your traditional big clubs like Barca, Real, Bayern, United, Juventus.. they all have that advantage over other clubs, particularly Barca and Real with South American players. I genuinely see Dybala going to Barca in the next 2 or 3 years. Crazy they didn’t go for him this summer in all fairness once they lost Neymar but fitting him in their system maybe not easiest part.

Not sure what he was doing for that long ball to Gayle before the Newcastle goal but other than that very good performance. The moment where he went on that run and played a perfect pass to Moses was great play.

Really struggled to see his talent shine through in the matches I’ve seen Swansea and him in. I generally think he had one really good season at Benfica and moved too soon. Either that or he’s a one season wonder because he showed absolutely nothing at Bayern (okay he was not playing regularly, bound to not help) and is showing nothing at Swansea. People have said about the quality of team mates but that is clutching at straws and a very poor excuse for a box to box midfielder who looks like he can’t seem to pass, shoot or tackle without fouling. Think he should really be looking to go back to Benfica next season on loan. Its a pity I thought he would of been a good player and thought we should of maybe looked towards him in the summer but I’m so glad we didn’t. He has probably been the most disappointing transfer in Europe, never mind just England. One step forwards two steps backwards so far in his career.

It’s harder to buy in January, most clubs don’t want to sell their better players in the winter, it’s always harder to get suitable replacements as well. Fair enough he’s been a bit of a pain for them but it doesn’t always make clubs open to selling for less, look at the whole Costa situation here, clubs don’t want to lose quality players for less money. If a club is desperate enough to sign a player the selling clubs take advantage of that. Even Dembele in the summer once there was talk of Barca bids, he was fined and had a few falling outs on the way as he didn’t show up for training before they sold him for like over €100 million because Barcelona were desperate to sign him. Sure the transfer market has gone mental but they bid much much lower at first.

Is he not 29? Will cost an absolute fortune I’d imagine at least £70m based on how Dortmund dealt with Dembele but sure he’s proven with a very good goal ratio. It’s a gamble for the fee but he would be an excellent option to play with, instead or to rotate with Morata. He has got electric pace and it would be an excellent alternative for some matches particularly the bigger ones where we’d play on the counter. It’s worth keeping an eye on. The way he’s been disciplined by Dortmund recently is a concern though.

Okay long post coming up lol Tough game although they can be hit and miss, they’ve not been great recently result wise for them IIRC and I expect us to beat them with Alvaro getting back among the goals but it could be a deceiving fixture looking at their recent form it might not be as easy as we think, think over the last good while they’ve seemed to enjoy turning up against us when nobody would expect it and putting a shift in so who knows, although we have also scored quite a lot of goals past them in recent times too. Quite like the look of Mikel Merino in the middle of the park for them though, looks a talented player, does a bit of everything, only 21 and from what I’ve heard from a few Newcastle fans who are mates of mines probably their best player so far. Not really, the team had no real structure, we were winning games at first so it wasn’t a major issue and even when we started conceding it didn’t matter because we were outscoring teams but it caught up to us. After a promising start that United game showed every team in the league where our weaknesses were as they isolated our aging full backs (Ivanovic and Cole) who had no protection at all because the likes of Hazard Oscar and Mata were given a free reign and didn’t work backwards to help out as well as some individual mistakes. It took a good manager at a good team to expose this, I think Ferguson ditched his diamond formation for this match. We also drew with Swansea, Liverpoo, got beat by West Brom as well before the game against Juventus where he looked out of ideas as well as the very poor performances against Shakhtar in both matches, can’t remember the dates, just know it was before Benitez. Shakhtar sure they were a talented team with Mkhitaryan, Willian, Luiz Adriano, Teixeira and Srna but not like we couldn’t beat them. I think the team was on a downward spiral in terms of performances before the Juventus game. The Juventus game absolutely sealed RDM’s fate. Not the biggest Benítez fan and I wasn’t overly impressed by his appointment but looking back at it I’d like to ask folk who said “Rafa was needing us more than we needed him”, if we didn’t get Benítez who would we have gotten? Forget the results, playing style, whatever he did, who was actually a better fit out there at that time that was available and looking for work? Everyone said we wanted Pep (would of been great sure).. he had no interest in coming out of his sabbatical and by the looks of it no interest in Chelsea at all. Harry Redknapp, Guus Hiddink and David Moyes we’re all of interest too apparently along with Rafa. I know out of the 4 I’d of rathered Benítez because at least we would of been a unit as opposed to 11 individuals. Sure if Pep was willing we would all of taken him every time but he wasn’t. I doubt many managers with contracts or job security like Moyes or Hiddink had at the time or many other managers would of been willing to join Chelsea who had just sacked 2 managers in the space of 17 months. It was a win-win considering we got a reasonably experienced manager on a short term deal, won a trophy, finished 3rd and ultimately the most important thing, thank fuck we didn’t appoint that overrated, annoying cunt Harry Redknapp. Sure the Swansea semi finals in the League Cup and Club World Cup were poor but we also got spanked by Atletico in the Super Cup and outplayed by Shakhtar along with a few poor results in the league, it was really a season of transition and even José couldn’t turn that team into the finished product in his first season.

