Jase

They must have done that interview on purpose!

Fake quote. Typed it into Google and not one reliable source came out. Same on Twitter as well. And apparently, Valencia made late Juan Mata bid..

Don't think anyone is really underestimating the other teams or getting carried away. It's just that we are all happy that we got a kinder group this time after the nightmarish one last season with Juventus and Shakhtar Donetsk. If you look at the pot seedings during the draw, the 3 teams that we got were arguably the weakest in each of those pot as compared to the other teams in it. However, do agree with the point you are alluding to in not taking them lightly. Think everyone will be aware of the threat they each pose even if they are not the toughest of opponents. Like you said, Schalke after all did reach the semi finals in 2011 and they last season took 4 points off Arsenal in the group, won at the Emirates and finished top ahead of Arsenal. Though it should be pointed out that they now have a different manager at the helm. And Basel too is a trick opponent. Despite that we saw them off nicely last in the Europa League, one should remember they took 4 points off Man United in the group stage. They came from 2-0 down at OT and led 3-2 till the dying minutes and drew 3-3 before beating them 2-1 in Switzerland which knock them out. They also beat Bayern in the same place later on (though got thrashed 7-0 IIRC in Munich) and not forgetting them eliminating Spurs last season in the Europa League too, even though it was on penalties in the end.

Ozil was the only real No.10 at Madrid. Of course, Mourinho would play him and he fits in anyway. As for not supposedly not wanting Mata, all of those came from persistent and annoying BS rumours by the media. Yes, admittedly they do create that element of doubt but Mourinho has said as much about Mata's qualities and how he fits into his plans, wanting him to stay. And let's just see how he is used and fares under Mourinho after the international break before we all go outrightly claim he doesn't like Mata.

Even though Kaka was a bench player at Madrid, he still had his moments in regards to the goals scored and performances, just like Torres. Maybe the latter just had a little more of those moments but it's still never good enough. The signs are already evident that Torres is no longer the player he once was and can't get back to that very best. He may still show glimpses of the quality that we all used to see from Torres but it is very few and far between. 4 managers have come and gone and he still couldn't get anywhere near his old form. Even after we bought all these young attacking, quality talents, he still can't do it. Like they have been, some people are just simply still clutching at straws in thinking Torres will get anywhere near back to his best, especially just because Mourinho is our manager now.

Him being left out by Del Bosque is nothing new. Has happened before anyway. Nothing to read too much about it. And besides, Mata hasn't been playing and probably still lacking that sharp match fitness to play for Spain right now. Why Mourinho should try to bring in Ozil and let Mata go because of that? He just basically recognized Ozil as a quality player and a threat, like we all do. It doesn't mean he values him more than Mata. And also, it's just a waste of time and pointless business replacing a player with another that has very very similar qualities.

No doubt Ozil is a great player but his signing doesn't solve Arsenal problems. They are still a suspect at the back, in midfield relating to a combative midfielder and a striker. This signing, if anything, only further strengthens their strongest area in the squad which is attacking wise. He will bolster their attacking depth and quality but nothing else. One signing like this doesn't suddenly make them title contenders. They are basically just 1 Ozil injury away from having the same team again and heck, even just 1 Giroud injury away from basically having no striker upfront.

Oscar in the October edition's front cover for Chelsea magazine.. Also, He is the Special One! Oscar hails Mourinho's impact on Chelsea return..

Think Mourinho gave the squad or rather those not selected by their national team time off after the Super Cup game last week as opposed to giving Mata, specifically, time to rest. If anything, that tweet probably tells us that the stories of him having agreed to join PSG yesterday was a complete BS!

Not saying he needed to do it but would have been helpful and better for us if it happened.

Agree with that. Ozil is a quality player no doubt but only adds to the depth and attacking quality of Arsenal which is and has been the strongest aspect of their team. Won't even solve their problems elsewhere. As someone mentioned here previously, Arsenal are practically one Ozil injury away from having the same team again and worst of all, one Giroud injury away from having to play Sanogo upfront (thank goodness we didn't give them Ba!). That is probably when the Arsenal fans would start to get desperate and moan all about Wenger again. True but he does have a point. Throughout the summer, it feels as though Man United didn't have a clue on who to sign and David Moyes trying to prove to everyone - the fans and media - that he can attract top talents to the club as well as trying to please them. Moyes has mainly targeted midfielders in the transfer window but seem to go from one type of midfielder to another - Fabregas, Thiago, Modric, De Rossi, Khedira, Sneijder, Ozil, Herrera, Fellaini etc. And not to mention, the way he and United have handled their transfer business this summer have been shockingly embarrassing.

Right. Both of us were on 38 then but point still remain anyway..

Quality 'responses' in the poll! Would go with Gudjohnsen. The obvious positive thing we did was to strengthen our squad depth in the attacking areas. We have gone from having Marin, Benayoun and Moses as backups to probably Schurrle, Willian and De Bruyne. Can't be too angry about that even though I still question the signing of Willian. However, it's rather frustrating that once again we did not bolster and get more quality in for arguably our two weakest areas - strikers and defensive midfielder. I wonder how long more will we be complaining about those two failures till we actually sign someone capable..

The title challenge back then in 10/11 season wasn't even there really. Started the season well but then tailed off completely. Yes, we did manage to get back into the title picture but it came too late and was just on the back of run of winning games. We never really look like we are gonna win and so it proved in the pathetic performance at OT. And even had we won there, we would still be behind United on GD IIRC and theirs was much better than ours.

So he is still around and didn't even come close of leaving. So much for those jumping to conclusions and over celebrating it weeks ago...

For starters, lets just see how he is used and fares under Mourinho till then. Hopefully, everything will be just alright. Clarify like what? Jose has said many times he isn't leaving, even though there is always that element of doubt whether he will be leaving, but stories continue to persist. If anything, it might have been helpful had Mata come out and reassure us about his future here.

Locking this thread. Transfer window is officially over. Opening back when January comes around. Discuss any matters in the related threads elsewhere. And oh, opening back to the 'General Transfer Talk' thread.

So, Jose was right after all that and Gourlay was probably talking BS last Thursday then.. That is unless Gourlay meant Atsu as 1-2 players coming in..

R.Lukaku Bolingoli ‏@RomeluLukaku9 57s Signed @Everton on a season loan :-)

Lukaku apparently heading to West Brom to discuss another loan move, according to Sky Sports, as he prefers them over Everton.

Depends on which perspective you want to look from. The thought of being the 1st European Champions to exit from the group stage is downright more embarrassing than the idea of being playing in the Europa League.

Paying the price for Jose's lack of rotation in the last 4 games....

No, don't think they did. And even if they were talking about squad strength, the 2010/11 season was still the worst. Players became stagnated. Team's form dipped. Nothing of quality came out then. And not to mention, we allowed so many experienced players like Ballack, Cole, Belletti, Deco, Carvalho to leave and ended up only replacing them with only Ramires and Benayoun that summer. As for the Europa League, yes it's not the biggest of trophies, it's definitely not where we should be in/at but it's still a European trophy regardless. We got into the competition, we won it and we made history in the process. It's still not a success or achievement to be played down. And think we are more ashamed of becoming the 1st Champions League winner to exit the group stage as opposed to getting into the Europa League.

I'm sorry but any sources from DailyStar should be banned for good! They are just DailyRubbish! *in carefree mood* In the words of Kevin Keegan, I would love it when Mata starts many games under Jose and become one of his favourites. Love it! Can then shove it down the media's throat and say 'IN YOUR FACES'!

Ben Smith ‏@BenSmithBBC50s #LFC are not, despite the rumours, in for Juan Mata. #DeadlineDay