Superblue

Lack of experience in defence worries me a little but if that midfield trio can dominate, our front three have a real chance of causing problems. United have obviously come to play a back five and counter us, we just have to make sure we dont make the same mistakes we did earlier in the season.

I don't think that's Lampard's decision to make unfortunately. If their countries want to call them up then they have such rights I understand. There seems to be a bit of tension between Lampard and Deschamps over Kante, so even if he hasn't played for us since the last break he could still decide to be a bit of a dick and call him up.

Whilst I'm not overly concerned about the Carabao Cup at this stage (the league and Champions League needs to continue to take priority), I think the current winning run that we're on makes this game more important because it will just continue to breed confidence and momentum. It will be interesting to see if Lampard trusts Guehi and Gilmour against a big side at present, especially as there is no guarantee that Solskjaer will rest players. He may well want to get some momentum going and can afford to rest players in the Europa games. I wouldn't be against it though. We only have 2 fully fit first team centre backs at present and with Kante injured, there is also a lot of strain on Jorginho and Kovacic so resting a couple of these would make sense. I would definitely keep Pulisic in the side whilst he's red hot, and would love to see CHO in alongside him. If we need an experienced player in the Willian mold to play with them then Pedro can be brought in too.

I thought this initially but on the replays the ball seemed to dip massively towards the end. Think it just needs chalking up as one of those hit and hope efforts that come off almost perfectly and fly in once every 100 attempts.

Outstanding again last night, this kid will be a big player for the club. He did nearly get caught out in the opening minutes last night and it does seem to be a little worry at present that he's either been caught on the ball or under-hit a back pass a couple of times but I think the problem stems from his reluctance to simply clear his lines. He backs himself that if the pass isn't available, he'll hold on to the ball but sometimes you have to prevent the risk and just send the ball down the flanks or up to Tammy. This will come with experience, and possibly even a mistake getting capitalised on, but it's a short term weakness that will develop into a long term strength because he's good and comfortable on the ball and as his decision making improves when he has the ball he'll get even better.

I just hope that the board can see and realise just how positive and united the club as a whole is at present and back Lampard and the young players to develop and take the club forwards in time. If this takes a couple of seasons to really get to where we want it to be (which has to be back challenging for the league, and eventually Europe again) then so be it. I really do think there is something special brewing at the club and if we can get top 4 this season and hit a home run in the summer transfer window we could be a real force. I actually feel if we can get out of the group this season in the Champions League and keep this momentum going we'll be a team no one will really want to be drawn against because we'll go in as a fearless underdog against most of the other teams that qualify through. The continued evolution of this team, the young players and Lampard himself is exciting to watch and will surely only get better over time. Even the older heads in the side are stepping up to support this season. The likes of Alonso, Azpi, Willian, etc may not be the long term answer but they are vital this season for guiding these young players and ultimately performing to a high enough standard to get us results.

His interview last night was superb, he couldn't help but show how delighted he was with the players last night. Compare that to the likes of Sarri and Mourinho in recent years who show no emotion and hardly ever praise players. But there's still a focus about him that as of today Ajax is forgotten and we're on to Burnley now which is never an ideal place to go to get a result. Lampard's energy and enjoyment in what he is doing is infectious for the club as a whole and the players have to enjoy how much he backs them and talks them up in public.

That Jorginho - Kovacic partnership continues to get stronger. It is always going to be our strongest pairing on the ball, but at the start of the season the two left us so open in the middle at times but they seem to have improved massively on that and when we have the ball they're capable of dominating the majority of teams. It says a lot about Frank and the players how good we have looked recently without what was our best defender, midfielder and attacker in last season's starting line up.

If you're not delighted with how this season is going and excited about the potential of both this young group and manager who feel and understand the club and its fans then you're either impossible to please or a closet Spurs fan. Tonight showed the continued maturity of this group, including Frank and I am elated not just at the result but the controlled and professional performance we just put in.

