David Kelly

Pieters isn't fit though is he? Can't see us signing an injured player.

Ben Arfa's miles better than Johnson. I like Johnson a lot but HBAs on a different level for me.

I see Boyatta has gone on loan to Twente. Could pave the way for Douglas to leave?

It was fucking mental in Peterbrough that day, I remember the bar outside the ground wouldn't let in any home supporters! Bobby Lee's debut I think.

More than on Saturday but that's not saying much. He's had a fairly poor start the season (maybe feeling the effects of Ramadan like Ba last year). I thought the same about Marveaux. He just really didn't do much at all. He didn't see much of the ball like as most of our attacking tried to come through Obertan. Generally there did seem to be a lack of any intensity and urgency from us but that may well be down to the heat out there. I know I find it difficult enough to walk from one bar to the next in such temperatures so running around for ninety minutes can't be any picnic!

I'd rather we signed Jonson than Carrol tbh. I think we can look very one dimentional attacking if we don't have Cabaye and Ben Arfa. He would alliviate some of the pressure on them and provide further options in a 4-4-2 or a 4-3-2-1. He'll be a good signing for the scum although I think he's a class above them like.

He had a stinker.

I'd happily lose him for no fee tbh.

I can't argue with that like.

Looks fast as fuck. Couldn't tell anything more.

The pitch looked pony too!

Looked like a pre season game for us too tbh. Obertan is right up there with the worst footballers I've ever seen play for us. Not because of a lack of ability (although I see nothing particularly good) but because he has no heart whatsoever. I've never seen anyone so scared to take his man on. It's quite pathetic really! I don't have much patience left for Gosling either, he's not had much of a run but he's also shown fuck all. I'm confident we'll beat them next week but I'm not at all confident that any team that has Squidward and Gosling in will do much more.

Shocking decision by the linesman there. How he can't pick out that Torres is offiside is beyond me. Two awful cock ups by the keepers too!

Fingers crossed, he was a top player and seems a canny bloke.

Heavily by who?

Would have thought he would have been on the bench anyway.

Stories?

No way Arsenal will spunk £20 on a defensive midfielder IMO. Doesn't matter how much money they've just brought in. They'd already spent the RVP money anyway.

Where was Marveaux today? Anita certainly looks like he's going to get forward more than Tiote. I don't think there should be any problem for them to play together.

Isn't Pieters injured? That's what the Dutch bloke on the radio was talking about. I'm sure he's been out for a while.

Still injured isn't he?

Ajax can offer him Champions League football but apparently he wants to leave. I've not heard anyone else but the makems linked with him.

I personally doubt we'll ever see the very best of Santon at leftback. There quite simply aren't many top fullbacks in world football who play on the opposite side to their favoured foot (yes we all know about Lahm but he really is an exception and even he looks vunerable defensively at times). That said, we have seen that he can do a good job for us there and we know that Simpson is a weak link (no he's not shite but it's fair to say he's our least effective member of the starting eleven). Also Debuchy just looks such a good option that it would be really disapointing to miss out on him. If we can't get him, then I'd certainly be interested in seeing a new leftback and swapping Santon over.

To finish ahead of Chelski again will be very tough. They've brought in a lot of attacking quality (although they're not looking so blessed with out and out strikers after Drogba's departure). Liverpool still don't look any great shakes to me, Gerrard is another year older and picks up more and more injuries, their best player from last season has gone to Cardiff and i'm not convinced about their new signings. Spurs could be interesting. Redknapp going could be a massive miss and AVB hasn't convinced in this country so far, Modric will be a massive loss if he goes and they're also a striker down still at the moment. But Sigurdson looks a good singinig for them and they still have plenty of quality so it remains to be seen how they do. Finally us, we've lost no one of importance but we've not gained anyone either. Cisse is here from the start and hopefully we'll see more from Marveaux. But can Cisse, Ba, Ben Arfa and Cabaye keep up the form they showed last year? If they can and we can add a couple of good players before the end of the window we could get 5th again but I think the top four would be very difficult without a meltdown from either Arsenal or Chelski and it all depends on how Liverpool and Spurs react to the changes. We could quite easily drop down to 7th without having a bad season. But I think I don't see much in the rest of the league to worry me that we'll drop lower than that.

A post I read on an Ajax forum was almost taking the piss out of our style of play (totally oblivious to how we actually played last season) and Tiote. They suggested that Anita was much more of a ball player and wouldn't fit in as a destroyer like Tiote. If that's true then he sounds more of a deep lying player like Carrick or Barry and in which case I can see him fitting in quite well alongside Tiote and Cabaye. It would be a strong midfield which would be a particular asset in away games or games against the top teams but also one more than capable of moving the ball about and creating.