dee25

Many were also pushing the Guarin signing as well, in the end we ended up putting in a little bit more money and bringing in a better quality player. I for one am we did. 20m is not small money at all. That's what.....25 million euros? Add another 5 million and that can get you a far better player than Paulinho. That some are actually suggesting that 20m for a mediocre player would be a value signing is really nothing more than a sad attempt to grasp at straws.

I'm in Law school as well. What kind of law are you hoping to practice? And what are your thoughts on the police strike in some of the cities that'll be hosting the world cup games?

Fair point. Marco is just returning from a serious injury and has lost a year in his development. Still though.... spending 20m on a signing that won't take us up a level? It's a waste of money. Paulinho is a good player to have in the squad IF you already have strong central midfield options and you're just looking for someone to play a rotational role. Our problem isn't that we don't have squad players for central midfield, it's that we don't have enough top class players for that position. Paulinho isn't the answer at all.

Don't rate him all that much, even when he was at Corinthians or when he plays for Selecao. If the plan is to offload Ramires and bring in Paulinho, then that would represent an astute piece of business to me. We'd be replacing one player with a marginal better player at little cost to us. I'd be happy with that. But if the plan is to keep Ramires & spend 15-20 million on another player who isn't really a major upgrade, then we're not really strengthening a weak area. It'd be a waste of money. If the club truly are committed to investing 15 million plus on a central midfield signing, then they should aiming higher. Otherwise may as well just save the 20m and play Marco.

Soooooo....what you're saying is that there's still a chance?? GET IN!

I think that's stretching it. Willian (and also Fernandinho) are virtually the same players they were when they played for Shakhtar, so that their now receiving some recognition and getting selected for the NT isn't really an indication of how good of a season they're having. Ramires, for example, has been pretty poor this season. I think Willian's work rate and energy is tremendous, but Schurrle can give you that for almost 15 million less than what Willian cost us. I don't think it's unreasonable to expect better quality on the ball and more end product from him. Having said that though, he very well could turnout to be a fantastic signing for us. Modric is a good example of why fans shouldn't be too quick to write off new signings.

The image of Suarez rushing over to pick up the ball from the net with a "let's smash them" look, will stay with me for a long while. They got arrogant and paid for it. Just priceless really.

The precision and timing of that low cross from Zabaleta was excellent. Best way to break down packed defences in my opinion. Edit: Another great cross from Zabaleta.

I think Uefa is just trying to force City to accept the reduced sanctions they had previously offered them, which City were already contesting. The last thing Uefa want is an appeal and a long drawn out legal battle. It compromises the legitimacy of FFP and will lead to bigger problems. I suspect they've leaked these sanctions to the press to look like they're coming on strong. They want City to accept the one they offered them before. Either way, I'm pretty sure the sanctions that City will be penalized with will definitely be on reduced terms.

I'm done. I'll be good from now on. Promise.

LOL. You tried.

someone give me gif of "go fuck yourself". I'm too lazy.

Research? None at all darling. And likewise I'm sure the rest of us will live our lives just fine despite your almighty wrath & disapproval. It'll be hard, but the sun will come out and I'll learn to be happy again. Enjoy the power trip. :tophat:

You know......it's one thing to be a hypocrite, it's even more pitiful to be a hypocrite on a moral high ground. You lost every bit of credibility to me the moment you started bashing members for something you, my brotha, routinely did for a period of time. December 8th, shortly after Everton played Arsenal at Emirates, you constantly were slating Mourinho, not so dissimilarly from the way a few on here have - a few that you're now trying vilify and malign. And it wasn't just a one-off comment either, you did it routinely for a period of time. The difference is that no one persecuted you. No one called you fickle. No called you a glory hunter. No one questioned you allegiances as a supporter. Let's be real here, we both know this has nothing to do with Mourinho or any benevolent intention to defend his managerial integrity. This is about your own deluded sense of superiority and you just being a frustrated internet forum member on a self-aggrandizing power trip. So please my friend, save your phoney outrage.

Forgive us. Clearly we should only be criticizing Mourinho on his choice of attire. My bad! New topic: is Jose losing to Guardiola in the fashion stakes?? Better?

