Sifu

Don't think there's any chance of lessons being learnt if we're being brutally honest. Ashley has found, in his eyes, a legitimate business model and like fuck is he going to change it. His plan was always to make the club self-sufficient and sustainable and to his credit, he is pretty much doing that but a business model can only go so far. He's been very stubborn about it all, after all, times change and there does come a point when you just have to adapt your model so that it suits the current climate. Don't get me wrong btw, I do appreciate the fact that we won't pay over the odds for a player and that in itself is a good policy to have but it's just rather annoying that the business side of things have again got in the way of the footballing perspective. Surely it's not rocket science to see that success on the pitch is dependent on the squad being full of capable players and that in turn leads to a more profitable business? I may have just spouted a load of bollocks above but that is my view of things.

That will be him out of the international scene for a while then...

Just had a look on .com there. Yeah, it says that Perch is expected to be available. In that case, Perch-Saylor please (assuming Colo doesn't make it).

Isn't Perch still injured though?

Just putting my head in the sand tbh.

I'm refusing to believe this latest bit of "news" until I hear some proper confirmation from the club/Pardew/Colo. The Times' reliability, in my view, has diminished these past few years.

Hopefully his goal tonight will kickstart his season when he comes back from international duty.

Nice.

This commentator is so shit

Uh oh.

Get rid of him. Now.

What's Sol Campbell doing these days? ()

In my eyes, he's definitely more of a CM than a winger these days. He's basically shone every time he's played in the centre imo. Great to know that he's still actively seeking to improve himself

Ah, the ultimate plan has been set into motion. Debuchy's walking to Newcastle from Lille as we speak.

I've never been to Old Trafford and since I live around the area now, I might as well head along...

Think I may still go to this despite the price being an absolute joke.

This lad is still very much in our plans imo. Though it is a bit weird how he hasn't been given a look in as yet... I assumed he was just injured but apparently not. Hope he makes the grade here, from what I've seen of him, he is a promising midfielder in the Cabaye mould.

Completely forgot about this game. How did we play? 5-0 seems rather impressive.

In terms of tickets, think I might chance it in the home end at Bordeaux. When I went to see Bordeaux-Galatasaray UEFA Cup game a few years ago, there were a fair few Galatasaray fans amongst the home fans...

Clearly your performances during the Euro qualifiers were a contributing factor...

Maybe that's the revitalising agent the lad needs

Well, yeah... Imagine if he turns out to be decent...

Enrique's going through the motions I see. Guess this is what happens when Rodgers tells you that Downing could start ahead you.

Well last season, it was the middle of September when Ba started hitting top form. Hopefully that'll be the case for both Cissé and Ba this season!