The only place to be

Wow.....Leif must've pissed in a couple of guys' cornflakes because a few have migrated from the baked beans boy over to the skipper. Leif, did you slag off Justin Bieber?

And I don't disagree with any of that. But you started your post by saying that he's nailed-on to start next season and I don't agree. We have two young players who will hopefully get some time in pre-season and that shirt is very much up for grabs. Plus during Mikel's first season he played next to Makelele and Lampard who could protect him. By now he should be one of the guys that protects the younger players and forms that solid spine of the team and I'm yet to be convinced he can do that.

I've not seen anything in his game that suggests he needs a season in the league here. What sets him apart from other young keepers (and I'm think specifically De Gea here) is that he's always had solid fundamentals. His ability in the air has always been one of his strengths, and he's always impressed me because he does the basics well. For his size he gets down extremely well and coming from a more 'basic' league in Belgium, he's got that experience of slightly messier, more utilitarian football. So I think sending him to Fulham doesn't help him enough to mitigate the loss of another season in Madrid where he gets a chance to play Champions League football. Basically I think it's a bit of a low-class move if we do that.

I hate this bollocks that only sophisticated connoisseurs can appreciate what Mikel does in the team. I'm not sure if you were around the Bridge much when Makelele was at the club but the fans respected and adored him - and it wasn't just because he scored a penalty against Charlton. It's because our fans understand football and respect good players even if they don't score goals or create assists. The same went for players like Spackers and Deschamps who both played a role in the team and were respected (although not at the same level as Makelele obviously). People in this thread, in the stands and around the world who criticise Mikel know exactly what he's supposed to do in that role but they simply don't rate him or think he's consistent enough.

Oscar and Mata can share the central role. This gives us more options on the wings and crucially another option up front. De Bruyne isn't guaranteed to fill that slot though and I expect we'll sign someone who does. He's played in a more advanced role, where we already have Mata and Oscar. Sure he could play wide, but Schurrle could also do that as well as providing a more physical presence there and also an extra option as striker. Hopefully getting Schurrle stops the Falcao silliness.

Apparently it would just be a loan for a season which makes a bit more sense. Schurrle is probably a better fit for the squad's needs right now and De Bruyne should get a season at a better club, in the Champions League. It's frustrating because he's clearly a good player, but we need a winger-cum-striker like Schurrle more at the moment.

A loan makes sense. Leverkusen are 3rd in the league right now which means he'd get a shot at the Champions League and we get the third striker/winger that we need to back-up Lukaku and Ba (maybe). We still have the problem of what to do with De Bruyne, who I already think is good enough to play a role for us, but it delays it for a year.

Oh, he's okay with it. I haven't spoken to him this morning. I'm fairly certain he's met Cech on at least one occasion. As for his loans, they've allowed him to establish himself as one of the top keepers in Europe, win a Europa League winner's medal, a Super Cup winner's medal and also win his national team's shirt. Coming back to Fulham would be a massive step-down for him and would also rob him of experience in the Champions League.

So he plays an integral part in getting Atletico into the CL and we bring him back to play for a mid-table/relegation-fighting team. That seems massively unfair to the young lad.

You could change my mind if you presented an appraisal of their relative attributes. It just seems as though some people toronto....sorry, I mean want to offer an opinion without backing it up by referring to the player in question, relying instead on statistics and generalities.

He had a good performance against a shit Russian team - hopefully other Russian teams were watching and put in a bid in the summer. No more false dawns.

I'm going to say something unpopular, but in terms of squad make-up Schurrle might be a better fit right now than De Bruyne. De Bruyne has excelled in a more central position, where we already have Mata and Oscar. What we need in the summer is a winger-cum-striker and Schurrle doesn't just offer that, he offers something completely different to what we already have. I've hate for us to lose KDB but it does make sense on some level.

Rubin really were a mess so it's hard to read too much into individual performances. Torres has hopefully given some prospective buyers the thought that he isn't a completely busted flush which is good. Glad to see Moses get a goal after he got some stick in the Southampton game. Unsurprisingly the double pivot was fairly woeful, although Ramires worked hard as usual. Lampard didn't score so might as well not been on the pitch. Marin is just pitiful. He's been unfortunate with not getting much game time but this move just wasn't right for him from start to finish. And that finish better be sooner than later. Bertrand looked good and hopefully he continues this against tougher opposition. But it was Mata who just ran the show and showed so much class on the ball. I'd have preferred 3-0 but this scoreline allows us to rest a few of the guys before an important game. BTW, gloating over an injury to a player like Bale is absolutely classless.

RIght....I hadn't considered it could be that good type of Totalitarian regime like....um, were The Smurfs a totalitarian regime or am i thinking of Fraggle Rock.....actually Fraggle Rock was more of a communist regime but they did allow for free press if I remember correctly.

Wow....that post had it all. You sir are the 'The Kooks' of writing forum posts.

Did you miss the word 'totalitarian'. Absolutely, but that choice isn't precluded from being questioned or mocked especially if it's a bit silly. Sorry about that, but that's one of the things about democracy. You do believe in democracy right? They weren't necessarily the good old days though. It's actually one of the things in our history we should probably be happy has reduced in size considerably (I'd love to say disappeared but can't). Why? You can mock my views if you want. Actually I will add that I lost a lot of respect for Di Canio this week (I'm sure he's heartbroken). Fair enough, believe whatever crazy shit you want but at least have the balls to defend it rather than hiding behind a female PR director in your first press conference. For someone happy to flash signs to fans to then hide behind 'his family' (how many times he mentioned that I'm not sure, but it had no relevance) is cowardly.

