Friends of Fulham

Safe to say, that we desperately need defensive reinforcements this week, or it is going to be a long, hard season for Fulham.

Game finishes 3-2 to Chelsea, but Fulham undo their selves with a poor defensive display, gifting Chelsea a couple of needless goals.

Not all doom and gloom, as we played well in spells, and you can kind of see what Arbeloa is trying to do, but we don't players for it, yet.

Good to see King get on the score sheet after his disallowed goal last season, and for Garcia to get his first in the Premier League.

Hard to judge just based on the first games, but what were your thought's, who impressed, and who didn't?

Give us all your Post Match Chelsea thoughts below.

::scarf::

 

We didn't even give LDF any minutes to try him out in these tactics.

Overall, that was a 6/10 performance.

8/10 from the attack.

3/10 or 4/10 from the defence (except for Castagne was gave an 8/10 performance being involved in both goals)

I like GG7, has a hell of an engine and looks like he will sweat blood for the team. Runs channels, very quick, looks like an absolute nightmare to play against.

King is going to be a very good player, but we already knew that.

Bassey actually performed really well today. Let down by the rest of the defence.

Quote from: demeant0r on August 24, 2026, 10:04:44 PMWe didn't even give LDF any minutes to try him out in these tactics.

Overall, that was a 6/10 performance.

8/10 from the attack.

3/10 or 4/10 from the defence (except for Castagne was gave an 8/10 performance being involved in both goals)

I really want to see more of LDF but cant agree that was the moment even though cuenca was poor which suprised me, liked his cameos last year

Quote from: Sgt Fulham on August 24, 2026, 10:07:03 PMBassey actually performed really well today. Let down by the rest of the defence.

He also played in King (or Bobb can't remember) down the wing with a ridiculous right footed ball over the top.

Quote from: Sgt Fulham on August 24, 2026, 10:07:03 PMBassey actually performed really well today. Let down by the rest of the defence.

.

That should read Castagne performed really well,let down by rest of defence.

Quote from: Coastwalker on August 24, 2026, 10:10:41 PM

Quote from: Sgt Fulham on August 24, 2026, 10:07:03 PMBassey actually performed really well today. Let down by the rest of the defence.

.

That should read Castagne performed really well,let down by rest of defence.

I think both Bassey and Castagne were solid 7/10 tonight.

Robinson was a 6/10.   
Cuenca can't play with Berge in this system.   Cuenca was a 3/10 with Berge.   5/10 after Shea came on.

Berge was a 3/10 for what this defense needs.   

Sky commentary and written updates all built around this idea that Chelsea blew us away. Not really sure the stats reflect that?

Fulham played OK in parts but were wildly open at the back at times. It's going to be fun under Arbeloa but they are way off Chelsea's standards.

The open at the back thing is true but way off seems a bit much.

MOTM - King.

Leno-okay. Could have done better for their 2nd

Castagne-our best defender today, by a huge margin.

Bassey-a little bit too "eager" at times, but still better of the 2 centrebacks

Cuenca-terrible game, two or three excellent passes aside.

Roninson-decent in the first, struggled a bit more in the second.

Berge - terrible. Gave the ball away all the time and in very dangerous positions. Slow to come back.

Iwobi-somehow even worse than Berge in the first half, improved in the second. Don't think the midfield suits him.

King-MOTM. Great performance from him.

Palacios - some nice moments, you can see he's very talented, but looked lost for the majority of the game. At fault, partially for their first.

Bobb-great first half, not so great second, although he did have some good moments in the second as well.

Garcia-first half, same as Palacios pretty much, second half, much much better,especially after he scored. That seemed to have given him a huge boost. Looked a bit tired towards the end but that's normal, he ran his socks off.

Subs:

Charles-best midfielder today, by a country mile. Looks more mobile than both Berge and Iwobi, passing looked crisp, dealt well with pressure, good defensively. I've been really impressed.

Kevin-it wasn't his day in terms of attack, but he helped out defensively and I really appreciate that.

