The only place to be

Good news West Ham fans. Your manager won Manager of the Month. Bad news....he's probably not going to get sacked in the summer.

Loftus-Cheek maybe a few years down the line. Chalobah is more of a number 4.

So he's been accused of racism and he's a dirty striker. Cool, we're replacing Drogba and JT at the same time. But honestly, he played against a couple of cunts, threw in some cheap shots and at the end of the game shook hands with both of them. Honestly I don't have the problem with signing him that others do, but then I don't expect all of our players to be angels. I don't think I want them to be actually.

That numbers matter to football supporters. It's silly but a lot of the things associated with the game are. The number 10 shirt is a prestige shirt and it should go to someone like Hazard if you have a player like him in the team. Number 26 will probably be left vacant (we don't really retire numbers) for a while like the 25, but number 8 will be reallocated once Frank leaves/retires.

Not quite sure why people think Costa is a cunt to be honest.

Because little things like this matter to football supporters. Anyways, it probably should be Eden. Oscar already has 11 and any new striker will hopefully get the number 9 or 19.

Raises way too many questions far UEFA not to intervene, especially considering we're involved. It's a dodgy as fuck rule if a player on loan is actually able to play against his parent club, let alone a goalkeeper.

Because there is always a possibility that he's a flash in the pan. Right now he's in that rare form where everything is going for him and that's tough to maintain. Personally I like what he offers all round though. He has a fight in him that will be useful for us even if he isn't scoring regularly, a bit like Drogba brought in his time here although there is a worry that it might come out in less helpful ways though. But you're spot on about this being when you want to buy strikers, when they're in the ascendency and still have potential rather than looking at established guys (Shevchenko, Torres....even Crespo) who have already peaked.

Two goals against 10 men who gifted the chances to him on a plate doesn't erase his poor performances this season. I can never get over just how weak a player he actually is when he looks like he should have a bit more oomph about him. Solid bench option at the moment but behind Eto'o and Torres.

I thought he might be an option, maybe because he matured. But when the chips were down in Madrid his greatest contribution to the cause was to get himself booked and suspended for the next game for arguing with the ref. I think he might just be that 'why always me?' character who simply isn't a man. He's an overgrown boy who looks to blame others for his problems which perhaps isn't a great surprise considering his rather turbulent childhood. The hope that Jose can 'father' him is a massive gamble, whereas Costa not only looks about 10 years older but he's actually a leader in that team.

Pellegrini once again showed himself to be a one-trick pony. The amount of times they had space wide and even tried to cross it when they had only Aguero in the box was a joke. Wenger tried to outplay Barca at their own game and lost, and Pellegrini fell into the same trap. The genius of Robbie was to put aside his ego and start from the position of understanding that Barcelona were a much better team than we were, so you can't outplay them. You have to beat them in a different way, and that may well be parking the bus and looking to hit them on the counter. That was why our victory was heroic, and we had more than our fair share of luck too. It's that pragmatism that I love in Jose too, and it's why we beat City at their place. Not because we were the better team, but because we stopped them from doing what they wanted and frustrated them. Pellegrini's best shot was probably using the width that Navas and Kolorov can provide and putting in crosses for Negredo, Dzeko and even Toure. Their goal came from a set-piece and their next best chance was a cross to Dzeko yet they persisted with trying to play through Barca. That isn't being heroic, it's being naive and egotistical.

What the fuck type of comment is that? If you've got an accusation to make about me then come right out and say it, or ask one of the admins to check the IPs that we both posted from. The amount of fuckwittery that goes on sometimes is a joke. You don't like me disagreeing with you about a couple of strikers so you try and spread shit about me that is a blatant lie. Fact is that I skipped over most of that argument because I had no interest in it. I've been going to the Bridge for decades now, with fans from all over the world who love this club and I really have no interest in why they do, just so long as they represent us well and have a laugh. What I have noticed though is that there's a certain type of internet fan who will quite happily talk shit about people they know they'll never actually meet in person. Oh, and just so there's no confusion I'm talking about you and the post I've just quoted. I'm sure a few other snivellers will like your post and maybe even try and get involved in having a pop at me over the internet but if they want to do it in person then they know where to find me. I'll even send them the google maps link to find their way to the Bridge.

Didn't Drogba have his best scoring season with us at the age of 31/32? You know he was born in 1978 don't you? It was probably when he was captain for the CL final in Puyol's absence and absolutely destroyed United's midfield. Anyway, agree to disagree.

