PloKoon13

Chelsea 2-4 Liverpool, Mané 5'

Didn't Wigan lose 9-0 to Spurs some when? That's unforgivable. 9-1 (and it was only 1-0 at half time). I remember it distinctly because I had taken Jermain Defoe out of my fantasy team the week before...

Ready to concede that bet yet @yorkleyblue ?

Already two in!

Keep the back three so their full-backs have direct opponents higher up the pitch. Alternatively copy exactly what Carlo did on Tuesday and play a flat 4-4-2 to the same effect. Most important of all... pray to God that Kanté is fit or we're buggered.

High praise indeed considering a recent 'greatest Wigan XI of all time' survey on their official website listed the following as options for right-back: Pascal Chimbonda Ryan Taylor James Perch Our very own Mario Melchiot ...and Reece James

Looks a bit special, doesn't he? He looks to have it all - positioning, ability to read the game, technique, passing, two-footedness, pace, physical power, confidence, the intelligence to know when to commit to individual duels, a commanding presence in both boxes. I could go on all day... and he's only 21! I know it's early days yet but he has all the potential to become the biggest defensive talent at the club since Carvalho.

My understanding is that he never settled in Manchester, I don't think there was every any doubt about his quality. I think there's an argument to be made that he was the third-best player in the world at the time which Man Utd signed him. I did thoroughly enjoy watching Tottenham bottle their 2-0 lead against Olympiacos. Hopefully the return flight is very draining.

To be fair it was our poor decisions which led us here in the first place!

Doesn't look match fit yet, which is unsurprising considering before last night he had played 30 minutes of competitive football since June. There is surely no doubt that he will come good, he is too intelligent and has too much quality. Anyone even thinking about writing him off already (and I haven't actually heard anyone do so) is surely a braindead moron.

At the beginning of the season I would have had us more or less nailed-on for sixth, I haven't seen anything so far to make me change that prediction.

It's been a steep learning curve for Frank (which to be honest is usually code for 'he's f**king up a lot at the beginning'), but there are some very promising signs. The integration of the young players this season has been truly sensational, in fact they have been our standout players so far. I was quietly confident about Abraham and Mount, but I never would have expected them to hit the ground running like they have done so far. Let's also bear in mind that we still have Reece James, Hudson-Odoi and Loftus-Cheek yet to return, who are arguably the most talented three of the bunch. I like the formation we've played. I think it suits a lot of our better players, and puts a few of the ones with obvious deficiencies in positions where those deficiencies are minimised. Unfortunately we are doomed to be utterly incapable of dominating the middle of the pitch until Kanté returns. Jorginho and Kovacic have hustled relatively well this season, but that is not a midfield two who are going to provide sufficient quality offensively or defensively. Still, imagine this as a first XI when everyone is fit: Kepa Rudiger/Azpilicueta Christensen Tomori James Kanté Loftus-Cheek Alonso Hudson-Odoi Mount Abraham

Should absolutely not be playing in a midfield two with Kovacic. A very telling sign of our current lack of options in the middle.

Jorginho for Fabregas

One of the few bright sparks last night in my opinion. He brings a certain fluidity to our attack, his movement is intelligent, and he is key to keeping possession in the opposition half. Unfortunate that Mount went off when he did, I would have been very interested to see he and Willian combine in the system we played last night. Admittedly he did frustrate with a couple of his decisions in the final third, but understandable I think as this was only his second start of the season, and he missed a fair chunk of pre-season due to Copa America.