Davey Baby

My thoughts are that you're deluded. You're underestimating us, as has been done so many times in the past. We were told we were past it two years ago and we promptly won the double. While we could definitely strengthen, there is no comparison between us and Liverpool. Though they may be getting older, Cashley, Terry, Lampard, Drogba etc are a very special group of players with incredible will and mental strength. The fact that they've been with us so long is to our benefit not our detriment, as so many wrongly assume. You have bought well. Downing, Adam, Enrique, Henderson, all good buys. You must finish top four, given the investment and given you spent £60m on two strikers six months ago. Dalglish has no excuses. There are already good players there and he has all the tools at his disposal. Why would you need time to settle? We didn't need time to settle when Mourinho arrived. We lost one game all season. Why do you doubt Dalglish? If you think we'll be batling for fourth with Spurs you're in dreamland. As for City finishing above us .. Watch this space. I dare say we know a lot more about being successful than you do. While it may seem strange, the best advice I could give you is .. Watch and learn !

Nothing could stop me loving my children and I don't believe anything could stop me loving Chelsea ..

I stand corrected then. It may just be that when he's out it feels like an interminable length of time !

Difference is, in that first season or two under Mourinho, Drogba was yet to create the legend. Me thinks the Drogba in his present incarnation, given all he's done for Chelsea, will struggle playing second fiddle. I form this judgement based on my observations of him over the last six years.

Let's hope your info is correct. Nothing against Benyoun, but I rate Modric highly and anyone watching Barca Real last night will know why we need to sign him. We are simply not on that level and we won't be until we sign a "footballer" or two.

Thanks for the info.

A point well worth making. He is four or five years younger than Torres, cost 12 million less, doesn't come with all the bad feeling generated from his move and all the hysteria and all the ill will, and doesn't have a record with injuries. He walked on the pitch, having never played in this country, picked up the ball and smacked it in the net. That had nothing to do with "service". In short, he did more in that brief cameo than Torres has done since he joined us. Before anyone says it was Swansea, it's worth noting Torres has faced his fair share of minnows as well. Of course, none of this means this is an indicator of how their respective careers will pan out, but I know who'd I'd rather have in my team .. Just saying.

Had this happened prior to Stoke we would have lost. That is the end of the story. Just don't understand how the club have let it come to this. Cech is injury prone. He gets an injury every season. We have title ambitions etc. We have two completely inept back-ups. Carlo Cudicini is third-choice at Spurs. Get on the phone .. Quick !

Watching Aguero and Da Silva "click" last night reminded me of Mutu and Duff in those first few games of Roman's first season. They just loved playing together, they were on the same wavelength, and they thrilled the crowd. Incredibly, given the money we've spent, we've not signed a real fantasy player since Mutu. Understandable perhaps, given what happened with him. Be nice if the same fate befalls Aguero, despite the fact he's a joy to watch. EDIT: Can somebody spike his drink ..

Star, a word in your shell-like .. I love reading your posts but .. It's "Aguero" not "Aquero". That is all.

A year ago we were starting the season as holders of the Double, nailed-on to reclaim the title, hot favourites with the bookies. We had the Golden Boot winner (Drogba) and we had just finished a campaign in which we had scored a record number of goals, as well as setting more records. Fast forward 12 months and no-one fancies us for the title, not even our own fans, despite the fact we supplemented our squad in January to the tune of 80 million and despite the fact Sturridge has emerged as a player. We even have the hottest young property in football management. What's changed? Have Utd significantly strengthened? No. They've added Young and Jones. They've lost an excellent keeper and Ferdinand is on his last legs. Arsenal have weakened. Significantly. If Nasri goes to City it's fair to say our friends in the North have strengthened considerably, with the arrival of both him and Aguero, but I still don't fancy them for the title. Not one of their keeper and back four would get into our side, and the likes of De Jong, Barry and Milner hardly fill me with dread. While we're all salivating over Aguero it's worth remembering Tevez may leave them. Sure, they have a healthy-looking front line, with Dzeko, Da Silva and Aguero, but 12 months ago Malouda, Drogba and Anelka had just come off the back of a great campaign in which they had hit top form and banged in the goals. Is it simply the fact they have got older, along with Lampard? It can't be the loss of Essien as he didn't feature in our double campaign, besides, in the last 12 months Ramires has emerged, and he's been a great signing. As I watched us line-up against Stoke, I despaired of the fact Maouda and Kalou were the best we could field on the flanks, but what exactly is so radically different from 12 months ago, when this air of despair wasn't so prevalent? Remember how we started the last campaign, no-one could see us dropping any points, we looked invincible. 12 months is an awfully long time. Thoughts please ..

