Elliott

Ultimately, I think Sarri deserves another season. I can’t say I particularly warm to him. He’s obsessed by statistics, he doesn’t seem particularly personable, and tactically he seems stubborn and void of any creativity. Our play has been dreadful to watch at times and I’m not convinced that his man management is at the level of a Guardiola or Klopp. In his defence, he had no pre-season, is trying to embed a whole new style of play, had very little time working tactically with the squad due to the number of fixtures (I think we have played more games this season than anyone else in Europe’s top five leagues) and is working with quite severe squad limitations. Most of the squad are a mismatch of players bought via different managers over the past few years, and quality wise, is probably the poorest (barring a few) that I can remember of the post Abramovich era. Though accepting the generally poorer standard between 3rd to 6th this year, despite the above, we achieved 3rd place and champions league football – all whilst not having a player that scores 20+ goals a season!... Even if you dislike the guy, he deserves some credit for that. I’ve seen individual improvements in some players and collectively, though by no means perfect, there have been signs that his methods are beginning to settle in. Unless Roman has already decided to wield the axe (I can’t see why given the transfer ban), I say give him one more season to prove himself, or not, as the case may be.

100m euro move looks set to be announced after the Europa final. That transfer ban had better be frozen by CAS. I think we're looking at a tough season otherwise.

Interesting games played stats - they looked well off the pace.

Barring the first 25 mins, I thought it was one of our better away performances this season albeit Frankfurt looked absolutely knackered after 30 mins, which was bizarre. Have they played more games than us this season? Maybe they aren't used to playing with such intensity for long periods?... Whatever it is, it bodes well for the return leg. Thought Luiz had one of his more commanding, assured games and our midfield seemed to have a good balance with Jorginho, Kante, RLC, who all played well. Kante was immense, and in a lot of ways, is more invaluable than Hazard who was in 3rd gear during his cameo - perhaps saving himself for Sunday?... Giroud was largely frustrating, Pedro his more effective, energetic self, whilst Willian was quiet and I wouldn't be suprised if he was carrying a knock. He didn't look right at all. Frankfurt looked dangerous on the counter and will be a better team next week with Rebic available, but I'm struggling to believe they will go through. We seem to have a bit more quality and suprisingly, we look alot fitter than them.

This game is do or die. If we win, I think it will be enough for 4th as I don't think Arsenal will win all of their remaining games. Utd, of course, will be going into this with the same mindset, and they will want to bounce back, especially being at home. A scrappy 0-1 would suit me, but I'm not holding out much hope. Everyone knows that our defence is weak, especially from aerial balls. They'll be lobbing into our box at every opportunity. They also have the physical advantage. We have to start on the front foot and Sarri should pick Giroud coupled with Pedro and Hazard. We need to hold the ball up in their half and play off Giroud wherever possible. Expect 4-5-1 with Hazard up front....

More fumbling from week to week. Issues with the manager aside, we have to be honest and say that the large part of this squad is not good enough. Providing the ban is frozen (which I think it will be), we need a clear out in the summer (alongside Hazard, as it's obvious that he's going) along with getting rid of some of the sh*t out on loan like Bakayoko etc, so that we can pool our money and buy a few top drawer players. I'm talking 3-4 players that will really make a difference. After that, if there are any remaining gaps in the team, use the youth players to back up the squad. Alonso, Luiz, Drinkwater, Zappacosta, Higuain, Giroud, Kovacic, Emerson, Cahill should all be let go, as ultimately, they are not good enough for this club to step up a level.

Periods of domination in football moves in cycles. We've achieved alot of success in the last 15 years and at the moment, everything seems to be a bit of a mess. We're fumbling through from week to week, season to season. Liverpool are enjoying their peak (although whether they actually win anything is another matter) and are clearly better equiped to win football matches right now than what we are. I really didn't understand all the hype spouted by the media prior to the match giving it the big build up, especially official chelsea social media giving it the big'un. It's embarrasing. Talk about comparing apples with oranges. Liverpool are flying. They've bought wisely in recent years, know exactly how they want to play, and have a manager that's drilled his methods into them over a number of seasons. Could our club's position be any more opposite?... As much as I dislike that lot, sometimes you have to hold your hands up and say they've done things the right way. Our board should be taking notes. If this isn't a wake up call to them, I don't know what will be.

Another match, same woeful football. Bye Sarri!

For me, he has to go. For Sarri to say he doesn’t know what the problems are, is at best slightly concerning & at worst, inexcusable. I’ve seen no evidence of any improvement in this team in last 6 months - in fact, we’ve gone completely backwards where even the basics are not being covered. Coupled with that, there are too many red flags to ignore. If you were Roman today, would you really support this guy with another couple of hundred million quid?!? Absolutely no chance.

Christ, if ever there was a player (Jorginho aside) who looks completely shot right now, it’s Alonso. On another note, I hope our hapless board didn’t budget for the champions league next season. They’re in for a nasty shock.

Quite interesting comments from Sarri today. Basically reiterating that the team haven't yet learnt his methods and are continuing to do their own thing. This apparently includes still having the counter-atttacking mindset previously drummed into them by Conte, which he says is going to take time to move away from. He's also said that he's not thinking about other formations until they've gotten better at this one.... Trouble is, there need to be visible signs of the team grasping this soon, otherwise his time will come to an abrubt end. He's not going to get the 5 years that Klopp has had.

I think we've all come to the conclusion that, despite how 'key' Jorginho is to Sarri's preferred style of football (whatever that is), not conceding silly goals is more important right now, and that can be nullified by Kante. That said, Sarri would need to swallow some pride in order to do that. Something I just can't see happening.

As much as I despise the manager merry-go-round, all the signs point towards an early exit for Sarri. An unwillingness to adapt.... Players not showing up.... The basics not being done correctly.... Everything screams a manager that has lost control of the situation, and the club simply cannot afford to not be in the 'big money' euro competition next season. Sure there are players that need getting rid of, but the shortcomings of the manager outweigh that right now, in my opinion. The latest example of the club not having a joined up approach and collective way forward that everybody, from the top down, buys into. If you don't have a proper vision and structure, and continually make short-term snap decisions, what else should you expect.

What a farce. Teams sit back and we can’t break them down. Teams counter, we can’t defend. We get into the final third, and we seem hell-bent on not getting the ball in. Sideways, backwards, sideways. I just don’t know what we’re trying to achieve with this football and it stops with the manager.

Though these sorts of deals don't usually work out, I think this one will. He and Sarri clearly get on, and you don't move to England for a crack at the Premier League unless you like a challenge. Higuain didn't have to come here. He could've quite easily coasted at Milan and continued to pick up his wages. I quite like that. Plus, there's no doubting his pedigree. Fitness with him is a bit of a concern (he's not particularly athletic) but Sarri and the coaching staff will be on that straight away. I think the main question here is how well the team plays. He's more likely to struggle if the rest of the team carry on playing as they have been recently i.e. slow build-up, inconsistent pressing etc. but this signing may give them a boost (they couldn't have particularly enjoyed the 'false 9' system) and when Hazard goes back to his best position, it could all click. P.S. Nice work from the board. If he does well, £15m for another loan next season or £31m to buy (although I can't see us doing that given his age) doesn't seem too bad to me.