Jase

This will improve Mourinho's mood

*sees headline* *sees sources*

No one is denying the club's interest but people getting excited over social media likes is just so...never mind. It'll be funny though if things don't turn out the way people expect too.

What are you talking about? They weren't even competing for the same position. De Bruyne was primarily used as a RW at that point, with Lampard used as one of the two deepest midfielders in the pivot.

No wonder he was popular in the dressing room last season... https://theathletic.co.uk/1476643/2019/12/24/rob-green-exclusive-the-rudderless-ship-the-manager-asleep-in-his-office-as-players-trained-and-getting-hammered-after-defeat-to-germany-at-the-2010-world-cup/

Rob Green with interesting bits on Sarri last season... https://theathletic.co.uk/1476643/2019/12/24/rob-green-exclusive-the-rudderless-ship-the-manager-asleep-in-his-office-as-players-trained-and-getting-hammered-after-defeat-to-germany-at-the-2010-world-cup/

If we're going to play the back 3 again at Arsenal, better off saving him for that one and play Emerson on Thursday. Rotation needed with 4 games in 11 days.

Maybe this is because Lampard is a manager now and/or he is not as close to Mourinho as Terry is but Lampard said the right thing here...

Lampard said this in his presser today...

TEAM NEWS - Lampard said Azpi had a small issue (not sure had or has, thanks to the press conference stream cutting off early!), which is why he came off at Spurs. Other than that, a few bumps and bruises for the players.

Pretty sure Wenger only started playing the back 3 after Conte made it popular in England.

I don't know why people always read so much into these things. Are friends not allowed to like each other's social media posts?

But it is stupid to handicap yourself for someone who is inconsistent and prone to making defensive errors. We want to be right up with the very best - Liverpool, Man City etc - and yet want to compensate for average players. The fact that you only focus on the Alonso's goals and assists says it all, because those are the only stats favor him way more often than not. Other stats show Emerson matches or betters Alonso's contribution. What is pretty clear this season that Alonso is rubbish in a back 4 (always is), can't be trusted defensively, and got binned for like 8 straight games prior to last weekend.

Hilarious how it has not taken long for the real Mourinho to show up at Spurs. But it makes it extremely sweet that we are the ones who've rattled him. Think he got arrogant and overconfident before the match, thinking his Spurs will just roll us over by turning up but instead, got out-thought, out-fought, out-witted, beaten by for a former player for the second time.

But this isn't a case of taking a faux moral high ground over some trivial matters. If the football authorities continue to ignore racism issues and don't do anything significant to deal with them, then don't be surprised if one day the players have had enough and decide to take a stand, make a statement by walking off, because why should anyone stand around and be abused if the people in power aren't doing anything about it? The chairman bit is just your assumption because you don't know if clubs discuss the matters behind closed doors and some managers have said that they would support their players if they decide to walk off the pitch over racist abuse.

Really? Think it is well established by now that Alonso is useless in a back 4 and if we want to get more out of him, we basically need to switch to a back 3/5. Otherwise, we would basically be playing with fire in hoping the "good" Alonso turns up. It's amusing some people bash Azpi for his poor offensive play and yet are somehow okay with Alonso who is so SLOW and immobile for a modern full back. Stats don't obviously tell the whole story but here's a comparison between Alonso and Emerson (and Chilwell for good measure). Also, Alonso turns 29 on Dec 28 and is on big wages. If we can get it off the books to open space for others, then all the better.

Said a similar thing not too long ago but his age (he's 32 now, turns 33 in May) is a sticking point. In theory, he could/would do well in the short term but he probably needs some time to adapt and if so, how long does he need, will he fully adapt etc?

There are more important things in life than football results. Anyway, not sure if there is a universal outcome to what happens if a team walk off the pitch due to racist abuse, especially when the Premier League appear to have their own protocol, but according to the link below, if the referee calls the game off, the team suffering would be awarded a default 3-0 win but if the team walk off the pitch without the referee's consent (aka not following the protocol), they will be handed a default 3-0 loss. https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/football/10135018/uefa-protocol-racist-chanting-abandoned/

A radical haircut change...

The return game is gonna be a nightmare...