zakhov

This is why first time I heard it was now called the Emirates Cup, I thought it was a joke.

Best of luck Rami. Might not be the last we see of him though. Anelka and Drogba both had stints in China.

This deal would be much sweeter if we could somehow push Falcao the other way to Corinthians as well.

I don't know about you guys, despite his subpar performances in recent seasons, he gave us so many great moments. Would be a bit sad to see him out so quietly without much fanfare or recognition.

If only he could get rid of that stupid "handcuffs" defending style. Nerve racking every time I see it.

I guess there's more to the reason why he's not selected even when Costa was in bad form. He must be this bad in training as well. He held up the ball a few times but he looked like he was somewhere else when he had the chances.

He's the appointed punching bag for our supporters.

I believe it was Papy and not Fabregas who said he'd rather lose than play for Mourinho. It explains why he's never been selected. :eyebrows:

Yes it was. Despite the position we are in right now, he still brought us a Premiership, League Cup and we've never been lumped out of the CL group stages under him. Add that his tactics at Anfield in 13/14 crushed their title hopes and brought Gerrard's slip (I'll never forget that feeling). 6-0 demolition of Arsenal and 4-0 beating of Spurs in the same season were also icings on the cake. Last season we even managed to get people talking how brilliant our football was, even if it was only half a season. The more I think about it, if we didn't bring him back, I think JT would be gone by now, Drogs would've never had that second spell and Lamps might've left earlier. It was worth it IMO.

I was being sarcastic when I suggested we blame Jose for Mata's downfall. Mata is a great player but when he was our POTY (2 years running) we were nowhere near challenging for the title. We won the league last season without him. I think he's probably found that his level isn't enough for top teams given the way he's been performing at United. Like Fergie once said, he's not a top, top player. Sad truth given he's a top class person. You should take a leaf out of Zola's quotes in your sig. The bit about supporters are there always, and they never forget. Remember? First Championship in half a century, bringing the club to elite status, our dominance over Arsenal, victories over Barca? Remember those? I'll give you a hint, the person that helped us achieve those, his name starts with M and ends with Ourinho.

What happens to Stevie Holland then? I hope Drogs is coming in ala Rui Faria with Jose. Would be gutted to see Holland reduced or leave as he always appeared to be calm and class next to Jose and his volatile assistants.

Below is a link to a thread on RedCafe called: Why Is Juan Mata such a coward in possession? He hasn't gone guns blazing at United either,but I guess we should still blame Jose for that.

He's already gone yet you're wishing more misery on him (I don't give a toss about United). Did he poke your eyes out or something when you asked for an autograph? Fun fact, he brought good times and success to the club whether you like it or not. This means that he like so many of our contributing players/staff past or present at least deserve our respect.

I think the reason why he had such a good game is because Sunderland sat off of us early on allowing our midfield more freedom. In previous games most of the teams pressed our creative players and defended better in numbers. His influence waned after Sunderland got more confidence with their goal. Says it all for me at least. I don't believe he has any reason to play like crap and then suddenly turn it on as he pleases.

Funny enough when he was brought in I thought he was to challenge Mata's position in the squad.

Since Roman took over, we have only been an attacking team for few stretches of a season before it starts to wane. Mourinho's first spell when he had a fully fit Robben/Duff and Joe Cole with Drogs/Eidur up front. This only lasted until 2006/2007 after which we sold Robben and brought in Malouda. Under Scolari we were briefly attacking again and we put in some great matches up until December where we lost the plot in the dressing room. I wouldn't consider us an attacking under Hiddink (we were moderate and effective) and under AVB we were clueless most of the time. Amcelotti's first season was great (probably the closest we've come to a whole season of attacking football) but his second was really frustrating. Robbie came in after AVB and swept up the defense clean which helped us win the FA Cup and the Holy Grail. Robbie's second season was unfortunate, he started brightly then a freak result against United and a certain Clattenbug undid us and we never recovered under him until he was sacked. Under Rafa, we were inconsistent, attacking against the minnows but we played defensively against the teams better than us. Mourinho's first season was a mixed bag, great counter-attacking against the big teams but we were similar to what we are now (but better defensively) against the so-called minnows. Last season up until January was great football, then the Spurs result happened and we haven't played half as good since. Just to sum things up, there's no coach in the world that can provide results with attacking football for a whole season. If we get someone like Pep, we'll be entertainment initially but his lack of pragmatism will bite us hard in some games (and important ones). Mourinho's time is nearly up I'm afraid but I don't see any other coach doing better in terms of getting both success and how we want the club to play.

Do you have to post these stupid memes every single time?

If height was an issue, then why did he sign A. Cole instead of sticking with Bridge/Del Horno?

JT gave a pre-match interview against Liverpool. Maybe it depends on which network you're on.

His time is broken? I don't understand.

Why not? You said Klopp had 6 years before his team imploded completely, with Jose, you can consider the number of years he's been with the club and this is the first time we're in this kind of rut. The ending of his first spell in 2008 wasn't as bad as people would like to think, Jose lost the board not the players. But I do agree with notion that he has to be backed 100% or just immediately let go. He's achieved so much with us, I don't give a toss about the 30mil pay-off coming out of the club's pocket.

You combine the number of seasons Jose has been here and then do the math again. Jose has been here from 2004-2008 and now 2013-2015, it's almost similar to Klopp. I can't argue about the youth integration but it's not like other teams are better off in that regard in recent years. Arsenal had Bellerin come through, United have Martial, we have Zouma who's now a mainstay in team. To say that Klopp created BVB out of nothing and Mourinho destroys teams is bullwhack, Mourinho has built Chelsea teams with great winning mentality and has the silverware to prove it. But sure, it means nothing now for some of us given that we're in rut.

I still do remember, and apart from Vialli and Guulit's tenure combined we barely won anything (A community shield and some pre-season cups). Our football was at times great but highly inconsistent especially under Ranieri, we would beat United 3-0 one week and lose to Charlton the next week. It's not guaranteed we'll be better than we were with Jose(when the team is at it's best). But if the lot of you are willing to put up with the same bad results/form under a different manager....