27 minutes ago, ducavis said:

Might be in the minority but I think the switch to the middle of the park will do him a lot of good in the long run. The last few games he has played at RB he has struggled to keep up with the opposition winger when he has been beaten with pace. Kimmich at a point was the best RB on the planet, he transitioned to CM and has been brilliant in that role for Bayern.

He didn't transition to CM, he just went back to his natural position. Kimmich was first and foremost a CM, Pep just did his Pep thing and played people elsewhere.

James is the best RB on the planet, his best attribute is his delivery from wide. Not sure why we'd want to take that from him..

Reece has now been fit and in the squad for 10 consecutive games. Long may it continue, by far the best player we have.

9 minutes ago, Ukraine Bolt said:

Reece has now been fit and in the squad for 10 consecutive games. Long may it continue, by far the best player we have.

I Know he's been a bit quiet of late, but surely that still has to be Cole Palmer?

1 minute ago, Nibs said:

I Know he's been a bit quiet of late, but surely that still has to be Cole Palmer?

Hard to compare an attacker with a defender but give me them both fit and on top form and i'm choosing Reece.

15 minutes ago, Ukraine Bolt said:

Hard to compare an attacker with a defender but give me them both fit and on top form and i'm choosing Reece.

Reece is a great player, WHEN FULLY FIT, but Palmer is a match-winner / game changer and IMO, is far & away our best player.

Just hope he starts showing it again..............!

14 hours ago, Remodez said:

Our midfielders need to cover a lot of ground in this system, I would argue this is worse for someone as injury prone as Reece. I also just don't think he offers more than any of our other midfielders in that position.

He's still our best right back regardless so should be playing there.

Fair point but I still feel the constant changing directions, and running up and down wrecked him. Let’s be honest he looks leggy at RB, and when he gets caught upfield he leaves behind a big hole. In the middle of the park he isn’t being asked to make short sprints. I still feel he can be devastating in the middle of the park by picking up out our attackers with pinpoint long balls.

I think he may have to abandon the RB or RWB position due to his limited physical conditions. We aren't overloaded with options either in midfield without Levia, unless we count KDH as a serous option. I'm just happy to see James play without breaking down, to be honest. He's still a much better footballer than many of the current rosters, even playing as a striker.

10 hours ago, ducavis said:

Fair point but I still feel the constant changing directions, and running up and down wrecked him. Let’s be honest he looks leggy at RB, and when he gets caught upfield he leaves behind a big hole. In the middle of the park he isn’t being asked to make short sprints. I still feel he can be devastating in the middle of the park by picking up out our attackers with pinpoint long balls.

I'm not against him playing in midfield in general, it's just under this particular system I don't see how he would survive. Lavia can barely manage it himself.

More sprints at full back compared to midfield.

What about all the fans on here that said he was finished etc etc? Well, I was one of them ! ,😂

Hope he stays injury free, such a good player .

23 hours ago, The Rising Sun said:

What about all the fans on here that said he was finished etc etc? Well, I was one of them ! ,😂

Hope he stays injury free, such a good player .

I'm still yet to be convinced that James isn't finished. If James can no longer be the player he once was, then have we really got him back?

He's a solid player right now but Ive yet to see anything that suggests we got the old James back to be honest. Still a great achievement to be this good despite all those injuries though.

Hope this CM shift is only temporary until his hamstring is stronger and Lavia is back. I don't see how playing CM is any less strain than playing the RB/RCB role that Fofana was playing yesterday tbh.

14 minutes ago, Ukraine Bolt said:

Hope this CM shift is only temporary until his hamstring is stronger and Lavia is back. I don't see how playing CM is any less strain than playing the RB/RCB role that Fofana was playing yesterday tbh.

It isn't. CM is very tasking, even more so in this system that relies on man to man marking. If he was just holding a zone it would be fine.

Also sorry to say but James just isn't very good in CM from what I've seen so far. The amount of space he left chasing shadows was worrying. Probably not even his fault, more a system issue. Good option to have against relegation teams I guess but certainly not a long term position for him.

Putting him in midfield smacks of having to play him somewhere because they made him the highest paid player (currently) at the club by giving him a £250K a week contract ... same as Enzo has to play because they spent £107m on him.

