The Skipper

Sociedad would be very good for Josh if he does get playing time.

Well, Mourinho wants Rooney so are you calling him a disgrace as well?

You wouldn't have to be in the UK to be part of it though.

I'd rather Kondogbia than Khedira tbh. Don't know why Real are stacking their midfield so much.

LOL yeah, I've seen. Sort of skimmed through his post and thought he was on about Kalas.

He's ahead of Kakuta and McEachran in his development though. He's been one of the better defenders in the Eredivisie for two years now, a Championship loan would be a step down. He's definitely good enough to play for a decent Premier League team, trust me. He's already been capped once by his senior national team. Vitesse are a decent Europa League standard team, and he's been one of their better players.

Well, I'm not saying everyone underrates him, some like yourself can see that he's a great player and will definitely only improve under Mourinho, however I've encountered too many fans who don't rate him as highly as he should be rated. What I'm trying to get across is that I'm not surprised by his pre season form because I know what he's capable of. He hasn't done anything that's surprised me.

Agree with everything you said but he's far above Crewe's level. If we were to send him out on loan he'd go to a decent PL team. He was one of Vitesse's best players last season and the season before.

I don't know why you're so amazed by Ramires' performances in pre season, he's had plenty of better games in a CFC shirt against teams who are a million times better (City, Arsenal, United, Barcelona just to name a few).He hasn't shown anything he hasn't showed for us in the past before. Like I always say, Ramires is criminally underrated by the majority of our fans. It's sad really.

So small? He's around 6 ft 2, and is quite filled out for his frame. No idea what you're on about. Kalas is a great athlete, has size and pace to match.

Article is dated May 10th.

You must've been watching someone else. No chance Traore played as a DM.

Wow. Have you ever considered that maybe he wants to stay at a club he's only been at for 6 months?

Thanks guys. Prepare for domination Team name: He Made Emile Of It.

Can I join this?

He was very good today.

If he keeps his head down and keeps working he will be a very decent player.

This is way too easy. Can't wait to get to the USA so we can face decent teams.

Yeah Malaysian team let us play, which is why we scored 4. I know what you're saying but people are overestimating the effect the 4-3-3 is having on the game simply because we're facing a very poor team.

We shouldn't really look at his Real time as an indicator. He played with a 4-2-3-1 at Real because he only had Ozil and Kaka as 10 (both who aren't as vertically flexible as KDB or Oscar) so he had to stick with it until Modric came. The fact that he said he's looking to play Mata on the right alludes me to the fact that we'll be dynamically switching between 4-3-3 and 4-2-3-1 (the number 10 will instigate the switch by either dropping into a deeper shape or staying up further).

Hmm. Match fitness is a big factor, and the fact that the team are getting to know each other a little bit better is again another factor. Plus the fact that the Indonesia XI don't seem to be packing their own half (they're actually giving it a go) are huge factors. Again, I think that people are overhyping the impact this 4-3-3 is having right now. Yes, everyone looks more involved, but then again the opposition is allowing us to do so, unlike the previous two where channels and lines were blocked off a lot more.

To be honest, we won't stick to 4-2-3-1 exclusively in a game, that's what I think anyway. We'll fluidly change from 4-2-3-1 to 4-3-3 to 4-5-1 depending on how the game is going. That's why Mourinho wants to play De Bruyne or Oscar in the number 10 role because they are far more versatile (vertically) than Mata.

People are overreacting regarding the 4-3-3. Please remember we are facing a very poor side at the moment. Our left side's been very good though. Bertrand, Hazard and Van Ginkel are running it.

Yeah, that truly depends on the role Mourinho will give him as a player. If Mourinho gives him more freedom, expect Mikel to show that range and quality in his performance.