dl2009

They should offer him a 2-3 year deal now. Then rip it up if he's found to be lying...

I think Xabi actually has more career goals than Alberto. Still, completely different players.

Trying to use my own argument against me? Cool Jedi mind trick. By the way, posting a youtube video to respond to someone giving his assessment of a player he's seen for near enough the entire season is a pretty poor rebuttal. Absolute nonsense and if you don;t know why, trying watching some full matches to find out. Also (and please don't take this as a match goer vs armchair fan thing), watching someone live gives you a much better impression of that player's involvement in a match; his movement, his reactions, his adherence to instructions (provided you're sitting within earshot of Sammy Lee) and you can also tell which players are hiding and which ones are imposing themselves upon the opposition to a greater degree. Having watched Aquilani last season at Anfield, my conclusion was that he was not suited to this league. If he had the right mentality (i.e. not a pussy) he could've done a Modric and adapted. As it stands, he's s***ting out of tackles left, right and centre in a less powerful league.

Why do you doubt that I'd be willing to watch 'another' Juve match? I've been watching Serie A since the Football Italia days on Channel 4. A bit of an odd thing to say. Also, why should I base my opinion on a YouTube video rather than pretty much all of Juve's (along with Milan and Fiorentina) matches that I've seen this season? I think you've got yourself into a bit of a hole in this thread (as evidenced by the 'Aqua better creative mid than Gerrard' posts) and have kept on digging. You probably banked on people not watching any of Aquilani games for the Old Lady when you gave your assessment of his time there.

No he's not. It was precisely the fact that he was played a little deeper that contributed towards his (sustained) poor form after his first 2-3 months of pretty decent performances. Actually, I should say that it was one of the contributory factors of his slump. My motorised satellite must be pointing towards an alternative universe as that doesn't ring true at all (if we're talking about games post December). Bossing midfield? The games have passed him by and while he looks good on the ball, he hardly does anything constructive with it and certainly hasn't dictated the tempo of the matches; Juve's central midfield have frequently been dominated by even the less illustrious opposition and the classy Klasic's performances have suffered as a result due to him being isolated out wide & not receiving the ball into space.

I really don't know why he was recalled to the national side as his form has been nothing but average since around January. Watch him week in week out and you'll see that he is still physically weak, can't impose himself, still s***s out of tackles, doesn't dictate the pace of the game, his passing has become very unadventurous and he runs out of steam at around the 65min mark. He started off the season very brightly, but a combination of poor tactics and his own physical/mental failings has resulted in lots of Juve fans thinking that he's not worth the (full) transfer fee. He's definitely not the player we/the management thought he was and it's best for all concerned if we're able to get £10m for him & move him on.

No, that's one of the reasons his form has dipped massively; he simply can't play a more disciplined role and lets runners go past him all the time. His tackling has got worse, if anything, as he's not even making the effort now.

Having watched a lot of (a very poor) Serie A, my assessment is that he started off the season pretty well, but his general form for the last 4 or so months has been really poor. Partly down to the management, but certainly a lot of it is down to Alberto. Even when he was playing well, he looked like tackling was foreign to him and it's even more pronounced now. He had a good game for Italy, but I seriously doubt that he'll fulfil his potential as he's physically (and I suspect, mentally) weak.

Hii Hiii

I think Raul is more mobile, versatile, has a better engine and isn't as much of a pussy. I think his passing will get better and better once we have a proper wide player stretching the play and Suarez & Carroll up front.

As I said even before his recent goal spree, Raul is the better player. Having said that, I'd rather we were in a position to sub Raul for Aquilani than Shelvey. As someone mentioned earlier though, I don't think he'd be content with being a squad player.

Spot on.

Then he should f*** off to Spain.

He did it for two games in a row, but not because he's a bottler. He was carrying a slight knock (right ankle), which caused him pain, but not significant enough to sit out the games. The injury has cleared up now, so I suspect we'll see him get stuck in a bit more.

The Russell Brand Fan Club?

Very true. When I first read about how the Italian media and fans detested him, I thought it was typical anti-English bias. However, it turns out that he is actually a ****.

Has this already been posted? (Our tactics board for the Newcastle match, allegedly)

Yeah, that's how I interpreted it too.

Best phone in in 35 years. You couldn't really expect anything better.

Henry's final closing comment suggests that Roy is here to stay until the end of the season.

More effective than Joe Cole.

Critchley (sp?) has a difficult job, but he needs to stop answering for Henry and Tom when it comes to RFH.

Two cracking callers in succession. Brilliant. Jeremy said that 80% of fans want him gone, talked about how Hodgson is so negative with his comments before games, mentioning how he says that 'we might get beaten etc' and you could see Werner chuckle at that point.

Henry: The play and results have been unacceptable. We must all take responsibility. Werner: Expects immediate improvement but doesn't want to make a snap judgement on one result.