Leif

Yeah. He's the only player we have who can come on and change the game. And that is shocking for league winners. I don't think once this season we had a noticeable positive impact by bringing on Willian/Chalobah/Zouma. Our central midfield options & lack of wingers is shocking, shocking, shocking. I think only the 4-2-3-1 has a higher need for plentiful wingers/midfielders. We need a BIG summer, and we've only had one, IMO, since before 2010 (and that would be when we brought in Costa, Fabregas, Luis & Drogba.) Otherwise, It's always 1 really good player followed by shocking ones. Like getting Hazard but then also getting Marko Marin , Oscar, and useless subs we've already seen the back of. Or the shamobolic summer, IMO, where our biggest signings were Willian & Schurrle, followed by Atsu, Van Ginkel, and Eto'o. That just screams 'Tottenham's most frugle summer yet!'. Look at 2015's 'in' players - Pedro, Marco Amelia, Michael Hector, Papy, Baba Rahman, Kenedy, Nathan, Danilo Pantic. So we signed 1 player we'd go on to give more than 4 appearances to. How fucking shambolic. And this last summer? Our big players were Luiz & Kante. Good. That's solid. That's the minimum. .........Followed by Eduardo, Michy, 3 youth players, who've made a combined, what, 2 and a half starts for us? Why is it that 80% of the players we've bought in the last 10 years, haven't played 10 games? Not the manager. Not the players. This is all the terrible planning of the terrible board who get terrible praise whenever they do the basics right. The lack of foresight was seen by all of us in the summer when they failed to get a single Conte target other than Alonso You can bet it's not even crossed one single mind in the boardroom how we're going to replace Fabregas when needed. But do you think the boards at City, Barcelona, Munich, Juve, don't think how they're going to replace their players, even 4 years in advance? They do. We don't. Chelsea have become reactive in times where everyone else has become proactive.

20 goals this season having barely been given a start or a fighting chance. Costa-level figures, in a year where Costa starts every single game. & it's not like Villarreal, Seville, Sociedad, Celta Vigo etc. are easier to score against than Everton, Southampton, etc. This wouldn't be an upgrade nor a downgrade but a sidestep IMO. A sidestep into getting similar results to this season, but with half the frustration. What is certain is that we could bring in Messi for all we care, but we won't suddenly compete for both the league and the CL. We need more DEPTH and we need more quality ELSEwhere. Costa is half the problem that our other, weaker players are. At least he can go on a run of 5-10 games just bullying opponents. But usual suspects in our team can't string together 3 games. Our striker is an issue, but not the issue. We could still win everything there is to win with Costa.

Well, yes, because I'd love Costa to be gone. He's an idiot too. Both could be Tottenham's greatest modern day striker, I'm not saying they're Leeds United level. But neither could be that greatest modern striker for any league-winning team in Europe. Our past players have set a bar, and players simply have to match it or best it. Otherwise, you go backwards as a team. Lukaku shoots us back into shaky AVB days. I'd sooner bring back the Eto'o / Ba combo, because at least there's no chance of fans being letdown.

Lukaku's pretty much Everton's most prolific ever player Yet the majority of their supporters, at least the ones online, are saying only one thing (other than how cold-hot-cold and annoying he is) - not how much of a legend he is (nothing mentioned like that), not about the future, not about the now - they're all just eager to see how much money they can get for him. They'd rather get one big chunk of change for him than have him bang in 20 a season for another 10 years. Yeah, top striker that In a similar vein, plenty of Juve fans want to see the back of Hig. He's good, sure, but goals aren't everything, and they know that the moment they dry up, they have a nothing player. Scoring goals as a striker is the minimum. So bravo to Lukaku for doing the most basic job he's supposed to do. That doesn't make him an attractive proposition to me though lol. It's like wanting to buy a goalkeeper because he jumps up high at corners. So should all of them , and that 1 trait is barely going to define that player as worthy. Other than score goals, what does Lukaku do? .... Stand there and use a lot of hand gestures; Sometimes pushes someone over with his shoulders. Other than score goals, what does Morata do? .... Brings others into play; Dribbles like an above-average winger; Assists as much as any other forward in the team. Neither go down easily, but only one of them loses the ball 50% of the time they're running with it. How many times has Lukaku straight up disrespected the club he played for? Every single permanent club he's played for. Morata? Not once. For all his talk, it's not like Lukaku's making more waves than Morata. Morata does everything properly, quietly. Lukaku does 9/10 things poorly and that includes handling himself as a growing man. It's almost too easy to see him and Balotelli becoming kindred spirits. Also - Everton finished 6th the season before they signed Lukaku. They were a unit, an improving one at that. The moment they got Lukaku, goals came, chemistry went right out the window, and they've struggled to keep up any sort of building or improving since his arrival. Finishing position this season? 7th. Last season? 11th. That's with the teams around them being weaker this time round, too. A team sacrifices too much to try and compensate Lukaku's bad traits. Everton went from being a team, to relying on this 1 man, since that's what the 1 man needs, the entire team to play for him. Otherwise, there's no point in even having him. That's what we wouldn't do at Chelsea, and that's why he couldn't get a goal. It's what Everton are doing, hence him having a high amount of goals, and them likely going into shambles as soon as he leaves. Nothing to do with his supposed quality.

