Maverick

Loved him when he was with us, tonight he's just another coach with another team. Nostalgia and emotions take a back seat - lets be ruthless.

Sheva should be given a serious thought ? :)

I am sure you'd be the first one to jump on any errors that he may have committed during the ACN but thats how some people are. As far as your average tag is concerned, he's having 4 goals and 4 assists in the legue - thats not as bad a stat that your making it out to be. By the way are you serious about Joey being the scapegoat?

Oh yes how can I miss the blinder he played against Cardiff. This is where the problem is - we tend to recall that one pass he has made in the season as compared to the awful performances (like the one he gave against a Cardiff side). Top it all you question someone that stepped up to the mark during ACN to play in a role that he had never played before. Did he put a foot wrong I dont recall, if you do let me know. Oh but then again it must be "Adidas" that dictates quite a few decisions as he would appear a lot more on the tele in that role I guess.

You are being very harsh by comparing two players that happen to play different role for the team. Ballack provides a lot of physicality and keeps the right side of our midfield ticking. Apart from that he is good aerially and thats always an advantage in the English game. On the other hand Joey is "supposed" to be a cretive player and one that adds flair to our attack, none of which I have seen this season. Before I conclude - Ballack must be doing something right to be picked by the past 5 managers since his time at the Bridge. Give it a thought you may just be able to figure what Ballack's job is and whether he does it or not.

I suggest you watch the game against Germany that he played for Argentina. His pace vision, pace and agility makes me believe he is tailor made for the English game. Isn't Ronaldo still considered a show pony ?

Yuri doesn't beat Ashley on any count (going forward or in defence) to be honest. His link up with Malouda/ Lampard is poor and he is extremely fragile by the looks of it.

My concern about the way the squad is currently shaped up is that there are a few passengers in our squad that we can replace with our reserves/ loaned players. There is no need to spend big bucks on players that are currently only a bit part player and it is on this front that I support the club's stance when it comes to contract talks with Joey. As a club we need to now stabilize ourselves and it could really pay rich dividends in the future. I am delighted to see Carlo being involved in the Reserves games and having a say in switching players out of their natural position, whatever the thought maybe it looks very positive to me. Add to it the involvement of players like Borini and Kakuta in the cup games makes me believe that given the time we will see some of them making the cut. The topic starter failed to mention Mancienne in that post and to me he is as close as anyone to make it to the first team squad. He can play across the defence and doesn't really demand a ahigh wage.

Typical Fifa fan that boasts of licenses and leagues, whats the point when the gameplay (core product) sucks big time. PES anyday on PC and PS2.

Looks like you have a nice sense of humour, welcome to the shed.

If they try to park the bus, I think it would suit us well considering Inter seemed to be running out of gas in the first leg. I am confident we will nick this one and a 1-0 would be the perfect way to send Jose and Inter packing !!

I dont think he'd get ahead of Kuyt/ Riera/ Maxi in his current form at Pool. Spurs maybe hius likely destination considering high wage demands and he wouldn't have to relocate.

I dont see him 'becoming' a world class player at 29 - hell even Fergue cant do it. He looked average against a Cardiff side, let alone looking world class he was a shame to watch.

I may sound a little cliched out here but I believe the coming 7 days may decide our fate for the season. If we get a win against West Ham I expect us to thump Inter and then ride on the high till the game at OT. If we do not get a win against West Ham we will struggle to go past Inter, the crowd plays a huge factor here. I hope some of the fans dont go back to their booing ways.

The results over the past two days gave a lot of confidence to me as well, we played well at San Siro and I dont see a reason why we cant achieve the desired result. I hope we grab our chances and we should be fine if we do so.

Don't put your grey cells to work, it will be a normal reception for Bridgey. He continues to be popular amongst the supporters and I dont see any reason to booo him.

Nope he meant Aasmir Begovic, Hilario si good but a better back up is essential for the coming season. Hilario is not getting younger.

There is no way Jose will opt for Pandev over Eto'o, A sub appearance does not change Jose's mind. Eto'o is their number 1 striker for a reason and you know it very well.

INTER'S RECENT EUROPEAN RECORD 2009: Lost to Man Utd in last 16 2008: Lost to Liverpool in last 16 2007: Lost to Valencia in last 16 2006: Lost to Villarreal in q-finals 2005: Lost to AC Milan in q-finals That record gives me a lot of confidence when I compare it to ours for the past 5 years. I was watching this video and he dint come across as arrogant as he was earlier (during his time with us).

If he keeps the way he did yesterday, I expect us to keep a clean sheet against Inter. Unless we have a catastrophe in the defence.

Clean sheet and 3 points away from home on a weekend that saw our rival drop points, I wonder whats with the moaning.

Well the only reason could be the inability to make it to the bench ahead of the subs that have been named. It looks a very strong side that we have put out. I am glad we have rested Anelka for this one.

Yes he is out injured ever since, he did make a couple of appearance for the reserves inbetween but has been out for most of the time.

Bad news. Its been a bad week overall, just hope we close it on a positive note with a win over Cardiff.

Fine line between success and failure.