Reddish-Blue

Forget the manager, the players need to step up as well. If the players actually cared, they would have done everything possible to save face with the fans and at least fight back against Southampton, but no, it was another pathetic performance and we allowed one of the worst defenses in the league walk away with 3 points. This game against Spurs is a massive test for every single player in the squad, if we lose to them, that may be it for this group of players.

They were dominant domestically but in Europe, they were effectively average, kept getting knocked out at the round of 16 stage before Mourinho came along and got that older team to click on the big stage. Mourinho may not be a long term manager anywhere but he builds a winning mentality in the playing group and generally, gets them over the line on the big occasion. It's just a shame that his stint at Real Madrid and the Spanish media made him super bitter about everything as the Mourinho at Chelsea (first time) and Inter Milan was amazing to watch.

Of course he would be bitter, went from playing alongside Kante/Kovacic who helped cover his defensive issues and lack of mobility...to playing alongside whichever midfielder was fit this season under Potter. Gets to go to Arsenal who already have a solid midfield setup and he's not under that much pressure anymore.

Feels like the plan is confusing as the young midfielders we are investing in...may be more suited to a 3 man midfield. Chuks, Santos, Casadei seem to be the type of players who would thrive in a 3 man midfield (with the experience of Kante/Kova and the passing ability of Enzo). Even Mount may get his confidence back in a 3 man midfield (if the club feels he is the one to build around).

I just hope it's not another game of doing well, not being able to finish in front of goal and then Kane/Son come up with a touch of class to get the 1-0 win.... Would love to see someone like Felix just take over a game, bang in a goal and prove his worth.

Probably has something to do with the players available... Conte tried to play a back 4 and quickly realised that Alonso has zero defensive ability. The last time I remember Chelsea playing a back 4 properly was with Mourinho. A back 4 is much easier to play when you have midfielders like Makelele, Essien, even Obi Mikel being the shield in front of the defense. When you go away from that and try to use players like Jorginho/Kovacic in that sort of role, teams know they can counter at will and get away with it as there is no one there to step in and put in the tackle or make the break of play foul.

The saddest part is, he's still the best striker we have on our books 😆

Lyon rejected the deal though, they only allowed the sale of Gusto based on the fact that he would stay at Lyon until end of the season. As for the Nkunku deal, apparently there is an agreement in place but we won't know the full detail until the next transfer window.....it's not like we're loaning back to Leipzig, he hasn't actually left Leipzig yet.

Attracting talent is not a problem when you're overspending on players and there is no competition from other clubs. e.g. we signed Cucurella for an extra 20 million because City pulled out of the deal at 35 million. We signed Koulibaly for 30+ million and that was because no other club wanted to offer him a 4 year deal. Even Enzo's deal only happened because no other club wanted to meet Benfica's valuation of 120 million, they were more keen on waiting till end of the season before trying to negotiate a better transfer fee with Benfica. Won't be that simple with players like Victor as he'll have plenty of options to choose from.

If he wants the best wages, he'll likely re-sign with Chelsea as I highly doubt any other club will give him 200k a week based on his rubbish form. As for Potter being in charge, there's no guarantee that the next manager would want Mount as a guaranteed starter...as he's not suited to a 2 man midfield and there are better players out there if we go forward with a more attacking midfielder behind the front line. Is there really anyone of that level currently in the academy? You would think the top prospects from the academy would follow a similar path to Broja/Colwill (i.e. go on loan to the Championship/Premier League/decent european league for at least 1 season). I think it was pretty clear that players would be sold off in the next few transfer windows. Jorginho was just the start. Better to get some transfer fees for players exiting than watching your best defender leave on a free to Madrid and your other class defender refusing to sign a contract and leaving for Barcelona.

There's no way we can compete with United as they'll have UCL football and a stable manager in charge...where as we'll have Moyes 2.0 in charge at Chelsea.

Conte must be licking his lips at the thought of giving us a proper beating. I just hope the players show some fight and bring back that hate we had towards Tottenham.

