GURJ SS

We're at best 3rd without a 20+ goal striker, if we had one we'd easily close the points gap, if that isn't the case then we might as well keep Giroud and Morata; what's the point in spending money on a goal scorer if it isn't going to make a difference, so Giroud and Morata are having a great season and everyone is brilliant but Sarri is holding them back? If we're not as good as City or Pool then it's simply because of the players. We've got too many players who like to receive the ball rather than get on the end of it. Apart from Pedro and a little bit of Hazard and Morata no one has the mentality (playing style) to make runs beyond an opposition defence and get on the end of a cross, through ball or long ball; Pedro scored from Luiz's ball but no one else on the pitch would have been able to because they simply can't see the space to make the run - Kante is learning to do it but it'll take time. Sarri in his first season is being compared to the likes of Pep and Klopp, both have made major changes to their team's style and personnel. It didn't start working out for them until their 2nd season, it still hasn't worked out for Klopp unless he bags the title. One has chased every great player there is to get silverware and one is still spending like mad and hasn't won anything, yet Sarri 10 points behind the top and 6 points behind 2nd place in his first season is failing!? The style has 100% changed, the ability of the players to implement a different system is where the flaw is, that's a flaw in the players; watch a few of Sarri's Napoli games and it'll become very clear that our players aren't the best for the system; because they like to receive the ball rather than make a run everyone is static; Conte had them sitting back and countering for a reason because they quickly run out of invention and ideas. It's easy to say the manager should adjust to the players he has, but tell Pep and Klopp the same, if us fans want to see our team at the top of the league then we should also accept we need better players; shouldn't every fan want the best players possible instead of blaming the manager all the time? Edit: What's the fascination with exciting fast pace football? Next we'll be calling Sarri to get sacked and replaced with 'one of our own' who spent most of his time on the bench but is now a legend...we'll end up with Jokanovic. I'd rather us play football with game management instead of running at 100mph and burning out towards the end of the season - all we need is 2-3 more 'outside of the box thinking' players and a 20+ goal striker.

I'd agree with that, don't think he can be arsed to keep building on and on. I think he is one of the best, if he tweeks that part of his method and he's the best for me. I think one of his biggest flaws is he'll lost the dressing room instead of keeping it and lose the board; players play a big part, as he has found out the hard way a few times. Inter was perfect for him as players in Italy tend to not really care what their club says and listen to the manager more, JT and co were the same and it was rare to find since Fergie days. But how long before our own fans cause a problem, at such a young age the fans are taking his side and it'll turn his head sooner or later towards Bayern. Naturally he'll start to think he deserves better and is better than the players starting and deserves more playing time, Bayern will look golden and Sarri will start to look like the bad guy who won't give the lad a chance; at 18 he needs to sit down and wait his time out and the fans need to acknowledge that Pedro and Willian are 30+ so won't be around when CHO is 20.

It's his first season and he is vastly changing our style, this is almost a 100% change in style. He's doing a fantastic job, Sarri believes in football played with keeping the ball and it's something we just have to accept. Previous managers have been slated for not keeping it and Sarri gets slated for keeping it. If you have the ball for as long as we do team will naturally sit deeper and more compact, the issue we have is that this squad doesn't have natural goal scorers and Sarri will need at least 2 to make things work. We are so close to being serious title challengers (we're still in it right now to be fair), give Sarri a 20 goal a season striker who is able to take a player on and he'll have us at the top of the table.

But he still goes mad towards the end for some reason, like doesn't have a second wind. I'm not sure if the fans had anything against him than they would have against any other player; I just think he was a Jorge and Mikel type of player who was so tactical people quickly forgot about what he done for the team as he wasn't in the MOTD highlights week in week out. At the moment CHO is making me feel that he needs to make a statement to stay or declare he's leaving. At 18 years old the fans are putting it on the manager to play him over Willian and Pedro, I'm not their biggest fans but it's madness that CHO should just walk into the team because he is a youth product. There was a time I wanted Malouda replaced but not the way he was replaced, someone around his ability is a much better way to do it; at the moment it looks like the fans will blame Sarri, Willian and Pedro if he leaves, but while their situation is different to Malouda's it's still the same in being so fickle over what players have given to the club. I don't think the fans are prejudice as they are fickle.

Thing is Willian has never been better than the left sided player to justify using him there. Our biggest problem is currently Hazard being played in the false 9 role, it would work brilliantly if the players around him knew how to respond to a false 9 forward. Hazard has immense ability to hold the ball, meaning he's either going to get fouled or get his move off; unless refs blink at the wrong time and someone blatantly kicks him(which happens far too often). When Hazard receives the ball that should be Willian's, Pedro's and Kante's cue to break beyond him, or at least Willian and Pedro; at the moment everyone stands in their position and the opposition crowds Hazard out by moving up and straight onto his back. Check Barca under Cesc as a false 9, Cesc had two options, he'd either half turn and play it through for a runner or play it back into midfield and they'd pass a through ball for a runner, at the moment we've got no runners going beyond him and going past the opposition's backline which means whatever option Hazard takes it's going to end in the move breaking down and just recycling possession. Also if players ran past him it would draw players away from him and Hazard would find himself with space to turn and run at a backline with 2/3/4 options ahead of him; no team wants to see that coming at them. While the team has had to adjust to this yet again new style of play, it's something they should be communicating with each other; players need to be thinking how best to exploit an opposition's backline not just being content with playing in front of a midfield 4/5 with a backline behind that.