Sess-decent.

Muniz-won some headers, but was subbed very late, so not enough to give a verdict on his general performance.

Some positive signs going forward, but at the back there are huge issues that need to be fixed asap. We need a new cb and a new midfielder, imo.

I think both Bassey and Castagne were solid 7/10 tonight.

Robinson was a 5/10.  His defense has gotten worse over the years..and his crossing has always been hit or miss.   Effort 100% though.  If he'd finished his strike he'd have been a 7/10

Cuenca can't play with Berge in this system.   Cuenca was a 3/10 with Berge.   5/10 after Shea came on.

Berge was a 3/10 for what this defense needs.   

Quote from: SimonDaviesEnjoyer on August 24, 2026, 10:07:03 PMI like GG7, has a hell of an engine and looks like he will sweat blood for the team. Runs channels, very quick, looks like an absolute nightmare to play against.

King is going to be a very good player, but we already knew that.

What excites me about him is he clearly has good feet and a good touch but he's also strong and RAPID.

Hard worker with a lot of potential - looking forward to seeing him grow

Quote from: Coastwalker on August 24, 2026, 10:10:41 PM

Quote from: Sgt Fulham on August 24, 2026, 10:07:03 PMBassey actually performed really well today. Let down by the rest of the defence.

.

That should read Castagne performed really well,let down by rest of defence.

Fair enough, that was lazy from me. Castagne had a decent game as well. The right let down by the left.

Pick your FOF Man of the Match and let us know why below.

If we defend like we did in the first half we will struggle to stay up but liked it offensively. King was class. Gonzalo good.

Easily king

We desperately need a CB and a CM before this time next week at an absolute minimum.

King by a mile.

Honourable mention for GG7 on debut.

There first 2 goals horrendous from Fulham with no understanding at all despite that
Bassey good, çuença different to last season as a liability this game.Castagne superb.
King and bobb very good palacous hard worker and will be important over the season when he adjusts.Garcia delighted for him and a really hard worker.
Muniz more performances like that then JKA will replace him .Charles will be an asset.

King for me, look threatening all game, grabbed a goal and Chelsea struggled to contain him.

Also good to see GG7 grab his first goal for the club, hopefully the first of many!

Yeah this one's easy. That England camp has done him well, and I hope Reece James has the decency to apologise to him for that nonsense.

Quote from: SimonDaviesEnjoyer on August 24, 2026, 10:16:54 PMSky commentary and written updates all built around this idea that Chelsea blew us away. Not really sure the stats reflect that?

Fulham played OK in parts but were wildly open at the back at times. It's going to be fun under Arbeloa but they are way off Chelsea's standards.

The open at the back thing is true but way off seems a bit much.

To be fair...Chelsea spends way more than we do on attack and defense...and they barely got their 3 points.   Our offense looked better than theirs.

We really need two players in the middle to slow down attacks.   I'd only play Berge in cup games and off the bench.  Prior to the season people said he couldn't play in Arbeloa's system...and they were 100% correct.

King. Next question, please.

Castagne and King,can't separate the two.

Quote from: SimonDaviesEnjoyer on August 24, 2026, 10:16:54 PMSky commentary and written updates all built around this idea that Chelsea blew us away. Not really sure the stats reflect that?

Fulham played OK in parts but were wildly open at the back at times. It's going to be fun under Arbeloa but they are way off Chelsea's standards.

The open at the back thing is true but way off seems a bit much.

2.3. Hardly blown away 🙄

Quote from: hovewhite on August 24, 2026, 10:21:19 PMThere first 2 goals horrendous from Fulham with no understanding at all despite that
Bassey good, çuença different to last season as a liability this game.Castagne superb.
King and bobb very good palacous hard worker and will be important over the season when he adjusts.Garcia delighted for him and a really hard worker.
Muniz more performances like that then JKA will replace him .Charles will be an asset.

Didn't Muniz have about 5 minutes at the end though?

Josh the King for me.

