LDN Blue

Exactly!

It's a good point. But remember, we did keep Grant until the end of the season so that was okay, Scolari had the team in dismay, we didn't play well, but more importantly he'd lost the dressing room & Drogba which was the crucial part. In came Hiddink who just about got us some silver-wear. Carlo hasn't lot the dressing room yet, they're still united as one. His calmness helps the players, mentally, not tactically, which is why keeping him on is the best option for the sake of stability. Perhaps, if Wilkins wasn't sacked it would be easier to "sack" Carlo right now, but we saw the impact of Wilkin's departure and he was just the assistant, the sacking of the coach would be disaster for morale.

West Ham would be a good move. Plymouth were in the same shape as the Hammers in that half of the table, Connor could be useful there, him and Parker would link up well.

I thought Mourinho wants to keep him on? I imagine this would become another Deco fiasco though, I'd only want a loan deal, with option of signing him permanently.

Hopefully (if he starts) he won't be subbed off at half time.

Well. I guess that's something..

We've got some relatively good fixtures from now till February. A chance for Carlo to get us securing 4th.

Yeah I made that point before too. I'm not knocking Mikel at all, because I know he's young enough to improve so much, which he demonstrates. Carlo needs to encourage him to go forward more that's all I want really. Mikel has the potential to be better than Maka when he reaches that age, and I hope he does it. The day he grabs his first goal, I'll buy a Mikel shirt

Fantastic player. But he's left footed, his technique is so easy and predictable. Run down the wing, then cut back.

Eugh I know.. But seeing Josh on the bench, coming off when he can, does give me a tiny glimmer of hope for some of these academy players. If Clifford is sold, it wouldn't surprise me, but like I said, Josh is a small beacon of light of hope.

I wish I had your optimism Alex, I really do. But the way things have gone I just feel that by the time we do get back to winning ways it'll be far too late for the title. I hope we do retain the FA Cup, I'd hate to finish this season totally trophy-less :\

Unfortunately I did not know any of this. But if it's all true, which I don't doubt, then what is this club doing?! (Not that I'm surprised of course.)

Definitely. Most hopes are being pinned on Lukaku to fill the Drogba role, but we must find others to compete with him if we're to see this or if Lukaku fails to impress. Lampard is one of the hardest players we'll find to replace, there's simply no-one like him. Maybe Connor Clifford would've shown some fresh light by then for our squad.. And probably people who read the Daily Mail

Yeah fair enough, fixed it And absolutely! I have some very high hopes for PvA, he's already proven he's up to filling Ash's boots and he's got some good experience in him. Coentrao is a good left back and has a very good future in him, but I'd rather not spend the money and support our own academy player in this case

This is a good post mate. Remember, no-one's saying Mikel is crap or anything, but we think he doesn't offer much to the team from his position really. If you look at other players who play that role in other clubs, Pirlo (AC Milan), Busquets (Barcelona), Makelele (Formerly us).. They all could put in a great tackle and also go forward with the counter attack too, Mikel simply cannot offer these traits, yes he makes up for it with his great long range passing abilities but I think, sometimes, that's not enough. If we look at Essien playing that role (prior to his injury, thus the emergence of Mikel taking that position) he certainly offered a lot, the "engine" of the team we called him. He'd drive into the box to get goals, but he'd also put in a great tackle when needed. Yes, this wasn't Essien's best game, but he's already proven (prior his suspension) that's he's still a world class player who offers a lot to us, and so it's very hard to knock him down. But do remember, in the 2nd half (after we conceded) he was doing everything he could to drive forward making those powerful runs we know he can make. And as for Malouda. I maintain my opinion, he's been one of our best performers in this bad form. He's looked the most dangerous when attacking and he's putting in some good passes and just generally working very hard. If I had to name 3 players who I think have stood up as men and players over this last crappy month I'd, without a doubt, name Cech, Malouda & Terry.

Spot on. We made Scolari one of the highest paid managers when we fired him and had to pay him that huge compensation fee. Carlo plans to go back to Italy in 2012 anyway (so I've read), like the England national team are doing now, all we can do is prepare someone for then. I don't mind seeing someone like Van Gaal (who's got the credentials) or even Quique Flores. And hopefully by 2012 we'll have a refreshed squad full of player who are near/below the 26year mark.

CB's: Terry, Ivanovic, Alex, Bruma RB's: Bosingwa, Ferreira, Ivanovic With Alex out for a while and Bruma not being trusted, we only really have 2 recognised centre backs, this even more evident when we played Ferreira at centre back. We should've have replaced Carvalho. I'm not saying we should've kept him, because he was always planned to leave, but why didn't The Board find a replacement? He had a bloody year! The norm, is to have 2 players competing for each position really so.. RB: Bosingwa vs Ferreira CB: Terry vs Alex CB: Ivanovic vs Bruma LB: Cole vs Zhirkov vs Van Aanholt We must buy at least 1 centre back & 1 right back.. Minimum IMO.

This is, perhaps, the most crucial part. While the appointment may have looked to be a mistake and lacking hindsight, it is simply too late to turn back at this stage. Especially with the depature of Wilkins so fresh in the minds of everyone involved in/with the Premier League. Perhaps in the summer the board will review the manager, but for now they must give him undisputed control of his team and no interference from Roman. He must be given the funds and a say in transfer policy, he must tell Roman who he wants and be allowed to sign them.

Thing is, I believe Mikel can mould into this role, because of his attack background. But it seems he's not being told to do this and I think if he was he could do it well. It is worrying he's the only member of the senior squad to have never scored a goal for the club but I think if he's encouraged to push up he could do it.

Once again, agreed. I bought into the hype and song and praise, I don't mean to fault Mikel.. But looking at him at DMF and Essien there, you can clearly see the difference.. Essien wasn't afraid to go up into the other half and bag himself a goal. Then again, there is the classic argument of whether he's too restricted there in terms of his attacking flare.

Great post! However I don't think any of the changes you proposed will be implemented any time soon :\

I guess we need a psychologist then :champions:

Exactly. Wilkins cannot be the reason! Unless our team is full of giant p*ssies.

Yeah, I'm still up for giving Carlo a chance to turn this around. I don't want to judge him until the end of the season.

Louis van Gaal.