Styles

City are one of the few teams who actually target Mikel. They press him and try to work passes around him because they know he's very slow and doesn't turn quickly. Today was just another example of Mikel not being athletic enough and being poor defensively.

Poor game. He really struggles against City because they're a very strong team. He was very poor and should have been subbed off.

Mourinho will come here because a) he doesn't have many options and b ) we don't have many options. We're both desperate.

:tophat:

Well I've never watched Jung and this is the first time I'm hearing of him and I don't want him anywhere near Stamford Bridge. Even him playing against us at home in a friendly would upset me a great deal. I hate him. I'm going to call him Sebastian Dung from this day forward.

Even ignoring Wallace we still have a clear number 1 RB (Azpi) and cover (Ivanovic). Then there's Omeuro who is playing RB in Holland and doing well by all accounts. RB is one of the few positions in the team where we're absolutely fine for the foreseeable future and don't need to do anything.

But why? We're well covered at RB with a young Spanish international as our first choice and cover in Ivanovic and potentially Wallace. It's just overkill to bring in another specialist RB. I get that you have scouted this player yourself and you like him but our resources would be better used elsewhere, you know, like in midfield and attack where we're actually short.

Only caught the last 15 minutes which was enough time to see both goals. Both well taken by Kiwomya and an excellent assist by Boga for the second. Liverpool kids looked dead on their feet while our boys were pushing for the win which was nice to see.

Right-back is the least of our worries. Azpi will hold the position for a long time.

'Just three years ago'???? Three years is a loooooong time in football. Rooney has always been a form player and never a consistent performer. He scores goals in bursts but there are weeks and months where he looks like an unfit amateur player. I have seen plenty of games this season alone where he looks fat, slow and his touch deserts him. You say he isn't done as a top level performer but at the Bernabeu in the first leg he looked so completely out of his depth and off the pace it was shocking. He didn't even make the team for the return leg. Against us at Old Trafford besides his fluky freekick goal he looked like a mess. He was a complete irrelevance for 70 minutes of that game.

Rooney if finished as a top level performer. He doesn't have a motor any more and looks lethargic. Every time I see him now he struggles to keep up with the tempo of games. Even Ferguson didn't trust him in the second leg against Real Madrid because his lack of energy and pace was a liability and preferred Nani and Welbeck. I think because he burst onto the scene so early he is burnt out. He has peaked and is on the way down, it would be another terrible signing on our part.

Likely outs? Everybody that has a contract expiring at the end of the season. So that means; Lampard, Malouda, Ferreira and Benayoun. Hilario and Turnbull's both have expiring contracts in 2013. I think Hilario is likely to be on his way. I think Turnbull will get a new deal to provide cover because he counts as association trained which is important for squad quota. I don't see why Jamal Blackman can't be Turnbull's back-up. How often does the third keeper play anyway? Hilario hasn't played a single minute this season.

Tough luck. Far more important things in life than football.

Or to earn more money. I'm sure Chelsea would pay him a lot more than Dortmund do now.

It's strange though because the players have shown they can do it in spurts, especially when we're losing in a game or pushing for a win. For example the 2-2 draw at Old Trafford the players pressed and fought tooth and nail to claw their way back. Even the 3-2 defeat at the Bridge to Utd before the sending offs the players fought back from 2-0 and were all over them, we played some of our best football in that game. But against City they players just seem to be too cautious and give them way too much respect.

Every game I have seen City lose this season, and particularly in the Champions League, the opposition have taken the game to them, pressed them hard and didn't allow them time and space on the ball. Three times we've played them this season and each time we have played on the back foot and have almost been afraid of them which is sad to watch.

Fair enough. Things are getting really tricky with all these games and I'd sacrifice the Europa long before the FA Cup and top 4. Win this and we have to squeeze in another two games somewhere which is almost impossible.

Anybody else who wouldn't mind a 2-0 loss here? Anyone? Just me then? This is just another tournament that is wasting energy that we will somehow lose in ridiculous circumstances in the semi-final or the final itself.

This! It was just a matter of giving him time to settle and he would show his worth. As a club we have so many problems it can be a tough environment for new players. I except even more from him next season.

He also consoled Mata after he missed the penalty. Luiz is a good guy to have in the locker room and for the fans to interact with. Good player, great character.

Damn, he went for too much power instead of placing it.

Think it might be blue as well but I'm not 100% sure on that.

Man this new kit must be rubbish if they want to try and sell it to us without even seeing it first.

Assist stats are tricky. For example take this goal scored by Hazard: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VuRxrs8-ScM Mata is given an assist for passing the ball 5 yards to Hazard who is nearly 40 yards from goal. He had a tremendous amount of work to do to score from there. To me an assist should only be awarded if the pass creates a clear-cut goal scoring opportunity. So I wouldn't give Mata an assist for that Hazard goal for instance. I think the distinction needs to be made clear as it devalues brilliant assists like for Ba's goal against Man Utd.