Village Idiot

His skipping of Argie football has resulted in him having constantly justifying his love for Argentina. What job did Jorge Messi get with Barca? I bet he got v.good T & C's There is no denying Barca gave him drugs & treatment. Messi has family in Spain, and his father wanted to move there to escape the Argentine financial crisis. They have never forgiven him that he abandoned the motherland. Argentines are mental.

Was going to ask you about Keita actually. He was very good towards the start of the season when he was scoring goals and imputting - his energy and work rate are good attributes however he seems to have got progressively worse over the course of the season. His ball retention is poor and he has no creative edge. That game today made his inefficiencies stand out I thought. He's not been the same since his injury in the CWC, he's got a couple more nagging injuries since then and he doesn't seem to be able to get himself started.

Rafa Benítez has always been a conservative manager, he's played with two DMs since the dawn of times (the Baraja/Albelda fearsome twosome). He won the Spanish league with a lowest goals scored record for a winning side since 38 games are played. His rotations have always been a big part of the gameplan, although in Spain they gave him an edge since his Valencia was always considerably fitter than most of the opposition when reaching the business end of the season. I think that the virtues that made his team unique in Spain (athleticism, extreme tactical discipline, addiction to prozone), are less so in England but still effective in continental football.

Sneijder's been absolute class, still can't believe Real let him go. Even more so than Robben (they were still expecting to get Ribery when they sold him, at least). Regarding Messi, he has trouble with deep defences like Inter's. Also Inter cut the supply very well by nullifying Xavi. The greatness of having a fit Iniesta is that keeping Xavi quiet is hardly genius thinking and a lot of teams have tried it, but that usually means leaving Iniesta off the leash, who can be really effective in a playmaker role himself. Keita didn't really bring much to the table today, sadly. That's why having Iniesta off for the remainder of the season is a big blow to us (Pep rushed him to play the CL final last year for this very reason).

I think Caldwell has been good for Wigan, to be honest. He's got a couple bad games, including the one against ManCity where he was sentoff, but otherwise when I watched them (I have a very soft spot for Roberto Martínez so I try to watch Wigan) he's looked very assured and contributed a couple important goals.

Joey Barton circa 2006 would be a force in your team. If he can be that player again (consistently) has always been the question. In my opinion, he just needs a controversy and injury-free season since I think the ability's still there. He's entering what should be his peak as a player, too.

Our last asking price was 10m, a bit too steep for you I think. As for a RB in the Enrique mould, not the same kind of player but Azpilicueta is very good. A bit more of a wingback, but deffensively sound (Osasuna have a great defensive unit). Although he's attracted the attention of some of the top half La Liga sides.

Well, that kinda sucked. Fair play to Inter they frustrated us as I knew they could and took they chances very well. I expected to make more a fist of it. Still not giving up, like.

Well, I'm off to the pub with some friends. Enjoy the game!

I think we'll try to get more money out of him that you should pay, I think.

I think that Inter will play for the 0-0 and try to ambush us at the Camp Nou. They can hurt us in the counter, of course.

Not really. We don't have any good rightback in the youth squad. Rochina and Bojan (strikers) aren't going anywhere so soon, same with Dos Santos or Thiago (centremids), the others that we are going to offload I don't think are good enough for top level. The only players with a decent amount of quality that I see us selling are Botía, who I see doing a job in a lower half Premiership team. He's a strong centreback, can also play as DM. Currently on loan at Sporting where he's having a decent season. We could probably sell Jeffren too, but I don't think he would be of much use to you, he's very much a La Liga player. Hleb is still our player too... probably an "anciènne régime" signing though (big name, high wages, possibly past it).

Seol and Rosenior between Fulham and Reading if im not mistaken. It's much more common in Spain and Italy (Eto'o part of Zlatan deal one example). Well, they probably happen a bit more often but they are not really *that* common. I think there's more talk about them than anything. What happens is that player agents hate these kind of deals since they get a much lesser cut (that's why Eto'o didn't want to go to Inter unless he got a sign on fee, and is currently suing Barça for a cut of the transfer).

Oh, I vaguely remember that (I was a wee kid). Wasn't it 1982 though? Urruti was the keeper.

Didn't the 18m for Johnson include money indebted from Crouch's transfer that was as good as lost due to Pompey's situation?

Robbie Keane to Villa, according to the Mirror (I know, I know...) http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/news/Transfer-news-Aston-Villa-target-9m-summer-deal-for-Tottenham-ace-article358661.html

Torres' injury is pretty serious, I wouldn't read anything into his decision to get surgery at this point. If anything, I think he's playing it safe for the WC. Liverpool are shit this year, more so are Atlético. Even Torress-less I think the scousers have the edge. Even if you might think that Atlético's European form is good, just take a look how they made the final: crashed out of the CL and then proceeded to win a single game (2-1 against Galatasaray) of the 6 they played to get the final. Everything else have been draws against Benfica and Valencia, which saw them through on away goals. Of course Liverpool are utterly toothless without Torres...

Can't wait for this one, won't be easy and the team started to look tired against Espanyol. I don't really hate Inter, always been my favorite Italian team (because of the HH/Luís Suárez connection). So I hope they go and win the whole thing if we lose (which they probably would against Bayern/Lyon). Also, here in the USA I don't find many people supporting us, quite the contrary, I get jeered a lot of the time I wear my Barça shirts. I think it's because most of the EPL gloryhunters resent us defeating ManU/Arsenal/Chelsea in the past 12 months.

How could a woman manage to be fat and yet titless?

Congratulations magpies, it always feels good

Still intending to honor this, now that you have met your part of the bargain.

Enrique to score a hattrick and avenge us http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/images/Europe/factfile/Spanish_Armada.jpg

Well, better stamina helps with your technique not decaying throughout a 90 minute game. Fresher legs, better focus... And modern football is so much athleticism-driven that you just can't deny the advantages of doping.

Still can't see how an appetite suppressant can be such a big deal, but I guess it's banned for a reason. A footballer in a pro club shouldn't self-medicate, although I can't stop feeling sorry for the guy.

He got his ban today. 9 months. http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010/apr/19/adrian-mutu-drug-ban