Village Idiot

What about Tuncay? He's class and doesn't seem to be able to hold a starting berth at Stoke no matter what he does.

Conversely, he could potentially have a field day with defences so up the pitch like in the prem.

It's supposed to be on his leg though. That was after he explained he did not have it on his arm. Haway man do you really think he was playing word games when he denied having it on his arm. No idea, but he's hardly going to admit to it, even if it was true, whilst he's at ManU. I have no idea if it's true or not, like. http://www.mediastorehouse.com/image/nicky-butt-paul-scholes-teddy-sheringham-and-dwight-yorke-pose-in-the-dressing-room-with-the-inter_45084.jpg Not on display in here, at least.

Explains his season tbf.

Wow, 9 minutes injury time in the Hull game. Is this Dowie-time?

know you mentioned it the other day, but rooney playing in the middle up front would give you some of the movement and hassling of eto'o and as well as some of the touch and hold up play of ibrahimovic. would also be able to fill in out wide too as he did for man utd when ronaldo was there. not going to happen but it would be mouth-watering to see him in that side. Indeed, FM-tastic thought anyway.

Again, I still defend the decision to get rid of Eto'o, but obviously what he brought to the side hasn't been replaced. I think not taking into account that last season was Henry's swan song was a worse mistake.

Yes, I do. Although Pedro isn't far from Henry's record last year. (19 goals so far, versus 26 from Henry last season) What positions will you be looking to bolster in the Summer? Left wing, rightback (Alves has no understudy bar Puyol), ideally leftback but doesn't seem we'll go for one. And then there's Cesc... we don't really need another midfielder of his type just yet, although it would give us room to play with Iniesta on the wing, or giving us an outlet when Xavi is man-marked.

Yes, I do. Although Pedro isn't far from Henry's record last year. (19 goals so far, versus 26 from Henry last season). We should get a player that is a bit more direct than our ballplayers. We are degrading into Arsenal sometimes.

i still dont get why real sold him and sneijder They were signings of the previous president, who Pérez hates beyond belief. Stupid ego. God knows I'd have had both at our place (Sneijder maybe we would have trouble fitting).

I clicked this link expecting it would read "...one more season" and I would find you lot raging and screaming. Now I'm disappointed. My ManU supporting friend also used to think he was one of your best players.

It's pretty customary to do that in Spain. Considered unsporting to keep playing if the other team is down to 10-men.

We have the least amount of against goals in La Liga by a country mile... Incidentally, MoN names an unchanged squad against Hull.

Didn't these chaps rip you to pieces last year in their Championship preview?

Mourinho > Pep, rather. Inter did what we all expected they would do, I was expecting Pep would have a counter (he isn't shy to change tactics when playing strong opposition, see the past Clásico), but he didn't. And please don't call me fickle since I still worship the ground that he walks, but he isn't always right.

In the first league-winning season (51 goals). They scored 71 the second time, two years later, just one goal shy of top-scorers Madrid, who came fourth. The fitness thing largely holds true for his Liverpool side, too. Our form under Rafa has almost always improved as the season goes on, and we have typically hit the business end of the season firing on all cylinders. Notably, in 2005, we went into the Chelsea CL semi with more or less a fully-rested squad at full fitness, while Chelsea turned up knackered and missing their wingers, because Mourinho had been sending out his A-team week-in, week-out. You're quite right that it's more effective in Spain, though. Apart from the very high fitness of EPL sides, overall, over recent seasons, the leading teams simply haven't dropped enough points for our great season-end form to compensate for the slow start. Does he get the same stick he did in Spain for his zonal marking? Up to this season your defensive record was pretty good (and it is pretty decent this year considering your table position). He got mocked often here with the "grass doesn't score goals" thing.

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!