Jonty

I think JT starts his pre-season the day after the season ends.

I'm also not too worried about United just yet, Depay seems to be drawing a lot of hype for god knows what reason, when it seems for every Robben or Pires there are dozens of Cuadrado's and Nani's. I'm always skeptical about defenders coming from La Liga so Ramos doesn't particularly frighten me either. Can't say I know anything about the Darmian bloke though.

In your scenario, if Costa and Falcao get injured we only have a 19 year old attacking midfielder to rely on.

He was pretty much the only option, other than maybe Skrtel. The fact that only 2 players in their entire squad are remotely capable of being made captain shows what a sh*te state they are in.

Loan out a quality striker in the prime of his career to play a young striker unproven in top tier football or an even younger attacking midfielder out of position. Doesn't make sense to me.

If this happens then this has been a f**king abysmal transfer window already and it's barely even started.

Willian had his moments and I think he'll only continue to improve, he's going to be a key player for us for years to come.

Why does it look like he's just been slapped in the face?

Some can handle the pressures and responsibilities better than others, it probably has a lot to do with who you get mixed up with. The only way the club can be held responsible for this is perhaps by saying that if he'd stayed with the reserves instead of going out on loan we might have been able to keep a closer eye on him, but really he's old enough to take responsibility for his own decisions.

Bench: Fernando Torres, Jay Jay Okocha, Jon Obi Mikel Short summary: Best striker, best support strikers, best holding midfielder, best bench impact player and best goalkeeper in the competition. So the formation is the 'christmas tree' 4-3-2-1, favored by Carlo Ancelotti's AC Milan side that won 2 champions league titles and a Serie A. Spearheading the attack is the greatest striker and arguably greatest player in premier league history, Thierry Henry. He will be supported by two other all-time greats in Eric Cantona and Wayne Rooney. Really the 3 of them need no further elaboration. The midfield is anchored by none other than Claude Makelele himself, demi-god of the defensive midfield position. He's accompanied by his former Chelsea teammate Michael Ballack, one of the most complete midfielders in PL history, who will be doing most of the leg work in midfield as he loves to do. The final midfield role is occupied by Juninho, who brings the unpredictable and who is given more of a free role in comparison to the other two. Any defensive deficiencies he has should be more than made up by the leg work of Rooney who has turned himself in to a box-to-box second striker in recent years, not to mention Makelele and Ballack. If the opposition somehow gets past Makelele they'll have former Arsenal captain Tony Adams to deal with, partnered by Ledley King, a man Thierry Henry once referred to as the only defender in the world that can tackle him without fouling him. Paulo Ferreira and Le Saux offer a relatively conservative mix of defensive solidarity while still possessing the ability to get forward and add width. Between the sticks is the finest PL goalkeeper ever, Peter Schmeichel. As for the bench - Fernando Torres was once actually one of the worlds best players, as difficult as it is to remember, and is by some distance the best impact bench player on any team in this competition. Jay Jay Okocha is available if more width is required or as a wild card to shake up a stern defence. Finally, once we get the inevitable 1-0 lead, be it through Henry, Cantona, Rooney, Ballack, Juninho or Torres, I will channel my inner Mourinho and bring on Jon Obi Mikel to see out the victory. Simples.

Paying a teenager that in reality wasn't even that good absurd sums of money to kick a ball around is what led to this, not the club being negligent with him.

I screenshotted mine, pasted it into paint and cropped, then uploaded it using an image host.

Probably the only reason he's going there, no-one else would be silly enough to give a near 32-year old striker with a history of injury problems a contract until he's 36.

I wouldn't want him for 50 million anyway.

Not sure who you're talking about Barak, besides i've had my last pick planned for quite a while now. With Torres and Okocha available off the bench i've got plenty of emergency firepower and flair, so my final sub spot goes to the master of defending a lead, the man who has inspired and dazzled fans from around the world, in fact that a man who once came 2nd to Lionel Messi in u20 World Cup player of the tournament voting is still available at the final pick is downright insulting. Not to mention he has the ability to score when he wants. So with the final pick of the shed end all-time premier league draft, I choose...

