Naked Mole Rat

Like I said, he must have had a special reason to not include Yossi in his plan. Maybe Yossi is not the kind of player he needs.

He's right in that he's not getting the support he needs, but THAT'S NO EXCUSE FOR BLASTING ONE 30M WIDE OF GOAL FROM 30M OUT ON A BREAKAWAY. On a more serious note, though, he really needs to work harder himself rather than expect his teammates to give him full support, because part of his job as the centre forward is to keep moving so he won't get isolated. Last time he faced us in that shameful red, he didn't need perfect passes to score two.

Benayoun's not a starter, and he's nothing like Lampard. I doubt AVB would've left Benayoun out of his plan without a good reason.

AVB had to make several big decisions, and you just can't expect him to change the whole team in a matter of couple weeks. Our midfield problem is much bigger than the number of options we have in the midfield, so I don't see why you should be complaining.

Stop bashing Lampard. He had three mediocre games, but he wasn't that bad, and we did fine today especially in the 2nd half.

WHAT A BEAST! Sturridge!

Fuck Bardsley. Hopefully he'll get suspended like Song.

We certainly have more options now with Torres, Sturridge, Mata and Lukaku, and if Torres bounces back, we may have the scariest forward line in all of Europe.

He's a much better marker and tackler than Ramires, or any other midfielder we have (except maybe Essien although he is horrible at slide tackling), but I agree with you that he is awfully slow and think he shouldn't play in that DM role when Andre looks to press forward all the time. But does that make him a flop? True, his concentration level is questionable at times and he's not that great with his head. Nonetheless, he has most other qualities a defensive midfielder needs. He's disciplined, composed, strong, technically talented in terms of ball control and passing, and most importantly, consistent. The role he plays is a difficult (there is a reason why they call it the Makelele position when there's no Maradona position or Pele position) and the most important one. Pointing out and analyzing a player's weaknesses is understandable and encouraged, but there's no need to pick on a player, exaggerate his flaws and call him a lasting flop, unless he plays for Arsenal.

Mikel is a better passer than Lampard and McEachran. Lampard used to be our best passer, but after that injury, his passing hasn't been half as good as it had been. McEachran, on the other hand, has great vision, but I think his passing accuracy isn't quite as good as Mikel's yet. I just wish he would play in a more advanced position where he can launch more forward passes.

Winning the PL will be difficult this season, but I don't see why we should write ourselves off already and settle for a top 4 finish. A goal is supposed to be challenging, and although we don't look as good as United or City at the moment we have lots of time to improve. But having said that, I won't be too disappointed if we don't win this season as long as we complete our transition by next year, and Andre keeps his job.

Why doesn't he just say 'because God loves United'?

-----------------------Torres------------------------ Mata--------------------------------------Sturridge ------------Meireles----------Mikel---------------- ----------------------Ramires----------------------- Cole-------Terry--------------Luiz------Bosingwa ------------------------Cech------------------------- I'd like to see Mikel play in a more advanced position and someone speedy take on his role. Mikel's just too slow if we are to play high. Also, Mikel passes and shoots the ball very well, and was impressive during preseason when he played higher up the pitch, so I say why not give it a go.

Our new signings are not the only good thing that happened to us this summer. We also saw some positive changes in the staff set-up, and the board seems to be giving Andre more power than they had given to Carlo, Jose, or Felipe. It's too bad we didn't sign Modric or sell Anelkalouda+Ferreira, but there's only so much you can expect in a couple of months. I just hope that we can keep this up.

All this is really hard to understand, but what I really really don't get is why they would try ruin my fun watching Arsenal fail.

Well, not the player fans were looking for, but at least we got a new midfielder and Meireles is not a bad choice especially since Andre seemed to want him. The only thing that annoys me is that we probably paid LIVERPOOL a little too much for him. But I can't really complain with how things went this summer, and I'm really looking forward to our new team under Andre. Welcome to Chelsea, Raul.

Wasn't this one of Wenger's ideas along with eliminating throw-ins from football because Arsenal can't cope with Delap? Anyways, I hate the idea. It just encourages polarization, and I can't see how it will work. And this isn't baseball. It's gonna get pretty boring if we start playing United 4-6 times every year.

Welcome, Ulises! I am absolutely delighted with this summer's transfer window.

Did the 'Go to page ___' thing disappear? It was handy when reading a long thread.

Which is why Arsenal should stick with Wenger. On a more serious note, though, there's no need to make a fuss about what's happening with Chelsea now. So far we've been disappointing, but we've got 7 out of possible 9 points and had a pretty good summer transfer window, so there's not much to complain about. And I can't help but feel that our frustrating performance against Stoke and West Brom spurred the board to act quickly to get Mata, so maybe it was for the better. But I hope we get things sorted out quickly before we visit Old Trafford because they're looking incredibly sharp.

I think the problem we have now with defense has to do with AVB's high defense line than anything. Our defenders are generally slow, and Mikel, who's supposed to aid the centre-halfs, is one of the slowest players we have. And with Hilario, who isn't as good at rushing out of the box as Cech, the opposition can exploit the huge gap behind our defenders by using counterattack. There is absolutely no way our high line will work with Terry, Hilario, and Mikel guarding our goal, and AVB should know that. What I'm really concerned about is that the whole team looks disjointed. In Carlo's first season, we played some great football, our players looked like cogs in a machine, and it was as if everyone knew where his teammates were. We don't have that anymore. It disappeared last season, and when that disappears the team plays shit. I hope we'll get that back soon.

Maybe Mata can replace Lampard and play a little more forward and wider. He can certainly provide the creativity we need, and he has an eye for goal as well, and I think he can play well in the middle as well. And after watching him today, I think Mata-Ramires combo can be very effective. --------------Torres------------- ------------Mata-------Sturridge Perreira--------Ramires------- ---------------Mikel-------------- But I guess it all depends on who we get next week. If we get Moutinho or Modric, Mata will stay on the left wing, and if we get Perreira, Mata may play in the middle or on the right.

That was a horrifying fall. He looked like he had lost consciousness in the air when he collided with Ruddy and couldn't balance himself as he fell. Glad he is okay.

Was this really necessary? I mean, I was happy with Lukaku's performance and I'm excited for him, but no need to bash Torres.

I think that's what's happening as well, and I was kind of hoping it would happen. Right now, with Lampard's decline, we have no one to provide that extra attacking force and creativity in our three-man midfield (other than maybe Mikel with his occasional long balls and Ramires with his surging runs). Mata is a great winger, but if he just stayed on the left flank, our midfield and attack would be left disjointed. I think this could actually be better than if we got Modric as Mata's attacking ability is better. But it also means we need another winger as you pointed out and that's probably why AVB wants Perreira.