djc026

I agree with Barn, if Sheva does not pick up, which is unlikely now he has been a waste of money and time. What makes it more frustrating is when we signed him he was a world class striker but now he cant even control a ball, let alone finish. What chance do we have against Arsenal with Gallas and Toure marking him?! Again i agree with Kalou comment, i was patient up until a few weeks back. He shows promise when he gets around people but then he will try and get through three or four rather than play it easy and as for his finishing - he is no striker that is going to keep us in title chase without Drogba. I think Pizarro is ok. He has a nice touch and plays clever balls around the box, problem is he wont score enough. If we bought someone or when Drogba is back he could work with another. Ben Haim i think is ok purely because he is really a sub, with JT and Riccy fit and probably even Alex i dont think we will see too much of him. Wright-philips, there is something i like about him but it think the jury is still out. If we could buy a top right winger then he may have to go!

In Germany Ballack had something like a one goal in every 3 games ratio, which is very impressive for a midfielder but has no where near showed that form here. Problem with Ballack is he looks lazy on the field and then moans house prices in London, when he earns something like £130,000 a week! You have to wonder his true motives for being here towards the end of his career.

I agree with last two posts, Berbatov is not going to be good enough in a 4-3-3. He goes missing and when things aren't going his way he starts throwing toys out of the pram. Plus Spurs played £11 million for him, so how much would they want from us? We need someone who is in mould of Drogba but perhaps younger, afer all Drogba has on more than one ocassion hinted at leaving and maybe in the summer he will. Therefore it may be a longer term replacement we need just for African Nations and when he is injured.

If this is true we are going to struggle, it was bad enough just having him out for January! I think Pizarro looks decent although no Drogba but i have to agree with the guy a couple of posts back that Kalou is starting to look poor. He may be young, have some good technical skills but how long can we watch him run into cul-de-sacs, trying to take too many people on and missing great chances! Sheva will go, probably january so we definitely need a striker or two. Problem is finding one especially half way through season and players being cup-tied i.e. champions league.

I dont think the likes of sinclair and sahar are ready yet, especially come January and we are still in the title hunt, we will need all the points we can get for when the African boys return and push on. They have decent potential but or best bet is to buy. Problem is best time to buy is summer and Mourinho semed to bring in the likes of Sidwell and Pizarro as cover, who may not be sufficient. I say best time is summer because in January the type of quality we should be buying is champions league and these players are not going to be available, 1) due to being cup-tied and 2) they generally dont leave in january window. From looking at reports their seems to be some Russians/Croatians on the way, one of which who played in centre md against England looked good but again are these a Drogba/Essien?! Other thing now is with Grant in charge we are not sure what type of player he may like/can attract and now Abramovich has a new manager will the funds be readily available again? I think we need attacking players, as we need them anyway, Sheva is not good enough and i reckon he will go. As for a right back it may be worth waiting until summer and evaluating all options!

I think Mikel is worth keeping on to. He is young and has plenty to learn but looks capable of doing it, plus i hope we would not spend around £14 million on a 17/18 year old only to sell him off! He does have the odd moment of madness but we can iron that out of him he should go on to be a good player for us.