CaptainXabi

Well, I can only hope the Chavs get ripped a new one by Barca, or there'll be a lot of gloating to live with for a while. It's not all doom and gloom though. Just like last year made Rafa realize that you don't have to play 4-5-1 at Sunderland just because it's an away game, I think this year wil make him realize that you need competent strikers to win the league. We will get some this summer and we'll be better for it.

To be honest, all of our strikers lack fire on the pitch. There's too much of a "If the ball comes to me 6 yards in front of goal at the right height and I'm feeling absolutely wonderful today, I'll score" approach to them. We need someone who will go out there and make things happen. For example, when Gerrard is having a bad day, he's still trying to make things happen.

f***, i don't like how this is going

It's pretty much down to Luis, Stevie, or Harry to turn this one around.

Can we give the linesman a squad number? I'd start him ahead of Warnock every time.

I don't know of any direct stream, but if you're willing to download PPLive (google it) then click on any of the first column of "Play" buttons next to the appropriate game here

So am I. Can't control my heartrate.

Warnock? And No Kaiser just in case? Yeah...

It wouldn't shock me to be honest, especially since Drogba isn't there to push Agger all over the place. No matter what though, I hope we don't play Traore. This isn't a Djimi-bashing thing, but by playing Kewell and Riise on the left, that makes Chelsea have to think twice about the right fullback. Or in other words, they'd probably want to put Gallas there instead of Glen Johnson (what happened to Ferreira these days?). But if they do that, Del Horno is left to handle Gerrard, which I think is beyond him. Either way, we have at least one favorable matchup.

Agree completely on Anderson.

A nice unbiased assessment there .... He will get a new contract, but I think Rafa will make him sweat it a little.

I think Rafa's doing alright. We should avoid panic purchases (*cough* Saha *cough*) because they hurt in the long run. But between those two positions, one of the next players we sign has to be able to take a consistently good free kick. That's all I ask from Rafa.

We've played well this season, but the losses against Chelsea and United have really really hurt. I haven't felt this bad in a long time.

It's a good plan, IMO. I can see it coming off, especially since he plays so much better with France.

f***

Just thinking the same thing (it's Bolton). I hope he gets involved more often in the coming months.

I'm sorry, I meant to type 5 and that's assuming he got a goal today. Based off this: http://www.safc.com/team/?page_id=6941

I'm not so sure. Le Tallec's problem isn't failing to play enough cute football. It's not being bothered some games, not enough application, and a weak eye for goal despite his generally good technique. In terms of football, yes Sunderland is a horrible move, but in terms of teaching him the right mentality? I think it's a good place for him. The crowd gets on his back when he's lazy and he's running around like Momo these days (you know what I mean) based on the last two games I painfully sat through and watched. He's dealing better with scrappy games and His strike rate has also improved dramatically. From 2 in 30 for us to around 6 in 15 for Sunderland. Long story short, I think it's been a good move for him.

I feel bad for Fabregas. He's really getting hung out to dry this year. It's not fair to put that much responsibility on an 18 (or maybe 19 now) year old player in that position. I thought he showed decent fight and effort in the first half though, at least he wasn't getting pushed around. But it all went in the second half. Diaby won't solve the problem either. If I were Wenger I'd send Newcastle a picture of Scott Parker, a note for 8 million pounds, and a train ticket to London in the post come July. Hleb is a good player, nice neat touches and all. But he was the very last person Arsenal should have spent 10 million pounds on. They don't need any more technical players or classy attacking midfielders. That's the whole f***ing team. A striker that stands in the box would be a good investment, as well as a DVD of Frank Lampard deflected shots from 20 yards.

I think Hamann should play this one, but other than that I think the rest of the team picks itself.

Pires should join the cast of Lost after that performance.

I would say more like he needs to convert the dive into a crumple like Didi and Alonso have.

The good news with Momo in terms of on-the ball activity is that he knows what he should do with the ball. The problem is that he just rushes it and loses his composure in the act. That's a lot better than having a player who can't make the right decisions. He'll sort it out soon enough.

Did anyone see Stuart Pearce jumping into the crowd? That was class. I like him