Bir_CFC

Wow, looks horrible.

Must get 3 points here. Anything less and no way catch up to 4th place then. Spurs have a considerably easier run in than us.

I don't think we have to let go off Mikel, Essien & Meireles. You still need some depth. I would only part ways with Essien. Mikel I will keep for sure. Lamps & Meireles can both provide good cover as well. Especially Meireles, he might have had some bad games, but he's a creative player and can play in the mid and can give cover to Mata as well. I think 1 world class creative minded midfielder is a must for us, priority number 1. We need some talent that can help link the back 4 to the forwards on a consistent basis.

We need midfielders more than out and out scorers. It was fine when we had Drogba cause he just used to take on the whole team and still somehow score but now we need people behind the forwards who can create for themselves and others so we don't have to rely on one person. That's how you build a team.

Cech was good. Luiz and Cahill were good. Mikel was the only midfield player who was decent, everyone else was really really poor. Torres and Drogba were both decent as well. But our midfield was really really poor. I was begging to put on Malouda instead of Essien so Mata could move in the middle, just don't understand why we don't play our BEST PLAYER in his BEST POSITION!!! That said, Essien very very unlucky with that penalty. And I could see that Nasri goal coming a mile away. Too bad really cause overall we defended very well and was hoping we woulda sneaked by with a draw. It's just too bad that our midfield is so poor that we can't link up with the forwards and have to resort to long balls from Cech.

I wouldn't put in Sturridge for Ramires. Only if we go a goal down. Ramires might not be the best in the final third right now but 0-0 is a good result for us, let's not get greedy. 1 change I would make however is Malouda for Meireles. Malouda always puts in work and that will allow Mata to move in the middle.

Back four have been decent. So has Mikel and Torres. Not much from anyone else. Meireles baaad. Malouda on for Meireles and move Mata in the middle.

I see. Part-time studies are always very hard. Good Luck! I hate it when I have to study on matchdays. If we win, I just read about the win and watch highlights and if we loose well then really whats the point in living, so why study? lol

And for those worried about the exclusion of Sturridge, no need to worry. Ramires can rape them just as good, if not better. Don't you remember him walking through half their team last year. Plus, Meireles and Mata right behind Torres is BEAST.

Revision class 6 weeks before exams? Wtf! 6 weeks before exams you should be like 50% through the course itself lol. That's way too early to be revising or even starting to study.

Don't see anything wrong with starting Torres. The 4-2-3-1 with Mikel, Lamps and Meireles in the mid is pretty dynamic cause Mikel stays back and Lamps and Meireles can switch positions to throw off their marking. Woulda liked Sturridge but I like Ramires on the right wing, at least for the first half. Nothing wrong with going defensive. The only thing that worries me a bit is Mikel and Lamps in the double pivot. They've never played there together. Lamps played with Essien and Mikel played with Meireles. Anyways, Lamps is a boss, he'll be fine. Mikel vs Yaya would be sexy. Mikel is a boss on his day.

Beautiful article, almost brought a tear to my eye reading those quotes. So happy that he's feeling much better and very very proud of those doctors and physios that helped Fabrice. Just makes me want to appreciate those around me that much more, cause you never know what can happen. Money, job, sports might be fun, but not being there for the ones you care about is something one will regret forever. Gonna take a holiday and visit my parents again.

I am not superstitious at all, except when it comes to sports. Then I get like crazy superstitious. Like just for the Napoli game, I was watching it at work on my desk. I had my phone in front of me till we were up 2-0. Then I put it for charge and Napoli scored, then I unplugged it and moved it front of me again and we scored the penalty. Then I got so shit scared so for extra time I wrote down names of all the players playing and folded it up and put it in my shirt pocket like next to your heart and I left it there till we won. Sometimes I'm watching and we are doing badly, I'd go to the washroom and we score. So then I just stop watching lol. So fucked up sometimes!

I hear that Richards will start at CB and Zabaletta will play RB and no Savic. Which isn't really that bad of a back 4.

Yes. I've cleared 3 exams, just 1 left.

Arsenal & Tottenham games will be key.

Sick goal by Vucinic. Scored that like a boss.

Thanks for that. Will do, need to find out more about Benefica.

Finished school last year. Working full time as an internal auditor and studying on the side to get my accounting certification. As far as my job goes, sometimes I enjoy it but sometimes it gets boring. I do get to travel a bit so that's fun.

City's home form: P - 14 W - 14 D - 0 L - 0 GF - 42 GA - 6 Yikes!

City primarily play through the middle and use very little width. If they are stubborn at playing through the middle, I think defensively we can stop them and counter effectively. Just play deep and counter with Mata, Ramires & Torres/Sturridge.

Soak up pressure then counter. 4-4-1-1 (4-4-2 on offence) Cech Ivan - Luiz - JT - Cole Ramires - Essien - Lampard - Mata Drogba Torres/Sturridge

He can play there, but we have players much better suited to that position compared to him. Hence my point being either on the wing or on the bench.

I think 4-2-3-1 is the way to go in the future. So we definitely need a world class winger and a creative midfielder. I would love a winger that can play on both wings cause I think Ramires should be on one wing from now on. Dude has shown great play on both wings and actually puts in good balls and is surprisingly good at taking on his man as well. Plus a guy like Ramires on your wing adds a lot to your defence. Sturridge should be a super sub and 2nd choice striker (Drogba should leave). For next year: Ramires - Mata - (Buy Winger) Torres ST - Torres, Sturridge, Lukaku RW - Ramires, Sturridge, Kakuta, KDB LW - (Buy a Winger - Hazard, Hulk etc.), Kakuta, KDB CAM - Mata, Kakuta The midfield is the biggest problem for me since I don't think we have a single player there that is even close to world class. Lamps is old, Essien isn't the same, Meireles, Mikel and Romeu are just mediocre. I think out of all the above listed we should only be starting one of them and buying a 2nd world class option - Modric, Hamsik type guys. First XI Cech Ivan - Luiz - JT - Cole (Hamsik, Modric, Pjanic) - Romeu Ramires - Mata - (Lavezzi, Hulk, Hazard, Jovetic) Torres Second XI Turnbull Bos - Cahill - Bruma? - Bertrand Meireles - Mikel Sturridge - Kakuta - Malouda Lukaku So essentially just two big buys - 1 winger and 1 mid, lets say 55-60M in total. I think that's a reasonable spending to expect. We can let go of Drogba, Kalou, Hilario, Ferreira and maybe even Malouda depending on how much we can rely on Kakuta, Piazon, McEachran. Cause say what you want about Malouda he is fairly decent and provides good cover in both CM and the LW. And, I think he's been pretty decent lately.