DaRick

TBF, it is easy to look foolish with hindsight. That said, I didn't think Alonso was as bad during that time as he clearly thought. It was just that he didn't start to become a real threat going forward until after New Year's Day 2017.

From one of Britain's finest musical exports...

The Song Is Over, @Backbiter? How about... ?

The difficulty with the whole false 9 position is that it suits a player who can drop deep, turn and play through balls while scoring himself. Pedro is a capable scorer in the right system but he isn't overly inclined to drop deep to collect the ball from what I've seen and he isn't particularly creative. Willian can drop deep to collect the ball, but he has never been particularly prolific and is at best moderately creative. Hazard is in theory capable in that position but in practice is far better utilised cutting in on the left and running at defenders.

Looks like we all underestimated Watford. Now let's see if they can remain in the top half for more than 19 games...

Wat? Watford are winning?

Hopefully this win puts the ghosts of last season's corresponding 0-3 to rest.

Well, that's because they pretty much are. As for Arsenal it's great to see that their defending is still awful.

If Bournemouth were known for sitting back and defending deep yes, but they've usually been quite attacking. Morata certainly has a better chance of getting in behind their defence. Anyway, Morata can always be hooked.

Willian instead of Pedro? Either Pedro isn't 100% or Sarri is expecting to counter-attack quite a lot.

I expect plenty of goals in this game. Bournemouth have a fair amount of attacking quality so I am somewhat nervous, but their defence has always been somewhat fragile and one of their more consistent performers (Adam Smith) is suspended, so we should certainly be grabbing all 3 points provided that we don't implode as we did in January.

I assume because staying in the league will provide more £ for Mike Ashley to siphon off.

The phrase '2028/19 kit' sums up the current home kit quite well IMO. It looks like a failed attempt to combine a futuristic design with the ever-present blue kit and logo in that sense. I hate it when clubs do that.

Good win at a bogey ground - unfortunate that I missed it.

Gattuso/Biglia/Donnaruma/Musacchio have received more blame than Bakayoko - not that Bakayoko was much good.

My thoughts: 1) Impressive side. Great to see Kovacic fully fit. 2) Willian on the bench? Well he has been very useful at times coming off the bench - I remember in December 2016 he scored a counter-attacking goal against Manchester City. Could be useful against tired legs? 3) Clearly, Sarri is counting on Pedro's predatory movement and finishing against what will be a tight defence. 4) I have misgivings about this game because of Newcastle's past record, but I could very well see Sarri's attacking 4-4-3 comfortably defeat Newcastle, who've not convinced all season long (assuming that the other player's aren't spooked about St James Park). 5) However, Benitez still has it within him to frustrate sides by setting up very deep (and indeed appears to be doing so). Fortunate that Lascelles is injured then. Deprives Newcastle of their best CB, aerial threat and aerial defence should we cross too often. NOW, I'll be falling asleep so probably won't get to watch this. C'MON CHELSEA! BLAST THAT PARKED BUS!

Correct - was a decent but not outstanding player in Mainz and so Newcastle managed to get him cheaply.

Good work Wolves. They've been alright so far in the PL. Not great, but alright.

Might lose 5-0 in the end but they haven't done too much wrong so far.

Turkish Super Lig also-ran. Apparently Ramires is close to returning to Benfica: https://desporto.sapo.pt/futebol/primeira-liga/artigos/benfica-volta-a-carga-por-ramires

American hardcore punk classic.

Yeah Luiz IMO was never quite creative enough to play in the midfield against lesser opposition.

One of the lesser songs off their 'Strange Days' album IMO.

