Naked Mole Rat

I don't think that's a big deal. Luiz is still young and can develop quite a lot mentally, and he will soon learn to be more cautious when passing the ball. I don't think he is far from becoming a world class defender, either. I think his defensive skills are better than those of any other player on the team, and he is definitely one of the quickest centre defenders in the world, which makes him an excellent covering defender. Besides, he is reasonably big and strong, and although he sometimes overdoes it, he is capable of lifting the team up in difficult situations much like how John Terry does it. For me, he has all the right tools to become a world star.

No, it doesn't. He can be a very disciplined defender at times, and his performances in the Champions League show just that. He's usually not nearly as reckless and stupid as some people make him out to be, and right now, he just needs to be reminded once again to restrain himself.

Ivanovic's absence will be a bit of a blow, but if Hutchinson's going to become a useful player for us, then this is the kind of game he should be able to start and do well in.

Lots of players lose their temper in stressful situations and do radical things. I've seen players like Lampard, Terry, Cole, Essien, Mikel, Bertrand, Ivanovic and Mata do stuff like that as well. Discipline is obviously an issue we need to address, but to pick on Luiz and say he should be sidelined for that? A bit harsh, no?

The ref's decision right before Ivanovic's sending off was a right one. Torres was just trying to make the most out of the situation because he knew a: Savic was already booked and b: he couldn't get to the ball before the defender did. Watch the replay again, and you'll see that Savic is obviously the better positioned of the two, and Torres doesn't even attempt to move around Savic or anything, but instead he barges right into him and then goes down fairly easily. To be honest, it was a very, very smart play by Torres, but the ref was in the perfect position to make the call, and he did. The ref actually did us a favour a couple times during the game like when he didn't anything about Luiz who was shoving and kicking Tevez in and around the box because he had lost his temper and when he didn't send Ramires off for a foul on David Silva. So, no complaints from me.

I won't comment too much on the outcome of the match since I don't think it's fair to criticize the team since they went a man down early in the game and the results could have been different had Ivanovic not been sent off. What I am most concerned about is the lack of professionalism and discipline some of our players showed today. Obviously, there was Ivanovic with his reckless challenge in the first half to get himself sent off, and then Mikel was booked for dissent, followed by Lampard who took it out on Milner. For fuck's sake, he's our vice-captain, and he loses his head in what is essentially a friendly match and does something stupid like that. And then there was a moment when I thought David Luiz would pull a Pepe on Tevez immediately after his annoyingly spectacular goal for City when he went on shoving him inside the box unnecessarily and attempting to boot the player. He was lucky not to concede a penalty or be booked there. And finally, Bertrand. He should know that if he goes around pushing players in the chest like that, he'll be booked for sure, and the last thing we wanted in that FRIENDLY match was another player on a card before the season even actually began. Let the referee deal with it, and don't get involved. Is that too difficult?

Ivanovic's red card was justified, and yes, you do see players get away with stuff like that, but still, a very dangerous challenge. I agree with the call before that as well. Savic did look very uncomfortable, but the replay showed that Torres sort of ran into him. But that fucking half-time whistle.

TORRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRES

Is it just me or is the British anthem really short?

Dafaq? Man City's lineup looks pretty strong without Silva, Balotelli, etc.

So, Mata will start indeed. I was hoping he would sit this one out, and I think Di Matteo would have let him had he wanted to. Anyway, it's good to see that he's so willing to play.

I hate it when we play Man City. They are strong, and we haven't exactly figured them out yet the way we've managed to keep United, Arsenal and Barcelona fairly harmless past few years. And I find it a bit more difficult to take a loss against them than one against a 'traditionally big' club. If likes of Silva and Kompany are missing out, however, we should be able to win this one.

My word, so it IS true. Prolonged exposure to Liverpool is extremely stressful and can cause your brain to give up.

I like your reasoning.

Sturridge to Spurs? What a preposterous and unlikely scenario at a time like this when we lack strikers and Levy's been a bitch to us.

I'm glad he chose to join WBA instead of Wigan. We've had a few players loaned to them in the past, and none of them did well there (they probably loan players from us just to mess with us lol). Besides, he's way too good for Wigan. He needed to step up his game, and playing for a team that ends up barely avoiding relegation every season wouldn't have helped too much. I think he'll find a decent competition (not like the one he was involved in here with Drogba, Torres and Sturridge around) at Albion, and that's a good thing.

Arsenal to win something? Unheard of.

5th place finish in the league right behind Arsenal & retain Champions League title.

He should be, though I can't see why Di Matteo would want to start him.

Both Mikel and Lampard are quality players, and I don't think it's right to fault one of them for our double pivot problem. It's just that when they're both occupying the pivot, we severely lack pace, which causes a lack of drive forward and inadequate tracking back. I think throwing in someone pacy like Ramires or maybe even Essien in the midfield should help (ex: Lampard & Essien or Ramires & Mikel), but I don't think Mikel and Lampard will make such a great duo.

Meireles with yet another incredible decision.

Nice dummy by Torres. He's looked sharp so far.

The third kit isn't that bad, but those yellow things in the tummy area are a bit odd.

They've left Bridge out. Good call. Interesting to see we're going with a 4-3-3.

Piss off, guys. Sarah Palin's hot.