The Kraken

Wigan have got 4 games left to play.

According to Sky.... "No side in Premier League history has been relegated when 5 points clear with 3 games to play". Of course, Wigan have 4 games left to play, so its an entirely irrelevant statistic.

Imagine Belgium now. They're comfortably top of their WC group with the likes of Mignolet, van Buyten, Kompany, Vertonghen, Vermaelen, Dembele, Fellaini, Hazard, de Bruyne, Benteke, Mirallas and Lukaku in their side, amongst others. They're really on the up and could be a really genuine shout for the WC if their players stay fit and on form next summer.

Benteke really is a very good player. £7M very well spent Villa.

Looks like the di Canio bubble is bursting early. Good.

And breathe...

Played against the mighty Albania in a qualifier in March. Didn't do too well though, Norway lost that one 1-0 at home...

Alternatively, you could look at it this way: Pochettino has had 13 games in charge, and scored 17 points. Adkins last 13 games up to his depature yielded 18 points.

Not being obtuse, Diggers; but if he's ready for physical demands of international football, why not the Premier League? Even Fonte got a 5 minute meaningless cameo ahead of him on Saturday.

And their clubs didn't have to break the bank to get any of them (Lukaku obviously on loan). 15, 14 and 17 league goals each so far. That's a good instant return.

Add in a spare left back and that would be a very productive summer. Can't see us spending big on a CM though. The other 3 positions are the priorities IMO; have to wait and see on Forren for the CB but I'd still be inclined to go get one more. Forren is only a shade over 6 foot, alongside Yoshida that would be a (relatively) tiny CB pairing. Could do with someone Jos's size (but much better, clearly). Lambert has had a great season but his limitations have shone through in the last 2 or 3 games; and Lukaku showed what a top PL striker looks like on Saturday, he was absolutely superb.

Far better? Leaving aside for now he's hardly played in either position; against Swansea he was on the pitch for about 5 minutes but only denied a goal by a great reflex save by Vorm. And against WBA his closing down and block should have resulted in a goal but Lambert f*cked it up. And he's not a winger.

Sounds reasonable enough. Although I'd say the way we got JRod shows that if you target a particular player and prioritise his signing as an absolute must, then it's more likely you'll get the deal done quickly. Albeit, the deal may cost more. Don't do that and the risk increases that it won't happen overnight; but the deal may be better for the club.

He's been something of a flat track bully. Looked really good against Reading when he came on, and in sporadic games has looked real class. But for the most part, as you say he gets too easily bullied out of it and his skill on the ball hasn't shone through anywhere near as much as it did in the lower leagues. In any case, I think our team is crying out for a properly pacy wide player, our wide midfield options are currently too similar.

I'm not even sure what his best position is any more. I don't think it's playing out wide; his lack of pace seems to get more exposed at this level. And our team isn't really set up to have a "number 10", which would seem ideal, as we also have JRod and Ramirez to contend with.

His wages will be though.

Check out superfan! :lol:

Wouldn't mind seeing us rest Lambert for a game or two. He's not been at it anyway in the past 2 or 3 games and we don't have a plan B without him just yet. Perhaps a a more mobile front two of Rodriguez and Mayuka is worth a try. Yesterday we pretty much failed to get in behind their defence all game, all our play was in front of their defenders. Rodriguez clearly has pace, Mayuka is quick too.

Loic Remy would be good but far too expensive. Taraabt is a goo dplayer but we've already got Lallana and Ramirez. For first choice players, no.

Fair play to you and your lot, Liam. And we'll get our revenge next year......!

Clyne was £2.5M. Still a bargain, though.

I did have to laugh at that, to be honest. A good mate of mine is a Wolves fan and is obviously feeling the pain at the moment with their plight. During the game I was trying to get 3G signal on my phone to check their score, but to no avail. Right on cue the Baggies piped up with "The sh*t are losing 2-0"! Good update.

Poor old Baz seems to have been misled by another Portsmyth. Pompey fans are no different to the majority of football fans in the amount of noise they create. I've been down to Sh*thole Park three times this season (I didn't pay for a ticket, that should be stressed). First game of the season they were pretty good (well, until Barney nodded one in, ROFL). The other two games they were poor; against Swindon I was in the Swindon end and barely heard a thing from the home lot. But they do love to perpetuate this myth that they're the bestest, loudest and pashunest, and Baz has fallen for it hook, line and sinker. Won't get many better travelling fans than the Baggies yesterday. But that's often what happens away from home when your team is doing well. Lest we forget we've had Swansea fans, QPR fans and others on here and their own sites saying that the travelling Saints fans were the best to have visited all season. WBA was a quiet day for the fans, and a let down by the players. Sh*t happens.

Against 1st place - 7th placed sides 3 wins Against 8th place - 14th place sides 0 wins Against 15th place - 20th place sides 6 wins

And he was a youth team graduate. Chris Nichol barely played him in his development; he had little expectation on him. If you're suggesting we should take the same approach, and more often than not rest a £12M signing I'm going to have to disagree. This season is over for Ramirez; lets see what he can do with a decent pre-season behind him. But he has got an awful lot to prove given his season. Coutinho has shown the level of impact that you might expect from a £10M ish foreign signing, so its not always the case that young foreigners need to be shown patience. At 17 Luke Shaw doesn't need a great deal of patience with his own performances. Ramirez may yet come good, and I still think he might with us. We'll see. But IMO he has significantly under-performed this season, and I expected more.