Thoughts

[augie]

In a word No

Barca cant do better than messi. Barca shouldnt even waste their time trying to find better than messi. I doubt if we will see better than messi again in my lifetime

[Theoperator]

In a word No

Barca cant do better than messi. Barca shouldnt even waste their time trying to find better than messi. I doubt if we will see better than messi again in my lifetime 8)

Thought you said that about Sir Stanley, Augie

[SPUDMASHER]

In a word No

Barca cant do better than messi. Barca shouldnt even waste their time trying to find better than messi. I doubt if we will see better than messi again in my lifetime

Okay, I'll put it another way then.


What has Ospina done to suggest that he doesn't deserve to be our first choice goalkeeper? Also, can you point out his weaknesses that have cost us up to now? Finally, why is he not as good as those you would covet?

Give me actual examples not hypothetical possiblilties.

[OneBardGooner]

In a word No

Barca cant do better than messi. Barca shouldnt even waste their time trying to find better than messi. I doubt if we will see better than messi again in my lifetime

Okay, I'll put it another way then.


What has Ospina done to suggest that he doesn't deserve to be our first choice goalkeeper? Also, can you point out his weaknesses that have cost us up to now? Finally, why is he not as good as those you would covet?

Give me actual examples not hypothetical possiblilties.

Gosh! you are being rather stern there Spuddy - Flash will love that!

[Theoperator]

Its his new diet OBG

[augie]

In a word No

Barca cant do better than messi. Barca shouldnt even waste their time trying to find better than messi. I doubt if we will see better than messi again in my lifetime

Okay, I'll put it another way then.


What has Ospina done to suggest that he doesn't deserve to be our first choice goalkeeper? Also, can you point out his weaknesses that have cost us up to now? Finally, why is he not as good as those you would covet?

Give me actual examples not hypothetical possiblilties.

Gosh! you are being rather stern there Spuddy - Flash will love that!

Spuddy you are mis-reading what I actually said - at no stage did I say that ospina should be replaced and on other threads I have actually applauded the calmness and level of his performance. What I did say, in comparing it to the coquelin situation, is that there are better players out there in their positions so sticking with coquelin isnt (in my opinion) the way to go forward. Would you disagree that there are better keepers than ospina in the world ? If so you are saying nothing different than what I am saying except that you are choosing to make my argument about ospina when it was never meant that way.

For the record the ospina situation worries me slightly - I dont feel that he has had long enough to prove whether he is the right man for the job or not, but I do agree that he has done enough to be given the chance to secure the job. However that also creates an issue because to give the guy first chance next season to be number 1, it also means that we would be ruling out the possibility of signing cech - now cech is not the same keeper that he was and I think we all agree on that, but the fact is that he remains an excellent keeper and a keeper that would def bring more presence to the position. I also think that signing cech would be a sign of ambition and serious intent by the club - I'm not for one second saying that should be a key factor in any decision, but what I am saying is that if everything else is equal then it should/could be the tie breaker

To go back to my original point, coquelin is good but we could and should have better in that position

[goonerk]

.Wenger again got lucky as he's come back a different player but he isn't the solution long term,as a back up hes fine but we need a 6 ft 3 power house in that position its the only way

Are you taking the piss? "It's the only way" to do what?

Coquelin has been one of our best players and is amongst the best DM's in the league.

Very disrespectful to dismiss his future as a starter because he is not a "6 ft 3 power house".

I could give a fuck about a player's stature, Coquelin has ability, grit and passion - he has transformed us this season.

I'd like to know which powerhouse you think could come in and outperform Coquelin or was that just a generic statement?

Roy Keane and Makelele were two of the finest holding mids in history, both were under 6 ft.

100% agree with this. For years we've been obsessing about having this mythical DM - a 6ft 3 powerhouse who's runs through walls. Sadly in that time the game has moved on and that type of player couldn't survive today. Vieira admitted recently that he would be sent off every week in today's game.

For me, calls to find a player to replace Coquelin are absurd. He has absolutely all the attributes required to keep his place for years to come. He reads the game brilliantly, is tenacious, strong in the tackle and, crucially, has learn't very quickly when/when not to put his foot in. His improvement has been incredible and it's not coincidence that our form has improved concurrently. The stats say it all, there simply has been no better DM in the premier league this year.

[augie]

.Wenger again got lucky as he's come back a different player but he isn't the solution long term,as a back up hes fine but we need a 6 ft 3 power house in that position its the only way

Are you taking the piss? "It's the only way" to do what?

Coquelin has been one of our best players and is amongst the best DM's in the league.

Very disrespectful to dismiss his future as a starter because he is not a "6 ft 3 power house".

I could give a fuck about a player's stature, Coquelin has ability, grit and passion - he has transformed us this season.

I'd like to know which powerhouse you think could come in and outperform Coquelin or was that just a generic statement?

Roy Keane and Makelele were two of the finest holding mids in history, both were under 6 ft.

100% agree with this. For years we've been obsessing about having this mythical DM - a 6ft 3 powerhouse who's runs through walls. Sadly in that time the game has moved on and that type of player couldn't survive today. Vieira admitted recently that he would be sent off every week in today's game.

For me, calls to find a player to replace Coquelin are absurd. He has absolutely all the attributes required to keep his place for years to come. He reads the game brilliantly, is tenacious, strong in the tackle and, crucially, has learn't very quickly when/when not to put his foot in. His improvement has been incredible and it's not coincidence that our form has improved concurrently. The stats say it all, there simply has been no better DM in the premier league this year.

Have you ever seen matic play ? Or de jong ? Or de rossi Or schweinsteiger ? Or javi Martinez ? That style of play has only disappeared from our club and maybe Barcelona and most other clubs that don't have a physical DM sure as shit aint winning fcuk all

[gp543]

.Wenger again got lucky as he's come back a different player but he isn't the solution long term,as a back up hes fine but we need a 6 ft 3 power house in that position its the only way

Are you taking the piss? "It's the only way" to do what?

