Papillon

Ah shit I wonder what's going through David Moyes' head these days. The strange thing is that he was good at not losing with Everton, sure he got a lot of draws but last season he only lost seven games and this year they have one more than that already. People talk about a lot of shitty defenders and so on, but it's not like these guys are 15 year old rookies, most of them are seasoned Internationals with a lot of experience at the top level. When you write someone off after one season, it can come back and haunt you, but I am really struggling to see how Moyes and his ability as a tactician holds up against the really big managers. One thing is to not play well, score goals and win on a regular basis - which they are not doing - but how are the players responding to this? Wenger just lost 5-1 at Liverpool and rumors say he gave the players a lesson they will not forget in the coming days. I just imagine Moyes doing the same after last night, do you really think players like Rooney, Van Persie, Vidic and Evra take that seriously? I have my doubts, I remember playing in the divisions in my country and when the manager does a lousy job you kind of lose that natural respect for him. I don't think those players mentioned have a problem with professionalism, but I wouldn't be surprised if they were starting to hope for another man coming in instead of Moyes. Ferguson gave United stability and continuity, something unheard of at the top level in football these days. He is a legend and the most successful man on the island, but it would be so naive to think that he can point out his successor and then hope for just the same. People also talk about Ferguson's early days and that people should have faith in Moyes for several seasons, but is that really the right thing to do in 2014? In the 90's you could do badly for a season and then bounce back, but in this day of age you can lose everything in a season. The market moves so quickly, the financial situation is changed entirely and players are basically mercenaries for the highest bidder. The Champions League is the holy grail on top of that as well. At Everton I respected Moyes all the way, he did remarkable things for them and even reached 4th one season. People laugh at him right now, and above all Liverpool-fans, but reaching 4th is something he did and Brendan Rodgers got 7th or something last season. Even though they are nine points ahead of Man Utd right now, Liverpool aren't guaranteed anything this season still. Tottenham are three points behind them and are going under the radar, they have lots to play for, it's not just Man Utd trying to get that 4th place back. For Moyes though, I can never really see him being the tactician needed for such a big club. He is painfully single-minded and the style they are going for now is just so far away from utilizing their talents in the proper way. It will last on good will and respect for Fergie's decision, but it will never last in the long-term. The game has changed at the top, the other clubs have such good squads and the gap will become huge in a matter of a transfer window. In the 90's United could buy two players and rectify a problem to catch Arsenal, but now you see Chelsea/Man City buying players for 60M to just give competition to already settled players good enough for most teams in the Champions League. Apart from Moyes' obvious sweet contract giving him five years of settlement if fired, I am glad I am not him right now