I don't think Cavani would be willing to come here as simply a backup option and I'm also unsure just how much the club would be willing to commit in wages and length of contract for someone of Cavani's age but I wouldn't turn him down. He would be a huge upgrade on Batshuayi and Giroud and would allow us to upgrade and freshen up our striking options without a transfer fee that can in turn be used on other areas of the squad. I've seen him linked recently to Atletico and wouldn't be surprised if he ended up somewhere like this.

There were massive question marks over the quality in this squad over the summer, especially when Hazard left, but just 3 or 4 months on we look an exciting, young side with lots of pace and energy in the team. And suddenly the squad looks very strong also. I'd argue we're second in the league only to City with regards to our squad depth. For me all of this is on Lampard having the bottle to bring the young players into the side and give them belief. Last season whilst CHO ripped up the Europa League against some pretty rubbish teams he didn't look half the player in the Premier League chances he was given. This season he looks like someone who has his manager's trust and very capable of tearing any defender apart. If anybody had predicted at the start of the season that pretty much a quarter of the way through the season, we'd be in the top 4 only 2 points behind City having lost Hazard and Rudiger, Kante and RLC having been injured for most or all of the season, most would have laughed. The whole club feels re-energised at the moment and without getting ahead of ourselves, it does feel like the beginning of something very special. If we can get top 4 this season and hit a home run in the summer in the transfer market with 2 or 3 players, I believe we'll be back challenging for the title again.

I'd imagine Lampard could think of far worse problems than having that level of squad depth.

I don't think he was very impressive last night, he just doesn't get his head up enough and release the ball quickly. In that deeper role, against good teams he'll be caught in possession too many times. That Bulgaria team last night are about the equivalent standard of a top league 1 team. They'd struggle in the Championship. If Kova and Kante are both unfit, as is Reece James, I am dreading him playing alongside Jorginho at the weekend. Newcastle are not a great team and we might just get away with it but they'll be confident after they beat United and they do have some hard working players in the midfield who may be willing to press Barkley if he has to play in there.

Yeah "yet". I think he'll be different to the rest of the lads from the academy and won't be as inclined to remain loyal. The lure of Bayern last season also suggests that he would probably like to try his hand at a move abroad in the future to one of the heavyweights. If that's the case so be it. Chelsea hold all the cards now and his future for a few years is tied up. If we can continue to be a successful club that wins and challenges for trophies it will hopefully encourage him to spend his best years here.

Irrespective of the rest of the league, if anybody had said after losing 4-0 to United first game that going into the second international break after 8 games we'd be 5 points ahead of them with a better goal difference, and only 2 points behind City that everybody would have taken that. I think quite a few people expected us to be somewhere around where United are currently with a squad struggling to find goals. The defence has to continue to be worked on (although I feel yesterday the problems were basic errors as opposed to tactical flaws, and the second half showed that we are continuing to improve with controlling games and seeing them out from winning positions), but the football is exciting, the young players have revitalised the club more than could have been imagined and it's all under one of the biggest legends in the club's history who (touch wood) despite his inexperience seems to be taking it in his stride, learning from mistakes and improving each passing game.

Great assist today, I do feel initially he'll be a good impact player from the bench, especially in situations like today when we're winning against a tired defence because his pace, trickery and direct running can stretch teams and cause problems. He'll adapt and come good, I'm sure of it but it just takes some time.

Even beyond that group, when United had the likes of O'Shea, Evans, Wes Brown, Fletcher, etc. They were never first choice quality but they kept that core United philosophy in the club, could be trusted and being from Uniteds academy they were more willing and happy to accept a squad role for a much longer proportion of their careers. It also allowed Fergie to rebuild the starting XI to challenge us at the time rather than having to rebuild the squad as a whole. Anyone can buy a player and they flop but I've mentioned a few times here that our biggest failing has been overpaying on players who were only brought in as squad depth and then as a result there's an inability to move them on easily. Theres really high hope for a number of players, particularly the current crop breaking through now. But it will be just as important to get the squad depth from the academy in the future so our transfer budget each season can be focused on a couple of top signings specifically designed to strengthen the first XI as opposed to stretching that budget across 3, 4, 5 players and hindering the overall quality we buy.

