I agree with the sample size argument above, and especially I would add the quality of opponent too. We won’t face Chelsea every time. They are European Champions, one of the favorites for the league, and are very well drilled in defense. They also have a very good manager, a keen tactician, who very much wants to put his own marker down and measure himself against Klopp.
Yes, we could and should have done better in the game, especially with being at home and them being down to ten men for half a game. But it wasn’t to be.
Let’s see where we are at after, say, ten games, when the table starts to take a bit of shape.
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I was predicting 22-0 against Chelsea. So from now on I am expecting 88-0 wins. 
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How many of those goals were from long range though?
30% maybe 33% could be as low as 12% depending on what counts as long range, I mean those from just outside the box that are placed (in the corner) rather than hammered are they long range?
As for really long range I’m not a adept of that unless it’s VVD taking them, So can we agree on 20 to 30 yarders?
VVD can shoot from where he feels like but preferably from less than 40 yards.
Any time the long shots debate comes up I always think of the time when David O’Leary was Leeds manager they were playing really well and we scored 3 long shots past them in a game and he said about we only having 3 shots but all going in the back of the net 
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So, who would you buy everybody?
Long, Shooter and Silver for good measure.
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I guess we can forget about Mbappe on a free now. He is going to Madrid. lol
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I’m a bit miffed Chelsea got Saul Niguez who we may have had an interest for from the rumours at least. Where have they got all this money from (I know I know FFP is bollocks and all)
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Increasingly worrying at how much complacency the board have with our squad. We had not invested into the squad that much, ever since the extremely successful 2-3 years period when we finished as CL & PL winners / runner up. As a reminder, our best players will go past their prime in the coming years, while the wage bill only rises… In comparison, other squads have invested in better players and those with more potential.
Not too sure if the recruitment team has lost its magic, or other teams are just smarter when negotiating with us…
My top target remains Haaland and Neves… I can only hope…
Mate… The last time we won by a big margin (7-0 against Crystal Palace), we went on to lose 6 straight games not long after I believe…
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Rumours were Us, Chelsea and Utd. Odd in that case it led to a final day whimper with the player going on loan.
Chelsea have got this money in part because they have a lot of players they have bought in previous years or coming through their youth system that they can sell to generate money as and when they need to spend. Although it looks like even they hit a buffer this summer as the Kounde deal fell apart because they needed to sell to buy him but couldnt get a deal done by Sevilla’s deadline.
Just seen someone on twitter discussing if we can get Jack Wilshire in on a free transfer.
Absolutely hilarious. People will dream of anything just to have a transfer to talk about.
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As if we haven’t enough players on our books that we need to sell/get rid of, let’s just get some more in.
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I am more surprised that we haven’t been able to shift some of the deadwood
Of those free agents I wouldn’t be averse to giving Aurier a 12 month deal.
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Dennis Wise got him a trial at Como with his connections over there.
You can find literally anything online, so it’s healthier to avoid it.
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I think the problem was that the market was flooded with teams trying to get rid of deadwood. At youth level for example Chelsea sold or released 20+ players many of whom should be able to play at Premier League level. Not to mention all the loans they and Man City sanctioned.
Frankly, why buy Origi for £15m when you can get Armando Broja for free on loan.
Hopefully the market is there in January.
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Christ almighty.
Can you imagine how happy they will be when he chips a fingernail and ends up out for 18 months?
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I don’t think so, I feel the market has been verging toward saturation for a long time. The only real market left is for the best players and the number of clubs that can afford them is diminishing (as Barça are dropping out).
The warning signs have been there the big one that for me was a turning point was L’OM. Traditionally a buying club however was forced to release players years ago.
The super league wasn’t initiated for nothing they said it was about the pyramid, yes a pyramid with no base. Those top clubs needed to ensure that the top didn’t collapse.
One by one the european leagues have fallen behind leaving those that have ‘outside’ finance and/or are as bent as the bentest thing you can think of.
I think outside the ‘big’ clubs the pressure is toward shorter contracts like in the lower leagues where clubs are fighting to sign free transfers every summer.
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