ohmelads

Beye seemed to be one of the players top of Allardyce's list earlier this summer so he probably knows quite a lot about him. There was always the risk that rushing out to sign someone on the back of injuries in late august would mean a panic buy, but if we sign Faye and Beye then we can at least trust Sam knows what he's buying.

Could be a 4-4-2 with Geremi and Zoggy out wide?

Very happy to see Emre and Solano back in the starting line up.

Edit: beat me to it

There was an article on Marca's site (think it was yesterday) saying Liverpool are after him. Can't see how they need him, so I'd take that with a pinch of salt.

Micah Richards did. I'll reiterate. Taylor is decent. Not the top class centre half people seem intent on assuming he will be. The likes of Woodgate and Ferdinand were way better at his age, as is Richards. I have no problem with the lad. I think he will do well if he gets his head sorted out and realises he needs to concentrate on himself rather than try to be captain courageous. He's fine, just not as good as those mentioned here at comparable ages. Richards doesnt seem to have been affected too greatly by life with mediocre centre halfs and a revolving managers door either. Micah Richards has broken in at right back, where England are particularly weak, and moved inside during a friendly. He's a long way off ever being a first choice centre back for England. In recent years it's been the hardest position in the England team to break into, when a top class defender like Carragher has no hope of being a regular then you can hardly blame Taylor. I do agree Richards is better than Taylor, but I think Micah Richards will go on to be a world class player. I would also add that not all players progress at the same time, Drogba was still playing for Guingamp at the age of 25, and central defence is generally a position suited to older players. I don't think Taylor will be world class but I think he's growing into a very good Premiership defender. I also think it's important to have some home grown players in your side, all of the most successful sides in Europe have home grown players, Man Utd throughout the 90s, Maldini at Milan, Casillas and Raul at Real Madrid, Puyol, Xavi, Iniesta and Messi at Barcelona, Carragher and Gerrard at Liverpool, Terry at Chelsea, and so on. If we put Taylor on the market I think we'd have no shortage of takers, but it'd be a big mistake. There's a good chance he'll hit his peak around 2015, think about that.

Very harsh comparing him to Terry and Ferdinand. I don't see people comparing Milner to Beckham or N'Zogbia to Ribery and criticising them. Totally unfair. It has been so difficult in recent years for a centre back to break into the England team that Carragher has given up trying. To suggest that Ferdinand and Woodgate broke in at a young age means nothing, very few top class defenders break through that early.

Have to say he was rubbish at left back yesterday, but showed his worth when he got in the opposition half and scored a screamer and a put in a great cross for Viduka. In a way his strength was his weakness playing in that position. He isn't afraid to lose the ball time and time again trying to make things happen, and he got his reward when he took a chance and scored, and whipped in that cross which so nearly led to another goal. Obviously at left back you can't be trying to skin people in your own half all the time, he did it at Villa and did it yesterday and he'll be a liability playing there if he keeps that up. He can't be giving the ball away so much wherever he plays, but he does need license to express himself because he's shown what he can do. He still has a lot to learn in getting the balance right, he's still a bit of a rough diamond for me. His confidence is back, but he's got away with some shocking mistakes at left back this season which, if they proved costly, would have led to a lot of criticism. Ideally that will be his last game there with Enrique coming into the fold on wednesday.

I guess the only thing we can guarantee, going off what the Villarreal fans said, is that he is quick. That doesn't change whatever league you're in, barring serious injury (eg Luque). Hopefully with him and Zog on the left side that'll give us an injection of pace which I think we've been lacking this season.

Zaragoza, Racing Santander and Athletic Bilbao all picked up a red card this weekend too. That makes 7 red cards in one weekend of La Liga matches. They need to take a look at this, surely?

It wasn't just the Getafe game, either. Valencia crashed to a 3-0 home defeat to Villarreal in the local derby yesterday after Joaquin and Villa were both sent off. That's two games in one weekend, four red cards. It's over the top.

Historically definitely, but in recent years Barca have had so much go their way. Last season the number of strange decisions given Barca's way was beyond a joke. I don't like the pair of them personally. Though I must admit the Real-Barca games every year are incredible, we have nothing like it in this country.

Somehow the standard of refereeing in Spain is even poorer than it is here. And the bias towards the bigger clubs seems to be even greater with Real and Barca in particular benefitting from favourable decisions.

This is precisely why a year ago I questioned whether Van Nistelrooy would succeed over there, because Real and Barca fans not only demand winning, but they want to win in style. Capello has won the league for Real twice and both times it got him the sack because his football was not popular. They're purists. And having seen players over the years like Ronaldo, Figo and Zidane at Real, and Romario and Ronaldinho at Barca, they're also spoilt. I honestly believe the Real job is the most difficult job in football. I think success at Real depends on finding the right balance, for every Van Nistelrooy there must be a Robinho. Because, like at Barca, the fans vote in the board every few years, the manager must not only impress his board but also the fans, because when elections come around the various candidates will pledge all sorts of radical changes and that can mean the manager getting the axe unless he's proven to be very good. It's one of the flaws of the electoral system at these clubs. Getafe last season earned themselves a reputation as giant killers, and they didn't take on the big guns the Bolton way but with good, attractive football, and that was particularly impressive. To be 5-2 down to Barcelona in the cup and win the return leg 4-0, against a full strength Barca team, was frankly incredible, as was the way they took apart Valencia in a 3-0 defeat. I think Schuster is the right man for Real at the right time. How long he lasts will depend not only on results but on whether or not he can give the crowd what they want.

