Garcia was a perfectly logical signing given the loss of De Jong, particularly as he's more versatile and Nastasic is going to be class. Sinclair has obviously been a non-event.

 

Garcia and Nastasic were good signings. Sinclair and Rodwell though? Two very average players. The clubs they were at were the right levels for players of their ability. Neither of them have anything raw in them, that a good manager could exploit either. Perplexing signings for a title challenging team. Not even sure Liverpool/Arsenal would have gone for those two players.

Rodwell was a season too soon. He's a very good player and has shown it when he's played (which hints at his other problem, the fact that he's constantly injured) but I question whether City need four holding midfielders. They don't have a proper number 10, it's the opposite problem to United who only have Carrick and Jones and too many attacking midfielders.

 

Talk about Van Persie but had City signed Kagawa it could have been very interesting.

Yep as expected he's going to get the rule book thrown at him. Wouldn't be so annoyed, but it just seems like they make things up as they go along.

Maybe they had assumed they didn't need a specific policy on what to do if a player bites an opponent. Or perhaps they hadn't even considered the possibility at all.

Rodwell was a season too soon. He's a very good player and has shown it when he's played (which hints at his other problem, the fact that he's constantly injured) but I question whether City need four holding midfielders. They don't have a proper number 10, it's the opposite problem to United who only have Carrick and Jones and too many attacking midfielders.

 

Talk about Van Persie but had City signed Kagawa it could have been very interesting.

 

I don't rate Rodwell personally. He's a decent player, but nothing more than average. Certainly not good enough to be a midfielder for a club challenging for the title. Silva and Aguero are number 10s surely? Aguero is the best number 10 in the league. City's problem is they have far too many players who are not consistent, and these players are all in the attack department. They don't have a player that can match the energy and work rate of Toure when he doesn't play. He's their playmaker. None of their other midfielders are strong enough to dictate a game like he does.

 

Maybe they had assumed they didn't need a specific policy on what to do if a player bites an opponent. Or perhaps they hadn't even considered the possibility at all.

 

It's violent conduct, simples. Just like there's no rule for kicking a ball-boy, but getting a 3 game ban.. Talk in the papers he'll get a 7 game ban. Ludacris if you ask me. 2 games too many. Just got to grin and bear it unfortunately.

I don't rate Rodwell personally. He's a decent player, but nothing more than average. Certainly not good enough to be a midfielder for a club challenging for the title. Silva and Aguero are number 10s surely? Aguero is the best number 10 in the league. City's problem is they have far too many players who are not consistent, and these players are all in the attack department. They don't have a player that can match the energy and work rate of Toure when he doesn't play. He's their playmaker. None of their other midfielders are strong enough to dictate a game like he does.

Aguero plays as a 9 as much as a 10 and doesn't really track back as much as he should. Silva generally starts wide because Mancini doesn't like wingers. They could do with a Toni Kroos type, this season it's been so clear that Tevez-Aguero is their best partnership that any team playing them gets a lift when they see anyone else playing up front. They need another attacking option if they want to get far in Europe and break down teams every week in the PL, although admittedly Silva playing behind Tevez against United did look very strong.

Aguero plays as a 9 as much as a 10 and doesn't really track back as much as he should. Silva generally starts wide because Mancini doesn't like wingers. They could do with a Toni Kroos type, this season it's been so clear that Tevez-Aguero is their best partnership that any team playing them gets a lift when they see anyone else playing up front. They need another attacking option if they want to get far in Europe and break down teams every week in the PL, although admittedly Silva playing behind Tevez against United did look very strong.

 

But they're still number 10s, just Mancini doesn't play them in that role for whatever reason. Aguero is good as a false number 9 too, but City's wide forwards haven't been consistent enough this season to get in to the space not having an out and out striker leaves. City need another midfielder, dare I say it, they need their own Michael Carrick. And they need another top class striker. They really missed Balotelli this season.

Not having it that a team consisting of Zabaleta, Barry, Nasri, Tevez & Clichy are better than United on paper, they just aren't.

 

And I'm glad people are starting to come to terms with the fact De Gea is the best goalkeeper in the league, and Hart is just another typical overrated English boy who makes one too many mistakes in big games.

 

http://24.media.tumblr.com/871f3de948f27e5f1f70d079a5c7631b/tumblr_mgtvgj8hsP1rc0jeuo1_500.jpg

Not having it that a team consisting of Zabaleta, Barry, Nasri, Tevez & Clichy are better than United on paper, they just aren't.

 

And I'm glad people are starting to come to terms with the fact De Gea is the best goalkeeper in the league, and Hart is just another typical overrated English boy who makes one too many mistakes in big games.

I smell bitterness over Tevez, took you apart in the derby. Zabaleta is still sorely underrated and the others are no worse than their United equivalents.

 

I'm yet to see a Premier League keeper (with the exception of possibly Reina and Van Der Sar for a season or so) be consistently better than Cech since he came to England.

Zabaleta is the best right back in the league, buy some distance too. This is coming from a massive Glen Johnson fan too.

 

Barry gets a lot of stick but I think he's a lot better than people give him credit. He suffers from being a spectacularly boring football player.

Negative opinions about Barry generally stem from the England-Germany game, where he was as badly served by Capello godawful tactics as anyone else in the team - moreso if you consider that he was playing closest to the area we weren't covering between midfield and defence where Germany had so much joy.

 

He is a very solid player and an excellent partner for Touré, which is surely the best compliment you can give to a City midfielder. United still don't have anyone to play alongside Carrick, he'd waltz into their team.

