Parsley

....never mind

Fair play to Lukaku by the way. Refreshing to see a player of his ilk give Chelsea the finger for first team football. Seems to be motivated by all the right things - remember when he refused to hold the Champions League trophy after Chelsea beat Bayern because he felt he hadn't contributed towards the win. Best of luck to him.

Alright, fair play. Point still stands though - I accept that Cabaye's best form came in the first half of last season, but he was still a big reason behind our fifth placed finish in 2012. And also Lille winning the double the year before for the first time in decades (possibly ever). So why wasn't anyone else in for him then? Hazard and Gervinho left for big money; Cabaye was available for only a few million and yet we, as far as I can tell, were the only club to table an offer. As you say, as captain of the French champions, Cabaye should have had little to prove - particularly with regard to the national team - but it was only with us that he became a regular fixture in the French side. I'm sorry like, but I don't think you explain that sort of change solely through a raised profile. I didn't see Cabaye consistently improve at all in his time here. Only in his last 6 months did he look like a player who'd go for £20million. Before that he bounced between being completely anonymous to a match winner. Even if he was a major part of us finishing 5th he wasn't anywhere near that level the year after, which doesn't indicate improvement. I expect we'll see the real Cabaye this season now that he's not working for a window cleaner. Fine, but Wenger was still willing to pay £10 million or so for Cabaye last summer on the back of what was, as you say, a relatively poor season by his standards. How else had Cabaye gone from being a fringe player for France coveted only by likes of us and Villa to a regular international and the subject of a bid from a team in the Champions League in that time if he hadn't improved somewhat as a footballer? I agree that Cabaye wasn't a patch on the previous year in 2012/13, but one bad season doesn't necessarily write off the gains made in a good year. There's also other factors to consider - our pathetic recruitment drive (or lack thereof) in the summer, selling and failing to replace Ba, etc. If Sturridge scores less goals for Liverpool this season, is it fair to say that he's indefinitely regressed as a player because he's not consistently improving? He was always a good footballer. He proved that in France 2 years before he joined us with his best ever goal and assist numbers then won the league and cup the year after in what was something of a miracle. His actual talent has never been in doubt. He was blatantly better in his last 6 months than he had been in the 2 years previous. Nobody can deny that. Was that down to Pardew or gradual improvement over time? Or because he was promised a transfer 6 months previously and started playing for it? So why, despite his doubtless talent, did he end up here then? Like Kanji, I'd probably put Cabaye's form last season down to a combination of plying for a move away and something of a culmination of his personal progression as a player. I don't think it was down to Pardew - you only need to look at Santon, Yanga-Mbiwa, Ben Arfa and Cisse for evidence that players have a general tendency to stagnate or decline when under his management. In spite of this though, I think it's impossible to deny that Cabaye improved in his spell here, particularly when you consider the rise in his transfer value and his increasingly prominent role in the French team.

Alright, fair play. Point still stands though - I accept that Cabaye's best form came in the first half of last season, but he was still a big reason behind our fifth placed finish in 2012. And also Lille winning the double the year before for the first time in decades (possibly ever). So why wasn't anyone else in for him then? Hazard and Gervinho left for big money; Cabaye was available for only a few million and yet we, as far as I can tell, were the only club to table an offer. As you say, as captain of the French champions, Cabaye should have had little to prove - particularly with regard to the national team - but it was only with us that he became a regular fixture in the French side. I'm sorry like, but I don't think you explain that sort of change solely through a raised profile. I didn't see Cabaye consistently improve at all in his time here. Only in his last 6 months did he look like a player who'd go for £20million. Before that he bounced between being completely anonymous to a match winner. Even if he was a major part of us finishing 5th he wasn't anywhere near that level the year after, which doesn't indicate improvement. I expect we'll see the real Cabaye this season now that he's not working for a window cleaner. Fine, but Wenger was still willing to pay £10 million or so for Cabaye last summer on the back of what was, as you say, a relatively poor season by his standards. How else had Cabaye gone from being a fringe player for France coveted only by likes of us and Villa to a regular international and the subject of a bid from a team in the Champions League in that time if he hadn't improved somewhat as a footballer? I agree that Cabaye wasn't a patch on the previous year in 2012/13, but one bad season doesn't necessarily write off the gains made in a good year. There's also other factors to consider - our pathetic recruitment drive (or lack thereof) in the summer, selling and failing to replace Ba, etc. If Sturridge scores less goals for Liverpool this season, is it fair to say that he's indefinitely regressed as a player because he's not consistently improving?

