Superblue

More likely to be length of contract if we looked into him. At 31, realistically we're probably offering him no more than an 18 month contract with maybe an option for an extra year, similar to what we did with Giroud. Wouldn't be surprised to see him sign a 3 or 4 year contract at Newcastle.

Line should be drawn under this for now. I mentioned previously actions will speak louder than words. I'm hoping this humbles Lukaku but serves as additional motivation for him to make an impact here. Scoring goals and helping us win games is what we need.

Yeah let's sack him and piss £100m against the wall. Cracking idea! How many years now have we been sending debt collectors over to Adrian Mutu trying to collect his transfer fee?

Tuchel has certainly not lost this. It would have been far easier for him to "give in" and have Lukaku in the squad against Liverpool. Bearing in mind, in recent times he's had to cater towards the ego's of players like Neymar and Mbappe. What he did yesterday was bold and brave but it also firmly cemented his position over the players. Following on from that though, do you not think Tuchel wants to sort things out? He even said in his presser he was surprised because Lukaku hasn't given any impressions he's unhappy and his relationship with him hasn't suggested any problems. He will want a fit and motivated Lukaku available in his squad, there is no question about that. Unless Lukaku pushes that he wants to leave (and from some of the stuff coming out now the interview was supposed to be more of a PR move to appease Inter fans than to cause issues at our end) then the best thing to happen is for this situation to be resolved and it looks like it has done. Lukaku has apologised internally and from what it appears he's been put back in line by Tuchel and the senior players.

Yeah completely agree. I think in our situation, it's easy to dismiss and forget the 2 and a half years before Tuchel came in of firstly Sarri looking to play a possession style and then Lampard looking to play a pressing style with energy. None of that was perfect and ultimately I don't think either was the long term solution if they'd been afforded more time, but there was at least a base there for Tuchel to work with. I just don't see anything there at United. Like you said the last few years they have been moulded by pragmatic managers looking to play on the counter. It feels like they really are starting from scratch and these six months under Rangnick may be the very start of something but I think it's going to be long and at times, frustrating process for them.

I thought it was rich Gary Neville backing him yesterday when he's been critical of players such as Pogba doing the same at United in the past (and possibly even criticised Lukaku for speaking out about United). However, I do agree with some of what he said. What is an apology really going to achieve at this point? This isn't an interview with a paper or magazine that could be argued has been mis-translated because the interview has been recorded and aired. The best thing he can do now is produce on the pitch. Actions speak louder than words and if he is performing and scoring goals, he will be forgiven. It's as simple as that. The one thing I don't think he'll be afforded now though is time and patience, like for example someone like Werner is afforded. If Lukaku is struggling and then seemingly not putting in the hard yards like a Werner will always do, the crowd will let him know about it.

They either have players with talent but not willing to put in the defensive/pressing side of the game, or players who are capable of doing that side of the game but can barely kick the ball. There is no middle ground with them and it leaves their team so imbalanced.

Watching United the last few games, getting Tuchel over Rangnick last January has to be one of the biggest wins in recent times.

The first thing Lukaku needs to do is fire us past Spurs in the League Cup. It's hardly top of the priority list, but no way do I want to see them having the chance to replace their "year we put the pressure on" DVD with an actual trophy.

What's wrong with an optimist 🤷‍♂️ But I don't mean it like we're suddenly going to go on a 10 game win streak and reel City in but I think this whole episode might just help focus minds and get us out of a bit of a slumber at a time when this month could really define our season with 2 big league games, 2 domestic cups and heading to the world club cup at the end of the month.

In a weird way, this might just be what the club needed to re-ignite the season. We've always seemed to relish and bounce back amid chaos, and this whole situation may present a scenario where minds are focused and any frustrations or issues in recent weeks are sorted out. Tuchel will come out of this in my opinion with a stronger position, and for Lukaku it may light a fire underneath him where he has to start again from scratch and prove himself at this club.

Great news. Hopefully more will follow now. Don't know why but in recent days I'm starting to feel slightly more confident that Rudiger may re-sign. I think his preference would be to stay here as he realises what he's got here as a bit of a cult hero, and the system suiting him perfectly. I feel the opportunity for him to talk with other clubs may be more of a negotiation tactic with us.

It was a far from perfect performance but it was really good to see some grit and fight in this group that had felt in recent weeks like it had waned somewhat under the pressure. Coming back from 2 goals down will feel more like a 'win' for us and should be a building block in a difficult run of games. And I'm just as happy with the boost this should give Tuchel and the players playing today. All the Lukaku distractions have been through no fault of their own, so it was nice that come the end of the game it's something that doesn't warrant discussion. Tuchel has played his hand, the fans backed him like they were always going to, and the players stood up in adversity and played for him and the badge. So the next move is Lukaku. I think Tuchel dropping him and getting through this game with a result, and then suggesting that it can be resolved actually eases the potential situation but it comes down to Lukaku. If he doesn't want to be here then something needs to be done in January. Even if it means shipping him out on loan until the summer and we roll with what we have for the rest of the season. From this point last year, the same group minus Lukaku took us from 9th to 4th, a cup final and a European triumph. It won't be ideal but it'll be necessary if Lukaku wants out.

We have to attack behind Liverpool's full backs today. Someone like Pulisic needs a massive game today just being positive on the ball and turning TAA around the opposite way.

