Presumably our January shopping-list is complete. Any ITK?

[redgunamo]

One or two more centre-forwards obviously, but what about the sundries?

[Rich]

[redgunamo]

Poor old Poldi.

[Monty91]

enough game time, you're doing something dramatically wrong as a football club.

[Steve Williams - gay for Mark Knopfler]

You're normally front and centre with claims or calls for the likes of Hummels, Cavani etc.

[Monty91]

I don't get it. All we want is an extra body. It barely even f**king matters who it is. Just some c**t we can chuck in every now and then without everything turning to ****. :shrug:

[Billy Goat Sverige]

[redgunamo]

so terribly sad.

[The Tony]

Should be excellent imo

Think about it...you got to be pretty athletic with a name like Tyrone.

[redgunamo]

[Steve Williams - gay for Mark Knopfler]

If Wenger had pursued him with sufficient desire to suggest to him that he would become a mainstay of his side, or perhaps if we simply offered him a lot more than he currently earns.

['Neg]

[Monty91]

but I think the emphasis across the squad should be on augmentation rather than replacements.

[Rich]

I don't want to build myself up for a fall, you see?

[Steve Williams - gay for Mark Knopfler]

[Monty91]

and we arguably signed him at the wrong time. The disappointing thing is, he'd make a great squad player if he was happy. (proper happy, not :thumbup: happy)

[Norn Iron]

[Classic Jorge]

[Billy Goat Sverige]

[Ben.]

then Monorail can go back to being an underwhelming and at times terrifying left back.

[Peter]

Who might just avoid disaster.

A competent, half decent centre back. Is that too much to ask?

[Classic Jorge]

Actually, I quite like Natxo as a LB. He's easily as underrated as gibbs overrated imo.

[Monty91]

Oh.

[Luis Anaconda]

[Peter]

I mean, really?

[Pokster]

[Sir Charlie of Nicholas]

Who dat den?

[Luis Anaconda]

You are judging a man on his performances rather than your obvious pre-judged bias that he **would** be **** aren't you?

[Rich]

:hehe:

[Billy Goat Sverige]

the solution to the whole "DM" situation.

[Ben.]

better than I expected anyway, I said this before but put him in Chelsea's team at centre back and you probably wouldn't even notice, we'd get away with it alot more if the rest of team actually had some shape/intelligence/discipline.

Mings was playing for Dagenham (I think) not long ago, they bought him for about 10k, he is the only player in their squad that cost any money, good (albeit very boring) job that MM is doing.

[Rich]

[Peter]

As part pf some broader defence of wenger and the decision not to sign another centre back.

You think monreal has been more than competent? Just how ,uch more may i ask? I mean are we talking a genuine threat to koscielny's place or just very good?

Surprised at you.

[Peter]

I dont know.

Surely there is someone though?

[Monty91]

I think we could do with an extra body.

I don't think it's a disaster that Monreal is being forced to play there due to injuries.

Chelsea have got the same defensive numbers and seem to be doing ok.

[Ben.]

had we not refused to up our quite insulting 12 million offer after he publicly said we wanted to come.

[Peter]

Officially they count 8 defenders in their first team squad, though two of those are very inexperienced.

I suppose they have two main advantages over us. Firstly,vtheir defenders appear to be rather more adaptable than ours and many can play in several positions.

Secondly, as a club they dont top the injury charts every single season.

Anyway, as you say, we could do with an extra body. In the summer you also suggested, before the deadline, thst it was obvious we need another centre back. Then i suppose you didnt then know just how good monreal would be.

[redgunamo]

We need more Germans, not fewer :thumbup:

[Monty91]

that Chelsea's defenders are more adaptable than ours .

I don't understand your final point, forgive me...

[Sir Charlie of Nicholas]

A decent, half competent centre half. Someone at a lesser premiership team? Richard Dunne? Would someone like him come and give up first team football anyway?

Someone from the championship, perhaps. Are they going to be 'half-competent' at premiership level? Always coming in lacking match practice?

Give me a name. Any name.

[Luis Anaconda]

clubs in Europe use in that very position. I think when Wenger decided to go for a more cultured approach in that position rather than the "big black guy who people are scared of" his first choice was Xabi Alonso and since he has looked for similar players in that role ie Arteta. Alonso hasn't done badly :shrug:

[Peter]

Charlie george?

Michael winner?

Max weinberg?

[Sir Charlie of Nicholas]

Basically you're demanding we buy another Squillacci, just because you hate our players and want different players instead.

[Luis Anaconda]

don't think he is a threat to Koscielny's place in much the same way I don't think Loric Remy is a threat to Diego Costa's place but still think he can do a decent job

[redgunamo]

playing in the European Cup, wouldn't you? None of them are good enough for us, of course, but I don't think that's the point.

[Steve Williams - gay for Mark Knopfler]

Just a theory.

[Peter]

The guy playing at left back is, as i understand,cequally comfortable at right back. Similar versatility is suggested for several of the younger ones as well although that could be *******s. Could all be bollokcms of course (apart from ivanovic)

In ours, arguably chambers is the only one who is considered to be fine in two positions, and even there i dont think he is a good right back, certsinly not st the moment. Unless you count monreal, and i obviously dont.

