Celery1989

^Even more evidence last night of Fabregas' inability to defend. He barely ever puts in a challenge and a lot of the time is in the wrong tactical position when we lose the ball and look to recover our defensive shape. We'll get away with it against the lesser sides at the Bridge but in big games I think we have no choice but to play 433 with Ramires there to do the dirty work that Fabregas seemingly can't. It's strange because the Fabregas I remember from Arsenal would stick his foot in a fair amount. Hopefully he can get back to that soon.

I know that a lot of our fans that go away a lot go to the pubs by West Brompton station, there are three of them there either on or just off the Lillie Road. I forget the name of one but the Lillie Langtry and Prince of Wales are very popular it would appear. You can have a good singsong up there I think. Never been to Brogan's pregame but it's awesome for big European nights.

Poor show from the English clubs last night. Liverpool are going to need a lot of time to find some fluency in their game. It's not easy to do when you've sold your best player and brought in several in all positions - just look at Tottenham last season. I just can't understand what Arsene Wenger is thinking tactically sometimes, or does he even bother with tactics? Can you think of another manager in Europe that would go to a team as fluid in attack as Dortmund and decide to play an open game? That's suicide, especially when your holding player can't really keep up with the pace of the game any more and when you've only got 4 fit defenders! And it's not like this is the first time they've been ripped apart by top opposition. It seems as though Wenger will always just say to his team 'go out and play' - How can he be so blindly idealistic? Pragmatic football is what wins you titles in the big games, leave the pretty stuff for when you play the lesser teams at home in the league.

There was a pretty funny moment today in the United QPR game. Phil Dowd fell over accidentally and the Yanited fans started singing 'Are you Gerrard in disguise?'. I find them pretty insufferable a lot of the time but credit to them that was hilarious!

I haven't watched enough of Varane to really have an opinion but if Jose thinks he's the best CB in Europe then that's good enough for me. What kind of a Centre Half is he? Is he of the Gary Cahill mould, ie. likes to hold back and make last ditch tackles, or is he more of the Vincent Kompany/David Luiz type, normally looking to press quickly and intercept the ball?

A few thoughts on some of the recent topics: United: Lol at all the false hype. They looked dodgy defensively today and will be found out against top opposition. I think I give them the edge over Liverpool just about for 4th. Özil: No mental strength at all. He seems to just get more and more depressed whenever he plays. Liverpool: That home kit is one of the worst I've seen in a long while.

Crouch gave an interview a few years where he said that he used to go to the Bridge because his dad was Chelsea, but all his mates were QPR. Doesn't really class himself as a fan of either but says that he looks out for QPR's results and doesn't feel any real affinity towards Chelsea.

Pretty much sums up my views. I don't think JT is a racist, but he's clearly a bit thick and didn't think what he was doing. I don't like Rio much at all but I do agree with him on this.

There's one of two reasons I think. Either Swansea haven't sold out their allocation and have returned the unsold tickets, or Thomas Cook haven't sold out all the weekend packages that they provide (Flight, hotel, Ticket).

As with those that have posted above I also think that Hazard will eventually leave us in a couple of years, hopefully with at least one PL title under his belt. If we were able to get £50m out of PSG for Luiz and £28m from Everton for Lukaku, I would think we'd be able to at least match the Bale money from Real Madrid. In a couple of seasons' time Hazard could be up there with Ronaldo and Messi if he develops as he should, in which we'd be looking at a world record transfer. Of course I'd love for him to stay but Real Madrid are the biggest club in the world, and if they come knocking, very few would say no.

Ultimately the highest bidder will win out. The Samsung deal is way behind United's with Chevrolet so we need a bigger deal, whether it's with the incumbent sponsor or someone new. I'd like it to be Samsung, the logo looks very good on our strip. Ultimately I'm not all that bothered who it is, but I certainly don't want some monstrosity like the Chevrolet logo ala United ruining the entire kit.

That map doesn't have Essex covered but if it did it would be all Sp*rs and West 'am.

FFS. Not this again. Should he have played against Everton and France?