It's only silly to compare someone to someone he looks like if you know that it'll be interpreted as a racist remark. Those who sang it knew some people would take it the wrong way but sang it anyway, and that's pretty stupid. But then, a lot of pretty stupid people do attend football matches. The media will jump on this and make all sorts of generalisations about the fans at the ground. The whole thing is pretty cringeworthy.

We're lucky that, on paper, we've been given an easier start to the season than usual, so hopefully he'll be playing in games that we're dominating. Barsnley at home and Wigan at home are games we should be dominating, then we've got Derby away and West Ham at home. By Premiership standards that's as easy an introduction as you could realistically ask for. If he plays well against Barnsley I don't see why he shouldn't be in the starting lineup for Wigan. We've got to start him sooner or later and as you say, the longer he is held back the more expectations rise. I think Barton could have the same problem, because our football is so desperately lacking creativity at the moment that people are hoping that he or Emre will walk into the team and sort out all our problems.

I agree with you on Zog, but he'll do just as good a job if not moreso hugging the line and with Milner on the other side, giving the team plenty of balance and width. And do you really think Viduka has the legs to be playing up there on his own? Barring a fine individual goal, he's been anonymous in all three games so far. Partly down to fitness, but he just doesn't look up to it. It's a very difficult role which not many strikers can do, Saha and Drogba have pace to burn, strength and loads of movement, Viduka just has strength and it's not been getting him anywhere so far. I'm struggling to think who in our squad will benefit from this formation bar one or two players, maybe Emre, Duff, erm...?

Exactly my thoughts on this, although we can't be surprised that the newspapers are going to milk it for all its worth.

Faye incoming, none outgoing.

So long as we do actually get Faye/a right back. Let's not get ahead of ourselves, the window closes on Friday. We're basically down to the bare bones defensively, unless you count Huntington and Edgar.

Mourinho and Benitez have both switched back to 4-4-2, Man Utd have struggled this season without the individual brilliance of Rooney and Ronaldo and someone to hold it up and finish moves, and Bolton's form after christmas was as poor as ours. Just a few examples which suggest it isn't the be all and end all by any means. It's about playing to your strengths. Alex Ferguson used to play 4-4-2 for years because it suited his best players. As players got older he would make changes, such as withdrawing Scholes into a deeper role, bringing Giggs inside, and changing his formation to give Rooney and Ronaldo as much freedom as possible. Barcelona have done this to give Ronaldinho and more recently Messi as much freedom as possible. With the players we have, 4-3-3 is definitely not the way to go IMO. Viduka may be able to hold it up but he just doesn't have the legs or the workrate to do the kind of job Drogba does all on his own. Owen is a penalty box player, he can't play up top on his own and he's wasted playing deep or out wide so that dictates a front two if he's playing. Martins hasn't looked suited to this formation at all so far, despite his goals at Bolton. And in midfield we just look congested, flat footed and sluggish, it doesn't seem to be doing anyone any favours. I think 4-3-3 has its place for teams like us in stifling games against bigger opposition or in tough away games, situations where we want to level the playing field, keep things tight at the back and try and nick something. But against the likes of Wigan and even Villa at home we need to be thinking primarily about the 3 points, not damage limitation.

Barca seem to have the perfect team on paper now, their bench had Henry, Deco and Marquez, and Puyol wasn't even in the squad. Yet they're two points off the pace now. There has been some discussion as to whether Henry will be a solution or a problem, the old argument of "if it aint broke, don't fix it" and of course how you fit the "fantastic four" into three positions. Today Messi came off despite, they say, looking the most creative. I doubt it's a problem that's worrying Barca fans though, quite the contrary. I think many people underestimated Real Madrid last year, not least Barca fans, and they paid the price for that. It seems everyone is doing it again. I personally think Heinze and Robben will be fantastic signings for them and if they land Alves they will be a decent shout for a Champions League push this season, despite the new coach/players etc. As spizz energi says I think it'll go right to the wire again, and hopefully Sevilla can carry on as they did last season.

Zog's was by far the most pleasing on the eye, absolutely beautiful strike and on his weak foot too. Keeper got nowhere near it.

Valencia-Villarreal kicking off now, a local derby. Villarreal have an ex-Toon attack with Rossi and Tomasson, while Pires and Cygan are also in the side. Morientes starts for Valencia as new signing Zigic is injured.

Racing Santander 0 - 0 Barcelona. Full time. A poor performance from Barca apparently.