Costa simply wasn't at the level he is playing at now at the start of the season. He's exploded in the last six months, hence him leaping to the top of the list of strikers we're being linked with (a list that doesn't include Mandzukic in any reputable source). In fact the one team he was very much linked with was Liverpool and Rodgers....a man who seems to know about strikers. Soldado was simply the wrong striker for Spurs in terms of his workrate and what AVB actually wanted from a striker. Good point on Forlan though. Actually they've played more of a 4141 but again, a relevant point made there. Well done. Mandzukic is a high workrate player, but I simply think that Costa fits our team better. Not selective in the slightest. Mandzukic is definitely an option, but one that simply hasn't been linked with us. In fact I've heard nothing from people who I trust that he's even in the discussion. The only people talking about it are you and Angry Swede. Anyway, agree to disagree.

Here's a picture of the cheating little shit crying on the pitch after the game. Karma bitch.

I was talking about now, as in the French league. I'm bored of discussing this with you. Apparently he has several defining moments, none of which you can call to mind. Let's just agree to disagree.

Just because you don't understand the reason I mention him, doesn't make them idiotic. You say he's only had one good season, I point to another striker who had only one great season. If you can't actually find a valid reason to disagree with that point, don't start crying about it. One could counter that the Bundesliga is equally weak as shown by De Bruyne's failure to make it here or Dzeko's failure to bring his goalscoring form to Manchester. One could equally point to how well strikers like Aguero, Negredo and Torres did when coming from La Liga to the Premier League. Technically Costa has more league goals this season as well. Then there's the playstyles of the two. Costa is a fantastically hard worker, he's strong, he's fast and he does well hitting teams on the counter. Mandzukic is a fine player too, but I simply don't think he's as good a fit for us as Costa is. Throw in the fact that Costa has a release clause that fits within our budget and you have a better proposition from a rational point of view. You and the Angry Swede can moan about him being a cunt if that makes you feel better though.

Gotta be Costa now hasn't it? Unless something big happens at PSG and Cavani becomes available then he would seem to be the best choice. The biggest knock against him seems to be his diving but that's just part of La Liga, so if he can lose that like Drogba did then his strength and workrate would fit us well.

His perfect place is a poor league. At his prime, he has chosen to go to a second-tier league. Zlatan is a great player, and he's played for great teams. What's his defining moment as a player? It's a question you simply keep ignoring.

Well the Champions League is the only competition both have actually competed in so it seemed like a fair comparison. Costa may have had one great season but that isn't a particularly good barometer for judging how a player will do for us. Drogba only had one good season before joining us whereas Shevchenko had many good seasons. Mandzukic may well be the highest scorer in the Bundesliga, but so what? He's one goal ahead of Adrian Ramos.....who the fuck is he? Kiessling was the top scorer last season, a striker so mediocre that I can't even be bothered to work out how to do the correct spelling of his name on my keyboard. Before him it Haha Huntelaar, Gomez.....and then the almighty Edin Dzeko, a striker who has failed to replicate his Bundesliga form in one of the best teams in the Premier League. Face it, Mandzukic's record in the Champions League is underwhelming. Less goals in two seasons and TRIPLE the appearances of Costa is poor whichever way you want to slice it. Mandzukic isn't the striker anyone at this club wants, he's just the striker that people who think Costa is a cunt want and that is the most pathetic 'reasoning' out there.

He has a Champions League winner's medal....hell that 2005 performance is probably his defining moment as a player. What is Zlatan's? His perfect place is a weaker league? A flat-track to bully? He'll surely win the ballon d'or in his first season in the MLS then.

RVP is injury-prone. Being 31 in August isn't going to help that. Mandzukic has 5 goals in two seasons in the Champions League. Costa has 7 goals this season in the Champions League Torres has 6 goals in two season in the Champions League (and in about half the appearances of Mandzukic). Falcao is coming off an ACL injury that he's actually trying to rush back from. Benzema probably isn't going anywhere.

Still 5 goals in 16 appearances over two seasons isn't exactly brilliant. There is always the chance he's another Dzeko who fails to replicate his form in the Premier League. Of course Costa could be the same, but Atletico strikers seem to travel well (Aguero and Torres).

Five goals in the Champions League....in two seasons. That's only two less than Costa has got this season. #stats