BG

No-one wants to pay more, everyone wants to see a winning team (which costs a lot to buy) and a new stadium to allow us to compete better in the long-term. Something has to give unless we manage to find ourselves an Abamovich style owner.

Everyone can judge a player by watching them. But a bit of objective evidenc/stats can help. Which is why Rafa and all the top managers use Prozone and the like all the time.

He's miles better than either of those players.

He got 7 two seasons ago which I would say is more understandable for a player of his quality and position.

Clearly a player cannot be judged by assists alone in the same way a player cannot be judged by any one thing alone. Stats aren't the whole answer of course but assists does capture something of value and the fact that Xabi has the same number as Reina this season despite passing being his main strength is of concern. As for the pass before the assist being more valuable than the assist I disagree. Players who make a lot of assists (e.g. Fabregas, Gerrard) are worth more than those who make the pass before the assist (e.g Alonso, Carrick).

As far as I know no-one counts that figure and makes it freely available. In any case that pass is of less value than the assist itself. It doesn't change the fact that Xabi's 1 assist a season for the last 2 years is nothing like good enough for a player whose game is based mainly on his passing. I believe he got 7 assists in 05-06 - that's a bit more like it.

I like Xabi but their's a certain amount of rose tinted spectacles in judging him. He's got 2 assists in the past two seasons. That's nowhere near enough given his ability and the fact that he is playing next to Mascherano. By way of comparison, Barry got 10 this season alone.

Unbelievable isn't it...

Wasn't aware you had access to the club's accounts and spending strategy. I seem to remember all sorts of people believing we would spend no money last summer too. In any case sellng Crouch, Pennant etc would probably get us close enough to a decent bid for Young.

I really hope we go for Ashley Young. He'd be perfect for us as he can play on either wing.

Is correct, though arguably too late.

For me it's less the lack of goals than the lack of assists for someone who is capable of passing so well. This season and last season he got 1 assist a season in the premier league. By way of comparison Gerrard got 8 this season (admittedly playing further forward) and Lucas got 4.

He's spending hugely less than Chelsea and United. Look at United's bench vs ours in the game at Old Trafford. They had players who cost the smae or more than Torres on the bench, as did Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.

I don't think it was a typo. It appears to have touched a raw nerve with Aunt though.

I think one of the reasons people like him so much is because he is like a throwback to what our midfielders used to be like. But the game has moved on and personally I'm not convinced he's absolutely right for the premier league - too many games pass him by.

Your signature: did Kaizer really say that?

Why should we? Our revenue is about half that of some of the clubs above us. It's not so hard finishing first and second when you're always buying the best players while we, on the whole, shop a tier down (with some exceptions).

Goal was quite similar to the one he scored against Chelsea at Anfield.

I would assume we were on Rafa's B or C list. Much as it was obvious that Pennant was not on his A list because we spent forever watching Del Nido run rings around us as we tried to get Alves.

They are very different players though. For me Xabi gets an easy ride on here a lot of the time becuase he's elegant on the ball and works hard. In addition he's a likebale personality, intelligent etc For me though, in England in the majority of games, he can be a luxury becuase he doesn't contribute enough to attacking play (very few goals, very few assists too) and is only ok defensively. When he's good he's very good, but too many games just pass him by. I find it amazing that people are so down on Lucas. For me he does all the simple things well or very well and could go on to be a truly excellent midfielder.

I'd rather have you back, Carnage. EHD? Why not buy Diao and Cheyrou back while we're at it. Just when we're getting a bit closer again we can make the same mistakes all over again. Rafa has thus far concentrated most of the expensive signings on the central areas. I really hope he splashes out in the wide areas this summer unless good players (Crouch/Alonso) go and need replacing.

Perhaps I'm being over-optimistic and Rafa has certainly said some contradictory things but I'm holding on to his comments that: - United have more "game-breakers" than us - One player can sometimes make a big difference - We have missed too many chances and that's something he will be working on in the Summer I'm in the camp of let's bring in a few kids, promote Insua, Nemeth and Plessis, couple of frees and spend the real cash on a really good all round left back (shift out Riise) and a really good right winger (shift out Pennant). If we got those two positions right I think it would push us on a lot. If Crouch and/or Alonso go they'll need replaing too in addition to the above.

Kaizer works hard, entertains quite a lot, is a bit contrarian and probably somewhat mad. All in all, he reminds me more of:

The whole world is mad, you're sane...

Agree 100%. Out of interest, does anyone (anyone Norwegian? have the stats on Xabi in terms of assists compared to say Carrick (who plays in a fairly similar position)?