Abacus

Think of it as a philidor sacrifice

There's not much debate about this in my mind. I can't think of a single striker I'd rather have, and it seems most of the biggest clubs think the same way. A

In the initial loan season, I'd have had him as a C. Since the transfer became permanent he's become a D, and he's stayed there, partly due to lack of chances / availability. D

Careful what you wish for - what if you're banished to the netherworld too?

He was probably just trying to get information out of you so don't take that personally. I listen to what you say and take regard of it, plus a couple of others, anyway. Let's see what the club come out with anyhow.

Either way it's one you'd have done based on the information we HAD and that's all that matters to me. Fingers and toes crossed Botman being out is just a scare.

Can't really argue with a C overall. Be interesting how he does with a few games under his belt as a starting player

Yeah, and I might be being a bit harsh there as the whole team has been a bit inconsistent. I still have him as a B, just a bit more replaceable now if we do have a squad refresh in the summer. All that said, I wouldn't much fancy playing against him either, so there's that.

I've swung between a B and a C a bit here. Last season a definite B, but I think he has been too inconsistent this year and on this year alone I'd have him as a high C. At Everton he played a bit at right wing but he obviously doesn't favour that now to the point where Murphy is a better option. On the left he has pace and directness and is a definite asset. Forget him as a back up striker. He also does seem to fluctuate a bit based on his confidence and attitude. The England snub obviously affected him, so he seems to need to be in the right place mentally. And that's before his daft sending off which will affect the whole team in a cup final. On balance, just about still a B. But he's now one of our better players that I wouldn't be as devastated to see leaving if we got a good offer.

E - Not good enough either by virtue of general ability or being past their prime, is the definition of an E. It's not based on general ability, even though being past his prime through injuries has also affected his general ability. If a player isn't available for a significant chunk of games it also means his general ability doesn't even matter most of the time. Not just saying this because we lost last night either - was just thinking the immediate effect of a loss might lead to everyone going down a grade on any player.

I think he's high B with the potential to be an A with more games and consistency. He's in the right place to get both, especially if we have a clever summer and upgrade a couple of places in the squad so he's in a better overall team. He definitely has the ceiling to play with better players and not look out of place.

B - everyone hates playing against him and when he is out we miss him so badly by sheer force of personality. I get that he has technical limitations and is hard to put into a bracket but half the league would love to have a player like him.

We need this guy.

He's a C now. Never unhappy to see him in the squad or line up. Two years ago it's a B, probably one of the most underrated defenders in the league then and my word he can see things most can't and pass the ball with flair and accuracy. I can't think of any player who has earnt his transfer fee so easily. Also, just love those thunderbastard goals he occasionally rocked up with when the rest of the team were dreaming and he decided to win the game on his own.

Starting to think Sir Jim is the hero we've all needed.

Yeah, Gravenberch in particular is superb. I think if you stop him, it's as important as stopping Salah.

0-4 Liverpool to also collectively admit post match that we probably deserve the title this year and that the ref was, if anything, massively biased in their favour.

Who scored him an E?

Fit and on form, which is how I'm going to rate him, Botman is a B. Without that injury and given time to develop, he may well just be pushing at the edge of an A in a year or two. Though ultimately his pace may hold him back from that, he's just so calm and commanding and able to spot threats that in the right CB pairing he could be in that conversation, but not yet.

Southampton are a mess.

Yeah, I'm between an A and a B - just wondered how others and those from other teams would see him. Anyway, sorry, that's for a different day.

Not to mess up the debate, but Tonali is going to be an interesting one.

He's a D, which feels harsh for one of my favourite players when he first came in. He's a back up now, and that's a backup for a player who has a lot still to develop on. I do think with a better RW, Tino can forge a decent partnership and so become better himself. Trippier made Almiron into so much of a better player for a spell, and the whole back line as well, but I can't see him as much more than back up now. So, that's the definition of a D in here.

Oof