Jase

*AHEM*

Looks like Loftus-Cheek won't play in this cup game...

Apparently...

3-0!!! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

No one is saying Conte was wrong to wanting upgrades on the squad but let's not pretend like every target he wanted then were top quality. This is also the same manager who wanted Fernando Llorente for example. Won't necessarily disagree with you on Sandro but given he hasn't pulled up any trees between then and now, I won't say it was a big blow we didn't get him but he would likely have been an upgrade on Alonso/Emerson. Don't think it was wrong to question Bonucci based on what I said previously. Candreva may have been consistent but that doesn't mean he was (or is) top quality. Even average players can be consistent. Did you say this back then or did you just come up with this theory all of a sudden? Conte gave up that season simply because he didn't get what he wanted. The board deserved criticism for not backing him then but it was still no reason for him to just give up. It was still the same squad that won the league in the previous season and he always found ways then to fix problems. Conte just didn't care anymore after in 2018 because he didn't get what he wanted, like a small kid who had his toys taken away from him.

Just because Conte wanted them, it doesn't mean they are any good. Candreva is your average workhorse (which I might argue we already have a few). Sandro hasn't pulled up any trees for some time now. Bonucci would have maybe been an upgrade but he was already 29/30 years old when we wanted him and it's debatable whether he would have thrived at the highest level coming to the Premier League at that age. Being pragmatic/conservative is just Conte's nature. Don't think it had anything to do with him not trusting the defenders, even if he wanted upgrades. He has gotten his players, for example, at Inter and yet, he still plays pragmatically with them.

Liverpool playing a strong team today...

Chelsea 2-0 Liverpool PRE/POST-MATCH DISCUSSION, LIVE CHAT AND ANALYSIS 2019/20 FA Cup 5th Round 3rd March, Tuesday, 2020 Stamford Bridge 19:45 Kick Off (UK time)

But he did take it too far, no? Think you said the same, IIRC? And he's encountering similar, if not the same issues now at Juventus and their fans aren't happy.

Oh the irony of Caballero's "save" for Bournemouth's equalizer...

The players have been crap, sure, but it's not entirely on them is it? Take for example our starting XI against Bayern vs the starting XI that played Barcelona in the R16 1st leg 2 years ago. 2017/18 - Courtois - Rudiger/Christensen/Azpi - Alonso/Kante/Fabregas/Moses - Hazard/Willian/Pedro vs 2019/20 - Caballero - Rudiger/Christensen/Azpi - Alonso/Jorginho/Kovacic/James - Barkley/Mount/Giroud Kante and Hazard aside, there's not much difference in the two XIs but the defensive organization was night and day. If the team is already struggling to score to win games, then at least make the team hard to beat but we don't do that, do we? We're so easy to score against and so easy to get at. Bournemouth should have scored 2-3 goals in the first 10-15 minutes today but thankfully, they didn't. But in the second half, they had 2-3 chances and they scored 2 goals, one of which was from a set piece and it's an issue that's been plaguing Lampard since Derby last season.

Yes, we had a lot of sterile possession under Sarri and Lampard does want us to play a lot quicker and all that but it's scary how we have lost that ability to maintain some sterile possession, even just for 2-3 minutes, to slow the game down when needed. We keep on wanting to play at 200 miles per hour and as a result, we don't control games in a calm manner and always risk turning them into a basketball match.

This is Lampard's defensive record as a manager: 97 games 21 clean sheets 127 goals conceded He might not have had any world class defenders but you can only blame individuals for so long. Like you said, we weren't great defensively last season but this season, it's a whole new level of shocking! And our defence lost only Luiz last summer but saw James and Tomori added into the team. Not much difference in the choices but the collective defending has been shambolic a lot of the times!

LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL

Ask @Jim.

Oops, my bad. Didn't realize they've changed the suspension rules. https://www.goal.com/en-gb/news/premier-league-suspensions-how-do-bookings-red-card-bans-work-in-/1e6awd5os0a031pri0kcq3eu0c So, Barkley for Everton, Aston Villa and Bayern then!

*ahem*

Oh hey, our predictable attacking play has worked for once!

Our attacking play - give the ball to James and let him cross into the box. Rinse and repeat.

Jorginho suspended for Liverpool and Everton. Will be back at Villa.

At this point, I don't know which is worse - Sarriball or Lampardball (or whatever people call it)...

Back 3 again. Tomori and Pedro come in for Rudiger and Barkley respectively.