Jase

Just had a look and fucking hell, didn't realize we're behind Arsenal and Spurs too!

sAnChO iS a GeNeRaTiOnAl TaLeNt...

So, 'players needing pre-season' is really your justification here?! You're not wrong in saying players would need pre-season but they are gonna need it either way. Could give the players for example a 3-week pre-season, then resume the season and finish it by say by December. There's no guarantee now that we will start 2020/21 begin on time in August and if that's the case, then what? Say if we can only resume in November, how do you manage the crazy club football schedule along with international football and ensure everything related to 2020/21 is finished by end of May next year for Euros? Think there's a big elephant in the room that is yet to be addressed, which is the football calendar for the 2022 World Cup! Furthermore, if we just declare the season null and void now, there is gonna be a lot of financial repercussions. How do you determine who is champions, who gets promoted? Can you really just deny teams who've worked hard to win a championship and then is suddenly denied by something that's not even their fault? How then do you determine, say, the European qualification for 2020/21? If this season is declared null and void, do you take the 2018/19 league table to determine the teams qualify for Europe? If so, then you would have the likes of Manchester United making complaints about it. If you take how the table currently stands to determine it, then the likes of Wolves, Spurs and especially Sheffield United who will complain about it - mind you, Sheffield United have played one game less than the teams around them for the Champions League spots. If they win the game in hand, they'll go above Man United in 5th and 5th will be a Champions League spot if Man City's ban sticks.

Isn't that a bit selective? You picked a stats to highlight Christensen's supposedly superiority over the others but equally, I can pick another stat to highlight Christensen's weakness - Christensen has a success rate of 56.3 in tackles, which is lower than Zouma (57.1) and Rudiger (62.5) OR Christensen has made only 19 interceptions, compared to Tomori's 22 and Zouma's 42 OR Christensen has made only 5 blocks, which is lower than Tomori (7), Zouma (11) and Rudiger (7).

I put my name in Japanese because it's cool.

Had luck been on Grant's side, like it did with Di Matteo, the former could have easily been a Premier League and Champions League winner.

Nope, not India.

I don't know how you came to that conclusion but ookay...

You'll need to find out yourself.

Not really, where I am at the moment. There are advisories, restrictions and all that but things haven't spiraled out of control (so far...).

OR it could last for 6 months... https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/29/uk-coronavirus-restrictions-could-last-six-months-deputy-chief-medical-officer

There was more emphasis on playing out from the back under Sarri. Less so under Lampard, which may have contributed to the inconsistent distribution.

Mark Bosnich on Kepa... https://www.goal.com/en-sg/news/chelsea-should-stick-with-kepa-says-bosnich/1l6hxdasfzs8y1ujt87qvwggip "I was probably in the minority as a goalkeeper as I didn't mind competition for places," Bosnich told Goal. "I thought being a goalkeeper was the same as any position that if you are not playing well, then it is understandable that someone else comes in. "With Kepa, it is a little bit different because of the price tag that surrounds him but it wasn't Frank Lampard who bought him. It was somebody else. I was impressed with the way he came back but he has been struggling a little bit this season. "It is completely understandable as a manager if someone is not doing it for you at a big club you think somewhere else. There are stories around about Donnarumma or Onana but with any goalkeeper you talk about purchasing, especially from abroad, there's nothing like playing the position in England. "There's more physical challenges on the crosses that you get in England than anywhere else in the world. You have to be careful. I am not privy to what's gone on behind the scenes but if a manager-player relationship breaks down, then that's a different matter. "I just think it was down to his form which in terms of the standard when he first came, it hasn't been up to scratch this season. Frank was well within his rights to leave him out when he did but I thought he did well when he came back. "I rate Kepa, I thought he was a superb shot-stopper with good agility and his kicking was okay for me. I think people make too much of his problems with distribution but the first job is to keep the ball out of the net. Kicking is a bonus. "In terms of dominating his box, he is young and slight so it has taken time to get to grips with that. That's something they need to work on. For me, he has not been a disaster in any sense of the word. He has done okay so far. "It is difficult to follow Petr Cech in their most successful era at the club. Then you have Thibaut Courtois, who was exceptional as well. I believe that Kepa has the ability given time to get to that level."

Was talking about cases but yeah and they haven't fully lifted the restrictions within the country yet.

That is may be unlikely given there are still cases happening in Japan. There are even still doubts about the league starting in China in late April/early May even though the situation has improved over there.

That is assuming things die down by July or August for football to resume but if it doesn't, then what? Say if it's only safe to play again in November, then how do you manage the schedule with Euro 2021 happening next summer? I'm kinda bemused by the fact that people are so rigid about following the football calendar schedule. Also, tribalism aside, I wonder if we were in Liverpool's position, would people be so casual about just saying "just declare the season null and void" OR if we weren't in the Champions League spots, would people be so dismissive like now? And that is without mentioning the financial repercussions for all the teams.

We're probably already gonna go a few months without football now. So, no exactly big deal if that were to happen. By that you mean the resumption of this season's UCL Round of 16? If the authorities follow AVB's idea, then that wouldn't be an issue. Haven't bothered to think much about it but the only reason I would want this season to be declared null and void is that it would likely benefit us in terms of Champions League qualification (and to see Liverpool NOT be crowned champions). Otherwise, I'm not sure what's the point. Not sure why everyone is so rigid about the European football schedule that 2019/20 must end by June or July or whenever so that 2020/21 can start on time in August, which may not even happen if this virus situation persists. On top of that, the 2022 World Cup will throw up a mess to the scheduling when it comes around and this whole coronavirus feels like a perfect opportunity to take and adjust the football seasons accordingly for that.

Came across this earlier...

Yes, get plenty of rest, @Vesper. And play some games, like Animal Crossing.

For NOT drinking last night?

Err, I was replying to Tomo...

As I said, Sancho may have left for Dortmund in 2017/18 but he was still playing youth level games then. How is that any different to CHO, who was still doing that in that season? There needs to be context in such scenario. How was he on a similar trajectory to Sancho then? Are goals and even assists the barometer to compare trajectories of players now?

Isn't that a bit selective? They may be born a few months apart but they were born in the same year. Sancho may have left for Dortmund in 2017/18 but it wasn't exactly a breakthrough season in the first team - he had injuries and was playing in some youth level games, which is similar to how CHO was still playing youth level games that season and getting selected for the odd games in the first team. If you're gonna compare them, 2018/19 season for both would be fairer and...there really isn't any comparison there for obvious reasons. And for argument's sake, you said Sancho had 1 goal in 12 games (he also had 4 assist by the way) but at least it's all in the Bundesliga - one of the major leagues in Europe. CHO's best work (if we want to call it that) in 2018/19 mainly came in the Europa League, which if we're being honest, all but 2 of the teams we faced were likely worse than 3/4 of the Bundesliga teams. CHO had 10 Premier League appearances and made only 1 assist, that was it. If CHO was really on the same trajectory as Sancho as you were talking about, Sarri wouldn't be so reserved about him last season.