Blue Armour

Full-back...love defending and attacking...also love running up and down the pitch Ashley Cole-style .. Its such a shame that there are no good scouts in this country...sigh...

Anyone else noticed that his hairstyle was almost back the normal? Golden locks I mean

It might be blasphemy to even hint at it, but a few members were saying the way we went down to United last Sunday was reminiscent to the way Arsenal usually performs against us and of course United. Plenty of chances, free-flowing football but ultimately nothing to show for it. From the comments of Fergurson and Gary Neville, it seemed to me that despite applauding AVB for setting up the team for attack, they didn't seem particularly worried about the threat we posed before or even after the match. In fact they seemed relieved that their team didn't have to face a water-tight defence, and were in-fact mildly annoyed we enjoyed so many chances. There's all the question of whether we would have even got so many chances against a more experienced line up in Ferdinand and Vidic. I personally feel that this comparison is out of basis because: 1. Our defense (back four and Goalkeeper) actually has a reputation. 2. We can add more steel to out midfield when needed. 3. We have more experience in tactial situations. 4. Arsene Wenger's older teams have actually played well and got results, so its not impossible for another team to achieve similarly in the EPL 5. The most important: Our manager just doesn't care about the football, he cares about the result even more. From the post-match reaction it was clear he didn't enjoy this defeat at all, and it was clear he had definitely come for red blood at Old Trafford. Plus he isn't afraid to go out and get the player he wants from the transfer market, and shake-up the team lineup at any time during the game. Also, If Vidic returns to line-up I'm pretty sure an In-form Torres could run rings around him. And there's a nice blend of youth,quality and experience in the rest of our attacking lineup with Sturridge, Drogba, Anelka and Malouda At the same time I hope AVB never plays Mata in midfield without someone like Mikel in the back, as defending and winning the ball back isn't the Spaniard's forte. I also hope he can refrain from using a very high line of defense during the away games against the bigger sides. Sometimes the linesman can mistake with the offside trap, just like what happened in the case of Nani's goal. For now, I'll stick to this line of thought, at least until we face other sides like Man City, Liverpool, etc.

Very much agree on Cole getting rest...The amount of games he played last season was unbelievable... I've always felt that with his ankle problems, there should be a little bit of rotation at LB, with PVA or Bertrand coming on for the last few minutes, or maybe even starting the less important ones.

Excellent opportunity for the young 'uns in this match... Any chance Didier Drogba will be available for this? Could be a learning experience for the younger players, and will also be great to keep the big man warmed up and game-ready just in case...

Considering the double threat of Evra and Young I think Bosingwa did pretty well to be honest. Mata and Sturridge have to improve on their defensive work. Both full-backs were needlessly exposed. Agree on using a more versatile CB combo when playing teams like this. Probably AVB felt Luiz didn't have much match practise..Question is who do you drop JT? Ivanovic? And Valencia's a thug...As soon as he came on he was using his physique to bulldoze into our wingers on the left flank.

Pfft...come on...a lot of players do it one way or the other...

Not true..in fact there were some hilarious comments on The Sun forum after the match: Gunners fan: 'United getting away with the ref again. No surprises there. What can you do against 12 men?" United fan in response: "What the hell are these gooners doing on a thread thats about two title contenders" The majority of United fans (apart from the plastics) will tell you that we gave them a good game and are genuine contenders, even if they say that they deserved to win. Its the f***ing MEDIA that continues to be biased with everything including the Torres issue. Glad that citeh crumbled today, else it would have been even more revolting...

Like I said I hope to see a reaction in the next game... Its great to see the fans keeping their chin up, and also for the mancs and the genuine sports pundits (not the rabble in the media) acknowledging that we played well. But it'll all be in vain if the players react negatively. That's what led to Carlo's downfall.

