Tiresias

One day schar will score a maradonna style run for us again

Great header!

One of the worst short corners you will see lol

Havertz goal is absolute sex

7 hahaha

Hardly unexpected but still we aren't good right now so think Howe needs to ring some changes

Can't get angry at him like others clearly absolutely no confidence and nothing going right for him, Howe needs to swap him round, Howe is gret at so much but is very very stubborn about rotation and can't help but feel he is going to have to get better at that when the squad keeps getting bigger in years to come...

Yeah I guess that does make sense I just am unsure we are privy to all the details on what the promise of the Saudi government not to be involved with the club are, if it stipulates that no member of the saudi government is to be on our board then this does create a problem. I'm not trying to be mr negative, but everyone clinging to legal interpretations is all very well but the real world doesn't work like that, clearly a bunch of stakeholders in the premier league are desperate to take any opportunity to obstruct us and they will carry as stakeholders a certain level of power and authority to do so. If this was happening to another club you bet I would be outraged so I don't feel able to sit calmly here and pretend oh yes saudi arabia owning a club is total brilliant, of course football shouldn't have allowed it same as it shouldn't have allowed ashley to own us, or chelsea to be owned by a russian oligarch or Man City by Sheik Mansour. It's all completely mad and then now they are trying to pretend they give a shit who owns a club long after the horse has bolted they end up in some ambiguous compromise where it's ok the mags who are totally owned by saudi arabia are fine cos we're going to pretend they aren't. This is all to say I doubt anything will happen, too much money and all that, but let's not pretend half the league won't miss any opportunity to shaft us.

@Bada BingOwners are meant to pass Fit and Proper Persons test (Owners and Directors test as it's called now) which includes this they have to sign up to the rules including this 'I have not provided any false, misleading or inaccurate information to the Board of the Premier League relating to my compliance with Rule F.1' So simply saying you are not part of the Saudi Government and then being it is a breach of premier league rules before you get into whether governments should

If he is a part of the government though how isn't anything he does not direct intereference?

Well that's all kind of a nonsense because a short corner or a short free kick is much easier to defend if you know the other team isn't going to plant it in the box or try and shoot. You have to make the opposition defend against all possibilities and part of that is changing up what you do

Ok, what are peoples thoughts on priorities for the squad for next season? If I remember there has been talk of some leeway in summer with ffp so we are expected to spend. Dividing into Automatic starters in bold, in the rotation and backup players not GKs Pope Karius Gillespie I'm not really sure signing a keeper is a priority, I imagine Dubs will be moved on though RBs Trippier Ashby Think this looks settled for now, want to see how good Ashby is CBs Schar Botman New right sided cb, preferably young high rated to come in to long term replace Schar Possibly even another promising young CB to replace Lascelles in the squad so we have 2 players for the position LBs New left back Love Burn but a star quality attacking left back should be high priority Burn Target Midfielders Bruno Joelinton New Defensive mid to let Bruno play further forward Willock Longstaff Left Wing Gordon Another exciting left winger preferably, I imagine ASM is gone this summer tbh. Striker Isak Promising young Striker should be signed to add options Wilson Right Wing New star attacker Miggy Players out - Kraft, Lascelles (sorry but probably time), ASM (what could have been if you had proper end product...but you're not a happy bench warmer so goodbye), Ritchie, Fraser, Murphy, forgot, brutally Anderson tbh unless he forces his way into the squad before season end suspect he's not taken his chance. Roughly in order of priority Three big expensive ready to start stars imo, Defensive mid, Right Wing and Left back Promising young striker (I would maybe say experienced striker but they cost a lot and if they're going to be on the bench a lot... Experienced back up options for left CB and left wing Young promising right hand side centre back May be over ambitous but we need to upgrade various areas and need to have a bench that can seriously push the first team. We need to be more threatening.

Shut off the tv at the end and didn't really look here much or on any football stuff, was disappointed, we tried but the same league form issues couldn't be shaken, we did not look like scoring and it was a fair result. I do think our press isn't as intense, I guess behind the scenes they have data on miles covered and if a large number of the squad are heading for likely injury that may have motivated it to be dialed down, but I think this contributes to our defense no longer being impregnable. Equally think Burn and more surprisingly Trippier are struggling a bit. Their form dictates the solidity of the team somewhat. Further forward, Bruno and Joelinton were great. Longstaff didn't have his best game but nor did he do a huge amount wrong, just wasn't able to impose himself (maybe not a shock against Casemiro quality) See some right mad anger at Allan Saint Maximan who was the only player on the pitch until Isak came on who showed any likelihood of doing anything ot make a goal. Yes he is too tentative, yes he didn't get much away but blimey. Equally yes he will be upgraded on in the summer most likely. He does not deserve the vitriol he gets, he is not Messi and he was signed in a different era. Miggy had a poor game, and that has been a habit. Some of the vitriol at him though is aggravating too though. He is not the best player no, but he needs to be running beyond the defense, he has shown he can finish. Here he was largely running at the defense and he can't beat them like ASM can. Wilson was poor, the ball wasn't sticking to him, and him starting over Isak seems the only clear error you could hurl at Eddie for team selection imo. Someone asked before the game what Isak had to do to start and i snarkily responded 'score'., which is basically true but this was also proof he is currently superior. I don't blame Eddie too bad for going with experience in this game. I do think Isak's style is perhaps a challenge for how we set up though, he does not play like Wilson and as sole forward he will be dropping deep a lot more, it will change things. Oh well, the team was found wanting in a final. I feel for Dan Burn and Longstaff in terms of as local lads, as great as their narratives are one suspects even they know they may not be starting players at the next one. We'll go again.

Wut..

Didn't create chances they took theirs this team is a long way off it right now

Ok with those subs this is truly over

Everything sucks

On

Score tbh

The big problem with possession football is it's kinda easy to defend, you need to make extra allowances, and you can't get away with sub par forwards. At City for a long time Pep had Sterling and someone on other side play very wide to stretch play, and they have Sterling at Chelsea for similar but they are never never doing anything particularly threatening. They need to vary it up a bit, need to be less predictable. All that money and they didn't sign a striker but even then, still really rate Sterling and he's done nothing.

Where have you been?

Fucking hell Hancock brings me back to student days

Yeah my point being, generally VAR is there for the pedantic enforcement of the actual rules, but by pedantic following of rules a shove in the face is a shove in the face and a red card, and therefore surely it's not a "clear and obvious error" as the rules have been correctly (if extremely harshly applied). It is good common sense has prevailed, but equally VAR is just adding little but another layer of confusion. Equally as much as it was not a violent punch or anything, Ziyech could have no complaints if red stood, you do that, you run the risk of a red Sorry to expand cos i am even confusing myself. This would be working as intended if VAR was meant to be an opportunity for Refs to have a second look at a decision and adjust, but since it's not, the ref isn't meant to be interrupting play to have another look, it's meant to be if a law was incorrectly applied around red cards and goals. I am just amused because of course that isnt the case and the stockley park guys have just said hang on mate that was harsh. I am just amused that we have got to the correct outcome from VAR not working properly somehow, albeit maybe that is how it should work.

Gotta love a game where is it half time +3 minutes and we're in the 52nd min

All to say, correct outcome, kinda mad way of getting there