James

Like that strip to be honest, stands out on the pitch, simple design, and very Fiorentina-esque colour.

Not 100% sure that Arshavin is quite Wenger's type of player.

Better than Milner then.

Missed the game. How did he play?

Match exposed a 10 year old James to Seaman jokes.

Advertising is a bit more in your face than before.

To be honest, it is clearly a work in progress, and Craig Hope has probably just stuck those that might leave on his to-do list.

Actually he has been added since I last looked, as has Andy Carroll.

Tim Krul has been removed too......

We supposedly had a chance to sign him in January 2007, but we turned the opportunity down...

I think the club are just outsourcing some of the box office jobs.

I probably am considering the shit we've got there. He needs replacing in all honesty. Arshavin + Guthrie + Lua Lua + Geremi should suffice.

Has anyone mentioned that Domenech proposed to his girlfriend during the middle of a post match interview last night?

I'd have Lennon over Milner any day. At least he has pace, can beat his man, and doesn't lose the ball easily in the middle third. Milner loses the ball 1 in 3 passes, many of which are from what I've seen in games in the middle third of the pitch, and this puts pressure on his team mates too many times and is simply not good enough.

which could read as, chance to tap up young players hehehe like the tales of fergie sending g. neville to the england get togethers with united shirts with 'carrick' and 'hargreaves' on, Exactly Plus it is a different experience training with more technical players. 6 yes votes, but no-one has posted to say why?

Creating players try creating and more often fail, if they don't then they really are amazing players like Scholes etc...and is why defenders will also have high passing as they pass between themselves and do not take risks. Truly truly pointless stats those, the fact you don't know what they consider and what they don't really does take the biscuit when presenting them to criticise a player, at least do it properly. OK, why not compare him to other Premier League right wingers at teams we want to be challenging: Bentley 76% Osman 76% Pienaar 78.5% Ireland 74% Utaka 79% Lennon 81% Milner 66% Our other midfielders are comparable to their equivalent players at these clubs, but Milner drops well short of both his team mates and his rivals. Because these stats mean fuk all, do i have to say it again like? And since we played boot it up field hit and hope football it really does again mean fuk all. If that was truely the case, his team mates would have lower averages too. They don't. The stats prove what we all see in the pitch, i.e. Milner being unable to hit a cow's arse with a banjo when it comes to playing a simple possession preserving pass.

Eh? Where do you say that?

Enrique and N'Zogbia perhaps, but Taylor and Milner have done it once before. What benefit are they going to get from doing it again?

Jose Enrique and Charles N'Zogbia can also fall under this debate, but I can see more mitigating factors for them: They weren't in the last championships They have played a lot less games, and therefore have learnt less from the experience Chance to go home Chance to play with players from different leagues Chance for a brief residential at a country using different training practices. Chance to promote NUFC abroad. I think the club manager should have the final on whether 22 or 23 year olds continue to play for the U21s.

Yeah, they were 21 when qualifying for the 2009 U21 World Cup began.

When both players stop becoming eligible to play for the U21s, they'll be 23 years old. Am I imagining a time when only players aged 21 or under played for England U21. I suppose Stuart Pearce has a good argument for their inclusion, for they are experienced players and amongst the best in their position in their category. What is in it for Milner and Taylor? Their only chance to play for England? Their only chance to captain their country? A chance to break records. I highly doubt they are getting any great benefit from playing with or against better or more experienced players. I doubt Stuart Pearce can give them anything Keegan can't. They shouldn't be there as 'coaches' for younger players at other clubs, they are NUFC employees. I think Mr. Capello has made it clear that playing for your clubs is going to be of more worth than U21 fixtures when it comes to getting in the England squad. James Milner is on record of saying he needed a break this summer after the U21s making it two seasons non-stop for him. The same must have applied for Taylor. Yet they are still turning up for duty without complaint. David Bentley showed it was possible to stop playing for the U21s and concentrate on playing for their clubs. With the bile aimed at Owen and Emre when they are on international duty, I'm surprised Taylor and Owen don't get it when they are playing for a lesser cause. Well if they proceed with the U21s and continue to play for us, they will be getting more bile from me this season. They can take it now, they are grown men.

Having looked at stats for other players, I'm pretty sure crosses don't count.

Then your opinion = fail. Allow me to explain. Firstly, the worst injury in football to come back from is a foot injury. It takes months of playing for a player with a broken metartarsal to refind their old form, and Duff had the worst foot injury in Premier League history. Injury problems aside, people may point out that even before his injury he would be going backwards rather than try to beat his man, and that he rarely looks bothered, or comes out of first gear. I see that too, but I think it is a mental problem. I think he may have developed a fear of getting injured. Why do I think this? Well for starters, in counter attacking situations where he has found himself with plenty of space, he has actually produced a turn of speed and a determination to attack we otherwise don't see. However, when an opposing player comes near, he slows down and try playing backwards. At Chelsea, he sufferred two bad shoulder injuries from being barged off the ball while running at speed down the flank, and ended up taking judo classes to learn to fall on his shoulder without getting injured. When an opposing player has come near him, pull his arm across his body and bend his elbow, a classic martial arts position when you expect to be thrown onto your shoulder. Trouble is, this action slows him down and stops him running at speed and beating his man. Talent is still there. His technique is good, his general play and passing outside of the final third is good. He still hits a good cross. If the club were to invest time in him, both Keegan and a sports psychologist, it is possible that Duff can be snapped out of the daze he is currently in and become an effective player. Not definite, but possible. Whereas Duff is a player with good technical ability but with problems, Milner is mentally and physically sound, yet is technically inferior to many Premier League midfielders, regardless of the fact that he is the last player to leave the training pitch every day.

Creating players try creating and more often fail, if they don't then they really are amazing players like Scholes etc...and is why defenders will also have high passing as they pass between themselves and do not take risks. Truly truly pointless stats those, the fact you don't know what they consider and what they don't really does take the biscuit when presenting them to criticise a player, at least do it properly. OK, why not compare him to other Premier League right wingers at teams we want to be challenging: Bentley 76% Osman 76% Pienaar 78.5% Ireland 74% Utaka 79% Lennon 81% Milner 66% Our other midfielders are comparable to their equivalent players at these clubs, but Milner drops well short of both his team mates and his rivals.

No idea what counts and what doesn't Dave. I'd imagine Smith's average is bumped up by a prolonged spell in midfield Mowen. As for Duff, I don't think he's a bad player. I think there is some mental or physical thing going on that we are more likely to be able to sort out than Milner's lack of consistent ability.