BigIzz

From Daniel Taylor of the Guardian on Twitter @DTguardian: Just taken a call that Rooney is staying. Statement from #MUFC imminent . . Twitter - 58 seconds ago

What he said. Rooney should understand that Drogba is getting older so he would get more and more opportunities as the man at Chelsea as time goes on. I've really warmed to this idea the cast few days. Bring him in Roman. In many ways Chelsea is the only logical landing spot for Rooney. He doesn't seem to have a burning desire to play abroad, if he goes to City he might die plus maybe no CL football, Arsenal are too cheap, Liverpool might want him but their situation is still a disaster and no CL football (with no prospect of return), Spurs would be too cheap to pay his wage demands, Everton couldn't afford him. Where else could he go beside Chelsea?

For me it is pretty clear. United's current financial situation doesn't allow for them to pay Rooney nearly as much as other top clubs will. If that is his priority, then he is gone. From what I've heard, United has offered Rooney £150k a week. City pay Yaya Toure £170k a week. Certainly Rooney thinks he's worth more then that. And he would be right. SAF took a very interesting approach today, I'm curious to see how that effects the situation.

Cech for me. Maybe the most incredible match a keeper has ever played but he did everything he needed to perfectly tonight.

I hate tabloid rumors and paper talk more then anyone but I think there is some truth to this one. Not to say Rooney leaving will come true because people do change their minds, I do think it is obvious that there is a rift between SAF and Rooney. I think that there has been for a while now. So I don't think it is at all a stretch that he would would want out. I do have a couple of thoughts. As much as I would love to see him leave United, it is bad news for the Premier League if he moves overseas. The league can't afford to lose the worlds top players and still be considered the best in the world. Like it or not from a Chelsea perspective but Ronaldo leaving was bad for the league. United may be a sinking ship. In many respects they are in terrible financial shape. Once SAF moves on will they be able to stay on top? They certainly don't look to have a lot of money to spend. Rooney is far and away their most valuable player, if he doesn't return top dollar then it is a pretty devastating blow. And how much leverage do they have anyway? A report in the independent says that he can buy out for £5 Million this summer under the Webster ruling http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/premier-league/rooney-could-quit-united-for-only-1635m-2110324.html. What about here at Chelsea? It may not be as far fetched that he could be sold to Chelsea. Will SAF be refusing to sell him to Chelsea? Id imagine the club he'd most like to not sell to would be Man City so it wouldn't surprise me at all that he would get sold to Chelsea before City. Still spenaing the sort of money he would cost really isn't our style anymore. We don't buy the big ticket players anymore and when we do buy it seems to be directed at youth. He is only 24 but it sure feels like an old 24, doesn't it? Not to say he wouldn't be a fantastic addition but such a move wouldn't be without significant risk and I'd like to focus elsewhere.

That midfield would be overrun. For one, you would probably swap Kakuta and Malouda. You cant play a three man midfield on the road in the Champions League and have two of them be the slight McEacharn and the tiny Kakuta. I'd almost rather we play van Aaholt at left back and move Zhirkov to midfield of need be. Don't rule out a formation change based on the players Carlo has at his disposal.

Why does everyone care what TV and other media pundits think? Isn't winning matches and hoisting trophies enough vindication?

Yeah we can't afford to rest Essien now. I'm pretty concerned for this one. I don't like having to rely on all this youth for such a difficult road European match. I suppose no one does but we've got to play who we've got to play. I've been concerned about our lack of veteran depth all along and now it is coming to fruition. Don't get me wrong, it's great to develop young players but I certainly wouldn't mind if we had a couple of utility types like Belletti to round out our squad.

I didn't say it was unfair. It just felt like three points were there for the taking.

Went with Ivan

That was a frustrating result. Not the end of the world but still frustrating.

Hopefully we can get a decent lead in this one so Bossy can get some low pressure playing time

Years past id have been sure that United would knock in a late one and steal the three points. This time? I was pretty sure they wouldn't

No way was that an intentional back pass. Come on and get the winner WBA! though I'll sign for a draw

Wow....just switched over from Fullham Spurs and Old Trafford sounds like a library

I've been getting my ass handed to me. I'm 5-7-1 online so far. Played some thrilling matches though. I'm always up for a game if anyone is interested....bigizz333 on the 360

Ivan isn't as good going forward but is that a big need for us with Ashley Cole on the other side? Maybe it isn't bad having a better defensive option on the right side. I mean goal scoring hasn't been much of an issue. Still when Bosingwa comes back it will be a blessing. Ivan will slot in nicely as third choice center back with Bossy at RB if needed where we don't have a ton of depth. As it stands the backup is Bruma and fourth choice would be...?

Saw another rumor this morning that he is off to Juve to play with Krasic because they share the same agent. No link and I can't be bothered to look because it's all just rubbish. I doubt Ivan has even decided what he is going to do next season, it's amazing that the media thinks they know.

Penalties are the same as World Cup. I could barely ever win the World Cup because if I went to a shootout I had no chance. Spent a lot of time in practice mode with them. Just going into practice mode helped because there is a marker that shows your aim and you get a feel for them.

I'm not sure how closely most people here follow baseball but John Henry and his group do an excellent job as owners of the Red Sox. I'm not a Red Sox fan but from what I've observed they are classy, understated and understand how to run a club. They are getting themselves into something very different with Liverpool but I'm sure with that sort of financial investment they've given careful thought and have some experts in place to run things for them. True that they don't have ridiculous amounts of money compared to some owners but I'd still be surprised if they aren't successful.

All is says is that Milan would be willing to sign Ivan on a free transfer. I'd imagine every football club on the planet would be willing to sign Ivan on a free transfer though.

I haven't really noticed that but I don't like how they handle the advantage rule. It seems a little better in 11 but I can recall in FIFA 10 being fouled in my own box but play would continue because of the advantage????

Hopefully he isn't out for several months then. If he is, it is very bad news. I know everyone wants to see Kakuta and McEachern but, as boring as he may be, we need Yossi. The squad lacks depth so injuries to anyone is bad regardless of the other options we may have.

I got in a fight with an Arsenal fan before the match. He admitted Chelsea would win but thought Arsenal played better football. I told him that I disagreed but Arsenal can have the moral victory while Chelsea get 3 points. And so it ws done.

Ramires isn't a typical Brazilian though. Doesn't fit the stereotype of a Brazilian midfielder at all. Heard Tim Vickery explain once at he is a converted fullback which is why his game evolved differently from most Brazilians. Typically Brazil looks to move players from other positions to fullback (see Bastos at the most recent World Cup), but Ramires is a rare example of a Brazilian that started as a fullback but moved elsewhere.