No, I didn't really have a choice in the matter either because my old man started taking me to games so early, which is why I find it weird that you wouldn't believe in multiculturalism considering the support we have at matches both at home and abroad. Then you've got our playing staff who exemplify the positives of multiculturalism and the staff throughout the club, as well the owner and board. As for Di Canio, this seems to be an issue that some fans seem to have ideological issues with and they're totally right to express them. The media then picked up on it and blew it up, but then again HE IS A FUCKING FASCIST. It's a ludicrous thing to be and I have absolutely no sympathy for him. It's not comparable to being a conservative (or Conservative) or even having a silly little belief about multiculturalism.....HE'S A FUCKING FASCIST. That's one step away from writing tactics on the whiteboard in shit in my opinion.

How does a person who doesn't believe in multiculturalism come to support a club which was and is the very definition of multiculturalism? :lol2:

Don't like the home kit but maybe it will look better on..... The white away one looks very classy and the black one will keep fatties happy. But that home one....the sleeves, just why. And concave yellow piping???? It looks like an Aussie rules sleeveless top that they've added sleeves to.

Lampard is one of three players to feature in both games against Southampton (2-2 draw at home, 2-1 loss away) and QPR (0-0 draw away and 1-0 loss at home). In fact by my reckoning of the last six games we've lost, the only TWO players to start each of them has been Ivanovic and.....Lamps. (Southampton away, Man City away, Steaua away, Newcastle away, Swansea home, QPR home). That doesn't include the Man United FA Cup game that he came off in when we were 2-0 down, before coming back to draw 2-2.

Really? You don't think the way a person conducts themselves is an indicator of their attitude to their profession? That's extraordinary. It's not just in sport where this is pertinent, but in all walks of life. It doesn't mean one can't change but it's these intangibles which you tend to find in winners. Look at any sportsperson at the top of their profession and look at the attitude they have towards training. Indeed his own father seemed to have some concerns during this period. He was dropped for some time after the Reading game if I remember correctly, but he came back from that well in the second-half of the season. You may find it laughable but I'm not altogether sure it's incorrect - if you have the stats to correct me that would be most helpful. I respect that you've taken the time to type a response but I really don't think the stuff about character is arbitrary. Indeed it's integral to the way players conducts themselves throughout their careers and I don't think I've been unfair. As I said before, if you actually want to discuss the players and their attributes then I would welcome that discussion.

Wouldn't be surprised to see a relatively strong team tonight to try and win the tie in the first leg so we can rest players before the City game. Cech Ferreira JT Ivanovic Bertrand Lamps Ake Moses Mata Hazard Torres

Mourinho is my hero? Ok.... And this isn't revisionism. He was technically a very good player and had great physical gifts (remind you of anyone) but where he was miles behind Chalobah is in his mental approach to the game. Mourinho described him as 'pure gold' - he also fined him on a number of occasions because of his approach to training (coming close to letting him go if you believed the rumours) and dropped him early on in the season. But if you actually want to talk about their relative merits as players then I'm happy to - it would be one of the few posts that discusses Chalobah's attributes in this thread. Technically, I'd probably put them on a level footing. Mikel's passing in the final third showed more ambition than Chalobah's but that's to be expected when you look at how they'd been used. Chalobah comes from a defensive position whereas Mikel was much more of a box-to-box midfielder, maybe even considered a conventional attacking midfielder. In terms of reading and understanding the game, there's no contest. Chalobah is streets ahead in terms of anticipating the opposition movement of the ball as well as his own players'. He's much more patient than Mikel was at that age. In terms of the intangibles, Chalobah is about as good as you could want which is why he's been marked out as a future captain at both club and international level. Mikel is approaching 300 games and there's no serious discussion about him being handed the armband which is odd because he plays in one of the most responsibility-laden positions on the pitch. I believe character matters. I may be in the minority but I think you need leaders in the team and I don't see that in Mikel. Physically, Mikel was a freak. He still is in some regards whereas Chalobah can look a little skinny. The interesting thing is that hasn't shown itself to be a factor in his time at Watford, indeed he's looked dominant in a league that can prioritise physicality over technique. Still to this day, Mikel uses his strength to shield the ball if he gets caught in possession (something that even Steaua can do apparently), although that's not to say it's all he does. Chalobah doesn't do that quite so much preferring to move the ball no before that happens. Now if you think I'm revising history when talking about Mikel, that's fair enough. Physically he was top class. Technically he was great. Mentally, not what you'd want. Chalobah excels in these three categories.

It's interesting to note that Mourinho used Mikel quite a lot in his first season at the club, and Chalobah is further along in his development than Mikel was at roughly the same age and had no experience in English football.

That last point reminds me of Joe Cole towards the end of his career here - undoubtably a good player but just killed momentum whenever he picked up the ball and was ultimately let go. In terms of passing though, Mikel has a very cosseted role in the team. He's surrounded by options, including the keeper, so of course he should be maintaining a high pass completion ratio as well as a hugh number of passes in general. No-one is saying he's such a bad player that he can't do that. His role is as a conduit, a facilitator and an important cog in the machine. But could he be better? Could he shave a few milliseconds off the time between receiving a pass and moving it one? Could he play with more urgency? I think that's what people want to see from him. Maybe he's constrained by the lack of ambition that the role demands, which is why I'd actually like to see him be given a go as the playmaker in the team's midfield. He'd have less responsibility on the defensive side of the ball and more freedom to use his passing ability which is under-utilised according to his supporters. We could play a DM like Romeu or someone else (naming no names) who could do the water-carrying and let him express himself more creatively. That's the point people who criticise his performances keep making - he has the technical skills and physical gifts to be better than he is right now. If he was a limited footballer then he wouldn't be nearly so frustrating.