KaKa

My guy Eze! Glad for him. Has been off the boil for a while now.

Leeds man. Their defence is such a disaster.

What a ball from Olise to Eze. Geez. Would have both if Palace relegate.

Ayling is so goofy.

Leeds deserve to get relegated for letting Jordan Ayew score against them.

Really surprised at how bad Edouard has been at Palace.

I know it was Scotland, but he looked so much more dynamic there.

I am actually really in the mood to see Liverpool get humbled at home and see Klopp miserable afterwards so hope you're right!

Leeds should be so much better than they are. 

Too wasteful in the final third and too careless at the back.

2 minutes ago, LionOfGosforth said:

 

Hodgson might not work but he's definitely made them more attacking, not quite as painful to watch. They could have scored 2 in this game today already and made a lot of chances last week, maybe at the expense of their defending though. Seem to remember watching a game a few weeks ago and the commentator said something like they hadn't had a shot on target in 3 straight games or something. They were dreadful to watch under Vieira.

Think they had played a set of really tough fixtures during that period they didn't register any shots.

However, just for what he did last season I think Vieira deserved a chance to get through the season .

Think they badly miss Gallagher from last season, and the Edouard signing just didn't come off for them and so they are quite toothless upfront.

Zaha has also been out injured for a while now and he's the one attacking player that did do well for Vieira.

Just now, LionOfGosforth said:

How did we fail to score against Palace in 3 whole games man, they're terrible

They didn't look this open under Vieira. Looks like this Hodgson thing is going to go terribly wrong.

Just now, Super Duper Branko Strupar said:

 

 Did he swing his foot at the penalty spot there?

Yeah, seemed to get it mixed up with the ball

Needs to be drug tested the second after the final whistle blows.

Palace deserve relegating for this Hodgson stunt. They have looked a complete mess. Definitely  going to be worse off than under Vieira. 

Most of their players are so incredibly likeable and sound though. Would love to see them pull this off, especially since they have legitimately played the best football this season. Arteta is secondary to those guys for me really.

Can't have them doing a Bayern in the Premier League though man. It's disrespectful.

I'm sick of Man City man. They really took the piss landing Haaland for £50 million this past summer the scoundrels.

It would be incredibly satisfying for them to have him come in and score 40 goals or whatever he ends up on, and for them to lose out on the title to Arsenal with Jesus and Zinchenko playing a big part in it for them.

Filthy nutmeg and curled finish from Gouiri ... wew.

Just now, KetsbaiaIsBald said:

I felt at the time it was too much money.  This wasn’t based on knowledge of the player just stats and it just seemed we were getting a little desperate due to other deals failing.

 

From what we’ve seen so far he had it all goals wise:

- goals on break against Liverpool 

- the cracking header the other week

- the shin in from a cross

- a couple tap ins being in the right place

- creating his own chance from the wing where he skinned the player (I dont actually remember if he scored this or set up a goal)

- now the long range goal

 

On top of this his midfield/link up play is outstanding.  

 

If he can keep this up this season and next he’ll be mentioned with some of the best players in Europe ?

 

Yeah, a big deal was made about his stats last season by a few when we signed him.

However, he had already shown he could get goals previously, and more than that, his whole style of play and his physical attributes are just so well suited to the Premier League, and that was the key thing for me.

Whenever I watched him for Sociedad it was such a slower paced team that never looked to get him the ball early in space. Was such a waste. They also played a diamond setup last season with him a bit wider as the right side forward, which was a bit different for him.

Lyon vs Rennes on BT Sport now.

Have been linked with both Cherki and Majer and they both start for each team respectively.

Listening to Chelsea fans over the last week or so, I don't think they realise how easily they could start to fall away due to the mismanagement of so much money and the mess over identifying the right manager first time around and putting him in position to succeed.

Just throwing money at stuff is not going to fly anymore like it used to. You'd better have the right manager in place and a solid structure behind him that identifies and gets him the right players that suit his approach.

