Sideshow Luiz

Let's go!!!!

That doesn't mean that much. It just shows that even in a terrible season, we still have it over Arsenal. Those games ultimately didn't mean anything. This one does.

Need this win. Got to have at least 1 positive from this season.

They should just give it to Iazzard. Joke season = joke award.

I think he's off this summer. I'm okay with it, depending on the fee of course. He's not irreplaceable and he's not as important for us as De Gea is for Utd. I see Forster's name being thrown around, but I'd rather go for Butland if we were to go the English route. I'd like Lloris but that's a pipe dream. Ter Stegen would be a possible option for us, I think.

That last one isn't going to happen, I'm afraid.

I agree. Before they were RM rejects, they were highly sought after. They are only RM rejects because that's what RM do; they fall in love with someone else and you can only have XI on the pitch. Sneijder left Madrid and won the CL at Inter, then went to the WC finals. Robben has had a fantastic career at Bayern. These are just two more examples. A lot of these players are pretty good deals (in terms of transfer fees), of course they are on RM wages, so the fees have to be a bit lower.

I think he became obsessed with beating Pep and Barca and the Barca way. He became even more defensive and pragmatic. https://www.theblizzard.co.uk/articles/the-devils-party/

I said it more in jest. I suspect he'll use a 433 since that's what he wanted at Juve.

I haven't completely given up on Oscar. It's true, I don't think he's progressed much. But, I don't think he's a real no.10. I see him as more of a CM in a 433 type of system. Could possibly be a 10 in a 2 striker formation. Basically, I don't think he has the mentality for a second striker type role.

I was hoping for Bielsa too. Bielsa interim, to Sampaoli permanent. Here's a scary thought: Maybe that's exactly what has happened. And this is how we're going to play next year.

Not familiar with Murillo, but Koulibaly has been pretty beastly when I've seen him.

Yeah, I don't know why he hasn't changed anything. New formations, etc. More pitch time for some of the youngsters has been good, but I'd like to see a bit more. We're basically playing friendlies for the rest of the season anyway. Ask Conte what he'd like to see, and try it out.

I think everyone has posted their comments on Conte in the "Next Chelsea manager" thread, sometime over the last 2 months.

Shouldn't it be Blind to Chelsea then?

Yeah. I think most fans over-estimate their youth (remember when everyone was clamouring for Cork and Di Santo to get more minutes because they were going to be world class?). But, the reality is, that Bamford is probably a rotation player on a bottom team in the Premier League.

Bamford's not going to happen. His ceiling is lower than Borini's IMO. Hope he turns it around, but I'm not expecting anything.

He's fantastic when fit. He only plays half a season though.

From everything I've read about Conte, it seems that he picks the formation depending on the talent at his disposal. Not, the other way around. Also, he fell out with the board because he wanted some wingers, but they wouldn't back him in the market. He wanted to use a 433. Don't remember where I read that. You can correct me if I'm wrong.

I was actually in favour of this move back when it happened. I thought it was low risk/med-high reward. Still kind of is, I suppose. I'm beginning to think now, that this was an "agent" deal. Big deal to take Ramires to China. Pato and Miazga in. Link = Kia Joorabchian

I thought he was good. Not great, but I thought he was good. Costa, on the other hand, was the best player on the pitch.

I love Zlatan's brand of arrogance. However, I can't see him willing to be out of the CL. I see him at Utd or Bayern. He hasn't played in England or Germany, I think he'll be in one of those leagues next. He's still too good for MLS

He's looking decent tonight in the first half against AM

I think he did do phenomenal work and got them playing above their level. It was above the level of the team before he got here, so why wouldn't that be true? (I do agree with the I think he does burn a squad out though. He likes a settled XI with very little rotation, but more importantly, I think he burns them out mentally. Jose has a huge chip on his shoulder, all the time. He gets the siege mentality going and looks for slights to keep the fire burning. I just think that the players can maintain that too. They won the league and couldn't get that same intensity going. He's been obsessed with Pep and beating Pep since being turned down for the Barca job. His play became even more defensive and anti-Barca. He's still obsessed with it. I just don't think that most players can keep a grudge for as long as he does.

Can't agree with this. He made a commitment to Italy, and to abandon them right before the tournament would be disgraceful IMO. There's a reason why international managers manager's contracts usually end after major tournaments. It's the culmination of 2 years hard work. I don't think City fans expected Pep to quit Bayern right before the knock-out stages of the CL started.