Juan Mata

[rantdeville 195]

Ramires would compliment mikel n modric perfectly.

[BosnianLion 232]

That looks sexy

[dodojojo 510]

Ramires for Lampard and that's it.

[Swoopz 183]

Mata had a 22mill release that expired in July. Now we're bidding over 24mill and are getting rejected. I dont understand our board.

[Joker10 946]

What about Ramires? He's growing on me more and more as I watch him play.

It is the lineup which i believe AVB will go for.

Who would you replace him with?

Mikel? Ramires is not a holding midfielder, Mikel is by far better then him as a holding midfielder. Saw Ramires play as a DM for Brazil at Copa America, he was arguably the worst player on the pitch.

Lampard? He is not getting benched this early in the season, he might if he continues to underperform.

As i said this is the lineup which i believe AVB will prefer. If it was up to me i would start McEachran over Ramires and Lampard. :tophat:

[lionsden 4,689]

------------Torres------------

Mata-------------------Sturridge

--Ramires-----Modric---------

-------------Mikel---------------

Cole----Terry----Alex----Iva/Bos/Paulo

----------- Cech-----------------

Fixed

[nadavTKL 1,787]

Ramires for Lampard and that's it.

He asked "what would our starting 11 look like", he didnt asked "what do you think our starting 11 should look like?"

Until Lampard wont play realy, realy bad, Boas wont think about taking him off. And personally i think Lamps deserves the chance.

[LDN Blue 7,903]

Is he a proper winger?

[Sheva. 5,373]

He asked "what would our starting 11 look like", he didnt asked "what do you think our starting 11 will look like?"

Until Lampard wont play realy, realy bad, Boas wont think about taking him off. And personally i think Lamps deserves the chance.

Can't see him getting benched, until like you said, he plays very bad.... for a period of time.

[magic weeds 446]

Is he a proper winger?

I think he's David Silva's clone. same attributes.

[lionsden 4,689]

He asked "what would our starting 11 look like", he didnt asked "what do you think our starting 11 will look like?"

Until Lampard wont play realy, realy bad, Boas wont think about taking him off. And personally i think Lamps deserves the chance.

Can't see him getting benched, until like you said, he plays very bad.... for a period of time.

Wouldn't that make AVB an hypocrite. after all the talk about basing his team selection on form and merit? What type of message would he be sending out to the rest of the team. . . . .a leader that cannot keep to his words.

[LDN Blue 7,903]

I think he's David Silva's clone. same attributes.

Ah, sounds good then.

Just don't want to get over-excited and then realise maybe he's not this "proper winger" we all hope/think he is.

[manpe 10,861]

I think the main reason why Lamps is still held in high regard is because of his influence on the whole team. When he's out, the team, especially midfield tends to underperform and look somewhat clueless. I suspect the main reason is because Lampard is/was our most reliable midfield maestro and once he was out, there was nobody to fill in... but now, if everything goes according to plan, we will have Josh and Luka doing the same job (minus the goals). He's our vice captain, a piece of the team's spine and it takes time to make the team feel comfortable without him, so I think his role will slowly be reduced by AVB as season(s) go by, until he's no longer a regular starter. Cracking the spine too suddenly can lead to adverse effects... one may argue that a player's influence is as important as his skills.. that may be the case here. Plus you don't give up on a player like Frank that easily, knowing what a tremendous professional he is and how critical he is of his own performances, he will be looking to up his game and his form... He said it himself that he was disappointed with his last season form, but Ancelotti sent him a message that it was enough by playing him regularly. It might take time because of his age and the injury he suffered, but he still has things to contribute.

But I just noticed that this is the Mata thread, so I'll shut up now

[Sheva. 5,373]

Wouldn't that make AVB an hypocrite. after all the talk about basing his team selection on form and merit? What type of message would he be sending out to the rest of the team. . . . .a leader that cannot keep to his words.

Like i said, if he continues struggling, then he should get benched.

But after only a couple games? never going to happen.

[Sheva. 5,373]

Ah, sounds good then.

Just don't want to get over-excited and then realise maybe he's not this "proper winger" we all hope/think he is.

He's a better/younger/faster version of Malouda. And has incredible vision - 15 assists last season i think.

Not so sure on his crossing though.

[lionsden 4,689]

Like i said, if he continues struggling, then he should get benched.

But after only a couple games? never going to happen.

couple of games? Lampard has been shit since he returned from injury last season FFS. Bottomline is AVB has so far failed to keep to his words as Lampard should never have started the stoke game judging by his performance in pre-season. it's a shame player power and hierarchy still exists within the club and as a friend of mine would say, "same shit, different season/manager"

[Sheva. 5,373]

couple of games? Lampard has been shit since he returned from injury last season FFS. Bottomline is AVB has so far failed to keep to his words as Lampard should never have started the stoke game judging by his performance in pre-season. it's a shame player power and hierarchy still exists within the club and as a friend of mine would say, "same shit, different season/manager"

He said "every player gets a fresh start, and will not be judged based on last season" if i remember correctly.

And preseason, well many players were shit in preseason, including Kalou, Drogba, Malouda, Anelka and co.

[bababoom 4,478]

I hope we can get him. I heard that last season he had the second most assist in la liga, xavi the only player to beat him. Pretty impressive, seems like just what we need.