For two years we procrastinated over Torres while he was at Atletico, until finally, in his early 20s, Liverpool took the plunge and brought him to England at a cost of 25 million. He was great. The best striker on the planet. He got injured. He never looked the same player again. As he was approaching 27 we gave Liverpool a 100% return on their investment. They spent half of it on Suarez. Taking the plunge. Bringing him to England. We spent two years procrastinating over Aguero while he was at Atletico, until finally, in his early 20s, City took the plunge and brought him to England to the tune of 40 million. He looked great. The best striker on the planet. Until he got injured. He never truly recovered. Chelsea promptly bought him in 2016 for 345 million. You heard it here first ..

Duff, even in his present incarnation, is preferable to anything we have right now on the flanks, Sturridge apart. Fulham play him on the right, and I would far rather have him there than either Anelka or Kalou.

I don't even think we have one great trio, let alone two.

Why does it have to be a wide man? My old nan would do a job for us right now.

I would hate to see this change, much as I'm aware of Kalou's shortcomings. Far rather see Benayoun on the right than Anelka, if Kalou is dropped. Will be interesting to see what AVB does about Drogba. I fear the Drogba/Torres conundrum may prove a difficult one. Torres played well against Stoke. He would be miffed if he were now dropped. Drogba will be miffed if he's overlooked again. Will be a test for AVB. Also, Alex and Boswinga played well. Personally, I feel this means they should start the next game, regardless of the fitness of Ivan and Luiz.

I suggest you watch every other keeper in the Prem at Stoke this season, then you may begin to appreciate Cech's efforts. We have a brilliant keeper.

While there were many times last season where I was screaming for Josh, that wasn't the case yesterday. We played very well, considering we had two liabilities on the flanks. At no point did I think Josh was a good idea because of the physicality of Stoke. This is where the ref fell short, not so much on the penalty decisions but on the unrelenting treatment being dished out to our players. Their strategy was simply to mow us down at any given opportunity, I was wincing at times, and the ref should have been a lot more forthcoming with yellows, and put a stop to it straight away. Without Essien and Drogba in our line-up they no doubt thought they could physically intimidate us and I'm pleased we stood up to the challenge but I'm very relieved no-one got seriously injured out there. That may well be the most physical encounter we get for some time. I felt the ref was far too lenient.

Star, me thinks Drogba is pulling rank. The bottom line is, Drogba didn't start, he only got to play a few minutes, and that's not going to make him happy, no matter which way we dress it up. Hopefully AVB has the nous to handle the situation. Drogba needs to be kept onside and that's going to prove difficult if he wants to give Torres sufficient time to get into a run of form and prove himself a stellar signing. If someone takes that ball off Drog and forbids him from taking those free-kicks, well the job of keeping him happy has become that much harder.

I also like to know what colour boots the lads were wearing. It's the small things ..

Cech 8/10 It's so easy to underestimate his performance and to take him for granted. He dominates his area, is fast off his line, and great in the air. Heaven help us if he gets injured. Boswinga 8/10 A revelation. Played like he actually meant it. Wasn't caught daydreaming in defence and was a constant menace in attack. Wasn't happy to see him given the nod above Ivanovic but more than justified his selection. Cashley 8/10 Played a blinder. Better than he has for a while. Even whipped in a decent cross or was I dreaming .. ? Terry 8/10 Too easy to take him for granted and forget what an incredible centre-back he is. Luckily I'm here to remind you. Alex 8/10 Eight out of tens all round for keeper and defence. Rock solid. Alex was very assured. Did himself a favour today. Dominant in the air and the ground. Mikel 8/10 Lots of eights out of ten. We played very well today. I was most impresed. Mikel is far from my favourite but props where they're due. His passing was by and large impeccable, he didn't slow things down (as he's prone to do), was hardly caught in possession and got stuck in. By crikey he almost scored .. I think I need a lie down. Ramires 8/10 Almost the first name on the teamsheet. We have a gem on our hands and he's only going to get better. God bless America. Lampard 8/10 I'm giving him eight out of ten cos it would be rude not to. You get the feeling his powers are on the wane. His missus must be tiring him out. Torres 9/10 It was a different player out there. Not sure he was our best player but by virtue of resembling something akin to a footballer the bubbly goes to him. Well done Nando. Heavens you might even score at this rate .. Kalou 5/10 I don't want to talk about it. Malouda 6/10 Ditto. And finally, the manager .. AVB 9/10 Welcome to England mate. Welcome to the Prem. The tackles were flying in and we didn't buckle. We had some of our old attitude back. We played at a high tempo and we pressed. We battered them in their own back yard and we withstood everything they threw our way. Very impressed. We didn't dally on the ball (ala Carlo), we didn't play at a snail's pace (ala Carlo) and we didn't wait to concede before imposing ourselves on them (ala Carlo). You were right to start with Nando and you were right to give him a whole game. I take it you want to play 433, in which case may I suggest .. width, pace, creativity. Yours truly, Davy Baby. p.s. Loving your work.

