Well,

we are fast approaching the most crucial period of Roman's reign, namely this years 'January Transfer Window'

The cracks are again beginning to show and it is worth comparing Man United's ability to put midfielders in defence as Jose had to when Roman last failed to dip into transfer funds when our challenge for the title all but shuddered to a halt in the Christmas/New Year period. I'm guessing they will ultimately handle it a lot better than us.

For we have to face it, Since Jose, Grant, Scolari, Hiiddink and Ancelotti have all had their moments of us looking invinsible, it could be argued only Hiddink looked like bringing Jose's glory days back, but this time the buck stops with Roman Abromovitch .... IT CAN ONLY BE OUR PLAYERS UNDER THE MICROSCOPE.

As a squad we rely too heavilly on five players. Drogba, Essien, Lampard, Terry and Cech.

One it has to be said, since that awful injury at Reading has never been the same, in short he is no longer the best goalkeeper in the world or even the premiership for that matter.

Drogba and Essien are like Liverpool's reliance on Torres and Gerrard, we will see that as clear as day when the African Nations start.

In Terry and Lampard we have two players who have tasted Champions League heartache are blue as their shirts and are clearly desperate to regain the Premiership. Desperate players do not win the Premiership ask Carragher and Gerrard.

Matic, Kakuta, Bruma and maybe Borini are our future, above all we do not need anymore players desperate to win things - like Ballack and the Champions League for example.

We have swopped managers like confetti since Jose left, word has it Guus Hiddink is already penciled in for the dreaded director of football - we can all guess why.

Roman has to look at our players and the competition at home and Europe in that department. Manchester City take it from me, will finish fourth this season if they buy in January. If Arsenal swallow their pride and use some of the dosh they have through Wengers shrewd business deals and buy a top drawer striker in the Drogba mould and midfielder leader and enforcer they will challenge strongly for the title next year if not this. Real Madrid have already shown their hand and Barcelona will alwaysof course be in the market for the top players.

We could be completely relying on the old guard reclaiming former glories if Roman does not act in January, that would be suicidal, for when the World Cup comes we are very likely to be facing an upheld transfer ban when the summer spending spree gets underway.

Our scouting network is insane, with the money put into it by Roman, the young players ending up in Spain and France being sold on for outrageous fees is absolutely ludicrous. Look at Lyon for example, midfielder goes, striker goes, in comes a youngster - ready for 1st team football, a year later they are worth ten times their original value. We shouldn't be nabbing the likes of Gael Kakuta in dodgy terms, we should be producing our own.

Of our current squad, though we have to hold on to them until the transfer ban ends the following have to go :-

BALLACK, DECO, KALOU, OBI MIKEL ( Has he honestly improved since Jose first put his faith in him ?- I for one hands up got him wrong I thought he was a star in the making ) TURNBILL ( are we having a laugh with his purchase !!!! he wouldn't even get in West Ham's team !!!!!!) FERREIRA ( Great Pro but like chappie there is a time to go) MALOUDA - ( does a player ever give the ball away as much ?????? )

So that tells me that we need to get in quality players pronto in January - a 'kin striker for certain, that Kaka style number 10 for the diamond a top class 'kin keeper in the making to challenge Cech 'kin properley, oh and 'kin pace pace pace somewhere with desire !!!!!!!!!!!

MALOUDA - ( does a player ever give the ball away as much ?????? )

Other than last night, name me 3 or 4 games where he has given the ball away very noticeably, compared to others (At least under Guus and Carlos reign) Yorkleyblue hit the nail on the head in another thread talking about the shoutbox last night, there always has to be a scapegoat player and I would have guessed Malouda had some digs here and there on the forum today, Kalou didn't play last night did he!

MALOUDA - ( does a player ever give the ball away as much ?????? )

BALLACK, DECO, KALOU, OBI MIKEL

You said it!

Sounds like Aguero is our man, based on what you wrote, and I cannot disagree with that.

Sounds like Aguero is our man, based on what you wrote, and I cannot disagree with that.

Can play up front or at the tip of the diamond. Too perfect too be true.

Let's hope Roman triggers the buy out clause.