Rafael > Zabaleta all day long.

 

And Tevez isn't the same player now that he was for United (Chicharito has been more prolific at United than him), different kettle of fish. He was very underwhelming and only really looked half decent when Citeh built a team around him.

 

And Gareth Barry should not be starting for a team that is fighting for a league title. To even suggest he'd 'waltz' into our team is delirious, to be frank.

 

VDS was the best goalkeeper in Europe at one point during his time at United, the same cannot be said of Cech, who hasn't been the same since he was forced to wear his silly swimming cap.

To even suggest that Hernandez has an all-round game in the same league as Tevez would be absurd, so well done for not doing that.

 

It says a lot that Cech can suffer a potentially life-threatening head injury in a match, come back and still be a better all-round keeper than De Gea - who is an excellent shot stopper, but that's never going to be the type of keeper United need and he's still a relative weak link in a far from vintage side.

 

United, despite their domestic record this season, are in a transition phase whereby older players are needed to patch up the fact that the younger generation isn't ready yet. Both City and Chelsea have a stronger starting XI, but not enough options beneath that. City fall to pieces when the Kompany-Toure spine is missing and Chelsea are still struggling to create a new identity after spending far too long reliant on the old Terry-Lampard-Drogba spine.

10 games for Suarez. Good call and yet the club are shocked and disappointed at the length? Do Liverpool enjoy making a laughing stock of themselves? And Lineker is spot on to end the silly rule about the official seeing the offence and not retrospectively punishing it when the severity becomes clearer.

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/22278258

It had to be at least as long as the punishment he got the first time, repeat offence probably justifies extending it to ten.

10 games for Suarez. Good call and yet the club are shocked and disappointed at the length? Do Liverpool enjoy making a laughing stock of themselves? And Lineker is spot on to end the silly rule about the official seeing the offence and not retrospectively punishing it when the severity becomes clearer.

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/22278258

I think the general principle of not reviewing an incident the referee has seen is OK. The exception should be for an incident where the offender clearly deserves a ban longer than the standard three matches.

10 games for Suarez. Good call and yet the club are shocked and disappointed at the length? Do Liverpool enjoy making a laughing stock of themselves? And Lineker is spot on to end the silly rule about the official seeing the offence and not retrospectively punishing it when the severity becomes clearer.

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/22278258

 

Good call!!?? I'm fuming, as are a lot of Liverpool fans. I've calmed down a lot since earlier. The decision is a joke. Everyone accepts it was wrong. However he has been charged with violent conduct which is a 3 game ban. So why is it 10? This is a first charge for violent conduct, so previous offences shouldn't count against him. Most people were expecting 4/5, but 10? Come off it, everyone I've spoken to with a bit of sense today has said it's stupid. It's just the FA making an example of someone, just like before.

 

Break someone's leg - you can play the next game. Stamp on someone - you can play the next game. Attempted murder - yeah 8 games sounds right. Biting someone - 10 games.

 

I wouldn't have any complaints if the FA were consistent, but right now it just seems like the FA do what they want when it pleases them. I honestly wouldn't be surprised if Liverpool appealed, and I wouldn't be ashamed of them because it's far, far too long. Quite rightly everyone wants to see the FA's reasoning. Not releasing it at the same time is plain idiocy.

Deserved ban.

 

There is absolutely nothing likable about this little cretin, tbf, but that matches the club he plays for.

To even suggest that Hernandez has an all-round game in the same league as Tevez would be absurd, so well done for not doing that.

 

It says a lot that Cech can suffer a potentially life-threatening head injury in a match, come back and still be a better all-round keeper than De Gea - who is an excellent shot stopper, but that's never going to be the type of keeper United need and he's still a relative weak link in a far from vintage side.

 

United, despite their domestic record this season, are in a transition phase whereby older players are needed to patch up the fact that the younger generation isn't ready yet. Both City and Chelsea have a stronger starting XI, but not enough options beneath that. City fall to pieces when the Kompany-Toure spine is missing and Chelsea are still struggling to create a new identity after spending far too long reliant on the old Terry-Lampard-Drogba spine.

 

 

I think Tevez is Citeh's best player on his day, probably the only Citeh play who I fear when we play them. Hernandez is a goalscorer, and that's it, similar to RvN in this sense, but RvN was a better player than Tevez is.

 

Still don't agree that Citeh & Chelsea have better XIs than us, though.

 

Hopefully we buy 1/2 central midfielders in the summer.

Edited April 24, 201312 yr by This Charming Man

The Suarez punishment is fully deserved. He's been banned for the same thing before so you'd expect it to be longer this time (albeit that under a different FA) and he's committed a serious offence in the not too distant past, again you'd expect it to be a more lengthy ban this time around.

The Suarez punishment is fully deserved. He's been banned for the same thing before so you'd expect it to be longer this time (albeit that under a different FA) and he's committed a serious offence in the not too distant past, again you'd expect it to be a more lengthy ban this time around.

 

Different FAs though so they're not allowed to take it in to consideration. Even Samuel Martin and Ollie Holt think it's ridiculous, which is really saying something. He should be banned, but 10 games is just off the wall, and there's no justification for it. I reckon we'll appeal, and it will get reduced to 7/8. Hope we fight it, cos we're just weak if we don't and means everyone can take the piss out of us. The second time in 18 months the FA have shafted Liverpool. It's just a populist decision, so they're not seen as weak. Wouldn't mind if they did this all the time, but they don't.