CaptainXabi

It's never easy when we're negotiating is it? I hope we don't get trumped again.

Why did he get that yellow again? Too slow?

Rafa's not letting it go at all. He's got some yelling to do.

No, but I like this new stubborness when we're behind.

That's settled then. His official position is game-changer.

Pongolle's close control is something else, did you see the way he chested that ball?

For the record, it wasn't me that said he's lacking in end product

Who do you think you are trying to be cheeky this early in a new year Anyway, pretty sizeable whooooosh on my part

Gerrard can almost pass like Alonso on the technical level. It's the decision making and the ability to control the tempo of the game Gerrard lacks. He plays full speed all the time. But this isn't a who's better issue in my opinion. There are Gerrard times in games and there are Alonso times, and we have both, so happy days.

f*** off Chelsea. Crespo scores.

I've always wanted to do that

....and breathe

He seems to be a quick learner when he sets his mind to it though, doesn't he? I mean his ball retention has come on leaps and bounds. In FM terms he went from a 4 to 10 in 2 months (now that I know how the game works, I'm going to be using these analogies )

Neither have I, it was nice to see a screenshot for the first time. With the detail of stats they go into, I could see how such a game could consume thousands of hours.

Ok, it's just a theory. Calm yourself. I'm not saying that it's an absolutely brilliant idea and a nailed on certainty, just that it's a feasible/plausible thing to try. I don't know why people are so averse to trying things. It's not irreversible. If it doesn't work, you go back, no big deal. In the summer, I was called all sorts of names when I backed the idea that Gerrard at RM could work and make the team better at least while we didn't have Figo circa 2000 in the squad. Guess what, it did and still does. Moving Finnan to left back might make Finnan less effective, but if the net effect is positive, then it's a good move for the team isn't it? Let's think about what makes Finnan a good fullback. In my opinion it's his decision-making, his positioning, and his timing. Ok, so far none of those are side dependent. So then we must ask, does he have a useable left foot and the answer is yes, he's way above average in terms of two-footedness (that's definitely not a word). So could Finnan be almost as good of a left back as a right back? On paper yes; therefore in my opinion it's worth a try. I say try it in a low profile game or two and see what happens, you never know. And if it doesn't work, guess what? we have 3 other left backs to revert to. It's not a lifetime decision.

I don't think it's ridiculous at all.

So this guy seems like he was amazing at AZ - apparently at one point he was valued at 15M Euros by Alkmaar. Obviously they just put a silly price tag on him, but you don't do that to players that you don't somewhat value. Moreover, he went to Villareal for 5M Euros, which isn't small change for a RB (unless you're Chelsea or Juventus), especially for Villareal to pay. Even Cicinho was only 4 million Euro, and we paid 3.5M pounds (about 5M Euro) for Finnan and that was back in the day when fees were still somewhat outrageous. What's my point? This guy may not just be a squad player (I agree with madaboutlfc that it seems more than just a straight swap, thus my previous post). I think that it's possible that Rafa is thinking of either: a) Kronkamp RB, Finnan LB b) Kromkamp RM Or maybe I just caught the FM bug after all the screenshots

So we're swapping Josemi for a better, younger, and faster (as if he wouldn't be) player on less wages? What's the catch? And if there's no catch, we all need to send a card to Villareal's football director.

Good thing it wasn't a CL knockout game. That would make the situation a bit hairy...

He'll never be Crouch, that's a given. But if he can even do half of the things Crouch does and we learn to throw in the odd counter-attacking longball to Djibs, he's worth having on the pitch because pace always scares teams. And there are some games where it pays to just hit the ball to the fast guy with funny hair rather than all the intricate buildup stuff.

Whatever you think of him as a player, the lad's a fighter inside. He's decided that if Rafa wants him to play a certain way, he'll play that way even if it's not his preference. He was good in possession today, not Crouch, but far better than before. He made some nice intelligent passes today and took his goal exceptionally well. And not a sulking face in sight. Well done Djibs!

Idiot commentator has decided that we're weak in the air all the time (based on today's game) and it's due to zonal marking (despite the fact we rarely concede from set pieces).

Beattie misses from about 5 yards out.

Momo's discipline in tackles today has been excellent. Both Momo and Xabi havne't been at the best, but they've still won the midfield battle. We seem to be able to cope well when things do go absolutely perfectly these days - it's nice.

Poll has now decided that his right arm needs exercise and is flashing yellows left and right. In other news Cisse is really using the ball intelligently.