51 minutes ago, Jezq8 said:

If only Reece and chilly were not out for the December run. I reckon we would still be challenging for the title.

 

reece is a vital player in the system Thomas plays 

Man city have the quality in depth that comes from having pep and that system for years

But Liverpool without Robertson and TAA would be struggling for top 4

 

 

 

 

3 minutes ago, bisright1 said:

Man city have the quality in depth that comes from having pep and that system for years

And we are still only 10 points behind them with all the injuries and sh*t we've dealt with this season.

To me that's a testament to how good a manager we have. I don't see any reason why we wouldn't have 6-8 more points if Reece James had been available all season and we'd be right up there with them then. Then if you want to add a healthy Chilwell on the left flank as well as I could imagine us being ahead of City right now.

1 hour ago, Deino said:

Might go on to be our best sideback since Ash

Thank you, now all I have in my head is a podcaster I listen to shouting ‘flagkick’ and ‘hit it Martin!’ from their Melchester (Roy of the Rovers) Odyssey. I wish some other c**t here would understand these references! 

2 hours ago, Jezq8 said:

If only Reece and chilly were not out for the December run. I reckon we would still be challenging for the title.

 

reece is a vital player in the system Thomas plays 

Possibly, but I personally don't think it's that simple. If it was, then our lack of a plan B is inexcusable with the squad we have. We should be able to change things up and remain competitive if injuries disrupt plan A. 

I think we would have had the same struggles had James and Chilwell remained fit anyway. December, January and February are often poor months for us these days and I don't think that would have been all that different even if James and Chilwell were fit. It may not have been quite as tough as it has been at times, but I'm not convinced that we would have kept up with City and Liverpool. Just look at James form in the month before he got injured, he wasn't playing well at all, I remember mentioning at the time. The injury took him out of the firing line, but he was fully part of the squad that's form had suddenly nose dived after Chilwell's injury.

27 minutes ago, Scott Harris said:

I don't think that would have been all that different even if James and Chilwell were fit.

Of course it would of been different, it no coincidence our best wins/performances have been when James is on the pitch (and Lukaku isn't).

4 hours ago, Scott Harris said:

Possibly, but I personally don't think it's that simple. If it was, then our lack of a plan B is inexcusable with the squad we have. We should be able to change things up and remain competitive if injuries disrupt plan A. 

I think we would have had the same struggles had James and Chilwell remained fit anyway. December, January and February are often poor months for us these days and I don't think that would have been all that different even if James and Chilwell were fit. It may not have been quite as tough as it has been at times, but I'm not convinced that we would have kept up with City and Liverpool. Just look at James form in the month before he got injured, he wasn't playing well at all, I remember mentioning at the time. The injury took him out of the firing line, but he was fully part of the squad that's form had suddenly nose dived after Chilwell's injury.

I agree. Chilwell is actually more important for us structurally because he's the fullback that penetrates the middle. Reece was always the extra extra attacker to stretch opponents further

Good to him back yesterday and looking back in form.

This not a biased comment Reece James is the best RB in the league. It’s rare to find a player who is offensively and defensively outstanding, but James certainly fits the criteria. Liverpool may not appreciate that comment but TAA maybe offensively brilliant but defensively is suspect and vulnerable in counter attacks because of his diminished speed.

Unbelievably delighted to have this baller back!

We need rwb cover in the summer that is evident now and the level cannot be much lower than Reece which makes the task even harder. Hakimi in hindsight may have kept us competitive when we lost our starting wbs. 

It's a shame Ben is pretty much out for the season because I believe Chillwell and James are the best wingbacks in world football. Having both in the squad for me would have meant we could still try and chase City or Liverpool were they to slip but most importantly we would still be favourites for the ucl. Nevertheless I still think having James back improves our chances in any competition he's that good.

14 hours ago, coco said:

Of course it would of been different, it no coincidence our best wins/performances have been when James is on the pitch (and Lukaku isn't).

But the slump in form didn't start when James got injured. It was in full effect with him playing the majority of games.

1-1 draw vs United, he started.

3-2 defeat vs West Ham, he started

3-3 draw vs Zenit, he started.

3-2 win vs Leeds where we were outplayed, he started.

1-1 draw vs Everton, he started.

0-0 draw vs Wolves, he started.

3-1 win vs Villa, he started, scored an own goal, and we were struggling before we made changes.

1-1 draw vs Brighton, he started.

So no, based on the results and performances before his injury, I don't think things would have been much different. The injury probably did him a favour, because it took him out of the firing line and gave him a chance to recharge and go again.

 

2 minutes ago, Scott Harris said:

But the slump in form didn't start when James got injured. It was in full effect with him playing the majority of games.

1-1 draw vs United, he started.

3-2 defeat vs West Ham, he started

3-3 draw vs Zenit, he started.

3-2 win vs Leeds where we were outplayed, he started.

1-1 draw vs Everton, he started.

0-0 draw vs Wolves, he started.

3-1 win vs Villa, he started, scored an own goal, and we were struggling before we made changes.

1-1 draw vs Brighton, he started.

So no, based on the results and performances before his injury, I don't think things would have been much different. The injury probably did him a favour, because it took him out of the firing line and gave him a chance to recharge and go again.

 

One defeat in that list Scott, and that was a fluke result for WH with fluke goals.

I'm, really shocked you can't see how much better we look with Reece.

 

18 minutes ago, coco said:

One defeat in that list Scott, and that was a fluke result for WH with fluke goals.

I'm, really shocked you can't see how much better we look with Reece.

 

I can also say it's only 2 wins in 8, enough to derail a title challenge.

