Stats

Although Pogba has not been brilliant this season, you can see on top of his game, why we could do with someone like him. It is why I call Dembele the best CM in the league. We need in the long run to have a CM who can control the game, dictate tempo, shield the ball from other players. Kante is brilliant but he still has his limitations. I mean the sky sports commentators like to applaud him for every little thing he does, (not being harsh here) but he was not that good imo. He made some good tackles but was also at fault for the second goal and while he made the most passes in our team did not manage to get control of the game. That being said he was our best player but we need a Pogba/ Dembele type of player next to him. Dembele is the reason Spurs tick and keep clean sheets while scoring buckloads too. He protects the ball while laying off passes for the more potent attacking trio. Next week will show, how important he is. They will dominate the game because of him. Feel so sorry for Batshuayi. He must be tearing his hair out seeing how poor Costa is yet he can't get a minute. What a kick in the face and what pisses me off is you will get fans who say he is not good enough when he can't string more than 1 start. I would prefer to see him given a run in the team than Costa at the moment, as unlikely as it is.

Truly shocking right now. He ruins every move. He has become so lazy as well. Any physical duel he loses, rather than chase the ball down, he throws his arms in the air and complains to the ref. Such a cop out. He lost nearly every single duel today. Conte should have taken him off and brought on Batshuayi. How can you play so shit and be allowed to stay on. Then you people who question Lukaku's decision for leaving rather "than fight for his place". Costa deserves to lose his place based on his performances but he still gets in the team and this is why he probably is not buckling up and improving because he knows he will play. I can guarantee he starts against Spurs too. The whole team were poor today, but he was poor on another level. Hazard must get so frustrated in these lase couple months, virtually carrying the team on his own sometimes only to see Costa ruin the move.

At least it is only illness with Alonso and not injury and our medical team were well aware about this from morning that it might be a stretch for him so you would think we would have been prepared for this which is comforting.

This is why having Ake in the squad is a must. Terry and Zouma both play same positions and are not versatile. Ake can play CB/DM/LWB yet we stupidly leave him out. Just leave one of Terry or Zouma out. I know Terry is a legend but with Zouma on bench and the preferred choice after Terry, Conte should just leave Terry out, really because we could have done with Ake.

This stat is amazing when you consider the fact how rated Dembele is now and how he is being linked with a move to a major team. Abraham already scored more goals in the same league at the same age and if he carries on he can be top class. Hopefully with us.

They will rotate players because Jose does not know his best team anyway. But the key players like Pogba, Ibra, DDG I assume will play. They still have a great chance of reaching top 4.

He is a very good defender. Don't judge a player by the team he plays for unless you have actually watched the player. Yeah, it is good to be linked with big names but as already proved with likes of Alonso and Moses, you don't need household names to be a good team.

One thing I give to Costa is no matter how bad he is, he always manages to draw us free kicks in dangerous positions. Think he is the most fouled player in the PL which is amazing really. Expect that of Hazard. But Costa when I last saw is first. But let's not get away from the point, the team has been carrying him recently.

Well I guess we see two different things. I find him composed all the time and never chooses the easy option, he uses the ball well to find a player and if necessary kicks it out. When AVB signed him, this was a particular set of skills that he picked out about Cahill that suits his style of football because he described him a very good, ball playing defender. That is also a big reason why I think Conte persists with all three defenders at CB as they all have the ability to used the ball effectively. He don't have the passing skills of Luiz or possession skills but imo he is very comfortable on the ball.

Batshuayi must be thinking what else can he do to prove himself when our starting striker is continuously below par and could not even get any game time today.

Abraham is totally different. He has the size which managers will be prepared to take a risk on. I always felt Bamford's level was there and not a higher ceiling. With Abraham, a much higher ceiling and plus is like 4 years younger.

Such an underrated player. A real unsung hero. He has his critics but I am a real big fan of his. Utilizes his strengths well and despite not being the fastest, he manages to get forward so much times because he like typical Spaniards, is very smart in their play. Good defender too. 5 goals for the season. Brilliant for a LWB in his first season

WOW. Brilliant composure from Hazard and what a pass from Kante. Glad to see the quality of his long range passing improving over recent matches. I want Hazard to reach 20 goals this season. I know he can do it!

Fabregas got like a hattrick of asissts in this fixture last season. Shame to see him back on bench.

How is his possession keeping skills poor? He is one of our better players with the ball and one of the more accomplished defenders in the PL at using the ball. He lost possession against Arsenal cheaply but apart from that most times you watch him, he uses the ball really well and is very calm in possession.

LOL, they really are not. This is where they have been struggling the most this season and seem to be finding it very difficult to adjust to after moving from Upton Park. The fans just don't have that connection yet.

But unsurprisingly because it is Cahill, not much said. Now if it was the other way round and he was poor, this thread prob would be on page 155 talking about how bad a defender he is. A real unsung hero of this team.

Hazard is defo the POTY for me, regardless of whether Kante wins it. I think a lot of the media understandably are amazed by Kante's rise and link to helping two PL teams win the PL but Hazard has been the key player in winning games. The amount of games where he has produced MOTM performances, let me name. City, Home and Away, Arsenal at home, United at home, Bournemouth at home, Swansea at home, Leicester at home, West Ham home and away, Everton at home, Southampton away, Burnley at home. No exaggeration to say he had at least 9/10 or 10/10 performances those games. Kante been brilliant but don't think he has been standout over some of our other players such as Hazard, Costa (although he has been poor recently) and even Luiz as a whole for the season.

As bad as he was, he won us numerous amount of free kicks which allowed our players to retreat and get back into position. That was a key part. Was fouled numerous amount of times and was clever in that aspect. However still needs to improve big time.

1-0 Swansea! Get in!!!!!!

He was mixed yesterday. He went out wide couple times and beat Rojo with complete ease and just was unlucky with final outcome. He caused them problems with his power and pace. Lukaku defo is not just a poacher. Just look at some of his goals this season.

Such an overreaction.

Well all the speculation points to him wanting to stay in London. I think he would love to win the PL and hopefully he sees that with us. Also Arsenal fans are the least any player has to worry about mate. There fans are fearless

Fair enough. It is a shame. One of the most talented players I have seen in out youth teams. The ability is there. Maybe it is a confidence thing. He needs to have the belief because he has so much quality to his game when on form. Pace, dribbling, balance, vision and just such an exciting player. I want to see him play for a better team but like the likes of Abraham, he needs to prove he can do it with poorer teams for a better team to take a chance on him.

Boga needs to be playing in a better team. Granada are really poor. Put him a good team and we would see more of him. It was like Brown at Rotherham. He struggled there because he was in a poor team but as soon as he goes to Huddersfield and playing with much more quality players, you see how useful he is. Boga should be at a better team because he is so talented.