Ever heard about Murphy's Law? This year United have seen a domino effect of unfortunate events, which IMO was very likely to happen when Ferguson left the building. On top of that, injuries have piled up for many of their best players. Not just in defense like I will argue, but also in midfield and up top. Van Persie has played 1050 minutes, Vidic and Carrick have missed 9 games. You and your statistics, why do you even follow football when everything is about numbers? It's like you want everything to follow an algorithm and then the best team will always win no matter what. This is not FM or FIFA, a machine does not determine every game, coincidence or outcome. Man Utd did not have the best squad last season, but they won the title by 11 points. This year they have the exact same team except for Januzaj, Fellaini and now Juan Mata. Sure the defenders have become one year older, but that is just part of the problem. It goes without saying that a team that wins the league can challenge the next season if everyone is there. The players have aged a few months from May to August, but you get my point. What has changed United is the transition from a historic manager to a new one as well as injuries. Some years injuries reach impossible numbers and it's quite random who gets them. Rio Ferdinand played 2322 minutes last season and this year he has only played 630. He is old and over the top of course, but still a better defender than most when fit. Nemanja Vidic has been one of the best defenders in Europe for many years, but this season he has only played 1305 minutes due to injuries and suspension. He is "only" 32 years and their natural leader, it goes without saying that him out is a big blow. John Terry (33) played 950 minutes last season and he is Chelsea's Vidic basically, this year he has completed every single minute of every single game they have played in the league. This gives stability and leadership whenever they play, which we all know is the most important thing in putting together a defensive unit. Gary Cahill has virtually played every single game as well, except for when he has been rested for David Luiz. Chelsea have the best defense in terms of letting in goals this season, but it's not like their roster is that much better than United IMO. Jonny Evans is underrated but very solid. He goes under the radar just like Michael Carrick did for many years, but he too has been injured at the same time as Vidic. Against Stoke they had to pull out both Evans and Jones and put Carrick at the back because Vidic was suspended. Evra has been present for most games and he holds a high level still, even though this might be his last season. Rafael, the undisputed first choice at right back has been injured for most of the season and has only completed 899 minutes out of a possible 2160. Now I am not glorifying their team too much, we all know they need major change. But this is not new. Every club has to change a few players now and again, just like Chelsea have to do with Terry and Cole in due time. Behind Terry you have Cahill and Luiz, who is virtually a defensive midfielder due to his erratic style. A long-term injury to Terry or Cahill would have wrecked Chelsea's season before it even started - but they have been lucky. United have not. Had Vidic stayed free of injuries alongside Evans it would have looked much better, you cannot prove their defensive faults when their best players aren't even playing. Injuries are part of the game and you can of course argue the fact that United have many players with a history with injuries. You can and must sustain one long-term injury to one of your players in a worst-case scenario, the best teams plan for that kind of thing, but when Rafael and Vidic are out all the time they have to change around and they never get the stability. You argue that they have to buy a whole new squad, but that isn't necessarily the biggest problem in the world. They have the money and they can guarantee a place in the XI for many players wanting to play for them. The best players don't always have to spend six months getting used to a new league, at least not in defense. With Rafael, Jones, Evans and Smalling they have young players with a lot of versatility, in other words great backup players for even better players. People forget that Jones is even younger than Nathan Baker, he has 9 games for England at 21 years of age and he is going to play as a central defender for many, many years to come. When Jose Mourinho took over Chelsea, he got in Petr Cech, Paulo Ferreira and Ricardo Carvalho in one summer, the next year they finished with 95 points and shipped in 15 goals. The "huge" transformation you are mentioning isn't quite that big if you know who to bring in, it can be solved in two weeks. The problem is of course David Moyes, does he have the nous to pull it off? He wanted Cesc Fabregas, Ander Herrera and other top players, and he got Juan Mata, so who knows. It's not like they are bringing in Sylvain Distin. I wouldn't be very surprised if United went after someone like Mats Hummels in the summer, and who would complain if Vidic was replaced by him? Depends to be seen, first they have to reach 4th spot in the league and to do that they need Vidic back for most of their games. United will bring in a defensive midfielder in the summer for sure, a player needed to give the defense some more protection. I think you underestimate the power of money and the force United have in the market to bring in new players to patch things up quickly. Just like Chelsea; when John Terry and Ashley Cole are throwing in the towel you know Mourinho is going to fix that problem in no time with new top-class players. Azpilicueta and Cole have pretty much played the same amount of time this season, but I doubt the former will be first choice when Cole quits and they have to bring in another player.

Mourinho is a brilliant manager and a supreme tactician, and it's quite funny when members on a message forum talks him down for not bringing enough attacking football. Newsflash, football is about winning the game, winning games over a season and scoring one more goal than the other team to get the maximum points. The rest is just details. Sure the best combination is to score lots of goals each weekend and still win everything, but that is incredibly hard and it can also lead to not having a plan B when the going really gets tough. When Mourinho won the Champions League with both Porto and Internazionale it was down to his tactics, his enormous detail to both scoring goals and shutting teams out. Sure there is a lot of luck and coincidence in one single game like a final, like John Terry's missed penalty, but Mourinho is a magician when it comes to sounding out important differences between his team and the other. I know Mourinho was not the manager when Terry missed that penalty or when Chelsea in fact did win the Champions League, but they did it in his fashion. When you play a superior team you don't beat them by playing like they do, you try to be better than their offense by being better defensively. Nothing wrong with that. Just plain smart. People talk about Arsenal and their invincible team, but they were not the best. Not losing a single game does not better Chelsea's season in 2004/2005 when they lost two games. In that season they racked up 95 points which is the highest ever and thus better than Arsenal, scoring 72 goals and letting in 15. That's right, 15 goals over the course of one season - the same amount we got in three games last season! Clubs will beat Arsenal's Invincibles several times over in terms of points, but no team will ever beat that record of 15 goals in 38 games. Thinking about it now, I don't understand how they could pull it off. It doesn't matter if you have better players than the others, because over so many games you will let in goals here and there because of lapses in concentration. That record shows just how dedicated Mourinho is to details and things managers like Lambert and Poyet would never even understand. Looking at their last results of that season, when the title was already sealed, they let in quite a few goals at the end so the record could even have been better. 25 clean sheets in total. You see it again this season, Mourinho returns to a completely different team set up by AVB and without some types he would have liked, but after 24 games he is right where he wants to be 2 points behind the leader and they have let in the fewest amount of goals.

