Sideshow Luiz

Brought a genuine smile to my face to see that.

I'm not suggesting that Barkley or RLC are good enough to be regular starters for us, but neither is bad enough to never see the pitch, either. One will have to go if we want to "upgrade" Of course, we'll see. Both are much better now than they were are the start of the season, so let's see where we are in May.

I'm would fully expect Barella to be Kante's back up since we don't really have one. This could be the issue with Kovacic. I'd expect Barella to be more on board with being a rotation option for us. Kovacic wants away from Madrid because he wants to play more. On the other side of midfield we have 2 english players, one of which is HG. One will have to leave to make room for a better target. Plus, we have Mount coming through.

But Barella's wages are surely lower. making him probably the cheaper option. Our AM needs to work defensively as well (not saying this is where Barella will play). Fekir (and players like him) for me would be best as a CF in our system. IMO. Ziyech has those traits, and I really like him. But, I don't know if he's good enough for us (Starting XI). He also takes left footed free kicks, so that's a bonus. On you list, who's playing in a 433? Those attacking mids have to play defence too.

The question is: Is he better than Kovacic, and what are the fees like for both players?

And there were arguments about who "won". Utd with Lukaku or us with Morata. Now, it's "who lost the least?"

I think there are just some crossed wires here. I certainly didn't get the impression that @Belgiannutt was calling me fickle. I read it as 2 separate discussions within 1 post. But you're definitely correct on my reading, I'm resigned to losing him. Which relates to this: Yup, we've really done nothing. When I say "there's not much else the club can do", I meant this season. What could possibly change between now and the end of the season that would change Hazard's mind, or sway him in our direction if he's really on the fence? From our position, there's really nothing, short of hoping that Madrid sign Neymar, and Eden not wanting to play second fiddle. I agree with the general sentiment that's out there, that the grass in Madrid may not be as green as it looks. But, if it's been his childhood dream, and it has a chance to happen, I can't blame him. I think he does love the club (Chelsea), and I'd hate to see fans turn on him if he wants to leave. He's got 1 life and 1 career and he has a rare opportunity to realize a childhood ambition. We've signed a lot of players away from other clubs, and it goes both ways. As much as no one wants to think of themselves as a "small" or "selling" club, when Madrid or Barca come calling everyone is a "selling club". Even Utd, at their peak, couldn't keep Ronaldo from Madrid. I also agree that he needs to stop talking about it. For the record: I think Hazard is gone. I love to see him in full flight. Maybe my favourite sight in football. I don't blame him for wanting to go to Madrid, if it's always been a dream for him. Especially when you consider that we're not challenging for the CL anymore. I also think that he wants Madrid more than they want him. Personally, I think Neymar makes more sense for them and I think they want him more. But, that's really neither here nor there. But, we're still Chelsea, we were before he came. And when he came, he wasn't Eden Hazard yet. He had a lot of promise. I'd say that the most worrying thing about him leaving is trusting the board to get the right players in with the fees. We're not going to find a direct replacement. He's too good. Can the board get the right youngster in (do we have him with CHO)? It's not outside the real of possibility that the board replace him with someone who's "Drinkwater-esque". Which is the really frightening proposition.

I don't blame him for wanting to leave, at all. He joined us as we needed to start overhauling the squad, but we haven't really done enough or brought in the right quality.

I don't think so. I think he's gone. It's going to be even harder to convince him of our ambition (I think a lot of us need convincing as well) if we're transfer banned. At this point, there's not much else the club can do and he still hasn't signed an extension.

Whenever I see Ajax play, I'm always impressed with Ziyech. I think he'd be a great AM in Sarri-ball.

Gotcha. Thanks for clearing that up. I had read that article as suggesting that he co-operated with the victim's family. But, I didn't get that it was an either/or type situation.

Yes. But the sentence was a joke. A fine + driving ban. In fairness, the reason it was a fine instead of prison was because of amounts that Alonso paid out to the family and that he never denied any of the charges. I suppose it's not for me to judge, there was a court in Spain which sorted the matter, so whether I think the punishment was fair is totally moot. https://www.larazon.es/deportes/futbol/el-futbolista-marcos-alonso-no-ira-a-prision-por-homicidio-imprudente-KK11829120#.Ttt1tSnQmoUrNS5

You're correct, murderer is not accurate. He wasn't violent, he was careless. He was charged with "negligent homicide". Still not okay, obviously.

We already have a 3rd striker. We paid around 70M for him. Between that and 30 for Bats, plus Tammy on loan, Giroud on the bench and a proper 1st team striker (that has) to come in. Where does Callum Wilson fit?

Okay. Get him playing up front so CHO can get on the bench. If CHO were playing at Dortmund or Lyon, he'd be a rumoured target as a replacement. Get him playing and get him a new deal.

What ever happened with us getting a DoF. Has it just gone dead? Can we get Emanalo to cover for Marina when she goes on her annual holiday at the start of the transfer window?

Destined to face Napoli at some point.

I've been thinking the same thing. Thanks for making the post.

Article on Pulisic and Sancho https://statsbomb.com/2018/12/christian-pulisic-is-very-good-its-just-that-jadon-sancho-is-amazing/ If Sancho is playing above Pulisic, we should be either going after him, or giving way more time to CHO (or both).

They get a lot of stick. I'm critical of them as well (more so Willian than Luiz) but that pass from Luiz and the run from Willian make this happen https://cdn-b-east.streamable.com/video/mp4/9xgp8.mp4?token=Q5CaKbXPEpipD2OB8TD-AA&expires=1544376553

I'd say that 8 or 9 of our best XI are the same all the time (I don't know about Emerson against actualy quality as we haven't seen it yet), Depending on the opponent, the others can change. Having our best 2 defensive midfielders (Kante and Kovacic) was essential today, IMO.

Well, the best team has to be made up of our squad, no? That's our best XI + bench, depending on the opponent. I like Kovacic in matches like today, but I think that RLC or Barkley are better against teams that are going to be sitting deep.

I still think Hazard as the F9, he doesn't do enough defending off the ball, which is okay up there. Willian didn't have a great match (he was perfectly fine though) offensively, but he was back helping out defensively. City tried to play down our left, but Kovacic and Willian wouldn't let them outnumber and pick on Alonso. When Alonso would step up, there was Kovacic going back in to the vacated space, and Willian in to stop the balls in to the CM. I haven't seen Hazard do much of that, yet. And Pedro...well, he just does his thing out there which is be in the right place and use his head. Hopefully, the loss against Wolves will be like Conte's loss to Arsenal. What was needed to shake things up. Willian - Hazard - Pedro Kovacic/Barkley/RLC - Jorginho - Kante/Kovacic Alonso/Emerson - Luiz - Rudiger - Azpi Kepa Bench: Zapp - AC - Fabs - RLC/Barkley - CHO - Giroud I think that's our best team.