Pride of London

Booing your own players isn't on, booing an opposing fella who purposely tried to injure a lad, or did something very unsportsmanlike I could understand, but how can you say you're a supporter when you're actively detracting from the teams concentration and performance?

Just when you think it can't get any worse for them! Is the main reason they aren't buying new lads in the debt on the Emirates or do you lot reckon it's mainly to do with Arsene's footballing philosophy? Dhera anyway their woes will be entertaining to watch either way sure!

Of course I hope AVB works out, and I agree with your descriptions of each of the managers we've had by and large. I said that areas of the club were being badly run... I proceeded to get jeered by several posters for saying so even though it's been subsequently admitted that it wasn't good business to lose money in these dealings. I'm not responding to any more of your posts. Consider yourself ignored. You have acted without any class or decorum. I'm certainly not here to entertain you, especially not if you're only going to act like a wind-up-merchant, and not a particularly effective one at that.

"Nineteen & already half-empty", "What age are you?" It's clear you're only trying to get a rise and some self-gratification out or insulting someone else, you've added nothing to the debate but personal insults. I'm making the perfectly valid point that we wasted money when we could have spent it any way we liked and been in a better position before stricter regulations were put in place. One more remark and you're being put on ignore, if you can't disagree with someone without making a personal attack you're the one with an issue. Get over yourself, I made valid points that you came nowhere near to refuting. Hutch disagrees with most if not everything I'm saying but actually has something to back it up, I joined this forum for civilized discourse, clearly that's beyond you.

Is there some sort of law that videos showcasing talented players have to be set to truly atrocious music? Is it to make the footballer seem more talented by comparison or what? He was good before getting injured, it's a 50/50 one if we went for him it could be a bargain price due to the injury and he might stay healthy, then again he might be a sicknote. Anyone know his injury record before the cruciate?

Also giving out about 2 of the managers, basically means we picked the wrong men for the job first day. So how picking (in your opinion) bad managers, noticing they aren't up to scratch then firing them and losing money is prudent business sense is beyond me. I'll admit Scolari was sh*te and bought for all the wrong reasons. Look I don't appreciate having my intelligence insulted, or being sarcastically asked what I age I am, that's playing the man and not the ball and it's classless.

The release clause on AVB was 15 million too, and I was talking in euros. Grant is the only manager who got us into a CL final and I think he doesn't get enough f**king respect around here either, it's more than Mourinho could do playing overly defensive against Liverpool in those few years anyway. I might be 19 but I think you're just deluding yourselves and towing the party line if you think that any manager would sign for us without a huge penalty clause for termination due to the risks of being fired. Face facts with the FFP, we should have been investing in the squad instead of paying a load of cash on managers who have all settled on Mourinho's formation with basic variation anyway.

Have we ever been linked to Kevin Doyle? He's a pacy, hardworker much like Kalou and he can certainly finish, would fit the same role as him in the squad but in my opinion would be an improvement.

I'm not saying that I want them to do it, but Uefa and Fifa are very corrupt, and I honestly wouldn't but it past them to stop the deal to appease the old guard. I think it's naive to think that Uefa will act fairly , they rarely if ever do. You're saying that like Roman they are doing stuff for the long term health of the club and the region, I think you're being naive to think that with their vested interests the decisions will be made for the right reasons let alone by the letter of the law. The rules were designed to stop rich owners investing their own money in, and by using one of his own companies it's pretty much giving the two fingers, you think if Roman's company did the same thing we wouldn't be investigated and that we would definitely be fine even if we followed the rules? I like the way ye play the game, I like ye a hell of a lot more than united, all I'm saying is be cautious, even when you think you're out they suck you back in. Uefa could make an example of anyone who isn't part of their precious old gaurd, and I think yourselves and ourselves are the two most likely targets.

Any club that has the sort of turnover of managers we've had isn't run very consistently or very well. We've spent 70 million on buy out clauses for perfectly good managers by and large. I was wrong to say we were run badly, but you have to admit the last couple of years we haven't really done well. We also tried to transform ourselves from a club that primarily buys superstars in their prime into one that tries to buy and promote young talents overnight. Instead of taking a sensible approach we've kept players beyond their prime and not replaced them for a few years, the squad reached it's peak in 2008/2009 and most of the main players have been declining somewhat since then, but we've allowed problem areas to develop. By not selling our players when the passed there peak and replacing them with younger lads we put the wage bill in a bad place and now we have a fine balancing act between getting the players we need and passing the FFP. With the financial clout , managerial experience , and investment we've had at the club we shouldn't have allowed that to develop.My complaint is that by having managers on such short leashes and not allowing them enough time in the job, our youth has been held back and not been given enough of a chance, and that it's only in the last 2 transfer windows that we've decided to rebuild a squad that we knew were going to age. We're well on our way to rectifying those errors, but we must acknowledge when we made errors. Uefa are investigating your billion euro sponsorship deal over 10 years from Etihad, so i wouldn't be too confidant about that either.

If you choose to ignore common sense, here is a censored post for you to read! We're gonna win every match 7-0 and Barca are going to capitulate in CL final against us and leak 9 goals, and Messi will switch teams at half-time! You better believe it.

I doubt you even know what the word forum means to be honest mate. Honestly if you think that a millionaire footballer is sitting on his laptop crying his eyes out about what a bunch of no talents like us are saying about him, I think you need to seriously take a step back. If that's the case he should take a lesson in life off JT or Rooney, drive fast cars and shag the fittest birds, he'd want a lesson in perspective. But of course the only one who is completely out of sync about what the purpose of a discussion forum is and how much an unofficial site actually matters to any players ego is you. You've just had a moan about a forum of people who love the club, support the club, we pay for tickets and jerseys, we cheer on the team, and we say it like it is. If you want a censored forum tough sh*te, and if you want us to stop saying what we think you might as well go. I'm rarely overly critical of the players anyway , but pretending that players perform to their abilities 100pct of the time helps nobody.

