The Skipper

Even though he was playing RB, he did have a great game. Real's best chances came through Essien.Still do think Varane deserved the MOTM though, he was brilliant, especially considering it was his first El Classico.

The admins should open the deadline day thread soon...

I see what you mean but regarding his chance, I don't think he failed to control it... He just tried to hit it first time with his weaker foot which was a bad decision. What he should've done is controlled it, taken on his man and he'd probably have a better chance of scoring.

How good was Varane in the El Clasico mind? Storming performance.

It won't happen... I remember when betting was suspended on Harry Redknapp to take over from Ancelotti too but surprise surprise - AVB took over a week or so after.

Couldn't be further away from the truth. He was very threatening in the first half - in the second half Arsenal upped their game a bit and forced Liverpool to sit deeper which will naturally make anyone who'd upfront a bit more isolated. That's why he got taken off - they needed more men at the back to prevent Arsenal from dominating the game even more. That description of his performance is way too trivial.

I feel like an Arsenal fan.

I will say this again - our best defensive partnership is Luiz and Terry.

Absolutely LOVE Batistuta. If he is anything like him he wouldn't be a bad buy tbh, but I don't know if we have space in the squad for him...

Mata in the pivot? That would completely nullify Mata's usefulness to the team.

I didn't feel attacked at all mate! I've played football at an amateur level obviously, even had trials for Cardiff City U18's a few years back (who are currently top of the Championship) so I do know my stuffs in that regard. I really don't agree with your notion that having a big name player elevates pressure from the team. You don't have to be a "big name" player in order for you to be a leader in the side when the going gets tough. I think you're being unfair on Gonalons to say that he'll just be a number here. Yes, he might be young but that doesn't mean he hasn't got the character to be one of the leaders on the pitch. The fact that he is captaining Lyon at 23 points more to him actually being a leader than not. It is exactly under bad circumstances where leaders are born in football IMO. You never know in football, any player might take time to settle in or could flourish within an instance. I get what you're trying to say regarding big names, but it is a 50/50 thing for me. It could go very wrong (e.g. Torres (sorry to bring him up again , Sheva, Veron etc.) or they could have instant impact on the team like you said. But again, that's a 50/50 thing. Buying a big name player doesn't instantly make your team mates worry less. In my opinion and personal experience I always feel more comfortable with a certain player when I can see that player's quality for myself (e.g. In training or matches). I agree pretty much with us bringing in a top striker and centre mid over Gonalons but if we did manage to bring Maxime here it's be a great squad signing, and who knows? Maybe he'd be able to cement a starting place before the season ends - if we did sign him I wouldn't put that past him at all.

There are whispers but nothing concrete at all ATM.

No one was expecting Torres to go in January anyway. Stop trolling.

Team I'd play right now at AC Milan would be something like Robinho - Balotelli - El Shaarawy with Prince, Nocerino and Montolivo in behind them which is very impressive still.

I don't think anyone in the thread here is claiming that Gonalons would be the saviour of the double pivot though? Most people are just proclaiming he'd be a nice option to have in there which I fully agree with. I don't even think he will ever be world class even but he'd still be a good player to have around. Also, having a big name certainly won't mean your team mates will look to you more, that's crap sorry. You should only look to our own Fernando to see whether that's true. He, as any other player, would gain his team mates' respect by doing well in training and on the pitch. Gonalons is certainly ready to challenge guys like Ramires, Lampard and Mikel for the midfield. He's certainly good enough - will he develop into a great player? Who knows - but you only have to look at our own Frank to see that you shouldn't ever write off a player who's decent. You never know how they'd develop.

People are nostalgic for Mourinho. I know our club is a bit of a circus, but when you compare us to Real...

Yeah, BBC reporting it's done. Shame he's left the PL, he was such an entertaining character.

I feel his outings at LW are blurring the fact that he actually is a good LB.

Or alternatively... vs.

Isn't being captain at 23 at a massive club like Lyon showing enough leadership skills?

Turnbull's off at the end of this season so yeah, a home grown goalie is what we're looking for and Butland is an excellent option if he is willing to accept being number 2.

Reminiscing on our 4-2 win against Tottenham, best we played all season, we seemed streets ahead of them... Unfortunately I think you may be right now though in that regard .

Anyone else having problems with images and YouTube videos not showing up on the Safari mobile (iPhone) skin?

Cheeky bet on Galatasaray winning the CL anyone?