OneMoSalah

It is anything but. Either that or the new owner has been full of shit on his stance about Tuchel and wanting long term success with him since day 1 and has always had his own ideas about appointing someone else but didn’t do it for whatever reason (find that hard to believe considering he changed a lot of big pieces in the previous regimes operation without hesitation). I mean you don’t give your manager all the extra responsibility even if he didn’t want it, the power, everything they had given him and throw it away after 6 or 7 games into a season on a whim if you are a competent operator. You just don’t. It is knee jerk. Any other club and you’d agree. Also does anyone really think this group of largely inconsistent or underperforming players is going to be tenfold better with a new manager? We aren’t talking about a Chelsea team with players the calibre of a Hazard, a Fabregas, a Costa, a Terry, a Lampard, a Drogba etc. Theres a handful of good players and good pros but largely inconsistency has been this groups biggest problem since Frank came in. I mean who does the next manager come in and lean on? Our best and consistent player so far has been our right wing back. Whoever comes in next has a lot of work on their hands, as did Tuchel, because this group is struggling horrifically.

After last nights performances I hope he is demoted to the u23s. That is his level. Pathetic performances and attitude since he came in. He will undoubtedly be one of the players who’s relationship with TT soured too but not surprised, based on his reputation with his international manager, its no surprise. Primadonna.

This is a colossal mistake. Absolutely colossal. After so much talk of building long term with and having absolute faith in Tuchel, Todd Boehly’s basically shat the bed and underperforming mediocre and inconsistent players have basically sealed the fate of another manager. Potter, Poch, Zidane or Rodger Schmit? Are the club for real 😂 Perhaps Potters up and coming yes but if anyone thinks he is going to come in and do a good job here straight away then they are dreaming. The expectations at Brighton and here are so different. Plus hes been allowed to shape his squad over the last 3 seasons. He clearly wont get that time here if this is anything to go on. Todd Boehly again will be painted negatively in the press, more so after the whole “buying every player” narrative this summer but deservedly so this time because this is clearly the decision of a man who has no real footballing advisors around him. This is a knee jerk move. Not even Roman would of pulled the trigger this early into a season.

Definitely a lot of blame on the players. Maybe just for making poor mistakes/decisions/effort more than anything. I mean we have played a 352, a 343, a 4222 this season and thats after people kept saying change to 4atb or 3atb. Its clear that it isn’t a formation issue, its the personnel in it. If theres something going on behind the scenes, I don’t know, but poor performances and body language is worrying. TT isn’t a manager to mince his words either in public so whether or not the pre season comments after the Arsenal game, the soft team comments, the need for quality players comments etc haven’t gone down well either (but it’s not like he’s wrong in most instances) but whatever’s going on, I don’t see a team fighting for each other, to turn their fortunes around or for their manager who is maybe under pressure.

Real acid test for Ange Postecoglu and his style/philosophy but so far so good for Celtic, in fact unlucky not to be ahead. Playing some brave but great stuff. And there is Madrid, doing what they do best, as they did last season against us, PSG and Liverpool. 1-0.

Going to get a lot of stick but ultimately the expectations on this guy with a largely inconsistent group of players and 9 new signings, I don’t think we will pull the trigger any time soon. Needs to be change though, real soon, in terms of performance levels.

Mental he has subbed on Ziyech and hasn’t subbed him off already. He is utter shite.

You just said “your not blaming Fofana for the goal per se” now hes not entirely blameless, make your mind up 😂 Maybe he isnt fit (again I would imagine hes either as close to or basically fully fit) but I would hope that his fitness wouldn’t be to such a poor extent that it’s affecting how he’s playing.

How can you blame KK for losing out on a header but not blame Fofana for being unaware of where his opposite numbers positioned and not dropping off when he’s the last player in the backline? That is basics… If he was positioned better he would of controlled the whole situation because he controls the space behind him better.