I'm also not saying we don't look better with James in the side, he's one of the first names on the team sheet this season. My main point was that I don't think we would have still been in the title race had James remained fit. Based on how many points we were dropping and his own form at the time, I have no reason to believe we would have been able to keep up with City.

15 minutes ago, Scott Harris said:

I can also say it's only 2 wins in 8, enough to derail a title challenge.

I'm also not saying we don't look better with James in the side, he's one of the first names on the team sheet this season. My main point was that I don't think we would have still been in the title race had James remained fit. Based on how many points we were dropping and his own form at the time, I have no reason to believe we would have been able to keep up with City.

It's only a 10 points gap, with Chilly and James i don't see us having a gap at all, and we would be above Liverpool.

1 hour ago, Scott Harris said:

But the slump in form didn't start when James got injured. It was in full effect with him playing the majority of games.

1-1 draw vs United, he started.

3-2 defeat vs West Ham, he started

3-3 draw vs Zenit, he started.

3-2 win vs Leeds where we were outplayed, he started.

1-1 draw vs Everton, he started.

0-0 draw vs Wolves, he started.

3-1 win vs Villa, he started, scored an own goal, and we were struggling before we made changes.

1-1 draw vs Brighton, he started.

So no, based on the results and performances before his injury, I don't think things would have been much different. The injury probably did him a favour, because it took him out of the firing line and gave him a chance to recharge and go again.

 

Were we? It was far from the vintage performance but at no point in the game did I feel Leeds were outplaying us.

2 hours ago, coco said:

It's only a 10 points gap, with Chilly and James i don't see us having a gap at all, and we would be above Liverpool.

A 10 point gap against City is game over. There is no way they drop that many points more than us. Even with Chilwell and James, I wouldn't rule out us struggling in December, January and February.

Edited March 6, 20224 yr by Scott Harris

1 minute ago, Scott Harris said:

A 10 point gap against City is game over. There is no way they drop that many points more than us. Even with Chilwell and James, I wouldn't rule out another us struggling in December, January and February.

You keep going on about our bad winter form, but it was just the same last season, and we ended up CL winners, i wouldn't be that shocked if we won it again this year.

Tuchel has got the team sorted , we now look tough to beat again, Lukaku out of the way, Havertz showing form, Chilly and Ziyech to return, first half yesterday was slack,  we take our time in matches to get going, but our fitness and talent shines through as the match goes on. If you thought it was all doom and gloom you would not watch the games every week. Don't lose the faith.

 

2 hours ago, Scott Harris said:

I can also say it's only 2 wins in 8, enough to derail a title challenge.

I'm also not saying we don't look better with James in the side, he's one of the first names on the team sheet this season. My main point was that I don't think we would have still been in the title race had James remained fit. Based on how many points we were dropping and his own form at the time, I have no reason to believe we would have been able to keep up with City.

I agree. It's clear that we are better with reece but it is impossible to have reece to be the difference maker offensively every game like yesterday. He is playing wb with it come with heavy defensive duty.

We need more from our lwb and midfielder.

4 minutes ago, coco said:

You keep going on about our bad winter form, but it was just the same last season, and we ended up CL winners, i wouldn't be that shocked if we won it again this year.

Tuchel has got the team sorted , we now look tough to beat again, Lukaku out of the way, Havertz showing form, Chilly and Ziyech to return, first half yesterday was slack,  we take our time in matches to get going, but our fitness and talent shines through as the match goes on. If you thought it was all doom and gloom you would not watch the games every week. Don't lose the faith.

 

If we got exactly the same draw as last season then we have a good chance to win cl

7 minutes ago, coco said:

You keep going on about our bad winter form, but it was just the same last season, and we ended up CL winners, i wouldn't be that shocked if we won it again this year.

Tuchel has got the team sorted , we now look tough to beat again, Lukaku out of the way, Havertz showing form, Chilly and Ziyech to return, first half yesterday was slack,  we take our time in matches to get going, but our fitness and talent shines through as the match goes on. If you thought it was all doom and gloom you would not watch the games every week. Don't lose the faith.

 

I keep going on about it because the original point of the discussion was about us competing for the league title if we had kept Chilwell and James fit during this period. We can't compete for the league title again until we stop that from happening.

5 hours ago, coco said:

If you thought it was all doom and gloom you would not watch the games every week.

Yes we would. 

14 hours ago, LongtimerLurker said:

We need rwb cover in the summer that is evident now and the level cannot be much lower than Reece which makes the task even harder. Hakimi in hindsight may have kept us competitive when we lost our starting wbs. 

It's a shame Ben is pretty much out for the season because I believe Chillwell and James are the best wingbacks in world football. Having both in the squad for me would have meant we could still try and chase City or Liverpool were they to slip but most importantly we would still be favourites for the ucl. Nevertheless I still think having James back improves our chances in any competition he's that good.

Exactly my thoughts.  If we persist with this system, WBs are critical.  Given the number of games, we need quality for rotation.  Shame Livramento didn't hang around as that could have worked out nicely.  No idea how to address the left side.

Edited March 7, 20224 yr by PhilH930

10 hours ago, PhilH930 said:

Exactly my thoughts.  If we persist with this system, WBs are critical.  Given the number of games, we need quality for rotation.  Shame Livramento didn't hang around as that could have worked out nicely.  No idea how to address the left side.

 What if we signed Saul to play left wb he's definitely ahead of Kennedy imo and offers more than Emerson did last season granted he only played twice. Idk what the situation with Alonso will be next season, but I would like to see Saul played here more for the rest of the season to see if he is worth the £30m investment.

If his recent form is anything to go by I think he would be a solid addition to the squad after overcoming his earlier struggles. Doesn't mean we don't look for other options but I would definitely consider him.