He also forgot we were a CL club when Roman bought us, and we'd previously come within a whisker of reaching the semis in that tournament. I agree with you about Buck. Why say we still haven't got to the bottom of Torres' form? What a stupid thing for him to say. It's not his job to get to the bottom of it, it's the manager's. If asked about Torres all he should say is "We're perfectly happy with Torres' form". His quote is unlikely to be welcomed by Torres or the management, the only people it will please are the media, who have another quote with which to apply more pressure to our striker, as if that's what he needs. Brucey Baby, if you're not going to say anything helpful or informative... Shut up. There's a good lad.

"Spurs are a Micky Mouse club and we're gonna buy their best player." Loved that.

Benayoun's not fit to lace Modric's boots, so let's stop with the comparison, besides they play very different positions, Benayoun is far more attacking. I'm not dissing Benayoun, as I've said elsewhere, he may prove to be a valuable player, but let's not underestimate Modric. Modric is a great player. The night he came out and said he wanted to join us, I visited a Spurs forum, just to see their reaction. They were furious. Not with the player or us, surprisingly, but with Levy, because they do not want to lose their top stars, and Modric is far and away the best they got. There were fans who'd been going for 40 years who said Modric was the best player they'd ever seen turn out for them. There was universal grief and despair (it was most enjoyable). If you really want to know the truth about a player, ask the punters who pay their money and see him every week. I visited that forum because I wanted my own suspicions confirmed, for every time I've seen Spurs, Modric has stood out like a sore thumb. Remember Bale won the football writers' award last term. The football writers don't watch Spurs every week. Their fans do. They gave their award to Modric. As for Josh, there is absolutely no doubt as to his ability, it is plain for all to see. He is a very rare breed particularly amongst English players. However, if he is to stay with us this term, we have to tread carefully, because the Premiership is an unforgiving battlefield, particularly in midfield, where games are won and lost. Josh is ready in terms of ability, in terms of vision, in terms of skill, in terms of composure etc, but he is simply not ready to cope with the physical demands on a weekly basis, not if we want to compete against the very best. He has only just turned eighteen. He is a growing lad, a scrawny lad. While I don't want him to beef up too much, as this may impair his delightfully impish style, we must not underestimate the strength and stamina needed to impose yourself in that position in the Prem, and we do not want to create more harm than good in terms of his development. I would love him to stay this term, but I certainly don't see him as a regular starter, despite the fact he may well be (potentially) our best player. Modric has served his apprenticeship in the Prem. He imposes himself, dominates, and sets the tempo in games, where the tackles come thick and fast and opponents take no prisoners, particularly the big games against our direct rivals. They are tough encounters. Very tough. Modric has succeeded because he's learned to cope with the phsyical demands, but that's been a process, and he's a lot older than Josh, if similar in terms of physique, in that he is small and naturally slight rather than built like a brick sh*thouse. While he's older, he still has his best years ahead of him (unlike Torres I fear). I'm a firm believer if you're good enough you're old enough, but there's also a duty of care, and Josh is a central midfielder of tender years and tender frame, and we have to ease him in gently. That's my thinking. As for Modric stunting Josh's progress, well I can't think of a better player from him to learn, and the two of them in tandem would be something to behold, as sometimes you need players around you on the same wavelength. Have you ever seen Xavi and Iniesta? Lampard's 33. No doubt he will play more often than not this term, hopefully alongside Modric. As Lampard fades out Josh can fade in. One is not a direct replacement for the other, but there's no reason why we should be seeking a carbon copy. Josh is not quite ready to be playing week-in week-out, not for a club with our ambitions. On another note, Spurs already have a direct replacement for Modric. Their teenage prodigy. Mustafa Plasma. I'll get my coat.

You may be being premature with one or two of those signings, but nevertheless .. I think Ashley Young is a great signing for Utd and I wish we had got him. Homegrown, fast, versatile and plenty of chutzpah. Just what we need. Jones is presumably a good signing too, especially with Ferdinand getting creaky. No idea about the keeper, I hope he turns out to be a dud. As for City, Aguero is class, very depressed they got him. If they get Nasri, which it looks like they will, they will be significantly stronger for it. Hope it all implodes. Never rated Clichy. Liverpool have bought well, very well IMO. If Arsenal lose Fabregas and Nasri, they will struggle to finish above them, and that would mean no CL. Don't forget Liverpool already have some very decent players, and they don't have the distraction of Europe ..