DuncanRG

Good!

Stats don't tell us that - there's no statistic which fully measures how good a player is. If Cedric's the best at certain things (I don't know what, I haven't seen them) then yes, he is best at those things. Again, validity is key. The defender that makes the most tackles isn't necessarily the best defender, but the most accurate passer is the most accurate passer. The Long and Pelle figures don't prove that Pelle is a better player, they just show it's utter nonsense to suggest he's a donkey and Long's a hero. Numbers have limitations which must be considered, but valid and reliable numbers cannot be denied.

Thanks for this important dose of reality. The difference really is 'running around a lot'. All football fans love runners who chase things down, and most football fans get on the back of big, slower strikers when they're not scoring regularly. That's life. Stastistics are facts, mate. You might argue that he misses important passes, but you can't argue that his passing's inaccurate any more than you can argue Jamie Vardy's not scored 21 goals. Stats are all about validity - does the number tell us what we want to find out? Passing accuracy doesn't tell us if Wanyama is a good player but it does tell us if he passes accurately. A lot of fans don't know what they see at all.

As per this Sunday Times interview, Nani has a £6.5m release clause. What a signing he'd be if we could pull it off. http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/sport/football/Premiership/article1686084.ece?shareToken=4e82a187179592da4b2a9475040f8bf3

I don't often get to games early enough for it to be worthwhile, but I've enjoyed it when I have read it. Would be far more likely to buy (and turn up in time to read it) at £3.

Clasie was also one of the trio at fault for letting Townsend inside to shoot. He didn't have a great game today but he's a perfectly good player. Got a bit too excited getting forward at times but when he was in position he was blocking off service to Perez and Mitrovic very well.

Koeman clearly doesn't rate him too highly. If he did, he wouldn't have signed Romeu. A shame, really.

Not sure you can call Atletico second class. Not least because their current manager is one of the most sought after in the world!

D'Angelo's just improved the hip-hop offer considerably. They've also got the best young rapper in the world in Little Simz...

I think he's quite sincerely saying 'never say never', rather than suggesting he's gonna go to a bigger team. It might be the club decide to sell, who knows?

I got mine this morning.

The fact that St Mary's is among the better grounds these days tells a depressing tale. I'm not particularly interested in who's better than who but it's worth bearing in mind that Southampton at home is not an exciting game for most fans, so we don't see them at their best. They're more likely to turn it up against the big clubs, just like we do.

Footballers are paid well because they perform, not the other way around. I'm sure he is grateful for his career, but who wouldn't want to make the most of it by playing?

If I were a Chelsea fan I'd be absolutely livid at going from Cech and Courtois to Fraser Forster in the space of two years. I wonder if we could do a Begovic plus cash deal, though. Wouldn't be a bad swap at all if Fraser wanted to go.

We've just lost 1-0 away at the team seven points clear at the top. A little perspective wouldn't go amiss.

I'd be surprised if they lose many or any players. Why leave a title winning team with such brilliant camaraderie, when the TV money's just kicking in? Vardy's new contract shows they're willing to be competitive on wages, so unless Madrid or Barca come in I think they'll want to stay put.

Clasie has started practically every game he's been available, and Romeu was knowingly signed as back-up. The only causes for concern are Juanmi and Cedric. You've also failed to mention Virgil van Dijk.

Everyone's ideal is a settled XI which produces performances every week, but in the absence of that I'm happy to have a deep and versatile squad.

We were third until February. I suppose it's subjective whether that counts as being remotely close to Leicester. EDIT: Sorry, that was last season, my mistake.

Another top performance by Forster, by the way. Rather nervous about the prospect of Liverpool coming in for him.

A great performance until it got to the final ball. We'll batter Newcastle if we play like that.

We're among the best crossers in the league, aren't we? There was a piece in the Times about it a few weeks ago. Most frequent and second most accurate if I remember correctly.

It would be such a shame not to get something out of this, we've been the better team. When's the last time Leicester spent so much time in their own half?

Final ball has got to improve or we'll find ourselves two down.

Tadic has been a cat among the pigeons in more ways than one.