King of the Castle, oozed class, foresight and vision.

I think the main issue with the team tonight was that the left side was a complete mess. Both offensively and defensively. Cuenca had an awful performance, but he was mainly on island because of the lack of cohesion further up the pitch. Palacios was all over the place and had no understanding of his relationship with Jedi both going forward or defending. If Jedi is bombing forward you have to play a left wing with more discipline/positional awareness.

I thought this was incredibly naive of Arbeloa. Anyone who has watched any tape of Fulham playing over the past 5 years will know that one of our greatest strengths is the interplay between Robinson and whoever is playing on the left wing. It has been our main source of attacking threat for years now. Why start a kid out of position when we have other capable more experienced options. I like Palacios andI think he has a bright future but I think it was a huge mistake for Arbeloa to start him on the left tonight. I actually think it cost us the game.
 

For me the poor performers were Berge, Cuenca, Robinson, Leno, Bassey and Bobb and Iwobi.

Bobb looked a lost boy everytime he got into the area. Robinson is a shadow.

King great, Garcia looks good. SC will be a starter over Berge soon and as for Muniz, i think his time is over as 2nd choice to JKA

Pretty surprised at how many negative comments there are on this thread about Bassey's performance last night.

Before the game I was worried about him playing at RCB but I thought he did admirably there.

His passing - with both feet - was immense last night. Played several magnificent long balls Andersen would've been lauded for that sparked dangerous attacks.

Was up against one of - if not the - best front 3 in the league who each bring a totally different threat and gave as good as he got. Joao Pedro is a handful for anyone in this league and Calvin did well against him in the majority of their personal duels. Roger's was on his side and apart from his goal was fairly quiet. Cant blame him for Roger's goal IMO - Lecroix needed to be shut down. Just one of those things. Palmer was the one who tore us to pieces, absolute world class performance. Played like he had something to prove after being left out of the WC squad and after a summer well rested and over his niggles, he is going to be an absolute force this season.

Some saying Bassey was over eager but that's how we will be told to play under AA - aggressive, in-your-face, pushing up at all times so the margins are smaller. Stood up to all challenges and played like a leader.

Contender for MOM with King for me - who was outstanding and clearly going to revel in AA's system. He was owed a goal against them so glad he got it - and in the first game. Now Harry is gone, we need him to step up and get more goals this season to take the pressure off of Gonzalo (who was also really good and relieved to see him get off the mark early too). He's strong, dynamic, uses the ball well but the key for me over Muniz and even Raul is GG seems to make better decisions with the ball. Very pleased with him as a signing, his ceiling is probably the highest we've had for a young striker since Saha.

Going to be a rollercoaster ride under AA with this style so buckle up!

King had a great game and ran himself into the ground.

It makes you wonder why we sold Diop.
Having 2 left footed CBs did not work for me and Iwobi struggled playing a deeper role.
Robinson was too far up the pitch some of the time.
But positive aspects too.

Quote from: KentFulham on August 25, 2026, 12:38:08 AMFor me the poor performers were Berge, Cuenca, Robinson, Leno, Bassey and Bobb and Iwobi.

Bobb looked a lost boy everytime he got into the area. Robinson is a shadow.

King great, Garcia looks good. SC will be a starter over Berge soon and as for Muniz, i think his time is over as 2nd choice to JKA

I thought Bobb was good. Looked a threat going forward and shouldn't have come off

Quote from: @jolslover on August 25, 2026, 08:26:00 AM

Quote from: KentFulham on August 25, 2026, 12:38:08 AMFor me the poor performers were Berge, Cuenca, Robinson, Leno, Bassey and Bobb and Iwobi.

Bobb looked a lost boy everytime he got into the area. Robinson is a shadow.

King great, Garcia looks good. SC will be a starter over Berge soon and as for Muniz, i think his time is over as 2nd choice to JKA

I thought Bobb was good. Looked a threat going forward and shouldn't have come off

Yeah I thought he looked a handful, and wasn't it him who teed up GG in the first half on the edge of the six yard box?

