ethicalstrategy

I didn't think Soton looked all that comfortable. We had a few decent chances in the first half. They were very competitive and made it very hard to play but they were surprisingly toothless on the break. normally, I'm quite worried when we start pushing on, but I didn't see anything from them to get very worried about. The switch in the second half was classic Jose. I remember us stuffing Bayern 4-2 in the CL in just the same way. Couldn't get a hold in midfield so we just kicked it straight over the top and Drogba killed them. Yesterday it was Torres and Ba. Loved that we gave them a taste of their own medicine. All these teams that come to just harry, hassle and stop us playing - let's see how they cope when we do it to them. Not very well apparently :) Great win. Have to follow it up now with two away wins.

I don't know Nibs. I reckon I can tally up quite a few howlers from Cahill. (I feel like I'm in some sort of weird, inverted universe where I am championing the player with a flair and natural ability and you are defending the more prosaic one. Something must be wrong somewhere!!! )

I must admit, I've been struggling to see how JM would make the 4-2-3-1 work inside his own framework. I never really felt like he managed it at Madrid. In the end, he was reliant on huge dose of individual talent, in particular from Ronaldo. 4-3-3 allows us to have width but also a lot more solidity at the back. It also gets that best out of Frank. Although, much as I love him, I'm not sure that should really be a consideration for the long term. Personally, I'd like to see Oscar drop back into the midfield three and Mata come in. It gives us the 3 amigos, albeit in a different arrangement from last year. Willian and Schurrle both provide good cover for the wide front positions and with Frank and De Bruyne we can also cover the midfield very well. The only other change I'd like to see is Luiz in for Cahill. I know Luiz has his moments, but for me he's streets ahead of Cahill. Fingers crossed for Tuesday

The thing is, I can't see what the benefit to the players is of not getting it right. Surely, if it was as easy as you think then they'd do it? Why wouldn't they? and, as you say, it's not just our players, it seems to be true for every team. But, it's just my theory

As far as last night's performance is concerned, it seemed to me that Jose reacted to Saturday's defeat by stripping out what little creativity we still had in the team. We worked hard and the result is terrific but there wasn't a hint of flair or excitement in the match.

Have you considered the theory that it's very difficult to get set piece delivery right? Given that, as you say, it's a problem for most teams. I'm sure they could beat the first man every time if their life depended on it, but it isn't just about that. You need to clear the first man but still keep the ball down so that it reaches a dangerous area and doesn't just float too long. I think the margins for error are very small, which is why you see them getting it wrong so often.

His positioning though was pretty shocking. The two chances they had early on were due to him being caught far too narrow when they switched the play.

I think you'd be very wrong about that. He does features and comments for the Guardian and is a bit of a sarcie bar steward. He is on the Football Weekly Pod from time to time. I don't think I'd mention him in the same breath as Martin Samuel in terms of quality journalism!

Ramires over Schurrle. Two goals and an excellent all round display. Schurrle was good but he was up against a comedy fullback.

If only that were true.

I know Spy has been there a long time, but I don't think they call him Christ!

Just when you least expect it, the forum surprises me once again! Having read Barn's initial post I fully expected to find a thread which had degenerated in to a cringeworthy series of childish gay jokes and homophobic language. Instead I find a mixture of intelligent debate, interesting comment, enlightened attitudes and even some posts that are humourus without being childish or offensive. Who'd have thunk it? Have I patronised you all enough yet? In the words of Young Mr Grace "you've all done very well"! (and in the words of Mr Humphries "I'm free!!")

All I know is that I was absolutely sh*tting myself when he placed the ball in the CL final and started his run up from the centre circle. Just shows how you can be wrong!

I say let's rely on the new breed. Wilshire, Walcott, Walker. If only they hadn't been held back last night by those sh*t old men.

I'm not sure where these figures came from but given the level of detail I'm inclined to think there is a degree of truth in them. Rather than getting in to the "who's earning what" debate, I think it's rather more interesting from a FFP point of view, which seems to be the purpose of the exercise in the first place. There seems to be some missing information for 12-13 but it looks like we will comfortably meet the requirements.

I think closing it is a good idea. We've got a general thread for Mata anyway. We can always start a new transfer rumour one in January :)

What a relief. We can bury this thread now!! I never believed he was going, but nevertheless we can relax now until January!

Like Mata, but a creator you say? Hmm. Interesting. I was only thinking the other day that Mata could be good, if only he could create stuff.

I agree that Rogers is doing a good job and he is a smart young manager from the Mourinho stable. But I'd be really surprised if they make the top 4 this year. There is too much strength and experience ahead of them. They may challenge for 4th but I have them down in 6th behind Arsenal and Utd.

Amazed at the negativity over this one. The big names we would all have wanted all went elsewhere - Cavani, Falcao - or stayed where they are - Lewandowski, Rooney. Picking up Eto'o on a free seems like a no brainer in the circumstances. He obviously fancies it here. He had other more lucrative options. If it let's us move Torres and Ba on then so much the better. Lukaku will still get plenty of game time. I think it's clear already that Jose sees him as an impact player for now. Coming off the bench for 30 minutes. Pretty much how he started at WBA last season. It was only towards the end that he got more starts.

I agree with that. I somehow got the impression that you fancied Cahill over Luiz. Not sure how...

I wouldn't ay we played with a false 9. We just played with Schurrle as centre forward. Not really the same thing.

I think you're going to be disappointed then. Luiz will be alongside Terry when he's fit. And rightly so. Cahill is good back up but not quite top class.

Really depends on how big you want to print. In real life use I find it very good. In low light it is spectacularly good.

First of all, it's a setting so you have the option to just take normal photos. If you turn it on, then every time you take a photo it effectively starts recording 1 second before you press the shutter and then carries on for another 3 seconds. When you look at the photo is plays back the whole 4 seconds, with sound and then goes to a still at the point you pressed the shutter. You can then use an on screen slider to move to whatever point in the 4 seconds you want. it's really handy if people have been looking away or blinking because you can set and save the exact moment you wanted to capture. The 30 second highlights are created by taking the photos, zoe's and any video that you have shot and grouping them by date and location - on the assumption they are all related, i.e. a wedding or sporting event or day out etc. There is a choice of themes you can apply which apply visual and audio effects. The result is a little montage of the event which you can save and share. You can also control what clips are included in the montage. And it is in HD, yes. I thought it might be a bit gimmicky, but it works really well. I haven't had any problems with storage space. The htc one has 32gb built in and I don't keep a lot of media on mine. Music is mainly on Spotify and I don't have video other than what I shoot.