dodojojo

Thank god, no AC Milan.

Could have fooled me. Your English is excellent.

Yeah, not AC Milan please.

Depressing.

Thank you. So I'm still a little confused as I have seen the term used here. Is it acceptable? If not, do you delete those posts?

I'm not English so I'm not 100% culturally attuned to the nuances of the race issues in England but I am amazed how casually that term is thrown around here on this board. Like I said, I'm not English so maybe I'm missing something...

I wouldn't boo if my team was 10 goals down. I would boo if they clearly give up and roll over. If they're just crap that day, withering silence is what they would deserve but I wouldn't boo.

I go to NBA games, albeit only in Los Angeles so I can't speak for any other city but I never hear any racist or homophobic stuff. There's stupid behavior but nothing vile. Don't know if it's just the section I usually sit in or what. I would hope if I ever heard anything vile shouted, I would stand up and...report it to an usher. I must be a soft flower because I don't understand why people pay good money to go and shout things they would never do so in polite company. A bit of banter, okay. Giving opposing teams a hard team, expected. But why get into race and ethnicity? Of course, I'll mutter something if my favorite player messes up, but it certainly wouldn't be about his skin color nor would I boo. Booing is only reserved for truly disgraceful behavior, ie, punching the ref, ignoring the coach's instructions, etc.

I hear ya...my one guess is that AVB's 4-3-3 system may not emphasize an attacking midfielder in the middle. Hence why Sneijder hasn't gotten much interest from Chelsea. Think he want someone further back to pull the strings while the front three is made up of a lone striker with wing/striker types. Yossi doesn't fall in any of the positions described. But I would love AVB to go 4-2-3-1 instead where Josh or Modric could play in the 2 with a DM and Yossi/Mata could play in the middle of the three. If Yossi starts there, Mata can go on either side. If Mata starts in the middle Yossi is a good backup. But since Mata said AVB told him he's going to play 4-3-3, Yossi doesn't have a position to play. I don't really think it's his quality but rather unfortunate circumstances. Pity he and Torres hardly got to play together at all in 7 months. What a waste.

How will big club LFC cope with being snubbed? Will they start a petition?

Sounds like he's off. Why else would he need to talk to the club about something that is a big announcement? Think he'd come in handy as a good squad player. Hope Chelsea doesn't regret this one. Think AVB wants his foreign spot to open up.

LOL, well how else will they CL football?

You actually got to see him at the Calderon? What season was this? So jealous....

Only concern is that he may not be match fit as Valencia are still in preseason mode/now striking...

Mata's English is already better than Torres who's been in England for 4 years. It's definitely better than Tevez's :541:

When have I not? I disagreed with some of his choices over team selection for the first two games, that's all.

Best thing about that link is that it shows Mata training at Cobham!

That's it. For two games AVB has tried the same industrious but completely guile-free midfield for two games against teams that pack their own half. For the 3rd game, I would love to see him try another way to break down defenses.

My condolences.

Hope AVB loosens it up a bit and starts Josh and Romeu even. Let's see if the kids can play faster and get the ball up to Torres. It's too early but it would be a dream to see Mata for a few minutes too. And Lukaku to replace Torres if there's a nice cushion. Surely for Norwich, AVB can throw caution to the wind?

Boswinga and Cole should sign for the class.

So why did he start him? Not Kalou's fault AVB started him. I don't think Kalou should be anywhere near the starting XI but perhaps we cut the guy some slack. Hopefully his agent is looking for a club.

His eyes? Would he be scary when he gets angry? Kinda has that look...

Told ya he would take care of Oriol. He did the same for Pacheco at Liverpool. Oh for those who questioned the hiring of the Spanish physio, see, he's useful

Hope he's in training tomorrow and ready for at least the bench on Saturday.