I can see what Arbeloa is trying to do, and it's certainly more exciting football than Silva. Unfortunately we don't have enough quality to pull it off. At least not yet. At times it looked like Chelsea vs 11 headless chickens.

If AA insists on playing this kind of kamikaze attacking football against all teams, home and away, I fear we might be looking at a relegation fight. It reminds me of Jokanovic in the Premier League. Wonderful, entertaining football at times, but it was never gonna get us the results we needed to survive.

We will at the very least need a quality midfielder and some serious upgrades in defence. Not just one RCB, but two. Cuenca-Bassey wasn't ideal, but that was was very much down to Cuenca having an unusually poor game. Bassey actually had a good game at RCB (although his playing out from the back looked a bit awkward at times). I actually think Andersen at RCB with these tactics would have been a lot worse! At least we know Cuenca can do better. Andersen's lack of pace will be very, very scary with these tactics. I honestly can't see that working at all to be honest...

Quote from: Shredhead on August 25, 2026, 08:15:30 AMIt makes you wonder why we sold Diop.
Having 2 left footed CBs did not work for me

While I certainly don't disagree in the longer term that bringing in a top class RCB is probably our most urgent transfer need, having 2 left footers wasn't the issue in itself yesterday. Please point to me an occasion where it was.

Cuenca also played some nice long passes and while, yes, defensively he wasn't great, he was playing in his natural position.

For me though, while AA's system and formation is an exciting watch, your CB pairing pretty much need to be world class as so much pressure is put on them. They need to be lightning fast, read the game well/have excellent split second decision making, strong, good in the air, good on the ball and good at passing. If they are not then you are going to ship lots of goals as you you are screwed if get turned over to the high press/misplace passes/are open to balls over the top if you have no pace etc.

Has to be Josh, gave Chelsea a lot of worries last night and had to resort to hacking him down. First time I thought was borderline red card as he was potentially last man and it was also high. Need to see it again. Then James hacked him down and got a yellow. Then had the audacity it to have a go at Josh as though he dived.

Quote from: Shredhead on August 25, 2026, 08:15:30 AMIt makes you wonder why we sold Diop.
Having 2 left footed CBs did not work for me and Iwobi struggled playing a deeper role.
Robinson was too far up the pitch some of the time.
But positive aspects too.

We sold him because he was on the last year of his contract, was approaching 30, and was not very willing to renew his contract.

Josh King by a country mile. Was absolutely sensational, yesterday felt like his real arrival.

Quote from: Moussa Dembele the 3rd on August 25, 2026, 12:10:31 AMI think the main issue with the team tonight was that the left side was a complete mess. Both offensively and defensively. Cuenca had an awful performance, but he was mainly on island because of the lack of cohesion further up the pitch. Palacios was all over the place and had no understanding of his relationship with Jedi both going forward or defending. If Jedi is bombing forward you have to play a left wing with more discipline/positional awareness.

I thought this was incredibly naive of Arbeloa. Anyone who has watched any tape of Fulham playing over the past 5 years will know that one of our greatest strengths is the interplay between Robinson and whoever is playing on the left wing. It has been our main source of attacking threat for years now. Why start a kid out of position when we have other capable more experienced options. I like Palacios andI think he has a bright future but I think it was a huge mistake for Arbeloa to start him on the left tonight. I actually think it cost us the game.
 

Absolutely this.

Forget about RW and RB we need to concentrate our time and money on a RCB (and midfield if time and money permit).  Assuming AA realises that he needs to play a specialist LW with Robinson or Sess (whichever starts as LB) then with Bassey playing at LCB I think that sorts the left side. With the left side sorted and a new RCB we should be much better balanced defensively.

Long term I'm convinced we need a new keeper and try to sell and replace Muniz but those are projects for the future. Iwobi is a conundrum as I'm not really sure where he fits or whether we need him?

