Socrates

That was down to Lampard. He's feeling the pressure and making really poor decisions. There was no reason to bring back Chilwell and James when they were clearly unfit. They both had poor games. If you are going to bring them back, presumably to put crosses into the box, then why is Giroud on the bench? Against a club he would've relished playing against? Why wasn't a frustrated Werner given a break, if only for one game, so Hudson-Odoi could start a game? He looked sharp. Why was Kante at one point playing centre forward and Abraham out on the wing? Why did Havertz come on and Giroud left on the bench? Why is Jorginho still taking penalties? Never mind starting ahead of Gilmour. It's just one poor decision after another, from line-up to tactics to in-game management. It was a masterclass in disaster. I loved Lampard as a player. But watching him so clearly out of his depth, is really sad. I know we have issues in midfield which need addressing in the next window. But we should be doing a lot better. And we shouldn't be losing against a really poor Arsenal side in the way we did today. It was pathetic, demoralising, and worst of all, totally unnecessary.

Started well, got the goal, then lost our way from around 25 min mark. Very bad luck to lose Reece James then Chilwell. Azpi looked rusty but settled down and we were pretty solid at the back. Don’t recall them having a clear chance. Silva and Zouma were very good. Not that we we were entirely in charge. We were very wayward second half until Kovacic came on. Good win considering the injuries and changes.

I’m glad someone else noticed this. I thought I was dreaming, watching him do this over and over, playing the ball backwards. Did any of his crosses find anyone? He mistimed one I remember that turned into a shot. Otherwise, asleep at the back for their goals. Almost like he doesn’t want to get involved as a defender. Expected more from him.

Well, we rescued a point after an abysmal first half, so the team deserves some credit. But Alonso and James should not really be starting against Premier League opposition. We spent a lot of money on attacking players but are still somehow lumbered with Kante and Kovacic in the middle. We really need to sort out that mess as soon as possible. Not sure Frank knows what his best side is, but it sure shouldn’t include Alonso, James, Kovacic and Kante in the same starting line-up.

I wouldn’t take notice of figures like 80m. These deals usually involve an upfront fee with bonus add-ons. Also, if things don’t work out with him, he’d still be worth a good fee in three or four years. And if it does work out, we’d have a solid left back for the next five years at least. FWIW I think he’d be an excellent signing given his age, and proven PL experience. I think some of the other overseas players being touted are more of a risk, even given they’re cheaper. The other thing to consider is that Lampard seems to want an English-based defence. Not because he’s being patriotic, but presumably because the players won’t take so long to adapt to the PL, and will be better at communicating with each other. I wouldn’t compare this deal with Kepa, where we really panicked after the departure of Courtois. In hindsight we’d have been better going for an English keeper anyway. If anything, the Kepa deal proves why Chilwell would be a better option. Scout your players properly and don’t rush into deals with the overseas flavour of the month.

I think the rumour is we’re selling Emerson to Inter Milan. Can’t imagine we’d also sell Alonso as that would leave us with no cover at left back. What’s our situation with regards to youth team left backs? Surely Lampard would want cover if Chilwell is his first choice?

Ben White is a very good prospect and paired with Declan Rice would be an improvement on what we have. I can see Tomori being loaned out and one of Christensen, Rudiger or Zouma being sold.

Fantastic news if confirmed. Top quality young striker. And a strong statement of intent. I think we’re still due the transfer fee for Morata so that would make it a nice piece of business all round.

I wonder if we’re setting up Lampard to fail. He looked really upset at the Press Conference today. Failing to seriously back a manager in the transfer window, when he explicitly asks for backing, usually means you’re on borrowed time.

Yes it does. Lampard asked for signings to make up for the lack of transfer activity last Summer. Not necessarily first choice targets. But a couple of signings to deepen the squad, add more experience. Take the pressure off Abraham specifically. The Board had several weeks to bring in at least one option. To support Lampard. It was a test. And they couldn’t manage it. Says a lot about where we are as a club and where the Board are in relation to the manager. Really doesn’t bode well.

Hasn’t he been out injured for a while? I guess we’re in full panic mode then.

I see Minamino has started again for Liverpool. Signed in December. Been training with the first team for a month. Started two games already. Nobody is expecting him to tear up trees but has been introduced gradually into the set up. Got to admire how professionally Liverpool identify and introduce their targets into their system.

I think the funds are there. It’s likely just indecision, uncertainty and possibly incompetence. Waiting till the last day to sign one likely stop-gap player is just a terrible way to do things. It’s blindingly obvious that you need to get players in earlier to give them time to train and adjust and even maybe play a cup game. Bringing in someone at the end of the window then asking them to hit the ground running, especially if they come from abroad, is really dubious. At this stage in the window we’re better off signing someone already playing in the Premier League. But, to be honest, I have no idea what’s going on behind the scenes. By the look of it, neither does Lampard.

I think Lampard is begging the Board to bring in new players. He looks increasingly frustrated and it’s very worrying that the Board are dragging their feet. We’ve seen the Board leave managers hang out to dry before over new signings. It’s not as if players aren’t available this window. Given the transfer ban last summer the case for new players is pretty urgent given the falling off in our form as games have piled up. If the Board don’t back Lampard then things are going to be pretty bleak I’d say both for the team’s chances of securing a top four spot and for the Board’s relationship with Lampard himself.

