lionsden

Dreams do come true Just thought AVB should use the Norwich game to rotate the squad and give some of the fringe players some much needed game time.

Justin is a member of the Saudi Arabia royal family. He breathes and sleeps in money

One word: Anelka

The De Bruyne situation is akin to a roller coaster. One minute, we are only a few hours away from securing his signature and the next minute, everything goes cold.

. . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . Hilario Bosingwa. . . .. .. . . Ivanovic. . . . . . Terry. . . . . . . Betrand . . . .. . . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . . .Romeu . . . . . . . . ..Benayoun. . . . . . . .. . . . . . .Josh . . . .. . . . . . Anelka . . .. . . Torres. . . . . . . . .Mata

THIS

Great news. this loan move is important for his development. He has really impressed me so far and I have no doubt he has a bright future. I do have reservations with Vitesse though as he could do with a loan to a better club/league.

What's next. . . Peter Crouch and pace

Another one bites the dust. This is sickening

What more does Sturridge have to do to prove his mettle?

I don't think AVB shares your pov based on recent evidence.

I actually feel sorry for arsenal fans. . .they have been through alot of pain already. Wenger is just a stubborn and stingy old geezer. he does the same thing repeatedly and expects a different result every season.

Yes. Man city, Real madrid, PSG and Abramovich and the FFP are responsible for the inflation.

It's irrelevant whether it's 26m or 23m. the point is that mata is relatively cheap by today's transfer market's standard where the likes of Pastore are valued at 45m and Henderson at 20m. Have you considered the time difference and transfer market inflation?

I'm not sure about Mikel but I agree with the rest

At £26m. Mata cost only £6m more than Henderson. Holly moses

When he found out the kalouda partnership is under serious threat

Talk about kicking a man when he's down

This is a major step in re-establishing ourselves as a competitive force in world football. Next step- Modric- IN Kalou- OUT

And Kalou is the next Ian Rush

AVB won't drop Lampard any time soon so we are in for more shambolic displays. I have kept my expectation extremely low so as to avoid the disappointment and heartache of last season.. . I suggest we all do the same.

you are absolutely spot on. Modric isn't going to stop Alex, Mikel, lampard and ramires from passing the ball backward is he. Neither will mata make the team improve their overall decision making i.e releasing the fcuking ball on time and to areas of the pitch that would threaten the opposition and don't run or shoot when you are meant to pass and vice versa. our players just don't get it and that has nothing to do with lack of creative players. like I said, we have to change the way we play first before progress can be made.

I agree that there's a universe of difference in both club's ambition and pressure to succeed. However my point is that with the quality of players we have, simple and accurate 5 yard passes vertically to Torres/forward 3 to create chances, play at higher tempo shouldn't be a difficult task. These are professionals that have played in top flight football for years we are talking about and not some amateurs from Sunday league. No? The lifeless, boring and amateurish football we played for most of last season and this season so far is simply unacceptable. Think about it how will modric and mata improve us significantly if we continue to play lethargically with no meaningful movement from midfielders and front men to create spaces to receive a pass which is the most important aspect of attacking football. Our players just don't understand the concept of attacking football and unless they adopt and internalize a different strategy to the one they have been used to, modric and Mata wouldn't make much difference.

But Swansea doesn't have Modric and Mata or players of that quality yet play far more superior football to Chelsea whose players salary budget alone can buy 10 Swansea FC clubs including the manager and owner whose net worth is merely £20m. This Chelsea team reminds me of England National team. Strong on paper, but piss poor on the pitch. Bottomline is, we don't need Modric or Mata to string 5 passes together vertically and create chances. . . if Lampard, Ramires and even Mikel cannot execute what Swansea midfield, whose collective market value is not up to £10m, achieve week in week out (forward accurate passes) then it's a real shame.

I'm not a fan of AVB's high line of defence system. It was exposed on many occasion against Stoke and WBA. The scoreline would have been different but thanks to Cech and Hilario. It can only work risk free under 2 conditions A: Pacy defenders (Terry and Alex are slower than a 1829 steam train) B: The opposition lack pace, width and penetration. AVB should seriously review his defensive tactics and use it only when appropriate.