There are 53 countries going for 13 spots, surely the common sense solution would be 12 groups of 4 & 1 group of 5, top team goes through. You'd slash the number of games by a lot but make each game important & have a simpler system.

I'd say Adams edges out Bergkamp then a small gap to Wright who edges out Henry & then a big gap to everyone else, however I've only been a supporter since the late 80's so I can't say anything about the players from the 70's.

I think we're out of the running for the likes of Hazard, Goetze, Martinez, no way we can compete with the other clubs who are after them. In terms of more realistic targets I guess..

Baines
Tiote
Coloccini
Sessegnon
Dempsey
M'Vila
Eriksen
Kagawa
Sigurdson
Huntelaar

Would be nice to get 1 or 2 ...

It might not be well known here but Feyenoord-Ajax is probably the biggest rivalry in dutch football (both on & off the pitch), so it's not a "just" a win over Ajax If I remember correctly away supporters are banned from these derbies as there was too much violence.

Extending his contract sums up evrything thats wrong at the club at the moment; pennywise, pound foolish & full of mediocrity.

What you'll see is some clubs like us who'll be ultra conservative in meeting the FFP thinking they'll get an advantage when it's enforced only to see the other clubs (who are currently above the permitted levels) cut at the last moment & come in a penny below the limit. They've probably got teams ...

I think he's a system dependent CB. According to the reports I've read about him in the past he played best when he had 2 DM's sitting in front of him. However as soon as Bremen stopped playing like that he got exposed (especially when having to play a high line) & had a poor couple of years. In the ...

I think he brings some organisation & composure to the back 4 but often ends up being the weak link on the field, partly due to his lack of pace which means we end up struggling to effectively play a high line. I don't watch any Bundesliga but I heard it was well known that he looked brilliant 3/4 ...

According to BBC WM on Twitter Frimpong's out for 3 months with a fractured cheekbone

Out of the 93m spent in the last 4 seasons I think the following are decent:

Arteta (10m)
Vermaelen (10m)
Kos (10m) (Although still not sure, sometimes think he only ends up looking great because others around him play poorly)

The other 63m could have been spent a lot better IMO. As for the last ...

1. When did you start supporting Arsenal and why?
Around 1987/88 (age 7), I grew up in north london so that narrowed it down. I remember Charlie Nicholas being in the news a lot & disliking spurs so it was an easy choice.

2. When and aginst whom was your first game at Highbury?
Screening of an ...

I'd say that 2007-08 was the last time we were genuine title contenders & arguably the best team in the country for a period of months. Had it not been for that Birmingham game I'm convinced we would have been Champions. Anyway, I was thining about whats gone wrong with our squad since then (summer ...

I'd happily take Ba at his buyout price, whether it's 5m or 10m. I know he'd be away for the ACON but he'd be an excellent buy for the next few years & not a sticky plaster / bargain bin rubbish signing like most of the ones we've made the last few years. There'd also be the added value of ...

Great graphic! Had a bit of time on my hands so I looked up how we stood in comparison on the 21st December in each of those seasons:

2010-11 5pts ahead
2009-10 2pts ahead (1 game in hand)
2008-09 11pts ahead
2007-08 22pts ahead
2006-07 2pts ahead
2005-06 5pts behind (1 game in hand)
2004-05 13pts ...

Whilst I do think our fixture list opens out a bit I'm not so sure we'll be able to take advantage of it. We just cannot defend at all at the moment & with Sagna out now it's not going to get any better, we have no creativity in midfield at the moment either (Ramsey'spassing has been absolutely ...