Add Liverpool, Man United, Bayern München to that list as well. They have "easy" games against Swansea, Sunderland and Stoke in there to collect at least 7 points, but still. Manchester City have Norwich (a), Sunderland (h), Stoke (h), Aston Villa (h), Hull (a) and Fulham (h) in their next six games. CIty have many tough games left after that, but we all know they are going to be favorites away to almost every single team and probably win away to Man Utd in a few weeks. I also don't see Arsenal winning at home to City, given their horrendous form against the best teams over the last few years. I think Arsenal have won 4 out of their last 18 games against the top 7 teams, and all of them were against Liverpool and Tottenham.

It makes absolutely no sense to sack him at this moment in time, just like it would make no sense to sack Paul Lambert when people were asking for it three weeks or so ago. Both clubs are on top of the others in the pac, which is the most important thing, and the squads are better than a few under them. Swansea have always been extremely dependent on their best players, and Michu have missed a lot of games this season - as well as carrying an injury when he was in fact playing. It goes without saying that when you best player goes from 18 goals last season to just 2 goals thus far this season, then you are going to struggle. Much like Benteke really, as he also was carrying an injury for a long time and playing on 50%. Swansea aren't in real danger and they just have to consolidate. So why sack the manager, pay his severance and look for another guy right now? Makes no sense at all, and it's not like they are going to attract a manager better than Laudrup. Although I am not saying it would happen or advocating it, I would have taken a straight swap from Lambert to Laudrup any time. I guess a lot of clubs would like to get him in, and I guess Tottenham are regretting hiring Tim Sherwood like they did.

That would be true, if it was Manchester United and Sir Alex Ferguson we were talking about. But this is Paul Lambert, and there's like three weeks since the majority wanted him sacked and we had an own thread named after that. This is also a manager that has shipped in 135 goals in two seasons with AVFC and Norwich, who is struggling to get his side to play with an identity and who is struggling to get a hold of the transfer market. Opinions are plentiful surrounding Lambert, but to say they are divided would be the most diplomatic. To then say it's the best business to sign him up and brilliant news for the club does not compute, at least not in my book.

Without a doubt, England have to go defensive all the way to have a chance of going far in this tournament. Joe Hart Leighton Baines John Terry (experience) Gary Cahill (Ahead of Jagielka because he plays with John Terry at Chelsea) Glen Johnson (experience) Phil Jones Steven Gerrard Michael Carrick James Milner Wayne Rooney Daniel Sturridge Alternatives: Kyle Walker for Glen Johnson, Phil Jagielka for Gary Cahill and Jack Wilshere for Phil Jones when England are expected to have the ball more than the other team Championships like these are so dependent on experienced players and people who don't **** up under pressure. Throwing in players like Lallana, Oxlade Chamberlain, Barkley and Sterling could come back and punish Hodgson immediately. Playing a defensive midfield of Phil Jones and Jack Wilshere could also be very tough to penetrate, Jones is always running around tackling and Wilshere has much of the same as well as attacking runs in him. Gerrard is always going to be vital, because he is good at getting the best out in important games and he is a leader on the pitch next to Terry at the back. Rooney and Sturridge on top are almost as good as every other team, they are capable of creating and scoring every single game. Rooney has 20 goals/assists in roughly 18 games this season, Sturridge has 17 goals/assists in 14-ish games.

Just never, ever play him at right-back and I'm content. He has the positional ability of a blind person and is always giving away space for the other team to roam.

The media are obviously jumping at the quotes made by Anderson, insinuating that every top players wants to leave the club, like Van Persie and Rooney. But what he is saying is that players like Nani, Evra and Vidic might leave. One player not making any progress and two long-time servants looking for a last paycheck on their last days. Vidic is probably just trying to get a new deal as well. The most important thing is of course that Anderson came out today and said he never made this interview.