I'm not giving up on Berge he has shown previously he has ability but I think he needs time to understand AA' system and how he fits it.

Quote from: @jolslover on August 25, 2026, 08:26:00 AM

Quote from: KentFulham on August 25, 2026, 12:38:08 AMFor me the poor performers were Berge, Cuenca, Robinson, Leno, Bassey and Bobb and Iwobi.

Bobb looked a lost boy everytime he got into the area. Robinson is a shadow.

King great, Garcia looks good. SC will be a starter over Berge soon and as for Muniz, i think his time is over as 2nd choice to JKA

I thought Bobb was good. Looked a threat going forward and shouldn't have come off

Agreed thought Bobb did well but he really needs to take more shots in decent positions. Especially against a dodgy keeper like Sanchez.

Was an absolute rollercoaster, and I enjoyed it to be honest - Chaos, sure. Was it perfect? Nope, but a lot of reasons to be positive.

I put a lot of thoughts down here if you are keen: https://thecravencorner.wordpress.com/2026/08/25/well-that-was-fun-arbeloa-chaosball-brings-excitement-back-to-craven-cottage/ (https://thecravencorner.wordpress.com/2026/08/25/well-that-was-fun-arbeloa-chaosball-brings-excitement-back-to-craven-cottage/)

Quote from: @jolslover on August 25, 2026, 08:26:00 AM

Quote from: KentFulham on August 25, 2026, 12:38:08 AMFor me the poor performers were Berge, Cuenca, Robinson, Leno, Bassey and Bobb and Iwobi.

Bobb looked a lost boy everytime he got into the area. Robinson is a shadow.

King great, Garcia looks good. SC will be a starter over Berge soon and as for Muniz, i think his time is over as 2nd choice to JKA

I thought Bobb was good. Looked a threat going forward and shouldn't have come off

Agree, I was surprised he was taken off. King and Garcia were our two best performers on the night, good mentions for Bobb, Bassey playing out of position too.

Less said about Cuenca the better

Quote from: SimonDaviesEnjoyer on August 25, 2026, 08:27:04 AM

Quote from: @jolslover on August 25, 2026, 08:26:00 AM

Quote from: KentFulham on August 25, 2026, 12:38:08 AMFor me the poor performers were Berge, Cuenca, Robinson, Leno, Bassey and Bobb and Iwobi.

Bobb looked a lost boy everytime he got into the area. Robinson is a shadow.

King great, Garcia looks good. SC will be a starter over Berge soon and as for Muniz, i think his time is over as 2nd choice to JKA

I thought Bobb was good. Looked a threat going forward and shouldn't have come off

Yeah I thought he looked a handful, and wasn't it him who teed up GG in the first half on the edge of the six yard box?

I agree Bobb was good but I thought he cut inside a bit too often and maybe held on to the ball a tad too long. I didn't see any of the incisive passes he made in the World Cup though.

Quote from: LittleErn on August 25, 2026, 10:59:12 AMI agree Bobb was good but I thought he cut inside a bit too often and maybe held on to the ball a tad too long. I didn't see any of the incisive passes he made in the World Cup though.

I think the cutting in was part of AA's tactics

Quote from: Twig on August 25, 2026, 10:27:59 AM

Quote from: Moussa Dembele the 3rd on August 25, 2026, 12:10:31 AMI think the main issue with the team tonight was that the left side was a complete mess. Both offensively and defensively. Cuenca had an awful performance, but he was mainly on island because of the lack of cohesion further up the pitch. Palacios was all over the place and had no understanding of his relationship with Jedi both going forward or defending. If Jedi is bombing forward you have to play a left wing with more discipline/positional awareness.

I thought this was incredibly naive of Arbeloa. Anyone who has watched any tape of Fulham playing over the past 5 years will know that one of our greatest strengths is the interplay between Robinson and whoever is playing on the left wing. It has been our main source of attacking threat for years now. Why start a kid out of position when we have other capable more experienced options. I like Palacios andI think he has a bright future but I think it was a huge mistake for Arbeloa to start him on the left tonight. I actually think it cost us the game.
 

