West Ham loss was pretty ordinary but things picked up against Watford ,and Palace had us struggling towards the end, but hanging on. Pulisic, William especially, and Mount have been in great form , Barkley had 2 very good games, Christensen looked better in open play with Zouma, but still dodgy near the goals and the rest pretty good to Good. Reece James still looks well short of previous form and Tammy Abraham finally scored a neat goal but is no first choice PL striker yet. Can't believe he's chasing a new contract at £130G per week, he's worth less than half that until he starts doing what he's paid to do, both regularly and far more often. Reinforcements already signed will be a big step up. Looks like a big clear out if we can get buyers, and Frank is doing a fine job given this seasons problems.
I actually think the palace game has been a turning point from us. We were very, very lucky not to concede at the death, but, we showed grit, determination and a fight that hasn’t been there previously. Palace pushed us all the way and made it very hard work, yet we kept our composure and allowed individual and team class to show through. It seems to have started to click. Adding in Werner and Zyach(?) and we look a pretty frightening prospect up front. If we can just get that back line sorted we’ll be in with a shout of the league again.
Midfield & attack are more than adequate and will improve with the new signings but we need a class centre back as our options are not the best.
It’s pretty obvious we never replaced JT but how do you replace someone of his calibre? Who’s out there that we could buy?
Just noticed Leicester play Utd on final day. Depending on results up to that, it could be a big advantage...or not !!!
Koulibaly looks the best bet , but unlikely as he's chased by everyone. Frank seems to think Declan Rice is a good option, though he might take some time to become what we need now. I think Zouma is a better keeper than Christensen, he has more height and power than Christensen, he can break forward a bit, and he has a better long pass. He also saved our bacon with an outstanding last man tackle, so has quite a bit to offer. Kai Havertz plus a left back looks possible off season, so that CD might take some time.
As long as we score more than we concede who cares about the defence..... Thats the sort of side we'll have next season....Entertaining!....... I'd sign Declan Rice.