Tomo

If they didn't care about what we thought they would have made the change in the summer and cut short our months in cloud 9 over being European Champions with a club legend in charge. Getting back in that top 4 was so vital that season and with Di Matteo it was in danger, we looked like his West Brom team with superior players, started well, got a few great results but soon nosedived and he had no idea how to adress the slide, the Juve and Shaktar away games were terrifying. The club commited a nessesery evil to smooth the evolution of the club, we didn't like it but we are reaping the rewards now.

Benitez did what was required, us and Rafa was the ultimate marriage of convience, we needed a high profile experienced manager to guide us through a transition period (Robbie did amazing in his interim spell but imo the full time job was too much for him) he needed us to get back on the horse and recover a reputation that took an all mighty wallop in his last season at Liverpool.Our squad that season were not winning the league or getting near it, infact I think we did well to finish 3rd, Arsenal and Tottenham had better balanced squads. Im not really a Rafa fan and in no way shape or form did I want him to stay full time with Jose wanting to come back, however he did a good job under not very ideal circumstances and deserves credit for that. Also it wasn't Rafas fault we were in Europa, the damage was already done when he came in.

Well Carvalho and Drogba both won that after departure........

I disagree, he is a very good manager but not close to the complete package, Mou, Pep and when he was managing Fergie are light years ahead of him, Simeone aswell in my honest opinion. He has weaknesses that has undermined his league record, all his teams have a worrying habit of getting complacent at the most inappropriate times, he has no idea how to properly adress slumps and isn't that good tactically. I honestly wouldn't mind if he went City or United, he will have them competing at a high level yes, but no Ancelotti team will ever dominate a league.

Ancelottis league record isn't very good considering the teams he has had. Personally I wouldn't be too fussed if he went to City.

Yeah defiantly, I did have a suspicion at the start of the season we wouldn't be as good defensively as last with Cesc coming in and Lamps and David going, tbh I think Mourinho saw how important the title was this season and prioritiesed flat track bullying our way to it and has to be said, so far so good on that score.

Funny the reactions in the match thread of weve blown the title. Mainly because if we were 6 points behind a Mourinho lead City having played a game more with Pellegrini as our manager not one person would give us a prayer for the title.

We need 19 points. 6 wins and a draw or 5 wins and 4 draws, and that's assuming City win every game.

In all honestly I don't think the defence is that bad but the protection isn't the best currently, something im sure Mou will fix in the summer, Matic is off form and as much of a revelation as Cesc has been, to say he isn't the best defensive pivot player is putting it mildly.

Mark Schwarzer didn't do anything wrong last season until the Sunderland game but was never going to replace Cech. Remy is a top squad player to have but Costa is the number one and rightly so.

City have made the same mistake we did in 2010 and they did themselves in 2012 and failed to refresh the squad with any real quality and got too comfortable. Mourinho isn't the type of manager to rest on his laurels, if we lift the league in May he will be plotting back to back titles during the celebrations.

O shea and Brown were roughly about the same time as Fletcher, after that there wasn't too many, the only ones really promoted from scratch (as in promoted without any real first team expierence) were the twins, happy to be proved wrong if I've missed someone. United still have a better record than us to suggest otherwise would be moronic, but I do feel they are a bit overrated in that aspect due to the class of 92. Although re Brown, O Shea, we should start using the academy to fill the squad especially with FFP and HG rules, Jack Cork could have been our O Shea in that regard.

Well we did similar with Sturridge, I remember people saying how great Fergie was with youth and we should follow his example with Cleverly and Welbeck conviently forgetting we did exactly the same for Danny. If say Ake goes on loan like they did and proved his PL pedigree im sure he would come back to us and play.

You just knew it was a matter of time till the fan boys return Imagine if Costa had a poor start, the "we should have kept Torres" and "OMG WHY DID WE SELL LUKAKU" brigade would have been unbearable.

We played superb fluent football for the most part of the season in the first half, some off our football was the best we played since the double. The difference between us and the rest dus far is we can roll our sleeves up and do it the not so pretty way aswell.

That's your opinion fair enough, it's just the fraud bit that was uneasy with me.

My god.

Tbh United and Fergie were living off the golden generation a bit. The only players he really promoted from academy in after Fletcher in 2003 was Cleverly and Welbeck and that was only after they proved themselves on loan. Bar the Da Silva brother's no one was really promoted from scratch,.ie no prior first team experience.

At this stage in the season performances don't matter in the slightest, 3 point's is all that matters. We can reintroduce the pretty 1-2s in August.

Since new year he has been, but in the first half of the season he was really crap.

But like I said to the previous lad its about balance, we can do both and as I mentioned with Terry-Gallas it isn't one or the other, we can sign Pogba and give Ruben chances, especially if we move to 4-3-3 which we probably will if we sign Paul.

Terry himself was just breaking through when we signed Gallas, I bet many thought then why have we gone out and signed him when we could have just given JT a chance. It isn't as black and white as one or the other, we could sign Pogba and give Ruben chances too.

For a good price yes, but he would likely cost £80m plus upwards of 200k a week wages. Maybe half those figures and we can start talking.

A few years ago some people didn't want Neymar because it would halt Kakuta. We can't say no to Pogba on the off chance RLC will be as good, we just can't, however if we are going 4-3-3 there be room for both anyway.

Because no shit player's have ever played in the quarter final of the CL.