Jase

Awkward...

Again, hypothetical situation. There's no guarantee he'll go for 60m just because the other two went for that price. And if you take the transfer ban into the equation, would Real want to sell and leave themselves short?

If you think we won't splash the cash on Griezmann, then makes you think we will for James? It's not the like latter will come in cheap either and if I'm speaking hypothetically, then what about you? Sure, James isn't exactly happy at Real right now but there's no guarantee they will sell him given they have the transfer ban hanging over them.

Nail. On. Head. It's a joke that so many - fans, journalists, pundits - got brainwashed by Mourinho and bought into his 'my players betrayed me' nonsense.

Even if James is more attainable than Griezmann, it doesn't mean we have to go for him. As good as a player he is, I don't think he's what we need to play in the front 3. As for Griezmann, yes, Atletico are a top side but we all know they aren't capable to win trophies season in season out like some of the other big sides and sooner or later, Griezmann is likely to leave them. Things could also easily change when Simeone leaves Atletico. He recently reduced the duration of his new contract by 2 years and has been linked with several clubs around Europe. And the main reason Griezmann is staying at Atletico is because of Simeone. If Simeone leaves, then anything could easily happen with Atletico's players.

If we want to succeed big time, then we gotta pay big money to get the big players. Haven't we been complaining about the board being too stingy and ended up buying average players who don't add anything to the squad? And until Mahrez can prove last season's achievement was no fluke and he's not a one-season wonder, I'd suggest we stay away from him. He's turning 30 next year. Would suggest we look elsewhere.

Griezmann isn't exactly an out-and-out striker that you have to stick him through the middle. He's versatile enough to play anywhere across the front line and he can come short to link up in the build-up play (he plays as a second ST at Atletico from time to time) or he can play on the shoulder of the opposition's defenders.

Antonio Conte backs his instincts to inspire Chelsea transformation

I wouldn't say Rodgers failed with the back 3 system. His main issue was he couldn't get Liverpool to be organized and solid defensively while still having that offensive threat. Had he managed that, Liverpool would have likely won the title back in 2013/14.

'Roman - The Trigger Happy Owner', rather than 'Roman - The Reasonable Owner', is a better narrative for people to use.

Every system has its weakness and obviously, someone will pose our 3-4-3 a serious threat sooner or later. But I don't get why are people so concerned the opposition will find a solution to counter it. It's Conte's and the players' responsibility to make sure the system works as effective as possible and hide any obvious weaknesses. If we have any serious issues with it, I'm sure Conte will find solutions. After all, he was quick to change things after that debacle at Arsenal and he's experienced enough with the back 3 systems to know how and what he needs to do. And would you really be worried if we had changed to, say, 4-3-3 instead of 3-4-3 and gotten the same results and performances?

We're going to have issues with that come December-January.

Would rather give Oscar.

The board has been scaling new levels of stupidity. It'll be not be surprising if they were to do that.

We can forget about any successful future if we sack Conte for coming second after the season we had last time out.

Give him Ivanovic while we're at it!

Vintage Mourinho. Continues to blame everyone else but himself. It's amazing how he's not ended up at Liverpool!

Funnily enough, Everton probably used up their luck quota at City. They could have easily lost that game by 4/5 goals.

Uh oh. Polo has caught the TermX syndrome!

- No Shaw. No Mkhitaryan - Martial, Rashford benched - Ibrahimovic, Rooney, Fellaini continue to play - Continue to play Valencia, Young as a FB Top management from Mourinho!

Spare a thought for Walter Mazzarri when people say Pochettino, Koeman etc are trying to copy Conte's tactics.

If we want to start winning major honors on a consistent basis again, then we likely need to fork some big money to get quality players. And who knows, if Simeone leaves Atletico, then Griezmann might want to leave too. IIRC, he said he didn't want to leave Atletico last summer because of Simeone.

Would rather go for Griezmann than James. The former is a hard worker and guarantees goals, lots of them. If we are to continue with this 3-4-3 for the long term, then think Griezmann suits it better than James and he complements Hazard and Costa better than James. We need variations and players of different qualities in our front 3. Playing similar players there will not help.

In all seriousness though, no doubt Boro will be tough to beat, as proven by their recent results against Arsenal and City (they should have won at Arsenal) and the fact that they don't concede a lot. But this is game where we are expected to win - unlike the previous 4 games - and it would be so typical of us to drop points. Definitely need to come back from the international break and play the way we've been playing and it might be a blessing in disguise that we're playing this on a Sunday. Players have a tad more time to train and recover.