The_Dark_Knight

Contact does equal a foul. If a defender puts his hands or arms on an attacking player, it be a foul. If a defender stick out a leg, and catches nothing but opponent, it also be a foul. This is fact.

He did very well. Not to build him up or be all hyperbolic, but you can usually tell when a player belongs, and in this case, Billy Gilmour belongs in this company. A nice and accurate blurb about the Tartan duo: Here

I'd be delighted with that. Only thing that I'm not sure about is Turnbull. No one knows when he'll be back, or when he does, he'll still be as good. Only time will tell. I'd also swap McBurnie for Hornby. When I look at McBurnie, he looks like an archetypal privileged footballer, but Hornby looks the type of lad who would stick his head into a football-boot if it meant that he'd score a goal.

What was the score when they went 2 at the back?

No one should dismiss Gilmour playing in the Chelsea first team, I don't care who it's against or how "weakened" the Chelsea team is. For an 18 year old to be playing first team football for Chelsea is a massive thing. These are the same people who watch (highlights, most likely) Scott McTominay (Who is still learning) boss the midfield against Norwich and dismiss it with a "Who cares, it's just Norwich", completely oblivious to the fact that he's given MOTM displays against the likes of Barcelona, PSG, Liverpool, Arsenal, and tonight against Chelsea. But "who cares, it's only Barcelona..." Probably the same people who rant and gushed about Ryan Christie scoring a hat trick against St Johnstone at the start of the season or the people who went wild over Forrest scoring against St Mirren tonight. The point is, McTominay's progression is frightening, tonight he bossed a midfield comprising of Kovacic (He also played for Inter Milan and Real Madrid) and Jorginho (Napoli), both cost a combined £110m. And Gilmour is so highly thought of as to rub shoulders with a midfield duo who cost £110m. There's a lot to moan about as far as Scottish football goes, but McTominay and Gilmour are shining lights.

Not a strong Chelsea team? Let's put things into perspective, the Chelsea team that started tonight has a market value of £274m. Tonight's Celtic starting XI tonight is worth £55m. They'd win the SPL by Christmas. United have played with 3 at the back for 3 of the last 4 matches, two of which they've won with one draw against Liverpool. I think they'll alternate from 3 to 4 for the rest of the season.

In my eyes he was MOTM against Chelsea. Rashford only got it because of his world class goal. A brilliant display by Scott McTominay, a typical all-action, energic display. Breaking up Chelsea attacks time after time, and one his tackles lead to United's penalty. Game by game he's improving steadily.

Oops. My bad. Should've realized that, since it was only a few days ago. United have played with a 3 against Liverpool and Chelsea and Partizan. Won two, drew one. That's a 75% win rate. They will probably go with 4 against the smaller teams and switch to a 3 against teams like Liverpool, Man City, etc.

If I was a defender and I was stupid enough to make contact with a player in the box, I'd expect to be punished for it. If you make a slide tackle or go for a header, and you get the ball first, well, that's a different story. The best defenders make contact with the ball.

If a player is touched in the box, it's a penalty. A defender shouldn't have to make contact with a player in order to defend.

McTominay winning the ball for James to speed away to win a penalty. McTominay bossing the Chelsea midfield. Manchester United have struggled with defending all season, since they've switched to a back three they've drawn once and won twice, and now they're bossing Chelsea. Hope Steve Clarke is taking note. Either that or swap Clarke with Ole.

Yep. I think Christie might be another Forrest and Brown, though. Both whom didn't want to challenge themselves against better players/teams.

Including me, but that was more to do with countries looking down on the SPL, rather than any reflection on Tierney's ability. Whereas, players like Forrest, Christie and McGregor only look good against free transfers.

Yep. I'm never giving the SFA another penny for merchandise. Wonder when DHgate get their stock in.

As insane as the English market is, no one would spend £25m for him. If he was good then an English team would've bought him by now, same for Forrest and it'll be the same for Christie. Those three aren't rated by anyone outside Scotland.

Gilmour and McTominay starting in the same match. Should be interesting.

Tierney on Arsenel bench, Robertson completely rested.

Potentially we have 5 players in 3 EFL Cup matches tonight, featuring all EPL teams. McTominay might be rested, though.

Did you watch the whole match, though? I'm not for one moment saying that he was tired at that moment, because he wasn't, but he covered every single blade. Besides, I don't mind him doing that kind of thing. His natural game is to receive the ball and take on players, he has the most amount of successful dribbles in the EPL this season, believe or not. If he loses it, fine, I would rather he stick to him natural game and be risky than to stay safe at all times. Besides, it's not like he did it in his own box, he had three united players in front of him, I think it was Fred that put in a powder puff tackle. I've watched every minute of Manchester United this season. McTominay is definitely developing. I wish he had help in midfield, though, because players like Fred and Matic, etc, are no help whatsoever. Plus it doesn't help that Pogba is on holiday... I mean, recovering for "injury"... All in all, he's coming along nicely. If he saw him in pre-season you'll know that there's a lot more to come from him. Since the season started he's been rather reserved, but he is coming out of his shell. His game is all about energy and striding forward with the ball. I've lost count on how many times he's been fouled as he strides forward with the ball. He isn't an anchorman. He's the best midfielder we have at taking the ball and breaking lines. If Pogba and Fred and the rest of the United players had half his heart and desire, United wouldn't be struggling in the league.

If those players you listed (and the prices) were all Scottish then I would care, but they aren't, so I don't. That's proof that, instead of producing their own stars, they buy someone elses, and then sell them for a higher fee. How's this evidence of a buying club? A buying club doesn't end up selling the players they bought. A selling club produces their own, or as you've documented, buys kids for peanuts and sells them for a higher fee.

Staying off-topic. This made me smile: Narcissists 'horrible people but happy'

I get your point, and it's a valid one, but they'll be learning more sitting on the bench in La Liga and the Bundesliga than they would playing a full season in the SPL and the English Championship. They're surrounded with top players, travelling to great stadiums and training with La Liga and Bundesliga players. I actually don't mind it if those two get a few minutes here and there. Like last night when Burke played 15 minutes against Athletico Madrid. I wouldn't like it to last more than one season, though. Oliver burke is a strange one, it's like his main aim in his career is to sit on the bench in every top league in Europe...

Which one? The person who thinks that I have multiple accounts or the person who thinks a midfield of McTominay and McGinn wouldn't be envied? I pick both.

So, you genuinely were laughing at McTominay and McGinn being labelled a good midfield?! Yeah. Mine makes more sense...

Yeahhhh.... They're friends. Still nothing? 🙄