Niall1905

Wow, crazy news. Liverpool fans rightly in meltdown. General opinion seems to be Alonso, but surely its a year or two early for such a big leap. Its not a guarenteed win by any means. But other than Alonso, there aren't any easy wins either as far as I can see, which also makes you wonder if any other clubs interested might move early to jump ahead (Talk of bayern already unsure of TT)

Liverpool it is then. We know we can be competitive with them, just need to make sure we take our chances

Huge difference between a questionable business decision in retirement and scandles that actively involved dragging down other player on the team you currently play for. Say what you want about Terry, the bloke loved the club. If people want to pick holes in his character then power to you, but it didn't directly impact the dressing room in was an influence on. Benzema has zero reason to give a single f**k about our club, especially on a 6 month loan. If he wants to f**k about and cause issues, the worst that would happen is he gets to go back to earning 1m a week. Id rather finish 12th.

Is strange how differently last night could have been. That first 10 minutes we looked clueless and really showed how inexperienced we are. Its pretty clear that Poch's plan involved disrupting their back line by having runs from deep and try and hit them with balls in behind. However, much like against spurs earlier this year, rather than crafting scenarios to do so, it was forced. Which ended up with Enzo stood on the last man and Colwill lumping balls to their keeper. Borough had a couple of half chances which if 1 went in, im sure we go into full panic mode. But credit to the team, they got a hold of the ball and started being more calculated with decisions. Still rather slow and painful in places but decision making in the final third was the best it has been for a long time. The press was good, helped by Borough opting for death by playing out from the back, and we're in a cup final! What more could we want?

Ah I really don't like it. I've said it before and ill say it again, trouble and controvesy follows this bloke likes flies to sh*te. He's been investigated for using underage prostitues, he's been investigated and found guilty of blackmailing a team mate, he's publically slagged off Giroud whilst they both play for the national team, he was caught telling Madrid players not to pass to Vinicius when he first joined because he thought he was sh*te. Not to mention the fact that he's apparently leaving Saudi because there's too much pressure on him and has gone awol to push it through, wait till he finds out what it would be like here. I just don't see a world where dropping a Benzema shaped bomb into our dressing room works. We don't have strong enough personalities to stand up to him and im certain it will bring out the worst in the young players we have, which we'll be left with then when he decides the Saudi sun isn't too bad come July.

Was nice to see a bit of confidence in his play yesterday and a bit of personality with his celebration

Potentially the pressure is off a little bit after last night. Still would have the expectation to win a home cup tie and I definitley prefer the FA to the Carabao but if last night went wrong, Friday would have been a real pressure game. Wouldn't be against Chilwell being benched to give him a full week recovery before Liverpool.

Starting to remind me of an interview Tony Pulis did talking about Adama Traore. Said he had the physical attributes to be a monster, could be quite tidy with the ball but didn’t have a clue about the game and how to play it. Pulis used to swap the wingers at half time to keep Adama on his side so he could coach him through. Does seem like that’s where mudryk is lacking, just a general understanding of how to craft situations to show his skill. Although, those hoping we sell him will be gutted as we won’t get much for him so would probably be taking a substantial ffp book loss that we can’t afford. A loan makes more sense but the headlines write themselves if we do it

Just watching the highlights of that Enzo goal back, pundits blaming the hybrid CB/CM for Borough, which they are right, but I think Poch has engineered the chaos. He has Chilwell and Enzo taking it in turns pushing onto the 3rd centre half. If you watch it back, Howson has Chilwell, who goes to drop back slightly. Howson see's this and stupidly assumes he is now an extra man and becomes focused on the ball. Enzo then pushes forward from deep, swapping with Chilwell, notices the overload at the front post and postitions himself perfectly in the space Howson has left. It's not much, but potentially something he's identified to create situations like the one we have profited from. Bit of credit for him in a time where he doesn't get much.

Really does show how unstable the situation is at the club currently. If City/Arsenal/Liverpool etc were 1-0 down heading into a second leg at home against a championship side, there's no way fans seriously contemplate that it will continue to go wrong. Yet as many have mentioned, if we don't get an early goal its going to get really tense really quickly.

Sorry to go back a while, just been catching up on the thread. I agree on the first point, I think he would suit Klopps system very well, but his system bypasses the midfeild generally and they are used as work horses. Build up is fast and direct, with fullbacks offering much more creatively than the midfield, and at its peak it depended on 2 lethal wingers and a creative forward to finish/unlocck defences. The issue we have with Connor in the middle along with Caicedo and Enzo, is that our system is much more reliant on the midfield dictating the play. We don't have confident, in form forward creating chances for eachother, therefore we are more reliant on the midfield 3 to do so. We build up slow and have the wingers dropping inside (supposedly looking for space but Palmer is the only one that finds it), waiting for the midfield to slip a ball through. Its not Gallaghers strength, I dont think he is awful at it but thats not what he is best at. I also think its why we have looked a bit better in big games this year. The problems above are less prevelant when the other side takes control of the ball. The game becomes more transitional and Gallaghers strengths are exposed. High energy, pressing and countering. Its a big reason why we should keep him. No matter what we end up doing, whether we buy someone else or play Nkunku/palmer deeper, having someone like Gallagher for games where we expect less of the ball is very useful.