It's a shame that Reece has picked up so many injuries but when he's fit and running that flank, you can't deny that he's a game changer on the flank. Can't say the same about Mount, doesn't have that influence on games, tends to drift out of games. I agree, I value players that turn up at the most important time...and it's a shame to say that Mount isn't turning up when the club need him the most (through his current Potter crisis). I remember when the rest of the players quit trying a few years back and Willian was the one that stood up and had that run of games where he was a difference maker.

That's the problem though, we keep making up excuses for these players when in reality, he's just an average midfielder who was good for a season and a bit. I doubt there is any player out there who has gone through their career without personal issues or even contract issues but a class player will still be motivated enough to prove a point every now and then. Like you're at home, the fans give you a banner to show support and you put in a performance that belongs in the lower levels of the Championship. If Mount really is as good as people are saying, he needs to put in a top class performance every now and then and show the new owners why he deserves the same type of money as Reece.

Should have buried that 1 on 1 chance he had in the game, even the commentator was shocked saying that Nkunku normally doesn't miss those, but we'll give him the benefit of the doubt on this occasion.

Bit harsh on DDF, the kid hasn't even had a chance to develop on loan. As for Mudryk, I still don't get why we signed him. Could have spent that money on a midfield partner for Enzo in the next transfer window.

That's not a positive because he's unable to get the results to prove that he made the right decisions. By losing to Southampton without Havertz, Cucurella and co in the side, he'll just revert back to playing them again in the hope that we somehow win the next game... The biggest issue I have with Potter is that he has zero personality and no fighting spirit. That was a pathetic performance today, there is no way you allow the worst team in the league come to your home and walk away with 3 points.

The difference between Willian and Mount is that Willian had the consistency in that role, he even played as a RB at times when Ivanovic would bomb forward like a headless chicken on the wing. Consistent work rate is the reason why Willian is still putting in a shift for Fulham in the Premier League..at the age of 34. Bringing up examples of what Mount could be for the opposition in a CL final is sort of pointless as there is every chance he doesn't even make it off the bench for City. I think the problem for alot of fans is that they just can't accept that Mount is not elite. He is a homegrown squad player and thats how he should be looked at....same case for Gallagher (a young homegrown squad player). Put it this way, if the club does end up giving him the reported 300k wages, then the club have accepted that we will be at best, a top 4 side for the foreseeable future.

Playing style doesn't mean anything if the manager is unable to get the message across to the majority of the players. And right now, it's quite clear that Potter is well out of his depth in getting the best out of these players.

He's not starting for any of the top 4 PL sides. De Bruyne, Odegaard, Bruno....and we have Mount....look at the drop off in quality. Mount's problem isn't the contract, it is the fact that he is not elite at anything in particular. Every other elite midfielder has something about them, whether its the ability to play the killer pass, the ability to score from anywhere around the box, set piece specialists, ability to dribble past your man and get into open space...Mount doesn't tick any of those boxes.

Take into consideration that Southampton sacked their manager...and our form has been pathetic for weeks, this has a 1-1 draw written all over it. Hopefully our players actually turn up for once and show that they are capable of scoring 2 goals in a game.

The only one that comes to mind is Pochettino at Spurs (came from Southampton) if that counts.

I honestly don't recall a manager (in recent history) who has gone from mid-table to leading a top 4 side. Maybe Pochettino at Spurs (got them to a UCL final)... Ten Hag, Conte, Tuchel, Klopp, Pep were all elite before joining the Premier League. Even Mourinho had that killer mentality in him from his FC Porto days, you could see the next step was there. Potter hasn't proven anything. It's quite funny that Brighton are playing so well without Potter, makes you wonder just how average of a manager he is....as teams tend to struggle when a top class manager leaves the club but in Brighton's case, it's like as soon as Potter left, all the players have freedom to express themselves on the pitch and they are beating PL teams for fun.

Difference is... Felix has potential to improve in the right tactical setup. Bit of a difference from Havertz who has just looked bang average at Chelsea. Even Werner had more about his game than Havertz, probably the reason why Leipzig agreed to take him back

Pulisic playing with a manager like Simeone? I highly doubt that. We're better off asking Eddie Howe for a favor, he seems to like his wingers (Fraser at Bournemouth, Gordon at Newcastle etc)