Maverick

I wouldn't say its all over for us but the league look a lot tougher with this piece of news. I hope we have a recall clause in place for Mancienne, Cork and Matic because if we decide not to spend we need all possible reinforcements.

Good post and that pretty much sums up our youth policy where we are prepared to play players out of position than gamble on a "promising" youngster. If we are willing to go out and splash the money I am sure there are top players that can be bought but I am pretty sure that Messrs Gourlay & Co have other plans in store. Its for us to wait and watch it unfold.

Alternate weeks if the trend continues.

I wasn't much worried about the wingers playing up front but was more concerned in the manner Ashley was bombing ahead with a makeshift defence in place. It may have made sense to pull one of the full backs back and operate more defensively. You dont have to be gung ho every game and go looking for 7 goals, we missed a trick (tactically) last night but I hope we have learnt our lesson.

Well Carlo seems very reluctant to change the gameplan irrespective of the players available to him or the situation the team finds itself in. Is he not tactically swift ? You could say so on the basis of the games that we needed a tactical masterclass and have failed to do so. Maybe just maybe he should take a leaf out of his fellow Italian's (Manicini) book.

Brilliant post Barry and that bit is where you've absolutely nailed it according to me. Yes we have an emotional attachment and there is a history attached to Stamford Bridge but every decision should be in the best interest of the club and if we are to make it to the big league and sustain it we need the revenues and all the benefits that a larger stadium provides. The only other option being renaming the stadium but I am not too sure if thats a long term solution.

Rather than singling out JT I believe its the pair of JT and Alex that looks weaker as compared to the pair of JT and Ivanovic. With Alex struggling for fitness it may make sense to have Ivanovic as the preferred partner to JT.

As much as I love Ivanovic and admire him for his performance as a right back last year, Bosingwa adds another dimension to your attack. With Alex and Terry both having fitness concerns I am sure Ivanovic will get a fair share of games at CB.

I can see Wolves being relegated this year, should have got a draw against a very average United side.

I'd add Kalou to that list as well, how he manages to miss from 6 to 8 yards is baffling. Sturridge and Kakuta both created chances to add to the scoreline and generally looked lively in their little cameos.

Probably a testament that the Yanks have finally left a mark !! :)

Don't bother. Those lot are not worth exchanging a word let alone a conversation

Was thinking the same, thank god its tribal because I cant make anything out of this story. He looks settled & happy and so do the players and the management, no way is Roman going to let him go easily having burnt his fingers with the likes of Scolari.

For once I agree with you completely and you pretty much nailed it by drawing a comparison with Bale who broke into the team due to an injury to Ekottu. Bale got the necessary game time (that you've emphasized on) and he's never looked back since and now has developed into a fine winger.

Too bad that he wont be starting tonight, would have been good to see Bosingwa and Cole have a run at the Russians. Ferreira to get nod as we may need Ivanovic for the weekend fixture at Anfield.

I dint watch the game last night to comment on his performance but I believe he had a very decent game against Marseille where he looked lively in attack and was more than willing to do his share of defending. It could have been a great night for him had he played the entire 90 mins, too bad that he was taken off after the knock. Not all youngsters blossom at the same rate and to me Josh is exceptional in that aspect, patience is the key with someone like Kakuta to develop.

They're trying and full marks to them for that !!

Thats a bit far fetched given that Kalou and Sturridge are ahead of him in the pecking order. Though I agree that he has been the best player for the Reserves by some distance as you can see in this game against the Pool reserves.

Or maybe United has always been his preferred option ? :)

Got a chance ahead of Kalou to make an impact in the game, surely that should be an indication that the bar is higher than you perceive. As far as yesterdays game was concerned he looked sharp and wasn't too far from scoring a scorcher, he needs more gametime and hopefully the FA cup will given him the chance again.

Don't think it will be because Gael isn't anywhere as established as Bastian for club/ country. So Bayern are not going to let someone like Bastian go easily.

I think you have mixed up a bit to while drawing a parallel. In this case the best parallel would be the rock of Barca's defence Pique, deemed not good enough United and moved to Barca and went on to win everything that there is for a player to win. Now are you trying to tell me that Pique is not a good player? The way I see it is United did not guage Pique potential in the right manner and that might well be the case with Kirkic.

We got Ballack on a free transfer but I dont think he is too keen on coming to England, if he did he would have made it clear like Ballack did prior to his move.

Some of these stories raise doubts about the IQ levels of the people writing this. Journalism seems to be a dying breed.

Try atdhe.net they have streams for most games that hold any significance.