He looked a great prospect at Mochengladbach (kept an eye on Christensen and Hazard over past few seasons when I’ve had chance to watch their games) but if Bosz isn’t willing to trust him ahead of underperforming players like Castro and Rode it doesn’t look good for him, although Dortmund have struggled of late after a promising start. Maybe a move could reinvigorate him, maybe a change in fortunes at Dortmund could, who knows? I don’t think he’s Chelsea level yet but he is the right profile, very much in the mould of your typical German MF player, high levels of fitness, good tactically, technically sound, forward thinking, comfortable on the ball and gets stuck in. I think if he gets another one or two seasons playing regularly and consistently at a good level he will improve a lot. He has the talent to be a level above the likes of a Sebastian Rudy, Emre Can and Sami Khedira I feel (maybe slightly unfair Khedira has been a huge player for Germany NT since 2010), although they are all good players in their own right. It’s a shame Dortmund are in a rut after their promising start, as they are always a good team to watch. I assumed they’d continue to be after they appointed Peter Bosz who’s Ajax team were very impressive and very much a good side to watch but the signs around BVB were there with Tuchel (top young manager btw), they were so indifferent at key moments in the season and had a real issue competing against an ageing but very good and experienced Bayern... although I think Dortmund should really of been pushing them much harder after Peps departure.

Unless United trigger the one year extension option they apparently have, sell him for a fee and we don’t get him. Or if you believe some rumors they apparently have, like with Ander Herrera (apparently). I think we should look to bid for him in January, I’m sure we can get him for 15m, that isn’t a lot, his fitness is a gamble but again I don’t believe he’s not playing because he’s unfit, he’s not playing because of one man who has a history of not trusting and eventuwlly moving on young players without thinking about the long term gain of keeping them. He is a good player and has got the potential to still be a very good player although his talent has been overhyped in the past.

Don’t see the height as a major issue considering we set up with Baka Kante and Cesc in MF, Baka is 6 ft plus where as Kante and Cesc are both under 5 ft 10. I think throughout the team we have got decent enough height with whoever plays CB with Azpi, Alonso, Bakayoko and Morata usually in starting 11. Torreira has good aggression and likes to get stuck in to tackles, has a bit more tactical nous having played as a holding midfielder and his mobility is a good plus as well, would make him a good option or replacement for Cesc.

He isn’t as progressive as Luiz with the ball but he is a superior defender for me. He keeps it simple when he has to but under pressure he is more than confident enough, if he keeps playing like this Luiz won’t get back in the team imo. See a lot of people asking about Luiz as LCB: He played there vs Arsenal when Conte swapped the formation last season after that terrible first half where they were 3-0 up and he was not happy there. I seem to remember a lot of shouting and gesturing towards the side lines... he seemed like he didnt want to go out wide to deal with players one v one from and struggled with the positioning without the ball. I get the whole he’s really good with the ball, better than Cahill but honestly based on what I’ve seen this season from Luiz and also remembering him in second half of that game I think it would be a mistake or to better word it, a big risk. I think he’s more suited to that central role anyway, he’s better sweeping up in behind the wider CBs, he isn’t necessarily having to engage opposition players as often as Azpi or Cahill are but he gets himself in the right positions to help them out or block/deal with crosses and whatever else.

