Leif

The difference between us and Manchester City seems to be that, chemistry aside; they have a SYSTEM and PHILOSOPHY on the pitch as well as just the formation. Our players play like individuals at the moment. *sad face*

Oh my fucking god that's embarrassing.

So who's played better so far? Cool-as-a-cucumber Mikel? Or the aggressive Tiote-like De Jong? Just food for thought.

WHAT WAS THAT LAMPARD!?

Mikel, Mikel, Mikel...

Why does Cech always want to hoof the ball up, regardless who's playing as our striker? Meh

Ivanovic is already dropping into centre-back. C'mon mannnn!!!

I'm really impressed by our fans so far!! A lot louder than I expected!

CHOPPER! <3

Why on earth is Romeu nowhere to be seen? I know he was at the Olympics, but so was Mata, who gets a start, and all we've got on the bench to fill in for Lampard or Mikel is... well, I won't summon the beast by mentioning his name.

Hopefully Yaya Toure doesn't tear our double pivot a new arsehole. Oh well. Our back-line looks a little better than theirs!

Rennes have received a bid for M'Vila from a 'top Premier League club'. Either Arsenal have come crawling back, or we, Tottenham or Manchester City (as they may be selling De Jong) have put in an offer I assume.

Sell him now.

Like posted earlier, we REALLY need a "General Match" thread for talking about all and any current games in-play. This Oscar thread is going to get so derailed now during this match ._. ... with comments like this exact one I'm posting.

GOLLLL!! GOL GOL GOL. GOLALALALALALALA GOAAAALLLLL!!!!!! EDINSON..CA-VA-NI!!!! GOAAAALLLL GOAL GOAL GOALLLL!!!!! *Italian commentator voice* 1-0.

Playing for Napoli now vs. Juventus.

This is off-topic, but this is where the debate is, and I'm just going to put a thought in - Regardless how good a passer is, if he's in the middle of the "3" in a 4-2-3-1 formation, they very rarely get to dictate a game. Especially if you have a player like Torres, who's always trying to stand in an almost offside-position (aside from when he, for whatever reason, comes deep), that "3" will be constantly getting closed down by the opponents - which means more physicality, less time on the ball, and less 'dictating' of play. That then leads them to pass back downwards to the double pivot - Lampard and Mikel, as they don't want to lose the ball. That's where our problem starts - This is the point where we're supposed to recycle possession and get the ball forward again, but how often do Lampard or Mikel pick a pin-point pass out to the wing or striker from that position? They don't. They pass back to the defenders, and then we go through that silly lethargic phase of slow & awful passing - the exact opposite of what Oscar was doing for Brazil in a very similar position. We need a playmaker in the double pivot. People seem to think that Mata should be our primary playmaker; and I believe that's simply because we've rarely been blessed with decent passers, so people think he's now a God of passing. (He is very good though.) Mata is an attacking midfielder. Who dictated play at Valencia when Mata was there? Banega; not Mata. How often did Mata even dictate play last season? On the odd occasion he got the ball. But why was it an odd occasion? Because the players we have in a deeper position are NOT playmakers - which we NEED, to either dictate play themselves or get the ball to Mata. Infact, the closest player we've had to a playmaker, besides Mata, has been David Luiz - and that's just sad. Example - Real Madrid play a 4-2-3-1. Who controls the game? Xabi Alonso; in the double pivot. Ozil to them is similar to how Mata is for us, or even Hazard (probably); Does he dictate the game? Well, sometimes in the opponents half when they're trying to break down a team; but generally Alonso does the dictating. Ozil is more the 'cutting-edge' type of player, who, after receiving a pin-point ball from Xabi Alonso, will quickly turn and play a through-ball to Ronaldo, Benzema or Di Maria. Who does the dictating for Barcelona? Xavi. Juventus? Pirlo. The only player I can think of who does any dictating for a team in an advanced position is Silva at Manchester City; but their tempo rarely changes, so Silva doesn't actually 'dictate' all that much to be honest; as all the players are in harmony and doing the same thing; regardless whether he's on the field or not. They can easily just slot in Nasri for him instead, too. Yaya Toure also does a fair bit of dictating of play - In the double pivot. Oscar will not be able to dictate play (which is why I assume most of us have been impressed by him) if he is in the front 3. You can say all you want that 'he can drift deep', but what happens then? We turn into a 4-3-3? Then what's the point in starting out in a 4-2-3-1 in the first place? I'm not predicting where Oscar will play for us; but it's absolutely foolish to believe that we don't need a playmaker (which he is) in our double pivot. (Apologies for any errors, spelling mistakes etc. Very tired.)

I guess I'm the only one on here who doesn't see much special with this guy. If he didn't look a little bit like Kaka (Let's say he swapped appearances with..Conor Clifford) and came from anywhere but South America or Spain; I'm sure he wouldn't be getting even half the hype he's receiving. Go ahead now - Flame me for voicing an opinion

Just spoke with his cousin Daniel. To quote him: - "I AM GASSSSEEEEEDDDDD!!!!" at this news. Sounds like his whole family are celebrating.

Juventus are Serie A champions. They're doing well financially. They're trying to bulk up on high quality players for their first time in the Champions League in a while. They want depth; which they lacked last season. They will not be selling their #1 right-back. Absolutely no way.

I am SOOO pumped to see what AS Roma produce next season!!!!!!!!!! Will their new "who cares about letting goals in? Just outscore the opponents!" philosophy work? How many cigarettes will the new manager have during each game? Who knows. But I'm excited. (I'm also curious to see how Fiorentina perform given they've signed some really good midfielders.)

I've said sosososo many times that he only works in a counter-attacking system; but I realise now that that's ignorant of me to say. I'm sure he can adjust. Any player can adjust. (Well, apart from Torres... ) To get the best out of him, a counter-attacking system is probably ideal, but what's clear to see is that he's simply a work-horse natural finisher, with surprisingly decent pace. I'm sure he'd improve us immensely if he could work in our new system... which we still don't actually seem to have figured out yet.

hahahahaha. a post by some Manchester United fan on an official Utd Facebook post after the 0-0 draw in their pre-season friendly: "Fuck my big willy you gay men, if we no beats theese snow people how do we beat FCB ( fuking cock ballz? )"

Number 1. There's just a sexual thing about it. I can't quite put my finger on it.

In the Bundesliga, yes, but Marseille were awful last season, and Ligue 1 is quite a step down from the Bundesliga, so I'm expecting him to actually be one of their better players next season.