OhForAGreavsie

No, knowing what we do about Diego, I'd stick with him. If Diego was still at Atleti however, then, just on my assessment of their talent, I'd be more excited about the possibility of signing Belotti. I agree with you that upgrading at RW is a higher priority but I don't see Belotti as being a good contributor in that role. In fact I think it'd be a waste putting him there. I don't think we need to change up top unless Diego himself chooses to go. If he does go then Belotti is the replacement I want.

If Diego was not already a Blue; if he and Belotti were just potential transfer targets, I'd choose Belotti for sure. For me the Italian is easily the more talented footballer. Since that's not the choice facing Antonio, since he, and we, know that Diego's talismanic personality adds massively to his overall contribution, the balance tips back towards Diego. If our centre forward should choose to leave however, I'd be less unhappy about it than I might be if we get Belotti as the replacement.

You had your chance to rescind but you chose not to. Instead you said, in effect, that you can't be arsed to care whether your comment was right or wrong; implying that you feel free to chuck observations around willy nilly. Fair enough, I'm not your mum but I thank you once again for your advice.

Then don't comment on a post if you can't muster the attention span to read it.

The cut and paste in italics wasn't a clue? Missing it once is missing it once, but twice?

Isn't that what I said? "… advisors brought on board by their agents…"

Nice motor too! Just a reminder that Ossie, not Greavsie, was, and is, my hero. I just think that Jimmy is the best footballer ever to have represented this club and, by close on a zillion miles, the best player ever to emerge from our youth system.

You're right, I had forgotten that it was two finals against Barça. That reinforces the point that the criticism of Ferguson is not valid. Also backs up the reality that, given enough players of the right quality, there is absolutely no sensible reason to believe that Antonio could not achieve excellent champions League results with this team. Jose took a significantly less talented squad than our current one to the CL semis three seasons ago. I believe everything is possible for Antonio.

Whole thing ruined by that photo, of that team, collecting the FA Cup at our ground. Horrible.

I don't remember any of those 'greatest manager of all time' posts but anyway, the weaknesses were very clear as soon as the early season flash form had flamed out. It's often said the last title winning squad produced wonderful football before Christmas but, in truth, the exhilarating form had long gone by the time the decorations went up. This time around we are again clear at the top but not everything in the garden is rosey. Only those who are absolutely determined to turn a blind eye could fail to see the flaws. Does the existence of these flaws mean that Antonio is failing though? Of course it doesn't, any more than it meant Jose was in 14/15.

If nothing else, it looks like we agree that the league is always the primary target. Definitely no agreement on anything else you are talking about here however. :-)

How can you possibly know any of this? For example, which of the traits you've listed would you say that Jordan Houghton lacks? What have you learned about Mario Pasalic, Matt Miazga or Kasey Palmer that allows you to exclude them from your list on the basis of their attitude? I'm not claiming that any of the players above do, or do not, have a good attitude. I honestly don't know. My point is that I doubt you do either and that maybe your opinion would come across more clearly if you didn't surround it with things no one could reasonably expect you to have knowledge of.

I've previously posted to say that, if we bought Lemar, I'd like to try him as a CM partner for N'Golo. Great touch plus great body control = ability to retain possession under pressure. Great poise and good passing = good continuity play. Great dribbling skills = Serious counter attacking threat.

He is quicker, more powerful and better in the air than Marcos. Likes to snap into tackles and, while I've watched him, has made numerous blocks. Not sure how that shows up on his stats but it was very noticeable in game coverage. I like Marcos; was delighted from the moment he began to be linked but this bloke is a serious upgrade. Ghoulam starting with Marcos as backup is a dream.

Unbelievable cuteness. Noticed the car Fran was driving. Did the ladies also get cars while we had the Audi deal or did Fran just go shopping? Maybe there was an option for players to buy the car they were using when the sponsorship ended.

He's the best but I'd be a bit surprised if scouts are there to watch him. I'd have expected everybody to have made up their minds about Ghoulam before now. My guess is that they are all watching other players.

Thank you for this straw. I will gleefully clutch at it.