If you're a teenager And you play for one of the best clubs in the world And leave due to not enough game time You are both arrogant & acting entitled. He may have all the belief in the world, but he proved - nothing - positive with us, and yet continued to speak out against our club, its policy, our coach, even after we'd moved on and he clearly hadn't. How could you ever want that sort of energy here? That contrived, 'say what makes people support me, but not speak my true mind' energy? Morata's real. He states when asked that he'd like a lot more game time, and yet even if that request isn't fulfilled, he doesn't badmouth anyone. He doesn't shimmy his way out of the club. He's loyal, like Lukaku could've been, and clearly isn't. Watch him abandon Everton who've let him make a real name for himself, right after he abandoned the club which brought him over in the first place and gave him a chance. Imagine believing Chelsea was truly the club he supported, and that as a teenager, he'd have the head on his shoulders to think 'Ok, I'm going to leave this club to prove myself and come back.' Nah. He stopped supporting us the moment he realised he wasn't getting games for us. He doesn't even post on social media about our successes, our potential league win, etc, when every other ex-player of a club from Arsenal players to United, Madrid, Juve, all get online and share joy for their ex-clubs, even if they're now with a rival. We even had posts from Mata while at United, Ramires once he'd moved, Mikel, Essien, loads of players, because they actually give a shit about the club, which this cretin doesn't. He supports Chelsea on the same level that I've a casual interest in Roma, and hope they win but don't really give a shit when they lose. Not an adult, not a leader, and he'll never be the player to elevate an already top team. Top teams already have everything he offers. Top teams and coaches value mentality. He brings no positive mentality other than cockiness, which isn't confidence, or he would've remained silent about us since leaving, and silent about 'next season' etc. all the while with Everton. "When you look through rose coloured glasses, all the red flags just look like flags." Well, if the blue glasses came off, the alarming amount of red flags surrounding Lukaku would show. Finally, why are no other top teams interested? Lukaku's good enough for Tottenham, Liverpool & Arsenal, when he's at his best, which is only 60% of a season so far. Dortmund & Roma too. But he's nowhere near good enough for any Chelsea team since Roman; nowhere near good enough for any of the respectable United teams, Madrid teams, Barcelona teams. In fact, the latter 2 would burst a gut from laughing at the idea of having him.

Lukaku for whatever reason, seems to feel entitled. Entitled to be the leading striker, entitled to be in the team. Morata seems grateful. He seems less driven by a passion to solely succeed and prove himself, and simply wants to play football with his team. Lukaku doesn't act like he even enjoys the company of a single Everton teammate. Just shouts at the ones smaller than him or whoever's been at the club for less time, and ignores the guys with more experience. He's a god damn sociopath, and his act that charmed CFC supporters was so damn good.

No club in Italy seems to have as many romantic & gentlemenly supporters as Juve, and no league retains the charm Serie A does. You guys are so likeable, why do you have to be cursed with 12+ Serie B contenders Remember PSG, Gala, Napoli fans on here? & I've never read a post by a Barcelona or Real supporter that made me think they weren't a robot. Munich & Dortmund fans have no reason to go anywhere so we don't seem to see them even by accident, I guess because they've no reason to look abroad to other entertaining leagues, they have it all. Fucking Juve. Pretty much every Juve legend is suave as fuck too. A great Juventuz forum even has a blog full of authentic Italian recipes taken from wherever their team travel that week.

Away goals is a stoneage idea. Wish the game wasn't run by hasbeen's.

The following's just opinion. It could end up i'm talking out of my arse, don't pay too much attention.... You can't teach sensitivity or focus, and that's what creates concentration, at least in football. Your level of awareness isn't something you can cultivate really IMO. Maybe to 5% beyond what it was before, but you either grow up just really, really sharp, or you grow up like 95% of people, normal people, & never reach an impressive level of awareness; it's all depending on the nature of the early upbringing + genetics. It's like trying to teach a player to be taller once they're 23 Being a top footballer in the concentration department is all about feeling, about being intuitive, curious, recognising patterns. You either hear every sound and see every movement, or you don't. A lot of us do, and we didn't practice or learn to. Writing this, I think I've just diagnosed myself with aspergers, because that's what these traits usually fall under. Messi, the best of all time, has aspergers - and I think that's what the 'magic' is often made out of. You're born different, not made different. That's the difference between the top tier, and the second tier. And that's why being a special person, vs being a special person, use the exact same word in their phrases - they're the same thing, just to different degrees in different traits. Matic for example, is special, but a bit further back on the spectrum.