In reality neither are adding enough to the team right now, especially in the positions Maresca is asking them to play !

1 hour ago, Ukraine Bolt said:

Hope this CM shift is only temporary until his hamstring is stronger and Lavia is back. I don't see how playing CM is any less strain than playing the RB/RCB role that Fofana was playing yesterday tbh.

I reckon it’s a long term shift. Always wondered at the beginning of the season why Maresca wasn’t mirroring Pep & Arteta’s defence with 3 CBs, now he has everyone fit i think Fofana will be the one occupying the RB role.

29 minutes ago, ducavis said:

I reckon it’s a long term shift. Always wondered at the beginning of the season why Maresca wasn’t mirroring Pep & Arteta’s defence with 3 CBs, now he has everyone fit i think Fofana will be the one occupying the RB role.

James was LCB start of this season wasn't he? Would rather see him there pinging diagonals than Badiashile.

36 minutes ago, ducavis said:

I reckon it’s a long term shift. Always wondered at the beginning of the season why Maresca wasn’t mirroring Pep & Arteta’s defence with 3 CBs, now he has everyone fit i think Fofana will be the one occupying the RB role.

Thankfully Enzo won't be here in the long term.

Personally I hope he plays in midfield for rest of the season to get his fitness back up to scratch, then next season we take a big risk and play him as a wing back.

If his body breaks down again, I’m guessing that’ll be the point we all accept he is finished.

Fingers crossed this scenario doesnt happen. but I dont think he'll be here past the summer if he remains fit.

Pure profit. Think the yanktards will want to cash in on him before his next injury turns up, no one is safe in the squad, not even Palmer who would be sold this summer if the right bid came in.

We're back to being a selling club again.

17 hours ago, bluetrooper said:

Fingers crossed this scenario doesnt happen. but I dont think he'll be here past the summer if he remains fit.

Pure profit. Think the yanktards will want to cash in on him before his next injury turns up, no one is safe in the squad, not even Palmer who would be sold this summer if the right bid came in.

We're back to being a selling club again.

Why would you be crossing your fingers if there has been zero precedence for them selling our best players? If Hazard and Ronaldo had prices, everyone does.

2 hours ago, venom2011 said:

Why would you be crossing your fingers if there has been zero precedence for them selling our best players? If Hazard and Ronaldo had prices, everyone does.

Did you see what happened to Gallagher last summer, he was forced out of the club, we signed a player to force his departure... No? dont recall that? Did you miss it?

Perhaps you missed the Chalobah story... you know, wasnt good enough for Chelsea but is currently in our starting line up having been recalled from Palace after he was forced out the club. In line to be sold this summer.

Now, what is it about Ben Chilwell, a champions league winning left back who is an England international not playing for chelsea and who is out on loan at Palace?

did you miss the last three years at the club?

On 18/03/2025 at 11:00, bluetrooper said:

Did you see what happened to Gallagher last summer, he was forced out of the club, we signed a player to force his departure... No? dont recall that? Did you miss it?

Perhaps you missed the Chalobah story... you know, wasnt good enough for Chelsea but is currently in our starting line up having been recalled from Palace after he was forced out the club. In line to be sold this summer.

Now, what is it about Ben Chilwell, a champions league winning left back who is an England international not playing for chelsea and who is out on loan at Palace?

did you miss the last three years at the club?

So my statement: there has been zero precedence for them selling our best players - referencing the talent of Reece, and your counterpoints are to mention Gallagher, Chalobah, and Ben Chilwell? Why not throw Mount in there as well. You've clearly paid attention for the past 3 years but I'm not sure it's helped much...

9 hours ago, venom2011 said:

So my statement: there has been zero precedence for them selling our best players - referencing the talent of Reece, and your counterpoints are to mention Gallagher, Chalobah, and Ben Chilwell? Why not throw Mount in there as well. You've clearly paid attention for the past 3 years but I'm not sure it's helped much...

Gallagher was our best midfielder not names Caicedo last season and they were desperate to ship him out.

Edited March 20, 20251 yr by Ukraine Bolt

15 minutes ago, Ukraine Bolt said:

Gallagher was our best midfielder not names Caicedo last season and they were desperate to ship him out.

Personally, I thought Gallagher was our best midfielder full stop last season.