Jonty: Henry, Cantona, Makelele, Rooney, Ballack, Schmeichel, Adams, Le Saux, Juninho, King, P. Ferreira, Torres, Okocha Teritus: Keane, Giggs, Ferdinand, Campbell, van Nistelrooy, Le Tissier, Petit, Irwin, McManaman, Winterburn, Seaman, Gudjohnsen, Sheringham footballoholic: Ronaldo, Hazard, Essien, Fabregas, Mascherano, Evra, Desailly, Zabaleta, Hyypiä, Van Persie, Courtois, Duff, Anelka Northern Monkey: Van Der Sar, Zola, Wise, J.F.Hasselbaink, Ivanovic, Azpilicueta, Leboeuf, Mata, Pallister, Andy Cole, Joe Cole, Sanchez, Carragher dan_cfc: Lampard, Vieira, Bergkamp, Bale, D. Costa, David Silva, Gallas, Petrescu, Bruce, K.Toure, Cudicini, Solskjaer, Di Matteo, McGrath barak81: Drogba, Robben, Matic, Suarez, Stam, Modric, Neville, Overmars, Keown, Pearce, Ince, Ginola, Bould, Martyn ForeverCarefree: Terry, Shearer, Aguero, Carrick, Gerrard, Carvalho, Gullit, Pires, Cech, Ljungberg, Lauren, Harte, Milner, Alex Chelsea190512: Scholes, Ash. Cole, Vidic, Xabi Alonso, Toure, Tevez, Kompany, Fowler, Dixon, Beckham, Given, Owen, Yeboah, M. Richards

That and Bosingwa somehow making himself the centre piece of the trophy lifting.

Jonty: Henry, Cantona, Makelele, Rooney, Ballack, Schmeichel, Adams, Le Saux, Juninho, King, P. Ferreira, Torres, Okocha Teritus: Keane, Giggs, Ferdinand, Campbell, van Nistelrooy, Le Tissier, Petit, Irwin, McManaman, Winterburn, Seaman, Gudjohnsen, Sheringham footballoholic: Ronaldo, Hazard, Essien, Fabregas, Mascherano, Evra, Desailly, Zabaleta, Hyypiä, Van Persie, Courtois, Duff, Anelka Northern Monkey: Van Der Sar, Zola, Wise, J.F.Hasselbaink, Ivanovic, Azpilicueta, Leboeuf, Mata, Pallister, Andy Cole, Joe Cole, Sanchez, Carragher dan_cfc: Lampard, Vieira, Bergkamp, Bale, D. Costa, David Silva, Gallas, Petrescu, Bruce, K.Toure, Cudicini, Solskjaer, Di Matteo barak81: Drogba, Robben, Matic, Suarez, Stam, Modric, Neville, Overmars, Keown, Pearce, Ince, Ginola, Bould ForeverCarefree: Terry, Shearer, Aguero, Carrick, Gerrard, Carvalho, Gullit, Pires, Cech, Ljungberg, Lauren, Harte, Milner Chelsea190512: Scholes, Ash. Cole, Vidic, Xabi Alonso, Toure, Tevez, Kompany, Fowler, Dixon, Beckham, Given, Owen, Yeboah, M. Richards

Great points about King though.

The ol' christmas tree.

I was about to scoff at Barca playing that much for a reserve winger, than remembered we paid about the same for Cuadrado.

Arsenal have resigned Arteta for another year, and with that will not attempt to buy an upgrade to their DM slot (according to DM). Great news for us and everyone else if that is the case, another year of Arteta and Flamini anchoring their midfield should be enough to stop them being a serious contender.

Fantastic news.

Well I suppose it will fall upon me to pick someone once considered one of the worlds greatest players before..who can remember anyway, lets just remember him in his prime. And the player so good they named him twice. Jonty: Henry, Cantona, Makelele, Rooney, Ballack, Schmeichel, Adams, Le Saux, Juninho, King, P. Ferreira, Torres, Okocha Teritus: Keane, Giggs, Ferdinand, Campbell, van Nistelrooy, Le Tissier, Petit, Irwin, McManaman, Winterburn, Seaman, Gudjohnsen footballoholic: Ronaldo, Hazard, Essien, Fabregas, Mascherano, Evra, Desailly, Zabaleta, Hyypiä, Van Persie, Courtois, Duff Northern Monkey: Van Der Sar, Zola, Wise, J.F.Hasselbaink, Ivanovic, Azpilicueta, Leboeuf, Mata, Pallister, Andy Cole, Joe Cole, Sanchez dan_cfc: Lampard, Vieira, Bergkamp, Bale, D. Costa, David Silva, Gallas, Petrescu, Bruce, K.Toure, Cudicini, Solskjaer barak81: Drogba, Robben, Matic, Suarez, Stam, Modric, Neville, Overmars, Keown, Pearce, Ince, Ginola ForeverCarefree: Terry, Shearer, Aguero, Carrick, Gerrard, Carvalho, Gullit, Pires, Cech, Ljungberg, Lauren, Harte Chelsea190512: Scholes, Ash. Cole, Vidic, Xabi Alonso, Toure, Tevez, Kompany, Fowler, Dixon, Beckham, Given, Owen

And how is that working for Arsenal, a decade without a major trophy?