venom2011

Of course he will. But I doubt Jack was speaking about a regular spot. Just merely seeing what he's about on the pitch. I'm sure we'll get a glimpse of that sooner rather than later. But certainly the nature of the game, and our manager, means defenders have it tougher when acclimatising.

Disdain? Wow. I guess that means Rahman will not even see a cameo. Unlucky.

Do you know something the others don't?

Not a bad signing. We get him quite a bit less than Barca paid for Turan. Possibly Cuadrado and Moses to leave? Hazard, Oscar, Willian, Pedro, Traore, and Kenedy works.

For me, bigger than the problems at the back is Fabregas. He is horribly out of form but we have no replacement. Last season we never started well defensively, and him leaving gaping holes in the midfield was a big part of that but we covered it up by being ruthless in attack. He was poor in the opening game and then again today within 10 seconds he was at fault. But this time he's not bringing enough to our attacking game to warrant his defensive issues. He seems so slow and ponderous on the ball. Your team also has him as the 10 and we have never, ever played well with him in that role. I'd give Cuadrado a run. Drop Fabregas. Play Ramires. Even as I type this I get frustrated at our midfield options...

Hazard? He has done nothing. I'd go for Costa Courtois and Begovic as well.

Hazard still looking like he's playing in a park on a Sunday, but hey at least he scored that wondergoal against Barca B and Fabregas looks like he has given up on life. What a terrible half.

Yes. As all teams do. It's also not only the most expensive players who are unavailable. There simply is little value in the current market, especially for a team with our starting xi. Both City and United badly need players across the board but you only have to see how hard it is for them to find decent players.

The club has moved beyond that in terms of the player profile it looks for in the market. The Azpilicueta-type buy would now only be suitable for our loan army (Cheap fee, medium/low risk, and the player needing experience). The point is not that there aren't players out there, it's that the ones of the required quality are not available right now. Some fans want to see the club pay €30m for someone like Pedro, who arguably won't improve the first team, and then there's the risk factor. We've seen what can happen even with players as talented as Di Maria. We need a Koke or a Bale and for that we have to patient.

I was sure he'd stick around but since it's been reported that Kenedy now has a work permit, I don't think there's room for both. And they play in the same position. It will be a toss-up. Traore is far off realistically challenging for a spot though. There's a big difference between being given a free role as no.9 for Vitesse and playing in the midfield for a top tier club. He has been tactically naive, some poor decision-making etc. But there is certainly a lot of great stuff to work with. It would be great if he could stay.

5 things to take away from this (reading comments from oppo fans): 1. Hazard should be reprimanded for feigning injury 2. Never explain to anyone exactly why you're a little bit miffed. 3. If you scream at a male-female couple then you're basically just abusing a woman. 4. Jose is a disgusting, misogynistic troll. 5. Eva should tell Jose to shove it...as you do when you're reprimanded by your boss (*unfairly)

Jose has publicly criticised many a player over the years.

How did you come to that conclusion? This whole thing is ridiculously overblown, and by our own supporters as well. A reporter, trying to get Jose to bite on some contentious refereeing, asked Jose about his tantrum. Jose says it was directed at his *staff*, who were doing something they should know better than to do. And in all likelihood it is something that Jose would have gone over during his meticulous preparations. Feigning cramps, sending on medical staff to waste time - it's all been a part of the game for many years. That's all it is. Forget the narrative and focus on what actually happened.

Firstly the striker has not only the momentum but generally superior physical attributes. No keeper can do that to an onrushing striker unless he's Torres. At least by rushing out you give yourself half a chance. There is a reason why the top keepers all do it. Thibaut made 1 or 2 great saves last season in that very fashion.

I do recall one from Young. But that was it. Utd are so far away from us in terms of quality. And Arsenal are....Arsenal. I'd be worried if they signed a decent striker and a good defender though.

Their starting XI as a whole is worse than ours. And they're just about sell one of the better contributors in Dzeko. Anyone suggesting we are not favourites to win the league needs a proper examination of their faculties.

Nobody can say that having Azpi on the right and Luis on the left would make us worse defensively. And we would be a damn sight better going forward. That's what I was hoping for when we signed Luis. Such a shame.

There are no useless stats. Only people who have no idea how to use them in their 'analytical endeavours'.

"Stats"- Except that all they look at are the goals and assists.

And for the rest of the season or until they drop dead.

1. Lampard and Cech. I would never spew the kind of vitriol we've seen from some supporters, but their images will forever be tainted in my eyes. It's not something I can control and it really hurts, as I considered Lampard my favourite ever player. 2. I am sometimes seriously annoyed by the way we play. When you have Hazard, Fabregas, Willian, Matic, Oscar in your midfield and you have the keeper bunting the ball to the lone striker, who is not particularly good in the air, only to see possession turned over...arrgh. This collection of players, more than any before them, deserve to have a grounded, possession-oriented style of play. 3. I am worried that if we don't have access to a striker, by way of injury, with a high conversion rate then we will be screwed. Especially when the season wears on and with the expected over reliance on the starting xi. 4. Sometimes I lay still on the floor for days just to get a sense of what it would be like to be a slug.

I'm sorry but the exact same could be said of Torres when he joined. It took a while for his confidence to really crumble and completely mess up his game. The difference is the quality of the squads and the two managers. So there is some faint hope.

I think Koke's the guy. But we'll be waiting until next season for the earliest.

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