Celery1989

I think Real are the ones to watch in 2/3 seasons. Ronaldo will most likely have gone by then and they will have a spot open for the next superstar. Barca on the other hand look absolutely set with the Neymar-Suarez-Messi triumvirate for years to come.

We might well do at the end of the season though. Who knows whether JT will be able to make it through the entire season unscathed...

1) Great season overall. I was quietly confident we'd win the League all the time, I thought we had the best XI on paper from day one. Beating Sp*rs for the League Cup was brilliant too. The Champions League was a major disappointment, the FA Cup was more of a freak event than anything. I don't think we had enough depth last season though realistically to achieve any more. 2) Retaining the Title for me is the benchmark. Last 16 of the Champions League was not good enough, I expect a QF at the minimum. A semi final would show we're on the right track, but to be honest I think we're quite far off being able to win it. 3) Absolutely. He is the best manager in world football. Another breakdown in relations with Roman is what would be needed for him to be sacked, or an unfathomably poor run of results. 4) I think we replaced the outgoing with realistically the best that was available. Begovic was great bit of business, IMO. But I've wanted to see a marquee signing or two, sadly that looks unlikely to happen. 5) Baba Rahman as the backup LB. John Stones, and I'd love someone like Griezmann to play on the right. I wanted someone to replace Mikel too earlier on in the window, but all the talented DM's are no longer on the market. 6) I thought both Sterling's camp and LFC could have handled the situation more gracefully and discreetly. The kid was always gonna get his move, it didn't need all the shenanigans from his agent and from ex-Liverpool players lambasting him in public. 7) Overall, you've got the best that you could have, realistically speaking. Milner and Clyne, both very shrewd moves. As for the rest, we shall see. Firmino is one to watch. 8) 5th. Last season's top 4 are all much stronger at this point. 9) Hell no. I reckon he might not even be playing football any more in a few years' time.

I suppose there's only so many names that end in 'inho' !

I'm sorry but Torres is the biggest transfer flop of the PL era and no one comes close. I don't see any real debate here at all.

This is probably just a ploy to get some leverage on the Baba Rahman deal. I still think that will go through, the difference in valuation seems to be only a few million. If that's the case then I'm sure it will happen. It's not like Stones where the difference seems to be much greater.

Let's not forget as wellthat Di Maria's home was burgled whilst he and his family were there and apparently his wife has wanted to leave the country ever since. Whatever Di Maria's reasons for leaving are, I'm really surprised at how this transfer worked out. I thought he'd take the league by storm, he has all the attributes to be a terrific PL winger.

The results mean f**k all of course but at this point it looks like they are in better shape than we are to start the season. And Sanchez isn't even back yet.

I'm in there somewhere. Was gutted that I couldn't go to Munich but what an unforgettable night that was all the same.

Not gonna lie Arsenal are looking very good here. Seems like they are ready to hit the ground running, we need to be on our game next Sunday.

At the moment I just don't think that we have enough strength in depth to be able to challenge on all fronts. I think we have 15/16 very good-to-excellent players but after that there isn't enough quality to take on the PL, CL and the cups too. If you look at Barca, Real and Bayern, the current cream of European Football, their squads just have more quality back up players across the board. We still have the best team in England and, barring injury, stand a good chance of retaining our Title. But last season showed that we need to add 2/3 quality additions to the squad to take us to the next level. Stones would be a good start, but I don't see anything else materialising other than another backup (LB) to replace an outgoing player, and therefore simply maintaining the status quo.

Lol at some of the things I’ve read here. To all the short-sighted gloom merchants, let me take you back to the Pre-Season we had after we’d won the Double. I remember we were poor in all the games that we played, looked lethargic etc and guess what, we won the first two league games 6-0 vs. West Brom and Wigan iirc. Point I’m making here is that this result doesn’t matter one bit. What is essential is getting the players fit both physically and mentally for Swansea on August 8th, which evidently they are not yet. This was the first step in that process.

Just looking at the Bayern squad now. Frightening how much talent there is across the board, especially in all midfield areas. Central defence remains a weakness though IMO and if Lewandowski gets injured there doesn't seem to be a natural replacement up front.

Cringe.

Love his energy, tenacity, speed and tackling. Was instrumental in the CL winning run, and also scored in the FA Cup Final. But, those moments of magic don't seem to happen any more. And Ramires' passing ability is truly shocking for a Brazilian CM. Happy to have him in the squad for now, he does give us options, but I feel he could be replaced quite easily. It can't be that hard to find a CM that can run and also pass the ball efficiently.

Yeah shame it didn't work out. I still think he's a very good player, but I always found the transfer quite odd in the first place - £16m for a 29 year old that was only ever going to be a back up. To be quite honest, I think we'd have been better off just keeping Bertrand. I don't know too much about this Baba Rahman, but I think it makes more sense having a 21 year old like him backing up Dave than a player that's already at his peak.

Bizarre. I really can't get my head around this, seems like Atletico have totally mugged us off. Unless this deal contains some kind of first refusal clause for Griezmann/Koké? Very unlikely.

Di Marzio is saying that Felipe Luis will move to Atletico on a 2 year loan with an option to buy at the end of it. This is bizarre. By that point he will be 32/3 and with I'm assuming a year left on his contract. This makes no sense to me, why did we ever sign him in the first place?

Kit's a bit average for me. I don't like it when we have red on the collar or anywhere else. Not a fan of the buttons either. I wish the Yokohama logo was white because the text is fine otherwise. I quite like the Black away kit though, if the one which has been rumoured is accurate.

Rumours that Benteke's release clause has been activated by Liverpool. I think he could do quite well for them at the fulcrum of their attack, bringing together all those AM's that they now have on the books. Question is, what do they do when Sturridge is fit too? I don't see Benteke being happy with a bench/bit-part role. Seems like they have too many AM's to play 2 up front.

Good points all round mate. I think the pubs around West Brompton are safe for now and, by and large, cater for football fans. If you want the big screen vibe etc then that's what Brogan's and the one across the road in Fulham Broadway are for. It's really quite depressing what the SoBar has become, that was probably the best pre-match pub for a while from what I've heard. I remember back in the day when it was the Britannia, then the SoBar, and now it's some awful Hawaiian-themed cocktail bar. Similar thing happened with the Pelican, not the nicest place by any means but it was convenient and now has become a gastro pub.

Does this just have PL footage? Or does it show all the Cups and CL as well? I've got a few in the past and the coverage isn't consistent.

I still think ADM could prove to be a great signing for United. He's got all the technical attributes to be an excellent, PL winger. The question is whether he'll be able to settle into English culture. IIRC he and his family have struggled to acclimatise to living in Manchester thus far. Gaitan makes no real sense to me unless someone is leaving - they've already got ADM, Young, Depay, Mata, Januzaj for those positions and it looks like they will be playing 3 in midfield given how many players they have there.

Still think United need a real leader at the back and obviously a striker. They seem to be overloaded in midfield now though, Fellaini is looking pretty expendable to me. I can only really see him staying there as a target man used off the bench in desperate situations. I also look at Mata and I don't see a natural fit for him in the United set up. He can do a job on the right, certainly, and is still valuable at set pieces despite his lack of athleticism. Ultimately though, I reckon LVG will settle with Depay/Young on the left and ADM on the right. This seems to have the most balance, IMO.

Bang on.