MickeyDocs

He's not afraid to go in for a tackle and has good vision. Seems like a good prospect.

The Chelsea route has been to buy players whether or not they are needed, sometimes to stop the competition from signing them. United on the other hand have never been afraid to spend large sums (and over the odds) for players that are truly needed, such as Ronaldo (we could have signed him for 6million), Rooney (only Newcastle competed for his signature), Ferdinand and Vidic. This is the strategy we now need. Last Summer Rafa added to the squad and also tried to improve the first team. As a result he purchased Pennant instead of Alves, so as to leave some money to purchase Kuyt. This Summer we need to add 2-3 quality players that will immediately improve the first team. Personally I'd love to see a repeat of 1987 with signings of the calibre of Aldridge, Beardsley and Barnes.

we may struggle to get villa and alves now. benitez was in for villa while still at valencia, and alves not long after. the key thing for me about getting more funds isn't that we can now get involved in big money auctions, it's more about being able to pay the 10-15 million for these players before they become 20-30 millions 'names'. I don't see why we will struggle... we've been very keen in our approach and both players have mentioned us in a very positive way, and money is no longer the issue it used to be... apart from the new owners revenue will be way up due to extended run in cl, new sky deal, and new sponsorship!

I like Lawton too... it's this word 'creativity' that gets to me. If we are a team without creative nous, then how come we split open their defence time and time again. In fact we created a host of chances against Barca home and away. Creativity was not an issue. We created fewer chances against United, but they had 10 men behind the ball. We didn't put our chances away... that's the killer instinct we are missing. Yes we do need a player that can unlock tight defences... but creativity is not an issue. Holding onto the ball against Barca and at times against United was an issue, yet we created chances. Yes I would love to see an out and out creator that can cross a ball, take on players and beat them, cut inside and provide a defence splitting pass. Even more I would like to see such a player on the left of midfiel (Quaresma?). I just wish there was a little more thought given to semantics and less to histrionics.

This article is a load of crap! Makes one believe that football is all about tomorrow's possibilities and not the here and and now. http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sport/fo...icle2342722.ece and Liverpool, Rafael Benitez's course specialists of tigerish tackling still striding along in the absence of a creative thought in their heads.

Recreativo will struggle to afford him, and he may not want to stay, his stock is high and he may want to go to one of the bigger clubs. He could prove to be a great bargaining tool... Sevilla have expressed an interest!

No doubt Inter will be ordered to play behind closed doors for their pre-season games. This time they have to receive a ban!!!

Agree regarding Agger - he was outstanding last night even though Carra got all the plaudits. I'm surprised Agger isn't getting more praise today... he was my motm along with Finnan and Carra... there was nothing to choose between all three. Hard to believe he is so young and in his first full season!

Played well again last night... would he come to us, should we be in for him? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qFmYhZW63qI

Momo is out for the next game... anyone else looking forward to seeing a similar team with Mascherano instead of Mo?

RP, I was referring to the chance they had after the goal, they hit the post before Gudjohnsen scored.

BTW, anyone agree that Marquez should have had at least three yellow cards... the ref was quick to book our players (Mo deserved his though... and that was pretty much the end of Deco ) and very slow to book players from Barca? What are the odds of us going back to Spain for the next round... Valencia or Real Madrid?

I'm quite sure Crouchie will leave this summer... and Juve would represent a great move for him.

not the kind of language that should be used imho

cowardly scum... bunch of c u next tuesdays!!!! perfectly good goal disallowed... free kick for sfa... this one hurts even more than the injury time loss at ot. psychologically the worse thing that could've happened to the team. when rafa is allowed to spend as much as gin soak has he'll make this bunch look like amateurs!

what if they replace one of the corporate boxes with a lap dancing club to get people into the ground earlier

Two great young players with hefty price tags and no experience of the premiership. Both would be risks, and neither may succeed. So my question is, which one do we need more, and which one will adapt more readily. Personally I believe we need Villa more, as Torres seems to be as much a creator as a finisher, whereas Villa is an out and out predator with pace, ability and a never say die attitude.

get a better left back than Riise and that's a great 11

It's the tabloids that tried to drag our name through the mud... we are a coming force with a talented squad and money to spend to complete the squad... they do not like us

why buy Kaka when we have Gerrard?

BTW, there are different payscales in Dubai according to your origins... payscale 1 for Dubai Citizens, payscale 2 for westerners, and payscale 3 for those from India and Asia. Has anyone checked last months National Geographic... there is a detailed article on Dubai, and the poverty behind the scenes of uber wealth is worth taking a look at.

Good luck Stephen with Blackburn... do the decent thing and feign injury when you play against Liverpool Does this mean that Rafa is now happy that Aurelio is finally bedding in, and that Insua can provide some real back up?

This guy is Roy Keane without the psychosis... he breaks up attacks, keeps it simple, gets forward but only when the defence is not exposed... he will be a legend if we get him. And of course there will be a settling in period, for this kind of quality player we can accept such a period. Let's hope Fifa don't mess this up.