Bluefog

It was a win in the end but the game today was crying out for a bit if pace today during the last 15 minutes.

I still don't think Drinkwater has had a proper shot, and it doesn't look like he will. He came back from injury and was never really in the side for any sustained period. Given a run of games, he would have done a lot better, imho. Still, he wants to leave by the looks of it, and the club will likely and rightly look for a better player for next season.

You can see this man is a leader and a fighter. He's a winner. Need more players like this at the club. Even though I wasn't too sure about his defending while at Roma, his pace, determination leadership stood out. Can see him being a key player for a good few years.

If he's going to stay, I'd like him as a central midfield option first and a centre half second.

Fir about 20 minutes in the second half, Hazard literally turned into some sort of monster. He was on fire. Best I've seen if him in a long time. It was almost as if after being kicked around the first half he decided "alright, you want it, you're getting it," and went out all guns blazing to make any Liverpool player near him look hopeless.

He has been playing pretty much every game for two seasons now in a role requiring a lot of stamina. I like him, but I really want to see pace on the flanks especially when it's a 3-5-2. He played really well today, though.

Courtois 8 - pulled off some crucial saves. Alonso 8 - Coped surprisingly well. Was worried about his lack of pace but he did very well. Cahill 8 - Continues ld his recent good form. Azpilicueta 9 - fantastic determination and focus all the way through. Rudiger 9 - Handled Salah brilliantly well after a slightly nervy opening. Moses 8 - Worked his socks off, made the goal and caused problems for their left side. Kante 9 - He lost out on a few challenges but cut out passes and won back possession often. Tried his heart out as always. Bakayoko 7 - Rare flashes of confidence and ability were on display today. Still managed to confuse everyone in the box. A little bit of promise. Fabregas 7 - There weren't too many options for him up the pitch today with his passing. Showed good stamina. Hazard 9 - Stepped it up to an unplayable level after the break. Tired towards the end. Giroud 8 - Scored an excellent header and gave their defence enough to think about throughout. The link up was off, though.

Nothing againt Alonso, he's done his best and has been good since he's here, but I'd be disappointed to see Emerson out of the side. Last game Alonso was too terrified to even step into the Liverpool half because he knew he'd be burnt for pace. Gave nothing at all going forward... I hadn't realised. That would mean Alonso starts 95% sure.

^ :)

1. Realistic Preference 2. Expected from Conte 3. Unrealistic Preference

Any link to the westbrom game?

https://www.whoscored.com/Players/109807/Show/Bertrand-Traoré 16 goals from around 40 appearances, mainly from the right wing. He's been one of their main attacking players. Along with Fekir, Mariano and Depaye (all having fantastic season's, too). Supposedly, there's a buy-back / first option on him. Don't think he'll be that keen on coming back, knowing he'll most likely be underused then shipped out again somewhere. He can stay in Lyon, challenge for the title and play Champions League football, all as a starter - for probably a few years yet. Only 22 years old, still.

Send him on loan to Bundesliga, or do a Traore on him. Looks like Lyon have a good thing going at the moment. Their front three are playing very well... If one leaves, maybe they can use him as a replacement. With the top quality talent coming through Lyon over the years, they probably have the right coaching set-up to improve him. Ps. I like my players to be strong physically but lest we forget, we have someone dominating midfields singlehandedly already in the squad - someone who looks about 10.

I'd partner him next to Kante in midfield for the few remaining games... Better than the other options. End of season though... 10-15m sale if anyone takes him.

Thread title to change soon... Gary Cahill - PL CL FAC LC EL WC champion You heard it here first. :p

Courtois, Lukaku, Kdb, Salah... They all had at least a full season under their belt playing at their previous clubs before they went out on loan from Chelsea. Unless I'm mistaken, Christensen and Ake would be the two who hadn't. Musonda needs some mentoring from a good coach / senior player... He seems quite immature emotionally.

Willian has been showing fantastic pace and dribbling ability even at 29. I would even say he's more purposeful than Hazard with his running a lot of the time... Only problem is the final pass is off a little more than it should be compared to Hazard.

Not if it means as Hazard's replacement...

Referees should be made to come out and explain their dubious decisions after the match, that way we'll soon see the repeat offenders and they'd be forced to up their game or be weeded out. Some of them walk around like they're untouchable because they have that whistle in their hand and those cards in their pocket.

The worry might be that players see he hasn't won a ton of trophies and at the first sign of difficulty throw the toys out of the pram. Language barrier, new ideas, odd quirks he might have... It's happened before of course. Whoever does come in, the board need to back him properly, and fans need to be prepared for possibly extended less than ideal time with the stadium and reduced spending power when it comes to the transfer market.

He will cost more than he's worth, but he's shown a lot of improvement this season. Looks like he's just hitting his prime... Although Bailey might be doing well in Germany, Zaha is performing in the Prem and he's kready had a spell at a big club so should be well prepared for the pressure and demands this time around. Maybe loaning a couple of the brighter prospects could help lower the fee...? Either way, he's still probably in a category that's a little below Willian right now... I think a Mahrez, Fekir or someone similar would be more the calibre of player required, someone you could hopefully rely on to carry a big part of the creative / goalscoring burden when Hazard isn't performing or out of the side... Of course it's unlikely that there will be two quality wingers / Am's bought in... But Pedro is one that should really leave this summer. That leaves Hazard and Willian alone. At a stretch, Moses, who another manager might use in his old attacking role, or just keep for his versatility. There's also Kenedy, who I've always liked as a left forward, Musonda (one who seems to rate himself higher than he really is) and Boga, who reminds me a bit of Willian in his ball carrying and ability to keep the ball. Hazard, Willian, Moses, Kenedy, Musonda, Boga... Any four of those still won't be up to scratch, imho. I can't really see too many goalscoring, am/wingers around, other than the ones mentioned at the top of this post. There is Traore who I believe the club has first option on, but again... Probably a step below what's required.

Watched the Juvenile Inter until around 75mins... 2-1 up they were, Inter. Thought they would have it in the bag, switched it off and later see 2-3 loss. The goalkeeper looked like he had been bribed. Abysmal keeping. Not oven putting out his hands to stop anything. Never seen anything like it.

Ps. First it was Kakuta and Mceachran (Kakuta having a decent season btw in France for Amiens.) Then it was Feruz, Piazon, Traore, Bamford, Solanke... Then it was Chalobah, Ake... Then it was Musonda and Boga and Loftus-Cheek... Now it's Mount and Hudson Odoi. I can't see how people actually see Hudson Odoi or Mount getting anywhere near the first team at this stage. From all of those: Chalobah, Ake - decent squad players but gone Loftus-Cheek, Traore - look like good quality players who could crack it at the top level. Boga, Musonda - Need a lot of games & top level experience, fitness, maturity before being considered for the first team.

Estimates based on: - Figures being mentioned in various reports - Similar age and quality players signed recently by clubs. Estimates, give or take... (I could go into all of them one by one but it'll take forever. Why? Which ones come across as particularly unrealistic to you?)

A win against Liverpool will heal a lot of pressure on them for their last game... Tottenham getting a poor result on Monday means it's wide open... Looking a lot better than a week ago. Personally, I can see it happening.