The longer this goes on the more I think Modric will just sign a new deal at Spurs with better wages, Levy won't let him go even though Harry doesn't think they need him. Dropped to the reserves until the window closes when he miraculously regains his love for all things Tottenham. Either that or they'll sell to United or someone just to spite us. It's not a done deal yet.

I said people have a right to say what they want within limits, that's what a discussion forum is for... I never said I agreed with anyone's sentiments about any player, I have my own unique opinions as do we all... I certainly think that was out of order and I don't think anyone will defend that remark. Why would anyone pretend to think more highly of players for the sake of delusion, that's what Liverpool supporters do and it's delusional. We've got world class players, very talented players and some squad players and that's the same at most of the top clubs. You're saying your fed up of hearing the same criticisms of the same players, I'd make the point that there is no smoke without fire and that people who get paid far more than doctors, teachers, nurses, soldiers , policemen and policewomen couldn't give a rats arse what a bunch of people on an internet forum. If you were a multimillionaire would you honestly care what some measly little twerp sitting behind a keyboard had to say about you?

The players know themselves when they have a bad game, if someone on here says they've had a bad game, they'll be shown the tape , it's not like that by censoring ourselves we're insulating the players. I wouldn't be hypercritical of any of the players, but if a fan wants to express their opinion on the state of the club whether it be positive or negative it should be allowed, what would be the point of the forum if we were to censor ourselves?

Redknapp reckons signing Mata means the end for the Modric move... I don't know how he thinks getting a winger ends our interest in a central midfield playmaker, perhaps it's just his wheeler dealer ways

All we need is a right sided equivalent, and that midfield maestro and we've got a serious chance at the title!

Will we play him at LM or is he more suited to LW?

You're not that far off, Torres looks like he's more confident and making a greater effort, but the midfield problems mean he isn't getting the supply he needs. The 433 has changed in that our Centre Backs are pushing further up the park. Our first choice at right wing has been suspended, we've new lads who have yet to be blooded, and Juan Mata who looks the real deal has just been confirmed by Valencia! We could get Modric, even if we don't we'll move out some players unsuited to our formation and move in lads who are better equipped for it on deadline day I'm sure! At least AVB is willing to rectify mistakes he makes tactically , changing the formation really helped break down WBA, with Anelka in the free role and he brought off Kalou who was playing below his best. That's the least we need from a manager and it's an improvement over Ancelotti and his pre-planned substitutions. Give the lad until after the January Transfer window. For God's sake we've given Torres a year and he's only a few years younger than him!

What's the Mata you ? Hey! We've got a great prospect!

Ah now I understand! Thanks for explaining Rahul, I guess every formation has its pros and cons, I just think we've been playing the 433 since the Mourinho days, it was predictable in the old days but unstoppable, now that our lads are slowing a wee bit I guess I just want a better idea of what other options we have?

If Luiz isn't back I can see the high defensive line costing us a goal. We're still a more talented squad, and I still fancy us to beat them. Hopefully we get a look at a few fresh faces too! Hilario, Bosingwa, Terry, Alex/Luiz, Cole, Ramires, McEachran (box to box), Lampard (cam), Malouda, Anelka, Drogba. Would prefer the formation we ended with against WBA.

To be honest my knowledge of football tactics wouldn't be great , could you explain the 1-2 and 2-1 double pivots please? I guess it's just getting to me that we're playing a 433 when our players aren't great at crossing. You're right though we didn't really need a DM yesterday, we could have used a more attacking player in the free role. Think that AVB got too much credit yesterday, he took off a lad who was playing way below his ability, that's the bare minimum really and was only rectifying his own error. I also think that with Luiz back the highline would make a lot more sense, Terry and Alex are great but they aren't going to win a foot chase at distance against a guy like Shane Long every time. Just seems like we've destabilized our main asset which is our solid defense for little to no returns as the guys just aren't there for a wide expansive game. Against Stoke in the 2nd half Anelka was great in the free role, maybe he could be molded into a number 10, a 4411?

Why do we persist with playing a 433 formation that requires wingers to be effective when none of our boys are particularly effective crossers? Our switch to 442 against West Brom yesterday, was the real difference that got us the win, Lampard in particular played with more vigour. At the very least they didn't know exactly what we were going to do at all times as our 433 has become predictable. It's perfectly fine being predictable if even if they can predict it they can't stop it. Now they can stop it, so the key is to become more unpredictable surely? Why are we playing a formation that doesn't bring the best out of the players we actually have right now, instead of trying to force our best players into a formation where they are playing out of position and are ineffective? We're relying on an RB who can't cross and an LB who can but has little support from Malouda, to bomb up the wings, and our excellent but aging centre backs are playing much further up the pitch. This change has made us more vulnerable defensively as the Long goal showed but has gained us no real dividends up front, so surely until we have the right men this formation should be put on the back burner.

Frank Lampard played much better when we switched to the 442. Why are we playing a formation that we don't have the players to play in anyway? It was found out by middling teams last year and the only thing that has changed is that our slower yet still excellent centrebacks are playing too far up the pitch and are more vulnerable to getting caught. We have 3 good central forwards, good central midfield players, but sh*te wingers, why are we playing a system reliant on wingers when none of our lads are particularly good crossing?