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Reece James

We need rwb cover in the summer that is evident now and the level cannot be much lower than Reece which makes the task even harder. Hakimi in hindsight may have kept us competitive when we lost our starting wbs. 

It's a shame Ben is pretty much out for the season because I believe Chillwell and James are the best wingbacks in world football. Having both in the squad for me would have meant we could still try and chase City or Liverpool were they to slip but most importantly we would still be favourites for the ucl. Nevertheless I still think having James back improves our chances in any competition he's that good.

 
coco said:
Of course it would of been different, it no coincidence our best wins/performances have been when James is on the pitch (and Lukaku isn't).
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But the slump in form didn't start when James got injured. It was in full effect with him playing the majority of games.

1-1 draw vs United, he started.

3-2 defeat vs West Ham, he started

3-3 draw vs Zenit, he started.

3-2 win vs Leeds where we were outplayed, he started.

1-1 draw vs Everton, he started.

0-0 draw vs Wolves, he started.

3-1 win vs Villa, he started, scored an own goal, and we were struggling before we made changes.

1-1 draw vs Brighton, he started.

So no, based on the results and performances before his injury, I don't think things would have been much different. The injury probably did him a favour, because it took him out of the firing line and gave him a chance to recharge and go again.

 
Scott Harris said:
But the slump in form didn't start when James got injured. It was in full effect with him playing the majority of games.

1-1 draw vs United, he started.

3-2 defeat vs West Ham, he started

3-3 draw vs Zenit, he started.

3-2 win vs Leeds where we were outplayed, he started.

1-1 draw vs Everton, he started.

0-0 draw vs Wolves, he started.

3-1 win vs Villa, he started, scored an own goal, and we were struggling before we made changes.

1-1 draw vs Brighton, he started.

So no, based on the results and performances before his injury, I don't think things would have been much different. The injury probably did him a favour, because it took him out of the firing line and gave him a chance to recharge and go again.
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One defeat in that list Scott, and that was a fluke result for WH with fluke goals.

I'm, really shocked you can't see how much better we look with Reece.

 
coco said:
One defeat in that list Scott, and that was a fluke result for WH with fluke goals.

I'm, really shocked you can't see how much better we look with Reece.
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I can also say it's only 2 wins in 8, enough to derail a title challenge.

I'm also not saying we don't look better with James in the side, he's one of the first names on the team sheet this season. My main point was that I don't think we would have still been in the title race had James remained fit. Based on how many points we were dropping and his own form at the time, I have no reason to believe we would have been able to keep up with City.

 
Scott Harris said:
I can also say it's only 2 wins in 8, enough to derail a title challenge.

I'm also not saying we don't look better with James in the side, he's one of the first names on the team sheet this season. My main point was that I don't think we would have still been in the title race had James remained fit. Based on how many points we were dropping and his own form at the time, I have no reason to believe we would have been able to keep up with City.
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It's only a 10 points gap, with Chilly and James i don't see us having a gap at all, and we would be above Liverpool.

 
Scott Harris said:
But the slump in form didn't start when James got injured. It was in full effect with him playing the majority of games.

1-1 draw vs United, he started.

3-2 defeat vs West Ham, he started

3-3 draw vs Zenit, he started.

3-2 win vs Leeds where we were outplayed, he started.

1-1 draw vs Everton, he started.

0-0 draw vs Wolves, he started.

3-1 win vs Villa, he started, scored an own goal, and we were struggling before we made changes.

1-1 draw vs Brighton, he started.

So no, based on the results and performances before his injury, I don't think things would have been much different. The injury probably did him a favour, because it took him out of the firing line and gave him a chance to recharge and go again.
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Were we? It was far from the vintage performance but at no point in the game did I feel Leeds were outplaying us.

 
coco said:
It's only a 10 points gap, with Chilly and James i don't see us having a gap at all, and we would be above Liverpool.
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A 10 point gap against City is game over. There is no way they drop that many points more than us. Even with Chilwell and James, I wouldn't rule out us struggling in December, January and February.