Then what keeps happening to him? He comes into a team and he surges for silverware and is Mr nice guy, then comes that time where the players and club start to turn. The first time he left Chelsea I'm sure he had the players on his side but not the club, I think Inter may be the only place he has ever left where it's been his choice since Porto; unless he really does plan short term and never wants to stay and make a long term legacy, hence my reason to believe he isn't a team player. A manager who is a team player wants to help build and sustain, while I will never doubt Jose's ability to build a team I'll always question if he has the intention of ever wanting to help sustain success at a club for 5-10 years. You mentioned Alonso who week in week out gets whipped for pace, not saying he's a bad player as I've previously said he's a great footballer but he lacks a main ingredient for his position (especially one that requires large distances to be covered). Willian I'm not sure you can defend, his attacking output is so rare that when he produces it I feel like he needs a MOTM award. Malouda wasn't really a flaw but more the situation, he was brilliant at drifting between LW,LM,LAM,LCM between a fluid system depending on where other players were situated and the game's situation. His intelligence and positioning didn't require him to have blistering pace or crazy dribbling skills to be an effective player - Alonso would probably be better in that role than his current one and dare I say he'd be better than some of our current attacking players in advanced positions.

His job is to recycle possession and dictate the pace, but what's happening is everyone wants to do that role, if the players in front of him start moving he'll never be short of options. What makes me defend him is when players in front of behind him are struggling for options it's Jorge who provides it, when Jorge has no options he's expected to get on the end of his own pass.

True, I think the only thing putting him in the middle in this game does is raise his chances of an injury.

Jorginho getting blamed for our attacking players not being able to put the ball in the net, in that case I'm blaming Kepa for Jorginho not dribbling past 4 players and putting it on a plate for someone. As I'm writing this Hazard proved my point, Willian in yards of space and Hazard can't chip the ball to him but instead slams it into the heels of a defender. Brilliant goal by Willian but the lad really struggles to understand what an attackers job is, he could easily take on any of the back 4 but is far too indirect.

They wanted someone to be part of their club and build a legacy, he just built his own legacy. Jose isn't a team player. Putting Drogba in the middle of those names doesn't stop the others from having flaws.

Salah plays on the right. Salah has only just got to £200,000, we wouldn't have had to sell him at all. We can't say we wouldn't have won what we won if we hadn't sold them, also with more talent to provide a challenge and keep the squad fresh we'd have probably won more. I'd blame RA instead of Jose if he'd got the job done a Man U, but he seemed to be going down the same path before the club stepped in. Alonso - brilliant football brain and smashing left foot, but as a fullback he lacks one major thing and that's speed. Players retire as fullbacks when their speed starts to go or they decide to not push forward; Alonso bombs forward and then gets left behind. Great player but not someone you can build a flank with(especially when the guy in front (LW) isn't going to help defend, I'd stick him upfront as a target man though). Luiz - He has fire and gets physical nwhen needed, but he still switches off far too often at the age of 30, he still gets drawn into the ball, in a back 3 brilliant because he's aggressive enough to stop the ball before if reaches a deeper area but as a back 2 he's just too shakey, especially when the guy next to him is also a more ball playing defender. Too many flaws. Fabregas - We've just got rid of our best midfielder and possibly player. Willian - Box to box midfielder or wing back, never an attacking mid/winger. His own worst enemy, should have picked a position where he has a simple job to do and has very little time to pick a choice, instead he receives the ball and then can't decide what to do and hasn't got the ability to run direct towards goal; so it ends up with recycling possession far too often for a player in his position.

Is there a stat and heatwave of who spends longer in goal scoring positions? I think you'd find that the central mid (Jorge) sits far too deep to get goals and assist (the highest Busquets has had is like 5 assist in a season), then the LCM (Kova) drops back to allow the LW into the space in front of him and cover for Alonso (note: no one in the team covers for Alonso like Kova does). Then comes the RCM (Kante) who has Dave sitting behind him and the RW staying out more wide and also Jorge behind him, it's the important box to box position and they find themselves in far more advanced positions than the other two midfielders.

Don't get me wrong, if CHO or any other young player with talent takes one of the older guys place then I'm happy with it, now is the time to bed them in. In my opinion I think Sarri did well to balance the dynamics of the dressing room but he should have gone with Christensen or made a CB a priority, Luiz has too many faults in his game to be around any longer than this season.

Hazard was never going to be sold, Willian was not needed but Jose wanted to hunt Silverware instead of putting his effort into developing players. The club as a whole went for short term success instead of what they wanted to be which was a powerhouse, by selling players that have gone on to be massive worldwide names we've lost out in the big boys game in the long run. We didn't have too much talent, if we did then someone better go tell Man City to start selling quickly.

I think for fans it all depends on if we win something or not. At the moment Sarri hasn't given us enough to take his side over not giving CHO (or any other player we like) a chance, if Jose hadn't won anything I think it'd now be classed as a criminal offence for letting KDB, Salah, Lukaku and Mata go. Edit: I'd still class it as a criminal offence but most fans I talk to seem to think it's fine for letting them go - even though we would be dominating the league with those players.