Dr Venkman

Same with SSN. Well hopefully we have LB sorted, now what about RM and a striker? Covered in midfield. Dreamland if you think we're going to get another midfielder. fwiw i'd put 'anyone good up front' into that category as well

without doubt we'll fuck this transfer window up by signing someone shite like macheda on loan, but you can always rely on the mackems to make us look good, samaras

5 Live reporting the medical now as well

why do you think that is?

Why are they idiots? Some people actually follow there religion properly and don't just follow it when it suits them. there's no way i'm getting into a discussion on the merits of religion. but they're professional footballers, if you want to do something that massively affects your ability to concentrate and perform physically (by letting your blood sugar drop due to not eating) then you shouldnt be a professional sportsman. either that or do what everyone else has done for thousands of years, interpret religious ideas to your own advantage and just believe it doesnt apply to you since you are at a big disadvantage not eating. eat your pasta, drink your lucozade, then go out there and score a hat-trick for your NEW club that's paying you a fortune. stop bowing to peer pressure and face your responsibilities.

Yep, looks way off the pace. Gets caught in possession repeatedly, which is in stark contrast to last year when you couldn't get the ball off him. Hopefully it's been spotted and they're working on it, I think we're past the point where we can blame his naff pre-season. He's such an important player for us that we need him on form in the games he's available. I know this is getting chucked about every other post regarding Cheik, but isn't he fasting for Ramadan? Certainly isn't his usual self and I don't get how he can go from being so class to so naff. Agreed, he seems to be lacking confidence on the ball, you can see the panick in his body while the ball is at his feet. Perhaps its him getting used to new team mates, fasting for ramadan, lacking preaseason.. who knows. He doesn't look half the player he was last season and its concerning i'm wondering if his slow starts and getting better as the game goes on (much like the whole team) are anything to do with us looking to keep it tight early on and then pushing on from there. my biggest gripe with tiote yesterday was how often he passed it backwards, perhaps as the game goes on and cabaye moves further forward its easier to find a pass. ben arfa will help massively with this obviously.

keep taarabt quiet and i think we'll win, hope someone can persuade tiote to eat a sandwich before the match

signing players isnt the answer

been saying to people for the last week that although he looks small i bet he's an absolute cunt to play against, tough in the tackle, quick to close you down and you know that if he nicks it off you he's gonna find a team mate with it. he should also get a special mention for applauding the fans every time he takes a corner, he obviously is really making an effort to be part of the family. i love him. of course it wouldnt be right if we were to have two outstanding cm's, so tiote's done his part and summoned the spirit of amdy faye for the first few games.

does anyone else think that having no enrique has contributed to highlighting simpsons faults somewhat? we're conceding possession more on our left flank, and much deeper, which means there's more crosses coming in from our left as a result and simpsons very average in the air, which we're seeing more of. also our lack of threat down the left means that simpsons seeing much more of the ball and having to get forward more, and not really looking the part. i feel like if we were more balanced as a team simpson could get on with being an average defender and not have the attention on him so much

i have to say that with us leaving these deals so late and all the talk there's been of us being 'unable to agree a fee' with clubs for Pieters and Cissokho, and now talk of 5m for Santon, it does look like we've been under-bidding for both the former players and now that the clubs are sick of us we've moved onto someone we would likely be able to get for less than we got for enrique. or maybe i just think the worst of the guys in charge of the money.

Can you imagine? The only flank in the league where they overlap one another horizontally across the pitch haha, doesnt sound great does it. i still think our best chance of building an attacking game is getting Jonas/Obertan on the right and Marveuax on the left, beating players and whipping balls in. ideally i'd want natural left and right footed full backs backing them up.

thought he was ok, tracked back well and always looked a threat. what does annoy me about him though is his movement. when someone else is attacking on the same flank as him he always just drops 5 yards behind them and stands there, when he really should be getting past them for the overlap. there's few things as annoying as a player with electric pace who doesnt know how to use it (Martins, Routledge)

not convinced we need a right footer at left back like, especially with Jonas ahead of him, gonna un-balance us a lot.

just seen the goals on the telly and there's some absolutely shocking defending from simpson/tiote for their chances

there's hundreds of players around europe who might be able to do it for less money, that's where we're at.

what rotten fucking luck. alan smith might get time on the pitch this season.

Yep, I've made this point before too. At every stage during a window we make excuses why it's wrong to buy now. I'm sure the papers tomorrow will have Pardew rabbiting on about "gearing up for the last day". Load of shite basically, we just don't want to spend money. The thing is we must want to spend some money or else we'd have surely just bought a cheap, shite left back and a cheap, shite striker by now. I look at Obertan and think we made the choice between him and N'Zogbia and went for the cheaper option. With the targets we've apparently got at the minute it looks like we've identified them and thought "what will the selling club be after?" and knocked £3m off it and bid. Ryan Taylor is doing an acceptable job, why spend money if we don't have to? We've scored goals, why buy a striker? That's what we're dealing with. exactly, it's the 'do everything on the cheap above everything else' attitude that's going to hold us back for as long as he's here. success despite ashley is the best we can hope for. we're fucking hopeless going forward as well like, it's embarrassing. and as it stands we're a long term injury to taylor or colo away from a relegation scrap imo.

never, prices are bad mmkay

Did he actually say that? fuck me he's lost it. JUST BUY SOME FUCKING PLAYERS MAN. Idiot. ridiculous isnt it, can see him managing us one day at this rate like he's ashley's dream. if better players aren't the answer arsene, what is? coz your tactics aren't up to much.

Not a chance. Probably you both are right but, they've not been top 7 stuff in the first 3 games. Never. and we haven't been top 6, the season's 38 games man

The downside is that Liverpool will get their CL spot. horrible isnt it.

great result. pleased for best and i hope this gives him confidence, he's not the answer though, slow and ponderous. we were slow and ponderous in general going forward, just no real conviction or cohesion to our attacking play. thought we were solid ish at the back but 3 free headers in the second half tells its own story. Tiote though, wtf is going on with him? Slow, negative and a liability. Thank god for that release clause in Cabaye's contract. Well done to Saylor who continues to prove me wrong this season. We're in desperate need of a fit and firing Ben Arfa.

Colo and Jonas will be absolute cunts this time next year

record it and fast forward everything but football, it's the only way