goodrobotusses

They should call it Team UK then. Defo going to be banging this drum. To no one.

We've got reasonable already though. We need good. Really good. Hoilett's the only one of the name's mentioned today that I think might (MIGHT) be worth a punt, and that's almost purely based on the fact his contract's running out and he should be cheap, not because I think he's going to be an A-grade winger.

I agree with you on this. Not specifically Hazard (not sure if we could get him) but someone of that type, an A+ creator/ball-carrier who can play from a wide position but also between the lines. Put Gerrard behind Suarez, Awesome Signing one side, then one of Bellamy/Maxi/Kuyt on the other. Quids in. Was asking around yesterday how Jovetic is doing at Fiorentina now he's fit again. He's got a 1 in 2 goal record but not actually seen him. No one commented on performance, but seems he signed a new contract in October and said he's not leaving, presumably looking to pay back the club for nursing him through his knee-knack last season.

Yep, Smicer – whatever you think of his performances/injuries/mentality – was a far more talented footballer than Downing. Still convinced we'd have seen a lot more from him in if Rafa had been in charge when we signed him. Didn't suit GH's style at all.

Aye, Zlatan does my nut in and wouldn't leave Milan, but he's a proper, all-round modern target man (DISCLAIMER: might just be fancy talk for tall guy that's better on the deck than in the air). Do we really have creativity though? Of the four players mentioned only two are guaranteed a start, and one of those has barely featured this year. We seriously lack creativity, in my opinion.

The UK could actually do well if they had a halfway competent coach. They'll have Bale, Ramsey and some handy England U21s. Question: If they're calling it 'Team GB', does that mean Northern Ireland aren't invited? Great Britain is the island that makes up England, Scotland and Wales, right?

Nigeria vs Argentina in 1996 was a classic! That whole tournament was good, in fact.

Yeah, not sure if he'd ever played in front of the defence before. Pretty sure he played on either the left or right of a CM three at Porto. That said, Villas-Boas' original plan had been for the CMs to rotate as they did in his Porto side. Seems to have since binned that and is playing Romeu in the dedicated DM role.

That said, I think Meireles is a better player than Adam and (currently) Henderson.

Meireles wasn't s****, nor was he indispensable. He was a neat and tidy midfield with good movement and an excellent engine. He kept play ticking over but could also get forward into the box. His purple patch with us in January was when he was playing behind the striker and ended when he moved out wide. Good, not great player.

Really? Berbatov is many things, but a limited footballer who just sticks it in the net isn't one of them.

Or we'll still suffer from the same lack of creativity and ten-man syndrome we get when Carroll's in the team. How many top level clubs in modern football have strikers whose only role is to "get on the end of things"? Inzaghi? Not a first choice. Owen? Same again. I suppose you can argue Hernandez, but you can also argue he wasn't bought to be first choice but excelled and that United are weaker in midfield when he plays.

The question is: what's the story with his knees?

Aye, looking like they're going out of business: http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/16395001.stm

http://www.darlofc.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=15733&sid=727f2778ebe1b1088b55e1ceb615a08f

There's a snake in ma boots.

Don't believe the Bent links, but if we were considering it, we may as well save a few bob and re-sign Cisse.

I think he's been more on the right than left because he just gets in Enrique's way on the left. I really want to see Bellamy left (him and Enrique combine well), Maxi right (he combines with everyone) and Gerrard behind the striker linking play. Add Suarez's movement ahead of those when he's back and we're quids in.

I can see that, yeah. We're only halfway through the season anyway, so this is all pie in the sky from me. I'm assuming we won't have a massive collapse in the second half of the season, so I guess it'll all be assessed on how much we've progressed from this time last year.

Going back to last summer's buying strategy, I think the whole "we're not in CL, therefore no one will come here" is a slight red herring. Leaving Suarez aside, Comolli managed to sign Luka Modric – one of the best-regarded young players in the game at the time – when Spurs were outside the CL. Now Modric was at Dinamo Zagreb, so yeah, going to Spurs was a big step for him compared with, say, Juan Mata theoretically going from Valencia to a CL-less Spurs or Liverpool (that's from the player's perspective, before I get chewed out). I don't think every big European prospect would have automatically written us off as a place to go simply because we were without CL, especially in light of the club's new-found ambition/'project' under FSG. Anyhoo, that's me done with Champ Man land for now. (I don't play the game, so I'm not going to propose any alternative targets – will leave that to the experts.)

NO NO! Ha, just read that back. Oops. They've stated CL is the target this season IIRC, with the aim to be pushing for the title in three years. I don't think they will keep the management if they perceive Kenny to have 'failed'. I don't think they're Abramovich-like hirers and firers, but I think they do have a ruthless streak in them. Just my instinct, like.

I'll respect your opinions on the matter, mate, but Michael Cox's view is probably the last thing I'm going to care about, as nice a fella as he seems.

That pretty succinctly sums up my thoughts on the matter. We went for 'PL proven' in a bid for 4th. We'll only know if it worked in May. If we do get 4th, I'd hope to see more ambitious targets then. I don't think FSG will hang around if we don't get it though.

Ronaldo wasn't that great in the air. Probably his only real weakness, aside from pies and dodgy knees.

That's a jump of £6,499,994. Inflation, eh?