Coquelin has been one of our best players and is amongst the best DM's in the league.

Very disrespectful to dismiss his future as a starter because he is not a "6 ft 3 power house".

I could give a fuck about a player's stature, Coquelin has ability, grit and passion - he has transformed us this season.

I'd like to know which powerhouse you think could come in and outperform Coquelin or was that just a generic statement?

Roy Keane and Makelele were two of the finest holding mids in history, both were under 6 ft.

100% agree with this. For years we've been obsessing about having this mythical DM - a 6ft 3 powerhouse who's runs through walls. Sadly in that time the game has moved on and that type of player couldn't survive today. Vieira admitted recently that he would be sent off every week in today's game.

For me, calls to find a player to replace Coquelin are absurd. He has absolutely all the attributes required to keep his place for years to come. He reads the game brilliantly, is tenacious, strong in the tackle and, crucially, has learn't very quickly when/when not to put his foot in. His improvement has been incredible and it's not coincidence that our form has improved concurrently. The stats say it all, there simply has been no better DM in the premier league this year.

Have you ever seen matic play ? Or de jong ? Or de rossi Or schweinsteiger ? Or javi Martinez ? That style of play has only disappeared from our club and maybe Barcelona and most other clubs that don't have a physical DM sure as shit aint winning fcuk all

Barcelona have the best defensive midfielder of the past 10 years in their side. Not sure what you're on about.

[augie]

Barcelona's defensive midfielder isn't a run through walls player and that is the point I was making (goonerk said that those type of players no longer exist). Barca's DM is a whinging, cheating, diving cuntbag who has excellent positioning but is nowhere near being the best DM of the last decade

[gp543]

Barcelona's defensive midfielder isn't a run through walls player and that is the point I was making (goonerk said that those type of players no longer exist). Barca's DM is a whinging, cheating, diving cuntbag who has excellent positioning but is nowhere near being the best DM of the last decade

No player has been as consistently effective as Sergio Busquets in the past ten years or for as long a period. I'd be curious to know which players in the same position you view as better.

[augie]

Barcelona's defensive midfielder isn't a run through walls player and that is the point I was making (goonerk said that those type of players no longer exist). Barca's DM is a whinging, cheating, diving cuntbag who has excellent positioning but is nowhere near being the best DM of the last decade

No player has been as consistently effective as Sergio Busquets in the past ten years or for as long a period. I'd be curious to know which players in the same position you view as better.

As I said previously, schweinstiger and de rossi have been and continue to be better players than him. Pirlo would be another example. Lets be honest busquets hasnt even been first choice for spain for the last decade

[SPUDMASHER]

I fucking hate Busquets. I've never seen a more dishonest footballer in my life. Dirty slimy cheating diving crunt of the highest order. He's made his career on the back of that and I cannot believe he has never been found out by match officials when 99% of the football viewing public can see exactly what he is about.

[Nos89]

In a word No

Barca cant do better than messi. Barca shouldnt even waste their time trying to find better than messi. I doubt if we will see better than messi again in my lifetime

Okay, I'll put it another way then.


What has Ospina done to suggest that he doesn't deserve to be our first choice goalkeeper? Also, can you point out his weaknesses that have cost us up to now? Finally, why is he not as good as those you would covet?

Give me actual examples not hypothetical possiblilties.

Gosh! you are being rather stern there Spuddy - Flash will love that!

Spuddy you are mis-reading what I actually said - at no stage did I say that ospina should be replaced and on other threads I have actually applauded the calmness and level of his performance. What I did say, in comparing it to the coquelin situation, is that there are better players out there in their positions so sticking with coquelin isnt (in my opinion) the way to go forward. Would you disagree that there are better keepers than ospina in the world ? If so you are saying nothing different than what I am saying except that you are choosing to make my argument about ospina when it was never meant that way.

For the record the ospina situation worries me slightly - I dont feel that he has had long enough to prove whether he is the right man for the job or not, but I do agree that he has done enough to be given the chance to secure the job. However that also creates an issue because to give the guy first chance next season to be number 1, it also means that we would be ruling out the possibility of signing cech - now cech is not the same keeper that he was and I think we all agree on that, but the fact is that he remains an excellent keeper and a keeper that would def bring more presence to the position. I also think that signing cech would be a sign of ambition and serious intent by the club - I'm not for one second saying that should be a key factor in any decision, but what I am saying is that if everything else is equal then it should/could be the tie breaker

To go back to my original point, coquelin is good but we could and should have better in that position

Ospina reminds me of Peter Shilton in stature and ability but a goalkeeper needs to be bigger nowadays. The ball moves quicker, the game is faster you need someone who commands the area and catches the ball. Cech would be an amazing signing for us. You can't win the league with a keeper who is a great shotstopper and has little else. To add I can't think of many one club keepers in the modern game so chesney was up against it all along. People forget we bought Petit as a centre back and he got found out so got moved into a DM role. There are some great dm's out there but would they come to Arsenal or would they be any good in the premier league? As an example Cambiasso would be a great back up for coquelin, he has been outstanding for Leicester. I still think we need a world class striker whilst giroud does well enough he still misses too many opportunities by not being in the right place at the right time, and if by chance he is in the right place he still misses too many.

[augie]

Cambiasso wouldnt suit us - he can do well for the foxes because they have a team of players willing to "stick their boot in" and win those 50/50 tackles, and that allows him to sweep up and use his positioning skills. For us he would be alongside lightweights like cazorla, ozil, ramsey etc so he would need to win A LOT more tackles to be a success