Madmax

Yeah I was thinking the same towards the end of the half - 'want to see if Corinthians are any good without the ball'. Up to Ahly to come out with a changed set up or attitude or both and take it to the Brazilians.

Bit harsh; there were fantastically organized after overcoming an iffy start. Corinthians struggled to convert possession into chances. Sensational ball in from Douglas though. I like the look of their right side - Alessandro, Paulinho, Emerson.

I'll be writing one later today on Oscar's appearance in the pivot at Sunderland.

Didn't he retire from internationals after his latest knee injury?

London Evening Standard says so. Josh is also an option, one that has official mention.

Not every player on the team needs to be exceptional. Essien has a call back clause. I'll be surprised if we don't use that.

IF Sturridge leaves and IF we don't sign a HG replacement, that would have to be the other course of action.

Added advantage of being English, compensates for loss of a HG player. Is in a similar contract situation to Sturridge. Wenger wants to keep him till the summer but there's no offer on the table yet. Sturridge is on roughly 65k a week; a similar wage for Walcott is reasonable.

Walcott ..?

Guardian weighing in as well, £12m is what they say. Looking more and more like a goner.

Atletico Madrid got 10.5m euro last year. That's less than what you get for just participating in the CL group stages.

I wouldn't say our squad is weak but it's evident there's nothing in reserve. No depth to speak of in key areas of the pitch (centre mid, centre forward), compounded by the reluctance to play one or two of those who could make a tangible difference (Sturridge, Marin) and the injuries/suspensions for Terry and Lampard. Whoever decided it would be prudent to head into a 60+ game season with zero cover in midfield (getting rid of Essien + Meireles, a 34 yo Lampard and Mikel with his ACoN commitments) needs to have their head checked. Also, the fact that we failed so staggeringly to pick up the pieces post Man U reveals a distinct lack of leadership qualities among the squad. Take Cole and Ivan out of that side and there's hardly anyone with more than 3 years worth Premiership experience.

Close thread because you don't want him? Don't flatter yourself. It's like asking for coffee shops to be closed because you don't drink coffee.

I don't see an apology there. Like Carefree Chronicles pointed out on twitter, it's not about what you say about an opposing team, it's what you say about opposition fans.

Twitter talk - Off to Liverpool for £13m in Jan. If true, a good deal from our pov for someone who's free in 6 months' time.

Wait for official confirmation, guys. Selling Meireles and loaning Essien when we were already weak in that position, smh.

CTV showing it might have something to do with the en masse subscription cancellations post Robbie's sacking.

You'll have to forgive Alice, he hasn't taken his medication today.

I don't think we're going hell for leather in Jan. Europa League is but a small consolation for the latter CL stages in monetary terms and the board is smart in these things. At the most, a recall for Josh might be on the cards.

That's what social media does, gives everyone a mic. Imo, the competitiveness of the fixture is but a small part of the appreciation of a goal. I concede that there's nothing better than a brilliantly aesthetic goal that also wins a game (hence Zidane v Leverkusen at the top of the pile) but for competitve games, as the saying goes - doesn't matter how they come as long as they do. a tap-in or a 30 yard volley get you the same result.

Ivanovic treads on plug. Plug winces in pain. Ivanovic laughs.

Tbf, Roberto Carlos' famous swerving freekick against France was also in a friendly but that doesn't stop people from hailing him as a great freekick taker (not too impressive a record otherwise) or that goal as one of the best of all time.

Hasn't Ibra won the goal of the decade thingy already?

They should put up 'Make Messi score against Chelsea' as an unlockable achievement or something on FIFA.