lionsden

That's because la masia/spanish academy produces footballers while the English academy produces Athletes. English players from an early age are conditioned to play "kick and follow" footie therefore placing emphasis on fitness and tenacity rather skill and finnesse which has manifested in the England national team. It's gradually changing now though with skillful players like Sturridge, wilshere and Josh coming through.

I spoke with Lukaku on the phone last night and he told me it's a done deal Lukaku may have to prove his mettle first but I doubt any manager would play Sturridge ahead of him. It's the infamous Belgian wonderkid we are talking about here RA wants to kim him around to mentor Lukaku, apparently. We are merely basking in the spirit of transfer season

Only if we hadn't bought fernandon't scorres in the first place. the spaniard's arrival may have dented Sturridge's chances of playing in his favourite position. And with lukaku also coming in, He would have to make do with playing as a wing forward.

He's English- what does that have to do with anything? Are English players superior to Chileans by default? He's proven in the epl- Yes but Sanchez doesn't play in Burkinafaso and singaporean league neither. he plays in the serie A whose level is not far below the epl. He can cross and he can shoot- That's down to his style of play. some wingers prefer to cut inside and deliver killer passes or shoot ala Robben, Sanchez while others are more traditional in their style of play ala Ashley Young, Valencia but that does not make one winger better than the other. Btw Young cannot shoot any better than Sanchez. He's cheaper than Sanchez-Yes but that's a testament to Sanchez's talent and superiority over Ashley Young.

50 million for pastore, good lord. I blame man city, real madrid and Abramovich for overinflating the market with their outrageous spending. The only player in the world worth that amount in my own estimation is messi.

Did you type that with a straight face I will love to know why

Yet we still had the best away record in the league under Scolari. I reckon that counts for something.

Really? Why didn't JT,Drogba et al inspire the team to UCL final under mourinho and Ancelotti? Why were these players more motivated under Avram Grant? I'm patiently waiting for answers on a postcard

Lukaku is fat? what would you call JT, Lampard, Rooney? clinically obese? come off it.

Wait!! when did he become a scientist

My sentiment exactly to the 100th degree. little off topic. people on here often equate Avram Grant to hot garbage/trash despite inspiring us to our very first champions league final which we were extremely unlucky not to have won. that defies every logic known to mankind

This has to be the most intelligent and well thought out response I have read on this forum

I know one thing for sure. We performed better under scolari than we did this season with ancelotti. if ancelotti should have been given more time to get things right, the same case can sure as hell be made for scolari who was never given any chance or support (1 full season atleast). unless we want to be hypocritical.

What's the point of buying him (a 19 year old) given our history with young talents, I'm willing to take a punt on him to suffer the same fate as mancienne, tore, Sinclair et al. RA should just buy Seedorf and Pirlo instead and not waste this talented kids time and also save the fans from yet another disappointment.

Johan Cryuff should take the credit for barca's tiki taka style of play and not pep. The dutch brought the philosophy to Barcelona and the club has played that way since 1988. I will however give guardiola credit for his high pressing tactics and man management skills which also includes youth development.

In a nutshell. The most expensive striker in premier league's history requires a creative midfielder/winger in order to flourish or even produce a satisfactory output? Was the absence of creativity in the team also responsible for his abysmal ball control, finesse and lack of confidence?

Welcome to the forum. We also have Torres,Anelka,Bosingwa and Malouda up for sale in case you are interested

Nasri's best position is behind the striker(s)/attacking midfield. He's not as effective on the wings or anywhere else on the pitch I wouldn't mind him joining us at all. top quality player

I thought Aguero himself has already ruled out a move to Chelsea or the premiership. why is this thread still active?

I'm I the only one that thinks Hamsik is just another Lampard but without the 20+ goals per season and younger?. give me Fabregas, a world class creative midfielder, please

I'm I the only one that thinks Hamsik is just another Lampard but without the 20+ goals per season and younger. give me Fab4, a world class creative midfielder, please

fixed.

Another one bites the dust. The main question right now is "what's the point of investing millions of pounds into our academy? I fear that in a few years, we could completely lose the ability to attract quality youth players given the on going trend which is very frustrating. even more worrisome is the fact that this trend shows no signs of ending. It shouldn't come as a surprise when Sturridge,Josh,Bruma kakuta and Bertrand follow suit

It's a deal

I will get on twitter right now and claim that we have signed messi, iniesta and CR9 on a 5 year contract and see if anyone believes the drivel