jackflap

Cue Chelsea selling the club to themselves.

Could see Howe been interested in Cunha for his versatility and the tactical flexibility he'd offer. I'd love to see them signing a 10 to give the option of a Bruno/Tonali double pivot but doubt they'd invest to sign a specialist in that position unless they could also cover other positions and Cunha's probably the best example of someone who could do that. Could see them being interested if they thought they were getting value but would depend on what other clubs are in for him.

Looks like a striker that would be ideal to introduce out wide and bed him in but he doesn't look comfortable on the right and the left has too many bodies as is. Think he just needs to slow down, there is something there though. They're very unbalanced with right footed players in general though which they could do with addressing in the summer. Burns was the only lefty on the pitch Monday.

This is the 2nd season in a row without a meaningful relegation battle later in the season. Really mucks up the battles for the other spots as there's a good chunk of the league without much to play for.

Villa winning the Europa League next season feels like one of those things destined to happen.

Be shocked if TAA isn't out for a while. Physio made the call to sub very quick. Ankle ligaments be my guess. Bradley injured as well evens up that side. Diaz gave Hakimi a tough time of it so I'd be fearful of what he'd do to Trippier on the other side. Jota, Nunez are shot of confidence and Gakpo been struggling with injury of late. The performance against City really sapped my confidence for this one but there's just enough of doubt to keep me plugged in.

Would love to see them beat Real in the semis.

Seems to have more composure in front of goal than the other options despite his inexperience. More goal contributions are needed from midfield so that alone is a good argument for starting him especially in games they're expecting to be on top.

With the exception of Barnes the entire teams finishing has been rubbish this season and even Barnes has fluffed a fair few 1v1s, it's been more the instinctive finishes he's been getting. Maybe there's something more going on. Gordons work rate is off the charts though, he has at least one press every game that you'd never see another player make. You notice him adding little tricks to his game as well. He developed a stepover at some point last season to good effect and now when he receives the ball deep with his back to goal he's throwing in a little feint to help him get away from defenders. I don't think he reads the field that well though, particularly on a counter attack. Feels like he makes up his mind early and doesn't let things develop. When Bruno fired the volleyed wonder pass to him yesterday was a case in point. Think he'd Willock flying past him on the outside and it should've resulted in a tap in if he gave it but it was like he'd already decided he was going to cut in and shoot.

Feels almost surreal saying it but it's looking like time to move on, there's very little positive to say about this season so far to give you hope things will improve. No point in moving on just for the sake of it though but I'd hope the club is being proactive behind the scenes with identifying possible successors.

The reverting to the style of 2 years ago looks like being a short term panacea, doesn't feel like they've evolved from intensity is our identity mantra. Recruitment looks poor in hindsight with a lack of natural options on the right as opposed to the left, there's 2 natural deeper lying midfielders in Tonali and Bruno who could be the best tandem in the league but nobody to play in front of them. Had Madison been signed instead of Barnes it could've been transformative and that's said as a fan of Barnes. Peak Trippier is a massive miss as well, feels like things started to go south along with his form last season.

Gordon off and Barnes on, the space is constantly there need someone fit to capatilise on it

Baffling that Gordon was trusted as a penalty taker, woeful finisher

But for a gift of a penalty against a L2 side we'd be 3 games without scoring and 2 of them are home. Mentality of the side just looks weak.

It was less than ideal circumstances he was thrust into, 2 games a week, usually high stakes and generally forced to play 90 mins, he often looked near dead on his feet to me which is fair enough given his inexperience and post growth spurt looking physique but his talent shone through none the less and he never looked like he was trying to hide which is a good reflection of his mettle. Expect he'll be used sparingly for a while but hopefully he grabs whatever opportunities he's given and forces himself into Howe's thoughts.