AyeDubbleYoo

Shame to see the lad piss his opportunity up the wall. I thought he was going to be a decent player for us, but unless something drastic happens we're much better off without him.

How about: Obertan Cabaye Marveaux Jonas ?

Never really understand the point of criticising clubs because of the number and/or makeup of their fans. Either it's an accident of geography or it's relative to success, either way it's not really a point of competition between clubs. The only reason we don't have more Essex-based glory hunters is that we don't have any glory.

Aren't Man City fans meant to be the 'proper' Manchester people though? Or are they not now just because they're successful?

All I've heard is 'doubtful', can't find it confirmed anywhere. Might not be the worst game for him to miss anyway TBH, the midfield are just going to get stiff necks watching the ball sail over their heads.

Lads man, we can't have this Ashley argument again, it nearly drove me mental last time.

I think most people would be happy with a draw. That said, I don't think Stoke are actually any better than most bottom-half clubs, they just have players who are hard to deal with in the air.

I said just behind that face painted bloke against Wigan, to be fair it's an excellent job.

That mask is so perfect for Taylor, he should have to wear it all the time.

The Argentine selection policy is madly inconsistent, and that's being kind. Haven't they used about 1000 players in the last year?

I don't think there are any biased referees anyway, just ones that make more mistakes than others.

Harsh but funny.

Don't really understand this, a run in one of the cups is only one extra game every couple of weeks. It's not like we're in Europe as well.

Fucking hell, just watched the highlights. Robbed. Ba should have had a penalty, Krul played the ball, Givet is offside. Madness.

Yep, I'm thinking this is the best arrangement of our players at the moment. Feels strange actually suggesting we should leave Ryan Taylor at LB mind.

Not sure what game you watched, but Best put in a better performance than Ba, Ben Arfa and Shola on Saturday. Best was really unlucky to be the one subbed against Wigan, he put in a good shift. Should have finished that header like, but that's par for the course with any striker.

It's not like he's getting preferential treatment though Christmas Tree, he's had a few minutes as a sub and a start in the Carling Cup.

He probably gets pulled over every five seconds anyway, his number plates are the least of his worries.

We all wish he'd come on and won a couple of games with incredible displays in the tiny amount of minutes he's had, but to actually expect anything approaching that is mental. The lad has been out for ages and is also an unorthodox player that tries low-percentage stuff. Give him a chance, no doubt by the end of the season we'll be jizzing all over him.

I sort of understand it, but the fear of Stoke from other, better teams is ridiculous at times. Yes, they're a decent team but teams should be aiming to go there and pass them off the park. That said, Crouch is a handful and Walters is the sort of average player who normally scores against us. Would be content with a draw, but we should go out to play a passing game and beat them by a couple.

Hopefully be a shot in the arm for the team, and I sign that they can't ease off for a second.

Fair point, although there was more than one key absence, and also the "players can't be arsed with Carling Cup" factor.