Bovril

Apparently the Brazilian Health officials got stuck in traffic and hence why this all happened after the game kicked off. As Messi has just said though "We've been here for 3 days, why did this not happen before?"

He’s having an average game right now vs. Latvia. Norway are dominating possession and winning 1-0 at half-time. Playing largely just infront of / splitting the centre-backs when in possession. Started well and involved in the penalty awarded to Norway with a good ball over the top that led to the penalty being awarded. Also on corners and has a good delivery on him. Wants the ball all the time (positive) but gave away the ball needlessly on a few occasions with forward ground passes. Latvia very limited offensively but the one time they did counter, Normann’s body shape was wrong and gave away a poor free-kick. Will be very interesting with his likely first game for us vs. Arsenal, he will be tasked with keeping his lively compatriot Odegaard quiet.

Great pricing again for cup, mixed in with priority access for those that attended the 2nd Round. Top job by the club again. I expect a sell-out despite being on TV bearing in mind 20k attendance vs. Bournemouth and only one other home game in September.

I don't either, but my point being that none of our preferred starting midfielders seemingly like to just stay sitting deep, Normann included. He will be the one instructed to sit deepest for the majority but I wouldn't expect him to solely sit and protect in the same manner than Skipp did.

I think it will ultimately be a case of all three midfielders rotating attacking and defending duties between Normann, Gilmour, Mclean/Lees-Melou. Depending on Normann's passing ability (and by all reports it's decent) than it may well be better to have a three of Normann/Mclean/LM to give us a bit more steel for a few games. All three of those are more than capable of passing the ball well enough.

Ronaldo doesn't have the legs of yesteryear, that is clear to see. He'll base himself much more in the center of the pitch then in his prime years. However, due to the way he looks after himself, he's still able to leap higher than anyone else in the 96th minute, which is a great example to any player in how to look after yourself. He certainly won't be doing any tracking back though and taking on players (successfully) with a dribble will become more and more of a rarity. He'll instead rely on positioning, experience, and his ultimate will to win, which as he proved tonight will stay with him until he finally retires. Idah, very unlucky, thought he was superb tonight and the best I've seen him play. As another has commented earlier in the post, had Connolly, who made very good runs all night, possessed an ounce of quality with his passing than Idah could well have had a goal. Idah and Coleman (who was immense for Ireland and looked a quality above anything else Ireland had in terms of natural ability and technique) linked up very well all game. Thought Mr O also had a very assured debut and was marking Ronaldo for a good chunk of the game and just like his performances for Norwich, didn't look out of place.

Chelsea have sold a fair few as the above poster has stated. However, I would take these figures as a pinch of salt. Take a look at the same graphics produced by Sky Sports and you’ll see they declare Crystal Palace’s total spend as £14m. They signed Edouard last night alone for more money than that. Ignore the table.

Fan banned for three years and criminal record applied.

As others have said, he's an upgraded Sorenson (judging on reports). I would like to now see Sorenson sent out on loan to somewhere like WBA/Bournemouth as his game time appears severely limited here now.

You can't judge Dimi on two games at home to Liverpool and away to Manchester City. He wouldn't be the first left-back to be outplayed by Salah and the City attack. It only tells you that he is not in the elite, world-class bracket but then I don't think many were expecting that. Judge him on the games again Palace, Wolves, Newcastle etc. if he's on the pitch. This is when we need them to stand up.

Adama Traore is one of those enigma players that looks amazing but never quite delivers. He's only scored 7 goals in 105 appearances for Wolves, which given the nature of his play is a very poor return. Fabio Silva (£35m) has been a massive flop for Wolves so far given the money outlaid. He's still very young, so will need more time to develop but doesn't look the player he was hyped up to be at this stage. A lot depends on the return of Jimenez and how he plays on the back of his horrible head injury last year. Keeper looks a bit suspect as well. I don't think they'll be anywhere near to being in a relegation battle but neither do I expect them to finish top-half. A Crystal Palace type team in terms of league finishing in recent years.

Yes. Bring in a decent CB and it's job delivered by Stuart Webber. The rest is down to Farke and the players.