I think it's gotten to the point where a lot of the reactions to the criticisms of Mourinho are just as knee-jerk as some of the criticisms itself. I admit that a few of the posts I've read on here slating Mourinho have been over the top, but at the same time there're some that have been legitimate criticisms. The problem I'm seeing here is that regardless of whether there're unreasonable or valid, any criticism of Mourinho is being met with angry accusations of being a glory hunter. This is exactly the same thing some members did in the beginning of the season when a few were saying that Oscar doesn't give us enough creativity and shouldn't be played in the number 10 position ahead of Mata. It was the same kind of reaction.......... "mata fanboy", "plastic fan" "support the club not the player". It's normal to respond angrily to unpopular opinions (I'm not excused from that myself) but to start making accusations and calling lionsden or whoever, a plastic supporter just because they dare to hold a contrasting opinion from the normative thinking, crosses the line of reason. I don't agree with everything Lionsden or MrExcalibur have said but I just think it's ridiculous that they're being treated with so little civility by a few on here when really, they haven't said anything so outrageous to warrant that kind of treatment. It's not like they've said "Mourinho will be the death of Chelsea. Sack him now". What they've said is that Mourinho has certain flaws that they don't like and they've been brave enough to verbalize them rather than follow the flock. Imo I think what we've seen in the champions league this season isn't really the "death of tika taka" but what can happen when a coach isn't flexible and when a coach prescribes too rigidly to one type of system. Mourinho needs to evolve as a coach and he needs to evolve his tactics. If saying so makes me a shit supporter, then ya'll can kiss my ass.

I think the real question we should be asking is.................does he have his own scout nation comp on youtube? They don't make those for just anyone you know.

There probably is something in these rumours but Marca is known to be an unofficial mouthpiece for Real Madrid, and I wouldn't put it past them to be reporting this as an attempt to destabilize Atleti before RM plays them in the final. I would take anything they say with a pinch of salt.

I really wasn't going to get in involved with this, but I'm curious about one thing. I distinctly remember you coming out and slating Mourinho for the way he publicly called out Lukaku. In fact you not only slated Mourinho for that, but around that time, you were also pretty critical of him in general. One or two members on here even commented that your opinion of him had drastically changed (I have a pretty good memory). So serious question for you, why do you deem it acceptable for you to call out Mourinho for his treatment of Lukaku only to apply a different standards for @MrExcalibur100? Not that I agree with him, but what makes your own criticism of Mourinho any different from his? And btw this isn't me being facetious or anything. I'm actually genuinely curious.

wow Ba. NEEDS to do better than that.

Where's your famous atmosphere, Liverpool?

That's the thing, if the argument was that when Mata plays, we become vulnerable at the back......*that* I would get. That makes logical sense. But I absolutely can not take anyone seriously who can sit there with a straight face and say to me "Mata wouldn't make a difference to our attack because two seasons and four managers ago, he played when we lost to Villa" That's nonsense. It's not only nonsense, it's confirmation bias. Obviously no one is saying that Mata would create a zillion chances for us; no one is saying that if Mata plays we would suddenly be winning every single game. No one is saying anything of that such. What people are saying is that Mata's strength is that he's a set piece specialist and his creativity, and ability to pick out teammates with incisive passing is unrivalled by anyone in our squad. Those qualities would be an asset for us right now. Undoubtedly.

No pressure kid.

No. I'm not twisting your words, just showing you how flawed this argument is. First all you're assuming that we lost all of these games because we couldn't create chances but I distinctly remember that in the West Ham game, Mata scored a goal and we created a gazillion chances in the first half. In the first half we were absolutely coasting and none of us could envision West Ham walking away with 3 points. Diame came on in the 2nd half and changed the game for them and our defence fell apart. Some of these games we lost not because we couldn't create chances but because our defending then was poor and that's something you're not factoring in. We have a better squad and a better first eleven than we did last season or even two seasons ago. Of course Mata would be helpful to us in breaking down these teams - that's Mata's skill set, that's what he excels in. Just because we lost games to Villa, two seasons ago doesn't mean that Mata wouldn't have been useful to us when we faced them this season. This isn't me twisting your words, that just you using a flawed argument.