And when you're not REALLY making a significant upgrade, it's probably better for morale & chemistry reasons to just stay put with what you've got; Because the grass isn't greener, it's the exact same grass, and mowing yours away just to implant that other grass in its place won't breed a healthy garden.

Every game Fabinho started had me impressed. Every game Bakayoko started had me thinking 'Everton player', which is the go-to term now for any player almost good enough; For sure good enough to be a squad player, but can you picture this player being one of the best players on the pitch in a Champions League final vs. Madrid/Bayern/Barcelona/etc. given the context of our style of play? Or does it feel far more likely the player would vanish, have a solid season every year, but never wow against the best teams? Obviously I believe the latter. Completely different players, but no better than Ramires. I easily picture Fabinho growing into Essien-like dominance. Fabinho leads on the pitch. Last night, Bakayoko didn't show up, nor did he hide - he just accidentally vanished and didn't even know he wasn't performing well enough. Completely leagues apart in terms of mindset.

Or he goes back to Juve. He'd have no reason to move on to a rival of ours; he's won the league and made the bond with us. It'd be really cool for him to go back if he had to leave us. He isn't the PSG type, or Paris type, at all. Barcelona wouldn't go for him. But, Madrid won't have many options when Zidane's gone - who can we name right now? If i was their board and mulling over Zidane, the only managers out there I'd like the look of & trust would be Conte and.. i'm struggling to think of anyone else at all. He won't manage a Juve rival, and while he's romantic I doubt he'll manage a tiny team in Italy. Then the only other club on this tier to choose from really is Bayern. It'd be a sensible but lacklustre move. Regardless, he's got the greatest odds of any coach to last here up to 8 or so years imo.

I think Conte's next job will be with Madrid.

Forget that - him going to Inter? TO JUVENTUS'S RIVAL INTER? Is someone funneling crack smoke in here? The day I see Guardiola manage Real Madrid.

Fabinho looks like he's 50. If he looked like Pogba he'd be #1.

He reminds me of 9/Ronaldo more than Henry.

This is only our 5th PL title to United's 13 15 more years until we're officially the biggest in England. I'll still be young enough for things to feel fresh at least

The fact people even talk about the idea of whether or not we should extend Fab's contract etc. is mad. He'll never lose his passing ability, and he'll be useful all the way into his late 30's.

Oh wow look, it's Tottenham & Us

United won the EFL cup this season, vs. Southampton. But what is the EFL cup? Is that the league cup? I don't even recognise the cup they've won. If it is the league cup, pah. I've never seen a lesser trophy in Britain, in any sport. I don't think 1 top team in the PL takes it seriously; not even the mid-table teams. We'll be bringing home a real shiny league trophy & a real shiny FA Cup trophy. Real wins. Just picturing it; "Man United - League Cup & Europa League winners." It's hilarious. It's everything Stoke City & Everton have ever dreamed for. It's the difference between winning a Formula 1 race & winning at dodgems.

Unfortunately the quote in your sig is why Jose fails.

I'm glad to see Wigan being relegated from the Championship. They shouldn't have a football club, a rugby club's enough. Every turnout of theirs is shambolic & there's no history, style, respect or attractive qualities wrapped around them. Some clubs should just never be near the PL.

Man United had their worst first half to a season in most of our lifetimes. It's truly one of their worst ever seasons in the top flight. And yet win tonight, and there's just 1 point difference between United & City. It shows how shitty the latter have been, but we've barely heard anything about that. And barely anything about the incredible run, regardless of the fact many draws have been a part of it, United have been on in the league.

I'm happy, but, i still can't believe this title race went down to the wire, when for 85% of the season it was simply a 1-horse race with a far and beyond clear winner. Not many teams win back to back titles anymore, it's something to do with the new way of working among footballing boards from underfunding the following season to holding onto players too long due to gentleman agreements or whatever. So I'd hate for people to imagine this is anywhere close to good enough in terms of building our next long term phase of dominance. This seems more like the pre-cum, and I imagine we'll go a few more seasons without a title again - unless a lot of our players don't feature. The likes of Matic and Cahill will not cut it. Not against Liverpool, not against City, not against Madrid, Munich or Juve. No more of this average mentality next season.