LDN Blue

He had a great season - A terrific defender, who can be a make-shift striker (his goal vs Inter). I'm sure United are kicking themselves for letting him go

These 2 seem to be the real "break through" academy players we've got. Let's not forget Kakuta is from Lens & Sturridge is from City. Clifford and McEachran have been with us for a while, and that's why their partnership is so great. It's something we, as England fans, always hoped Gerrard and Lampard would establish - But we see what happens in that aspect. The big question is, will Clifford's breakthrough come with Ancelotti?

A great player, no doubt. He's intelligent, has good awareness, and is a very good squad players. But like various members have said, he's not the type of player we should look for. We need a playmaker, not a squad player, we're full of squad players. Essien, Mikel, Ramires.. Our only attacking midfield players are Lampard & Benayoun. And we know the problem with that is, Lampard's absence = no creativity. If we're buying someone from Everton, Diniyar Bilyaletdinov would catch my eye.

I was going to say "at least fans are more civilized now" ..Then I remembered how one of the Stevenage players got punched this weekend

so true /thread

Cavani is a good player, but I'm with TX here.

This whole thing was a sham. Still bemused by how Wesley Sneijder didn't make the last 3.. I guess the right man won it.

Sounds like a great idea! Would give England a chance to rebuild the bloody team properly.

After the way Terry went after Cahill (after his challenge on Cech) - You couldn't be more right!

I didn't give him stick? I've been defending him since day one.. (<- Only if you meant me )

Haha fair analysis, I like "does he do what you expect him" - However the point is, imo, he should be able to do more.. Because he's a Chelsea player, however this is not his fault.. So I don't blame him, my issue with Kalou is no longer directly at him, it's more of the frustration of his selection - So at Carlo As for the last part; Don't get me wrong, I didn't mean you.. I just meant generally, when Kalou is criticised, someone brings up his stats as justification for his starting place.. That's all

Exactly, same problem we had with releasing Ballack, Cole, Belletti et al.

Because the difference is, they can offer/score by other means too. You've got to admit, TX is right when it comes to people bringing up Kalou's stats?.. But I do agree with you, he gives it his all, which is honourable. He puts the likes of Drogba and Anelka to shame, however the real shame is, he can't be better than he is. If Drogba showed half the commitment Kalou then he'd be, undisputedly, the world's best striker.

Then again, winning the Champions League gets you into the following year's competition, even if you don't finish 4th (Just ask Liverpool)

You've actually raised a valuable point about this transfer window.. We must be careful about buying players in January, especially from Europe. Because chances are, they're going to cup-tied. So someone like Pato, for example, would not be eligable to play in the Champions League for us - It'd be a waste for 3/4 months. Just like Arsenal experienced with Arshavin.

Well this sounds a bit.. Familiar.

Agreed. But Sturridge sent a message to Carlo on Sunday - He took the chance he was given, something Kalou has failed to do for the last 6years. If Carlo does not show intent on making Sturridge a started within the next month, then I'll give up on Studge's chance to make it here.

Did some quick research, out of curiosity, Pato's career stats (Games:Goals): 130:61 I refuse to buy into the hype about him on his way to SW6 though, until it's confirmed we're looking at him.

LOL so true. You know if that was Drogba's goal he took, he wouldn't be getting a smile back

Yeah touché, mixed up my words there. My point is the same none the less, there's no way Milan will sell. Unless we come at them with something like £45million. Which, we won't.

I understand this one. He's not getting his chances, he's not signing a new contract. Instead of letting him leave for free in summer, may as well make a profit off him.

even Liverpool fans hate him.. As my old man says, "He's world class at putting out cones."

It was just a matter of time before this old one popped up again. Won't happen. Milan won't sell their best youth prospect. Especially when the likes of Ibrahimovic, Robinho & Inzaghi aren't getting any younger.

I don't think loyalty has anything to do with it. He wouldn't have considered us in this, because it was an unemployed man being offered a job. Simple as that. I'm sure if we'd offered him a job last week he would've taken it too.

Laurence Fishburne Mike Emenalo