Don’t see the fuss after Liverpool game, we didn’t create a lot of clear cut chances but managed to get into good positions and when Cesc came on it was only us that looked like winning. Hopefully the club can do something in January to boost the squad, City are great yes but they will run out of steam because it’s impossible to keep that sort of form all season, we have seen it with us, Arsenal, United in the past under Ferguson and even City under Pellegrini and Mancini, it is incredibly hard to play at that level for 25 games yet alone 38 games. I think we will finish second unless City do something drastic and lose that lead (think we’ll pip United to second, they will drop points against smaller sides) and if we can get a few players in to to help with rotation for likes of Morata, Alonso and maybe even push the boat out and get somebody to play in tandem with Hazard and Morata (ambitious but who knows) then why can’t we go on a run of like 6, 7 or 8 victories and put the pressure on. If we started the season with more than reasonable back up for Alonso (or replacement) and Morata we would be a lot better off than flogging Alonso by playing him for 90 mins every game (he’s not showing form from last year but he is only option) and having to rely on Michy if Morata is out, who doesn’t really affect the play or offer anything unless he’s got a clear goal scoring chance, then I think the gap could be closer, losing to Burnley sucked as did losing to Palace but we didn’t have certain players in the line up as well as poor performances and whatever else but watching Michy play after watching Morata play the gulf in class and difference in work ethic is incredible. Mentioned all about the poor summer involving sales and recruitment before as well but we are short at LWB, CF and could do with upgrades at RWB and RW, but we know that. January if we get 2 or 3 guys in the door could give the squad a boost imo, also think we should be looking at some of the players who’s contracts are expiring for pre-contracts/lower fees (some younger, some older): Goretzka, Sanchez, de Vrij, Ozil, Ghoulam, Ander Herrera, Joao Moutinho... and the rest which I’m sure folk are more aware of, few guys in there worth looking at imo. With these many talented players possibly available at knockdown fees or for free 6 months later, we will really see how ambitious some European clubs are, hopefully we will be one of them.

Only concern I have about is Guerreiro is that he is not quite as fast as you’d think. He’s faster than Alonso but really think if we had somebody with similar pace or just below likes of Hazard or Willian in both wing back positions we’d be a totally different side. Unbelievable how much pace can make a difference to a team. Look at City with addition of Walker and Mendy. Guerreiro has got a good skill set though, good with the ball, played different positions for BVB and Portugal too.

If he learned how to stay onside he’d be a decent option for us, don’t know how many times he was offside (while in good positions) when he really shouldn’t have been. Was quite happy with his performance actually, solid enough, got stuck in, not got Moses pace though, Moses really gets us up the pitch, think for a squad player he’s a good option.

I think moving Azpi to RWB would be a mistake. Think he’s absolutely tailor made to play RCB and his form there has been great recently although I do have concerns over Zappacosta he hasn’t shown much promise defensively, he’s not been bad but he’s not been reassuring, if Conte was feeling bold he could go for Pedro in that RWB role. Or never thought I’d say it, we miss Victor Moses. Think Rudiger and Gary Cahill should be kept away from that RCB role at all times too they’ve not looked assuring there yet. Hopefully we go for something like this courtois azpi - christensen - rudi zap - baka - kante - cesc - alonso morata - hazard

Really hadn’t seen much of him at Wolfsburg, don’t think he had best of time there after a pretty good spell at Schalke in the long run but he caught my eye at the Confed Cup with German NT (I forgot he even existed lol), thought he and Goreztka, the clubs linked with him as well, were outstanding, JD played with a real maturity and always seemed to be looked to for inspiration at times in younger and inexperienced German side. I think he was awarded player of the tournament too. Been taking advantage of BT Sport app for over a year now and they show a lot of PSG games, plus watched the replays of them smash Celtic x2 and Bayern in the CL, they really do look top notch this season, Neymar and Mbappé really elevated them.

Yeah that’s true but I don’t think the club from a business standpoint would allow that to happen like what’s going on at Arsenal where they could lose two of the best players they’ve had in the last 5-10 years on a free. Just don’t think our club would be willing to accept that. If the players aren’t happy or want to make the move I’d imagine the board will want to recoup as much money as possible, come the summer I think we’ll have new deals sorted for everybody, even if Hazard or Courtois or whoever doesn’t necessarily want to stay more longer term (3 or 4 more seasons) I imagine the club will be more than aware and in the best position to extract a high fee. Look at Luiz, Mata, Matic, Costa we’ve sold these guys in the past for high fees, usually we sell very well from a financial point of view, apparently we’ve made more money from selling players than anybody else since the PL was introduced.

Quite surprised he didn’t push to make the move. Think it would of been a great opportunity for him for sure. PL is slightly higher standard than Italy, sure Italy is improving but again think that a few CL results don’t change much. I’d be surprised if he doesn’t look to make a move in the summer before next season if he hasn’t penned a new deal. Should keep an eye out incase.