Woody1000

If PL rates him, get him in!

For me, I think the ideal scenario is that a club from abroad (eg Galatasaray) come in for him. That way we don't have to worry about him scoring against us/helping one of our rivals move up the table. I will always be grateful to DB for his goals in 2010/11 season, but the time has come now that his all-round game prevents him from being in our starting eleven, and his ego won't let him sit on our bench. Besides, he is on much too big a salary to be getting splinters in his arse, and those wages could be put to better use (ie a new contract with a large wage increase for Benteke in the summer) I wish him the best of luck.

This. Until his signings prove otherwise, I will never judge a player that PL is interested in until I have seen them in action for us.

So how has the manager 'treated him'? Are you commenting on fact, or speculation? Are you trying to say that dropping Darren Bent is mis-treating him? Does he have a devine right to play?

I just hope we show Bradford the respect that any semi-finalist deserves, then hopefully the difference in quality should show over the 2 legs. Can't wait for the away tie!

Couldn't ask for a better draw than that! Even the home and away legs are perfect! We've no excuse whatsoever for not reaching the final!

I've got us finishing on 42 points which I think will mean 15th place.

Good point about him being captain. I just don't think that Lambert would drop one of Clark, Baker or Herd 'unfairly'. It will be interesting to see what happens.

I love Concrete Ron, but I don't agree that he should just come back into the side. In his absence, we've only conceded 3 in 5 games, and I think all the CB's have played well. I don't think Lambert plays favourites, which Is a good thing!

Save that sacrifice for when you ask God to help us beat Barca in the 2016 C.L final!

I don't think that the 3-5-2/5-3-2 will be our formation long term as I don't think that's how PL operates. He strikes me as someone who likes to have a plan A, B, C and D when it comes to formations. He doesn't just stick to one.

That's a lot of sacrifice Gareth. Are you sure it's worth it mate?

Here Here. I'll definitely drink to that!

If I'm being honest, I'm more impressed with Baker than I am with Clark. He's a real presence in the air, and I can only see him getting better and better. Kudos to KMac and Sid for this boy's development.

Lambert Time!

I think the unbeaten run comes to an end here. I just hope it's not a bad defeat that hurts confidence, as I fancy a point from the Spurs game on Boxing Day. Chelsea 3 Villa 2

I agree, PL is very much a squad type of manager and I don't think he'll just put a player in when fit again if his replacement has been playing well. I think that's genuinely good for squad morale, as they all know that if they play well then they keep the shirt.

It will be interesting to see if any of Michael Henke's work will bear fruit in January, or whether it might be next summer before we see it? I'm genuinely excited about who we might be bringing in next month. I think we'll sign 2 players personally, as January is never a great time to shop.

I'm so happy for Brad that he has taken this opportunity with both hands. I think having a keeper with the quality of Given waiting in the wings has kept him on his toes. I'm just so glad we managed to re-sign him, imagine how frustrated we would be watching him play this well for somebody else knowing we let him go for nothing? One thing that I have found disappointing is the way certain fans have completely turned on Given, some of his saves kept us up last year - make no mistake about it!

You look at those games, and you'd like to think there's at least 22-25 points available there. I think the most important thing is that we don't get carried away. With such a young side, we are going to suffer dips in form. We've got more than enough 'winnable' home games left, if we do somehow get relegated then we've got no-one to blame but ourselves!

Stevie Ireland is a tough one for me. Looks like he's got it in his locker, but just can't produce it on a consistent enough basis. I think a lot of it with him is psychological, and I just feel that his wages could be spent better elsewhere on the squad. That said about his wages, I don't agree with all the snide remarks made about them - he was offered the contract, and signed it. No person, whatever their job would turn extra money down when it's no strings-attached!

I love the little Macron men on the arms!

It's funny that you mention that Trent, me and my mate were only talking about that earlier. We couldn't think of good lyrics, but perhaps something to the tune of Abba's Tragedy?

I think the next 12 months are a big test for Lerner. He finally seems to have got things right as far as manager for the team, and PL I think has proven so far that he can get a lot of value in the transfer market, but he needs to be backed fully. I hope that he is as ambitious for us to go back up the league table as we are, and hasn't just given PL enough to 'survive' until the big TV money hits.