Hessleboink

Thanks, mate. Sounds promising. Our squad looks quite well set up for an attacking 3-4-3.

I do wonder if we'll stick with the 3-4-3. We really only have two natural wingers (Hudson Odoi and Pulisic), so if Tuchel is willing to use one of them as a wingback and play two number 6s (as he's suggested), is means we can fit Havertz/Werner/Mount/Ziyech in behind either Tammy or Giroud. We could even try Havertz as the number 9, flanked by Mount and Werner. I'm sure those 3 would press very well.

I hear she's a big Mount fan, which is why he's been hobbling around Cobham with a bad back all week.

Is he playing in defence or midfield? I could Google this but... good to keep the discussion alive!

A little off topic, but made me laugh! See if you can spot the odd one out in Tuchel's coaching staff (this is classic Sun journalism).

Yeah, I didn't catch him at Wigan but I heard as much. It would definitely be interesting to see, especially if you've got those two midfielders covering left and right, he wouldn't be lost in the wide areas. I don't think Jorginho or Kovacic work in a two with Kante. Mount would be interesting to see, but I'd like to see him slightly further up the pitch if we're going to be playing with a high line (where he can press the ball without having to worry too much about what's behind him). At this point in time, Kovacic is the odd man out in my mind. Pleasing on the eye, but I don't think he does anything exceptionally well (beyond beating a man, which I don't think we need if he's playing deep).

Crazy thought: if we're ever playing 3-4-3 again (especially against weaker opposition), considering Odoi worked well as a wingback (and maybe even Pulisic too), do we think James could slot into midfield next to Kante? Seems to have the skillset for it.

I agree with this. I wanted Alonso on at half time, or James on and Odoi swapped wings, although it's a pretty harsh call 45 mins into your first game as manager (to hook Chillwell). I don't think Chillwell thinks quickly enough when he receives the ball under pressure, and he often plays loose balls back into midfield.

I don't think he's had a fantastic game yet, but I think he looked better yesterday playing higher up the pitch (though he needs to run in behind more). His movement is good, and his weight of pass is good. Looks like he benefits from having a winger outside of him. I actually think the 3-4-3 looks a good formation against bus parkers, so long as one of the wingbacks is Pulisic or Odoi. On current form though, I wouldn't play both Havertz and Ziyech. I personally prefer Havertz.

Yep. He at one point commented that Son had dived, which he'd never say about Salah or Mane. He also busts a nut every time Liverpool get near the box. Anyway, funny to see Spurs lose. If we can pick up a win against Burnley, I reckon we'll beat them (especially if Kane if injured). It's early days, but Tuchel seems to have a good idea of how he wants us to play, so hopefully he can get a quick response from the players. I didn't say too much after the game the other day, but I actually though it was a promising performance.

Going to the board to me is unprofessional, and points to a weak character, but I can almost forgive it. Treating the younger players like sh*t, though, is completely cowardly and he deserves everything coming to him if it's true.

Really weird timing. Why not sack after the Leicester game and get Eddie Newton in for the FA Cup or something? I guess the feeling is to protect the two German investments, and try to claw back top 4. This whole season is so f**ked anyway, I'd have liked to have seen Lamps get to see the season out. I can't pretend we haven't been very, very poor though. I'm sure a difficult decision for the board and no one is feel very happy about it.

I worry about Tammy with this, too. His finishing is good (and improving), but time and time again he's a few yards off an easy finish and it hasn't changed for over a year. In the big games he might only get 1 or 2 chances, and at the moment I'm not confident he'd finish them. It almost feels like a lack of patience sometimes. He's occasionally too keen to get on the ball and gravitates to it when he should be finding space inside the box. Costa was excellent at this, he'd get himself involved in the build up, then as soon as we broke into space, he'd just find space inside the box and be ready to pounce.

I missed the build-up, so I'm not sure how BBC had us lining up, but it looked like a 4-4-2 to me. Maybe a 4-4-1-1, but basically a 4-4-2 to my eyes. I thought it really worked. Tammy dropped deep to pick up the ball, and found himself in space because Werner was getting in behind the CBs and keeping them occupied. Pulisic kept the width (with James), and Ziyech was dropping into midfield to pick up the ball.

