The Skipper

Anyone taking anything serious out if this game need their heads checked in my opinion. It's a glorified post season friendly.

Torres is a revelation when he comes off the bench? What? Point me out five games where he's changed the game after coming off the bench, please. How can you have someone who's on £175k a week as a second choice striker? No way. If we got an offer for him I'd sell straight away simply because it'll alleviate his wages off of our wage budget which will allow us to get in a proper starting striker. Demba Ba is the perfect second choice striker in my opinion. Shame people are simply now overlooking him because Torres has been on form and Ba hasn't. Ridiculous.

Strike, you like bringing up clubs that usually play with two strikers (some out of position). WBA, United and City always play at least two strikers for the majority of the season. Their strikers are versatile enough to play other positions rather than out and out. You can't say the same for Chelsea simply because the positions their strikers play in when playing out of position are already occupied by Hazard and Mata, our two best players. Man City usually at least play a two-combination of Dzeko/Tevez/Aguero. At least two of those are starting usually, sometimes all three even. United are pretty similar in the sense where they can play Rooney in behind RVP or Hernandez, or on the left or in midfield - similarly with Welbeck. WBA are similar in that aspect where they can shun out the likes of Fortune, Odemwingie, Rosenburg and even sometimes Lukaku or Shane Long out wide. It's not the same at Chelsea, that's pretty obvious. Do you really expect us to play Torres or Ba out wide regularly? They're out and out strikers. More than 3 strikers is impractical for us, you're naive if you think we'd be able to keep four strikers at the club happy, especially if we're going to continue with the 4-2-3-1. You just have to look at this season where Torres and Ba split minutes quite effectively. Adding a third striker to that is just about pushing it (he'd have to be versatile e.g. Rooney to get more minutes) but adding a 4th striker is completely impractical. Waste of squad space. Waste of money.

What if Lukaku's unhappy? Should we just sell him off as well yeah? There has to be a balance.

So we should ignore that United and City play at least 2 of their strikers in almost every game?It's not an excuse. It's rational thinking.

/closethread.

Why are people assuming that Lewandowski, Cavani, Falcao and Rooney are done deals? They're nowhere near done. The transfer window isn't even open yet.

None of those are actually done, you're overreacting.

He's not. Do you seriously think if CFC came in with an offer that he'd chose Monaco over us? Obviously we just haven't made an offer for him.

LOL at your depiction of KDBs season!

Ah I see. Problem with Isco is is that we've got too many attacking midfielders, don't forget KDB is coming back as well. He'll never accept being a squad player basically.

Don't see the logic in this when we can perfectly rotate Hazard or Oscar for Mata if we get a winger in. Isco needs to be starting weekly. He won't come here just to rotate with Mata.

Fair enough. If we're going to spunk £20m on Khedira though, I'd rather have Fellaini who can do the same but also brings plenty more to the team.

My bad, I was including his Belgium assists (which overall stands at 21 even)! Yeah, 19 is correct.

He has 22.

Well it looked like you were insinuating that that was the starting XI to me so I assumed you meant that. Romeu is tidy in possession but he isn't a Xabi Alonso. I honestly see no need in signing Khedira when you've got everything he does in players like Ramires, Romeu and Mikel. He doesn't add anything new to the squad.

Are we really going to primarily be a counter attacking team when we have someone like Mata in our team? We need to utilise the strengths of our team which are Hazard and Mata, not Ramires and Khedira if he came. Real Madrid are a counter attacking team according to you, so why don't they have 2 Khedira's in midfield? Why is Xabi Alonso, who's not your archetypical counter attacking player, playing next to Khedira? If you want us to be a counter attacking team, why do you have KDB as our right winger? Do you really think against the majority in the premiership we'll play on the counter? Of course we won't. Yeah, it'd be good to have players who can carry the ball on the counter, but you're having those players in the wrong area of the team. I'd rather bring in a player for the right side of the three, e.g. a Di Maria, who'd be far more devastating on the counter than Khedira would. You don't want a scenario where both Khedira and Ramires are running up the pitch because of a counter, which if failed, would completely leave our back four exposed. Mourinho's teams don't just consist of counter attacking either - you just have to look at their match up against United (both legs) in the CL this season to see that. They dominated in both games and ultimately won through good intricate play and not counter attacking. We need a link between our defence and attack, and having Khedira and Ramires in your pivot does not provide you that. Even Mourinho knows that, and that's why he played Khedira with Xabi Alonso. You're just asking to surrender possession if you don't have a player of that ilk in your squad, as you should've seen with us this season, which is why we had to move Luiz to temporarily midfield because he has the ability. Just because you have a Moutinho or Modric in your team doesn't mean your side automatically becomes completely possession based. You need variety in the way your team plays - I don't like being a 1 trick pony. Look at Bayern Munich or Borussia, everyone's favourite teams at the moment. Both are quite possession based but they're also lethal on the counter despite having a player in the ilk of a Modric or Moutinho in the likes of Schweinsteiger or Gundogan (previously Sahin even). We need a Moutinho/Modric/Alonso type of midfielder more than we need Khedira. We get what Khedira offers mostly through Ramires. I wouldn't buy him.

No link from defence to midfield. I wouldn't play Ramires and Khedira together. Wouldn't even buy Khedira to begin with. Don't think he offers our team much.

Possibly the best. Nat will definitely make it. If not here, then somewhere else.

Thread should be renamed as "who's been the best player out in loan?" as the poll asks.

21 or 22. I think that figure's incorrect.

And that is why bushman's on my ignore list .