I know the importance of the high line of defense and that it serves in the transition to attack as quickly as possible...but I hope AVB takes more caution in some of the bigger games. If one of our defenders doesn't make a mistake, I'm sure one of the linesmen or the referees are going to, just like that failed offside trap. To be fair, apart from that one incident there weren't too many scares related to that, as we kept the ball better in their half. But its not yet as good as how Barca do it, so we're always going to face a threat on the counter against these kinds of teams..I hope AVB would have learned from this

Listen I'm also a Didier fan, but you have to ask yourself how much more would you expect from a striker whose team was falling apart from him. He hardly put a foot wrong and the only mistakes he made were from a couple of opportunities he made himself. Besides, who else do you want as CF? Sturridge? Not ready..Anelka? Not for a full match anyway.. The only other candidate is Drogba, but its still yet to be seen if he can get to top goalscoring form rather than just sit inside our team formation.

Bottom line: He said the game scoreline could have gone either way, but it would've better if we had more luck. Happy with perfomance..Didn't talk much about Torres (or any other player in particular as usual), also preferred not to talk about the offside goals... From what I saw, it was clear he didn't enjoy this result at all.

Yeah, I was thinking the same as well. The kid has still a lot to learn, if he wants to become anything like Drogba. Anyways looking forward to a REACTION in the Carling cup. Hopefully it will be an opportunity for AVB to try out Bertrand and McEachran. Plus Fernando's found his feet at last, even Graeme Souness and Gary Neville admitted to that. Also Didier's coming back to fitness so its far from doom and gloom!

Precisely. There still a home leg that awaits. Anyways, AVB has given a good account of himself with that brand of attacking football. BUT, like some of the pundits said, he should approach a slightly more cautious approach when visiting stadiums like Eastland, Trafford, Anfield etc.., if he wants to leave with a result. Otherwise we'll transform merely into another Arsene Wenger side. And considering what happened to Big Phil, I think AVB should be a little careful as well.

That was definitely one of the most painful games (along with Ray Wilkins commentary) to watch. When you look at the amount of chances created both sides could have taken the league, although perhaps the balance was upset with their 1st and 2nd goals. Martin Tyler may well be right. We are a side in transition and their might be some pain before success is achieved. But on the bright side: We still fought back We are still third, and only 3 away from second This was their home ground, and we could have left with far worse results at this stage of the season. It has certainly been an eye-opener but I don't think it has dismantled our campaign entirely

Yes, but I think anyone can realise we deserve at least one goal. I don't take care if this game is lost. Put up a fight, remove some gloss from their scoreline and fight another day.

Key would also be getting in Rooney's face, which makes the holding role important. Do you think Meireles will be able to cope better than Mikel?

Ah, but what about few of our players ON the pitch? They know one or two things as well...

That's just silly...thinking Malouda can control the club and AVB through the club's media outlet... I think they always use Malouda and Drogba as they're few of the well known foreign players that can actually speak in English. Also, Chelsea TV probably think they're good entertainment value as they can be like jokers in front the camera...

Its what I was also thinking. Coupled with a 4-5-1 formation it might be our best chance of getting a result ...but I don't think too fans would like it, and I doubt AVB would go for that kind of tactic.

Well let's look on the bright side...the probability that he will score in his next game is going up day by day

Yeah...you would think the Chelsea boss was managing a bunch of dinosaurs....

I liked Dimond's articles as well. After the loss to Inter two years ago, he was one of the few people in the media who believed that the Chelsea team wasn't as old and washed up like everyone else claimed, and that it could still challenge for the domestic honors, which it did eventually

Like I said, if the coach gives him specific instructions he should do it. He did fine against Messi (with help from the CB's of course) at the Nuo camp. I'll say it again, if one of their wingers is in a good nick, they could skin Bane with their pace. Yes Bosingwa, suffered from lapses of concentration last season, but he seems to have improved again this season. And I honestly feel he's better at dealing with fast players than Brana. His only problem is that he bombs forward whenever possible. He will definitely have to restrict himself more for this match

But who would we play instead Alex, Luiz? The fitness and sharpness of the former is in doubt(he would have been a sure starter otherwise), and well Luiz...I dunno..it might irritate the Mancs,.However his enthusiasm to step in and make a tackle could result in a foul...The thing is, its that kind of enthusiasm which also makes him drive forward to become a goal threat... In Luiz's case a lot depends on Mikel as well. If Mikel can cover for him to the best of his abilities, it should be fine to deploy Luiz as CB.