Preliminary thoughts: I must say that predicting 2-5 and 8-19 is very difficult. Don't blame yourselves if your predictions are awry - mine probably will be! 1) Man City - Have the strongest squad on paper by a distance and are firmly inculcated into Guardiola's philosophy, although de Bruyne's injury may hurt a little over the short-term. 2) Liverpool - Have bought well this summer IMO. I do think they still have issues in the midfield RE creativity and may still struggle to break down deep-lying defences as a result, but they are again fully versed in Klopp's ways and so are IMO just about the safest bet for 2nd. Wouldn't surprise me if I turned out to be wrong though. 3) Chelsea - IMO we are not ready to seriously compete for the PL, but the fact that we have looked so dangerous going forward despite not being fully acquainted with Sarri's system will seriously worry opponents. I expect us to annihilate many of the lower sides and so be relatively high in the table but also to give away a few stupid goals, especially against stronger opposition. 4) Tottenham - They have done well to keep a fairly strong side together but their 2017/18 was not nearly as impressive as their 2016/17 and the lack of new arrivals (which would allow Pochettino to change things up some if necessary) means that teams may yet suss them out as the season progresses. 5) Man Utd - The notorious 3rd season syndrome is upon Mourinho and it has shown with a general lack of transfer success, possible discord between Mourinho, star players (specifically Pogba) and their board. Mourinho's second season was only good at best and so that doesn't bode well, either, given the typical drop-off between his second and third seasons. If Pogba leaves 5th becomes ever more likely. 6) Arsenal - IMO clearly the weakest of the Big 6. Emery is more of a cup manager than a league manager, their transfers generally haven't impressed me (Torreira/Guendouzi aside) and some of Emery's tactics have been questionable (high-line against Willian/Pedro/Morata?). Even beyond that, they still look seriously vulnerable at the back. 7) Everton - I like Marco Silva as a manager and their transfers have been on the whole fairly intelligent (Richarlison/Digne/Bernard/Mina/Gomes). Even early doors they have looked fairly good in both matches. For mine the strongest side outside the Big 6. No Europa League will help them. 8) Leicester - Tough call. On the one hand they've sold one of their match-winners while their other match-winner has suspended himself for the next few matches. On the other hand, I've been impressed with most of their transfers and Puel has proven adept in the past with counter-attacking sides. Could be lower. 9) Wolves - On paper, a strong Championship squad has been further strengthened by Patricio/Moutinho and maybe even Jimenez/Traore. I'm not as impressed by Dendoncker as many people - he had a poor season for Anderlecht and doesn't play particularly well at CB. Additionally, they might take a little while to adapt to PL football as a squad. When they do... 10) Burnley - Europa League will hurt them somewhat (maybe not so much if they get eliminated early), but this is a very well-drilled side which has added some useful players (Gibson/Vydra). 11) West Ham - Pellegrini is a superior manager to Moyes and many of the players brought in are coming off good seasons or are otherwise quite talented. It will really be a matter of how well they adapt and how well Pellegrini adapts to them. Pellegrini has shown an ability to adapt in the past - he went from his renowned 4-2-2-2 'magic box' to a 4-2-3-1 with Manchester City. He has also adapted players to his formations fairly effectively in the past. 12) Crystal Palace - Ever since Roy was appointed, they've been a deceptively effective PL side. They've kept hold of Zaha but RLC is no longer with them, which might hurt. 13) Bournemouth - A more effective side than many give them credit for, plus Rico/Lerma are good signings. 14) Newcastle - They have the best manager outside of the Big 6, plus Muto/Rondon/Dubravka/Ki are solid players. Even Kenedy performed well for them last season. However, their current striker (Joselu) is not prolific, their best CB is injured, they lack depth at LB and while Schar/Fernandez represent decent business, neither are IMO great defenders. There is also a poisonous atmosphere at Newcastle, caused by the battle between Benitez and Mike Ashley, with the fans obviously favouring Benitez. Such an atmosphere does adversely affect performances. Should still stay up with some comfort though. 15) Fulham - Many PL-standard signings to a reasonably strong Championship squad, but some appear to be out-of-form players like Schurrle/Vietto. Their dartboard approach to transfers evokes QPR's, but at least they've not made the mistake of signing complete has-beens with no upside (unlike QPR). If both fire, then expect Fulham to be higher. If they don't, they might finish even lower. Also have to acclimatise to the PL, while Jokanovic is untested. 16) Brighton & Hove Albion - Bissouma/Tau/Jahanbkhsh/Montoya are all talented, but maybe (Montoya aside) not as accomplished as the below four in Europe. Hughton is more experienced in fighting PL relegation battles than Gracia however. Additionally, Ryan at worst holds his own with Foster and Gross is a very competent player. Should relegation occur, Ryan should move to a mid-table PL side at least. 17) Watford - Richarlison leaving is a big blow, but Deulofeu/Foster/Masina/Navarro are talented. However, Gracia is just an OK manager and had it not been for our capitulation against them, they would not have finished above 40 points. Richarlison leaving influences this rating - it still could go either way. 18) Southampton - Defensively they're fine, but going forward they're toothless. They'll draw a lot of games, but if they stay up it will be due to the poor performances of those around them. 19) Huddersfield - Scrappy, combative, well-led squad - but again lacking the attacking firepower to survive. Mooy should move to a mid-table PL side should they get relegated. 20) Cardiff - Championship-level manager + Championship-level squad = Championship place for 2019/20.

No doubt about his commitment, but the guy is 31. He is at the age where you start to slow down and lose stamina.