When you look at that, Lambert has done a remarkable job. And if he does get us to a top ten finish then we'll be gald we signed him to a longer contract. We currently are top ten and I see no reason why we should be looking down from now on because we can catch Southampton. I am jealous of your optimism, or shall I say naivety. I don't think you're very objective though. Southampton are 8 points ahead of us and their six next games are: Stoke (H), Hull (A), West Ham (A), Liverpool (H), Crystal Palace (A) and Norwich (H). A lot of points to be won in there. Southampton are a much better team than us. They have a fluid playing pattern, a strict defensive unit meaning they are joint 4th in conceding the least goals, 7th in scoring goals, 9 clean sheets and so on. Their strikers have scored a total of 20 goals and their midfield have chipped in with 10 more, and we all know Lallana is lightyears above every one of our midfielders. They have also gotten Wanyama back from injury, a player that is very good at breaking up attacking threats and he is one of their most important players. They have a better defense than us, but the most important thing is probably their midfield's ability to create chances. They have 14 assists from midfield - we have 4, which paints the picture we are all too familiar with. They are better than us as home and their away form is exactly the same, only with a better GD. Totally they are 14 goals ahead of us in the GD department. You speak of 8 points like it's nothing, but to put it into perspective; we are also 8 points from being dead last in the table - and in my opinion we are bound to be closer to Fulham than Southampton come May.

Define "scratch"... He touches him, gently pushes him or whatever you call it, and a grown man goes to the ground in agony (before realizing he probably looks silly and goes right up). Then another team-mate comes rushing over into Ronaldo's face and escalates the situation.

Just saw the Carroll sending-off, and I'm not 100% sure what to think about it. He is obviously hassled by Chico for several seconds and he is obviously annoyed by it. Someone mentioned accidentally on purpose and I think that's what's going on. He seems to aim his erect arm in his direction, and the most telling sign is his reaction afterwards. Had he hit him just by accident he would have coiled his arm and made a gesture of innocence (like everyone doing something by accident), but he just looks at the ref, not at the player he obviously doesn't have much time for. But can you send a player off when you don't know what his intentions were? it's not like he hit him with a straight elbow to the nose, he barely bumped his head and Chico overreacts. Speaking of Spanish (league) players overreacting, just saw Ronaldo's red card against Bilbao. Classic situation. Ronaldo barely touches the player, he goes to the ground holding his head and all his team-mates gather around and then the referee shows the red card. It was nothing, I am glad we don't see that in the Premier League every weekend. Both the poor refereeing in terms of such situations and 15 players gathering around him to force the decision. Should be written off that red card, but I don't know how the Spanish FA reacts to violent situations. The Bilbao players are obviously trying to get a red card for the best player on the pitch and they succeed.

With regards to strikers, it's not about the numbers we already have. Lambert should be swift and unsentimental when better players are available for a decent fee - that means shipping out players that haven't worked out at all. Sure Jordan Bowery is a name and a number in our squad, but we all know he isn't good enough for this level. The same goes for Nicklas Helenius, in no way is he good enough and it remains to be seen if he ever will. If he doesn't develop we can easily ship him back to Denmark or some other league for a low fee and the loss wouldn't be that big. Players like him are risks all the way, some times it pays off, most of the times it doesn't.

Haha you are quite the character! Are you actually referring to Goal.com as your only source for this nonsense? United have Vidic and Evans as their first-pick nowadays, whilst Jones is playing a little bit up the pitch. I think for next season they will start to play Jones at the back, he is some talent at only 21 years old. Younger than Nathan Baker. Then you have Smalling and Ferdinand behind these guys, although Rio is pretty much finished at his age. Vidic, Evans, Jones and Smalling is fairly good IMO, but of course they will bring in someone with top quality when they can. This is not going to be Ottamendi, why on earth do you mention stupid rumors like this - most likely made up by a 15 year old kid?

Haha I don't particularly like Sam Allardyce, he is often moaning about referees and not having any money (well, tough shit bro), but that was actually pretty legendary! Mourinho has toned down a bit this season, maybe it's because he knows his team isn't anywhere near City in terms of cohesion and strength, but he comes out every once in a while with stupid nonsense. I was annoyed by the way he spoke after our game at Stamford Bridge, even after winning he couldn't give us any credit and talked down every decision. I guess I don't have to remind any of you about that day, but for those who missed it we should have been 11 vs. 10, then the said player scored on a free-kick and we weren't given a clear penalty at the end.

