Neil

Pah, nonsense!

Yeah but he's mint on Fifa.

But... what about Perez?

How was the atmosphere generally? Hard to accurately tell from TV. Agree though. Our right side is our main weak spot.

Fairly sad way for Ramos to bow out. So, back to the 'Zidanes and Pavons' strategy?

Aye what sort of time we thinking? (The answer's yes).

not sure. david craig claims they are 'vwery very well placed sources' He must be 'sensing' things again.

Yeah, pretty much how I expected your reaction to be. I expect next season to be the same for you unless you unearth a real, real gem. The team plays well together and most of the players are good or very good, for the top 4 your going to have to get a player with star quality up front and in midfield imo. A right back at the level of the rest of your back four will go a long way, but from an outsiders pov, (albeit one of a supporter of a team with possibly the worlds worst midfield) you need someone with Arteta or up front that is at his level or above, and isn't injury prone. Martins. I honestly think he'd work well at Everton, particularly playing alongside his international compatriot. And yeah we need a quality midfielder to go alongside Arteta, yeah. Wonder if he Moutinho rumour mill will get into action once more.

If the club sees the top 4 as untouchable then that's exactly what they'll be. We've done it before and we'll do it again, but I acknowledge that it'll take one of them to fall below the current level - most likely Arsenal.

No complaints really. Difference in quality, simple as that. Still a good season though. To reach the final, beating Man Utd, Liverpool and Villa is still a good achievement. Being 'the best of the rest' again in the Prem is also a good achievement. And to do both those things, without your best (and pretty much only consistently fit) striker for the season, your best midfielder and creative player for half the season, and your best defender for the last 6-8 games, is a great achievement. We need to look up though, not down at the likes of Spurs who apparently were going to finish above us the past 3 seasons. Villa once again will be the strongest next season along with us, I think, outside the top 4. Pienaar has really impressed me. We apparently rejected a bid in the region of £5.5m from Rubin Kazan (Russian champions I think) in January, and at the time I thought that was a good offer. But since then he's really developed as a player, Iniesta-esque in the way he can keep the ball and get away from players. Today also showed a few of the players who I certainly consider dispensible: Hibbert and Osman shouldn't really be first-teamers in a top 4 challenging side. Committed yes, hard-working yes, squad players yes, but first team no. And top 4 is where we should once again be aiming next year. If we can keep our defensive resilience, fantastic team spirit, as well as adding a good right back, a pacy winger and a technically sound central midfielder/attacking mid, then I think we've got a good chance. Another fast Martins-esque striker for a reasonable price wouldn't go amiss either. Ah well, we were doomed today from the moment we beat Boro

"Evening all" "They need to monopolise possession" Incredibly irritating. :lol:Thats like a shit student essay thing to write I've got an Economics exam on Tuesday, I'll do my best to incorporate that word, relevant or not.

1-0 Chelsea AET, dodgy Drogba goal. IMO. The realist in me agrees. My heart however says Cahill will bumble one in, in the last minute. Thing is, despite what I said, I can see Chelsea scoring. I don't feel confident on their left wing, Malouda in form against Hibbert/Jacobsen; plus our middle 2 in midfield are gonna have to work their socks off keeping track of Lampard/Essien and trying to get forward themselves. If we win this though, after the route to the final we've have, and without Yakubu, Arteta or Jagielka, our 3 best players arguably, then it'll be one of the most deserved FA Cups in modern times imo.

"Evening all" "They need to monopolise possession" Incredibly irritating.

Christ and here's me thinking in 2 attempts their full strength side hadn't scored against us.

I'd rather Barcelona win it tbh.

Guillem Balague. He seems ok at first, until you realise he's a total bullshitter, promising deals here there and everywhere from sources he clearly never had. Also, there's something particularly punchable about his face.

If you can get £25m for those players then I'd consider that good business, given the various circumstances. For me the question isn't how much though, it's whether you can offload them in the first place.

Whenever I hear his name, I have that moment in my mind where Lawro, in his flimsy scouse accent called him "Jerkoff"

Went a bit OTT on the Sunderland comment, was more bamboozled how the reporter was implying they were a side deserving to be in the top 6 or something like that. Found it incredulous.

Not sure which thread to put it in, but what made me laugh last weekend was when they were interviewing Quinn and Sbragia, and I think someone asked "A club like Sunderland should be pushing higher up the league, not fighting relegation?" And I thought. Well, no, not really. They're a second-rate club relatively, with not much of a history, and their support is hardly outstanding. Lower PL medicority/relegation battle is about their level.

No-one would rather be in the Championship than the Premiership but it has to be said, there are plenty of things about it that are good. It is a competitive, open league, and not short on quality overall - there are plenty of good players in the league, and often some good stuff being played.

And babatunde: that's the issue for me. The price. If he was on offer for 5-6m, I'd go for him.

Brummie, couple Villa issues: What's the situation with Barry? Is he likely to leave, and if so, what sort of price considering his contract is up next summer (I think)? Where do you need strengthening? Imo it's right down the middle of the side. New central defender, central midfielder, and genuine goalscorer up front (that said if Carew can stay fit I'd fancy him to bag 15-20).

I think Rooney should always at least start in the middle, and drift wide if necessary - not the other way round.

Nailed it, IMO. Barca's beautiful game works because of their physical fitness, stamina, and pressure of the opposition. They pass it around so nicely mainly because the desire and hunger to get the ball back, and thus gives them the opportunity to do what they like with it. Even such a well organised Man Utd team just couldn't really get going barring a few moves here and there.