Oh come on…. Even if he’s not fully fit, their goal didn’t happen purely because he’s not fit or he’s lost a step. Its so basic, it happened because he’s not aware who’s around him and doesn’t drop off 1 or 2 yards like any ordinary CB would do there, never mind a supposed top top one who can be the best in the world in a few years. And before that KK loses an aerial duel which a certain fat spanish waiter did say to the media that aerial duels and concentration wasn’t necessarily a huge strength of his. Hopefully its just that both are playing in a struggling team and everyone’s making mistakes as opposed to being glaring weaknesses in their game to fail to do the basics in those situations. Also Kova just played that pass one sec too late 🙁 would of been the start we needed

Age old saying though, you couldn’t hang your hat on Havertz. For all the talent he supposedly has, what does he bring? Sterling and Aubamayang need time to gel but I feel sorry for both. Leaving City and Barca to play in this.

Feel sorry for Sterling. Really do. Leaving City to play in this attack, jesus christ, poor guy. Also whilst KK getting stick for goal, Fofana has to do much better too…. Surely? I mean he must see the man behind him and anticipate the knock on? I mean KK 100% has to go for that header but Fofana’s ball watching and doesn’t anticipate KK losing the header to drop off….. 2 CBs who cost £100m got schooled by failing to do the basics.

I get that but say in 3 or 4 full seasons again when he or the club turns around and wants to renegotiate then again, we are looking at £300-£350k+ a week. Easily. True on his performances but £250k now just means the next one is going to be £300-£350k+ minimum and no doubt with his trajectory in say 3 years we will sit down and want to renegotiate a deal. I mean people can say what they want and this is all hypothetical but giving a 22 year old £250k a week after 128 appearances, whilst he has been pretty impressive I still think he is definitely young enough and clearly we could have given him a slightly lower wage and he would of resigned because he’s a Chelsea lad. I mean I still remember the talk when United gave Rashford a 200k + a week deal. There was a lot of criticism, giving him a mega mega contract. I would of hoped that Boehly would of been a bit more measured in particular with new deals for the likes of Reece and Mason. Not that they don’t deserve a pay rise or a wage similar to some of the other guys absolutely not, but again to not put the club in a position where 3 or 4 years down the line the wage structure has to be hugely restructured and no doubts, it will have knock on effects on other players.

Great news but personally I feel 250k a week (highest paid defender in club history) is madness. And I’ll go back to it but as soon as we gave CHO 150k a week this was always going to happen. Mason will likely renew next and be on similar terms.

It is more than a bit rich, we have won some of the biggest trophies in club football playing the same way. As have several other clubs. I mean this dominate possession but struggling to put chances away… unfortunately you don’t get any prizes for playing good football and winning nothing despite this footballing hipsters ideology that you need to play good football to be successful. Ten Hag looks like he has found a way of playing and winning which suits his squad whilst not necessarily being his style. Or certainly based on his team at Ajax but would say that no manager can recreate their previous team to the point its identical. Pep’s sides have changed slightly each club be has been at, Mourinho’s have, Klopp’s have, Tuchel’s have. Its just another sign of a good manager incorporating things or an approach that suits some of the players they already have. A win against a good Arsenal side who threw a lot at them, makes that United result even better for then. And also shows that there is again more to football than having 60-70% of the ball or more passes than your opponent. United had more shots on target, more clear cut chances, likely they had a higher percentages of duels won and distances covered too. Small details that matter particularly in big games.

The number of touches are irrelevant, even more so considering he got an assist for Gundogan’s goal…. I mean if someone only has 8 touches but still provides and assist or a goal, how is that an issue? That’s still contributing to the team. Using touch maps is pointless, particularly if someone has provided a goal or an assist. Even the other games where Haaland has scored or assisted, I bet his touches aren’t that high. Aguero was the same under Pep. Because he was in and around the box more than coming to feet. Or he was stretching teams making runs off the ball. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2022/08/14/erling-haaland-eight-touches-two-passes-man-city-bournemouth/ even the telegraph stated in an article that despite only having 8 touches he pulled Bournemouth apart.

Disagree. Just watch his back to back hat tricks. He's the real deal. Does a bit of everything.

Playing a back 4 over the last few weeks has only reinforced that we need to go back to 3 at the back IMO.

