Would you if we were about to be relegated as some responses over this last week point to.
1 Like
I’ll consult my mate if we don’t win again by end of November.
It’s a tricky balancing act, as I’m sure you appreciate.
I just need to unlock their potential.
1 Like
I miss him so much 
3 Likes
Keep saying it. I grew up on the Wirral (I think that’s where you are?) moved around the UK for Uni and work, and have been living in the States for the last 16 years.
I love reading it before a match. Keep up the good work Commando.
It is a taste of home for me, to see all the great reds on here, and you are an invaluable part of that.
10 Likes
Please don’t stop. Everyone appreciates you and @The-Red-Chaparral just joked and didn’t know of your condition that you struggle with.
You are a lovable person and soul that most everyone is fond of. In all my years here I have never seen anyone react negatively to what you write, because you never give anyone any such cause. Write what you want and exactly what you feel like 
Certainly, I would personally love it if you continued writing your traditional pep talk 
10 Likes
We are in a bit of a funk. Top of the league, plenty of time to do what we need to do to advance in the CL too, but two losses on the back of mostly average performances that still got the win, leaves us wondering.
Chelsea are very inconsistent this season, and for all the money they have spent for a long time now, they should be much better. Unfortunately I think they will raise their game for this one, as the Champions are coming to town.
It will be tight, and I will be delighted if we get out of there with the three points. If we see signs of an uptick in the performance level, so much the better.
I would play a diamond 4 midfield, Grav at the base, Wirtz at the point, Szobo and Jone in the middle - Macca needs to build up some fitness to me, and he looks like hi might be carrying a knock.
Salah isn’t offering enough from the wing so far this season. Might be age kicking in a bit, might be form. But he seems a bit isolated. Get him closer to the goal to try to link up with Isak and Wirtz more. Ekitike should come on at the hour mark as Isak continues his journey to match fitness, and moving forward I would play 2 from the three of Mo, Hugo and Alexander, based on form and fitness, not on name, price tag, or history!
Gakpo hasn’t been terrible but he hasn’t been great either. I don’t think he’s an elite player, but he is pretty good when he’s on form. We haven’t really seen that this season, and I would bench him and change the system.
I think the above formation will offer a but more solidity to what we’ve seen so far. Konate has been way too jittery so I would play Gomez alongside Virg.
Width comes from the fullbacks, and Grav tucks into a back three if we are caught on the wrong side of the ball with the fullbacks high up. Frimpong and Kerkez have the stamina to get up and down the flanks.
Get the ball to Wirtz, early and often! I think as it starts to click for him, it will start to click much better for the whole team. It’s something we just have to work through to get there.
I’m going with an optimistic 3-1 to the mighty reds.
Wirtz and Isak to get off the mark in the Prem. Van Dijk with a captain’s header.
Pedro for them.
Edit:
Don’t know what happened to the formatting for the defence!
1 Like
@Commando do we need to sign a petition??!!!
You’re not retiring from these duties and that’s the end of it (I hope)…
PS: please say it!!!
8 Likes
There can be a lot of shit on here. Kneejerk negativity and pointless squabbling etc. But Commando represents everything great about this forum. The guy’s a legend. He’s battled through illness and adversity, and worst of all, his wife’s a Man City supporter! He even drives her to their matches.
He comes on before every match and unfailingly lifts our spirits with his calming mantra, like a football guru.
We should all be as solid as this guy. I’ve got nothing but respect 
14 Likes
Aye…us ‘newbies’..have a lot to learn…
1 Like
In honor of the occasion—and a tribute to the founder of the statement @PeachesEnRegalia:
Smash them. They’re shit.
4 Likes
Wirtz at number ten behind Isak.
On the wings I’d be looking at Wirtz at number ten behind Isak, and of course with Salah I think you have to look at Wirtz at number ten behind Isak.
The full backs have been rotated a lot and nobody has really made themselves an automatic starter yet, so I’d go with Wirtz at number ten behind Isak. We’re looking very stretched at Centre Back and Konate is in terrible form, so for this one I’d pick Wirtz at number ten behind Isak.
3 Likes
Our pressing from the front will be wonderful with Isak’s match fitness and Wirz’s physicality/form so far.
Where are you going to position Wirtz?
1 Like
Number ten, but just until he starts to grow into the game and start affecting things. At that point stick him on the wing.
Or Ollie’s missus to use some sage
Now… are you absolutely sure about that?
Nicked from the BBC, because I forgot it was on:
Here are the key lines from his news conference:
-
He does not know how long goalkeeper Alisson will be sidelined for but he “would be surprised is he is there for the first game after the international break”.
-
He said Giorgi Mamardashvili is “a quality goalkeeper” and showed “how well he had adjusted to the club” when he replaced Alisson in the defeat by Galatasaray.
-
Forwards Hugo Ekitike and Federico Chiesa will train on Friday and then a decision will be made on whether they can be available.
-
On back-to-back defeats: “I saw a team [against Galatasaray] that wanted to try from the first to the last second to get a result. We won much more second balls [compared to the Crystal Palace game] and we were close to a result. I said last season that the margins are so small, and it’s the same again this season.”
-
Alexander Isak is “getting fitter and fitter” and Slot believes he will add goals to the team once he has built a relationship with the players around him. He added: “The more you play together, the better things will work.”
-
He said teams scoring from set-pieces is the “new reality in the Premier League” and they “have to find answers” to defending them as a team.
-
On their drop-off in goals scored: “We don’t score as many open-play goals as we did in the first half of last season. The more we play together in the new set-up, the better it will go. I’m very happy with the amount of chances we generate from set-pieces.”
-
He defended the criticism around centre-back Ibrahima Konate’s start to the season and said: “If you are losing a game of football, then it doesn’t help if you lose the ball a few times easily. He has been one of them [doing that], but not the only one. In the past two games, it has been obvious and clear that we have made a few errors that we are not used to.”
6 Likes
Glad Hugo isn’t long term.
5 Likes
What’s the message here, mate? That the match tomorrow will end up 0-0 too? 
Whether you mean that he started scoring from the start of his Red days, or his injury, I agree.