Shak

If Longstaff and ASM are both still out then I'd find it very hard to suggest a better option than starting the two of them. Gordon and Murphy as the two wingers has been tried twice now and both times we've been absolutely shite with that setup. Have a go at them, fuck it.

Think I prefer him on the left of the front three. He'll be really good in either spot but he's such an absolute joy to watch running at defenders and I think we'll see that a lot more often with him on the left. Also, we'll have more goals in the team with this guy and a striker on the field than with Isak and someone like ASM or Gordon on the left. Would love to see us try to bring in one of the top teenage strikers in the game in the summer. A Moukoko or Vitor Roque, maybe. Someone who is ready to play first team football but would also benefit from being protected a little bit in terms of playing every week. Let them compete with Wilson to be CF. Obviously Isak can still play CF when needed, so we'd have quality depth at such an important position.

Already my favourite player in this squad. He's just a joy to watch play football, if he ever leaves I'm going to set myself on fire.

I wish we could play another half hour. We're so much fun to watch when we have a lead and are just picking teams off when they're caught between trying to push forward and get themselves back in the game and accepting the reality that they're absolutely fucked and should just sit back and try to not concede any more goals.

Next season man, we're doing it. Breakfast too

My stream is behind, it would seem.

Massive "one of those days" vibes. Feels huge, this half.

Wasn't he injured? To be honest I suspect we wanted Maddison but he decided to wait until the summer to see what his options were.

Think he's looked fairly bright today, to be fair to him. My concern is that for the money we paid he looks a lot like a pretty limited player that is going to work hard and put in a shift but not a whole lot more than that. Hasn't been a single moment from him where I've felt we've got a glimpse of some massive potential hiding underneath. Didn't look particularly confident with either of his chances, doesn't look like he's got some outstanding dribbling ability. I know it's hard to come in during the January window and make a big impact but right now I do feel like we've paid £40m for our long term successor to Jacob Murphy as our hard-working backup winger. He'll be a valuable member of the squad for years, I'm sure, but it does feel like we could have signed someone with a bit more about them for that outlay. Hope to be proven wrong.

Isak is the fucking dream, isn't he?

Would have been surprised with anything else. Would be great if Gordon put in a performance, if Longstaff is out for a while we'll need Joelinton and Willock in midfield so we'll need for Gordon to step up or ASM to get fit pretty soon.

I'm not sure he'll want to start Wilson twice in three days, otherwise I'd very much agree. Think it'll be Gordon on the left and Isak up front.

If we get absolutely played off the field and lose 3-0 again just because Longstaff is out... how do you think we process that?

Wasn't he really good against Leeds during the week?

It'll be very interesting to see where Maddison will play in our team if we do get him. We're clearly interested and have been for a long while so Eddie must have a plan. I wouldn't be shocked if he's being eyed up to play quite a bit on the left of the front three. Think he'd be incredibly dangerous there, cutting inside onto his stronger foot. Have to think he'd put Isak in on goal a lot and I could see him linking up with Willock very well with Willock in that LCM position. I reckon he'd play as the most advanced of the midfield three quite a bit, especially in home games against teams that we expect to sit back, but I do think in out current system he'd be probably best suited to playing on the left. Reckon we could sell Maxi and get Maddison without much of a net loss and I don't think I could argue with that as a piece of business. Funnily enough he has similar injury concerns but I do think he'd offer a lot more in terms of a final ball in the final third, something we sorely lack in our squad and are going to need more and more as teams set up negatively against us.

It's a good post but what a relentlessly tedious reply There's a very good debate to be had about ASM's future. Given his injury issues this season and unnatural fit with the way Eddie Howe wants his team to play, if people honestly can't see why cashing in and getting a player who's a better fit for the way we play has some merit then I don't know what to tell them. Equally, given his incredible ability and very clear attempts this season to change his game to fit in with what we do, if anyone can't see the arguement for keeping him another year and seeing if another year in our strength and conditioning program and tactical system on the pitch results in a big leap forward for him than I don't know what to tell them either. Will ultimately just come down to how much Eddie and Allan fancy it IMO.

Aye, this is basically where I am. When you're a shite team going nowhere you desperately cling to players like ASM or Ben Arfa as they're players who are a joy to watch in a team that offers little in that regard. We're not that anymore. It's succulent football all the way for us now, lads. We're going to have a team loaded with players who can do absolutely insane things with a football and won't have the question marks ASM has against him. Not a priority move to make IMO but I can see us trying to cash in now if he's not in the long term plans.

Maybe, but you do wonder if at some point there'll be players who'll look at the way that Chelsea are doing business and think that maybe it's not the best career move? Like, maybe Mudryk is still absolutely delighted with the few million extra he has but I suspect a large part of him really wishes he'd gone to Arsenal. I guess ultimately it's their job and they want to maximise their earnings and Chelsea will probably offer him more in terms of wages but I wouldn't rule us out personally.

Have spent an inordinate amount of time today trying to figure out if he'll be better long term in the middle or on the left of a front three. Call me Natalie Imbruglia on this one, folks, because right now I'm torn. I genuinely feel he'll be absolutely incredible in either role but you can't help but want to see him running at full backs more often after those absolutely disgraceful scenes that he bent us over and forced us to watch last night. There were some reports recently that we like Osimhen. Not the first time we've seen him mentioned either, was on the radar a little last summer. If we were to move ASM on and bring in Osimhen (or another absolute beast of a CF) in... I mean, who doesn't want to watch that? Would also be really good for our squad versatility having him primarily on the left but able to play CF when needed.

Such a blatant Thierry Henry regen, this fella

Not sure if this shithousing is the best idea like, gonna unite the crowd against us rather than their own team.

Why does Owen have that job? He's a shite analyst, has no personality and nobody likes him. There must be someone better?

He has. Doesn't change that we should be looking to improve the position.