Absolutely this.

It was noticeable that Robinson sprinted into space on the left so many times and was ignored by whoever was on the ball. That being said, not sure what would have happened if he had got the ball - his crosses are suspect and his shooting is worse!

Quote from: Shredhead on August 25, 2026, 08:15:30 AMIt makes you wonder why we sold Diop.
Having 2 left footed CBs did not work for me and Iwobi struggled playing a deeper role.
Robinson was too far up the pitch some of the time.
But positive aspects too.

The problems were with Cuenca and Berge not Bassey. They were generally stranded like islands in the stream with the play flowing past them. I think that neither is suited to the new style - having CBs wide apart only works if they are fast and mobile.

Quote from: Twig on August 25, 2026, 10:33:08 AMForget about RW and RB we need to concentrate our time and money on a RCB (and midfield if time and money permit).  Assuming AA realises that he needs to play a specialist LW with Robinson or Sess (whichever starts as LB) then with Bassey playing at LCB I think that sorts the left side. With the left side sorted and a new RCB we should be much better balanced defensively.

Long term I'm convinced we need a new keeper and try to sell and replace Muniz but those are projects for the future. Iwobi is a conundrum as I'm not really sure where he fits or whether we need him?

I'm not giving up on Berge he has shown previously he has ability but I think he needs time to understand AA' system and how he fits it.

Regrettably, I don't think he does fit it.

Quote from: Twig on August 25, 2026, 10:33:08 AM(and midfield if time and money permit).

We absolutely need another midfielder. We sold Lukic and got Charles, but we were already a midfielder short last season.

Watched the highlights back and wondered if Cuenca was arguably at fault for all three Chelsea goals?

First goal he headed out straight to a Chelsea player when he was under a bit of pressure admittedly, but could've played an easier ball to Palacios on the wing. Then for some reason is in the left back position and didn't reposition himself to get goal side of Pedro, which is a) schoolboy and b) lazy

Second goal he gets turned very easily and burned for pace by Lacroix. His inability to hold Lacroix up leaves Bassey feeling he has to cover him (where's the confidence in your colleague?), although positionally the rest of the team were all over the place.

Third goal though, Berge holds up Joao Pedro and, with plenty of time to assess the situation and also looking straight at Palmer in front of him, he for some reason decides to double mark Pedro and not follow the run of Palmer, leaving him completely free to take on Leno.

Quote from: General on August 25, 2026, 11:26:37 AMWatched the highlights back and wondered if Cuenca was arguably at fault for all three Chelsea goals?

First goal he headed out straight to a Chelsea player when he was under a bit of pressure admittedly, but could've played an easier ball to Palacios on the wing. Then for some reason is in the left back position and didn't reposition himself to get goal side of Pedro, which is a) schoolboy and b) lazy

Second goal he gets turned very easily and burned for pace by Lacroix. His inability to hold Lacroix up leaves Bassey feeling he has to cover him (where's the confidence in your colleague?), although positionally the rest of the team were all over the place.

Third goal though, Berge holds up Joao Pedro and, with plenty of time to assess the situation and also looking straight at Palmer in front of him, he for some reason decides to double mark Pedro and not follow the run of Palmer, leaving him completely free to take on Leno.

Agree with the 3rd goal whole heartedly. I watched some highlights when I got in and couldn't believe how he glanced at Palmer but just let him run. It was terrible defending.

I also thought Leno should not have come out like he did for the second. Once Lacroix cut it back Rogers could pick his spot into the open goal. With Leno there he would have at least had a chance to save it.

Let's give the players time to adapt, including Berge. We badly need that rcb, but I'm not ready to write off the other positions yet. I'd also question how urgent it is to bring in a rb, I've been very impressed with Castagne this pre-season, I'd sooner we go all out on a premium rcb.

