Jase

Is there anything in Germany on this, apart from any story that's quoting Christian Falk and/or Fjortoft?

The midfield and defence. As for the offence, have long said it that I don't think we necessarily need a big name striker - we need one if only because both Abraham and Giroud are likely to leave - but someone low key, reliable and can work with the rotation. Basically, am in a similar train of thought with Tomo here...

https://www.blackpoolfc.co.uk/news/2021/june/seasiders-sign-reece-james/ WTF! WE SOLD JAMES TO BLACKPOOL!? 😱

Based on what we have seen under Tuchel so far, it's 3 attackers upfront in a 3-4-3 or 2 attackers upfront in a 3-5-2. So, it's either 7 attackers for 3 positions or 6 attackers for 2 positions. Maybe but I'd also like to believe that there is more to come in terms of finishing from the current group of players that we have.

Regardless of whether they can play multiple positions, it's still basically 7 players for 3 positions. Even if we take CHO out of that because of RWB, it's still 6 for 3. Not as if the others can suddenly play in midfield or defence. Mount can do the former but that's it. And I'm not saying getting Haaland specifically will upset the team but rather having too many high profile options for so few positions.

But Haaland is still very young, meaning Guardiola can fine tune or tweak his game to his liking. You think Tuchel wouldn't do something similar IF we get him?

But it's 7 players for 3 positions, assuming we stick with the back 3. If 1-2 players become a certainty, then that leaves very little room for others to get in.

I'm talking about the attacking positions. Having Werner, Havertz, Mount, Pulisic, Ziyech, CHO and Haaland on top of that is A LOT. At least 5 of them there I consider to be high profile.

It would be bizarre if he really thought that when in the final two months of the campaign, Werner was primarily being used as a striker, leaving Havertz, Mount, Ziyech and even CHO as Pulisic's competition for the other two attacking spots. Furthermore, in the final two months of the campaign or since the March international break, both Werner and Pulisic ended up playing a similar amount of minutes with the former just playing a tad more than the latter (less than a game IIRC). Plus, it's not as if Pulisic covered himself in glory every time he started either. Think next season could be a key one for Pulisic considering he would have only two years left on his contract come next summer. If he doesn't kick on next season, something that he didn't really do this past season after a strong end to 2019/20, then things could change for him.

I don't disagree but again, no one is gonna like moving in and out of the side. How can one gain any sort of consistency or see improvement by being in and out of the side? And it doesn't seem like Pulisic will be playing the Gold Cup this summer. Are you sure about that? Tuchel has talked endlessly about the importance of Mount and Mount is the one player who has played the most minutes under Tuchel. I'd say Mount needs to be managed better in terms of his minutes to prevent a burnt out and I can also see him being a certainty again. I don't think if we buy someone like Haaland, we would be rotating him a lot. Otherwise, we're gonna have Raiola making noises to the media!

Because it's not sustainable? Because it could disrupt the dressing room? It's all good when we are winning, like we did most of the time this past season under Tuchel but it can be disruptive when the results start to go south, like we saw under Lampard and we know bad results are never far away when it comes to Chelsea FC. And before people throw in the City comparison again, I'd argue we have more high-profile players vying for starting positions than City.

Maybe but Levy is a more pain in the arse to deal with and Haaland would represent a better, longer term investment than Kane.

I really find it hard to believe that Dortmund would sell both Sancho AND Haaland in the same window. And IF they are inclined to sell Haaland this summer, then I'd be surprised if someone like City wouldn't try to make a move when they are also looking for a striker.

USA didn't qualify for the Olympics.

True but assuming everyone is fit (like they all were since the last international break), how long we can really rotate before someone becomes unhappy? If Tuchel sticks with the back 3 and say Mount is a certainty to start, then that leaves only 2 spaces. IF we get Haaland, you aren't exactly going to bench him either I'd imagine. Every one of the others would want to start week in week out. They are not going to be happy to play one game, sit out one game and then play one game again. As mentioned, our attackers were injury free since the March international break with the exception of Havertz for that Leicester league game and during that period, there were some noises about Pulisic not being happy with his lack of playing time/super sub role. Imagine next season with one more superstar in the team! And USA did not qualify for the Olympics but Pulisic will be playing for USA at the Gold Cup this summer. I don't disagree with having options to rotate like City but on the other hand, one could also argue about the benefit of having consistent selection like Liverpool.

Kevin Palmer knows F all! All he does is just write up some BS or something that has been mentioned elsewhere.

Don't forget, Mount hates Havertz!

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Every time someone hype up a potential attacking lineup, it never works out. Remember when most of us were salivating at the prospect of Pulisic-Havertz-Ziyech behind Werner last summer? 🤣 Or remember MaZaCar? That didn't last too long either.

If we sell two players, we could potentially take away the squad depth. If we sell one, then it's probably still okay. But again, how long can we rotate before someone complains about the playing time? That's for the back 3. If we go to a back 4, then comes the tactical problems. If we play 4-2-3-1, where does Havertz fit in? Where does Mount fit in? Where does Werner fit in? Havertz may or may not be as the #10. Mount doesn't seem good in the pivot and isn't really creative enough as a #10. Werner isn't going to create too much from wide areas. If we play 4-3-3, where does Havertz fit in? He's not really suited to playing in the midfield or wide areas. Also the same question mark with Werner in the wide areas. Then we also gotta make sure everyone else, including the midfielders and defenders can function in a back 4 and not have a system breakdown like we saw under Lampard. Tuchel used the back 3 to help paper over those cracks.

I feel like Tuchel is gonna have problems trying to keep everyone happy next season as well as tactically in terms of trying to fit everyone into a cohesive unit. The back 3 or back 4 will have its problems with the attackers that we've got.

Okay...can we keep all the Haaland discussions in the Haaland thread please?