Tiresias

FFS keepers are hardest things to judge quickly over, doesn't sound great obviously but tis a bit of a jump to conclusions Also sounds like Santon is showing class

Devil's advocate, play 4-3-3 to accomdate Ben Arfa and Ba and Best... Only trouble is absolutely no width imo

This seems an entire argument of technical terms vs used terms. Technically winger is a distinct thing, and yet it is used interchangably and is generally understood to be a broader role. What a ridiculous discussion.

I love the betting odds for them to be relegated above every thread

Is he good in any of them though?

He's out to prove a point which is great. When things go wrong I suppose we'll see the true measure of the man, but right now he's doing everything asked of

I know what is meant when said winger implies inside forward type players but it's also used for wide men. You also don't say defensive midfielders for his type of player do you? it's defensive winger...

that dink over last defender to set up Ba header recently against Stoke was it? (mind has gone blank for some reason) was everything he needs to do, if he can do it more regularly he'd be entirely worthwhile

Well when next game is against another game where he'll be pressured like that again there is logic, though ultimately it is also the wrong time to be testing out Santon, so it can go either way for me. I'd probably keep Raylor but tell Jonas to be especially defensive. As I've said before this is the flipside of Pardew's style of keeping together winning side in form, I approve mostly, but then you do get in trouble when you haven't bedded in a potential improvement when form dips when you least want it to.

He's also a great finisher, when he's through one on one with keeper one of those players you don't expect to mess up.

Christ, pathetic.

could this be the worst shot ever? http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/chalkboards/Dz8q39nUx5i3P31Wy0jr

As it should be with any team trying to win the league. well yes

Yaya Toure isn't so much a defensive midfielder at the moment, seems to have an almost free role in just rampaging anywhere. Not sure about Man City defence to be honest, their defending tends to be done further up the pitch

Wenger rumours seem a load of bollocks, guardian had the story titled 'Wenger dismisses rumours of exit' to 'Wenger casts doubt over future' with no difference in the story, realising was more exiting a headline. Reckon if they do horrendous this season he could leave but otherwise can't see it

Seconded, if he's not close first team, get him playing a first team anywhere soon, really like the look of him

Actually maybe agree with you here, should have either stayed at Porto or moved made an intermediary step, he could well have been lined up at a Wenger successor in a few years like that

Didn't have their '50m striker'? He's been pretty shit...I mean not too much sympathy, he's being paid well etc etc but seriously the signs of decline were starting last year, and that second seemed for a team that were only in the race because Man U had spent most the year being pretty poor most the year, and Arsenal's embarrassing collapse. Also I very much doubt that AVB has much say over transfers, Mereiles even was sold by him at Porto, hardly someone he greatly rates then.

I feel sorry for Villas Boas, his team just aren't good enough for what he wants to do, I think he'd probably be a success if given chance to do a root and branch rebuild, which is what Chelsea desperately need (not just very expensive famous player), but he'll be gone soon enough, and next manager will struggle as well

Realistically Stoke got as high up the league as they feasibly could with their style, much higher than many predicted (or hoped), and in a way it's admirable commitment to the most awful 1 dimensional footy imaginable, but that said it's easy to be snooty about how 'footy should be played', whatever gets results really. Pulis promised that it would take 3 seasons iirc to cement position in league then he would try and adapt to better footy to push on, but the problem is, when he's taken that style of footy as far as it will go, the players are totally unadapted to a better breed of footy, so they'd actually need to do worse before they can do better if you see what I mean, which might spare the rest of the league the boredom of watching their team play them. Doubt it'll happen though. Anyway that's a bit off topic from transfers...

http://www.pixpow.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/ball-horse.gif Andy Carroll's liverpool career (not mine)

They have made efforts to look at the longer term though, not least with the plans for those unbelievable training facilities for developing their own players. I don't think that expense will count against them with the new rules, correct me if I'm wrong, so that's a way to re-direct the crazy money available and build for the long term. They have to break even under the new rules, but there is leeway in that if they are shown to moving in right direction UEFA can make an exception, and one wonders if UEFA would really kick a hugely rich team out of the CL. The point as I understand it is that the big clubs in general are very much for this as it will stop them spending so much, they see themselves spending so much purely to compete and if they can all stop at once would be ideal. I wonder if it'll work though, it doesn't quite go anywhere near as address all the problems with the greedy money grabbing pile of bastards that operate at all levels of the top leagues across europe etc etc, but then again if it cuts down on the stupid money thrown around it could well be very good all round.

It's such a sad state of affairs though that we get a great player and can't keep him more than 1 and a half seasons, even if we get great money for him. If we are going to be buying and selling like this I would prefer we sold while we already had someone breaking through the ranks behind, rather than crossing fingers and hoping whoever we bring in, even if it looks safe as houses purchase, fits in.