Has to be king, but castagne played well as did Garcia who never stopped working

Quote from: Bassey the warrior on August 25, 2026, 12:20:35 PMLet's give the players time to adapt, including Berge. We badly need that rcb, but I'm not ready to write off the other positions yet. I'd also question how urgent it is to bring in a rb, I've been very impressed with Castagne this pre-season, I'd sooner we go all out on a premium rcb.

Andersen will be back for the next game. Let's hope it makes a difference

It will be interesting to see what team AA puts out on Thursday. Marco tended to take cups seriously (eventually) but with the high intensity seen last night I find it hard to believe many of those players will play Thursday and again on Sunday.

Andersen will get a run out, as will Muniz, Tete, Sess, Reed I guess. I wonder if we will see more youngsters.

Plucky Fulham certainly gave the other team a game.  However the other team seemed to be able to cut us to pieces at will.  They then fell somewhat into states of lethargy and let us back in.

I doubt we will see much lethargy from Sunderland or even AFC Wimbledon.

MOM Josh King, but dead on his feet for last 20 minutes.  Should have been subbed for his own protection.

Gonzo - Right time! Right place! Right player?

The difference between the two teams was Cole Palmer.  If he was in black and white we would have won the game!  Berge and several others could not handle his ability to turn quickly and his change of direction.  At least we won't have to play against him every week.

Josh was brilliant and stood up well to that Chelsea Bully Boy Reece James. As for the game yes far too poor defensively but Chelsea were very lucky to have 10 men on the pitch. If they'd been given the two red cards (accepting it was the same guy) or even one that they fully deserved it would have been a different game.

Voted King, he was clearly the best FFC player in this game.  Took several other shots that were good chances in addition to the goal.  Bobb needs to take the lessons learned from King to heart and shoot the ball more, take the shot. 

To be honest, was not really impressed with the Madrid lads or Charles.  Not saying they were poor, just not overly impressive.  Although it was nice that Garcia opened his account, should give him some confidence moving forward. 

Always disappointing to lose the game, especially to that lot, but enjoyed the way FFC played, I really thought they would get a late equalizer.  And as others have mentioned, our defense looked so so vulnerable.  Will need to tighten that up. 

Leno again, in my view, very poor.  Second goal scored into unprotected net, third through the five hole.   I will give credit where due, he did make several nice saves.  I know many here won't hold him to blame for the first goal, but I've seen top keepers stop that type of opportunity.  Just saying.  Anyway, not a good show from Leno.

Quote from: susiescw on August 25, 2026, 03:04:54 PMJosh was brilliant and stood up well to that Chelsea Bully Boy Reece James. As for the game yes far too poor defensively but Chelsea were very lucky to have 10 men on the pitch. If they'd been given the two red cards (accepting it was the same guy) or even one that they fully deserved it would have been a different story. On twitter many Man U and other team supporters are saying that if either tackle by Levi Colwill had been the other way round our guy would have been sent off. Gary Neville's comments are also interesting see post

https://x.com/AFCJaccy/status/2091987879061020765

One other comment no one seems to mention Luc De Fougerolls in relation to RB and I think he's worth a try after seeing him in the world cup.

I think those are fake quotes. There's this thing going around where random accounts are making up quotes to get engagement. I think they also made one up for Michael Owen about GG.

Voted for King for his first half performance. He really stepped up, but it was not as easy as others have suggested. Our defence is going to have to work really hard in this new formation and therefore I could make a case for Castagne or Bassey. Also Iwobi was picking up a lot in midfield, although there were also some misplaced passes.

Thanks for pointing out the quotes were fake deamentor. Most embarrassing, sorry for that error. I've deleted the fake info and I'll double check next time. I still think Chelsea deserved at least one red. The tackle on Josh was terrible and Bassey could have ended up with a broken leg.

Yeah no problem, it's an easy error to make. I think the Lavia one deserved a red but I feel like because it was so early the ref didn't want to rock the boat.

King.  If this is him igniting for the season and playing at this, and higher, level.  Well that will be a good thing.

Castagne for me