leffe186

Don't think he's that far off though. A top-class forward and a top-class centre-back, I just can't see us getting them. Even if we get CL again this year we're going to be looking to build a new stadium which will put pressure on money. We've seen the difference a seriously good player like VDV makes.

Im always wary of Everton. Should be a good game but i'd rather win tonight than against you lot tbh. If we hadn't have picked up results-wise in the last 2 games I'd have expected nothing other than a Spurs win. But now I think we should be getting something. I'd take a point. And aye of course, tonight is one of your biggest games in modern history, surely? Depends how you look at it. In terms of playing with the big boys then definitely, but in terms of practical importance, not really. We've already done better than I expected, and if we lose tonight then that's just par for the course. We're still in a decent position to qualify. More to do with the grandeur of the occasion, yeah. Can you see yourselves qualifying? Presumably the Werder and AZ games are the biggies but it's surely not impossible you can get something from Inter at WHL? Fwiw, tonight I think it'll be a close defeat. We've given ourselves a great chance, but should have finished off the job in Bremen and I can't see us getting anything tonight. You know, we can be very dangerous, but we have to start every game with a different defence and we're missing VDV. You look at the Inter team and just think "bloody hell". I'm preparing myself for the worst, but with our style of play anything could happen. You've seen that in the first two games, they've been amazing for the neutral. Weirdly, I think we may have more of a chance in Milan than at home. It's the other two games that will clinch it. I'm hoping for two Twente/Bremen draws.

Well, no. He wants to play for the best club in the world and feels that Man U are on the way down. He thinks he can get more money and more success elsewhere, and he very probably can.

Im always wary of Everton. Should be a good game but i'd rather win tonight than against you lot tbh. If we hadn't have picked up results-wise in the last 2 games I'd have expected nothing other than a Spurs win. But now I think we should be getting something. I'd take a point. And aye of course, tonight is one of your biggest games in modern history, surely? Depends how you look at it. In terms of playing with the big boys then definitely, but in terms of practical importance, not really. We've already done better than I expected, and if we lose tonight then that's just par for the course. We're still in a decent position to qualify.

Used to do caricatures of the players in Spurs programmes in the late 70s. Not a lot of people know that. Or give a fuck (I do).

I wish more English players would leave tbh, we're so bloody insular.

They really have been quite staggeringly lucky this year. It's not as if a run of injuries would make any difference with their squad.

Surely a foul?

Goal machine

Tried to get onto RAWK to cheer myself up - it's melted down already.

Very, very close to offside.

Like the look of Grondin, but Adam has been a revelation.

Blackpool won't be able to keep this up all season though. [get my coat smiley/]

Fucking hell, City are getting a hell of a lot of breaks this year (no pun intended). Started when we should have put six past them in the first 45 minutes of the season. Nailed on for Top Four I reckon.

Under Houiller, Villa going back to what's served them so well. Get everyone behind the ball when the oppo have it, then look to break at speed. Very tough to break down, and Drogba missing makes all of the difference. Can't agree with that at all. We're playing entirely differently. We're keeping the ball a lot better, to start, something we were woeful at under O'Neill. These are early days, but you can definitely see it starting to take hold. I thought we played very well at Spurs, and played very well today in spells as well. Of course, part of the not relying so much on the break thing might be that Agbonlahor, main weapon with his pace, has been out for much of this season so far, so it is less of an option. The results haven't been brilliant, but I'm enjoying watching us far, far more than I did under MON. I say that as one who rarely goes away these days, incidentally, and I'm aware that our hitting on the break game worked much better away from home, but at home the last four years that usually translated to a cluelessness in terms of knowing what to do. Apparently the coaching regime consists of training with the ball - possession, passing, shape - in the mornings and physical work in the afternoon. A few players have said that under MON it was just a couple of hours physical work in the morning, then home at midday - no work with the ball whatsoever. Quite shocking, really. I don't know if the results will ultimately make it worthwhile, and it's not really as simple as "style A is better than style B, end of", but we are starting to play a different style of football. Ironically, our record at home against Chelsea is extremely good, so MON managed to get results in this fixture. Them missing Drogba and Lampard helped, but we were without Agbonlahor, Heskey (yes, I know), Luke Young, Albrighton and Dunne, so it's swings and roundabouts. They still had enough class to hope to win the game. Incidentally, random observation, but Malouda was superb today. That f***er pops up all over the place. He was terrific, trying to win the game single-handedly at times. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that there's not been a change in style from the last couple of years, but that you look more like you did for the first few months of MON being in charge. A 4-5-1, with two central-midfielders sitting slightly deeper, very well-organized defending and pressing the man with the ball, then looking to break with speed. It's noticeable that Warnock has been far more involved going forward. MON had clearly lost the plot, and Houiller recognized that he had a good squad but had to get them doing the basics right (again) first. They ARE trying to keep the ball better, but still had less than 40% possession at home, in a 0-0 game. You can see that as they get more confidence (and he reinforces the first eleven) they will get more expansive, but I'd still guess that the reason ObiChrisKenobi thought it was a horrible game to watch was that for large parts of the game you're watching a well-drilled defence inviting a not-so-convincing attack onto them.

Bloody hell, how did that not go in.

Under Houiller, Villa going back to what's served them so well. Get everyone behind the ball when the oppo have it, then look to break at speed. Very tough to break down, and Drogba missing makes all of the difference.

Hope Wenger saw that.

It's a really good game. Man U donated a couple of goals to West Brom, since then they've been really nervy. It's very open.

Unbelievable fuck up by Van Der Sar. You've got to see it tonight.

Dive by Chamakh, but was a stupid tackle. Hopefully we'll see a massive punch-up in the second half.

Moyes for Liverpool? Would be annoying, but amusing (but not a snowball's chance in hell).

What an awful attitude. You were hugely unlucky on Sunday, yes. But how has your season been derailed? The injury is a blow, obviously, but getting into the mindset of it ruining your whole season is ridiculous. You then, unless you're on the wind up, go on to patronise the hell out of Blackpool and Stoke, who both deserved their wins at SJP. More to the point, it was De Jong who derailed the season, not the ref. I'd happily blame the ref for donating the game to City, but losing one game does not derail you. Losing Ben Arfa might.

Souness.

Did you see the game? How did you guys actually play?