There is a difference between having yo-yo seasons where we're up there and then not compared to consistently challenging for the league title. We haven't shown the ability to do this for the last decade. And we are very capable of beating anyone on our day, hence the UCL triumph last season but to consistently churn out win after win, week after week we haven't shown this for a long time and this consistency is something we do need to bridge between us and City (and a lesser extent Liverpool). I do agree though if we hadn't have been decimated in recent weeks by injuries and covid, I think we'd be comfortably at least around City still and there would be a much more interesting title race developing then there is now.

Simon Phillips isn't exactly a source I would consider to be very reliable but he's mentioned today that when Tuchel had a meeting with Lukaku, Lukaku refused to apologise and felt he hasn't done anything wrong and that it'll blow over in a couple of days. If that were to be the case and Lukaku is that oblivious to what he has created then I can see this situation not repairing and we'll be left with a Tuchel vs Lukaku situation. I just hope if that were to be the case the board back Tuchel in this instance. He is far more important for the longer term of this club than Lukaku, and whilst he may be easier to get rid he's far more difficult to adequately replace. Arsenal seem to have improved with the decision to leave Aubameyang out, and hopefully the players can knuckle down and put some performances in where the power between Tuchel and Lukaku positions itself firmly in the manager's camp.

But before that we have 5 games in 13 days from tomorrow. I would agree that the Chesterfield game needs heavy rotation. Maybe not to the degree of just fielding a complete U23 team. It represents a good game for some players like Barkley and Sarr to play, like the Brentford game did. @Tomomentioned we're a couple of injuries away from relying on them, but on the flip side you'd also not want them coming into the team cold if that situation happened. It may also represent an opportunity for a couple of players to get some fitness for 45-60 minutes like Werner who may need the game as a key run out.

What's peoples thoughts on whether Lukaku will start Sunday? Havertz was on the bench against Brighton so I assume he's now been back in training for around a week. With that in mind there's every possibility Tuchel goes with him up front instead of Lukaku.

That's the thing, at that moment in time there was a huge supply of quality strikers. How true it is but the stories I've heard are that Chelsea had the opportunity to buy Godin and Aguero in the summer from Atletico and didn't want to wait so ended up buying Luiz and Torres. It was a complete cock up and is the biggest highlighter as to why I'm cautious of us trying to resolve current problems we have now this January with injuries, etc. I can easily see a situation we spend money on a Digne or Trippier and be stuck with them for the foreseeable future instead of going for a much better, long term fit in the summer.

Let's see how the smoke settles with this. I don't see a situation where it becomes Tuchel or Lukaku, I think any differences between the two can be resolved. The bigger issue is actually going to be Lukaku keeping on the good side of the match going fans. If he has a blinder on Sunday and scores the winner, I think this will end up blowing over in time. But if he fails to perform, I think he'll have a job on his hands to get the support back on his side.

Wow you're criteria for success must be pretty small! The Torres signing left us hamstrung for years. The Barca goal was a great emotional moment to cap off the most ridiculous game but it was technically irrelevant as we were through without it. On top of putting up with Torres, we lost Sturridge and missed out on Aguero as a result and unlike other complete failures like Morata we weren't able to get any sort of return back on him. There is absolutely no way that Lukaku can be packaged alongside Torres at present. He has 7 goals in 18 games so far, 6 of those have been coming on as a sub so his goal output considering how much he's played so far this season is far from dreadful. We can all debate his 'fit' in the team but he's not a player currently on the decline or blighted by injuries like Torres was when he was bought here.

It'll be interesting to see the reaction from the crowd at the weekend. Probably lukewarm at best towards Lukaku, but if things aren't going well I think it could become quite toxic. Lukaku really needs to come out and diffuse the situation before it escalates. I still think the comments are serialised in a way to make them far worse than they are, but he has plenty of experience to know that an interview like this can be taken in a really negative way over here and everything that happens from now on he's ultimately brought on himself. In a weird sort of way though, it may bring a reaction from the team and Tuchel to come out fighting at the weekend. We've been crippled with absences but they aren't getting better anytime soon. Sometimes a spark is needed, whether it's positive or negative to trigger a reaction and this strangely could be what we actually need to reboot.

Thought Tuchel took the press conference well this morning. We really have our backs to the wall at the moment which the club has historically thrived on in recent times, so hope to see a reaction starting this weekend.

Incredible that a few bad results under surreal circumstances, and people start questioning the manager. Who are we expected to bring in that is going to get more out of this crop of players in it's current state? Somebody that is apparently going to play to the strengths of an inconsistent attacking group by playing more of them at the expense of defensive solidity? Because we've all seen Alonso at left back, Rudiger in a back 2 and Jorginho in a midfield 2 before with less support behind him. We will continue to be inconsistent in attack and get battered defensively. No manager is sustaining results with the number of absences we've had to key players.

I think more will come out of this in time but my interpretation of it is that the comments on not being happy were taken from a question asking him about his fitness and condition and his response more or less suggested that he felt he was capable of playing more, as opposed to openly questioning the system. It would seem ridiculous for him to question the system, when Tuchel has played it since he first arrived here a year ago. I'm not bothered about the Inter quotes to be honest. He left there under a cloud and it seems like the interview is a way for him to diffuse that situation with their fans. He enjoyed his time there and doesn't want to tarnish that, I've got no problem with him trying to mend that relationship. He's not the first player to say he'd like to go back to a club. Hazard said when he's finished at Madrid, he wants to go back to Chelsea. It's hardly like he's said that he made a mistake joining Chelsea and he wants to go back to Inter as soon as possible.