The only place to be

I'm not going to justify it, but it's predominantly because of the way we view certain religions in the Western world. Unfortunately certain religions have a real PR problem.

I think the answer is clear when you ask yourselves what you want each player to do next year. With Courtois we want him to continue his form. With Cech you're hoping he gets back to his form of a couple of years ago. Which is more likely?

Pessimism is cool. Fuck the world. I know you like to moan about things, and it's very easy just to shit on things and pretend it's an informed opinion but most people move beyond that in their early-20s. This kid is a special talent. If you can't take enjoyment in that then fuck knows what you follow football for. Seriously. I don't understand your mindset, but every pub needs someone like you to prop up one end of the bar for seemingly days on end.

Wasn't a cheap shot in the slightest. It was a fact. He's played in strong teams, but he's still a great keeper.

I'm thinking that Matic, Van Ginkel, Luis, Zouma and possibly one or two of the youngsters might be used in the coming season. It's hard to explain why pre-season matches are so important but once you've played some (in any sport) it's fairly obvious.

No it's not. It's also about learning things that are important to that first match, like tactics, players' movements and idiosyncrasies etc.

Well Mikel probably is a problem. He's on high wages, a long contract and is apparently unwanted by any team even at a 'bargain' price.

Here's what Cech can teach Courtois....play for a great team with a great manager. Cech's clean sheet record is at much to do with Carvalho, Terry, Makelele, Essien, Ferreira, Cole and Mourinho as it is to do with him. That's not to say Cech isn't a great keeper, but he's also been one of the best protected keepers in Premier League history. Cech was dropped last year. His form has steadily declined over the last two years. Fuck all the future shit then. In the present, Courtois is the better keeper.

Why look at that game and not the others where Cech made mistakes? Cech was dropped last season because of poor form. Everyone seems to ignore this, but Schwarzer got his first start in the CL not out of some sense of sentimentality, but because Cech was losing us points. Courtois has exceeded every expectation we had for him and right now he's the better keeper.

So if Courtois makes mistakes, we drop him? This idea that Cech can teach things to Courtois is somewhat patronising to be honest. Courtois is a better goalkeeper than Cech is right now. There's the old cliche about players coming to this league and having to do it 'on a cold night in Stoke'. The truth is that on a mild afternoon in Stoke Petr Cech cost us points with his errors. Right now I'd trust Courtois more, but that's because I've got a soft spot for talent and form.

Those ones didn't involved certain religious elements. Unfortunately that is the real problem here.

Jose was wrong about this type of thing at Madrid though. Different situation in many ways, but it shows Jose can be fallible. I don't get why you'd feel more secure either. Courtois WILL make mistakes because keepers do. But he's a top class keeper so he'll grow from that, except with Cech around you'll have Sky's cameras immediately cutting to Cech on the bench. It creates an extra narrative, conflict that is unnecessary. Courtois is probably the number two keeper in world football. I just don't think there's a valid reason not to make the change now.

Really curious as to what Jose's playing at with Chalobah. Omeruo has already had his loan to Boro confirmed, so you'd assume Nat isn't going there but he's got very little time in midfield so far and has been used in defence primarily but with Zouma being given the 5 shirt you'd have thought he would be ahead of him in that pecking order. Worst case scenario is that we delay loaning him like we did last season and he ends up in the wrong place again. It's frustrating seeing Romeu selected in that DM spot as well, although that's partly down to us not having enough defenders for the first couple of games. Fingers crossed he gets 45 minutes in the next game with Cesc likely to only get the first-half. But then you have the problem of Mikel and Ramires coming back.

It's got nothing to do with angering football gods and everything to do with practicality. Goalkeeper is just one of those positions where rotation doesn't have a great track record.

What's most impressive about that goal is that he picked the ball up in his own half and just went, and it's something he's done at youth level as well. He takes responsibility and isn't afraid to take chances. That goal just showcases everything he has in his locker. The skill to beat a man, the acceleration to go past one, the agility to stay on his feet, the strength to go shoulder to shoulder with a defender and still find an excellent finish at the end of it. Even when the ball is lost he still makes the run forward in case it does break for him. He's as complete a 17 as you will likely ever see. I don't know if he's better than Sterling was....technically he definitely is but he's not as fast. But he's far stronger. What they both have is that youthful arrogance to just go at players. He's been better than most people he's played against for most of his life, but he needs to face stronger opposition and get knocked back because that's when you know if you've got a PROPER player on your hands. To Sterling's credit, he stepped up. Maybe a better comparison is Barkley who also has that very direct mindset that a few of our players could do with. How often do we bemoan Hazard's somewhat lackadaisical style when we know he can just run at a marker for 90 minutes? One thing I really like about him compared to our current number 10 is that there's no hesitancy in his game. Oscar can look tentative and almost delicate with the ball, whereas Boga (so far because he's still untested) always looks 100 percent in control of the ball and his body. I think he'll stick around next season, be a big player in the under-21s and possibly also the Youth Cup team and be included in the first team a fair bit. I would not be surprised in the least if he never saw a loan spell longer than 6 months.

I'll remember you said that. That sounds remarkably patronising. Like I said, Britain is a more progressive society and we've moved on a lot from these types of things. That's not to say we don't understand why people feel the need to be religious though, in fact it makes a lot of sense. But this isn't the place to have this discussion and you're certainly not the type of person I think I'd want to have it with in the first place.

Actually isn't it your view that your ancestors 'just appeared on Earth' when 'a god' willed them into existence?

Because his fasting is apparently a possible reason for his shitty performances. Ergo, I'm criticising his preparation for these matches. Personal views about religion aside I simply think commitment to your work and teammates should be your primary focus (except of course family). But then I come from a different/more progressive culture.

I'm not ignorant of it, I just think it's a silly way for a professional footballer to prepare their bodies. I'm talking about science. I've defended Salah because he showed some nice touches last season, but his last two performances haven't been him looking short of fitness or things you might associate with a lack of match time. It's poor touches that are a little worrying now.

And? Are they going to bully us because our kit is a shade like our's? How insecure would you have to be for that to even register on your radar?

Pre-season is about fitness. How on earth can a player work on their fitness to the best of their abilities without a proper diet and being properly hydrated?

Van Ginkel seems to have calmed down a bit when on the ball but some of his tackles are borderline and could be a problem in the future. A better performance today but again, poorer in the second-half.

Stop moaning about me expressing an opinion. He's an employee of this club and he's not preparing himself for matches to the best of his ability. People love to use his religion as a defence but don't actually want discussion about that defence? Silly.

Fasting is not an excuse. He's a professional athlete who should look after his body the best way he can. Fasting during pre-season is moronic.

In my opinion, a bit. He seems a lot more agile but he isn't as strong. He's got that directness though that Rooney has always had where he'll just beat a man and shoot. He's excellent at making that bit of space he needs to get the ball off.