The College Dropout

So Arsenal are adding some height and a tackle? I thought those were banned by big sides?

That's disgusting.

Jamie Carragher was a very good defender and a real leader and character for Liverpool. Not an elite defender but a very good one.

What is this based on? He did a great job at Porto. Failed at Chelsea. Par at Spurs. Potential to be - yes. Now? nope.

Interesting that Man Utd. make the most crosses and score the most goals from crosses damn near every season.........

Who?

What?

the one that didn't win very much? That team had RVP as the #10 They no longer play any type of 4-4-2 anyway and haven't done for a number of years. Haven't won anything either tbf.

Wasn't much of a 4-4-2. It had a traditional #10 (and Kanu). 2 big strong lads in midfield who could pass very well. One was a top athlete too. We don't have any of the above.

He'll play that at one point if possible.

There's not a redeemable aspect about his pitch-persona. He's not "Scarface" type bad guy. Not Cantona bad guy. He's just the bad guy. Literally.

Just from the bits I have read. if it's just the St. Etienne stuff holding it up then I am wrong. It's Lyon's clause.. why would we pay for it?

I love the Ameobi's. I want one playing for NUFC for the duration of my lifetime. Not in the first team like. One of them is bound to become world class.

Positioning stuff is great

Doesn't want to come. Move to other targets.

Doubtful but it's a bit of a false comparison as clubs in lower leagues abroad don't have anywhere near as much capital as Championship clubs do. I can't really think of many A-list players that had a sizable career for teams in the lower divisions in Spain though, Villa was probably the last one. Most La Liga clubs do a pretty good job of scooping up talent before they become pros, given the existence of B teams and how easy is to poach a youth player since they can't sign pro contracts until they turn 17 (that's changed this year though). The Spanish football leagues are very different to the English. They have B teams in the second and third tier of the leagues, when we have some massive clubs in the lower divisions. You have 8 teams in the Championship with attendances higher than 20k. A team like Sheffield United has more potential than half the teams in La Liga if you look at what they could do.

I recall Sinclair scoring something like 5 penalties. Goal is a goal and that but I don't recall many from open play.

He was a good player for awhile.

Carragher put in some fantastic performances for L'pool when they had those 5 or so season when they did very well in that competition. Just as much as he and John Terry are over-rated in the media. They are under-rated in some sectors. For example, John Terry is slow and brutish but he is a good footballer who is comfortable with the ball at his feet. I would say that fans that actually go to matches, love those types of defenders. Armchair pundits - not so much.

What did we play with Ba, Ben Arfa & Cisse? It was certainly advertised on teamsheets and through the official twitter as a 4-3-3. 4-2-3-1 Cabaye barely had to track back and get goal-side when the other team had the ball.

Aye in the confed he showed what a big player he can be. What would you describe as Pique's weaknesses

Think he's a great fit for Barca. Against crap oppo he barely has to defend and can play like a midfielder. But you can rely on him against the better teams

His best games have come at CB though. He was out for about a month and put in a top performance when Chelsea beat Bayern.

Hummels has a touch of the Bramble clanger in him. They crop up in big games too. Luiz sometimes just doesn't seem arsed to defend (I don't know why that's better to me, it just is) but in big matches he always brings the A game. Concentration, desire etc. He looks a real leader when he's focused, all-action type. He also takes a mean penalty/free-kick.