The only place to be

Falcao is in his prime, and should be for 4 or 5 more years. El Shaaraway (which is Arabic for 'Flavour of the Month') has barely had one good season, whilst Jovetic has had barely more than him whilst also having a fairly serious injury. Now I'm not saying they couldn't be good options but I don't think the money you save buying them is going to make up for the lower chance that they'll have an immediate impact on our season. What we need is a guy who has a bit of experience, has shown consistency and is available at roughly market price which I think Falcao probably is (Aguero was about £38 million so roughly the same, give or take).

The reports were that he was on a relatively small wage so I assume there was an agreement in place to bump him up based on performances and he's certainly earned his money which is exactly the right way to go about things.

Falcao hasn't played in the Europa League this year has he? To me this suggests a deal for a replacement is fairly advanced. That's what I said when Jon Harley left.

Aguero, David Villa and Etoo off the top of my head. Personally I blame Newcastle for signing Alan Shearer for £15 million....

Jesus....how many clubs missed out on Michu? How many missed out on Cisse? These things happen, which is why transfers aren't an exact science. It's a wager at the end of the day. I don't want an expensive flop but I also don't want us to miss out on Champions League football and that's more likely if we keep the current guy up front or get someone equally ineffective. And I don't know why you don't buy the statement about Falcao and our system but I'd take a look at what we're trying to do at the club (not just in the first-team but also in the academy) and then ask what type of striker you do think we're looking for at our club.

Sorry, but some of the points being made are ridiculous. There are logical reasons for us going after Falcao (like the fact he fits our style, like the fact he's available, like the argument that he's the best at what he does, like the fact Guardiola likes him) and some of the arguments against getting him are getting a little silly. People say we should buy someone else but there's a lot of tumbleweed when someone asks who? Even if you get a name you then get weird reasons backing it up and people pretending their privy to our FFP situation. By the way, you said you want a 'cheap striker' and then said Bony could be the next Hasselbaink. Hasselbaink cost us £15 million (which was a club record fee).

In my opinion f he struggled in the EPL he would have residual value from his time in La Liga and also in Portugal, unless he was to become a major flop.

Why don't we just pull some League Two striker's name out of the hat - who cares if he fits our style or not? He'd be cheap and there would be zero pressure. Or if we're going to be marginally less ridiculous, why not just promote Feruz to the first-team. At least he know's the system. Or we could sign the striker who fits our current system, is arguably the best in his position, is AVAILABLE (because this isn't FM and players and clubs do have to agree to transfers) and is someone that we know the guy who we want to manage us in 6 months likes? Oh, and if he doesn't work out here he'd still have value in the Spanish market, especially with Real Madrid.

Ironically it's because of the Mourinho-era that we've struggled to move on. Going back is never a particularly good idea in sport and I still struggle to see the logic of him coming back here when we're building a team that really doesn't play to his strengths. Everything at the club is geared towards securing the services of Guardiola and people are seriously entertaining the notion of Jose coming back? Do people not remember how his time in charge ended? If you want a reminder, look at Madrid RIGHT NOW!

I really don't feel all that bothered by him leaving. I've seen us let plenty of players go and some have upset me but this one strikes me as a bit of good business. The idea of Danny Sturridge is a lot more appealing than the reality and he seems to have become a world-beater in his time on the sidelines.

See, I thought the rumour was that we were after Fellaini, Falcao and Walcott. How about we buy 4 strikers for £5 million each? Doesn't matter who they are or whether they have a long-term future with the club. I'd rather have someone who is at the top of their game, available this January, fits the way our team plays and will play in the future and is admired by the guy that we're trying to hire to be our manager in June.

This Malaga game feels a lot like AVB's game against Napoli, as well as the last days of Mourinho's reign at the Bridge.

:banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead:

Not True. What about the goal kicks and long balls that have been punted towards Ivanovic, who gets told to push forward on the right flank? What about the balls played out to either one of the centre-backs or Mikel (which is again, very reminiscent of Barcelona). Yes we've moved to more longer balls in recent weeks but we're talking about beyond just this season. And can you please tell us how much the Gazprom deal is worth?

'The system we use that Drogba played'. Utter bollocks. The system that we use and the one that Drogba played in are two different things. We're moving away from the one that Drogba played in and moving to one more based on possession and movement, a la Barca. And once again I'll point out that you don't have a fucking clue what we can and can't spend because you don't have a fucking clue about our income, sponsorship deals or the cuts to playing staff over the next 6 months. :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead:

To be honest, I'm not entirely sure what point you're trying to make. You say we shouldn't buy him because there are better options (like a 2004 vintage Drogba) and Falcao 'just scores goals'. I think we should sign him because he's the best option available in January and he 'just score goals'. We don't need someone who does other things because the team we're trying to be doesn't need what we had 8 years ago. People need to stop living in the past and look at what we're trying to build and who we're trying to get to build it. Look at our reserves and youths to see the type of team we're looking to be - that requires someone more like Falcao than Drogba.

Oh, now I get Choulo's point. We need to buy Didier Drogba again. :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead:

And which £20 million striker can we sign in January? :banghead: And strikers who 'just score goals' actually don't just score goals. They are a constant threat that defences have to mind which keeps them honest and creates space for players in behind. And Sturridge also had a chance against West Brom. In fact he had two great chances to score and fluffed his lines. Top strikers can't do that I'm afraid.

Well that first point makes no sense - there's always a least man no matter where the line is. What he does is stop defenders from being able to step up which creates more space in midfield. There are also channels to be run even if you dominate possession. Look how many chances we've created from wide where Torres simply isn't in the right spot. He actually managed to do it against Sunderland for his first goal but that was the exception rather than the norm. If we had a guy who did that in every game, we'd be in a much stronger position. Look at Barcelona - they dominate possession yet this is how Messi scores goals His most common ‘method’ of scoring is to take possession within the 18-yard box, either by running onto a through ball, or by finding space to collect another type of pass or pounce onto a rebound. Of the 234 goals, 145 were scored this way, or 61.97 per cent. These 145 goals include all his 12 headed goals. That's what we need.

He's not played in as many big games. But in the Europa League at Porto, he scored the winner in the Final. For Madrid, he scored TWO in the final of the same competition and in the Super Cup he scored THREE.

Moreso than Scots? http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/scotland/scottish-politics/9593135/Nine-in-ten-Scots-living-off-states-patronage.html

Why doesn't he suit our style? We need someone who stretches the play by playing on the last man. We need a guy who can run the channels and finish chances. That is Falcao. He also seems available and willing to come, as well as being particularly admired by the guy who our owner wants as our manager in six months time.

There is the small matter of someone needing to buy him. There will be a bigger market for him in the Summer.

I believe there will be a clean slate. The amount of new players returning and established players moving on will see a big period of change, and hopefully that will be accompanied by a brand new manager. Lukaku's future here is secure for at least another season because of the money invested in him and the faith in his ability. If we get Falcao in January, then what's the point in bringing back a guy who's developing well just to sit on the bench, possibly behind Torres?

He's getting regular gametime, improving game to game and scoring goals. Short-term it might make sense but longer-term why not leave him there? He gets to experience a full season of first-team football and then come back in the summer ready to fight for a place with a clean slate under a new manager. Unless we miss out on Falcao, leave him with Clarkey.