TheOneChan95

I think it's more of a case of "don't tickle a sleeping dragon". It's like when Liverpool were starting to get cocky before playing us at Anfield with high expectations that the title would be theirs and thumping us would be part of the ceremony. Like Gary Neville said, such comments may just spark a team and manager into life. I think we will be going for a win but Jose isn't going to announce that we would be aiming to embarrass them in front of their own fans.

According to Jose he trained individually today and has a "little chance" of playing. Prepare your anus Manure

It's Azpi or Iva for me. I like Azpi's hard working attitude too. Brana on the other hand seems to have such a huge physical presence and experience. I think both are connected to the manager's way of thinking too which is really important. Plus seriously Cesar leading Roman's troops? I'd like that.

With the way our board has done our transfers this summer I wouldn't be totally shocked if we got him for a good price(25M + Mikel anyone? ). It's also clear that Jose does rate him as well.

This is a potential banana skin. We aren't Chelsea if we don't make lives difficult for ourselves after all The most difficult question is definitely who is going to play up top. I wouldn't start Shirley there after last season. I think Chelsea TV had one of the guys (probably pat) analysing his game and pointed out how he doesn't get into the right positions for a striker. Honestly doubt Remy will be fit since muscle strains may take awhile to recover from. Costa is a big question mark though since we don't really know if it's mind games or not from our boss. The other 2 realistic options would be Drogs and Solanke. Now I like drogs but let's face it he is clearly past his best. Putting him on for a big part of the match would probably be a bad idea. Giving a youngster his first start at OT may not be ideal too. Hence, I think we should put Ivanovic as our striker But in all seriousness it seems like we played without a striker for years so we should be able to win it without one.

Wow QPR are absolutely wank

Cahill's been dodgy so far

I sort of agree, as long as it goes in we won't complain. But it would be good if he did have the technique to put more curve on it for instance. But his shooting style is pretty good for a striker that usually scores in the box in that it is always low. I said it before I don't recall him blasting many over the bar at all.

Don't you just get the feeling that whenever a corner is wrongly given, a goal will always result from it?

I think it may be a natural part of some players' game. Rooney for example is someone who I think naturally will come back to help his team defend. In a way I think Oscar is similar in that it would be unnatural for him not to come back and help out.

Yeah it was terrible, you could see the sand when the players kicked the ball sometimes. So they probably did hold back because of it. No point getting injured for nothing because of shitty conditions. I thought Neymar was still brilliant though and he probably didn't dive to avoid getting abrasions on the sand

Kinda muted but it's expected since it is a friendly after all. Oscar and Willian were probably playing at like 60% of what they usually show for us in terms of work rate. Luis however was solid as usual, probably one of the most consistent players in our squad.

Damn Brazil really screwed over Japan 4-0 just now. Was great watching Kaka come on, first time I ever saw him live But most importantly our boys didn't pick up any injuries.

I think Dortmund must be doing something wrong in terms of fitness management. Their injury list has been astounding. Surely their medical staff have to be reviewed just like Arsenal. It's just unreal to have that many players constantly out.

I bet the number of Manure fans in Singapore doesn't help too! They are literally everywhere. Manure definitely tops the list for me. Although I think that their forums are much better to visit. At least there are insightful posts there compared to RAWK which is so full of bitterness and delusion. Liverpool and Barcelona are definitely up there for me too. I actually like aspects of Barcelona's play but that holier-than-thou attitude is so disturbing.

And it's obvious Cole likes us much more than Arsenal

I agree, there isn't any space now realistically. Currently 5 AMs for 3 is about right + we have tons of loanees. However, if the price is right this is a player you definitely should attempt to get. I mean if we could get him for ~ 30M then we must at least roll the dice. Maybe if we won the CL again this year then he would come here like Hazard I would rather offload Willian as Shirley is also a capable super sub and having another German should help him fit in.

Wow good point. Come to think of it, the other 2 recent WC winners had keepers as their captains. Perhaps they may have been big personalities but they couldn't influence the play the way someone like Ballack or Cafu can. So perhaps you are right that leadership is overrated. However I still think that the captaincy should go to the most reliable player so I think that someone like Azpi or Brana should get it over Cahill.

This^^. I think his old jersey number (17) suited him perfectly since he is both a creative (10) and a winger (7). I believe he should be on the wing since he is 2 footed and its difficult for defenders to make a decision when marking him. Allowing him to cut inside results in situations like the pen he won while showing him out allows him to beat the right back for pace like what happened against Coleman. Furthermore double marking him on the wing is not a feasible choice for opposition sides as well since that would open up space for Cesc and Costa. In short, I think playing him on the wing is the best choice for our system and there he can do the most damage. Our central AM is mostly there to provide the balance anyways.

It's obvious Diego is the best. I mean, no one else can be this good at the age of 46

Yeah, the fact that he bothered to stay and put up a challenge for the top spot makes me respect him much more. His situation is also different from others like Mata and Lukaku since rotation is not very feasible for a keeper. Perhaps Tibo came around too early and if Cech was nearing the end of his career instead, say at about 37 years old, then he might stay all the way and accept a lesser role. Currently he still has plenty to offer at the top level and I think for his own sake he should get the top spot somewhere else (hopefully out of the PL) and win more stuff elsewhere. Anyways if Cech is happy, then I am happy.

I didn't see it during the match but it seems like Sanchez threw a punch at Brana out of frustration once. Seems like Iva didn't feel a thing though http://weaintgotnohistory.sbnation.com/2014/10/6/6926397/alexis-sanchez-branislav-ivanovic-punch-video

I think he is one of those players that do really well early in his career just because of his physicality. That really helps him early on. The problem with being over reliant on physical attributes is that he has obviously neglected the technical aspects of his game. This really hinders his development and tbh I think he will stagnate at this level if he doesn't improve it.

Completely agree. His form has been poor lately. I think if England had Ash they might have at least progressed into the KO rounds in the WC.

I think it was the circumstance at the point of time really. We had 4 AMs for 3 positions after Mata and KDB left and a few unlucky injuries would have put us in a pretty bad state. I'm pretty sure we couldn't just recall the other loaned players you mentioned. If Mata had only left in the summer window we would have probably kept a more suitable one. It's not like he is completely useless though as he does have bags of pace. Although I agree that the others are better in some aspects and even Moses can be a useful squad player plus he has the benefit of homegrown status. However, it is still early and hopefully he can prove his worth over the course of the season.