TURNBILL ( are we having a laugh with his purchase !!!! he wouldn't even get in West Ham's team !!!!!!)

Never played for them either.

Can play up front or at the tip of the diamond. Too perfect too be true.

Let's hope Roman triggers the buy out clause.

I believe buyout clauses are only applicable when a club is approached by a team from the same league. At least thats how they work in Spain

In Terry and Lampard we have two players who have tasted Champions League heartache are blue as their shirts and are clearly desperate to regain the Premiership. Desperate players do not win the Premiership ask Carragher and Gerrard.

what on earth does that mean.

It seems that you've made two main points here, the first that our current squad is nowhere near strong enough to win the Premiership or the CL. - we have too much desire to win either and we relly too heavily on our best players???

To answer that I'd say that the desire of our key players is what means we don't slip up as often as some of the other big teams when we come up against "lesser" teams.

Every club rellies on it's best players, its only when they're not available that you really get a sense of how well you can cope without them. We've gone through some long periods when those key players have been out (either injured or in Drogba's case, mental) and we've done bloody well at coping. I don't doubt that if 3 of those 5 are out for a long period with injuries we'll struggle, but like Utd we've shown in the past that we are capable of having players do a good job for us even if they're played out of position.

The other point that I think you made is that we need to change the squad around next month incase the transfer ban is upheld. That I'd agree with a bit more, though I would say that whereas we need to get a couple of quality players in (let's face it we wouldn't deliberately buy crap players!) I don't think there's a need for wholesale changes that you mention. We want to win the league this year and so to make material changes to the squad mid season I think will cause too much disruption.

The older players may be fighting injuries and Ballack and Lampard are scoring less goals but its their battle hardened professionalism that may carry us through the tough last quarter of this season where the title will be won or lost.

We do need to invest more but the purse stings haven't been completely drawn, last season we got bossy and deco and this one zhirkov and Sturridge.

Contrary to most others I've always believed we did need another central midfield as backup for ballack and lampard, a genuine box to box player good for a few goals but also to be seen in defence. Then we need someone like an aguerro or kaka and then we will soon need a replacement for drogba, finally I think we need a right winger, although maybe joe cole despite his lack of pace can do that for a while

Drogbra = Strurridge

Right wing = Kakuta / Stoch

OBI MIKEL ( Has he honestly improved since Jose first put his faith in him ?- I for one hands up got him wrong I thought he was a star in the making )

:)

fairly talented, not so special, needs a lot of time to develop, we don't have that time. get rid.

:)

fairly talented, not so special, needs a lot of time to develop, we don't have that time. get rid.

I think the crossroads to our season lies in our next 5 matches. We must win them all if we aspirations in the league! - and most will be before the transfer window even opens. We MUST get 15 points from our next 5 games if we want to win the league, then it'll be upto Manu to keep up with us!

I was never a fan of Mikel but i have to admit he has improved as a player imo. I dont think he is good enough to be a first team regular but he could be an ok squad player for us.

Edited December 10, 200916 yr by u no it makes sense

To me Mikel is just inconsistent. Against Arsenal he was quite ok, can't remember what happened at Blackburn, didnt do much during his cameo at City, then a shocking lazy pass that cost us the game. Last season he had a few good games in a row, then put up some shockers. He obviously is a talented palyer, that's why all the managers stuck with him for a considerable amount of time, and got a new deal when he was on a good patch. Consistency comes with age, so maybe he deserve at least another year at least. Comes Jaunnary, I really dont mind if we take someone like Vieria onloan, just to provide another alternative and experience.

you mean vierra? like in patrick vierra?? sorry i thought sol cambell going to man u was hilarious, but this. vierra? oh come on!!

There are a lot of valid points in there, and Aguero probably is needed to boost the chances of success this season and into the future. Ballack and Deco don't have a long term future at the club, primarily due their age.

However Malouda is worth perservering with for a bit longer, and I for one would be saddened to see John Obi leave. I think he's a very capable player, and has improvement left in him. What's more, he is a "home-grown" player at the club, because he has spent 3 years at Chelsea prior to the age of 21, and that's important for naming Champions League teams. I certainly don't think he should be thrown to the scrapheap when I consider him to be a very good young player.