I guess it depends on what sort of form he’s been in this season. And the state of his fitness. Cavani near the top of his game would be a decent short term option. But seriously, is that the Cavani we’re likely going to be getting?

Don’t know what Frank was thinking. Five defenders at home to Southampton? Plus, the wing backs are the two players who can’t cross? An out of form CHO starting over Mount and Pulisic? While a physically shattered Willian is trundled on again. So many things wrong with the starting line up you have to wonder if Frank was just pulling names out of a hat. None of it made any sense. Put us on the back foot and we never recovered. Frank will get a pass for now as he’s a club legend. But he needs to learn fast, and the club need to probably back him in the window. Spurs game looking like a freak result. Celebrations afterwards now looking premature and a bit embarrassing. The losses are piling up and Frank is looking lost. Not good. Not good at all.

Losing Abraham was a blow. Not sure it was wise to start Giroud over Batshuayi though. At least Bats would’ve put himself about. Instead our tactic was to have James pepper their box with crosses in the hope that Giroud would get on the end of one. When that tactic didn’t work, we just looked lost. Didn’t help that Pedro and Mount failed to contribute anything and Pulisic went quiet after a bright first half. Our set pieces were woeful all day. Either overhit by Mount or underhit by Willian. Our general play wasn’t much better. We got caught in possession far too often, and we were generally sloppy with our passes, which made us vulnerable to counter attack. Despite our possession stats they looked more likely to score and our defence looked uncertain. The only meagre consolation is we learnt a lot about where our weaknesses lie. Otherwise, a day to forget.

Lucky their finishing was so poor. Saying that, we missed a few good chances ourselves. Our defending was pretty bleak. Not sure what’s going on, but we’re way too open. We could easily have conceded four or five. Unlucky to lose Abraham at HT. Bats was a bit of a liability when he came on. Pulisic was our most threatening player. Willian our least effective after Bats. Not sure about taking Jorginho off for Emerson. Hardly shored things up and James had run out of energy. Strange one from Frank. We were hanging on at the end, players looked dead on their feet, so I was happy to take the draw.

Thought we deserved a draw at least. We pretty much held our own against a top side. We created two great chances at the end. Bats and Mount should at least have hit the target. Poor defending at set pieces is costing us dear this season. No matter how much progress we make integrating the younger players into the team, it counts for nothing if we can’t defend from free kicks and corners. The worrying thing is that it’s become a known issue and we seem incapable of sorting it out. It’s killing us at the moment. What do we do in training all week?

Barklay clearly took that penalty ahead of Jorginho. And he did it for purely selfish reasons. He’s sliding down the pecking order in midfield and wanted to stake a claim. He’s got no future at the club. And he knows it. Bloody awful penalty that might well end up costing us qualification. Poor from Frank tonight too. Surprised Pulisic didn’t come on ahead of Pedro who looked really off the pace. And I didn’t get the switch of Giroud for Zouma when we should probably have settled for a point. Valencia are no mugs, they sniffed an opportunity and took it. Our defending from free kicks was astonishingly naive. We were marking thin air while they played around us. Never seen anything like it at this level. Depressing to lose a game in that fashion. Hope Lampard learns fast. That was shambolic on all levels.

All this talk of playing youngsters has gone to Frank’s head. Really poor to drop Christensen today. Starting Zouma and Tomori looked like an accident waiting to happen. Bringing on Gilmour and Bats when we were clinging on made no sense. Don’t know what Frank said at half time. Clearly no one was listening. That was a shocking and disjointed second half. The subs were downright inept. Hooking Kovacic and Barkley was disastrous. Really prepared to give Lampard a break. But that was a pretty inept managerial display. Didn’t do himself any favours. Hope he’s a fast learner.

Wow. Not sure how we’ve made top four with a game to spare. I suppose we just hung in while all our rivals imploded. Nice to have the pressure off for the last couple of games. It doesn’t paper over the cracks in what’s been a bumpy season. But top four and a trophy would be a credible outcome. Losing Hazard is going to be a hell of a blow. We need to spend any income from his sale wisely. At least the belated emergence of Loftus-Cheek and Hudson-Odoi is good news.

Just a couple of points. Apparently, we prepared for Burnley's threat from set pieces. We really did. Not sure Sarri understands that Kovacic is not a direct replacement for Kante. Sarri has no tactical imagination. When you need to win, he doesn't know what to do to make that more likely to happen. It's just more of the same. Hazard is the only reason we're not in the bottom half of the table. We're stuffed when he leaves. Not sacking Sarri earlier was a big mistake. Not as big a mistake as hiring him in the first place though. The new manager needs to be identified quickly. We just need to move on from this season as soon as possible.

Don't know what Sarri tells the players at half time. Clearly we'd be better off having one of the groundstaff giving the half time team talk. Liverpool stepped it up and we couldn't cope. Sarri finally put Hazard back on the left and had two great chances. But this time couldn't rescue us. The damage was already done. In the end, Sarri was forced to say that a few months ago we'd have lost by more than two goals. That's progress, folks. Sarri style.

Then Sarri should stop picking the same players every week and give some others a chance. Give Emerson a few games over Alonso. Recall Cahill who might not be technically gifted but is at least mentally strong. Start Hudson-Odoi over Willian. Stop bloody picking Kovacic. And just stop playing Hazard and Kante out of position. And call me old fashioned, but try playing a striker. It’s not bloody rocket science.