 
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Scott Harris said:
A 10 point gap against City is game over. There is no way they drop that many points more than us. Even with Chilwell and James, I wouldn't rule out another us struggling in December, January and February.
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You keep going on about our bad winter form, but it was just the same last season, and we ended up CL winners, i wouldn't be that shocked if we won it again this year.

Tuchel has got the team sorted , we now look tough to beat again, Lukaku out of the way, Havertz showing form, Chilly and Ziyech to return, first half yesterday was slack,  we take our time in matches to get going, but our fitness and talent shines through as the match goes on. If you thought it was all doom and gloom you would not watch the games every week. Don't lose the faith.

 
Scott Harris said:
I can also say it's only 2 wins in 8, enough to derail a title challenge.

I'm also not saying we don't look better with James in the side, he's one of the first names on the team sheet this season. My main point was that I don't think we would have still been in the title race had James remained fit. Based on how many points we were dropping and his own form at the time, I have no reason to believe we would have been able to keep up with City.
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I agree. It's clear that we are better with reece but it is impossible to have reece to be the difference maker offensively every game like yesterday. He is playing wb with it come with heavy defensive duty.

We need more from our lwb and midfielder.

 
coco said:
You keep going on about our bad winter form, but it was just the same last season, and we ended up CL winners, i wouldn't be that shocked if we won it again this year.

Tuchel has got the team sorted , we now look tough to beat again, Lukaku out of the way, Havertz showing form, Chilly and Ziyech to return, first half yesterday was slack,  we take our time in matches to get going, but our fitness and talent shines through as the match goes on. If you thought it was all doom and gloom you would not watch the games every week. Don't lose the faith.
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If we got exactly the same draw as last season then we have a good chance to win cl

 
coco said:
You keep going on about our bad winter form, but it was just the same last season, and we ended up CL winners, i wouldn't be that shocked if we won it again this year.

Tuchel has got the team sorted , we now look tough to beat again, Lukaku out of the way, Havertz showing form, Chilly and Ziyech to return, first half yesterday was slack,  we take our time in matches to get going, but our fitness and talent shines through as the match goes on. If you thought it was all doom and gloom you would not watch the games every week. Don't lose the faith.
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I keep going on about it because the original point of the discussion was about us competing for the league title if we had kept Chilwell and James fit during this period. We can't compete for the league title again until we stop that from happening.

 
LongtimerLurker said:
We need rwb cover in the summer that is evident now and the level cannot be much lower than Reece which makes the task even harder. Hakimi in hindsight may have kept us competitive when we lost our starting wbs. 

It's a shame Ben is pretty much out for the season because I believe Chillwell and James are the best wingbacks in world football. Having both in the squad for me would have meant we could still try and chase City or Liverpool were they to slip but most importantly we would still be favourites for the ucl. Nevertheless I still think having James back improves our chances in any competition he's that good.
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Exactly my thoughts.  If we persist with this system, WBs are critical.  Given the number of games, we need quality for rotation.  Shame Livramento didn't hang around as that could have worked out nicely.  No idea how to address the left side.

 
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PhilH930 said:
Exactly my thoughts.  If we persist with this system, WBs are critical.  Given the number of games, we need quality for rotation.  Shame Livramento didn't hang around as that could have worked out nicely.  No idea how to address the left side.
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 What if we signed Saul to play left wb he's definitely ahead of Kennedy imo and offers more than Emerson did last season granted he only played twice. Idk what the situation with Alonso will be next season, but I would like to see Saul played here more for the rest of the season to see if he is worth the £30m investment.

If his recent form is anything to go by I think he would be a solid addition to the squad after overcoming his earlier struggles. Doesn't mean we don't look for other options but I would definitely consider him.

 
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Photo by Chelsea Football Club via Getty Images.

 
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