Jype

Yes, of course I know that as I'm currently in the middle of reading it. But what I meant were those Cersei, Jaime etc. chapters which I happened to notice in the table of contents and I just assumed that by the time I reached that point everything with the other characters would have catched up with the timeline. And that was also the impression I got from Martin's intro to the book which said it was only divided geographically to a point and that somewhere along the way the narratives from the two books would again be re-joined.

Part 2? I've only got it in one part in e-book format, little over halfway through it now. Am I right assuming this second part starts when the events catch up with what happened in AFFC? If so, I should reach that point sometime later today.

-9 and it's not even cold yet.

The performance was horrible but not too concerned about the result itself. Sure it would have been good to get the point because with Schalke drawing at Steaua it would have meant us sealing the first place in the group but we’re through anyway and only need a point at home against Steaua two weeks from now to guarantee the first place so it’s really not such a big deal. It was obvious that for Basel this was a life or death kind of match because now they are only a point away from qualifying to the knockout stages but our players couldn’t be bothered. Not giving a fuck is of course unacceptable and all that but I’m glad we slipped up here and not against West Ham last Saturday.

Lucky to stay level, Mourinho seriously needs to use the hairdryer in the dressing room or we'll lose. Lampard should be taken off after the break, been fucking shocking today and clearly not fit to play 90 minutes two times a week anymore. Maybe give a chance to De Bruyne?

Schwarzer, Cole, Mata, Hazard, De Bruyne, Schürrle, Torres That bench is just ridiculous.

Not bad. Was hoping for Schürrle and Willian to start on the wings but I'll take that too. 3-0, Willian to score two and Oscar the other.

Well, Balotelli at 23 has already played for clubs like Inter, Manchester City and Milan so he definitely looks set to follow in Zlatan's footsteps as a player who moves a lot. With Milan's mediocre start to the season Raiola has reportedly started touting Balotelli to clubs such as Chelsea or Real Madrid so it wouldn't surprise me at all if he moved away from Milan by next summer at the latest. Anyway, it's still way too early to tell whether or not Pogba will go down that road too. At the moment I don't see why he'd leave Juve anytime soon.

All these 'problematic' players such as Zlatan, Balotelli and Pogba have one thing in common and that's their agent Mino Raiola. I don't believe for a second they're as bad as people think they are, it's just the agent whispering things in their ear in an effort to get their clients what they rightfully deserve. Can you honestly say that Pogba demanding more playing time before committing his future to Man United was somehow uncalled for? His quality was there for everybody to see and he should have been given a proper chance because it's not like United's midfield was filled with quality players at the time but instead Ferguson opted to bring Scholes back from retirement in the middle of the season so Pogba and Raiola decided it's better for his career that he leaves. Don't know about you but I like players who are ambitious that way and aren't just happy to collect the paycheck and waste their careers away by sitting in the stands when they know they're good enough to play week-in week-out for a top club.

It doesn't matter if Dortmund accept an offer if the player refuses to move. He has his mind set on Bayern and surely their contract offer can't be that much worse than the 'irresistible' offers he would get from teams like Chelsea or Real Madrid in January because he holds all the cards here and can pretty much name his price and Bayern will be happy to agree as they'll still get a huge bargain by getting one of the best players in the world on a free transfer. Time to move on and only consider this guy again if something really unexpected happens, for example Guardiola suddenly changing his mind about getting him.

That makes perfect sense, you are a genius. Hazard can destroy Champions League quality sides like Bayern Munich and Schalke but can't do it on a rainy day at Hull because their players are 'bigger'.

Not necessarily. At least De Bruyne can easily play as one of the three central midfielders and I see no reason why Oscar wouldn't be able to adapt to playing there as well.

Anelka?

