Hughesy

Is the Ronaldo hardman thing a joke? I can never quite work out if it is an in-joke that I missed out on.

killed me what flip said after brazil played them about facing a load of chilean miners with tattoo's up their necks agree, chileans please I love the way they play man. I'd be over the moon. Get the Chilean manager in as well and then we'd really be talking..

Marveaux has a fair few flaws - but he is one of only players we have who can actually see a defence-splitting pass and then actually play it.

Can't agree there. Rooney could easily retain his power even he lost a few pounds and got fitter.

There are clearly quite a few spare ounces on him..

Not sure why people say the fee makes no difference. We are more likely to spend more money (however little) the more we get for Debuchy.

Rooney is also out of shape - yes. Don't get me wrong - HBA would be an absolute nailed on starter for me every week. He just could do with losing a bit of weight.

He is clearly carrying too much fat for an athlete though. You can tell his body fat is too high. I can't quite work out why people are denying this.

He's overweight for a professional footballer. That much is obvious.

This. The Hatem weight bit. Not the Ronaldo weight bit.

I saw Richards in town not so long back. He's a lot smaller than he looks on TV. 5'10" max. Good player, though. I'd love him to be our RB. Camera adds ten pounds I believe.

Did play 29 league games when they won the league in 2012. If it is the Richards of 11/12, it's a no-brainer. What we would get is a poorly-motivated, injury-prone, tactically-limited player who isn't anywhere near his best form though. If we are going to sell Debuchy for £10-12 million, I can think of far worse options than Richard for £3-5 million. The fact that he has proved he has the talent previously would make it a gamble worth taking in my opinion. Would I prefer someone like Aurier? Yes, but the chances of us getting him are pretty low (either because he wouldn't come or we wouldn't spend the money). Is your suggestion that he is poorly motivated based on anything in particular by the way? Why is it a gamble worth taking? I'd rather just keep Debuchy. I did say 'if' we are going to sell Debuchy. I would rather keep Debuchy, but I suspect Mike's eyes have lit up at the prospect of more cash. So... if we were to sell Debuchy, I would like to see us try for Aurier, but would be happy with Richards as I think he is underrated. Well, if we're going to sell Debuchy for £12m why not spend £12m getting a top class replacement in? Are there many available? I can't think of many to be honest. And if spending a lesser sum on Richards, meant we could spend more in other areas I would be in favour.

Did play 29 league games when they won the league in 2012. If it is the Richards of 11/12, it's a no-brainer. What we would get is a poorly-motivated, injury-prone, tactically-limited player who isn't anywhere near his best form though. If we are going to sell Debuchy for £10-12 million, I can think of far worse options than Richard for £3-5 million. The fact that he has proved he has the talent previously would make it a gamble worth taking in my opinion. Would I prefer someone like Aurier? Yes, but the chances of us getting him are pretty low (either because he wouldn't come or we wouldn't spend the money). Is your suggestion that he is poorly motivated based on anything in particular by the way? Why is it a gamble worth taking? I'd rather just keep Debuchy. I did say 'if' we are going to sell Debuchy. I would rather keep Debuchy, but I suspect Mike's eyes have lit up at the prospect of more cash. So... if we were to sell Debuchy, I would like to see us try for Aurier, but would be happy with Richards as I think he is underrated.

Did play 29 league games when they won the league in 2012. If it is the Richards of 11/12, it's a no-brainer. What we would get is a poorly-motivated, injury-prone, tactically-limited player who isn't anywhere near his best form though. If we are going to sell Debuchy for £10-12 million, I can think of far worse options than Richard for £3-5 million. The fact that he has proved he has the talent previously would make it a gamble worth taking in my opinion. Would I prefer someone like Aurier? Yes, but the chances of us getting him are pretty low (either because he wouldn't come or we wouldn't spend the money). Is your suggestion that he is poorly motivated based on anything in particular by the way?

Did play 29 league games when they won the league in 2012.

It's absolutely mental when you think about it. The whole 'blueprint' is about maximising value for money and buying potential/unpolished diamonds to develop into great players. Therefore you would have thought that the two absolute must haves are: 1) A manager with a track record of improving and developing players (in particular young players) and getting the most out of limited resources; and 2) Pumping money into good coaching both at first team and youth team level. Neither of which we do. I just don't get why Ashley hasn't grasped this.

I don't think anyone hates him tbh, just that due to a mixture of not playing, not being a professional and never being fit he's nowhere near the player he was. If Debuchy were to go I'd take him mind, a lot better than any replacement i expect us to get in reality. I didn't use 'hate' in the context of 'people genuinely dislike him'. That would be weird. He clearly has talent - he did play 29 league matches when they won the league in 2012.

10 bad games in a malfunctioning team doesn't make him utter shite.

True - you could buy much worse 3rd or 4th strikers for that kind of money. Assuming we bought 1 or 2 quality strikers in addition to LDJ, I wouldn't turn him down at 3-4 million.

Never get the Richards hate to be honest. I would take him in a flash. He hasn't kicked on as he should have done for the natural talent he has, but he is definitely good enough for us.

Is there any reason why the Costa Rican national team (both present and past) has such a mixture of names? Seem to be majority 'Hispanic' names with a smattering of old school British names.

Would be interested to see if anyone goes after Yedlin after last night. I remember reading something about him being quite promising before last night so was interested to see how he would get on.

I am delighted that we have managed to sign a player, but the reports I have read seem to indicate that he isn't particularly technically gifted or a 'creator' of chances in the Cabaye mould. Can someone who watches him regularly confirm what he is like? Is there a player more widely known who he could be likened to? Almost feel we needed a player like Cabella more?

Read a report saying he isn't that technically gifted and isn't a great dribbler. Is that right?

Ronaldo clearly can be mentioned in the same breath as Messi.