You have to adapt to the team you are facing and the nature of the game in-play. Certain opposition will be better at pressing then others, in which case you accept that passing out at the back is an unnecessary risk. There is no harm in kicking the ball long into either channel (no point going central if Pukki is playing there) and then looking to win the 2nd ball. Rashica, for his size, can compete well in the air, atleast enough to challenge, so I would focus on his channel.

100% agree with the OP, it was a sad sight to see. That on the back of ugly scenes in Nice just a week ago as well, absolutely moronic. To those saying it was just a plastic empty bottle, it's the act, not the actual result. I wouldn't ban the fan for life, but I would ban them for the season and hopefully that would be lesson learnt for him or her. Sad to see indeed.

Billing was pictured on Bournemouth’s official twitter as getting ready to travel down to their game at Hull yesterday which the club then consequently removed. Official line was that he was ill yesterday and hence his omission from the squad. Interesting one.

We’ve got to rid the notion that this was a side that finished 5th last year. Yes, Liverpool and Man City we received the expected beating, no real issues there. Liverpool we had moments of belief and Man City, especially at home, have beaten better sides than us at 5-0 on numerous occasions. No real realistic issues there. However, that Leicester side today, on current form and with an injury crisis at the back, are a mid table side at best. Look at their own forum to see how bad they rate themselves right now. A point was the least we needed today. No excuses, we failed.

The same as prior to the season started, if we don’t get in a decent DM (and preferably a half-decent CB as well) then we will be relegated, it’s that simple. Today’s game had all the hallmarks of our previous campaign. We huffed and puffed, failed to score from open play and never inspire confidence in keeping a clean sheet, especially if we persist in playing out from the back when the opposition are pressing high up. Hanley as good as he was/is at championship level and fine in the air, is simply too slow (both literally and reading the game) at this level against Premier League strikers. Gibson has also yet to cover himself in glory. They badly need a screener in front of them to help them out a bit. If we don’t manage to bring that player in, then it will be a long hard season. Leicester were there for the taking today and we simply weren’t good enough at either end.

Main Criteria is a home game to avoid travelling mid-week which is a massive bonus. Bad news is it’s a big team so you would imagine more expensive tickets, something like: Adults: £30 Over 65/Under 21: £20 Under 12: £10

The video above really does visually show what Bethnal has typed above, well worth a watch to see how Gilmour could thrive. In order for him to thrive though, he does need a blocker/destroyer/physical type next to him. At the moment our best options here are LM and Mclean.

Having looked at all the kits in person, the quality in general seems far from decent. I imagine in a few months time, many of the JD logos will be peeling off (not necessarily a bad thing!) and the material seems very cheap. All in all, on initial impressions Errea kits were/are better made than Joma.

Ultimately he just lacks the quality to play at this level. You can almost immediately tell with senior players whether the level they are playing at is correct/above them by looking at their first touch. It's a strong indicator with young players as well but sometimes this can improve with age. Did his job for us last year, largely in terms of turning the atmosphere round from negative/losing to positive/winning after a tough season in the Premier League. It was a decent signing at the time, to give us that Plan B and physical presence we needed. Will definitely do a job for West Brom under Valerein Ismale which is much 'kick and rush' type and nothing bad to say about him during his time here.

Weirdly, I would have played Sargent against Man City and Pukki vs. Leicester. Sargent is more industrious and Pukki more clever with his off the ball attacking movement. 5-3-2 / 3-5-2 and stay solid before switching to 4-3-3 if chasing. Krul Aarons Omo Hanley Gibson Williams Mclean Gilmour Lees-Melou Pukki Cantwell Bring on: Sargent / Tzolis / Rashica

He was extremely good. I must admit I had/have my reservations about him but his performance was summed up by one sumptous 30 yard ball down the line with the outside of his boot to play Tzolis in. Defensively he looked solid as well but we must remember this is a totally different test to the one Giann has had vs. Salah and Jesus/Sterling. Williams starts for me vs. Leicester though.

https://www.getfootballnewsfrance.com/2021/two-premier-league-sides-interested-in-saint-etiennes-mahdi-camara/ No offers made yet by the two clubs chasing him. Likely us and one of Villa/Wolves.

Looks to be a healthy crowd for this one thanks to the sensible pricing by the club. Should be a good game to boot. I'll go for a 2-2 draw (Norwich on penalties). 20,000 crowd.