There's just too much money in the Prem and too many players and managers willing to work join the league. The likes of Newcastle, Villa, Brighton, Wolves etc are now no longer just recycling PFM managers that are just going to sit back against these so called 'top teams'. They are all now attracting legitimate managers with sound philosophies that can lead very good teams with players decent enough to cause serious problems.

Chelsea and Spurs with a few missteps this summer could be in big trouble going forward, as Newcastle and Villa in particular are progressing very quickly with everything already in place.

Just now, SUPERTOON said:

Reports suggest city want to sell as he wont sign a new deal, not sure how true of course.

Ah, right. That's interesting. Just had a look and he's going into the last year of his contract this summer now, and so he could well have to be sold if he doesn't want to sign.

Link makes a lot more sense now as he seems to have done really well for Burnley and is highly rated. Another possibility there then and the fee would not be crazy due to the circumstances.

Just now, Jack27 said:

We could probably get Roger Ibanez for 20m if big Jose wants to do us a favour

That's another guy we've actually been linked with too. We seem to be looking at a lot of those younger right footed CBs and a good number seem to be available for a decent fee that isn't extortionate.

1 minute ago, SUPERTOON said:

In terms of young CBs we are being quite strongly linked with Taylor Harwood-Bellis from city, had impressed on loan at Burnley this season by all accounts.

Yeah, saw that the other day. Looks like he will be at Burnley again on loan next season though. Not sure Man City will be looking to sell him.

17 hours ago, Dyeyzzon said:

Aye Schade had his number first half but Botman went on to win every duel in the second. Quietly epitomized our turnaround. 

Once he had a better idea of his speed he had him figured out. First half he didn't seem to realise or have a good idea of how quick the striker was. Quality defender. Love the fact that he doesn't fall to pieces when he makes a mistake, but instead seems to adjust and get better from there onwards.

2 minutes ago, STM said:

Was thinking he would cost less than 20m. A young CB of Botmans ilk is going to cost 30+ IMO.

Can't see Brighton selling him for less than £20 million.

Add another £10 million to that and we could easily find another younger CB in the Botman mould on the continent.

Danso, Djalo, Lacroix just some examples that have been linked to us at around that £30 million price.

5 minutes ago, Hanshithispantz said:

Dunk is great but CB isn’t a position you want to be willingly shifting about too much and they’re next to useless as subs for the most part. Either him or Schar would be sitting on the bench for most of the season.

 

Signing a defender slightly past it I would get like, but Dunk isn’t near that stage yet.

Likely going to be in Europe and so we could definitely do with a younger CB to rotate with Schar as he is getting on now.

40 minutes ago, STM said:

Not a rumour but a suggestion of sorts: Lewis Dunk.

 

Hear me out...

 

If we can't get a "top target" for the RCB role. I.e a young player to come in and compete with Schar and eventually take his place, we could do the opposite and sign an experienced player who's been outstanding this season.

 

Dunk is a better CB than Dan Burn, he's experienced, excellent on the ball, another absolute unit, plays in a very similar system and wouldn't cost alot of money.

 

It would be effectively kicking the CB can down the road for a season but it would allow us to keep our powder dry if there are financial constraints.

 

Before anyone goes wild, it's just a different suggestion/strategy to explore.

He's the same age as Fabian Schar though, so not sure I understand the thinking.

Also, Brighton are likely to ask for a fee that is likely to be similar to what we will spend on a younger CB.

I think we'll just spend to get in Botman's future partner. We've been linked with Danso at Lens (who is home grown as he was at MK Dons when he was younger) and Djalo at Lille who played with Botman when he was there. Both would cost around £20 million to £30 million I imagine.

5 minutes ago, BonesJones said:

 

I'm taking your word for it, and holding you accountable otherwise!

It just makes too much sense for them to keep him.

On top of that, with how we are doing this season they especially would not want to sell to us, unless they feel that they can rip us off, and we will not go for that.

And I say this as someone that can see him fitting in very well under Howe and his setup. I don't dislike his game as much as a lot of you seem to.