rogerbarton

I think the point with 4-3-3 was that it suited our passing game. Cabaye became more involved in a more advanced position, Ben Arfa flourished and it seemed to work well with Jonas as a box to box midfielder and Tiote as the tough tackler sitting in behind. When we play 4-4-2 there seems to be a tendency for Cabaye to sit deeper, Ben Arfa and Jonas to be more limited and as a result Krul just hoofs it up to Cisse/Ba. They normally don't win half the balls either, perhaps becuase Krul's kicking isn't his best attribute.

If the collar were black it'd be a big improvement.

4-3-3 was first introduced West Brom (a) and we used it against Liverpool (h), Swansea (a), Bolton (h) and Stoke (h) before reverting to long ball 4-4-2 in the first half of the Wigan howking. 4-4-2 was used effectively against Chelsea and then employed again vs. Citeh. Can't remember much of the Everton game.

Decent shout Baggio. Would allow Ba and Cisse to work as a front two (and they showed glimpses of that working eg. vs Chelsea). Would be interesting to see how Ben Arfa would perform in that free role, as it didn't work as well when he was in behind the lone striker as opposed to on the right of a three.

I'd be dubious if we'd bought this fella. Rodgers must have a very good feeling about him

Do we reckon this is gonna happen then? Only seen the Daily Mail's article (though they have been on the ball with a few of our recent dealings). I would be pleased with Debuchy - looks like a very confident full back and would add a hell of a lot going forward judging on some of the play I saw from him at the Euros.

I kinda like it. I've always enjoyed the thicker stripes although I prefer more black than white. Collar looks decent too.

I don't understand why anyone would expect that we'll bring any players in until the last day of August unless it's for what Ashley/Llambias perceive to be very good business. They'll keep haggling over Debuchy until they get the price they want & the Douglas deal, if it goes ahead, won't happen until the end of August anyway. On the other hand, I expect we probably have a number of alternatives to Debuchy/Douglas/De Jong that could take us by surprise. However, how many times have we all expected bodies to come in because they are clearly desperately needed, only for nothing to come to fruition? As soon ago as January when we didn't bring in another centre back! Expect the unexpected with this lot in charge.

We didn't nab Ben Arfa for just £2m did we? I can imagine that being the initial loan fee but not for the loan and permanent buy. It looks like a canny site but I've a feeling some of the figures are made up.

Hopefully they'll regret this in the same way re regretted sacking Sir Bobby after finishing 5th. At least they did it with a summer ahead like. I wouldn't mind them getting Moyes, would stop Everton being a nuisance every year and I'm not sure he'd be a success fighting for Champions League football at Spurs. I certainly don't think he'd be able to maintain the style of play they've had there in recent years - he's been successful with a very rigid setup at Everton.

De Jong looks like a player with great potential. Strong, powerful, has a lethal shot on him and, as someone mentioned, his movement is terrific. Would be a nightmare to defend against. The transition to the Premier League might be somewhat difficult for him at first but I'd imagine we'd have the two Dembas in front of him in the interim anyway. Debuchy would be a good signing based on what I've seen of him and I really think we ought to be looking at bringing in a centre back of some adequacy...

The main problem we have in this country is that those in charge of football in England are more interested in selling a shirt to a ten year old than teach them how to play football properly.

He's just an absolutely sound bloke. Would love to see him take over a Premier League team and come back to St. James' Park next season.

He'll pocket £100k + per week while he hobbles back to Chester for the races every week on his crutches

Love that bike. One of the main things for me is that Demba Ba seems like an absolutely quality bloke. I'd be disappointed if he left though I do think he is the most expendable of our key players. ALSO, I think it's important to remember that £7.5m would be a travesty. Our policy is to sell on for a huge profit, and while this owuld be a profit I would imagine Big Mike knows it's lower than his value. I can't see Ashley / Llambiarse wanting any move for that amount t ogo through and I'm sure they'll fight to make sure he doesn't leave under this clause.

I've heard that Michael Owen can grab a few goals

Jesus Christ that Mick Allen account reads like a fucking brilliant spoof. Unbelievable

I've been saying for a long time now that Shola, after some of the horrible injuries, is not fit enough to play a full 90 minutes. He's a very good impact sub who can hold up the ball, whack a few defenders and seems to have a good burst of energy you wouldn't normally see if he starts the game. If we don't get backup then we'll all be back to moaning about him in January again when it's ACN time.

I think Gerrard's degree of respect for King Kenny was showcased when we played them and he waved him off the pitch like a demented old man.

I think the manager has made some pretty woeful selections - particularly Glen Johnson and Stewart Downing - but then again that probably would have been the case whoever took the job. We'll probably see a fairly negative don't concede mentality which will probably serve us well tbh.

Can't really blame him for wanting to play regular football and it's always going to be really hard to get in ahead of quality like Tiote + Cabaye. He'll be a loss as he's fantastic backup. He was on a low wage too. But best of luck to him wherever he ends up & hopefully we'll find some good squad players in the middle, as we'll need em now!

And I'm now hearing that Joe Cole is in!

David Pick's Twitter. Which may not be the best source. I think the perceived wisdom is that Rio and Walker are both out for sure though.

(He certainly wasn't as bad as his predecessor or successor.)

Roeder's a strange case. Been an amazing caretaker manager everywhere and invariably failed when he takes charge permanently. I think he was a *little* hard done by here like. Just a little.