Tiresias

For teh record he is a very good player, but he's very much a tradeoff player, he will get caught out of position and you have to accept that because he will create a lot of goals doing what he does, and if you have a quick in form virgil van dyke alongside he will sweep up the occasional mess. Has Klopp played TAA in midfield in any of the big games? Or was it in a game where Liverpool were going to dominate and needed to break down a low block. That is the scenario I can maaaaaybe see some merit and maybe that will be the case but I just don't think Southgates England dominate games like that on the regular, there is normally some defending required and i'd prefer the midfield to be keeping possession or pressing high to regain, will TAA not just float around too much? Hmmmm

I swear to god TAA is going to have to perform like fucking beckenbauer to get me to accept he's actually a midfielder. I still only think it gets bandied about because he's shit at defending but I also think you kinda have to have spatial awareness as a midfielder too...

Absolutely captain material. Great mentality, wonderful role model to the younger players ans quite frankly think the whole city would follow him into war

I'd have been shocked if he was culled, his end product has been great and he is very much southgate style. Suspect he will be on bench a lot due to foden tho

Ballooning prices and agent fees had meant that increased revenue by a lot of clubs has not led to greater spending power, and as soon as a player has a sniff of being quality they immediately are priced out of anywhere but the richest who will hoard as many players as possible almost as much to keep them away from rivals. It's good for clubs that can produce this talent but it's also generated a sporting ecology where a lot of clubs only ambition is to sell anyone who's any good. I know all rules gone we could spend our way to the top. But all this spending is toxic i believe. All those hundred million in agents fees could be spent reducing ticket prices

But that's what they did they said it won't be approved if 777 couldn't do x and 777 couldn't do X. I don't see why the league should be imposing deadlines that would just be arbitrary. The only reason it's taken so long is because of Everton not the league.

Completely disagree. Why shouldn't the league say it can go ahead with these stipulations? Why should it be on the league to call time on it? Maybe the company could come through with their demands as unlikely as it clearly was? Just saying no when circumstances change would be ludicrously arbitrary. The rules should clearly be takeovers are allowed if criteria are met not we say no then no matter what changes it's still a no? It is entirely on moshiri too live in the delusion they would come through, not for the league to talk an owner into common sense. Everton fans I've spoken to have long long long been aware 777 was never going to go through. Slating the league for the delusion of the owner is nonsense.

Doesnt want to come? Don't want him. We'll sign someone else. People are so traumatized by the Ashley era when we would pick one target, pursue all window and then they'd turn us down and teh club would shrug like nothing they could do

777 should absolutely not be allowed to take over a football club they are a borderline pyramid scheme and the takeover was delayed because basically the premier league said no chance unless you can demonstrate a standard of liquidity that it was beyond obvious that they never would. Everton should have pulled the plug on it there and then but Moshiri continued to bet everything that this dodgy company defaulting on huge debts here there and everywhere would somehow prove themselves to actually have money they never did. This was the regulation actually doing it's job all the blame needs to fall on Moshiri (and 777 group but really they are chancers whose model relies on moving debt around and continually expanding to pay off the increasing debt, a model with a very obvious end point).

He was excellent a few times bit anonymous the others, was just acclimatizing to new league etc very normal. Hopefully season in training will have got him up to speed, though I do worry about actual match sharpness with so much time out, it can never be quite the same on a training ground

I do fear Net Playing time will actually slow down the game, I would be interested to see it trialled though, is it used anywhere in any weird league or equivalent sport that could provide relevant data? If it slows the game down bad, but also if it can cause a lot of variance in game length (I actually doubt it would) it could cause logistical issues with fans being let out etc etc. May be a bit of a non issue but we'll see. The other would be last game of season relegation and title deciders, you want to know results elsewhere and have as much playing time after as you can, the teams are incentivised to have as little playing time as slowly as possible...

Really excited for flying substitutes

One really suspects that the Chelsea brass have watched some youtube videos about soccer and thought aah yes possession based like pep guardiola thats how we want to play not realising that was only considered peak attractive to watch 10 years ago and even Pep now has got a big old striker up front and doesnt give that much of a shit about posession stats. Ironically the first sacked coach Tuchel was a bit more defend using possession style and was very boring.

Excellent servant to the club all in all, as with many of his generation of players tainted with the general malaise and lack of ambition of the era but that's not his fault. Didn't he try and punch Bruce at one point and Bruce was in such a weak position couldn't freeze him out of squad for it. Can leave with head held high.

I dunno Man U won the FA cup that way to be fair

I see your point that Foden does not suit Southgates style as much as Gordon, definitely true but also, 27 goals and 12 assists...hard to really get past that

Sigh done late poor performances now very costly but if you want Europe can't be relying on others. Fear that will cost us bruno

DCL? Aren't our medical team busy enough?

Disappointing but people are allowed to think things through and change minds, it's jumping ship after being tapped up less than a year into a long term project that sticks in the craw somewhat More fish in the sea

Yeah I think Rafa spoke a lot of sense, and I also profoundly disagree with anyone that says Rafa was too negative, he did definitely go caution first but he also changed, his last season was classic, first half we were functional and not especially exciting, but second half we were a counter attacking team but we were a good counter attacking team, not just hoying balls aimlessly.

I'm not saying had to go route 1. Sheffield United sold their best players when they came up and Luton are Luton. Neither are good yardsticks for what can be expected of a promoted team. I'm also very much not suggesting he completely abandon the good football, sorry maybe should have clarified in that. But it's not a binary, positive attacking football or dreary dycheball. You have to accept you are going to have to be more compact if the gegenpress isn't working. I'm not saying he should have turned into Sam Allardyce, but he should have tightened things up. The same issues being present at the end of a season as at the start is a sign of poor management, not heroic sticking to principles. You can play positive attacking football in a more compact manner. You may have to sacrifice a bit of all out attack. I'm sorry but it just doesn't cut it 'sticking to principles'. Relegation affects peoples jobs in that club as well as the fans, hell even the career of players. Again I'm not saying has to start kicking other teams all game etc, but to not even attempt to fix the very real and very obvious problems? That screams of ego getting in the way. they stormed the championship, maybe they still go down anyway, but if I were Burnley I'd feel a lot better if I went down like Luton did, leaving no-one any doubt they gave a good go at it. Sorry I normally love teams like Burnley who play really good football rather than sticking everyone behind ball, but it was just so crap.

If i was at Burnley i would feel sick. Kompany refused to adapt during premier league season leading to them having one of the worst promoted team campaigns in history, the club stick with him for the 'project' despite it being blatantly obvious kompany was prioritising his own career over them by wanting to look like he played attractive football to other clubs, and somehow that strategy worked and now Burnley got themselves relegated for little long term gain. Lesson for football administrators if your manager is refusing to fix an obvious flaw in his own team to look good while you spiral out the league maybe replace the charlatan.

Generally because it allows the defense to press up higher, which means they are closer to the midfield and the attack, meaning they can retain the ball easier and are harder to press. Yes its fashionable but it's not a coincidence it's used by the best sides. You can get away without it if you want to sit deep, this has never been Howe's philosophy though.

Christ they'll be after Lampard soon

They always blow hot and cold though. Glasner may well improve them, can definitely see an improved season, doubt they will trouble the european places, and most likely they will do what they normally do and be rubbish for a chunk of the season below the radar then win a lot bit later in season to get back to respectable mid table.