Feel sorry for Mata, great bloke and a top talent. When everyone is fit he'll clearly be the fall guy at United, and its to no fault of his own. He was United's best player easily for the run in last season and hasn't been any worse than anyone else this season. It's purely a numbers game, and when that overrated, lazy and overpaid w*nker Rooney is involved there will only ever be one no.10 in that team. I always thought that Mata would leave England back for Spain in about 2015 but to be honest I can't see that happening any time soon; Iniesta is still at Barca and Real Madrid can't accommodate Mata in their squad nor style of play. They already have Isco backing up James Rodriguez in their own no.10 position, but Mata's not athletic enough for them. I'm not sure Simeone would have him either at Atletico as he can't press effectively. Maybe Juve or PSG make the most sense?

Rooney's past it and his game has been on the wane ( ) for a while, he's just not the threat that he was up to about 2011. I find it hilarious that United think he's worth paying £300k a week for for the next 5 years. He's a poor choice for captain for both England and United but the truth is that for the former at least there are no suitable alternatives. Cahill isn't ready yet, Joe Hart is not captain material either. The only other one I can think of is Leighton Baines??

On a serious level, is 4 centre-mids really enough for the whole season, seeing as we'll playing a 433 enough of the time? Although I suppose Oscar can slot in if that's the case. Surprised they let MVG go out on loan, but once Cech wasn't going anywhere I don't think there was any real choice. I guess we Ake knocking about if we get that desperate.

Varane is someone I think should be on our radar. Jose rates him as the best young defender in European Football and was the one that brought him to Real. Ramos and Pepe are Ancelotti's favoured pairing there so perhaps Varane might want a change of scenery sooner rather than later. I'm not sure if JT has another season in him after this year, even if he does it would be best to have a replacement waiting in the wings. Cahill, Varane, Zouma and Ivanovic would be a good quartet, with Kalas and Christensen to push them. I wouldn't say that we necessarily need him but I'm a big Paul Pogba fan and think he could be terrific in the Premiership. A midfield trio of Matic, Fabregas and Pogba would be formidable. Pogba, whilst expensive, would be a significant uprade on Ramires I think. Having him could allow Fabregas to play as the no.10 if need be too more often. Looking ahead to 2015/2016, I think this is a big season for Oscar. I'm not advocating that we replace him, he's a talented young player who fits Mourinho's system well, but we need him to produce more goals and assists. I do think he's worth perservering with still but we need to see more consistency in terms of goalscoring and making assists. The same goes for Hazard as well, and more so in fact in his case. Ross Barkley is someone that intrigues me a lot in the no.10 position. Lastly, I feel we also need to buy another striker for next season. I really doubt Didier has much at all left in the tank. Destro sounds intriguing, maybe Bony or Benteke? Not sure who else there really is in Europe.

Sidwell was a free transfer .

I'd agree with that for the moment. I think that if/when Arsenal sort themselves out they'll be better than Liverpool overall. But I have to say I thought Liverpool were quite impressive against Spurs. Moreno could be a great signing. However, I just don't see how Balotelli fits into their style. Rodgers likes to play with a lot of fluidity between attack and midfield, Balotelli doesn't move enough off the ball for me. I guess he'll adapt. Haven't got much of a problem with Everton either. I like how they are a traditional club with decent history but unlike their neighbours don't wallow in it and believe that it entitles them to anything. ManUnited: It doesn't seem like they have thought about FFP much for next season were they to make the top 4. Their turnover is enormous though. It would really interesting to see what would happen if they didn't get top 4. Hasn't Falcao effectively been signed already? I wonder if there's some get out clause in case United don't make the CL. Surely Falcao wants to play at the top level at some point in his career? Not sure if anyone saw last night but Di Maria played an absolute blinder against Germany. 3 assists (one beauty with the outside of his foot) and a cracking goal. Highlights on the BBC website for those interested.

One of the most overrated players in world football for me.

Khedira in, Mikel out. That would be perfect.

This^. Whilst the transfers themselves over the last year or so have been excellent, what has pleased me the most is the fact that Roman, the Board and the Technical Director (Emenalo) are clearly willing to defer to Mourinho's wishes, rather than imposing their own demands above his head. Jose appears to have MUCH more control than he ever did before and that can only benefit the long term development of the squad and club as a whole.

Oh she had a broken nose...

Daily Mail are saying that we've offered Cech to QPR. Not sure I believe that. Surely Petr would rather continue in the CL than stay in London? Although that said he's lived here for 10 years, his family are settled etc.

It really does boggle the mind. Wenger's just too stubborn and too much of an idealist to take Arsenal to the next level. How could he not take a run at Falcao!? He's perfect for the way they want to play.