It's really not that simple. With the way Oscar's been performing this season it would be very hard to justify him losing his place in the team too so no matter who Mourinho plays in the number ten position he will make the wrong choice in some people's eyes, depending on which of the two they fancy. Last season they both played at the same time but anyone with a working pair of eyes could see that forcing Oscar out wide made him much less influential and then again Mata playing on the right wing doesn't sound that good an idea to me either after the arrivals of Willian and Schürrle who are both much better all-round wingers than Mata is. Mata is a great playmaker if he gets a free role without much defensive responsibilities but with the limited selection of central midfielders we currently have that really isn't possible if the plan is to remain solid at the back so at least for now Oscar has been preferred and rightly so because the Brazilian hasn't put a foot wrong all season. Football is a team game and in the end of the day it's the team's result that matters most so if we keep winning matches with the players Mourinho selects to play people shouldn't complain too much.

I'm right here and I still stand by what I said. It's not a conspiracy in favour of Manchester United, it's the English referees being clueless like they always are. How else do you explain all the other dodgy decisions this week alone? Mirallas not being sent off for the most horrific foul of the year, Brown being sent off for an inch perfect sliding tackle etc. I could go on but seriously, what's the fucking point? Also, need I remind you that we've had more than our fair share of luck with the refs lately or have you already forgotten the penalty decision against WBA?

Not too concerned about City so far. As good as they've been at home, their away form is shocking and they'll win fuck all unless they sort that out.

I can see a future for him at the club as a CM if today's 4-3-3 is here to stay. At least for now he wouldn't have anywhere near as much competition for a place in the team if he only had to fight it out with Lampard, Ramires and Essien for two starting spots instead of having to get ahead of Hazard, Oscar, Mata, Schürrle and Willian in the pecking order. Everything depends on himself though, he really needs to step it up in training and show Mourinho he's got what it takes. Lots of games coming up and lots of rotation before the window opens so he needs to act fast if he wishes to stay at a top club instead of taking a step backwards by joining a second rate team like Werder Bremen again. Really, really hope he stays and gets his career back on track.

That wasn't such a bad team selection after all, now was it? Midfield was again so much better with Mikel in it and Ramires was a winger only on paper, in reality he was fucking everywhere and did a great job today. Hell, even Lampard had an excellent match and that's something we haven't seen in a while. Hazard and Oscar both great and the only thing lacking in Eto's performance today was a goal but I feel he will get in on Tuesday. Maybe a three man midfield is the way to go? Could consist of Mikel, Ramires and one of Lampard, Oscar or maybe even De Bruyne if only he could force his way back into the squad. That would leave players like Hazard, Schürrle and Willian to bomb up and down the wings. Mata obviously the one who unfortunately wouldn't really fit anywhere in a formation like that but we can't stick with something that hasn't worked too well lately just to accommodate one player.

Azpilicueta again great at left-back.

Chris Foy been a surprisingly good ref so far. Let's just hope he won't fuck it up second half.

I'm loving Mourinho's negative tactics for this match.

Oscar, what was that? Nice goal.

PENALTY

With Jose everything is forgivable? Have you read this thread since the lineup was announced? There are people basically moaning about everything and I fully expect these same people to be crying for Mourinho to be sacked if we fail to win this. Not a fan of Ramires on the wing but I definitely see more positives than negatives in that lineup and will wait till the final whistle to moan about something Mourinho might have gotten wrong today. I'm not a 'bandwagoner', I criticize him when it's deserved and I certainly acknowledge the fact he has his flaws and blind spots, but what has been going on here today is nothing short of a witch hunt and in my humble opinion that is a disgrace. Hard to think of a better manager for us right now so moaning about Mourinho is ridiculous, especially after only a couple of months. Like I said, certain people are becoming way too spoiled after all the success and glory and not winning a match is always a good reason to either sack the manager or get rid of all the players and replace them by spending a few hundred millions on new ones.

Well, of course I'm concerned. Performances were shit but Mourinho has had over two weeks to think about this match and is now trying something different, I see no problem with that. Like I already said, I have some doubts but I will reserve my judgement until after the match. Mikel will bring some much needed stability in midfield and I honestly wouldn't be surprised if we dominated this match and won comfortably. Ramires starting on the wing really isn't that big of a deal because we have many great options on the bench to replace him with and we can bring some fresh legs second half to play against their tired defenders. If we win this, I expect some of the people here to eat some serious humble pie when commenting in the post-match thread.