Just had a look at the odds online, Potter and Howe lead the way. Oddly, Pep is shorter odds than Jose and as short as 5/1 with PP. Some other fairly short priced depressing names included are Carsley and Gerrard

Dont think Broja starts, given all the noise around him leaving. Think it will be the below. Petro Disasi- Badi - Silva - Chilwell Ezno - Caicedo Madueke - Gallagher - Sterling Palmer Colwill for Chilwell depending on fitness

Does seem an odd choice, although I wont complain as we then play liverpool on Wednesday next week and they've been given the Sunday afternoon slot.

Fixation on Maatsens build is borderline annoying, short players/defenders can make it in European football, they've just got to adapt their style to account for it. I'd argue if the lad did it for Burnley in the championship but couldn't in the prem, his height and strength isn't the problem. It's not even to say he's never going to make it either, he just simply isnt at the level needed right now in a postition where the club clearly feel we are currently covered and he isn't happy to wait.

Don't like the idea of selling even if we can't get a replacement at all. Even if purely from a numbers perspective, our bench has been light all season. Pessimist in me says that we need to raise some FFP funds and Gallagher has ruined the owners plans by becoming an important part of Poch's set up.

Yeah, very hard to see where he goes from here. Speaking as an often deluded Chelsea fan, the only rationale I can give in my head for wanting him back is that if we're going to be sh*t, I would prefer to be sh*t with Jose. I could see him working well internationaly though, the football is much different to club football. Maybe the FA consider him after Southgate finally takes off.

I really like him, I do get similar Mendy vibes where im not sure if he's just riding a wave at the moment or not but he seems solid enough. Main points of concern for me are decision making when coming to collect a cross or act as a sweeper. And then also purely based on the eye test, I feel like he tends to palm saves back into quite dangerous areas. Making the saves at all is an improvement on some recent keepers so happy to trust that he'll continue to grow into the role.

You're forgetting that Chilly is Poch's favourite left winger. We'll be back in our 5 when defending, 4 when attacking hybrid before you know it

The lad is Henderson without experience. Would be silly to get rid of him because he's perfect for what he's good at, bringing energy and setting tempo. Like evissy said above, he's not the most naturally gifted and probably doesn't start if/when we sort ourselves out. But if he's happy with it, theres a great squad player in there who can fill most roles in the midfield without huge concern.

Benzema rumours worry me. No doubt he is great, but I can remember a few instances where he has supposedly caused dressing room problems, and that's the last thing we need on top of the existing mess.

Thought we look good first half, usual lack of end product but we were pressing well and there were some nice passages of interplay. Lack of composure and common sense prevented us getting 2/3 more in the second half, particularly as they began coming forward. Thought enzo looked really good, as did Caicedo. Palmer back to his usual self which is positive after the misses mid week.

Serious lack of common sense from our forwards and attackers when chasing the game. Both wingers tucked in close to Broja and Palmer, with Gallagher and/or caicedo pushing up centrally in midfield just left it all too easy to defend. I can understand wingers drifting inside when we play with just the 3, as it makes it easier to link attacks. But when we bring a 4th, central attacker in (and then every other player aimlessly rushing forward, it blocks more than it creates. Surely when playing with no reckognised full back, both wingers should sit high and wide to stretch the defense and allow space for late arriving midfielders to occupy. Again, it must be the age of the squad, but theres next to 0 common sense when adapting to in game situations.

I wouldn't stretch this out to a generational issue, I see it as a leadship issue. And that isn't Poch, that's leaders within the dressing room. Listening to Mikel's podcast recently where Terry, Lampard and others have spoken about the dressing room and stories of what used to happen. I know its a different world now and some of the cut throat attitudes wouldn't sit the same way, but we've been lacking real leadership for a while. Thiago is really all we've had and you need a core of players that are going to lead the way, week in, week out, setting the standards and driving results. Others see it and match it. Whilst I love RJ, I don't think thats his style, same with Chilwell. Palmer looks like he has that ethic from his city days and might be the seed that sprouts but we've had a team of followers since our last title. Bellingham, whilst extreme, is a perfect example that real leaders still exist in younger players.

I agree, but logical thinking like that won't be matched by the media and the main fan base.