Mikey

Flamini was all over him last season, a player with less God given football talent but more athletic ability. Fabregas has always played well against him as well, a player with similar God given football talent and more athletic ability. Edited: Alonso isn't a wimp by the way and any attempt to suggest otherwise is just wrong.

"Thats Alonso and Plessis who you have never met but will start the season alongside, these are pictures of Lucas and Masch who you have never met but will be expected to partner throughout the season. This is Kuyt/Yossi/Robbie Keane/Torres/Ngog/Babel who you have never met but will be expected to instinctively link up with. This is Agger/Skrtel.Finnan/Degen/Dossena/Insua/aurelio ................"

Torres is quite possibly the best striker in world football, players like him don't have 2nd season syndrome. PL defenders will be having 2nd season syndrome before we play them "f*** me I've got to mark Torres tomorrow and he tore me a new a*** last time we played them!"

SSN reporting that 3 clubs have won a court battle not to release their players for the WC, Messi, Rafinha and missed the last one.

Certainly more so than other teams managers as no-one appears willing to pay £16M for him, a price that posters on here think is criminally cheap as well!

At the moment we look like the only top 4 side that has improved so far. United haven't signed anyone, Arsenal have lost Flamini and Hleb - two massively important players for them last season, Chelsea have signed Deco and Boswingwa, Deco I like but who'e he gonna play instead of? And a midfield with Deco, Lampard and Ballack in it has no width and very little defensive capabilities. If we get 80+ points this season we won't be miles away and we should be reasonably pleased with that, 84/85 will win it this year I believe.

Its that damn hair of his! And apologies to the forum, as it was mentioned Alonso to Arsenal then I assumed it was obviously Brazilian WC winner Gilberto I compared him to. The point I apparently never made was this; If Rafa decides to sell Alonso then it shouldn't matter who we sell him to surely? As for him strengthening Arsenal then I seriously doubt this, I'd love to see how he coped with Kuyt/Gerrard/Keane/Masch swarming all over him every time he got the ball on the edge of his own area.

If we sell Alonso to Arsenal I couldn't care less to be honest, if they pay what we want for him then why should we worry? FWIW I think Alonso is the same sort of player as Silva was but even less mobile.

So according to you its Voronin and Pacheco up front with Lucas/Plessis/Masch fighting it out in CM and the new Brazilian in goal then?

Thanks Rafa

Carra will probably start the season as first choice CB and rightly so, but the notion that he is above being challenged for his position is bloody ridiculous. He was pretty average for much of last season - Sami was better than him at least upto Xmas and once Skrtel got the pace and physicality of the league he was well worth his place as well. Hopefully it was a blip for Carra and now he's had a Summer off he will come back as good as ever but you have to accept that he will not be allowed to play at the same level as last season and keep the two youngsters out for ever. Also worth noting that in order for Skrtel and Agger to build a partnership they actually have to play together sometimes to do it.

He very well might do in 12 months time when he's only got a year left on his contract but as he currently has 2 years left he actually can't.

Voronin is as bad as he's been made out on here, he's f***ing pitiful! Not just slow, fat and lethargic but almost totally uninterested! He's had a half decent preseason big whoopy deal! Sell him, give him away, shoot him - he should have never come near a club like Liverpool and if he stays every game he gets on the bench is to the detriment of Nemeth and Pacheo. He really and truthfully is cr@p.

The guy on SSN who made the statement was a guy who appeared to be well up on whats happening in Midlands football - I only caught the end of it as I passed the TV in the bar. He was asked specifically about the Barry situation RE: us and Arsenal and stated as fact that; Arsenal had enquired about Barry, had been told it was £18M in cash or he's going nowhere and decided at that point to not pursue the matter any further - there is no interest from Arsenal. Regarding us he said that he wasn't expecting us to up our offer from £15M INCLUDING Finnan, and that Gareth Barry was returning to training with Villa and was coming round to the idea that he might be stuck there for another 12 months before he can buy his contract out for £2M as per an agreement he has in place. As I understand it any player above a certain age can buy out the last 12 months of his contract for the same amount as they would have been paid in those 12 months as long as they give a certain amount of notice. This guy, and I'm well p1ssed off I didn't get his name, was making the point that he didn't understand Villa's stance on Barry as basically no-one is going to pay £18M for him and he can leave in 12 months for next to nothing. Make of it what you will but I thought there would've been other posters who had seen it as well as me!

A bit on SSN in the last hour about him saying Arsenal were put off by the price, we're the only possible option for him BUT it looks like he may have to stay at Villa for another 12 months and he can buy out his contract for £2M next July! f***ing wait I say!

Rafa pulled the plug because if he'd gone ahead he would have had no money for further players - not because he disagreed with their valuations. The idea that Parry says "You can have Alves Rafa, I'm gonna sign the cheque for £23M now mate" and Rafa says "No Rick, he's not worth that kind of money, I'd rather sign Pennant for£7M as he's better value" is frankly ridiculous.

Voronin isn't technically a scapegoat - he's actually s**** and therefore gets derided for being s****.

He was good though wasn't he? The best RB in the PL for a few years but he's past it now and best to let him go and keep the great memories.

Is it fair to assume from the transfer dealings done/rumoured/in the pipeline that Rafa's ideas of the changes needed to take us forward are swapping Barry for Alonso and getting two new fullbacks neither of them first choice for their respective countries? Where do we see Keane fitting in if he arrives as I'm finding it hard to believe that Kuyt will be dropped and I wouldn't want to see Babel drop down the pecking order?

We've all seen Voronin mate!

get real FFS, who was the numpty jumping all over him and SOS right at the start of the thread? And anyone who doesn't think we could have done better for RB than Degen seriously wants to wake up and smell the coffee, he was an unused substitute for Switzerland! In the interview listed Rafa says he signed him so he could spend money elsewhere, a massively ringing endorsement there for an injury prone fullback who hasn't kicked on from some early promise - so far.

Fabregas is what the Yanks refer to as a 'phenom', already a World class performer at the age of about 20. Alonso has never got the better of him, and Flamini last season ran all over him. Alonso was very good last night but I can't remember the last time he really did play like that in the PL. FWIW I'd rather stick with Alonso than pay £18M for Barry.

I'd have Carra ahead of Ferdinand but he aint better than him either!

No, he isn't. Ronaldo can do everything Messi can do as well if not better, Messi can't do everything Ronaldo can by any stretch of the imagination. Ronaldo has more pace, is far better in the air, is more incisive, has more end product in both goals scored and assists and has just won the CL and PL in a side containing players like Brown, Carrick, Scholes, Hargreaves, Park, Anderson etc - players that are DERIDED on here. There has never existed a reality in which Messi is better than Ronaldo, he's not just been the best player in the world - he's EASILY been the best. In two seasons against us and the Mancs in the CL Messi never got a kick, and has inspired a Barcelona side containing Eto'o, Deco, Ronaldhino, Henry, Xabi, Iniesta etc to win exactly f*** all! FFS this happens all the time, Ronaldo can't be absolutely F'in brilliant because he's a Manc.

Messi isn't better than Ronaldo. Unless of course you don't count goals scored, assists, effect on the team and trophies won.