feltmonkey

France vs England has turned into an absolutely cracking game.

Mata must be wondering what the fuck he's gone and done.

FFS so it seems Mata is just a replacement for Januzaj. Why does the signing of a top player mean our best player this season is the one who makes way? It also looks like we have signed a world-class number ten to play on the wing. We tried that with Kagawa, how did that work out?

But they won't sign for us because we won't be in the Champions League.

it would be good, wouldn't it? i don't know if i'm just being impatient, but i think we should do whatever's necessary to get him now. give him half a season to settle into English football, so next season he would be ready to play a big part for us.

so, on Mata's debut, Van Persie returns from injury and Young scores a good goal. is this proof that Mata can cure the sick and elevate the wretched?

don't get me wrong, it's fantastic, and i'm hugely excited to see him play for us. it's surely going to pay off in the long run, too. it's just that signing Mata at the moment is a bit like building a swimming pool in your back garden when your roof has caved in. i'm hoping they're planing to get the roof sorted too, perhaps by buying Cabaye or someone, but i'm still sitting here in my trunks. am i stretching this metaphor too far?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/25904852 an example of the headline saying one thing, and the article saying another. that's worrying. if we don't address the problem in central midfield right now, the rest of the season is likely to be as painful as the first half, Mata or no Mata.

There are weird delays happening around the Mata deal now. Is anyone else starting to get just a little bit worried that it might not happen at all? As for Owen, I like him, but then I was a fan of the guy before he signed for United, mainly because he was such a good player for England. It is strange that he comes across as a United fan now, despite not really making much of an impact during his time at the club. He seems to be well-liked by the fans, because of the goal against city, so perhaps he's responding to that.

i doubt we're signing Dante anyway. the key quote from his agent is, "We are currently in negotiations with Bayern over a new deal..." so they are probably stirring up rumors of "interest" from another big club in order to squeeze a bit more cash out of Dante's current employers. he doesn't fit with our usual signings - he's 30, and we don't sign players that old except in extreme circumstances. signing another player in an area we are strong surely isn't a priority.

what on earth are you talking about? he jumped in with both feet, studs first. it's a red card every time. whether anyone got injured or not is completely irrelevant.

yeah, we need to buy. i can't understand why we're not bothering to. well, i sort of can. i reckon someone there is overthinking it. someone's obsessing too much about whether potential purchases will fit into the team, wondering if they're ready for United, etc. the Fellaini disaster might have made Moyes over-concerned about not fucking up in the transfer market again, so he might see the safest thing as not buying anyone and trying to muddle through with what we've got. the fact is, for all the bleating about there being no players available, there simply are. if you are willing to pay, there are players to buy, good players, better ones than we've got in those positions. we're apparently refusing to pay £20m for Coentrao. sure, he probably isn't worth quite that much, but if that's how much it will cost to get a player we like the look of, and who will improve the current squad, we should just pay it. this is crisis time, and we are not going to qualify for the Champions League unless we improve dramatically. we are well behind Liverpool, Spurs and Everton, so we need to raise ourselves to be considerably better than all three of them in the second half of the season in order to make up the ground. spending money won't necessarily guarantee an improvement, but in the absence of any other plan, it seems to be worth a try.

sooooo... what's on the other channels?

in a way we've been unlucky - the first goal was a fluke, arguably we should have had a penalty and we've been attacking a lot, but we're 2-0 down and i can't see us coming back. it's reminiscent of when you have a lesser team that goes to a bigger, better team and has a go. the bigger team rides the pressure and scores their goals. there's a possibility now that we could chase the game and get hit on the break, and end up losing by four or five.

the number of times this season when we've played a number ten and it's not been Kagawa is bizarre. why not Januzaj on the left and Kagawa behind Welbeck? whenever Kagawa has played there the team has looked good as a whole. i suppose the team has been set up this way because Young is better defensively than Januzaj. understandable away from home, except for the problem that Young gives you nothing going forward. it's an example of where Moyes' priorities are, i suppose.

when carheex decides you're being fair and balanced, it's probably a good time to take a good long look at yourself.

and if we get desperate, we could always recall Powell. (although he's actually playing as a striker for Wigan, and doing really well.) Anderson had to go, it was the best thing for both the player and the club. his last appearance, in the capitol one cup against Norwich, was just sad to watch. he struggled to complete a pass, make a tackle, or keep up with play. it's such a shame, because he looked a real prospect when he first arrived at the club. like i say, i hope he revives his career now. as it is, it's a loan deal (with an option to buy?) so he'll probably spend the five months injured and be back in our reserves at the start of next season.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UCyTi_jfcS0 goalkeeper scores last-minute overhead kick!

it looks like Anderson is on his way, then. http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/25719015 i hope he resurrects his career, and puts the United years behind him. Italy might suit him.

could the defender not argue that he was impeded by his own stupidity? edit - i was posting before Nayson posted the video. damn that's funny. it's the outraged stance of the defender as the guy sweeps it in that's particularly good. "hey, i already decided that was offside! why are you playing on?"

i know you been out of the country, but...

yeah, i didn't think that needed saying.

nope, penis remote. i'm not interested in these dull, logical, correct explanations. oh yeah! that was a bit of a doozy too. wasn't there a Maradona connection? edit - looks like it.

poor Arsene is still having trouble with that uncooperative coat of his. https://vine.co/v/hL56BzJMx3g

it's a great picture on many levels. is Messi always that... stylish? but what i'd really like to know is what he's got in his hand. it's some sort of electronic device with a wire coming out and heading up his unzipped fly. surely he's rich enough to be able to afford a wireless remote for his penis?