Alright, fair play. Point still stands though - I accept that Cabaye's best form came in the first half of last season, but he was still a big reason behind our fifth placed finish in 2012. And also Lille winning the double the year before for the first time in decades (possibly ever). So why wasn't anyone else in for him then? Hazard and Gervinho left for big money; Cabaye was available for only a few million and yet we, as far as I can tell, were the only club to table an offer. As you say, as captain of the French champions, Cabaye should have had little to prove - particularly with regard to the national team - but it was only with us that he became a regular fixture in the French side. I'm sorry like, but I don't think you explain that sort of change solely through a raised profile.

Alright, fair play. Point still stands though - I accept that Cabaye's best form came in the first half of last season, but he was still a big reason behind our fifth placed finish in 2012.

Arsenal should really be going back in for Remy imo. Would fit perfectly into that 4-3-3 they play.

You think Cabaye was poor in 2010/11?

Cabaye definitely improved in his spell here. There's a reason why the likes of Arsenal and PSG were uninterested when he was at Lille, but suddenly perked up after 2 and a half solid seasons in the Premier League. He plays far more regularly for France now than when he signed for us also.

People forget we had a considerable surplus last year thanks to the Fellaini sale. I was fully expecting the profit to disappear into a black hole like it usually does, mind. Was it really that considerable though given that you signed McCarthy and Kone that same summer for around £20 million? Lukaku is a fantastic signing mind. Very jealous.

In fairness to Ashley, we were able to keep all of our best players the summer after finishing 5th. Bit devil's advocate like, but I think any comparison between Newcastle and Southampton's current plight is fairly tenuous. As shit as the Ashley era has generally been, we've not had to go through a firesale of this magnitude.

How are Everton financing this just out of interest? When Moyes was in charge, we didn't hear the end of Everton's supposed shoestring budget in the media. Can't imagine the conditions have changed much since Martinez took over.

Reina in net?

Don't think we need him tbh. Was under the impression that Grenier plays as an advanced playmaker and I think we'd struggle to accommodate him and De Jong in the same side. Would much rather we focussed our attentions on a striker and a centre back first.

You must have enjoyed Euro 96 surely? yes and no, i enjoyed it for what it was but in terms of england i was stood about in the pubs watching people go batshit about england when it was clear they were never the best team in it...bit like brazil this summer as i've got older i've warmed to england more, back then i had zero national sentiment, arguably negative tbh EDIT: in fact i'd say since about 1990 until recently i only ever paid attention to toon players playing for england, beyond that i didn't care and still don't What's wrong with that like?

MYM wasn't even that bad at full-back like. A damn sight better than Dummett for certain.

Besic to Everton. Looked good for Bosnia in the WC.

Utter waste.

What are the chances of this recent abomination being an obsolete prototype or something?

Too much money for this regime to fork out for a utility player like. Doubt there's much in it.

That's essentially just the kit we had in 09/10.

To be fair, Mourinho's bought Schurrle, Zouma, Salah and the like since returning. Although I'm not sure whether it's down to him or Chelsea's more general policy of mindlessly stockpiling promising youngsters.

Really hope Pochettino gives Lamela a proper run in the side. He was class at Roma by all accounts.

Tough going this season with all the price hikes. Just about settled on a side but will probably tear it apart in a couple of days. De Gea Debuchy Jagielka Azpilicueta Cabella Ozil Fabregas Silva Remy Diego Costa Giroud Myhill, Albrighton, Bruce and Upson as subs.