Wouldn’t even say that Kulusevski, Bentancur or Zakaria’s situations was to do with their ability. DK was one of Juventus’ better players in his first season there under Pirlo and alongside Ronaldo, Morata and Chiesa, their quality really helped them finish top 4, even though they were a pile of shite as a team. Was more a lack of playing time/starts under Allegri that killed him more than anything and thats why he moved. How he’s done in the PL hasn’t surprised me one bit. At Parma he was also impressive and I think Juventus will be kicking themselves in a few seasons because he has the potential to be an excellent player. Or even Atalanta as he was there before. Bentancur was a weird one though because he had played regularly for 4 full seasons and even up to his move to Spurs. I don’t know was it just financially that it suited them more than anything else? They also were interested in Zakaria before in the summer, months before they actually got him as a replacement for Bentancur in January. Plus they would of needed to generate money for investing in their squad. And Pogba was linked for months on end. It does seem weird but all 3 definitely didn’t leave there due to being poor players.

Good luck to him. Still think, he has got the ability to be a top 6 level player. Would of rather seen him play more than Ruben or Ross over the last 18 months or so. As a fellow Scot also I am glad he will be getting regular playing time in a half decent team after seeing that horrendous Norwich team he played in. I just hope he doesn’t do too well and end up going to one of our rivals in 18 months or 24 months. Because I still think his talent is undoubtedly there. Maybe if he develops a bit more physically and is a bit more robust he will improve also because technically there is no doubts from me he is capable of being a good MF player.

Was a very good player in Germany and even if he didn’t play a lot for Juventus (people saying he was a flop based on 11 games are clueless but not as if over the top comments based on stupid assumptions). His profile is exactly what we needed IMO - tall, strong, quick, good in duels, sound technically - so lets see how he does. I think the PL will suit him a lot more than Italy and the Saul comparisons are unfair (although again Saul did start showing after a while, whilst nothing special that he wasn’t half bad either). Was linked with a lot of top clubs prior to going to Italy too. But apparently a “flop” based of 11 games…. Or thats what I gathered from some peoples opinions in the transfers thread 😂

Zakaria and Aubamayang is good business. Two players who are either in their prime/at a high level to offer something instantly. And no more Havertz upfront so a win win. Havertz/Mount and Sterling off Aubamayang should be a productive attack.

Welcome! Good player but big big price tag. More than likely because Leicester paid £35m for him as opposed to him being a ‘generational talent’ or ‘best young CB of his generation/Europe/whatever’. I am not sure I’ve seen enough from him to confidently say £70m is a good deal for us. Considering what we’ve lost this summer too in terms of Rudiger’s and Christensen’s ability and experience and how we’ve started, he’s got to come in and hit the ground running. Obviously he’s young and over 7 years or whatever his contract is, may prove to be a very good deal but look at Kai Havertz, big money and barring a CL winning goal and a handful of games, theres still huge doubts over what he is, what he offers, if he’s going to become that player that he should be etc. Still not convinced he’s could grow into one of the very best CBs in Europe like the owner has said and some others are/have said. I mean he’s not even played 100 career games. Its even harder to believe that sort of talk based on 37 Premier League games, and its 99.9% likely that not a lot of people on here saying such things watched him at St Etienne or for France u21s either.

Im sorry but 77m and loaning him back is the most retarded thing we could do. Is any CB under 25 worth 77m? Even Fofana is he worth 70m at present? No.

Being compared and being the same are two different things mate. Look at PSGs squad for example, all those big hitters last year and they couldn’t get a really decent team out of them. Also, people in the media thought Man United could be competing for the title after signing Ronaldo, Varane and Sancho months after Ole had them 2nd. The difference with guys like Origi, AOC, Ake, Zinchenko, Tmikias, compared to Saul, RLC, Alonso and Barkley are they are actually decent enough players and have secured/will secure good moves if they leave/were to leave. RLC and Ross wouldn’t (hence why hes off on a free and only partial link for RLC is Lazio due to lazy Sarri link from that 2 month purple patch he had here) and well Sauls back at Atletico and Alonso is only linked to Barca as a back up. Zinchenko has already shown he is actually a pretty good player at Arsenal and even at City at times last year. Just needed regular games. Origi didn't go to AC Milan, Serie A champions, who already have Ibra and Giroud for nothing. Ake wasn't linked/almost sign here for nothing. They're good players (although Ake not starting quality for the likes of a City).