LDN Blue

Yep

Spot on. When I think of this defenders theory I always go back to the Manchester United model. Vidic & Ferdinand (in the latter's prime) were an exceptional example of this. Vidic will the be the first defender who will attack the ball, he'll be up there for the first header, coming in with the hard tackles etc. Rio will collect the second ball, he won't necessarily play it out, but he will do the last-man job. You could argue Ivanovic is a stopper, because his ball skills aren't really good and because of his superior strength he's good at the one-on-ones. However even then, I don't trust Ivanovic at centre-back as of late. There's is a general decline of stoppers around right now, because of the way the game's evolved in the last 10years. Chalobah is also a sweeper, as is Bruma. Cahill, as a sweeper, isn't "world-class", he's decent back-up though.

Selling a player on X11 is ridiculously hard!

People do get offended, so just avoid it.. Dark skinned. I agree it ain't racist to say 'black' but if people are offended, well meh, that's their right.

LMAO! No way?!

Meh, I don't really get why you'd need to anyway..

would he dare...?

Brilliant

Fair enough mate!

Like I read somewhere else.. England would finish like 10th if they were a team in the Premier League. He's not a bad player.. he's 'good'. Wenger had it right when he valued him at £6million at a time where Bolton claimed £15-20million would do it. Fucking LOL.

Now we can

Because he's not that good and he's in the final months of his contract.

!!

Frei is a dangerous player, gave us trouble last time we played.

Wouldn't be the worst place to go.. With Albrighton and Clarke there, there's some good youth getting chances at Villa.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/chelsea/8976491/Chelsea-keen-to-bring-in-Juventuss-Milos-Krasic-during-transfer-window-as-a-replacement-for-Nicolas-Anelka.html

That would be so true, had it not been for the awful music

That's true, and therein lies a massive problem at this club. It's also why we have a problem of player power.. Because not only are we paying over-the-odds transfer fees, we're paying out incredible wage demands. I shudder at to even take a guess at what Cahill & Chelsea will agree to..

I disagree. I believe our scouting network still has huge question marks. The fact that Newcastle found these players and negotiated those prices, to add them into their first squad shows how we're missing quite a few tricks. Gary Cahill is an easy signing.. Everyone's after him, they hype builds, then you factor in he's English. The few reasons I back this is because we do need homegrown in our squad and he's coming relatively cheap.. Where as in summer I saw quotes for £15-20million . Wenger got it right when he bid £6million. It wasn't "derisory", it was Cahill's worth. Even now £7million is a lot and we should make all the strides we can to get near/under the £6million mark. We factor in his age - 26 - and we factor in the time left on his contract - 6months. We can easily wait 6months and sign him on a Bosman (that c*ntish ruling), so we hold an advantage over Bolton.

Here's some perspective: Newcastle United signed a French international, Yohan Cabaye, for £4.3m & they bought Cheick Tioté for £3.5m. In fact, they bought Davide Santon, aged 20, for £5.3million. We're about to sign a 26-year old for £7million.

I heard whispers of United being interested.. Because they need more wingers at the moment (!)

Krasic's case is interesting.. There's a lot of debate about why he's not playing at the moment. I've heard a lot of theories.. From Conte doesn't like him, his form is poor, there are better players ahead of him etc. What I can say though is when he was on form, he was blistering. Beating the opposition full-backs, assisting and even scoring. Though his diving was also an issue. I've heard a figure of £10million + Alex. Considering the reviews I've heard about him.. It's make or break in terms of his own mentality. A lot of the Juve fans don't like him, they're annoyed & pissed off because they think he's the one causing problems. In that case, Krasic may benefit from moving country. With Ivanovic & Vidic here, he may welcome a move to England.. Get Champions League football too. He could go down the Torres route too, especially if his issue is form. What's undeniable though, is his quality. I've heard on his day he's sensational and you'd rather want him in your squad than go against him.

You do remember United were chasing Cahill too, right? But what you're saying is true, I actually agree. United sign players like Wes Brown & Silvestre when they're young. If they don't work they can still resell them because they've got plenty of years.. And they have others waiting to step up.

I wouldn't put Cahill & Krasic in my wish list, but I don't mind us signing them.. Considering it's January: Out: Anelka, Alex (Obvs.) & Malouda In: Dzagoev (I hear good reviews), Javi Martínez (can play well at CB). Considering - that it's looking likely - we'll sign Cahill &, perhaps, Krasic.. That would be it.

True, but considering it's January and they seem to be cheap, it's not the worst deals this club could make.