Jase

Superb performance from Milan. Tactically impressive all around. Nullified Barcelona's threat. Messi very quiet. No real chances created. Milan have a real chance of progressing now. Have a 2-goal lead. No away goal conceded. Will be tough in 2nd leg but great situation to be in.

Think this article echoed your point about Cahill there. http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1531612-gary-cahill-assessing-his-performances-so-far-this-season

He is still at the club. Seems that he holds the postion of 'Technical Coach for Youth Development' at the club.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sW9lq-Eah1w

Also according to Le Parisien, Ancelotti has agreed to replace Mourinho at Madrid in the summer. http://www.football-espana.net/28492/ancelotti-%E2%80%98yes%E2%80%99-madrid

Not sure how true is this from Guillem Balague but make of it what you will. And he also explained the problems at Madrid right now involving Mourinho and the players. http://sulia.com/channel/la-liga/f/b56be6e2-460d-4b3a-8321-2815bf80bcc6/?source=twitter

Hutchinson spotted in training today...

Thanks. You're so easily fooled.

For the 143 546 869th time, this!!

Eh? Thought someone didn't like stats?! Nothing interesting to post, that's why.

Ba is ineligible of course.

Disagree. If anything, the strikers are more to be blamed especially Torres than the midfield. If the striker ahead of the midfield hardly even offers some movement to make himself available for a pass, how do you expect them to play the ball quickly to him? Take the case of Torres for example. He is so static that more often than not, you'll always see him just standing and moving about between the 2 CBs. How do you expect the likes of Oscar, Mata, Hazard etc to play a ball into this path when he doesn't move around to create some space for himself and the ball to be played in? Torres moans about the team not creating chances for him yet he is so static in his movement that there is no chance for it to happen! Get your point about passing the ball quicker but it's not always just about the midfield. The likes of Oscar, Mata, Hazard etc are capable of playing a quick direct pass but if the striker in front doesn't offer the right movement, then of course you'll see them hogging on the ball. This problem is further compounded by the fact that Torres can't even hold up the play effectively. Admittedly he may not be the strongest but even when we pass the ball to his feet, he loses so easily once a challenge comes in. He then falls over and start to moan and sulking on the pitch! The same can't be said about Ba. Although he may not neccesarily be a top quality striker but at least he is doing the basic things that strikers should do which Torres isn't doing. He's always on the move upfront be it making himself available for a pass or creating space for others and not just being static! The one problem with him right now is that we are not exactly using him effectively enough. When he plays, we just seem too keen to lump the ball up to him rather than mixing things up as Ba is decent when the ball is played on the ground too. And even when we do lump the ball up to him, we don't have anyone close to him to pick up any knock downs to continue the attack as everyone is like so far back to support him quickly.

What's so funny about that? Mata too was in tears after we lost to Juve last November.

Doubt they would sack him right now. Likely to happen in the summer, if anything.

Not exactly an ideal result in regards to the race for a Top 4 finish.

While that is true, Ba was more lively than Torres normally would. It maybe subtle but some of his runs and hold up play was important. Yeah. It's silly that when Ba plays, we just seem too keen to lump the ball up to him without much thought and hope for the best. Not enough patience and utilize the strengths of our creative players to create chances. And it's not like Ba can't play the passing game either!

Think he actually said 'new' striker. Not 'second' striker!

Did they just recycled the news from a couple of weeks ago?!!

As much as I would like to see Bayern beat the crap out of Arsenal, I think it would be better for us in the race for a Top 4 finish the longer Arsenal stays in the Champions League. Otherwise, they'll be able to just concentrate on the Premier League all the way while we potentially still have both the FA Cup and Europa League to contend with.

WTF!! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o7AVskOXnnk

http://espnfc.com/news/story/_/id/1344661/isco-leave-cash-strapped-malaga?cc=4716

And just found out that Pellegrini can speak English and is good at it too.

Someone is not exactly happy is he?

As much as winning trophies would be guaranteed if he goes to PSG, would he really want to go there when there is hardly a strong competition for the league there as opposed to others? Furthermore, Ligue 1 is not exactly a top top league like the PL, La Liga or Bundesliga. Even with the money PSG have, gonna be hard for them to attract and buy the latest young talents.

Guillem Balague has spoken... http://sulia.com/channel/la-liga/f/0fa6f242-0d1e-4b2d-94f1-0cfd096d67fb/?source=twitter