Cronky

Definitely the most talented British player I've ever seen. His ability to go past opponents was second to none. Wonderful close control of the ball, and no real weaknesses in his game. In terms of talent he was the equal of any player, apart from possibly Messi. But he didn't achieve anything like his capability. It was like he reached the top and then got bored and failed to kick on.

I'd be pleased to see this one go through. I've lost a bit of faith in Cisse tbh.

Yeah. At the moment, we don't have much of a counter-attacking game and the opposition can pile players forward with impunity. It's difficult then to hold on to a lead. He should help to change that.

Six and a half years? No wonder he was keen to come. He should add a bit of power and energy to the midfield. Very welcome.

This is the deal that I'd most like to see us complete - a midfielder who could attack the box.

Colo had been here a while. There hadn't been any sign that he was unhappy at the club or in the area, so I think we can safely assume that the personal reasons behind all this must be strong. So really, there's no choice but to let him go. Trying to pressure him or persuade him doesn't sound the right idea.

Well, regardless of how badly the ball-boy was behaving, Hazard shouldn't have taken the law into his own hands like that. It was a definite red and there's no chance of it being rescinded.

If he's partnering Colo, I just hope he's decent at defending set pieces. I don't think they figure quite so much in French football, so that's my only concern.

Nice to see players coming in, but I think he'll be a replacement for Colo rather than a partner.

He succeeded last season with a conservative approach, but unfortunately we're now in a situation where he needs to be bold. A couple of new signings might give him the confidence to try it.

Every time he got the ball, he only had one thing on his mind, which was to go full pelt towards the opposition goal until he was tackled. He'd either lose the ball or score. No prizes for guessing what was the most common outcome. IIRC, he was bought with the money from selling Beardsley, I suspect on the strength of a good performance for Brazil at Wembley the season before. He was the first Brazilian to play in the First Division, so it was quite a bold step. In the end though, a failed experiment.

I'd agree with that selection, and if we'd got Remy, things would probably have got a lot easier. But we really need that new forward for it to work. I don't think it would work for Cisse to be a lone striker, with midfield players breaking forward to link with him. Cisse's link-up play is too poor for that.

Tbh I can remember from the 60s and 70s, people saying how the game had sold out and the magic had gone. The team are struggling because it doesn't have the right blend and the players have lost confidence. If that could change, we'd all feel a lot better

We looked a very inhibited side for most of the game. Reading didn't deserve to win, but there isn't the same pressure on a club of that size, and it showed. They took their chances and we didn't. We just have to hope that HBA comes back soon and we can get one or two more players this window. We need a lift.

Give the guy a break. He's playing out of position and making a far better fist of it than Ba or Cisse did.

The difficulty is we don't have a counter-attacking game. Going a goal up and then having the opposition come at you shouldn't be a problem because you can then hit them on the break. When we get a turnover, we spend too much time making sure we keep possession rather than moving forward quickly. We should win, but it's still in the balance. Pardew needs to take the fear out of the team, get them still thinking positive.

Yes indeed. This is probably the best news we've had this transfer window.

Agree with every word. Yeah, he's sounding desperate, when he should be trying to spread confidence. I saw him quoted as saying that he didn't have any other strikers of the calibre of Cisse, and I wondered what Shola would have thought when he said that. Whatever your opinion of his ability, Shola has just given up his last opportunity of playing in an international tournament, in order to help out his club. Then he reads that.

Christ, are they trying to buy up players now just to stop them signing for their rivals?

I don't think anyone saw this coming. I can't recall many managers from the Latin countries managing in the Bundesliga. There's a few cultural differences between Spain and Germany that he'll have to cross. Not to say differences in styles of football. I daresay he wanted a) a well-run club with b) chances of winning the Champions League. The available positions in the Premiership (Man City and Chelsea) fail on point a).

The national papers will be raving about him tomorrow. He looks to be at full fitness now and that's the best I've seen him play. It reminded me of Iniesta when he's in one of those invincible moods.

Wilshere is looking like one of the best players in the world. Absolutely brilliant performance.

yet we somehow managed to sign ben arfa, cabaye, debuchy, cisse, anita...? Well exactly. Ba left us for a CL club, and Remy was prepared to sign but we got gazumphed by a club who were prepared to pay whatever it took. The scenario I can see developing is QPR still battling to get out of the drop zone with four games to go, and his agent telling him that Chelsea / Arsenal are interested. Is Remy going to bust a gut to keep the club up, knowing that he's then stuck at QPR, or is he going to have more than half an eye on next season, when he can join a CL club if QPR go down. Basically, QPR may well have set up a situation where it becomes in Remy's interests to see the club relegated.

You can't persuade me that his choice is based on the chances of success, as well as money. QPR are bottom of the league, and a few days ago, Remy was refusing to speak to them. On the point of us signing him, QPR basically threw money at him in a rather desperate gesture. A few days ago, Redknapp was moaning about having to deal with players who were on sky-high wages who weren't motivated to deliver for the club. Now he's signed a player who didn't want to come, and who has only been persuaded by mega-dosh. It didn't work out for us with Owen, and I don't think it'll work for them. If QPR are willing to do this for everyone, they will be successful. It's really a no lose situation for him. He plays well, QPR survives, he stays and watches them rocket up the table with new players and a good manager. He doesn't play well, QPR survives, he collects money and gets to play in the Premiership. He plays well, QPR gets relegated, clubs like Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool will be all over a Premiership-proven player. This is his best case scenario. He gets a move to a big club and still gets paid. He doesn't play well, QPR gets relegated. This is his worst case scenario and it still entails him getting 70k/pw. There's no chance he's coming to us for 40k/pw. No chance. Which begs the question - how much of an incentive does he have to keep QPR up? If they continue to struggle, it's questionable what would be in his interests. If they get relegated, he gets a move to a bigger club (maybe not as big as Chelsea, but bigger none the less). If they stay up, he faces more seasons with a struggling club. This is the issue that QPR need to consider. Clubs should really be trying to sign players who see them as a step-up.

You can't persuade me that his choice is based on the chances of success, as well as money. QPR are bottom of the league, and a few days ago, Remy was refusing to speak to them. On the point of us signing him, QPR basically threw money at him in a rather desperate gesture. A few days ago, Redknapp was moaning about having to deal with players who were on sky-high wages who weren't motivated to deliver for the club. Now he's signed a player who didn't want to come, and who has only been persuaded by mega-dosh. It didn't work out for us with Owen, and I don't think it'll work for them.