I suppose my final point was that you felt we obviously needed another player. So i dont really see why the chelsea comparison is necessary.

[Sir Charlie of Nicholas]

There's no guarantee that a reserve centre half will get a game.

[redgunamo]

Thanks forthe memories. Wenger out :sigh:

[Luis Anaconda]

w

[Peter]

We could have a basic conversation (he is ****/no, he is good) or we could go through individual examples from recent games. Difficult, without videos etc.

Obviously it is also difficult to isolate one defender in a misfiring back four and i would certsinly never suggest that our recent problems were all monreal's fault.

I do, however, think that he is not a great solution at centre back and i havent been very impressed with his performances there. At all.

[Steve Williams - gay for Mark Knopfler]

A right back who did enough to displace Cole at left-back and go on to win their player of the season award.

[Monty91]

I felt we obviously needed another defender in the same way that Wenger does (and I assume did). Still don't see your point.

[Ben.]

although it shouldn't have if saw Cabaye as someone to play deep and Ozil as a number 10/left winger.
Unless you mean Ozil took up the whole budget at the time, you may be right.

[Peter]

:-)

[redgunamo]

However, I think we all agree on fifty million pound, 30 goal-a-season strikers :nod:

[Billy Goat Sverige]

I'm not saying saying they need to be a big black bloke, but i think they need to be more defensively minded and not the ball recyclers we tend to go for, especially when the other two midfielders appear to have no defensive discipline at all and our full backs are near enough always pushed forward.

Having seen Chambers a fair bit now i think he'd be very good at it.

[Peter]

I suppose you think they need another one as well you c**t?

I dont know how else to explain it. If we accept we need another one, why bother talking about the fact that chelsea have the same number as us? Why does that matter? It would seem to suggest, in some small way, that maybe we have the regular amount and perhaps dont need another one as money bags chelsea are happy with six.

[Sir Charlie of Nicholas]

[Peter]

[Luis Anaconda]

[Steve Williams - gay for Mark Knopfler]

I am not convinced Wenger has ever really made huge efforts to replace Arteta in his role as he has an importance in the side over and above just where he plays.

Next summer surely.

[Luis Anaconda]

as you say the other midfielders need to do their job as well

[Monty91]

in squad composition.

I think what we currently have is a small imbalance.

I see no reason for it to receive anything more than a passing mention at the start of the season.

[The Tony]

Stop farming about wi Humels and Cavani

Next I'll be hearing Monreal is our defensive midfield answer...

Break the bank for Pogba

[Peter]

[Monty91]

before Monreal.

All 4th choice centre backs are a bit rubbish. That's why they're 4th choice. :shrug:

[redgunamo]

*******s to it, just get me Karim on the phone!

[Peter]

Always rubbish?

So we dont need anyone then? What would be the point, he would be rubbish?

[Monty91]

when I don't see us functioning as an attacking unit.

Defending is not what we are about.

You think this is a problem. I don't.

[Classic Jorge]

Monorail would look out of place in the chelsea defence as he isn't a hulking bit bully of a man with muscles bulging out his face.

[Luis Anaconda]

[Monty91]

[redgunamo]

All joking aside though, well said.

[Steve Williams - gay for Mark Knopfler]

Easy.

[Sir Charlie of Nicholas]

Come on man, give us an example of who you mean?

[Peter]

[Billy Goat Sverige]

[redgunamo]

But we must avoid complacency ;-)

[Peter]

Sorry, i thought that was quite clear.

[Peter]

Monty hasnt provided sny examples of the 'any c**t'

[Steve Williams - gay for Mark Knopfler]

That's not to suggest for a second that means anything in modern football.

Reus is definitely going but there will be bigger and better (and richer) clubs than us interested I would think.

[Monty91]

Wenger's enduring brilliance as a manager.

[Luis Anaconda]

Though no one here seems to know either

[Billy Goat Sverige]

I imagine Hummells will go, possibly one of the other centre backs also.

[Luis Anaconda]

[Ben.]

I'm a fan of Arteta and admire the way he has sacrificed/restricted himself for the team, the problem is the rest of them.
If they are going to keep leaving him alone to deal with fast counter attacks then we could use someone with more mobility and strength, in a normal team Arteta is still a very good footballer.

[Billy Goat Sverige]

the strikers imo, and even those are good players.

[Monty91]

struggle with their form unless they play every week. But a lesser player may be able to just join the fray at any time without any difference in performance.

And of course, it is defensively more than any position where this can be a player's failing.

Them, of course, there is familiarity with the club and your teammates. A new player always comes with risk. Sometimes better to rely on existing personnel even if it leaves you a little bit short.

Lots of things to consider. If you are Arsene Wenger, I mean. Nothing to consider if you are just some c**t like you or me.

[Steve Williams - gay for Mark Knopfler]

He may ask for another chance with the players as such, one more season to get them back up into the top 2-3 where they ‘should’ be.

A season out of the CL is not too much to ask most of them. Must be very disheartening all the same to be in the minds of most be the second side in the country but to start the season with virtually no chance of winning the League. I suppose in this case Europe is a huge focus for them.

[Ben.]

He might have more of problem with Drogba and Costa in training.

[Classic Jorge]

George Graham is back :cloud9:

[Luis Anaconda]

[redgunamo]

[Classic Jorge]

[Peter]