CHOULO19

But how well is he doing? Last I heard he was stuck on the bench after his last injury.

Yes, but I remember he returned to the NT after he came back from his last injury this year. Could be wrong though.. Well that depends on the kind of solution the club comes up in Jan. If we sign a new DM (unlikely imo) we won't need Essien back. Besides Dan Levene, who knows a lot of inside stuff at the club, said this week that the club doesn't think Essien has a future here anymore..

Benitez says the aim is to play tomorrow's game with a high tempo to use the quality of the players. #CFCJapan Benitez says he has not decided on his team yet. He will look at the freshness of the players in the final training session today. #CFCJapan Benitez says Monterrey are also a team that can change formations and are tactically good. #CFCJapan Benitez says Monterrey have been studied and they are a good team who like to pass but can also play direct football. #CFCJapan Rafael Benitez says the main focus so far has been adapting to time difference and getting used to a new ball for these matches. #CFCJapan Cahill: "This competition means a lot. It's hard to get into this tournament, we've come all this way and we want to win it." #CFCJAPAN Cahill: "We've had a few days to adapt to the time change, I feel fresh and ready to go." #CFCJAPAN Cahill: "Monterrey have good players, we'll study them tonight and tomorrow but from what I've seen they can cause us problems." #CFCJAPAN Cahill: "Since Rafa's come in we've tightened up as a unit and had some good results, we're well aware of what's expected." #CFCJAPAN Cahill: "Monterrey had a good result on Sunday, it will be a tought test for us and they can play it long or short." #CFCJAPAN

^^ Too..much..PIIINK!

Our main issue is Jan when Mikel will be at the ACON, but so will Essien, so I'm not sure we will call him back.

It's absolutely disgusting, imo. This is what I would call a plastic fan.

Arsenal fan: And they have the nerve to call us glory hunters

I just love this: Ballack's best moments at Chelsea: http://www.mediafire...aq97ajaqin6zqhq (not my upload)

No excuses now, the cup is for us to lose.

Funny thing is, Bradford didn't defend that well. They allowed 28 shots. Arsenal were just extremely weak offensively. http://www.sincearsenallastwonatrophy.co.uk/

League two side beat full strength Arsenal side. You just don't write shit like this; Comedy gold

Massive result for Sunderland that possibly saves O'Neil's job..for now.

Oh fuck off Arsenal...

8 mins, come on Bradford, hold on!

We were short on CDM/CM with Essien's injury and the departure of Ballack and Deco. I don't think there was an intention of replacing Mikel because he was a starter throught the 2010/11 season. He certainly divides opinions, but so many DMs often do. Tiote, for example, is regarded by many as the best Dm in the league while others, myself included, think he is slightly above average. Even Maka didn't wasn't fully appreciated till after he was gone.

Just saying that there is nothing, from past experiences with managers, to suggest that the next manager will not put his trust in Mikel. To replace a finished Essien which we eventually did by buying Oriol. And they have every right to do so. I was not in any way disregarding the opinions of those fans; was just saying that at the end of the day the club and manager are the ones who make the transfer decisions. And what does the level of education or how many years they have supported the club have to do with anything? They have a right to form and voice an opinion regardless. Surely you're not insinuating that Mikel fans are uneducated or know nothing about the club?

Could've been 2-0 to Bradford; off the line. Arsenal are hilarious

You say this based on what exactly? Managers like Carlo, Hidink...etc showed complete confidence in him. Even Mourinho himself was the one who bought him and moved him to DM. Not once during his time here did we hear even murmurs that the club or manager are looking to sign any DM to take Mikel's place.

He is a football player but he is human being at first and he is entitled to his opinions and beliefs.

That's why I said "if we buy a new DM". Our best option will be a loan till the end of the season but I can think of no DM that would be available for loan. Our next best option would be recalling either Chalobah or Josh (it would actually be not extending the loan in the case of Nathanial), but that might be damaging to their development since both are doing excellent at their loan and will probably only manage to play 8-10 games with us that is if they make it into the team. As much as I hate the idea and find it disastrous, I think moving Luiz up is probably the most probable option. The only other option I could think of is buying a CM (since we are lacking in that area) who is capable of covering at DM. Well those supporters should be aware that the club will not be looking to replace Mikel anytime soon. The club and every manager that has come in has been happy with him, so he is not going anywhere. And although, unfortunately, Oriol might not make a full recovery, it would not make sense to buy a DM who will replace him without seeing whether or he does return as good as new.

Ouch! Yeah, you're probably right.

If you all want to go off topic, do it here.

I was referring to Mikel. It's hard to remember that he is still 25 and is yet to reach his peak.

If we do sign a DM in Jan, he will not be Mikel's replacement but rather his cover. We will not pay more than 10-15m when we already have 2 young great DMs.

At the risk of getting crucified, I would like to suggest Huddlestone. He's young, can play both positions of the pivot and probably wants to leave spurs. Only problem is that we will have to do business with that cunt.