Colos Short and Curlies

Lampard back to Chelsea until the summer is my guess.

We all know Leicester will try and reappoint Pearson if Rogers leaves

No surprises at all in these, a loss of around £70m was mentioned a few months ago. this years will be more interesting when they come out next Spring but they are still very much in the investment/infrastructure phase and another loss will be expected.

There's only one player who you would 100% not like to see on the pitch at any point in the game there

of course not! it was a peach of a diving header mind, just cleared his own cross bar?

My 5 yr old had his first experience of 'heading' a ball at the weekend when a loose ball in training went awry. He was pretty upset, both in shock but also because he thought you weren't allowed to head the ball in football. Showed him Bruno's goal vs Leicester and he is now both chuffed that has headed a ball and also in love with Bruno.

In the MA thread suggestions he may be fit - and it is a potential bench - if not this week then maybe next

Potential subs bench on Sunday Dubs Targett Lascelles Ritchie Almiron ASM Gordon Wilson Anderson Spot the odd man out

make it 7 and give them a negative gd

They've got a huge decision to make with Kane this summer. Do the unpopular and sell him for £80m-£100m and have cash to rebuild/reshape or hang on for another year and be in the position where they potentially have to replace him with no incoming funds. The problem this summer is a lack of buyers. Man U maybe, Bayern possibly but very little else to drive any sort of price war

100%, if Gordon and ASM aren't starting then it should be Big Joe, Bruno and Longstaff in the middle with Murphy and Little Joe out wide. If Gordon/ASM come into the left then Longstaff takes a breather on the bench and little Joe into the middle

He's only on loan at Brighton isn't he?

I know ‘if my aunt had bollocks she’d be my uncle’ and that, but.. IF we win our games in hand and beat spurs they are 7 behind us. With them still playing Brighton, Liverpool, Man U and even Everton away next I don’t see them winning 3 more games than us from their remaining 9

Sven Leakybotman

Don't know why but love his little celebration strut

Spurs are a bit of a anomaly in the 'Big 6' in that their transfer policy leans more towards a project type manager than the rest do (perhaps Arsenal as well). Potter would have (will do) well at Spurs but will never achieve the same level at Chelsea as he did at Brighton - when putting the ambitions of the two clubs side by side. Frank may also struggle at a Chelsea/Man U / Liverpool / City level due to the level of player he is dealing with and the different approach needed to get the most out of them compared to what he has at Brentford. I dare say he would also do a great job at Spurs and would definitely succeed at Villa or Us. Longer than needed way of saying managing a 'big 6' club is a completely different job to the rest of the league

it’s the intricate football, intense close control then as soon as he is 5 yards out the square button gets fully depressed and a totally unnecessary thunderbastard of a finish. love the crazy bastard

it’s basically like they asked Steve McLaren to write it

theres no way that 11 kept a clean sheet

We MAY get Maddison come what May this summer but I’d say less likely than likely if we get less than EL. No chance with the other 2 without CL. Unless we put another great run together and get CL I think this summer will be another of looking at £25-£40m signings from abroad to take us forward rather than the bigger names that we’ve been linked with over the season.

With Big Joe out for 2 games the 4-3-3 loses its natural balance anyway, so may as well try something new. Bring Targett in at left back, to give Burn a rest if nothing else. Bruno and little Joe in the middle, again I think Longstaff could do with a little rest but nothing in little Joe/Longstaff for the second position ASM and Gordon wide Isak and Wilson up top We'd be exposed against the better teams, but this would give at least half the league a different proposition to think about on how they deal with us

He’s got a golden chance now to try something new with Big Joe missing 2 very winnable (must win if top 4 is a target?) 2 up top, put in a number 10, 3 at the back. or go like for like with Willock coming in for a midfield three. Howe has evolved from his Bournemouth days and I’ve no doubt he will change his approach again with us, but he needs to quickly if the season isn’t going to end in ultimate disappointment.

So avoid throwing him to the wolves in order to throw in to the Wolves

I think he is the perfect counterbalance to Bruno/Miggy/Gordon who are more likely to be direct and look for a quick ball through. If teams look to counter that by sitting back they would then have ASM sitting 25 yards out getting the ball

Phase 3 was the superior stage of the journey to End Game, but phase 4 kinda sucked so hopefully that is pre season!