BigWalrus

I can only see players leaving if they engineer their own moves. If Cabaye wants away, I'm sure he'll find a way to go. In that circumstance, I hope Ashley milks the other club for all they can possibly afford.

10 more points would put us in 8th place. We would have comfortably met expectations if we'd finished 8th. I reckon we'd easily have picked up another 10 points (let's say 2 wins and 4 draws) with a few more games of having our core players match-fit and available.

As much about managing energy levels as it is anything else. It's one of the main considerations of the top level game. There is no point in being brilliant for 65 minutes if you're dead on your arse for the final half an hour and throw away any lead you had.

On the positive side though, the new lads should be all the better for having a tough few months introduction to the Premiership. Far better grounding than a pre-season.

What authority does Graham Carr have? He's a scout! Granted, a scout that seems to have done a canny job, but he doesn't call the shots.

Let's go back to basics. Assume you have 50% possession of the ball in an average game. That means, for half of the game, we need to try to get the ball back. You'd have HBA, Marveaux and Gouffran standing on the half way line, hands on hips, while Sissoko and Cabaye run around like blue arsed flies desperately trying to get the ball back. The opposition would just need to bide their time for an hour or so, before Cabaye and Sissoko's lungs pack in, and destroy us. A solid defensive shape is as much about managing energy levels to last the 90 minutes.

Marveaux, Gouffran and Ben Arfa in the same team, all behind Cisse, is too forward thinking. It would invite wave after wave of attack that we'd be powerless to defend against.

Do you want us to go down?

Whisper it quietly, but I'm not concerned that Sissoko is out. Tiote and Cabaye, as a pair, know each other's roles well. Throwing Sissoko in there too adds further uncertainty when we need solidity and familiarity.

Another (perhaps obvious) conclusion that could be reached is that we concede less when a familiar team lines up. The majority of the players in the below average area are those who have stood in for a while, or those who have recently been signed (Cisse and Tiote apart). I'd like to see the same statistics but for net goals scored / conceded.

Interesting. I wonder if the stat is too simplistic to read anything into though, as you wouldn't imagine one player alone would make a fundamental difference. Tiote played in the Arsenal 7-3 and the Liverpool 6-0 games, which I'd imagine would skew things slightly. The one that stands out to me is Krul vs Elliott as this is as raw as you get and they've both played with inconsistent back lines.

Aye, I know where you're coming from, although it doesn't have the guitar track to carry it along.

It's lush, isn't it? Perfectly crafted funky bit of pop, and you know it's Daft Punk as soon as it starts

Reminds me of a joke... Why do women have legs? Have you seen the mess slugs make?

If that were to happen, it would only serve to highlight how appalling the Premiership is.

I don't think anyone really hypes him up. He's clearly a talented footballer though, with a great first touch and a decent pass on him. Compared with someone like Danny Simpson, whose first touch is usually off the shin and out for a throw, he's a breath of fresh air. Another full season in the PL will have done him the world of good and make him stronger for next year.

Aye, Coloccini is brilliant at organising the back line. Santon is still very young and learning the game - positional sense develops over time, it's not a natural ability in any footballer.

Aye, it would be absolutely ideal to be mathematically safe before our last home game. I'll happily take a dull non event of a final home game over on that basis.

He's not bitter, is he?

Aye, Santon was very good for the first half. Nobody's really had a very good full season, but then with the amount of chopping and changing we've done, anyone would have struggled to shine.

Demba Ba

"No disrespect to Moyes but I'm not having that." Does that mean he's off to support another club?

Sat on the grass naked though - highly likely to have a woodlouse in her clout

My guess is that Ferguson is about to be exposed under Operation Yewtree, and he's jumping before it all comes out.

Can't see Moyes in that role - it's too big for him and I don't think he has the character or the ego to deal with it. It would also be nice to see someone go there and completely mess it up, with Man United dropping to mid table, season after season.