Unbelievable

or conversely, load of bollocks signing a rising youngster from a top 4 side's reserves may prove the most ambitious of all, as you're taking the chance on youth rather than on an established signing like say....jason koumas. at the same time, taking a chance on a relative unknown like Jonas, who as you put it correctly was the winger for the chap who top scored in la liga, is also an ambitious move, as it shows the club are looking everywhere and doing their homework Every signing is ambitious because every signing may well work out better than expected.. Is that really the gest of your argument? As you indicate correctly, we are taking huge chances, which is not something I would typically associate with ambition..

Significant upgrade based on what evidence? And in his most important international, the Euro 2008 semis, he might as well have not been on the pitch. Funny how everybody on here seems to be convinced that Colo is a significant upgrade on our current centre backs when the same reasoning applies.. I have no doubt about Arhsavin, he is a class act and will do well at Spurs. Wish we went in for him when we seemingly had the chance.

If Keegan thinks we have too many central defenders and wants to get rid of a one then getting rid of the oldest (I never said too old) might be his criteria as he's not going to play forever and is unlikely to improve as a player. I can see the sense of keeping players who are older and can develop, Taylor is not as bad as some people make out. Campbell is 33 which has no relevance, Maldini is still playing at 40 but that doesn’t mean all defenders play to that age. Well, if he has looked at age in deciding which defender could go and this is why Faye is leaving he has made a big mistake, plain and simple..

Distinctly underwhelming. We don't look ready for the season and a number of important issues that needed looking at have still not been resolved, mainly our lack of creativity in central midfield, Owen's contract situation, squad strengthening in the full back positions and bringing in a (back up) striker who can actually score. Some good things have also been achieved, but so far the balance leans over towards the negative side. A lot can happen in two weeks, and it will need to or it will be another year of midtable obscurity..

Hehe, was just typing the same thing re Edgar. Bassong looks promising so far, but the reaction of the fans of his old club at the news of him leaving them really has me worried; he was their very own Bramble.. He looked to me like the opposite of Bramble ie quite comfortable on the ball, but possibly not that strong. If Bassong can cope with the aerial challenges of Premiership strikers, then he'd be a real find. A lot of comments were about his lack of concentration and how his errors cost them points, which reminded me of Bramble. There were comments about how they would snap our hands of for 2 million. It was a lot like a certain thread on this board about a certain Alan Smith possibly joining Everton, and because they were the ones who had been seeing this lad play every match for a couple of seasons I find that quite worrying.. Either way, I don't feel particularly confident selling our best central defender of last season to bring in two new defenders from other leagues who may need time to adapt (one as a squad player on a small price tag and a questionnable reputation)..

Hehe, was just typing the same thing re Edgar. Bassong looks promising so far, but the reaction of the fans of his old club at the news of him leaving them really has me worried; he was their very own Bramble..

Beye should be captain btw. Good shout, he for me is a star and not just in terms of ability either. One of the very few bright spots of last season. Faye was another of the few bright spots. I will be very disappointed to see Faye go. It's putting an awful lot of pressure on Colo too as we can't afford to not play him so he will need to hit the ground running and we all know defenders from foreign leagues sometimes take time to get used to the pace and physicality of the Premiership.. For the reported 2 million, it just doesn't seem a risk worth taking to me.. I'd rather we keep Faye and let Edgar go on a loan to some Championship team to see if he shows enough potential to offer him a new deal (just one year left iirc)..

The goal we seem to have set ourselves is 4th to 8th, which I would qualify as a very ambitious target in our current predicament. Ambition is more than just setting a goal though, it is, as you say, going out to achieve or better that goal, and this is where we are currently seemingly struggling..

The mind boggles after reading this thread, especially James' "contributions".. Ambition is fielding a midfield of Barton and Guthrie.. I don't know whether to laugh or cry..

Maradonna Edit: oh, and we need a dose of Shitteam to lower our expectations..

are you mad? Was about to post the same thing. Elano was sensational in his first season in the Premiership. The first half of the season may have been better than the second, but then form fluctuates and there is no doubt as to the man's talents as far as I am concerned..

Any links to articles..? Would be good news!

Milner deserves more than a 7 surely? His crossing was better than normal and he had a very good shot in the first half just wide, some good technique to go past players, some good defensive work in the first half (covering for Beye a few times to good effect) and put crosses in and a goal to top it off.. All in all I'd say he was possibly the best player on the pitch..

I find Duff and Milner frustrating beyond belief, Duff had a good (by his standards) second half, and Milner put in one of his more decent performances, but I would still replace them both given the chance. The thought of playing Butt going into this season fills me with most dread, followed by the name Steven Taylor. Everything else is coco though Duff had a good game, not just a good second half and Milner has been very good these last two games. With Jonas, Duff, Milner and Zog we have plenty of quality on the wings. Defensively I think we are pretty well stocked as well, although I would have liked to see Bassong at left back today rather than Zog, just to see if he would make the grade as a back up left back. If we can replace Smith with a young, strong striker and add some genuine quality to our centre midfield we are in business.

Milner scores!

Duff scores!!!

Brilliant play Milner!

Good flick Morientes.. Not really anybody's fault..

1-0 Valencia.. Joaquin

Good play Zog!

The Duffster is back! Excellent run that..

Good run Duff. He looks revitalised..

Good opening Cacapa.. We're playing well..

Good run Jonas!

You just have to give it time. It should ask you to verify the license for the file before it plays. That's what it did for me anyway. How much time? Its been sitting there for 10 minutes doing nothing. If it doesn't work (didn't work for me) try opening the direct link (http://mfile.akamai.com/12366/live/reflector:58054.asx?bkup=48703) in WMP..