RMCM

I assume you mean Elliott at Liverpool? He's a talent, as are gilmour and gallagher, but the club has decided that they need the experience of going out on loan, i'm sure both will feature heavily for us in the future, but Saul was meant to be a 'here and now' signing, and i'm not saying we need to give him loads of time to prove himself but more than 45 minutes is warranted. Players have bad days but clearly he's showing something in training that warrants a start over RLC. I love RLC but there'll be a reason he didn't start yesterday, it's not as if Tuchel is against giving players their chance, I just think we need to wait and see what Saul has to offer, yesterday he stank out the house but we've signed him for a reason and i'm sure he'll prove it.

The knee-jerk reactions are mental. Yes he was sh*te yesterday, no arguing that, but it was 45 minutes in a team he signed for 10 days ago, in a league he's never played in against a team that were unexpectedly aggressive. If he's still playing like that by Christmas then fine, but sh*ting on about how we should have signed X or Y or Z after seeing him play for 45 minutes is a joke.

Between him and Silva for me as man of the match so far, Silva looks unflappable despite the circus going on around him in defence and midfield

Hard to criticize Saul too much in his first game but he looks a bit complacent in posession, used to a lot more time on the ball in la liga. Let's not knee-jerk and say he's garbage just yet though, Villa have come out swinging and look a lot fresher than us in general. Mendy, Kovacic and Silva have been immense though

Saul finding out the pace of the premier league here, probably needs a bit more adjustment time. I'd be getting jorgi on at half time

It's not even debatable that he's one of the best players to ever have played for this club, if he's available for less than 50 million we should leap at it. He's got his problems with fitness and injury and general tubbiness, but at the same time he's not just about his physical attributes because he's a ridiculously talented ball player with his vision, passing, finishing and control. If we can spaff money for years on the Djilobodji's and Baba Rahman's of the world then we can afford to risk 40 million on the best player we've had at the club since Lamps, Drogba and Terry.

Didn't see a thread but apparently, according to the rags which i place little faith in, we've made an offer to Marc Andre Ter Stegen and he's unhappy at Barcelona. If there's any truth to it we should be going all in for him, probably the best goalkeeper in world football at the moment alongside Alisson.

I really rate Ake, but as a matter of timing he's not what we need at the back. We need a dominant all round defender, and that includes aerial ability as we've been exposed time and time again this season by set pieces and crosses, it's probably the main reason Zouma gets in the team is because he's our only real aerial presence in defence. If christensen were to move on, which i'd be fine with, then Ake would be a good signing to replace him, but as of right now we need a nailed on starter CB signing. Everyone harps on about Koulibaly, and to be honest he is exactly what we need, it's just a matter of whether or not we can lure him here. We need a presence in defence that will make strikers second guess themselves, which is why I've always liked players like Sergio Ramos, he's an unfathomable prick, but he puts the sh*ts up even some of the best attackers and is a quality defender. Problem is that there aren't many like that in the game these days.

I think, in his time with us, that he's been a wonderful addition to the squad. Always acted as a true professional, played the game as if he enjoyed just being on the pitch with a smile of his face, and contributed some really meaningful goals and assists in clutch moments for the club. He joined us in the twilight of his career, but was always a real pro and I think the club benefitted from having him here. Hope he sees out his career in good way at Roma and he'll be fondly remembered, at least by me, for his contributions at the club. The lad has won literally every competition in world football at least once, which is how you can tell he's a top top player, cheers Pedro, and thanks for your time at Chelsea!

I was a big believer in Kepa, but he's regressing. Thought he was timid for the first and wasn't in a great starting position for the second. all well and good being decent with the ball at your feet, but if that's the case just stick Jorginho in nets because i reckon he'd save as many as Kepa does. Big Willy time . . . and Caballero should play too

Where was our killer instinct when we were 1-0 up against 10 men? We played our best football before Luiz got sent off, i'm just astonished. The lads need to douse their bollocks in pepper spray to make them get a bit bigger for these games. In fact a kick in the balls for everyone on the team is merited after that

Disappointing result, and I hope Frank learns from this, Kante and Jorginho together really only works against teams that are more open, in these games against sides that are going to park the bus we need either the physicality of barkley or the direct running and dribbling of Kovacic, hopefully RLC comes back soon as well because Mount is looking tired these days, and RLC is our best attack-minded midfielder. Hope James injury is just a knock, he was our only threat all day.

Kepa's been sh*te but i'd still shag him right now

ref has f**ked this up

Gabriel is the biggest c**t in the world

This post has given me AIDS

beautiful vision and execution from willian with that assist

theres a game here yet

To be honest, maybe it was a bit of a soft penalty, but it's Alonso's fault for being a moron in that situation. Yet again he proves his inability to be reliable in a back 4. We need to invest in that area in the summer, a marquee signing left back is needed, Emerson is good but we need depth. Look at City and their fullback options, Any of their 4 full backs would stroll into our team

Imagine being this idiot, must be so embarrassing now, GTFO you clown.

Batman and Captain America, the perfect superhero duo

Willian has been poor but Ajax are pressing the sh*t out of him, hes a player that operates best with a bit of space around him, he's been very good this season (and i have never been his biggest fan) but i feel like we should give him 10-15 minutes in the second half and then maybe look at Pulisic for his pace in behind

Have a bad feeling that they're going to do one on us, but it's two young sides up against each other so really it should be an exciting attacking game. My head says 2-1 to Ajax but my heart says we'll win 3-2

f**k Neymar, he's a c**t. What we need, provided the youth boys continue to impress, is a world class left back and a world class right winger to replace Pedro/ Willian. I'd be looking at Alex Telles from porto for LB and Sancho for the right wing. Once again, f**k neymar

Living in the toon myself it'll be a tough one to take if we don't win this, but I reckon their big display was against United, they're a dreadful team so if we have any sort of form we should be tonking them on home turf. Don't fancy us to keep many clean sheets this season, but i'm going to make a bold prediction and say we'll win this 4-0