Bailey

So going to one of the greatest managers there has ever been will make him look weaker than turning to a person that has no management experience? I really don't see it.

I could understand him going to Fergie or another big manager but not to a current player (even if he is a player/coach). I think it makes him look weak tbh.

Yeh he was brilliant that game and the goal he scored was stunning. I didn't think he looked like a Mourinho type signing in all honesty so I think he will play a lot more games under Ancelotti. He has excellent technique & vision and he can beat a man, has a accurate & powerful shot and is probably a lot quicker than you think (defintely quicker than Osman!). He makes a lot of intelligent runs too. I didnt used to like him when he was at Spurs (my ex was a Spurs fan at the time which I'm sure didnt help!) but in the glimpses I have seen of him for Madrid he has been excellent.

I would be just as worried about him admitting to asking some of the more experienced players about how to manage in the Champions League tbh.

Those cut backs are where one of the main things that used to make the Arsenal invincibles so good. They never crossed the ball but instead they overloaded the wide areas, got to the byline and pulled the ball back. Their attacking players were so good at finding space and timing their runs that it was almost inevitable they would score.

Yep only good at passing sideways... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1-DCSb9Zd0 I would actually swap Mirallas & Fellaini for Modric. He is the type of player that we really need, but we just need to find a cheaper and therefore younger version!

Yeh exactly. What a load of shite!

I think that pre-season is very important personally, especially for a new manager. Its the ideal time for new ideas, styles and combinations to be tried before the season gets under way. Sure the early games do mean very little but its important to see things starting to take shape. I havent seen or read the Utd stuff so cant comment on whether that is or isnt the case, and tbh I imagine its a lot of the glory hunter reds who expect them to sign everyone and win everything that are whining and bitching, but there should definitely be some progress from game to game.

Both Nani and Anderson have ability but I have never really been a fan of the former. As I said on one of the other threads, I would look at a cheeky 2-3mil bid for Anderson or maybe a loan to buy. Im not sure his wages would be that high in all honesty.

Just found this article on him from Scunthorpe which sounds promising. Between them they are yet to make 20 appearances for Scunthorpe United. But the Iron's most recent strike partnership, Jordan Robertson and Conor McAleny, look a 'pretty sharp pair' according to manager Alan Knill. ​ Jordan Robertson (right) and Conor McAleny (centre), seen here celebrating combining for the Iron's equaliser at Chesterfield, impressed up front. Picture: Phil Cook. Everton loanee McAleny made his first senior start at the weekend as Scunthorpe won 4-1 at bottom club Chesterfield to deliver a telling blow to the Spireites' survival hopes, improving their own in the process. But whereas he had been expected to replace Robertson in the starting line-up at the B2net Stadium, he actually featured alongside the former Sheffield United youngster, with Jon Parkin ruled out by a hamstring injury. McAleny set-up his strike partner for Scunthorpe's equaliser and also had a hand in their second goal, scored by Josh Walker on the back of some brilliant build-up play. It was a display that backed up exactly why the Iron moved to recruit the 19-year-old for the final six weeks of the season. "He's very clever, finds a space and then quickly moves the ball," said Knill, of McAleny, a product of the Toffees' Academy. "He's produced all the things I saw when I went to watch him. "It doesn't matter who he's playing against, he never gets fazed and we're hopeful that playing for us, in league football, will help nurture the talent he undoubtedly has. "The only thing that was missing on Saturday was a goal at the end, but his whole round game is very, very good. That's why he's at Everton. "I'm sure he'll go back there a better player."

I guess it would depend on whether any Championship club were prepared to offer him a place in the first team. Obviously Everton wouldn't want to loan him to a club that weren't intending on making him a regular starter, even if it meant a drop down in class. The fact he is going into League 1 doesn't look positive though. I thought he looked really sharp on the couple of occasions I saw him and whilst I don't think he will be that RM type possession striker he could have probably been a useful player to bring off the bench when we need a goal. I just looked through his career history and he has only played 5 first team games, 2 of which were late subs for us. You know the system isn't right when lads of 20-21 have made less than a dozen league starts. I know he had some kind of injury last season but as a reasonable prospect, he should have at least 30-50 first team games under his belt. Does anyone know what happened to his loan with Scunthorpe?

Yeh I know its not a recent thing and I understand why they have done it, especially on players who dont have long to run on their contract. However in the likes of Baxter, Wallace, Ruddy Muatafi and Hammar especially we have players who have a decent level of ability and I thibk the majority were released on a free or left for peanuts. If we improve the way we develop the youngsters we can start seeing a return from these types of players rather than just letting them go.

Yeh I certainly don't see Ancelotti wanting to let him go!

Yeh I think they do but unfortunately admirable but its not really something a club like us can afford to keep doing.

I think he is a top class player and I would have him here in a flash.

When I watched him for the U21's I thought his movement was excellent.

What a nice way to make the lad feel welcome.

The one player I think we were really unfortunate with was Vaughan. If he hadn't constantly been getting injured Im sure he would have been scoring for fun in the Premier League by now. I still think he will make it to the top one day though. Looking at the youth set up as a whole I do think that we have missed out on recent years. The likes of Ruddy, Jutkiewicz, Baxter, Wallace, Mustafi etc all left for peanuts when we should and could have got more which is really important for us. Ruddy always looked a competent keeper whenever I saw him play (on loan), Baxter clearly possesses a lot of technical ability and Wallace went straight into being the captain at Tranmere which says a lot about his character and ability. I don't know the exact fees they went for (aka I'm too lazy to find out) but I doubt we saw a £1million and whilst none of them would have gone on to be top players or club icons, they are all solid players who could have been given more of a platform to advertise their talents at a time when the first team in general wasn't performing or was suffering from injuries. We should have been looking to realise at least around the £5mil mark for those 5 players IMO.

Agree with Heits due to his wages and contract, Naismith for not being good enough and I would also add one of Jelly & Vic. I dont think we need them both.

Class Haf!

I am a Martinez fan too but I would wait for him to start showing results before claiming its the school of science reborn.

We havent really seen that much of him though really. When he played against Leeds, Moyes tried to get him to player further up the pitch than he was comfortable with and it didnt work, but even then you could see he had decent technique and could read the game. I havent seen much of the Vienna game but it sounds like he did alright in a deeper role. I would say that he doesnt strike me as being anything special but that doesn't mean he couldn't do a job when needed.

Technically it will look more like a 2-3-2-3 in possession and probably more of a 4-1-4-1 or 4-2-3-1 (as you say) when we are defending. I too dont see us playing with two main strikers and given what we have seen so far and what I have seen from Martinez I suspect it will be Kone up top with two wingers either side of him (Mirallas/Deulfolue).

Anderson at times has looked like a world class player but then in the same game he has looked very average. I would certainly give him a go here on loan or on a Gibson type deal.

I think Martinez will look to isolate him against the opposing full back much like he did with McManaman. He will want him taking the FB on and looking to either get a shot away or create a chance for someone else.