teignman

This is something, among many other things, that we've lacked during this downturn in form. We have been running out a squad, at times, where Petr is the old man of the bunch at 30. With JT and Lamps out we've lacked experience and leadership in our out field players. This is also why I'm not so enamored with the hard line approach of the board offering only 1 year contracts to players over 30. You need guys that have fought the battles and wars and overcome pressure and adversity.

I think there needs to be some doodles in the margins of "Mrs. Rafa Torres."

You've neglected to say if the "new era" will be one of feckless impotence or quality football.

I'm disappointed and saddened. In his short tenure, Bobby brought us untold adulation. He was and is a class act through and through. He did not deserve this. We better have a decent appointment lined up to take his place. This list would NOT include Benitez or Grant. The powers that be have brought the name of our beloved club into further disrepute with this decision.

Didn't he used to be called Cat Stevens?

I must admit I am unfamiliar with the laws of New Zealand, but I'm pretty sure punching a baby or adult, for that matter, llama in the face would contravene some sort of civil or criminal code.

Too bad it's with the other team.

Torres stat of the day from Stephen Schmidt at We Ain't Got No History: "He touched the ball 42 times today, 26 of them directly resulted in a turnover, goal kick, or opponents throw."

Whoa, you're twisted................ I like it!

This what impressed me most about Shakhtar. They are an extremely cohesive unit. They may not be highly talented at every position, but they know their system inside and out and execute it with aplomb. We, on the other hand, are still struggling at times to find our feet and get our players on the same page. However, there are a lot of bright spots that suggest that this group will gel into something fantastic. I'm sure the board sees this, and also realizes that there are still some holes to be filled in our squad. My confidence in the board is infinitely higher now than it was at this time last season. The "never say die" attitude is quite impressive as well. We had a bit of it before, but the players we are adding are young, hungry, and have a lot of character. When you've had to endure some of the hardships and/or tragedies that the likes of Oscar, Moses, and Ramires have, being down a goal in a critical match pales in comparison.

Amen. Lots of 2 vs. 1 on that flank. Bertie would drift in toward goal, like he should, in those situations. It left Srna with a lot of freedom. I still don't think Bertie had a good game, but I don't think he deserves some of the criticism he's getting.

I'm nervous about this one. I don't care how we do it, but the 3 pts are absolutely vital. That being said, Shakhtar are definitely a beatable team.

I don't believe in Torres. By that, I don't mean that I think he will not ever come back to anywhere near his best. I mean I don't believe he exists. His the yeti of the footballing world.

I wish we had a tag for player threads like this that are beyond long shots to come to CFC, for numerous reasons, that simply says "Never Going to Happen."

I don't think we're there yet (i.e. worrying about away goals). The most important thing is victory. I can understand your concern though.

The Essien comparisons are understandable, but Essien was more developed and playing in an appreciably better league at Wanyama's age. I think Wanyama needs to face much sterner competition on a more regular basis before we can consider him anywhere near being Chelsea quality. He's certainly got some possibilities though.

I am curious as to what dictionaries don't agree with this definition. The Oxford and Merriam Webster dictionaries, both highly esteemed authorities on the English language, agree on the national aspect of the definition. You are focusing on only one aspect of qualification for an ethnicity, i.e. the cultural. It is defined as national or cultural. My main point is that there is a group of people that satisfy one or more of the criteria for an ethnicity and they are known as "Spanish". Your statement about Azpilicueta, Mata, and Busquets is a non sequitur vis a vis my assertion that Spanish is an ethnicity. You have quickly gone from initially saying that "you don't think Spanish is an ethnicity" to saying it is "definitely not." I am under the distinct impression that you will not alter your most recent position, no matter how much credible evidence to the contrary is presented. My apologies to the TC community for straying so far off topic. As far as the Clattenburg allegations go, I don't think anything will come of it, except giving the tabloids something new they can run with on slow news days. The allegations seem very difficult to prove. Now if Clattenburg was an oft-maligned captain of the English National Squad, it might be different.

From the good people at Oxford dictionaries: Definition of ethnicity noun (plural ethnicities) [mass noun] the fact or state of belonging to a social group that has a common national or cultural tradition There is a group of people that fit this criteria, and can thus be listed as having Spanish ethnicity.

Spanish is defo an ethnicity. Furthermore, the FA rules regarding verbal abuse include reference to one's country of origin.

Nah, cos Fergie pays in handjobs.

After having a chance to digest the day's events I have the following points. 1. A wonderful advertisement for the PL was absolutely ruined by the simpering, metrosexual cur known as Mark Clattenburg. I and millions of others across the globe were cheated out of what should have been a classic match by someone masquerading as a high level referee. Shameful, truly shameful. 2. If Torres dove, then Young dove. I hate to traffic in the hypothetical, but if Hazard is in the same position as Young and draws such minimal contact, Hazard probably doesn't get that call. We can't expect perfection from the refs, but we can expect consistency and competence. 3. I've seen and heard fans and pundits alike argue that the offside controversy on Bitcharito was an extremely difficult decision. I disagree. Seconds earlier Bitcharito was tangled in the net like a mullet only to recover and be even with Petr when the pass was played. Common sense and decent vision could tell you he was offside. 4. And last something positive. We showed great spirit and determination in this one. You can't really teach or practice that. It comes from within and it's the stuff champions are made of.

I've gotta bad gut feeling about this one, but I still can't wait to watch.

It's de rigueur for the media to chastise Luiz to the nth degree for any poor performance. Yet, when he's solid (which he's been most of this season), they can't seem to utter a single word of praise. Thus confirming suspicions that most journos are obsequious twits.

Ivanovic= The Man Bear

Amen.