DaRick

Ross Barkley, both orchestrator and scorer.

I never really rated him that highly TBH. His tenure at Porto started OK but became increasingly unimpressive as time went on - lots of sterile possession, diminishing end product and an increasingly dodgy defence. It could just be that international football (which he has extensive experience with) suits his coaching style more than club football does. With international football you don't have to make good transfers. Additionally, Spain's possession-oriented style also suits Lopotegui. Real Madrid is less possession-oriented.

Turns out that betraying Atletico Madrid and Chelsea may not have been worth it after all, huh Thibaut? Suck it in.

Much better in the 'Hazard' role than in the Pedro role. Not too surprised because his style of play approximates Hazard's more than Pedro's, plus he had Barkley (a more creative presence than Kante) to help set him up. Could have scored two goals. His only goal was a trademark Willian belter.

I was surprised that he stated, though he fared much better today, in terms of holding up play rather than just being a peripheral presence. However, I have to note that Burnley made the mistake of giving him space to run in behind for his first goal.

All you can ask is that RLC takes the opportunities afforded to him, and he's done just that over the past week. Clinical finish, although he just happened to be in the right area at the right time.

From what I saw of the highlights, he was outstanding. He set up Morata with a killer ball not unlike what we saw with Hazard at Southampton, then he placed a shot from range before giving the ball to Willian to do his thing. This is his just reward for some hard work during the off-season and some careful analysis of Napoli's play on his part. Against any side out of the Top 6, he should be a nailed-on starter.

Not a lineup that fills me with confidence, against a Burnley side which has picked up in recent weeks. Giroud wasn't very good against BATE, but given Burnley's favoured playing style I still would have started him. EDIT: I'm not surprised that Hazard is short of full fitness, but could he have come off the bench like early in the season, or was he doing too poorly for that?

I'm starting to think that Cesc may be suffering from deteriorating eyesight. Even last season, his passing wasn't quite as sharp as before. There have been more sloppy passes and his trademark weighted long/killer balls haven't been as precise as they once were. I don't think game time is the main reason for his decline - in 2016/17 he often came off the bench but he was nonetheless was just as effective as he was in 2014/15. I would let him go in January or on a free with our gratitude for his services.

For a cut-rate price, in lieu of better options. Belgium aren't directly comparable because they play a different formation and at any rate comparing international and club football is problematic. There are fewer games and the opposition is of very variable quality. The primary problem with Lukaku is his sub-par first touch, which is why he can struggle against deep defences.

My thoughts: 1) Kante has always been a box-to-box engine. He's been more defensive than (say) prime Essien but he definitely wasn't an anchor man in the Makelele mould. He's just been making forward runs more often than he has been under Conte. 2) Kante and Kovacic are apples and oranges. Kante is a ball-winning box-to-box midfielder playing the Allan role whereas Kovacic is closer to a playmaker who helps to retain possession. 3) Pogba is extremely talented, but unless Sarri wants him I wouldn't recommend his purchase because IMO he is a bit too selfish and his mentality is a bit suspect. Also, trying to replace Kante with Pogba would make the side worse simply because there would be a lack of balance in midfield. With Pogba/Kovacic/Jorginho in midfield you wouldn't have a genuine ball-winner in midfield and you wouldn't get the best out of Kovacic either because he would be forced to sit back and retain possession while Pogba goes on his forward runs (Pogba too often neglects his defensive duties). Trying to play Barkley or RLC with Pogba would make the midfield even more suspect defensively as well.

Weak opposition, but I have to admit that RLC couldn't have done any more to stake his claim for a place in the first XI. His finishing was impressive, especially his third from range. A couple of other notes: 1) All of finishes were in or near the corner. 2) He anticipated both the cross for the first goal and the corner for the second goal. Before, I couldn't really understand why a few posters here (and Conte) were thinking of using him as a striker because he was not exactly prolific and from what I had seen before his finishing wasn't notable, but now I can understand. Early days though.

Good result; surprised to see RLC get a hat-trick and was impressed with his third in particular. Beforehand I dismissed the idea of him playing as a striker because from what I had seen his finishing wasn't anything special. However, he was very clinical here. Weak opposition still, but I can finally see why some people suggested trying him at striker. Kepa also came up with a stinging reflex save from what I saw of the highlights. On another note, the goal we conceded was very sloppy - poor marking from a set-piece. Can't afford that against Burnley. 9-1? Bakayoko usually didn't count as a player, did he?

They won't sack Colin for a while now that Cardiff are out of the relegation zone. Given how limited both that side and the manager are being out of the relegation zone is actually an achievement for them.

Little Rudiger was the best of the CB's (better than Alonso as well) and scored a goal, so him I suppose. No-one was outstanding though; some were just better than others.

Must win for mine, particularly after today's disappointing result. From memory Turf Moor is not a particularly large ground, but its rough surface isn't exactly conducive to Sarri-ball.

Watford winning at Wolves is actually a turn-up for the books given how Watford imploded against Bournemouth.

Yeah, not his finest game ever. Started the wrong lineup and was too slow to make subs (at least Barkley's worked itself out). Was he influenced by the effect of the international break on our players RE team selections? Did he look at Morata's big-game record against Real Madrid/Juventus and expect him to pull a rabbit out of the hat? Those are the only two plausible reasons I can think of for him starting that lineup.

I agree; that's what worries me. One of the few saving graces is that they haven't added to their squad this off-season and so, because all of their players have played in the PL previously, they are more likely to be figured out by the opposition since Pochettino will have no unknown players to surprise the opposition with (bar punting on youth products), or use to create new formations ala Conte using Alonso to create a 3-4-3 in 2016/17. Additionally they weren't actually as impressive in 2017/18 as the season before, plus several Tottenham fans have complained about a lack of squad depth. They may purchase more players in January but it looks like their new stadium will put a damper on any spending over the short-term at least. I predicted that they would finish 4th at the start of the season but it could be higher.

Tottenham managing to grind out PL points despite not necessarily playing all that well is annoying. Still, West Ham have the next half to accomplish something. Man City leading shouldn't be regarded as a shock.

Nothing he did today has proven this analysis wrong IMO, which makes Sarri's decision to start him very odd indeed. Is it because Morata used to score goals against the better sides quite often at Real Madrid/Juventus? He also certainly shouldn't have played for 80 minutes. He missed a chance in the first half and became more marginalised as the game progressed.

RE 2014/15, you're right in saying that he didn't pull up too many trees offensively (he did win us a game against Everton though). However, I saw him as being like the offensive equivalent of Paulo Ferreira (for want of a better comparison), in that you could usually rely on him to come in and deliver a solid 7/10 performance. He was an important cog in that title-winning side because he could be relied upon to track back, win the ball and help trigger counterattacks. TBH, In 2013/14 I thought that he was OK but I'm not sure he was actually better - he played fewer games, had nigh-on identical offensive output and got himself booked more. I agree that his 2015/16 wasn't great. It was solid (aside from the spectacular free kicks) but it was just that everybody else (bar maybe Begovic) was sub-par at best. Agree about his 2016/17. Modern Willian (patchy, not as energetic in defence, less able to stamp his mark on a game should he start poorly) IMO has been around since 2017/18.

In the past, Willian made up for his lack of offensive thrust by putting in a good, solid, workmanlike shift - he could also come up with a pearler of a goal even when his general play was anonymous. These days though, he doesn't quite display the defensive energy of old and like you said, he can no longer seem to stamp his mark if he starts out anonymously. I think his time at the club is slowly drawing to a close.