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Good - we don’t want him sacked!

This is the issue that needs addressing, we can all see that we're not the same team as last season. The pros vs the cons of Lukaku signing had to have been weighed up by Tuchel, his coaches and the board. There must be a solution otherwise this looks like poor planning. Plain and simple we needed to score more goals and brought in an elite striker, yet we don't play to his strengths whilst also recently playing in a way that highlights his limitations. Rom should be fit enough to press much more aggressively but, the fact remains that he looks so much better at the point of a front 3 than in a duo in which he has less passing options. I think 352 is more of an issue than a solution whether I'm right or Tuchel sees this is another debate entirely. Our pressing game looks so much worse in 352 than 343 I also don't see why we would even need to change to 352 since 343 actually offers more midfield overload and passing options it just seems like a less obsolete system for this team when maximising output. If you're playing 352 with this squad then it needs to be 3412 with the AM popping up in the hole with the sole responsibility to thread the attack and defense together rather than having 2 8s in a 352 who can't shoot or assist. Either way though you lose a body when playing out, because even when Timo drops deep in a 352 it again leaves Lukau isolated. Lukaku needs at least two players he can knock the ball off to who will run in behind and allow him time to get into the box. If you add in the wingbacks in a 3421 then he should have 4 options whereas in a 352 its more like 3 consistent options and occasionally a overlapping midfielder.

Seems odd to talk about Rom needing a rest then playing him tonight

Mock-Dutch

My finely honed powers of observation tell me the Malmö players are not happy.

Play Alonso up top

I personally want Manu to win just enough Ole keeps his job. I dread the day they sack him and someone like Conte takes over. Peno btw. Nice one Luk.

I'll take him back in a heartbeat at 30 years old he still has 5 years left, regardless of the logistics something will have to give. Madrid cannot afford for him to sit on the bench but, I don't see how he gets into the team when Mbappe joins especially if Vincius keeps up his current form. Either we sign him on loan next summer or enquire about his availability in January. Personally I don't think he fits the current style of Tuchel but, ironically that could be why we could use him. In theory the only player that would render this system useless were he to play alongside Eden is the player he has he most chemistry with Lukaku. The issue is neither would press effectively, yet were we to play one at time I could see Eden working in a free role alongside two hard workers like Timo/Mason/Kai etc. Either way Rom needs to pick up his pressing game anyway. The reason our attack is struggling is because unlike most world class teams it's not build around one, two or three world class players. Even spending all that money on Rom we don't play to his strengths. At least if Eden came in we would be forced when he does play to at least let him play his game. Some things are better left in the past but, I can't see how with our current lack of creativity right now Eden wouldn't at least offer something, I also wouldn't expect him to play every game. As much as I love the attackers we have now, I can see at least 1 or 2 leaving in the summer to pursue more game time so we will need to replace them either way. Ask yourselves if Eden does leave Madrid would you really want to see him go anywhere other than home? Edit: I wouldn't specifically push for this transfer but, what I'm saying is if he is available can anyone really say no. We're also talking about at a much lower price than we sold for. Just remember the good times

Silky silky silky

Frank didn't see use for Jorginho or Rudiger who both are basically two top 10 players in the world right now.

Ole probably said if you don't win this you will have to work with Conte and you boys better start preparing to work a lot harder

I SAID I DIDN'T WANT THAT TO HAPPEN!

Thank god we have a 4-0 lead here comes Saul

King Kai

just seen the Christensen goal - just the fact that he was looking to be in the box there, and took the risk to try and score is such a change from a couple of seasons ago.

We have a proud tradition of successful Academy players with hyphenated names!

Let it be noted that I was there when Christensen scored.

Rowdiest I’ve heard a home crowd in a while must be trying to impress the Swedish birds

that should be a yellow.

DANISH MALDINIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

Look at my reply above. a commonly misdiagnosed injury. If you don't know what it is, it's probably not as "high" on the ankle as you'd think. From my experience coaching, its the probability of reinjuring this thing that is so problematic. You can do almost anything with your high ankle sprain past a certain point after the swelling etc. Casually shoot jumpers, go for a run, even hike in the mountains. Almost anything is OK, EXCEPT playing sports with intensity. High ankle sprains are usually caused by sudden movements: twists, cuts, turns while running. It almost never happens to people who are not engaged in this type of activity. So after the initial pain, swelling, etc. that is the same type of feeling as a lower ankle sprain which is why it's commonly misdiagnosed, it is still susceptible to reinjury until completely healed. A lower sprain can often be taped/braced, even early on in the healing process, but the high sprain is just extremely sensitive to reinjury until completely healed. Look CP is obviously prone to injury, and maybe he's a puzzy or faking it or something. But his last two major injuries are just historically bad injuries that are prone to reinjury more than other injuries and the best course of action is usually to rest them completely until completely healed. The oblique injury is also a killer for athletes and in ways has similar problems than a high sprain: long recovery time, hypersensitivity to reinjury, not usually treatable by physical therapy. I am not a medical person, but I have spent a life time dealing with kids' injuries and suffered a severe high sprain myself in my late 20s playing soccer. Down for about 10 weeks and I was always a quick healer. I gained about 20lbs BTW. So bottom line CP could be a puzzy, but the last two injuries if he truly had them I guess for you conspiracists out there, shouldn't surprise with the length of recovery. They need to heal completely.