Don't agree that it was a bad deal for Chelsea. We got another year out of Hazard, possibly his best one and in doing so it played a big part in us winning the Europa League and coming third. The way Sarri set up to play last season I dread to think where we would have been without Hazard's creativity and goal output. What we got for him at his age, wear and tear and one year left on his contract was phenomenal business as I don't think he is one of these players who will still be performing at the highest level well into his 30's.

The biggest problem that he's had is an inability to re-fresh his squad sufficiently. I think they've brought 2 new players in the last couple of seasons? It's just not enough, especially when as you mentioned they aren't winning any trophies so they don't even have that winning habit and experience running through the squad. He's also now dealing with a core group of players that don't actually want to be at the club anymore which is never good for squad harmony and morale. That's the biggest thing that pleases me this season is how much we've managed to refresh our squad when it could very easily have looked old and stale. Now the squad looks young and vibrant, and unlike Spurs I expect us next summer to be competitive in the transfer market.

Tammy won't displace Kane from the England team anytime soon, but I think he has an excellent chance of being next in line behind Kane which will present him with more than enough chances and opportunities to take.

It's crazy when you consider it has only been about half a dozen games but his rise has been so meteoric. From what I've seen, he has literally everything needed for a top centre back and his only real weakness at present is his lack of experience, particularly from a positional perspective at times but that will develop and he's so quick in the recovery it hasn't posed any problems anyway. If he continues the way he has been, I could seriously see him being first choice for England by the time Euro 2020 comes round.

Not just with the start he's made, but the overall feeling at Madrid at the moment and Zidane not likely to last long term at this rate, it's very possible that Hazard may be available again next summer if things carry on. Very much like what happened with Coutinho. If he was made available again next summer how many people would have him back? For me, I would pass on him. He was a great player here but will be 29 by that point and for someone who has played a lot of football since an early age and is hardly the model professional with regards to his work ethic and training/fitness methods I think it would be a big risk because I wonder how long he will be able to continue at the very highest level. I've also been pleasantly surprised at how good we've looked when attacking this season. Still a work in progress but the signs are there of a more aggressive and direct style of football and I don't believe Hazard would suit what we're trying to do with regards to pressing aggressively and looking to release the ball much quicker. Also are some of these players performing better because we no longer have a talisman we are reliant on. I definitely wouldn't like to see him back in the league though with someone else. Surely if this doesn't work out, the most logical move would be to PSG in some form of Mbappe or Neymar deal.

Couldn't agree more. We all tell him that but he doesn't listen, he must like his dance moves or something. To prove a point he's just brought a United shirt for his young boy with Lingard on the back. The poor kid's going to get so bullied...from my kids for starters! Bit off topic, but I was also thinking last night I see Dele Alli very much in the same light. He has regressed so much he's looked a shadow for a long time now and offers practically nothing. With the likes of these two and even closer to home, Barkley, there's a big opportunity for the likes of Mount, CHO and RLC to become big mainstay's in the England set up over the next few years.

Tammy's work rate and attitude will stop that from happening. Even when he's struggling to make an impact on a game his work rate and pressing can't be faulted and as he gets older and more experienced he'll definitely become a better all round player with his hold up play, etc. I personally feel from a technical level that he can exceed Lukaku. Being an academy player too will just offer that extra bit of support from fans when it's needed. Hell, I have a mate who's a United fan and still loves Lingard!

That was a massive win tonight. So many players making their first away trip in the Champions League with a pretty intimidating atmosphere, I thought we did a good job. Take away the last 5 minutes of nerves at the end, and Tomori was once again outstanding. I really hope Rudiger gets back to full fitness soon because I'd love to see what these two are like with a run of games because the potential could be there to make an excellent pairing. Tammy again too continues to develop. Took his goal superbly, but his all round play continues to improve and he always puts a real shift in for the team. And for all the moaning about some of the players I thought the experienced players stepped up in the second half when they needed to. Willian's goal was a fantastic strike, Azpilicueta and Alonso I felt defended more solid when we reverted to a back 4 and Zouma too won everything in the air when Lille tried pressing in the last 15 minutes. Very pleasing all round, and let the positive momentum continue...