Why? He wouldn't go there on a permanent move (I think) and they lack offensive ability, especially as they are pretty defensive and the only people they can call on from the bench are woeful players such as Barry Bannan. Also, it's not like Palace can pick from the highest tier of players if they want to strengthen. 1M is a small prize to pay for a player that can mean the difference from relegation and staying up. Short-term investment no doubt, but with the risk involved of going down you have to make those cuts IMO. I would gladly have him here, a winger that scores goals is something we have lacked since Ashley Young left.

Nani is no dud, he is just very plagued with injuries. On top form he is amongst the elite wingers in Europe, but that hasn't happened in a few years and it won't happen again. 426 minutes on the pitch this season, only 630 minutes last season and that paints the picture. The two seasons before that he had 17 goals and 30 assists in 4764 minutes. Can you rely on such a player? As history shows, rarely do these tricky players return and play 38 games every season with the same level as before - so no. Strange to give him a five year contract, that's for sure. Arsenal have some of the same problems with Theo Walcott, he's never likely to play above 30 games in a league season, injuries always come his way. The difference is that Nani must be 27 now and Walcott's only 24. Walcott was brilliant last season and got 27 goals/assists, the same as Nani had in 10/11 including 18 assists. Would have loved to have him at Villa Park to cause a little chaos down the flanks, but his wage package would of course be impossible to attend, and it wouldn't help if he collected 60 grand sitting on the treatment table.

Surprise surprise, he plays well when playing as a striker instead of a "winger" or whatever you call it when he it out wide, not being a striker or a regular winger. Doesn't take rocket science to figure that out....

On any given day they could crush us, but they are a team totally reliant on their best players. People talk about them for top 4, which is totally out of question as their squad is way too thin. Their first XI is strong and competitive, but we saw what happened when they missed Distin and Coleman against Liverpool. Against us they will again play without Distin and Coleman at the back, but a huge plus is them missing Lukaku. Man Utd just got back Van Persie, Rooney as well as Juan Mata, Everton have to play Naismith, Stones and Alcaraz. Don't write off teams after 22 games We couldn't play them at a better time in my opinion, especially now that Benteke is back to his regular form. Not just scoring, but those aerial battles are so vital to us. Creates room for others and so on. At full strength I would fear this game, but they are lacking three of their most important players no doubt about it. Martinez builds a lot of momentum through his wing-backs, but without Coleman they don't really know what to do.

Mourinho is the best tactician in the league, if not Europe. He is IMO an expert at playing the opposition, unlike many managers who just put out the best team and try to play better than the other. Sometimes, especially in tough games and in the Champions League, you have to play the other team and ruin their flow. Looking at Mourinho's record at Stamford Bridge and against top teams you know he got something special indeed. However, the criticism of West Ham and Allardyce is totally contradicting. It reminds a lot of Wenger when Arsenal were actually the best team in the league some 10 years ago, when he slammed Fulham for going defensive to win a point. "They aren't trying to win the game". Well, if they tried to win the game they could lose 6-0. That's how good Arsenal and Chelsea can be when they get room to exploit. When at 0-0, all it takes is a lucky bounce or a set-piece to score a goal. If they tried to bring players forward and score a goal from open play, there's a 95% chance of Arsenal/Chelsea scoring at least a couple on the counter. Well done West Ham - and Chelsea seriously need a new striker to compete at the top come May... It's not as fun watching Chelsea as City, Arsenal, Liverpool or even Man U when they have Rooney/Van Persie available. Too static and too reliant on Hazard, none of their players are as good as Mata when it comes to playing short passes in front of the box. Oh and Tim Sherwood, good luck on keeping your job after the summer. They are destined for 6th or 7th, no doubt about it.

Ah, "the fan of a smaller club finally playing a good game - goes on to hate the more popular clubs"-syndrome. Seriously, who the hell cares about MOTD? 95% of all viewers want to see the big clubs and the best players no matter what, so that's what they show. No problem.

We have been good going forward and we have lots of room to exploit, something I think WBA will try to shut down in the second half. The worrying thing is that WBA have scored three goals without even trying....

Arrrgh, have to score there Benteke..... He has been immense so far, lots of confidence when going up for headers and trying to do something with the ball. Then I forgot our defensive unit of course.... ****

What the **** hell! First we look like a Sunday League team and now we are Aston München! Benteke with a wicked attempt for a bicycle kick and then Delph scores a screamer after scoring an own-goal! Wow this is fun! And when was the last time I had fun watching Villa?!