Yes and no, it's not enough to make definitive judgements but it's certainly enough sample size to spot trends. One big worry is the fact I read the other day we're 19th in successful high pressures and it's showing with how easily we're played through compared to last season. Assuming Lukaku isn't losing his place anytime soon we either need to insist Rom starts doing his bit with pressing or have to counter it by having Mount and Werner doing even more work than usual to counter it. I mean I don't like the sound of the latter as that type of work rate exception should only ever be reserved for Hazard level players and above but medium term somethings got to give.

A horrible nothing football club with entitled fans and a penchant for playing terrible football. I want them relegated, the championship suits them well I think. Conte or Howe will end up there in all likelihood.

Match day.....COME ON YOU BLUES !

Be more inclined to give Barkley a run instead of Kova. Kova’s played a lot of footie recently. Barkley and RLC here, or Barkley and Jorginho and the kova and the other on Saturday. as for Kante he could sit out another week. on what I’ve seen so far three across the middle doesn’t suit us. don’t think I’ve picked a Tuchel 11 correctly yet. Mendy James Trev Silva Rudigier alonso Rlc Ross cho havertz mount But we will probably see Jorginho and Kante and one of Werner and Romelu.

Match Day ! Come On Chelsea !!

The missus was cleaning the kitchen wall units this morning and she accidentally knocked one of the wine glasses off the top shelf. Mendy came flying out of the front room where he had been reading the Sunday Sport with his keeper gloves on, dived across the kitchen floor and caught the wine glass with his out-stretched left hand. The missus was so grateful. It was one of her best lead-cristal Tulip wine glasses. I'd have never have heard the last of it if it wasn't for Mendy.

As it stands: Atletico Madrid, Dortmund, Real Madrid, Atalanta, Sevilla and Benfica are the teams we could face if we top the group. PSG, Ajax, Sheriff, RB Salzburg or Bayern if we finish 2nd.

yeah as long as Ole stays we won't have to worry about them

United winning, great news in my opinion.

Sure, why not, all my predictions are off anyway

Saulgoal anyone?

Happy with the performance, frustrated with the injuries.

Some nimble footwork from Christensen

Lukaku looks in trouble though. Don't see him continuing after that, his ankle twisted awkwardly.

In a moment of complete madness, I predicted Werner as our first goalscorer

Good post …till you used the S word.

The anniversary of this gig was a few days ago - popped up on my old man’s Facebook because obviously he was there! I only get invited to the cheap tribute bands…

Gallagher and Mount as the two behind Lukaku. They'd bring so much energy and pressing that it wouldn't matter what Lukaku does in the press LOL.

Man U 85/86. Spain 87 I think the year was when the coach crashed with several Chelsea fans on board a couple of who are no longer with us including the guy who was the most badly hurt in the crash.

Come on you blues! European nights and all that!

Now go and have a thorough wash with some Dettol.............................!!

Your owners could never. One day in charge and already saving lives. 🙂 Btw seeing the United self-destruction over the last 48 hours, I wonder whether Pep should take full credit and say he never wanted Ronaldo. Ronaldo is almost 37 years old, self-centered player and can´t press to safe his life. He never made any sense whatsoever at Manchester City, but the move to United has un-done three years of United re-building. Even if Ole is not good enough of a manager, his idea/heart was in the right place. Don´t buy old washed-up names, build a cohesive squad that can actually match the workrate and legs of City, Liverpool and Chelsea. I bet Rashford, Greenwood and Sancho were super-excited to play with each other and Bruno was the clear alpha behind. Ronaldo destroyed the whole team chemistry in one move.

Haaland was never realistic, the wages would have absolutely destroyed our structure. I felt we were onto something really good with Kai as false 9 but we'll never know now.

All good points here. With the way we are playing he just seems to me to be the wrong striker for us. He would do very well for City but a lot more work is expected from our forwards and he just does not offer that

I think he's a comfortable 8-9 out of 10. So assured when the ball is passed back to him, excellent positionally and as a shot stopper. Just doesn't seem prone to lapses in concentration like Ederson for example. He really commands confidence.

Oh my god. Oh my god. Oh my god. We did it. We f**king DID IT!!! I'm shaking!!!