The only place to be

Cech was dropped last season. Cech cost us goals last season. Cech cost us points last season. And he's one of the best keepers this league has ever seen, but you can't live off past glories forever. And Courtois made world-class saves last season too. Against Milan he made probably the save of the season. Both Chelsea and Atletico had miserly defences last season BUT Cech was still dropped last season for poor form. He made more errors last season than I can remember him making in perhaps the four seasons before that. Cech is a legend at this club but Courtois is the form keeper in Europe behind Neuer. I was actually against using pre-season as a barometer for choosing the goalkeeper but Cech actually flapped at another cross against Bremen (I think off the top of my head) just like he did a few times last season. You can't ignore actual match performances and simply repeat 'well Cech is a legend'. You won't get an argument from anyone.

Cech was flakey at crosses last season and made enough mistakes to be dropped for Mark Schwarzer. You're referring to Cech of about 18 months ago and if his form was still at that level then you'd be right. And Petr 'flaps at crosses and costs us goals' Cech is better? You can pick moments out of matches and extrapolate larger issues if you want, but for me it comes down to this. I want Courtois to continue his form of the last 12 months. But I want Cech to REDISCOVER his form of about 18 months ago. That's the real difference between the two. Courtois is the better keeper right now.

I'll just have to disagree. They're a good bunch who really went through some shitty times and stuck with their team. I'm sure there's a few numpties around as there are in every fanbase but I just don't recognise your characterisation of them from actually knowing a fair few City supporters and spending time in Manchester. Now United fans have a vastly disproportionate number of cunts following their team as anyone who grew up south of Birmingham in the 90s will tell you.

How many Man City fans do you actually know? They're a pretty decent set of supporters in my experience. I saw a Chelsea fan call Lampard a judas. Every set of supporters has a few.

Cech doesn't have nightmares about strikers. Crosses into the box however....

This type of information isn't that closely guarded a secret and plenty of people will know by now.

Because he has links built up over almost 40 years as a sports journalist. Having said that, it's not the boldest prediction in the world. Courtois is the better choice.

Sorry, but I can't be the only one delighted that the Steve Gerrard song (slipped on his fucking arse) has been sung at a number of grounds this weekend. #christmasnumberone

Their under-21 side is similar. Big units, intimidating....and tiny little Musonda scored the winner against them!

Nice to know Liverpool have done nothing to improve themselves defensively. Southampton look nice but I still think they'll struggle.

Ward-Prowse's dead ball delivery is world-class.

Sterling is the Premier League's prettiest lesbian.

Southampton still way too open despite Wanyama and Schneiderlin. Nothing much going forward. Could be 4-0 to Liverpool before it's over.

I do agree that Oscar's getting a lot of attention but people are a little anxious about what to expect from him. He's a young player and he deserves patience but I think really just want him to step up and be consistent. Fingers crossed he actually does start doing this. One thing to remember with the comparison to Ramsay is that Arsenal supporters expressed very similar concerns with him and he answered all his critics. Oscar has it in him to do the same.

Thank god I'm not the only one. This is probably the last game I'd like us to open the season with. I'd take City away over this in all honesty because promoted sides on opening days, especially in Northern shithole towns care the living crap out of me. They'll be up for this, they'll have superhuman levels of stamina, the crowd will make the ground very claustrophobic and it looks like it's going to rain too. Excited but bricking it.

I did that and that's because Ramsay is an attacking midfielder who has a similar profile to Oscar but is actually producing the goods on the pitch consistently. But I'm sure when Wales hosts the World Cup he'll take a 5 month siesta too.

I think people need to understand that whilst you can respect him for what he did here and be grateful for his contributions both on and off the pitch, there's nothing wrong with wanting to see him fail at United. Personally I hope all United's signings fail. I hope Mourinho's decision to sell him based on his deficiencies is validated each and every week. That doesn't mean I don't like him or want to see him harmed, but I do want what's best for this club and he's now a United player so quite honestly fuck him. I'll say thanks to him for everything he did for us but I'll also take a huge deal of pleasure in reading United fans come to the realisation that he's a powderpuff player defensively who will leave holes for other teams to exploit.

He looked really out of shape to me so unfair to judge him too harshly. I do wonder if he could have problems with his conditioning at some point in his career though, and he does have a tendency to look lazy/drift in and out of games. Weird looking back but this guy really wasn't a Mourinho player in the slightest.

Hope so, but here's the thing. We'll end the season with three centre-backs who are 34, 31 and 29. The three players you mentioned will be 20, 22 and 21. Ideally you'd be wanting someone who is about 25/26 to plug that gap. I'd love for those guys to make it here but you'd probably expect one, maybe two at best. I also think that JT is the only 'Lead Defender' of those five. Omeruo and Zouma both strike me as Carvalho types who need that strong presence next to them to really prosper. Kalas could become that, but I'd love someone like Hummels or even Varane to come here and take over that leadership role in defence.

Ramsay is a good player. Why does watching him make me angry at Oscar?

He would've made us better, and we'll need someone like him in the future but right now we're good. United definitely need someone like him though. Gives them pace and leadership in a position they're sorely lacking it.

No-one is saying he isn't a quality player. But he has glaring holes in his game (defensively and workrate-wise) which led to him being sold by us, and now United fans are starting to realise the same thing. People need to realise that whilst he might be a magician with the ball, footballers spend most of their time out of possession and what they do then is just as important as what they do when they do have it.

For Mata to be at his best, I genuinely believe he needs to have a team built around him. But I think if you build a team around him, the best you'll manage is 6th because he's not a top, top player.

http://www.redcafe.net/threads/juan-mata-2014-2015-performances.394002/page-2 Some absolute beauts on there. I missed it, but my friend said that it was Mata that was chasing Ki for the first goal and then just stopped. Poor if true - was below par today. It wasn't until Gerrard gave him a head start and caught in that game in the US that I realized how slow Mata is, and in this system the game is just passing him by way too often, he can't seem to make any space for himself. He is so slow, didn't have any impact. Is it just a fitness issue? Poor display from Mata. Really needs to offer a lot more than he did. Noticeable how little effort he puts in off the ball compared to the others

Bird shit landing in dog shit....what are the chances?