floydgator

This was another match where I watch our midfield and think, "this just isn't good enough to compete for the premier league." What am I missing with Jorginho? Yet again, I thought he brought absolutely nothing to the table. Is it possible that this formation with 2 midfielders is never going to allow for a strong midfield? Kai and Mason were invisible (it's a trend for Kai) but I thought the biggest problem was the group behind them. I want defenders who defend so that leaves the midfielders to control and create for the forwards (or allow the forwards to create). I never see that out of our midfielders, with the occasional exception of Kovacic. Maybe Jorginho and Kante in this formation are just never going to allow that to happen.

A guy who is a reliable defender and available for his price? Uh, yeah. He's the kind of player we should be signing.

Dear god, this. They've been dreadful all season. Not sure why Rudiger plays anymore. I understand that James has looked horrendous recently, but come on. I'd get Tagliafico in here ASAP and then spend money on a reliable center back. Hope like hell Tomori grows quickly.

Will take the win. Much better in the 2nd half. Great work by their keeper kept this from being 4 or 5-1.

Nicely played by Tammy

Yes!!!

Why is Christensen in there instead of Tomori? Did we not see enough of that sh*tshow pairing last Wednesday?

Yeah, not putting that goal on Reece. Two separate thoughts combined into 1 post there.

I tuned in late. Why are we stuck with a Christensen-Zouma back 2 again? And Reece James may eventually be a superstar but he's a disaster defensively right now.

And pretty much assisted on the goal as well

Just scored for Leicester early vs. Southhampton

Whatever we do, I hope we spend big on a couple of world class starters rather than spreading the money around on 6 guys who are no better than what we have now. I don't view depth as our biggest problem. If we assume Dave returns to something resembling past form, we've already got 13-15 quality, Premier League starter-quality players (setting GK aside). We have probably 6 across the back line, 5 in the midfield and 4 at forward. At the moment, the problem is that none of them are among the best in the league at their positions, except for Kante. As I look at what we have in-house, money spent in the midfield would be wasted - unless Kante leaves. Kante is the best there is, RLC and Mount may well grow into studs and Jorginho, Kovacic and even Barkley excellent depth players. That leaves forward and the back 4. I'll be interested to see what James can bring after he's healthy. If it's positive, center back looks to be the biggest place for a major upgrade (and we could even recoup some of that money by sending 1 or 2 of the existing, capable CBs out). If James does not look like an immediate replacement for Dave, maybe that spot is where you spend the money. One place we likely will need a depth player is behind Emerson. Can't see Alonso sticking around for no play. Up front, it all depends on Tammy. If he's a 15+ goal guy, we can spend the money on a winger. A world class wing to go with CP and CHO and a 15+ goal striker makes for an excellent offense (and set for the future as the three young forwards continue to develop). If Tammy isn't that guy, the money needs to go a world class, sure thing 20 goal striker. In that case, Mount and RLC and formations can be used to supplement CHO and Pulisic. Small dollar amounts on depth at left back and maybe wing. Contend for titles.

I'd like to see us not spend any of the money on Zaha. Best case scenario, we get relief from the transfer ban in time for winter and Icardi's value will be so low we can get him on the cheap. That would allow us a half season to evaluate him without impacting the youth (who we need to see play for evaluation purposes). Then we would know even better what our needs are by summer. As it stands right now, I'd be willing to spend every dollar on a striker.

I'm hoping CP learns to play as hard as Pedro does. Just, you know, better.

Chelsea v Liverpool in mid-September is not being televised by NBC (or its myriad of channels). They have pushed that one to the NBC Sports Gold subscription. They've only listed the TV schedule through September, but I'm assuming that NBC is going to push some key matchups there to force people to pay extra. Very frustrating, but I'm a sucker who subscribes anyway. Champions League is far worse. UEFA made a truly horrible deal with TNT. Immediate dollars over actual exposure. Fox Sports showed pretty much every interesting CL game. TNT shows very few and forces you to pay for matches on B/R Live. Add to that, their coverage is awful.