Slam Dunk

Team GB: Jack Butland, Jason Steele; Ryan Bertrand, Steven Caulker, Craig Dawson, Micah Richards, Neil Taylor, James Tomkins, Joe Allen, Tom Cleverley, Jack Cork , Ryan Giggs, Aaron Ramsey, Danny Rose, Scott Sinclair, Craig Bellamy, Marvin Sordell, Daniel Sturridge.

This is ridiculous. Cap, just because you've put your opinions in a chart, doesn't make it fact. If you deem Kalou to be a signing equal to, for example, Malouda, then I respect that. I disagree however, and you should respect that too. Serious lack of objectivity in here. Edit: Over my time here, i've seen a lot of personal attacks/criticism on Kalou, and it often gets taken too far. I like his attitude and his spirit - He clearly is a good character to have around the squad. However, i've always said he lacks a 'footballing brain'. He was decent at taking on players and his finishing was never questioned, but his decision making was always his downside/weakness, which is the root of most fans' frustrations. I've no interest in comparing him to say, Torres, as there is no measurable scale of opinion. I'd say he proved himself a useful signing, and we should be grateful for his contributions, but it is time for him to move on to make way for wingers that are able to provide for a striker like Torres who needs crosses/assists - which was where Kalou failed.

Terrible. Season opener? Then hopefully it can go unused for 37 games.

Keeps on getting better for him. Sam Wallace ‏@SamWallaceIndy Interesting to note Roy Hodgson picked out #CFC's Ryan Bertrand as one of the new players he wants to select for Italy friendly on 15 Aug

That video was awesome, the music playing during the final was not, however.

Thought that might happen. Well actually I didn't think a Brazilian team would be able to pay his transfer fee either.

Doubt the source. It's possible that he's just one of several targets that could be viable options after we'd made initial enquiries. A Brazilian right side of Maicon & Hulk anyone? He's 30, not 80.

Bale OUT of Team GB through injury.

Perhaps (i'm not aware of the specific statistics), but you got the sense that under RDM, Lampard was more trusted with responsibility than under AVB. Even if he was benched, there was the feeling that Frank was still 'the main man' in midfield. Obviously AVB's handling of him didn't help, as TX said, but you can imagine the stories of 'player power' etc. all rearing their heads if Modric were to replace Lampard at the beginning of the season. Consider how he was playing at the end of the season, he was like a new player in his new role, does he deserve to become second choice behind Modric? And before you say they can share the workload because Lampard is 34, I don't see that happening - Meireles is a squad player, Essien is a squad player. At this moment in time, Lampard is not a squad player, and neither is a £30/40m signing such as Modric. Frankly, i'm having a hard time seeing this deal as being possible. I'm not convinced we have room for him nor am I convinced we need him.

Begovic? You're about 2 years late on this one mate.

Southampton 12/13 Home/Away: Seems like they've forgotten they're supposed to wear stripes.

Are we going to have the star above the TC badge for the whole season, or just UCL games?

So we buy Modric, which means Lampard will have to be benched for the majority of games (big games as well i'd assume), as it's unlikely they'll ever play together... ...What happened under AVB when Lampard was dropped? I seem to remember a fair bit of animosity towards Lampard from some members when the stories in the press came out about him being unhappy. Are we going to get the same complaints from Frank again? Just a wondering of mine...

What happened to his (Lucio's) proposed move to Turkey? Was that just paper talk?

I don't know if Vitesse is a viable option, personally I doubt it, but I suppose it's possible, depending on if the other loanees were to renew their loans there like Kalas has/will do. Would still prefer him to stay in England.

We'd be very lucky indeed to get over £3m for Yossi imo. As long as his spot is free for a young, hungry foreigner, i'm happy.

Talk about rubbing it in...

No chance, especially after the disappointment of missing out on the Euro squad.

Yeah, I don't think it's too big a deal in comparison to how others are making it sound. The Olympic final is a day before the Community Shield, chances are Team GB won't go that far in the competition anyway It's probably safe to assume that Sturridge will be in the team as well.

He's been waiting for so long to prove himself, now he starts (and wins) a CL final AND plays in the Olympic team. Fully deserved, and hopefully, his story gives some hope to some of our other youngsters. Bertrand > Gibbs. Let's hope he's first choice for Team GB as well.

Kieran Gibbs, Aaron Ramsey, Joe Allen, Tom Cleverley, Ryan Bertrand, Craig Dawson, Jason Steele, Jack Butland all in Team GB. So Ryan will be missing a bit of preseason as well!

Only Stoke?

So Beckham's confirmed he will not be playing for Team GB after Pearce decided to leave him out. Thoughts? I think its a ridiculous decision personally.

Wait. Hold on. The media lie?

Well I agree in some aspects, but we were a different team 7/8 years ago. I think Hazard especially is still young and hungry, just a different calibre of player. When we signed young players around 03/04/05, we were not at the top level of football. We're now European Champions, and to stay at the top level, you have to have top players, which we're now able to attract.