I'm hoping he comes good, but I think the "not playing to his strengths" is being overplayed. I'm sure we could tailor our game more specifically to each and every one of our players and see a slight improvement from them. Werner is getting the ball in good areas, and either his touch or decision making is letting him down. I'd say he's probably been given more opportunities than anyone else in the squad to play himself into form (people might mention Mount, but I personally think he's been our best player for a long time and that's based on form) and hasn't taken it. At this stage, I'd rather try and work Havertz into the team, who offers much more in the build up, and will also get goals if we play to his strengths.

Really enjoyable game to watch. Kepa mistake aside, thought we were comfortable for most of it. Should have had a few more goals, but created a lot. The football we played was similar to what we say when at our best last season. I was happy to see us mix up the crossing, too, and tried the get to the byline for cut backs. Much less predictable. The formation was interesting, and I wonder if it's a sign of things to come? Difficult to take too much from a game against a lower league team, but Mount and Gilmour in midfield together looked about as good as I can remember from us this season. They plugged the gaps, pressed very well, supported the attack, and both moved the ball very quickly. Would be interesting to see if we play them ahead of Kante, and stick with 4-3-3, or perhaps bring in Harvertz ahead of them and go 4-2-3-1.

And we're still above them 😅. That's always worth remembering -- at least we're not Arsenal fans.

It's difficult so say whether or not the team he picked today was brave of stupid; it had a lot of attacking intent, but we were poor going forwards and badly exposed defensively. I'll be honest, without actively saying "Lampard Out" (which I will never say), I think I lost a little bit of faith in his ability after the West Brom and Southampton games. We picked up after that, but at the moment we just look absolutely clueless. I don't think it's as simple as the players not trying, either. Half of them really don't look like they know what they should be doing, there is no instinct in our/their play. Werner, Ziyech and Chilwell (and to a lesser extent Havertz) all looked much better at the start of the season, and the longer they've been with us, the worse they've looked. I don't think there is a single part of the pitch you can look at and say is working. Our wingers look lost, our midfield is completely dysfunctional, our number 9 doesn't get chances, runners from deep, or runs beyond the oppo back 4 are constantly ignore/missed, whenever we work a bit of space we end up shifting the ball back to our defence. I just don't see anything at all that's working.

I'd go 3-4-3 for this one. Mendy Azpi, Silva, Zouma James, Mount, Kane, Chilwell COH, Giroud, Pulisic I'm aware Puli's not been in great form, but I don't think Ziyech has been either. I'd go for pace on the counter, and balls into the box. I think if we try to dominate the ball too much, they'll kill us on the counter.

I don't pay much attention to football outside of England, but he looks unbelievably good. Next-best-in-world levels good. If I've somehow missed sarcasm, apologies! It's Monday... oh lord, Monday always comes around.

It's difficult to understand why we are so much worse that we have been previously under Lampard. We used to move forward really quickly in transition -- not so much now. Any idea if Ziyech can play as a number 10? In spite of his woeful finishing, Werner at least stretches the defence so I do think he's worth persisting with. I'd like to see him play from the left (with Giroud or Tammy up top) and either Ziyech of Havertz as a number 10, then have Kante and Mount box to box.

I actually agree. He came on, competed physically, drew in a few players and managed to offload the ball. I actually think he looks good playing on the right at the moment. I would be interested to see Pulisic, Werner, Havertz (when James and Chillwell are fit).

I worry about Werner, too. I wouldn't mind the missed sitters if he offered a lot else, but he doesn't really. His link up play it awful, his touch is awful, and he's half assed off of the ball. I couldn't imagine him playing as a CF against 90% of the teams in the league.

Anjorin, Havertz, Chistensen, Kova having good games. Everyone else OK. Tammy is very wasteful, though. Did well to win the pen but don't think he's done enough in this game so far. Anjorin fed him a really nice ball that he was on his heels on, too. EDIT: how could I forget! Gilmour been MoM so far. He's looks quality as a number 8.

Chelsea 3-1 Spurs Werner, 36th min.