Blue Armour

Oh, well.....that sucks.

Pfft...no way are we going to sign a reject.... If we're going to sign someone to play in the wing it has to be a winger...and no more strikers unless he's a youth prospect or just that damn good.....

To be honest, signing Neymar would mean a lot more good than bad... 1. Because of his age, he would qualify as a homegrown player(right?), and hence wouldn't take up more space in the squad 2. He can play on the wing 3. He adds something completely different from what we already have... I know its just speculation at this stage, but if he does sign, I certainly won't complain....

Ok...I'm not really sure Malouda should be the first one to leave, seeing as there is no confirmation that we will be signing a first class winger to replace him and also because our squad is short of quality wingers... The next best option I can think of in the squad is Gael Kakuta, but he doesn't seem to have taken off from his exciting 09-10 season.. Maybe they're just canvassing a buyer for him, so that when the time comes to sign a new winger, a slot will be available in the squad... In my opinion they should oust Zhirkov before Malouda...I know the Russian is the younger, more versatile player, and has skill and pace, but the guy just can't stay fit for the full season, and is always out for one reason or the other...

That's one reason why we would have an advantage.... But with people like Pele and Ronaldo breathing down his back, you can never be too sure...

Ballack...model professional and a good example of leadership in the squad.. Deco...added flair and creativity, but was always going to end up in Brazil... Joe...The only real reason I miss him was because he was a childhood fan of the club..sad to see him play some place else, and also to see him lose form...

Not skills. Consistency. And unfortunately I don't think that's going to change much. You could say that its down to the fact he doesn't play often, but that's too convenient an excuse.. But I have to agree with Tomo..As a squad player, he's a fantastic option to have and having such an option is a rarity these days. I doubt he'll be around much longer, when he realizes he won't be able to tie down a regular starting role.

Don't know if there's truth in all these rumours but... In all honesty if Ashley Cole wants to leave we shouldn't force him to stay back. Naturally AVB will meet up with him (besides others) and find out wants on his mind before anything, and they'll work something out... On the plus side, we have to options remaining for LB in Patrick and Ryan..If used well they could become more than decent replacements for Cole... The only downside to letting Cole go would be that he's English. Also he's probably the best left back in the world. And he might become an addition for a top Spanish Club and ruin our case for another European Cup. Alright, I'll stop

I know you used the word 'despite' but really...those two phrases in your post just don't go together...

Don't forget Kenny D

I hope AVB can bring out the best in Gael Kakuta... I really had high hopes for him after 09-10 and the following Euro u-19 championship...but something seems wrong... If Gael can play to his best, it would help solve a lot of our problems....speed, creativity and wingplay....

Graeme Souness said he's not good enough...so out....

I never said he should be part of any starting line-up..he's not consistent enough for that..but as a squad player he usually does the job whenever the situation calls for it... Truth is, I don't think WE'll be holding onto him for long..... as we can never offer what he wants: a regular starting role...

Good point...in fact, Kalou's stats are superior to that of Theo Walcott who's a regular in the Arsenal line-up

Isn't 6 mill rather low by today's standards?

You could say quite a few of those goals came from really poor marking, but that was also the case for many of the early goals in Didier's career as well.... A really good player with lot of variety in his play, and quite good with both feet when it comes to shooting...Shame Carlo never gave him much of a role in Nov-Dec...would've reduced the pressure on the senior attackers to deliver, at a time when the mid field was poor....

If AVB is opting for a free flowing passing game, that he supposedly admires, then it won't really matter who is at front provided that someone can finish properly when given the chance. That being said, its always a good idea to have more than one type of striker for the premier league...we have already have 3 different strikers in Torres, Drogba and Anelka. If Falcao or any othe transfer target proves to better version of one of those three, then it could be a nice move, with that one player going the other way...

I think a lot of you are going to horribly wrong about which players are going to be useful and which ones are actually going to leave... AVB said he is only going to meet up with the current squad next month, and will be most likely assessing their motivation levels/commitment and judge their usefulness for next season over the course of the pre-season. I have no doubt he will shift out players if he feels they aren't useful...he did so at Porto with Raul Meireles and Bruno Alves ( Portuguese even)..but won't do so without much consideration..Unlike some of us fans he isn't biased for or against any player... I'm just saying....

Falcao can be a very useful signing if other strikers are leaving. With Torres' injury record its always good to have backup... In fact I don't see the need for more than two strikers leaving, as its always good to have more options than without. As for which players are going the other way, speculation might be pointless as anything could happen between now and end of August...It depends a lot on whether any club wants the player.... As for Falcao...is he more than an out and out CF? I mean can he occasionally switch to the wings and rotate positions with the front three...? For 4-3-3 I mean....

Lipton must've been hiding in the bin then to have seen that....

Thought he looked more like Ryan Stiles from "whose line is it...."

4-3-3 is still our most successful formation..That being said, we don't always have to rely upon one formation... and the game's different now..there's no such thing as a rigid formation in any of the good teams.... And is there any inkling of truth about us going to get Porto players? I don't think we're going to sign players from the new manager's former club just for the sake of it...with Mourinho it was different as we were still finishing a half built squad... And if its one thing we don't really need from Porto right now its another striker....

They only pretend to be....

And also the bad publicity he gathered because of the press conferences and other comments....

As long as Abramovich remains happy with him, I'll be happy