Thrice the player? Maybe you're right there, but he's not three times as talented. At least some part of what's holding Ruben back is mental. As for the £60k we don't know if that's true, or at least I don't know. In any case didn't Ali sign another new contract recently? £25k makes sense for an improved offer to a young player signed from League 2, but there is no way on Earth he renewed again for so little. Whatever the truth of those figures, the club shouldn't consider £60k for Dom. Not least because no one else will pay him that either. I suppose Dom's agent would argue that if his client has to settle for a lesser pay cheque he'd be better off doing so at a club where he has a chance to play. That's fair enough. I like Dom and I hope he gets a good move with an appropriate contract.

Easy for Islam to say but the truth is that his talent is very limited. That's not his fault, the blame lies with whoever made the decision to recruit him. Chelsea's level is way beyond Izzy, and Celtic's is beyond him too. If his attitude were better he might be able to play above his talent but, when last I saw him play regularly, it was poor. Unless he really has changed, this suggests he'll be doomed to a celling which is even lower than his ability might otherwise earn him. As for the likelihood that he has changed, overcoming one's nature is very hard to do. Anyone who has ever taken a personality test knows that they always include an IQ element. That's because the brighter a person is, the easier he or she will find it to take control of their natural inclinations. Izzy does not strike me as a very bright bloke however so I have my doubts about his claims of self-improvement.

Nor did I and neither, I think, did Antonio who admitted to having tried hard to persuade Juan Cuadrado to stay; presumably to play RWB. I agree with you that the ideal outcome would be for us to sign an elite RWB and persuade Victor to stay on as a squad player covering the whole right flank. I think enough clubs have tried Victor as a right side attacker, and passed on him, for his chances in that role to be fairly limited at Premier League level. That said, because of what we've done so far, and what we might go on to do, 3-4-3 might become more popular and perhaps Premier League bosses will be tempted to give Victor an escape route if he looses his starting place here. I hope it doesn't go that way, but it's possible.

I don't see how you can deduce all of that from Antonio's two thirds of a season at Chelsea. In any case, SAF reached three Champions League finals, winning two of them. How many teams did better than that during his spell at Manchester United? Some, but not many. That might be fewer than he'd have liked, but it isn't outright failure. I also wonder what cups count as "and what not" because he had some achievements there too. If Antonio won 12 Premier League titles, plus multiple other trophies, we'd be so happy.

Guessing that you mean 'highly' doubt, not 'hardly' doubt. I hope you're right.

We might debate which clubs are the most popular, in which markets, but I think the point @Rmpr makes remains correct in principle. As for what you say, I have some personal experience. I will always follow NFL games which kickoff before about 9:20 PM UK time but, apart from the Super Bowl, I will only follow later kick-offs if they involve Washington.

You make a good point that it is the attractiveness of the teams to the audience as a whole, rather than simply to the audience in any individual region, that counts most. Nevertheless, the individual television contracts from the leading European nations still rank at the top of the list and those broadcasters definitely do care about having domestic teams to show to their domestic audiences. Of the total €2.35 billion UEFA generate annually in broadcasting rights from around the world for their club competitions, 15% comes from just one company for broadcasting rights in just one country; BT in England. Other European broadcasters also contribute large slices of the TV pie. UEFA recognises the importance of these markets and these revenues. Be in no doubt that this recognition plays a part in their thinking.

Firstly, I had forgotten about the new arrangements so I appreciate the reminder. Thank you. Secondly, I had also forgotten about UEFA's new president. I watched an extended interview with him while he was still a candidate for the position. I found him very impressive and a refreshing change from Michael Platini, who I always felt was simply not bright enough for the job. Although UEFA, and especially FIFA, are well known for reinterpreting or changing their rules mid-tournament in order to get the outcomes they want, there do nevertheless have to be rules governing their competitions. The nomination of the four "leading" nations, the ones guaranteed four Champion's League clubs, is still coefficient based. This therefore suggests that maintaining the national coefficient remains important. The change means that the number of Champions League clubs per country will be reviewed every three years rather than annually as at present. If this change to a three year cycle remains in force then that makes it more important, not less, for England to avoid falling out of the top four.