Jonty

haha that was brilliant this is probably the neatest bit of skill i've seen recently, definitely trumps neymar's http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9VV31g0InpU against Valencia as well.

The worst thing that could happen for us is if United were to win the CL. I suspect that's all that is stopping Fergie from retiring, if United do win the CL this year I would expect him to retire immediately afterwards, and Jose to go there. City winning the EPL is the best thing that could happen for us. It should be enough to keep Mancini at City, and Fergie won't step down after losing 2 in a row to the noisy neighbors, leaving us as the only possible destination B)

I think we either need to recall some players or buy 1 or 2, our squad is awful thin right now, far more so than any other club challenging at the top.

Cech Dave - JT - Cahill - Bertrand Ramires - Ake Mata - Oscar - Marin Torres Was trying to work out a team with a few players rested and holy sh*t it made me realize how thin we are right now. Ideally we'd rest Frank and Mata but it's difficult. Romeu and Luiz injured, Mikel and Moses at ACON, Hazard suspended, Benayoun and Malouda exiled, and half our team out on loan somewhere. I'd actually be happy to see one of Benayoun or Malouda start this one just so Mata can have a break. Or maybe Essien to come back seeing as Romeu is out for the season and Luiz is out for a few weeks. I think Essien and Luiz holding with Lampard playing behind Ba could work well.

I was worried the media would come after Eden but I expected pro footballers to have this sort of reaction. Every one of them would have had to put up with a time-wasting ball boy at some point, although never to the extremes of yesterday, so i'm not surprised they're all sympathetic for Eden's cause. Hazard should really become a cult hero after this, one young man taking the fight to little sh*ts interfering with the game around the world.

He plays a 4-2-3-1 at RM with CR7, Ozil and Di Maria as the 3, so it wouldn't be all that different, although I wouldn't be totally surprised to see him favour a more natural wide player like Moses or Marin, and to drop Oscar to one of the holding roles to play the "Xabi" role, while any of Luiz/Mikel/Romeu play the "Khedira" role.

Word from Marca is that Casillas and Ramos are threatening to leave in the summer if he's not gone, looks pretty much 100% dead set now that he'll be looking for a job by the summer, if not earlier. Even if he does come for only a few years again, if he can instill that mentality back into the players like he did when he was originally here with the likes of JT, Lamps, Drogs, etc etc. then our team will be infinitely better because of it. Imagine if Mata, Hazard and Oscar had the cojones of Drogba and Lampard in their prime, that would be a sight to see.

Welcome mate.

I agree, all 3 of the amigos plus Ba all jammed into the middle of the pitch, neither Dave or Ash offering as much in terms of attacking width as RDM or Carlo would use. We were playing just like Barca at the Bridge, trying to walk the ball through the middle of the pitch because they didn't have Villa on the field to be able to compete for crosses, the difference being we did have a big striker on the field that could score off a cross...

I suspect we're going to get more laughs than moments of anger out of this by the time all is said and done. The kid is becoming a joke.

I think Mata is as fiery as they come, when someone is kicking him about he's more than likely to give it back, especially against Yaya Toure who seem to have some serious beef.

It's the old past vs future argument. Going forward we probably do need a bigger stadium, and if there's no way to expand SB, it is eventually going to happen.

Word out of South Wales is that the boy will pull through, a short time ago he regained consciousness:

One is better off living in a sewer, doesn't know the first thing about football management and would be helpless if you rolled him onto his back. The other is a ninja turtle.

Who? This guy? Aside from being too young to go out, and living in Swansea where there is nowhere to go out, I don't think many women find a guy famous for crying and being helped off a pitch attractive.

Not sure whether to laugh at how ridiculous he finds the whole thing, or grimace at how nonchalant he appears towards the game bit of both, still love him to bits.

If the FA/FIFA were really interested in stopping this, the solution is very simple. Stop the clock when there is a stop in play, at the very least when there is a goal kick or a direct free kick or an injury. They do this in Basketball, Rugby, and pretty much every other timed sport. Don't see it happening though, as both boards are run by people living in the past that think this would spoil the game.

Was that snow blocking your view of the TV too? I'd say it's more of a case of it being a bit unfortunate that he didn't recklessly stomp him if he was going to be sent off anyway.

Neither are anything special

Surely a wind-up? OT: I saw a cook off between Cech and Mikel a while back on youtube, even if you find him dull he's apparantley a good chef, he's Carlo approved!

Pretty funny

He probably wouldn't be the worst manager, was very good at inspiring and leading those around him, maintaining discipline and managing finances. 3 things definitely needed right now!

I wouldn't be surprised, we have a habit of random unneeded signings on final days. The likes of Meireles and Torres come to mind in recent windows..hopefully if we waste money it won't be going to Liverpool's pocket for once.

Only if they can somehow incriminate Hazard further.