Rowan_Osborn

Cahill plays the other side of the centre back pairing to Terry, like they did for England before Cahill broke his jaw.

I like Ramos but i wouldn't pay the 50mil quoted in the first link, its not as if we are short in that area and it would only hamper the progression of Cahill into the first team.

Yeah its almost like he is trying too hard to prove his quality, when it would be better to just pass to his supporting players.

I agree and would play Oscar myself, however i was only suggesting a reason as to why RDM plays Ramires as a right winger. I would like us to play Brazil's 4-2-1-3 formation as this would allow Ramires and Oscar to play where they do for their country and i believe a front three of Mata, Torres and Hazard would be very effective and they can interchange with Oscar to add fluidity.

The only reason i can see is that he doesn't want to drop either Lampard or Ramires but wants to play 4-2-3-1 and the only way to facilitate both is to play Rami as a right winger. I might be the only one to think this, but i wouldn't be disappointed if he were to play Lamps right wing. It suits his more natural attacking mentality and if the rest of the three was made up of Mata and Hazard then there can be plenty of interchangeability. Also he can do a job defensively.

Before the game i would of taken a draw. However as we went 2-0 up i was disappointed that we let it slip, especially as it was due to errors not really good play. We should still progress to the next round comfortably and after all that is all that is really required of the group stages. However if this was the knockout rounds i would be very disappointed with a 2-2 draw at home.

I think its harsh to say he has had one good game. I remember last year after his father was kidnapped he had several good performances and was greatly applauded. What frustrates me with Mikel is that he can go through a game not making any mistakes and putting in a decent performance but then in one moment he will have a lapse in concentration that can cost us games. We saw it against QPR and we saw it again against Juve. Defensively he did well despite clearly being outnumbered in midfield, but that pass was pathetic and then rather than trying to fight to win it back he stood motionless. I'm still not clear where i stand on Mikel; I'm not one of these fans that wishes to remove him totally from the squad, as his role is important in our team, but at the same time i do not think we can afford these lapses in concentration nor do i understand why Romeu is not played despite being a very technically gifted player. If Romeu was given game time and then not perform at least it will get some people off RDM's back and if he were to perform then we would have a stronger starting eleven.

I have to be honest i wasn't paying much attention, but, apart from a couple times where Toure out sprinted him, I can't remember a mistake he made. He didn't do anything spectacular but held the shape well and added a balance to the team, I don't think its a coincidence that city scored as soon as he went off. I particularly liked it when he ordered Marcelo to drop back as Marcelo had positioned himself on the half way line, when city were setting up to attack in their own half and the rest of the Real defence had dropped about 15yards from halfway.

If Frank was Brazilian he would be a much better player also in my opinion. Brazil knows how to develop these flair type player, England on the other hand, though they have got better in recent years, were not great at developing technically gifted players. Super Frankiniho.

Totally agree. The argument that a striker is not performing because goals are not laid on a plate for him is frankly pathetic. I'm sure even Mikel could score too if he was passed the ball right in front of goal. Torres' movement needs to improve in order for him to get better opportunities, I'd prefer it if he implemented more passing movements as he did against Newcastle rather than trying to take on players which frequently results in lost possession.

Im not sure what annoys me more, our attacking formation last year where we were constantly exposed or our defensive tactics this year. Is it too much to ask for a happy medium? (preferably not Derek Acorah)

I don't see how UEFA can not give them their prize money as then they can use that money to pay off debts. At the moment they owe money so why don't UEFA pay the prize money to those they owe. Im not going to feel too sorry for them though, this might help us get Falcao.

I can see Atletico doing very well this, they seem to have a pretty tight set up there, judging by early season form.

I seem to remember us doing well for our first four games last year as well, drawing to Stoke and then winning the other three. After that we got spanked 3-1 at Old Trafford.

You agree with his selection yesterday? Why did he essentially play 6 players whose main job was to defend, also with Mata out it was the perfect opportunity to give Oscar a start. Oscar doesn't appear short on fitness, he seemed to run non-stop when he has come on as a sub, he clearly wants to prove himself and in my opinion he has been giving very little chance to. Im not calling for RDM to go after 4 BPL games but his team selection at times has confused me, similar to how AVB kept selecting Malouda and Merieles as starters last year despite having better options.

Just trying to gauge some views. Given Real Madrid' stumbling form, it is not an unrealistic prospect to consider that Jose may be fired as manager if it were to continue. If RDM is not performing as well as us fans hopes, would people like to see the return of the special one or persist with RDM? In my opinion if RDM is doing well he should stay in the job even if Pep or Jose became available, but if he has similar results to AVB last year then who would you prefer to see Jose or Pep? For me it is Jose every time, although I may be allowing sentiment to govern my thoughts as Pep has shown he can build a team.

I doesn't really seem as though any efforts are being made to integrate players though. Azpicuelta hasn't played, Moses has had 20mins, same goes for Oscar.

I don't think its unreasonable to expect a win against a new look QPR that is yet to gel. I'm happy with a point, its just we should of played more expansive football. It would of been nice also to open up a three point gap at the top.

Lack of depth will only be an issue if we pick up an injury or someone is not performing. At the same time however, selling and loaning Merieles and Essien may allow some fringe players to progress into first team regulars. I think it is a justified gamble. Don't forget, we still have Malouda.

cheers pal.

I suppose it is an issue not having any experienced cover, but this was a step that was going to need to happen at some point and could benefit the club. Also, if we do bring in a player, I doubt it would be an experienced player, but more of a talented younger player. That seems to be our transfer method as of late.

Yeah maybe a bit, but if it aids in the progression of the two I've mentioned then I'm all for it. Im just worried in case we pick up a few injuries in that area though, then we could be really stretched.

Sorry what is HIP?

If we get a group of injuries in the same area now, we could struggle. Say if both Ramires and Mikel were to be injured (not unrealistic) we would have only Lampard, Romeu and perhaps Oscar to cover in the double pivot. If one or more of these is not performing we won't have anyone to replace them with, furthermore we will be walking on egg shells to try and prevent further injuries, which could prevent the full commitment of the players.

I can understand the sale. Rather than needing to appease four non-regular starters (Romeu, Merieles, Essien, Oscar) we only need to appease the two. This gives these two young players extra game time to develop into the stars many reckon they will become and surely already are to an extent.